yiśrāʾēl

Semantic range

1. 1the name given to Jacob at Peniel
2. 2the covenant people descended from him
3. 3the northern kingdom, as distinct from Judah

Genesis 32:28 supplies the etymology: "for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed" — from śārāh, to strive or contend, plus ʾēl, God. The name commemorates a night of wrestling that leaves Jacob both blessed and limping.

Grammatically the divine element is more likely the subject — God strives, or God rules — but the narrative insists on the reading it gives. Either way Israel is named for a struggle with God that ends in blessing, which is a fair description of covenant life. The gathering of Israel in the last days, which President Russell M. Nelson has called the greatest cause on earth today, is the reassembly of this family (see 1 Nephi 22:25; D&C 110:11).

See also

• בְּרִיתbərît
• זֶרַעzeraʿ
• יהוהYHWH (Yahweh)