He will rule as God ; Jisraël , a symbolical name of Jacob; also (typically) of his posterity
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יִשְׂרָאֵל (Yisrael) is the proper name Israel. It first names Jacob after the encounter at the Jabbok and then names his descendants, the covenant people, the northern kingdom in some post-division contexts, and Israel in later prophetic and NT discussion.
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Full entry for יִשְׂרָאֵל (H3478) · Open the biblical lexicon
יִשְׂרָאֵל (Yisrael) is the proper name Israel. It first names Jacob after the encounter at the Jabbok and then names his descendants, the covenant people, the northern kingdom in some post-division contexts, and Israel in later prophetic and NT discussion.
The BSB source-word alignment has 2,506 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include of Israel (974), Israel (492), . . . (489), in Israel (76), of the Israelites (48).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 32:28. Its strongest book concentrations include Numbers (237), 1 Kings (203), 2 Chronicles (187), Ezekiel (186).
יִשְׂרָאֵל (Yisrael) is the proper name Israel. It first names Jacob after the encounter at the Jabbok and then names his descendants, the covenant people, the northern kingdom in some post-division contexts, and Israel in later prophetic and NT discussion. The local Hebrew index currently counts about 2,507 H3478 occurrences, so each passage's referent must be identified rather than assumed.
Genesis 32:28 explains the name within the narrative: Jacob has striven with God and with men and has prevailed. The exact historical morphology of the name remains debated, and proposals such as 'he strives with God,' 'God strives,' or 'God rules' should not be treated as equally certain lexical definitions. The passage itself authorizes the striving wordplay.
Genesis 35:10 reaffirms the name at Bethel. Together the two naming scenes establish Israel as Jacob's divinely assigned name, while the text continues to use both Jacob and Israel afterward. The renaming therefore marks covenant identity without requiring the claim that Jacob's former name disappears from the narrative.
Isaiah frequently calls the Lord the Holy One of Israel. The title joins divine holiness to the God who addresses and redeems this particular people. Exact title counts can vary with phrasing and textual method, so the theological observation does not depend on a brittle number.
Ezekiel repeatedly addresses the house of Israel in contexts of rebellion, judgment, exile, purification, and restoration. Ezekiel 36:22-28 says that God acts for his holy name, gathers and cleanses the people, and gives a new heart and spirit. This is restoration language directed to Israel; later canonical connections must preserve that immediate audience.
The NT continues to use Israel in several ways. Romans 9-11 discusses Paul's fellow Israelites, divine promise, remnant, Gentile inclusion, and the hope that all Israel will be saved. Galatians 6:16's 'Israel of God' has multiple serious interpretations, including a reference to Jewish believers or to the whole church. A source companion should name that debate rather than resolve it by assertion.
For the preacher, יִשְׂרָאֵל (Yisrael) opens the covenant history of Jacob and his descendants while demanding precision about patriarch, people, kingdom, remnant, church, and modern political application.
יִשְׂרָאֵל (Yisrael) appears about 2,507 times in the local Hebrew index. It can refer to Jacob personally, his descendants collectively, the covenant people, or the northern kingdom in post-division settings. Major theological contexts include Jacob's renaming (Gen 32:28; 35:10), the exodus people, the divided monarchy, prophetic judgment and restoration, Isaiah's title 'Holy One of Israel,' and Ezekiel's repeated address to the house of Israel.
Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men, and you have prevailed.”
The Jabbok scene explains the new name through Jacob's striving with God and people. The injury and blessing occur in the same encounter, and Genesis 35 later reaffirms the name. The narrative continues to use both Jacob and Israel, so the renaming should not be preached as erasing Jacob's history or as a formula for obtaining blessing through spiritual struggle.
Do not fear, O Jacob, you worm, O few men of Israel. I will help you,” declares the Lord. “Your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
The Lord addresses Jacob and Israel in weakness and promises help as their Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. Isaiah uses this title frequently to join divine holiness with the God who judges, comforts, and redeems this covenant people. The title does not confine God's concern to Israel, as Isaiah also looks toward the nations.
Therefore tell the house of Israel that this is what the Lord God says: It is not for your sake that I will act, O house of Israel, but for My holy name, which you profaned among the nations to which you went.
God says that he will act for the sake of his holy name, which Israel profaned among the nations. The surrounding oracle promises gathering, cleansing, a new heart and spirit, and renewed life in the land. The passage grounds restoration in God's holiness and name rather than Israel's merit while still addressing the historical house of Israel.
When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called My son.
Hosea recalls the exodus with father-son language: God loved Israel as a child and called his son out of Egypt. The following verses recount Israel's turning away, so the memory introduces both love and rebellion. Matthew 2:15 quotes the line in relation to Jesus' return from Egypt, creating an explicit canonical pattern without erasing Hosea's historical reference to Israel.
Peace and mercy to all who walk by this rule, even to the Israel of God.
Paul closes with peace and mercy upon those who walk by the new-creation rule and upon, or even upon, the Israel of God. Interpreters dispute whether the phrase identifies Jewish believers specifically or the whole church. The verse should therefore be presented as a debated ecclesiological use of Israel, not tied back to the Jabbok wordplay as though Paul makes that connection.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Hebrew word. he will rule as God ; Jisraël , a symbolical name of Jacob; also (typically) of his posterity
Israel.
יִשְׂרָאֵל is built from these roots:
Greek words that correspond to or develop the meaning of this Hebrew word in the New Testament.
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
יִשְׂרָאֵל (Yisrael) begins as Jacob's divinely given name and becomes the principal name of his descendants and the covenant people. Genesis 32 supplies a striving wordplay and joins naming, blessing, and injury, while Genesis 35 reaffirms the name at Bethel. Later books use Israel with changing referents: all twelve tribes, the northern kingdom, an exiled or restored people, or Jacob poetically.
Isaiah's 'Holy One of Israel' and Ezekiel's 'house of Israel' place divine holiness, judgment, cleansing, and restoration inside that concrete covenant history. Romans 9-11 then addresses Israel, remnant, Gentile inclusion, and continuing promise without reducing the discussion to one slogan. Galatians 6:16 remains disputed. Faithful preaching should identify the passage's Israel before applying it and should neither erase ethnic Israel nor turn ancient covenant language into an automatic endorsement of modern political claims.
Gen.32.28
יִשְׂרָאֵל (Yisrael, H3478) contains the divine element El, while the first element and the name's precise historical parsing are debated. Genesis 32:28 explicitly links the name to Jacob's striving, giving the narrative's authoritative wordplay without settling every etymological proposal. Common phrases include children of Israel, house of Israel, and Holy One of Israel.
After the kingdom divides, Israel may designate the northern kingdom in contrast with Judah. Greek Israel in the NT continues the proper name, but Pauline phrases such as 'Israel of God' and 'all Israel' require contextual exegesis rather than a lexical verdict.
Matthew 2:15 quotes Hosea 11:1 in relation to Jesus' return from Egypt, creating an Israel-and-Son canonical pattern. Romans 9-11 speaks of Paul's fellow Israelites, election, remnant, Gentile grafting, warning, and the future statement that all Israel will be saved. Romans 9:6 distinguishes physical descent from the operation of promise but should not be paraphrased as a simple lexical replacement of Israel.
Galatians 6:16's 'Israel of God' may refer to Jewish believers or, on another major reading, the whole new-creation community. Revelation 7 and 21 reuse twelve-tribe imagery. These texts intensify rather than eliminate the need to identify each referent carefully.
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