The term Jew first appears in the Old Testament in 2 Kings 16:6, at the time just before the northern kingdom of Israel fell to Assyria. Thereafter, the Jews, or the southern kingdom of Judah, became the only known surviving remnant of Israel. Nephi referred to the Jews as “them from whence I came” (2 Nephi 33:8).
Mulek, and possibly all of the Mulekites, were Jews of the tribe of Judah. They were “exceedingly numerous” (Omni 1:17) when discovered by the people of King Mosiah. In addition to being descendants of the Jews in the national sense, there is also a blood relationship to the tribe of Judah among the modern Lamanites.