|Easton's Bible Dictionary| A name applied to the Israelites in
Scripture only by one who is a foreigner (Genesis 39:14, 17;
41:12, etc.), or by the Israelites when they speak of themselves
to foreigners (40:15; Exodus 1:19), or when spoken of an
contrasted with other peoples (Genesis 43:32; Exodus 1:3, 7, 15;
Deuteronomy 15:12). In the New Testament there is the same
contrast between Hebrews and foreigners (Acts 6:1; Philippians
3:5). (1.) The name is derived, according to some, from Eber
(Genesis 10:24), the ancestor of Abraham. The Hebrews are "sons
of Eber" (10:21). (2.) Others trace the name of a Hebrew root-
word signifying "to pass over," and hence regard it as meaning
"the man who passed over," viz., the Euphrates; or to the Hebrew
word meaning "the region" or "country beyond," viz., the land of
Chaldea. This latter view is preferred. It is the more probable
origin of the designation given to Abraham coming among the
Canaanites as a man from beyond the Euphrates (Genesis 14:13).
(3.) A third derivation