ישראל

See also: ישׂראל

Hebrew

Etymology

The name given to Jacob in the Bible (Genesis 32:29), said to be from יִשְׂרֶה אֵל (yisré 'él), after which his descendants came to be known as Israelites and their land as the "kingdom/land of Israel". See Israel for more.

Pronunciation

• (Modern Israeli Hebrew) IPA^(key): /(j)is.ʁaˈ(ʔ)el/
• (Ashkenazi Hebrew) IPA^(key): /jis.rɔ.ejl/, /jis.ru.ajl/
• (Sephardi Hebrew) IPA^(key): /jis.raˈ(ʔ)el/
• (Tiberian Hebrew) IPA^(key): /jis.rɔːˈʔeːl/
• (Biblical Hebrew) IPA^(key): /jiɬ.raːˈʔil/ → /jis.raːˈʔeːl/

• Audio (Israel):

  (file)

Proper noun

דגל ישראל

יִשְׂרָאֵל • (yisra'él) f

1. Israel (a country in Western Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern shore of the Mediterranean)
2. the Kingdom of Israel

Derived terms

• אֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל
• חלב ישראל (khaláv yisraél)
• יִשְׂרְאֵלִי
• יִשְׂרְאֵלִיּוּת (yisraeliyút, “Israeliness”)
• עַם יִשְׂרָאֵל
• בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל
• מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל
• צְבָא הֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל (ts'vá haganá l'yisra'él)

Proper noun

יִשְׂרָאֵל • (yisra'él) m

1. Israel (the alternative name of Jacob)
   • Tanach, Genesis 32:29, with translation of the Jewish Publication Society:

     וַיֹּאמֶר לֹא יַעֲקֹב יֵאָמֵר עוֹד שִׁמְךָ כִּי אִם־יִשְׂרָאֵל כִּי־שָׂרִיתָ עִם־אֱלֹהִים וְעִם־אֲנָשִׁים וַתּוּכָל׃

     vayómer ló ya'akóv ye'amér ód shim'khá kí im-yisra'él ki-saríta im-elohím v'im-anashím vatukhál.
     wayyṓmer lō yaʿăqōḇ yēʾāmēr ʿōḏ šiməḵā kī-ʾim-yiśrāʾēl kī śārī́ṯā ʿim-ʾĕlōhīm wəʾim-ʾănāšīm wattūḵāl.

     And he said: ‘Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel; for thou hast striven with God and with men, and hast prevailed.’

2. the children of Israel, the Jewish people
   • Tanach, Deuteronomy 6:4, with translation of Robert Alter:

     שְׁמַ֖ע יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵ֖ינוּ יְהֹוָ֥ה אֶחָֽד:

     shĕmaʿ yisrāʾēl ăḏonay ĕloheynu ăḏonay eḥāḏ

     Hear, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.

3. a male given name, Yisrael, equivalent to English Israel

Descendants

• → Arabic: إِسْرَائِيل (ʔisrāʔīl)
• → Ancient Greek: Ἰσρᾱήλ (Isrāḗl)
  • Greek: Ισραήλ (Israḯl)
  • → Old Armenian: Իսրայէլ (Israyēl)
    • Armenian: Իսրայել (Israyel)
  • → Gothic: 𐌹𐍃𐍂𐌰𐌴𐌻 (israēl)
  • → Latin: Isrāēl (see there for further descendants)
  • → Russian: Изра́иль (Izráilʹ)
• → Moabite: 𐤉𐤔𐤓𐤀𐤋 (yšrʾl)
• → Yiddish: ישׂראל (yisroel)

References

• Sachsse, Eduard (1910) Die Bedeutung des Namens Israel. Eine quellen-kritische Untersuchung [The meaning of the name Israel. A source-critical investigation.]‎^[1] (in German), Bonn: Carl Georgi, Universitäts-Buchdruckerei und Verlag