The word “Hebrew” means to cross over. Abraham crossed over from false gods to the one and only true God. He crossed over physically by leaving his homeland and coming to the Promised Land. The Israelites were delivered by God from the Egyptians as they crossed through the Red Sea, and then crossed through the wilderness, and then through the Jordan River, finally entering the Promised Land.
All these acts are pictures of deliverance and salvation. We also cross over from spiritual death to life in Christ Jesus and, someday, we will cross over from this world to heaven. For all of us that have received God’s salvation, through Jesus Christ, we have crossed over from death to life. We are now Hebrews, adopted into God’s chosen people. “But to all who did receive him [Jesus], who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,” (John 1:12).