Israel

Meaning

Proper Noun

• The State of Israel, a modern country in the Middle East, at the eastern shore of the Mediterranean.
• The Land of Israel, the ancestral homeland of the Jewish people, a region that is roughly coextensive with the State of Israel.
• An ancient kingdom that occupied roughly the same area in ancient times.
• An ancient kingdom that occupied the northern part of this area, as distinct from Judah.
• The Jews, taken collectively.
• A male given name from Hebrew, notably borne by Jacob (after Genesis 32:28).

Related

Similar words

• the State of Israel , Jewsrael , Zionistan
• the Land of Israel, Palestine, the Holy Land, Canaan
• the Children of Israel, the Israelites, Zion

Origin

• From Middle English Israel, from Old English, borrowed from Latin Israel, from Ancient Greek Ἰσραήλ, from Hebrew יִשְׂרָאֵל ("Israel"),Phoenician 𐤉𐤔𐤓𐤀𐤋. In the Bible, it is said to be from the name שרה given to [[Jacob in , 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, 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).
• Line 27 of the Merneptah Stele (from about 1200 ) 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
• Yisroel.