'''Hoodan''' (English: "Hodite") is an adjective which describes a [[يهوديا]] (singular) and [[اليهود]] (plural) as a whole. The Hoodan (Hodite) belief is similar (with the exception of lip-service to Moses) to that of the proto-Hebrews in the town where he who became Abraham was born (this religion was described by Maimonides as a kind of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermeticism Hermeticism]). The fact that Yahūdu posessed the Torah and paid some kind of lip-service to Moses however indicates that they must have once been on close in some kind of contact with real Jews, perhaps as "Ger Sheker" Heretics from among the Hebrews. However it would be a mistake to equate Yahūdu with Hebrews because the Quran makes it clear that Abraham was not يهوديا while the Torah makes it clear that he who became Abraham was indeed a Hebrew (Genesis 14:13).
This brings us onto a certain element which deserves a small discussion. The Prophet هود (PBUH) mentioned for example in 26.124 is usually identified as Eber, the eponymous ancestor of all the Hebrews seems to be eponymous for the Yahūdu too. Many generations after Prophet Eber, the Hebrews had deviated from the deen of Noah. Abraham was sent as a messenger to the Hebrews as they were his own people, indeed Abraham was called a Hebrew, but not many of the Hebrews followed him. However, this might be an oxymoron because as already stated, the Quran itself says that he who became Abraham was not يهوديا while the Torah does call him a Hebrew which probably indicates that the etymology of Hud and Yahūdu are not to be related.