希伯来人属古代北闪米特民族，是犹太人的祖先。历史家们使用「希伯来人」一词来指称《旧约全书》中那些族长们(如：亚伯拉罕、以撒等人)的後裔，其时间即从那些族长们生活之时直到他们在西元前2000年末期征服迦南(今巴勒斯坦)为止。以後这些人就被称作以色列人，直到他们由巴比伦流亡返回迦南的前6世纪之末为止。此後这个民族便称为犹太人。
《旧约》中曾把族长亚伯拉罕说成是同ivri处於同一个时代。ivri一词在希伯来语中即指希伯来人，其复数形式是ivrim或ibrim. 但是，希伯来这个名称在《旧约》中几乎总是其他民族对以色列人的称呼，而不是希伯来人的自称。基於这一原因，希伯来这个称谓的来源本身是不易确定的。希伯来一词也可能源於希伯来语eber或ever,其义为「另一方面」，想来这仍是指亚伯拉罕，因为他进入迦南是从幼发拉底河或约旦河的「彼岸」出发的。「希伯来人」这一名字还可同半游牧的哈比鲁人(Habiru)相联系起来，据前13和前12世纪的古埃及铭刻记载，哈比鲁人曾在埃及定居。
希伯来人(Hebrews)自称是以色列人。他们在纪元前11世纪建立了王国，初代国王是扫罗，第二代是大卫王，第三代所罗门王在位的时候国力鼎盛，呈现前所未有的繁荣景象，所罗门王死后，分裂成以色列和犹大两个国家。
起源
When the Tell el-Amarna archives were translated， some scholars eagerly equated the Habiru，described within the text, with the Hebrews， in particular because they were said to be nomads，raiders， and outlaws， fitting well with the biblical description of the Hebrews under Joshua conquering canaan. Such religiously motivated conclusions proved to be hasty, and later study，taking into account linguistic research，and other ancient mention of the Habiru，it is now considered that the term Habiru described a group of stateless foreigners who had banded together，and formed a counter culture rather than an invading force. Indeed, should the Habiru be proven to be the same as the Hebrews， biblical events preceeding biblical conquest of Canaan by Joshua are probably not true，since the majority of the Habiru were Hurrian，and thus not having flew from Egypt.
Other controversial theories hold that the Hebrews were the mysterious Hyksos，a semitic people, who gradually took migrated into Egypt，eventually taking power from the extremely weak pharoah by force，and subsequently being expelled after many years，matching up well with the biblical description of the Hebrews in Egypt. Indeed, it was Ahmose (in Hebrew A-moses)， who was from Thebes，down the river from the seat of power – Memphis，who caused the Hyksos to leave， although in contrast to the bible， Ahmose was the enemy of the Hyksos and expelled them by force. A curious feature of the hyksos rulers over Egypt is that the third ruler (of six) is named Yaqob-her which is cognate with Jacob, the name of the biblical forefather of this period，although the name may just be a common one，and this would still be contrary to the bible，as it would denote Jacob as a ruler of Egypt as well as over the Hebrews.
There are many Canaanite and Mesopotamian (via Amorite mythology) themes preserved in Hebrew culture，like the specific biblical version of the story of Noah which is similar to the Sumerian story of Ziusudra/Utnapishtim， the ark，and the deluge unleashed by the angry, jealous god Enlil (Babylonian Ellil, Canaanite El)， who was thwarted by the wise god Enki (Babylonian Ea). Also，textual sources appear to indicate that Hebrews lived in villages and raised livestock，seasonally grazing them in drier areas which didn't farm well，a form of subsistence known as transhumance. Consequently many have drawn the conclusion that the Hebrews were merely Canaanites who lived in the more difficult mountanous areas of Canaan，over time becoming separated from other Canaanites，and thus taking separate paths，including favouring El over Hadad.
It is possible for all three of these potentials to be partially true – had a group of Canaanites separated and tried to live in the hills，which were mainly to the eastern side of Canaan，they could have absorbed other migrating groups，such as the Habiru, gaining a differing identity in consequence of the merging of cultures. Subsequently, the combined group, now distinct the Canaanites who remained, could have migrated to Egypt，becoming the Hyksos，and upon their return no longer viewing the Canaanites as related，as they no longer resembled themselves. Thus although each theory has its supporters and detractors，the groups are by no means mutually exclusive.
Tribes
The term refers to all the descendants that the bible alleges were had by a Patriarch Jacob (later renamed Israel，although the documentary hypothesis states that this renaming is an attempt by a redactor). Hebrews are also referred to as the Children of Israel for this reason. According to the bible，Jacob had 11 sons，and partitioned the land between them, except for Joseph，for whom the land was partitioned between his two sons，and thus，biblically，the Hebrews constitute Twelve Tribes.
Today，modern-day Jews are descended from only a few of these Tribes. The Tribes of Judah，Benjamin，and parts of Levi (the priestly tribe – who in the period of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel had no land，unlike the other 11 tribes) are seen by Jewish people，and many Christians，as the ancestors of modern-day Jewish people. Some would say the Tribe of Simeon is included in this list，due to the view held by some that the Tribe of Simeon was absorbed into the Tribe of Judah. The remainder of the Twelve Tribes are said to have been exiled by the Assyrian Empire，and have become known as the Lost Tribes of Israel.
Certain Christian groups sometimes use the term Hebrews to distinguish the Jews in ancient times that lived before the birth of Jesus from Jews that lived afterward. This distincion is part of the Christian doctrine that the favor bestowed upon the ancient Jews，as God's chosen people，was removed upon their rejection of Jesus as the messiah，and transferred to Christians. The distinction is not recognized by the Jews.
你知道“以色列人”的来历吗?这还得从上古时代的希伯来人说起。据《圣经》记载，希伯来人的先祖亚伯拉罕家族起源于苏美尔。他们是闪族语系的一支，他们最早出现于美索不达米亚。
希伯来人原来是一游牧民族，大致在公元前1900年至前1500年之间，他们逐渐由美索不达米亚迁入叙利亚，随后迁入埃及。就在这几百年间，有一个自称是亚伯拉罕的孙子雅各的后裔的希伯来部落开始用雅各的别名称呼自己为“以色列人”。据《世纪》的记载，在雅各与一位天使角斗了整整一个通宵之后，他得到了“以色列”这一称号，意为“神的勇士”。《圣经》中记载了这则故事：天使对那位希伯来人说：“你的名不要再叫雅各，要叫以色列，因为你与神与人较力，都得了胜。
在旅居埃及的大约300年间，适逢新王国诸法老正试图创建一个埃及帝国并寻找空前多的奴隶来维持国内经济的运转，希伯来人受到了种种奴役。
正是在那时，在公元前1250年左右，希伯来人终于找到了一位领袖即英勇的摩西，
他率领他们摆脱了埃及的束缚，离开埃及到了西奈半岛(这是位于埃及和迦南之间的一片沙漠地带)，并说服他们崇奉雅赫维神，该神的名字后来被写作耶和华。
也正是在那时，所有希伯来人都成了以色列人，因为他们在摩西的劝说下相信，耶和华是亚伯拉罕、以撒和雅各的神，结果以色列的神也就成了他们全民族崇奉的神。
希伯来人在西奈沙漠地带游荡了大约一代人时间，其后他们决定迁回比这里富饶得多的迦南之地；相对于干旱的西奈荒漠而言，迦南确实太过富饶了，在他们看来是片“流着牛奶和蜜”的地方。
不过这次迁徙并非简单的搬迁和定居，因为迦南已经为另一个讲闪族语系语言的迦南人占领了，后者不愿与希伯来人共享他们的土地。因而希伯来人不得不诉诸武力，而事实证明这一历程进展迟缓且布满艰辛。
摩西的继承者约书亚确实夺取了迦南的一些地区，但收获并不太大，因为游牧的以色列入装备较差，无法用围城战术攻克迦南防御坚固的城池。此外，约书亚死后，以色列各部重又各自为政，无法采取统一的军事行动，因而攻城略地工作进展更小。
结果，经过一个世纪的征战，以色列人所获得的只是迦南的一些丘陵地带和为数不多的土地较不肥沃的河谷。在公元前1025年前后，一位名叫撒母耳的部落士师以其人格力量赢得了以色列各部落的拥戴，他从所有以色列人中挑选出了一位国王扫罗，是他后来使希伯来人成了一个统一的民族。
“犹太人”的古称。属闪米特人的一支。公元前21世纪下半期，进入巴勒斯坦。后形成以色列和犹太两大部落集团，前1000年大卫建立统一的以色列犹太王国。所罗门王在位时(前960-前922)最为强盛。约前935年分裂为以色列王国和犹太王国。前721年以色列王国被亚述帝国灭亡。前586年犹太王国又被迦勒底王国所灭。公元前63年起，两者均并入罗马。公元1－2世纪，罗马帝国统治期间，绝大部分被赶出住地，流散到世界各地。
