chosen people

American  

noun

1. Often Chosen People (in the Bible) the Israelites.

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chosen people British  

plural noun

1. any of various peoples believing themselves to be chosen by God, esp the Jews

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Chosen People Cultural  

1. A term applied to the Jews (see also Jews). According to the Old Testament, God chose the descendants of Abraham through the line of Isaac and Jacob — the ancestors of today's Jews — as the people through whom he would reveal himself to the world. God therefore freed them from slavery in Egypt (see also Egypt) and led them into the Promised Land.

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Etymology

Origin of chosen people

First recorded in 1525–35

Example Sentences

It was an idea reflected in Lincoln’s description, as he assumed office in 1861, of Americans as an “almost chosen people.”

From The Wall Street Journal

God said to his chosen people: “You cannot see my face, for no one can see me and live.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Unai knew that Damian and his chosen people could breathe life into the atmosphere.

From BBC

I would say it's paternalism, the idea that the leaders know what's best for everyone else and therefore can act for everyone else, and the idea of being a chosen people, of exceptionalism.

From Salon

Some Christians support Israel due to Old Testament writings that Jews are God’s chosen people and that Israel is their rightful homeland.

From Seattle Times