Who is the Lion of Judah? All my life I thought they were saying line of Judah. Matthew 1:3 places Jesus in the line of Judah. So what about the other eleven tribes? Do they identify as "Jews"? This is an intriguing distinction. Israelites seems to be a broader category than Jew. People just pretend that the word Jew, Jewish, and Judaism isn't related to the tribe of Judah. It obviously is. So what gives? Why is the term Jew applied to all Hebrews? Or is it?
The "Lion of Judah" means the lion
that is Judah, from Genesis 49:9,
"Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?"
by W. H. Bennet and John D. Keyser
"When Jacob (Israel) gave his dying blessing to his twelve sons (Genesis 49), he associated each of them with some animal, object or personal characteristic which afterwards became the emblem of the tribe descended from him. Among these the LION, the emblem of Jacob's fourth son Judah, is of special importance. This lion, in a couchant (lying down) position, became the emblem of the tribe of Judah; then, in a passant position (standing), it became the emblem of the Camp or Brigade of Judah. Later, with the addition of a crown, it became the emblem of the Royal House and the throne of Judah. Still later, in a rampant (standing on the hind legs with both forelegs elevated) posture and with a crown, it became the symbol of the two-tribed House and Kingdom of Judah."
All Jews are Israelites, but not all Israelites are Jews. Those who study the subject know this, those who don't...don't.