The Holy Qur’an used several linguistic expressions when it spoke about the Children of Israel, and each of these expressions has its own meaning, including these expressions:

The first expression came in the noble verse:

In the name of God, the most gracious, the most merciful

'Those are those upon whom God has bestowed favor, of the prophets, of the descendants of Adam, and of those whom We carried with Noah, and of the descendants of Abraham and Israel, and of those whom We have guided and chosen. “When the verses of the Most Gracious are recited to them, they fall down, prostrating and weeping.” (58)’ [Surat Maryam]

What is meant here is “the sons of our master Jacob,” peace be upon him, who is also called our master Israel, and from the children of Israel (our master Joseph, our master Aaron, our master Moses, our master David, our master Solomon, our master Job, our master Zechariah, our master Yahya, and our master Christ, peace be upon them).

The second expression, which came in the noble verse:

In the name of God, the most gracious, the most merciful

Those of the Children of Israel who disbelieved were cursed on the tongue of David and Jesus, son of Maryam. This is because they disobeyed and used to transgress (78) the table. 78-78]

The “from” here means exclusion, that is, identifying a specific group, which is the infidel group, and not generalizing to all the children of Israel.

The difference between the children of Israel, the Jews, those who are Jewish, and those who follow the Sabbath

As for the “Jews,” as it becomes clear from examining the Holy Qur’an, they are limited sects of the Children of Israel that existed in the Arabian Peninsula at the time of the emergence of Islam, and these Jews are the ones who said, “Mighty is the Son of God,” and they are the ones who said, “The hand of God is tied.”

Concerning the “ people of the Sabbath ,” they are a small group of the children of Israel who tried to deceive God and circumvent His orders not to work on the Sabbath, so God became angry with them and turned them into despicable apes.

“Those who were Jews,” meaning those of the Children of Israel who returned to God and said, “Indeed, we have guided you,” meaning, We returned to you. God gave them that name because they returned to Him, as stated in the words of God Almighty:

۞ And He has written for us good in this world and in the Hereafter, “Indeed, We have guided you to you.” He said, “My torment has been afflicted by whomever I will.” And My mercy encompasses all things, so I will record it for those who fear and pay zakat, and those who believe in Our signs (156) Al-A’raf [15] 6-156]