Israel (name)
(Redirected from Israel (given name))
| Pronunciation | /ˈɪzriːəl, ˈɪzreɪ.əl/ Hebrew: [jisʁaˈʔel] (Modern) Hebrew: [jiɬraˈʔei̯l] (Biblical) |
|---|---|
| Gender | Male |
| Origin | |
| Word/name | Hebrew |
| Meaning | 'God Contended',[1] 'Wrestles with God',[2] 'Triumphant with God'[3] |
| Other names | |
| Related names | Izzy, Rae |
Israel (Hebrew: יִשְׂרָאֵל, Modern: Yīsraʾel, Tiberian: Yīsrāʾēl) is a masculine given name of Hebrew origin. According to the Book of Genesis, Jacob was given the name Israel after he wrestled with the angel (Genesis 32:28 and 35:10). The given name is already attested in Eblaite (𒅖𒊏𒅋, išrail) and Ugaritic (𐎊𐎌𐎗𐎛𐎍, yšrʾil).[4] Commentators differ on the original literal interpretation. The text of Genesis etymologizes the name with the root śarah "to rule, contend, have power, prevail over":[5] שָׂרִיתָ עִם־אֱלֹהִים (KJV: "a prince hast thou power with God"), but modern suggestions read the el as the subject, for a translation of "El/God rules/judges/struggles",[6] "El fights/struggles".[7]
The name appears on the Merneptah Stele as 𓇌𓊃𓏤𓏤𓂋𓇋𓄿𓂋𓏤 (ysrỉꜣr), referring to a foreign group of people, probably the Israelites.
In Jewish and Christian texts from the Greco-Egyptian area during Second Temple Judaism and beyond the name was understood to mean "a man seeing God" from the ʾyš (man) rʾh (to see) ʾel (God).[8]
Jacob's descendants came to be known as the Israelites, eventually forming the twelve tribes of Israel and ultimately the kingdom of Israel, whence came the name of modern-day State of Israel.
Given name
- Isra'il or Jacob in Islam
- Israel (Bishop of Caucasian Albania), 7th century CE
- Israel (Nestorian patriarch), Patriarch of the Church of the East in 961
- Israel Adesanya (born 1989), Nigerian professional mixed martial artist, kickboxer, and boxer.
- Israel Alter (1901–1979), Jewish composer and last chief cantor in Hanover, Germany
- Israel Asper (1932–2003), Canadian media magnate
- Israel of Axum, Emperor of Ethiopia in the 6th century CE
- Israel Baker (1919–2011), American violinist and concertmaster
- Israel Baline (1888–1989), the birth name of American composer Irving Berlin
- Yisroel Belsky (1938–2016), American rosh yeshiva and posek
- Israel Bissell (1752–1823), American post rider and colonial militia officer
- Yisrael Campbell, American-born Israeli comedian
- Israel Cruz (born 1983), Australian singer
- Israel Dagg (born 1988), New Zealand rugby player
- Israel ben Eliezer (1698–1760), Jewish mystical rabbi
- Israel Elimelech (born 1960), Israeli basketball player
- Israel Englander (born 1948), American billionaire hedge fund manager
- Israel Lewis Feinberg (1872–1941), American physician and coroner
- Israel Finkelstein (born 1949), Israeli archaeologist
- Israel Folau (born 1989), Australian rugby player
- Yisrael Friedman of Ruzhin (1796–1850), Hasidic rebbe
- Israel Gelfand (1913–2009), Russian mathematician
- Israil Gurung, Indian footballer
- Israel Gigato (born 1987), Spanish football player
- Israel the Grammarian, 10th-century European scholar
- Israel Hands, 18th-century pirate
- Yisroel Hopstein (1737–1814), Maggid of Kozhnitz
- Israel Houghton (born 1971), American singer and Christian worship leader
- Israel Idonije (born 1980), Nigeria-born Canadian player of American football
- Israel Jacob (1729–1803), Prussian banker and philanthropist
- Israel Jacobs (1726–c. 1796), British-American colonial legislator
- Israel Jacobson (1768–1828), German philanthropist and communal organiser
- Israel Joffe, American writer, journalist and United States government official
- Yisrael Meir Kagan (1838–1933), rabbi and posek known as the Chofetz Chaim
- Israel Kamakawiwoʻole (1959–1997), Hawaiian singer and spiritual leader
- Yisrael Mendel Kaplan (1913–1985), teacher at Chicago's Hebrew Theological College
- Israel Katz (born 1955), Israeli politician
- Yisrael Katz (1927–2010), Israeli scholar and civil servant
- Israel Keyes (1978–2012), American serial killer, rapist, bank robber, burglar, and arsonist
- Israel Kirzner (born 1930), American economist
- Israel Jacob Kligler (1888–1944), Austo-Hungarian microbiologist, professor, and Zionist
- Israel of Krems, 14th-/15th-century Austrian rabbi
- Yisrael Kristal (1903–2017), Polish-Israeli supercentenarian
- Israel "Izzy" Lang, American football running back
- Yisrael Meir Lau (born 1937), former Chief Rabbi of Israel
- Israel Levitan (1912–1982), American sculptor and painter
- Israel Lewy (1841–1917), German scholar of Judaic texts
- Israel Lovy (1773–1832), European ḥazzan and composer
- Israel Machado (born 1960), Brazilian basketball player
- Mohammad Israil Mansuri, Indian politician
- Israel Mireles (born c.1983), Mexican convicted murderer
- Israel Mukuamu (born 1999), American football player
- Israel Ochoa (born 1964), Colombian cyclist
- Yisroel Ber Odesser (1888–1994), Breslov rabbi
- Israel Ori (1658–1711), Armenian diplomat
- Israel Pellew (1758–1832), British admiral
- Israel Pickens (1780–1827), American lawyer and politician
- Israel Pliner (1896–1939), Soviet secret police functionary
- Yisroel Avrohom Portugal (1923–2019), Skulener Rebbe
- Israel Putnam (1718–1790), American general
- Israel Raybon (born 1973), American football player
- Israel Regardie (1907–1985), British occultist
- Israel B. Richardson (1815–1862), American general
- Israel Ruiz Jr. (born 1943), New York politician
- Ysrael Seinuk (1931–2010), Cuban structural engineer
- Israel Shahak (1933–2001), Israeli author
- Israel Shamir (born 1947), Swedish antisemitic writer
- Israel Sheinfeld (born 1976), Israeli basketball player
- Israel Vázquez (born 1977), Mexican boxer
- Israel Wachser (1892–1919), Russian writer
- Yisroel Dovid Weiss (born 1956), Neturei Karta activist
- Israel Zilber (1933 – after 1980) Latvian-Soviet chess player
- Ysrael Zúñiga (born 1976), Peruvian footballer
Surname
- Al Israel (1936-2011), American actor
- Edward Israel (1859–1884), American astronomer and polar explorer
- Gerli Israel (born 1995), Estonian footballer
- Guni Israeli (born 1984), Israeli basketball player
- Jonathan Israel (born 1946), British historian
- Lee Israel (1939–2014), American author known for committing literary forgery
- Märt Israel (born 1983), Estonian discus thrower
- Melvin Israel, later known as Mel Allen (1913–1996), American sportscaster
- Menasseh Ben Israel (1604–1657), Portuguese rabbi and scholar
- Rinus Israël (born 1942), Dutch football player and manager
- Robert Decatur Israel (1826-1908), San Diego pioneer, keeper of the Old Point Loma lighthouse
- Scott Israel, suspended former Sheriff of Broward County, Florida
- Steve Israel (born 1958), American politician
- Steve Israel (American football) (born 1969), American football player
- Syed Shah Israil, 16th-century writer of Bengal
- Wilfrid Israel (1899–1943), Anglo-German businessman and philanthropist
- Yuri Izrael (1930–2014), Russian scientist and vice-chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
References
- ^ Campbell, Mike. "Meaning, origin and history of the name Israel". Behind the Name.
- ^ "Israel Definition and Meaning - Bible Dictionary". Bible Study Tools.
- ^ James P. Boyd, Bible dictionary, Ottenheimer Publishers, 1958
- ^ Michael G. Hasel, Domination and Resistance: Egyptian Military Activity in the Southern Levant, Brill, 1998
- ^ שָׂרָה śarah "to contend, have power, contend with, persist, exert oneself, persevere" (Strong's Concordance H8323) שָׂרַר śarar "to be or act as prince, rule, contend, have power, prevail over, reign, govern" (Strong's Concordance 8280)
- ^ Hamilton 1995, p. 334[citation not found]
- ^ Wenham 1994, pp. 296–97[citation not found] The Jewish Study Bible of Oxford University Press says on page 68 "The scientific etymology of Israel is uncertain, a good guess being '[The God] El rules.'"[1]
- ^ The Old Testament pseudepigrapha, Volume 2. Charlesworth, James H. London: Darton, Longman & Todd. 1983–1985. p. 703. ISBN 0232516278. OCLC 14814462.
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