Semitic people from Ancient Near East and inhabitants of
some parts of Canaan during the periods of tribal and monarchy in the 15th
to 6th centuries B.C.E., are also known as the Israelites. The Israelites resided in the
region after the fall of the monarchy in small numbers.
The term “Israelites”, in biblical term, associates with the
direct descendants of the patriarch Jacob, who was known as Israel. Historians
used Israelites as a term to refer to the historical populations of the United
Kingdom of Israel and Judah. Jews and
Samaritans are considered to be the known remnants of the Israelites, living in
the territories of Galilee, Judea, and Samaria.
