Throughout history, were the descendants of the Israelites Jewish?Abraham was selected by God to populate the Earth with God's "Chosen People". ...

All people of Jewish heritage are descendants of Abraham
according to the Old Testament; but not all descendants of Abraham are Jewish. Abraham
had a son by his wife Sarah's handmaiden, Hagar, who was named Ishmael. Tradition holds
that Ishmael, whom Abraham sent away with his mother, was the father of the Arabic
people.

The Israelites were so called as they were
Abraham's descendants through Jacob, the son of Abraham's son Isaac. After Jacob
wrestled with the Angel of God, his name was changed to Israel. His descendants were
thereafter known as the Children of Israel, or simply Israelites. Jacob had twelve sons,
and each son's descendants became a "tribe;" with the exception of Joseph. There was no
tribe of Joseph, rather two tribes developed from his two sons: the tribes of Manessah
and Ephraim. When they entered the promised land of Canaan, the Israeilites established
the nation of Israel which had only three kings: Saul, David and Solomon. After the
death of Solomon, the kingdom split into two: Israel and Judah. The residents of Judah
were later called Jews, a corruption of Judahite.