Bible Lexicons

יִשְׂרָאֵל (“contender,” “soldier of God,” from שָׂרָה to fight, and אֵל, Genesis 32:29, 35:10 compare 12:4 ), Israel, pr.n. given by God to Jacob the patriarch (Gen. locc. citt.), but used more frequently of his descendants, i.e. of the Israelitish nation (comp. יַעֲקֹב).-יִשְׂרָאֵל or בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל signifies

(1) all the descendants of Israel, or Israelites. Genesis 34:7, 49:7. אֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל 1 Samuel 13:19; 2 Kings 6:23; Ezekiel 27:17 and יִשְׂרָאֵל f. Isaiah 19:24, the land of Israel, i.e. Palestine. Emphatically יִשְׂרָאֵל is sometimes used of those really worthy of the name of Israelites (ἀληθῶς Ἰσραηλίται, John 1:48), as being righteous, Isaiah 49:3; Psalms 73:1 according to Romans 9:6, οὐ γὰρ πάντες οἱ ἐξ Ἰσραήλ, οὗτοι Ἰσραήλ; also lovingly, as elsewhere יְשֻׁרוּן (which see). Hosea 8:2, יְדַעֲנוּךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל “we know thee, we (are thy) Israel,” compare Psalms 24:6.

(2) From the time of the dissensions, after the death of Saul, between the ten tribes and Judah, the ten tribes, following Ephraim as their leader, took to themselves this honourable name of the whole nation (2 Samuel 2:9, 10 2 Samuel 2:10, 17 2 Samuel 2:17, 28 2 Samuel 2:28, 3:10, 17 2 Samuel 3:17 -19:4043 ; 1 Kings 12:1); and this after the death of Solomon was applied to the kingdom founded by Jeroboam, so that from that time the kings of the ten tribes were called מַלְכֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, while David’s posterity, who ruled Judah and Benjamin, were called מַלְכֵי יְהוּדָה. Other names of the ten tribes were אֶפְרַיִם (which see), taken from the more powerful tribe, and שֹׂמְרוֹן (which see), from the capital city. The prophets of that period, principally of Judah, occasionally use both names, Judah and Israel, in poetical parallelism of the kingdom of Judah[?], see Isaiah 1:3, 4:2 5:7 10:20 Micah 1:14.

(3) After the Babylonish exile, the whole people, although chiefly consisting of the remains of Judah and Benjamin, again took the name most delighted in by the nation when flourishing, (1Ma_3:35 4:11, 30, 31 and on the coins of the Maccabees, which are inscribed שקל ישראל): whence it is, that in the Chronicles יִשְׂרָאֵל is even used of the kingdom of Judah, 2 Chronicles 12:1, 15:17 19:8 21:2, 2 Chronicles 21:4, 23:2 24:5.

The Gentile noun is יִשְׂרְאֵלִי 2 Samuel 17:25 fem. יִשְׂרְאֵלִית Leviticus 24:10, Israelite.

[יְשַׂרְאֵלָה pr.n. m. 1 Chronicles 25:14, see יְשַׁ׳.]

יִ֠שְׂרָאֵל יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל יִשְׂרָאֵ֜ל יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ ישראל ישראל׃ לְיִשְׂרָאֵל֙ לישראל lə·yiś·rā·’êl ləyiśrā’êl leYisraEl yiś·rā·’êl yiśrā’êl YisraEl