During ancient times there were two sections of the Holy Land: the Northern Kingdom of Israel, which was called Samaria and the Southern Kingdom of Judah, called Judea. Technically, “Jews” are the names of the descendants of Judea but “Jews” is also used when speaking of “Israelites”. The twelve tribes of Israel are all the descendants of “Jacob”, whose name later became “Israel”. During that era, the ancient Hebrews kept strict records of their descendants.

Suellen Ocean is the author of Secret Genealogy II, Uncovering the Jewish Roots of Our Christian Ancestors, available at Amazon, B&N and Ocean-Hose.