House of Israel

Terminology. When did this term apply ONLY to the Ten Tribes and When Not? (10 December, 2014, 18 Kislev, 5775)

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The Prophet Hosea
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24. House of Israel as the Ten Tribes

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The Prophet Amos
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25. House of Israel as the Ten Tribes Going Into Exile
26. House of Israel as Both the Ten Tribes and Judah
27. House of Israel as the Ten Tribes before the Exile
28. House of Isaac as the Ten Tribes
29. House of Jacob as Either the Ten Tribes or Judah?
30. House of Jacob and House of Israel as Judah

Conclusion
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Addenda.
Additional examples of the name Israel applied to Judah, from Chaim Chanon.
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The Early Bible and the Book of Kings
The name Israel was applied to all the Tribes of Israel UNLESS explicitly said otherwise as when Judah and Israel are Juxtaposed.
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1. Introduction. Use of the Terms

The terms Israel and House of Israel and others like them in the Bible may be applied to all of the Israelite tribes or only to a portion of them. They may apply to people from Judah or from the Ten Tribes as distinct from Judah.
This sounds confusing but if we consider the contexts in which the terms are used it usually is quite clear.
A brief overview of the different usages is hereby presented.
The reader is requested to free themselves for this lesson from previous understandings and from Western Latin rationalistic attitudes.
Let us put aside our preconceived notions, read the sources, look for common denominators, and perhaps draw tentative conclusions.
We shall see that one name may have several meanings and that the applied meaning will vary according to the context.
This exposition may seem a little confusing at first but just read it through. It is interesting enough as it is and the meaning should make itself clear.

The Israelite Tribes had divided into two sections. There were Ten Tribes in the north who became "lost". They were the Ten Tribes (1-Kings 11:35) who got "lost " (Isaiah 27:12, Hebrew "ovdim") in the Land of Assyria.
[ I once met a Protestant Pastor who assured me that the term "Ten Lost Tribes" is not found in Scripture. This however is a question of semantics. The term "Ten Tribes" is found and the Hebrew adjective meaning "Lost" is applied to them!]
The Ten Tribes belonged to what was henceforth known as the House of Israel and its monarchs were Kings of Israel though previously the terms "House of Israel" (e.g. Exodus 16:31) and "Kingdom of Israel" (e.g. 1-Samuel 15:28, 24:20) had applied to All the 12 Tribes. To our surprise the northern entity is never actually referred to as Kingdom of Israel though its monarchs are called Kings of Israel on more than 30 occasions.
In the south was the Kingdom of Judah (1-Chronicles 11:17). Even prior to the division Israel and Judah had been spoken of, on occasion, as if they were separate entities (e.g. 1-Samuel 18:14).
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2. House of Israel as the Ten Tribes

In 1-Kings 12:21 we hear of the House of Israel (HOI) meaning the Ten Tribes at war with Judah.

1-Kings 12:
21 When Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin, one hundred and eighty thousand chosen troops to fight against the house of Israel, to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam son of Solomon.

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3. 1-Kings 20:31 "Kings of the House of Israel" i.e. of the Ten Tribes.

The King of Damascus had fought against the King of Israel in Samaria. He had been defeated and was hiding in fear of his life. His servants advised him to throw himself on the mercies of the Israelite monarch.

1-Kings 20:
31 His servants said to him, 'Look, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings; let us put sackcloth around our waists and ropes on our heads, and go out to the king of Israel; perhaps he will spare your life.'

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The Prophet Isaiah
In Isaiah the term Israel and House of Israel may refer to either the Ten Tribes or Judah depending on the context UNLESS Judah is in Juxtaposition. House of Jacob is Judah.
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4. Judah and House of Israel as separate entities.

Isaiah 5:
7 For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts
is the house of Israel,
and the people of Judah
are his pleasant planting;
he expected justice,
but saw bloodshed;
righteousness,
but heard a cry!

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5. The House of Israel as Judah?

In Isaiah 14:1 Jacob is juxtaposed to Israel and the House of Jacob is also mentioned. Then in Isaiah 14:2 the house of Israel is spoken of.

Isaiah in chapter 14 in our opinion is referring primarily of the end times. He uses Prototypical Prophecies meaning he describes contemporary events or things that will occur shortly afterwards and uses them as similes for a description of the future.
http://hebrewnations.com/articles/bible/proto.html
Concerning both Babylon (Judah) and Assyria (the TTs).

Isaiah 14:
1 But the LORD will have compassion on Jacob and will again choose Israel, and will set them in their own land; and aliens will join them and attach themselves to the house of Jacob.
2 And the nations will take them and bring them to their place, and the House of Israel will possess the nations as male and female slaves in the LORD's land; they will take captive those who were their captors, and rule over those who oppressed them.

In our opinion the primary object spoken of here as House of Israel is Judah.
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6. House of Jacob and all the remnant of the house of Israel as Judah!

Isaiah 46:3 House of Jacob juxtaposed to House of Israel.

Isaiah 46:
3 Listen to me, O house of Jacob,
all the remnant of the house of Israel,
who have been borne by me from your birth,
carried from the womb;

Here the simple meaning indicates the Jews are being addressed. This is born out by the rest of the passage which concerns what was about to happen after the capture of Babylon by the Persians.
Judah is the House of Jacob and a minority from the Ten Tribes who were present amongst Judah may be those addressed as "all the remnant of the house of Israel".
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7. Yehudah named Israel (Isaiah 48:1) . House of Jacob identified as Judah.

Isaiah 48:
1 Hear this, O house of Jacob,
who are called by the name of Israel,
and who came forth from the loins of Judah;
who swear by the name of the LORD,
and invoke the God of Israel,
but not in truth or right.

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8. The Tribes of Jacob as the Ten Tribes?

Isaiah 49:
6 he says,
'It is too light a thing that you should be my servant
to raise up the Tribes of Jacob
and to restore the survivors [preserved] of Israel;
I will give you as a light to the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.'

Malbim: #... the Ten Tribes who were uprooted are called The Tribes of Jacob.

The Tribes of Judah and Benjamin who were clinging to their roots ... are called the Preserved of Israel.

Not everyone necessarily agrees with the Malbim on this point. We too, elsewhere have interpreted it differently.

See also: Micah ch. 1.
cf.

1-Kings 18:
31 Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD came, saying, 'Israel shall be your name'.

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The Prophet Jeremiah
In Jeremiah (as in Isaiah) the term Israel and House of Israel may refer to either the Ten Tribes or Judah depending on the context UNLESS Judah is in Juxtaposition. House of Jacob is Judah.
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9. House of Israel juxtaposed to the House of Jacob as (a) Ten Tribes versus Judah (Jeremiah 2:4) and (b) as Judah Only (Micah 3:9)!

(a)

Jeremiah 2:
4 Hear the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel.
5 Thus says the LORD:
What wrong did your ancestors find in me
that they went far from me,
and went after worthless things, and became worthless themselves?

Here Jeremiah is addressing both Houses especially that of the Ten Tribes.

(b)

Micah 3:
9 Hear this, you rulers of the House of Jacob
and chiefs of the House of Israel,
who abhor justice
and pervert all equity,
10 who build Zion with blood
and Jerusalem with wrong!

Here Micah may be addressing both Houses BUT the emphasis is definitely on Judah!
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10. House of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel meaning Judah and the Ten Tribes

Jeremiah 2:
4 Hear the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel....

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11. House of Israel and Judah meaning the Ten Tribes and Judah

Jeremiah 2:
26 As a thief is shamed when caught,
so the House of Israel shall be shamed,
they, their kings, their officials,
their priests, and their prophets,
27 who say to a tree, 'You are my father',
and to a stone, 'You gave me birth.'
For they have turned their backs to me,
and not their faces.
But in the time of their trouble they say,
'Come and save us!'
28 But where are your gods
that you made for yourself?
Let them come, if they can save you,
in your time of trouble;
for you have as many gods
as you have towns, O Judah.

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12. House of Judah juxtaposed to the House of Israel

Jeremiah 3:
18 In those days the house of Judah shall join the house of Israel, and together they shall come from the land of the north to the land that I gave your ancestors for a heritage.
19 I thought
how I would set you among my children,
and give you a pleasant land,
the most beautiful heritage of all the nations.
And I thought you would call me, My Father,
and would not turn from following me.
20 Instead, as a faithless wife leaves her husband,
so you have been faithless to me, O House of Israel,
says the LORD.

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13. House of Israel Possibly as Judah

Jeremiah 5:
15 I am going to bring upon you
a nation from far away, O house of Israel,
says the LORD.
It is an enduring nation,
it is an ancient nation,
a nation whose language you do not know,
nor can you understand what they say.

In continuation of this passage it looks as if Judah is being addressed but more study may show otherwise.
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14. House of Israel, Jacob, and Israel probably as primarily the Ten Tribes

Jeremiah 10:
1 Hear the word that the LORD speaks to you, O house of Israel.
...
16 Not like these is the LORD, the portion of Jacob,
for he is the one who formed all things,
and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance;
the LORD of hosts is his name.

Jeremiah in chapter 10 addresses both the Ten Tribes and Judah (10:22).
Nevertheless our impression is that the Ten Tribes are the primary body spoken to.
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15. The House of Israel and the House of Judah as Both Judah and the Ten Tribes in the End Times

Jeremiah 11:
9 And the LORD said to me: Conspiracy exists among the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
10 They have turned back to the iniquities of their ancestors of old, who refused to heed my words; they have gone after other gods to serve them;
The house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken the covenant that I made with their ancestors. ....
17 The LORD of Hosts, who planted you, has pronounced evil against you, because of the evil that the House of Israel and the House of Judah have done, provoking me to anger by making offerings to Baal.

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16. Israel and the House of Judah as Judah

Jeremiah 12:
14 Thus says the LORD concerning all my evil neighbours who touch the heritage that I have given my people Israel to inherit: I am about to pluck them up from their land, and I will pluck up the house of Judah from among them.

Jeremiah 12:14-17 speaks of the Land of Israel being illegally settled by non-Israelites. Judah will return and settle it. The Ten Tribes (i.e. Israel) will also return IF they abandon the worship of Baal.

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17. The whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah as primarily Judah.

Jeremiah 13:
11 For as the loincloth clings to one's loins, so I made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to me, says the LORD, in order that they might be for me a people, a name, a praise, and a glory. But they would not listen.

This is a difficult passage but from the context it appears that the inhabitants of Jerusalem are those mainly addressed. This would primarily be Judah.
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18. House of Israel as primarily Judah.

Jeremiah 18:
6 Can I not do with you, O House of Israel, just as this potter has done? says the LORD. Just like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O House of Israel. ...
11 Now, therefore, say to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: Thus says the LORD: Look, I am a potter shaping evil against you and devising a plan against you. Turn now, all of you from your evil way, and amend your ways and your doings.

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19. House of Israel as the Ten Tribes

Jeremiah 23:
8 but 'As the LORD lives who brought out and led the offspring of the House of Israel out of the land of the north and out of all the lands where he had driven them.' Then they shall live in their own land.

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20. Everything Together in Jeremiah 31

# all the families of Israel, O virgin Israel, mountains of Samaria, hill country of Ephraim, Zion, Jacob, the remnant of Israel, a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn, Jacob, Zion, Ramah, Rachel, Ephraim. O virgin Israel, the land of Judah, Judah and all its towns , the house of Israel and the house of Judah ... #

Jeremiah 30:25 The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.

Jeremiah 31:
1 At that time, says the LORD, I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people.
2 Thus says the LORD:
The people who survived the sword
found grace in the wilderness;
when Israel sought for rest, ....
4 Again I will build you, and you shall be built,
O virgin Israel!
....
5 Again you shall plant vineyards
on the mountains of Samaria;
....
6 For there shall be a day when sentinels will call
in the hill country of Ephraim:
'Come, let us go up to Zion,
to the LORD our God.'
7 For thus says the LORD:
Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob,
and raise shouts for the chief of the nations;
proclaim, give praise, and say,
'Save, O LORD, your people,
the Remnant of Israel.'
8 See, I am going to bring them from the land of the north,
and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth,....
9 ....for I have become a father to Israel,
and Ephraim is my firstborn.
10...'He who scattered Israel will gather him,
and will keep him as a shepherd a flock.'
11 For the LORD has ransomed Jacob,
and has redeemed him from hands too strong for him.
12 They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion,
....
15 Thus says the LORD:
A voice is heard in Ramah,
lamentation and bitter weeping.
Rachel is weeping for her children;
she refuses to be comforted for her children,
because they are no more.
16 Thus says the LORD:
Keep your voice from weeping,
and your eyes from tears;
for there is a reward for your work,
says the LORD:
they shall come back from the land of the enemy;
17 there is hope for your future,
says the LORD:
your children shall come back to their own country.
18 Indeed I heard Ephraim pleading:
'You disciplined me, and I took the discipline;
I was like a calf [Hebrew: "aegel"] untrained.
Bring me back, let me come back,
for you are the LORD my God. ...
20 Is Ephraim my dear son?
Is he the child I delight in?
As often as I speak against him,
I still remember him.
Therefore I am deeply moved for him;
I will surely have mercy on him,
says the LORD.
21 Set up road markers for yourself,
make yourself signposts;
consider well the highway,
the road by which you went.
Return, O virgin Israel,
return to these your cities.
...23 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Once more they shall use these words in the land of Judah and in its towns when I restore their fortunes:
'The LORD bless you, O abode of righteousness,
O holy hill!'
24 And Judah and all its towns shall live there together, and the farmers and those who wander with their flocks.
...27 The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of humans and the seed of animals. ...
31 The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.
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21. The House of Israel and the House of Judah as the Ten Tribes and Judah

Jeremiah 33:
14 The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will fulfil the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah.
15 In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.

Jeremiah 48:
13 Then Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel, their confidence.

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22. Different Combinations in Jeremiah 50!

Jeremiah 50:
17 Israel is a hunted sheep driven away by lions. First the king of Assyria devoured it, and now at the end King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon has gnawed its bones. 18Therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: I am going to punish the king of Babylon and his land, as I punished the king of Assyria. 19 I will restore Israel to its pasture, and it shall feed on Carmel and in Bashan, and on the hills of Ephraim and in Gilead its hunger shall be satisfied. 20 In those days and at that time, says the LORD, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and none shall be found; for I will pardon the remnant that I have spared.

Here we have Israel as both the Ten Tribes and Judah (50:17); Israel as the Ten Tribes (50:19); Israel as the Ten Tribes juxtaposed to Judah (50:20).
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The Prophet Ezekiel
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23. Israel in Ezekiel
Separate Entities in Prophecy. The Name Israel and its Application
http://hebrewnations.com/articles/bible/ezekiel/nameisrael.html
Ezekiel in chapter 4 speaks of the House of Judah and the House of Israel with the latter meaning the Ten Tribes.
Usually however Ezekiel speaks ONLY to Judah and calls them Israel or House of Israel.
In Ezekiel 16 he seems to avoid calling the Ten Tribes Israel but rather prefers the term Samaria.
In the world view of Ezekiel the expression Israel does not mean the Ten Tribes UNLESS OTHERWISE INDICATED.
In Ezekiel 37 it is predicted that Judah and Israel, meaning the Ten Tribes will reunite.
Up unto that time JUDAH AND ISRAEL WILL HAVE BEEN SEPARATED!

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The Prophet Hosea
Hosea uses the term House of Israel as applying to the Ten Tribes.
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24. House of Israel as the Ten Tribes

Hosea 1:
4 And the LORD said to him, 'Name him Jezreel; for in a little while I will punish the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel.
5 On that day I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.'
6 She conceived again and bore a daughter. Then the LORD said to him, 'Name her Lo-ruhamah, for I will no longer have pity on the house of Israel or forgive them.

Hosea 5:
1 Hear this, O priests!
Give heed, O house of Israel!
Listen, O house of the king!
For the judgement pertains to you;
for you have been a snare at Mizpah,
and a net spread upon Tabor ..

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The Prophet Amos
In Amos, as with most of other Prophets, there are no hard and fast rules concerning terms such as the House of Israel, etc.
They may be applied to either Judah or to the Ten Tribes according to the context.
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25. House of Israel as the Ten Tribes Going Into Exile

Amos 5
1 Hear this word that I take up over you in lamentation, O house of Israel....

4 For thus says the LORD to the house of Israel:
Seek me and live;
5 but do not seek Bethel,
and do not enter into Gilgal
or cross over to Beer-Sheba;
for Gilgal shall surely go into exile,
and Bethel shall come to nothing.

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26. House of Israel as Both the Ten Tribes and Judah

Amos 6:
1 Alas for those who are at ease in Zion,
and for those who feel secure on Mount Samaria,
the notables of the first of the nations,
to whom the house of Israel resorts!

Zion is Jerusalem meaning Judah whereas Samaria stands for the Ten Tribes.
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27. House of Israel as the Ten Tribes before the Exile

Amos 7:
10 Then Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent to King Jeroboam of Israel, saying, 'Amos has conspired against you in the very centre of the House of Israel; the land is not able to bear all his words.

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28. House of Isaac as the Ten Tribes

Amos 7:
16 'Now therefore hear the word of the LORD.
You say, 'Do not prophesy against Israel,
and do not preach against the house of Isaac.'

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29. House of Jacob as Either the Ten Tribes or Judah?

Amos 9:
8 The eyes of the LORD God are upon the sinful kingdom,
and I will destroy it from the face of the earth
except that I will not utterly destroy the House of Jacob,
says the LORD.
9 For lo, I will command,
and shake the House of Israel among all the nations
as one shakes with a sieve,
but no pebble shall fall to the ground.

THE SINFUL KINGDOM: The Ten Tribes (Amos Chacham in Daat Mikra).
SINFUL in Hebrew "chataah" which more strictly connotes erring and causing to err but not necessarily willfully evil.
THE HOUSE OF JACOB: The intention is that the decree of destruction falls on the kingdom but not on the people (Amos Chacham in Daat Mikra).
Amos Chacham understands House of Jacob here to be the Ten Tribes.
In our opinion however "THE HOUSE OF JACOB" could mean Judah.
THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL: Here (in our opinion) referring to Judah.
cf. Malbim: BUT NO PEBBLE SHALL FALL TO THE GROUND....through dispersal and exiles the evildoers will fail and become assimilated amongst the Gentiles. The Righteous however who are bound up in the bonds of the Torah and commandments and the Unity of Israel. These shall not fall down but will remain steadfast in the faith.

According to our understanding:

Amos 9:
8 The eyes of the LORD God are upon the sinful kingdom [of Northern Israel i.e. the Ten Tribes],
and I will destroy it from the face of the earth
except that I will not utterly destroy the House of Jacob [i.e. Judah],
says the LORD.
9 For lo, I will command,
and shake the House of Israel [Judah] among all the nations
as one shakes with a sieve,
but no pebble shall fall to the ground.

The Northern Kingdom of the Ten Tribes was destroyed and disappeared. It never appeared again. When the Ten Tribes reappeared it was as elements in a confederation of other peoples or as virtual slaves under foreign taskmasters. Later they did become great nations in their own right BUT only after they had altogether lost consciousness of their former Israelite identity.

Elsewhere we understood this differently and explained House of Israel here to refer to the Ten Tribes. Both explanations are perhaps possible. The Ten Tribes were to be exiled, split into different sections, and to move from place to place until finally settling in western regions.

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The Prophet Micah
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30. House of Jacob and House of Israel as Judah

Micah 3:
9 Hear this, you rulers of the house of Jacob
and chiefs of the house of Israel,
who abhor justice
and pervert all equity,
10 who build Zion with blood
and Jerusalem with wrong!

Zion and Jerusalem indicate Judah. The leaders of Judah are here addressed as,
"rulers of the house of Jacob
and chiefs of the house of Israel".

It should be mentioned that Midrash Tanchuma and other sources associate Zion with Jerusalem. There may be something in this BUT it is takes us too far away from the simple literal meaning to be used here.

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Conclusion

The term House of Israel and similar titles can mean both the Ten Tribes and Judah. It may also be applied to the Ten Tribes alone. In addition it is sometimes used for descendants of the Kingdom of Judah who also included a minority representation from the other tribes. It all depends on the context and on the Prophet in question. Ezekiel, for instance, applies the words almost solely to Judah except where he expressly says otherwise in speaking of both Judah and the Ten Tribes. Apart from Ezekiel, the term ,"House of Israel" as used in the other Prophets means Judah almost half the time! The combination "House of Judah and House of Israel" and the like is usually applied to the Jews and the Ten Tribes together. Even here however we found instances where it meant mainly Judah (e.g. Jeremiah 13:11, cf. Micah 3:9).

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Addenda.

Additional examples of the name Israel applied to Judah.
Source.
Hebrew-Language. Chazon Ha-Naviim [Vision of the Prophets] by Chaim Chanon.

(a) Yehoshaphtat of Judah called Jehoshaphat of Israel.
2-Chronicles 21:
2 He had brothers, the sons of Jehoshaphat: Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azariah, Michael, and Shephatiah; all these were the sons of King Jehoshaphat of [Judah].[*] Israel] in the Hebrew Bible.

Note: A few translations INCORRECTLY have Judah here instead of Israel. This is a mistake. The Hebrew has Israel.

(b) Kings of Judah referred to as Kings of Israel.
2-Chronicles 28:
27 Ahaz slept with his ancestors, and they buried him in the city, in Jerusalem; but they did not bring him into the tombs of the kings of Israel. His son Hezekiah succeeded him.

(c) Micah 1 Judah referred to as Israel in three places.
the transgressions of Israel (Micah 1:13), the kings of Israel (Micah 1:13), the glory of Israel (Micah 1:15).

Micah 1:
12 For the inhabitants of Maroth
wait anxiously for good,
yet disaster has come down from the LORD
to the gate of Jerusalem.
13 Harness the steeds to the chariots,
inhabitants of Lachish;
it was the beginning of sin
to daughter Zion,
for in you were found
the transgressions of Israel.
14 Therefore you shall give parting gifts
to Moresheth-gath;
the houses of Achzib shall be a deception
to the kings of Israel.
15 I will again bring a conqueror upon you,
inhabitants of Mareshah;
the glory of Israel
shall come to Adullam.