Some verses in the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible, Old Testament), especially in the prophets, contain criticisms by Jewish leaders or prophets about the behaviour of the Jews. Examples include Isaiah 1:4-5:
- Woe to you sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a wicked seed, ungracious children; they have forsaken the Lord; they have blasphemed the Holy One of Israel, they have gone away backwards. For what shall I smite you more, you that increase transgression.
Others read these texts in a historical context, and use them as proof that Jews are an unworthy and inherently sinful people race. Many Church fathers used these texts to justify discrimination against Jews, and to discourage Christians from incorporating then-contemporary Jewish beliefs and practices into their own Christian practices.