Israel
Meanings
- A country in Western Asia in the Middle East, at the eastern shore of the Mediterranean. Official name: State of Israel.
- A Biblical region of Western Asia roughly coextensive with the modern State of Israel, known in the Bible as the Land of Israel and considered the ancestral homeland of the Jewish people.
- An ancient kingdom in Western Asia, roughly coextensive with the modern State of Israel and the Land of Israel.
- An ancient kingdom that occupied the northern part of the Land of Israel and modern State of Israel, as distinct from Judah.
- The Jews as a people, taken collectively.
- A male given name from Hebrew.
- Another name for Jacob, notably after Genesis 32:28 and in later references.
- A surname.
- A barangay of Imelda, Zamboanga Sibugay, Philippines.
Pronunciation
Word forms
Etymology
From Middle English Israel, from Old English, borrowed from Latin Israel, from Ancient Greek Ἰσραήλ (Israḗl), from Hebrew יִשְׂרָאֵל (yisra'él, “Israel”). In the Bible, it is said to be from the name יִשְׂרֶה אֵל (yisré 'él) given to Jacob in he:T:29, after which his descendants came to be known as Israelites and their land as the "kingdom/land of Israel". The personal name, already attested in Eblaite 𒅖𒊏𒅋 (iš-ra-il) and Ugaritic 𐎊𐎌𐎗𐎛𐎍 (yšrỉl), has been variously translated as "he wrestles with God", "he prevails with God", or "God rules" (possibly from the same root ש־ר־ה/ש־ר־ר as שָׂרָה (“Sarah”)). Line 27 of the Merneptah Stele (from about 1200 B.C.E.) is thought to contain the earliest attestation of the name Israel in any language, Egyptian ysrjꜣr. : i-i-z:Z1s*Z1s:r-i-A-r:Z1*T14-A1*B1:Z2 Doublet of Yisroel.