יִשְׂרָאֵל (Yisra'el) — Israel
Etymology
The name יִשְׂרָאֵל is a theophoric name — a name containing the name of a deity. The second element, אֵל, is the chief deity of the Canaanite pantheon (and the generic Semitic word for god). The first element is a verbal form, but its exact meaning is disputed because the verb root involved appears only rarely in the Bible. The folk etymology in Genesis 32:29 connects it to the root ש.ר.ה (to wrestle, to struggle), translating the name as "you have striven with God and with men and prevailed" — making Jacob the subject who struggled. However, this is linguistically problematic. In ancient Near Eastern theophoric names, as in other Semitic languages of that period, the verbal element of the name refers to the deity, not to the bearer of the name. The subject of the verb should be El, not Jacob.
The most widely accepted scholarly interpretation is that the verbal element comes from ש.ר.ר (to rule, to prevail), giving the meaning "El rules" or "El prevails." A minority view connects it to ש.ר.ה meaning "El fights" or "El contends." Either reading situates Israel in the tradition of other ancient Near Eastern theophoric names (like Ishmael, יִשְׁמָעֵאל, meaning "El has heard"). The Merneptah Stele (~1208 BCE), found in Egypt, contains the earliest external attestation of the name "Israel," referring to a people in Canaan — making it one of the most important archaeological documents bearing on early Israelite history.
After the fall of the northern Kingdom of Israel to Assyria in 722 BCE, many Israelites fled to the southern Kingdom of Judah, bringing their traditions and texts with them. Through this process the name "Israel" was preserved and became a term of identity for all Jews — alongside "Yehudim" (Jews/Judeans) — across the millennia. The Land of Israel (ארץ ישראל) remained the standard Hebrew name for the region throughout the exile.
The name "State of Israel" was chosen on May 12, 1948 — two days before David Ben-Gurion declared independence — in a meeting of the National Council leadership in Tel Aviv. According to journalist Moshe Brilliant of the Palestine Post, who covered the meeting, four names were considered: "Judah" was rejected because historical Judea lay entirely outside the territory the UN partition plan allocated to the Jewish state; "Zion," "Tzabar," and "Eretz Yisrael" were also proposed. "Israel" won by a vote of seven to three. Who first proposed it remains unclear: Brilliant's 1949 account credits Ben-Gurion, but the evidence suggests Moshe Sharett may have been the proposer, since Sharett had been calling the future state "Medinat Israel" since at least 1946, while Ben-Gurion typically used "medinah Yehudit" (a Jewish state). Ben-Gurion himself, when asked in an interview, said he did not remember.
A literary precedent predates both men by half a century. Galician writer Yitzhak Fernhof, in his 1896 novella "Two Visions" (Shnei Dimyonot), envisioned the future Jewish state in the Land of Israel and called it "Medinat Israel" — making him the first known writer to use this exact phrase for a modern Jewish political entity, and arguably doing so before Herzl published Der Judenstaat (also 1896, in which he used "Jewish state," not "Israel").
Key Quotes
"לֹא יַעֲקֹב יֵאָמֵר עוֹד שִׁמְךָ כִּי אִם יִשְׂרָאֵל כִּי שָׂרִיתָ עִם אֱלֹהִים וְעִם אֲנָשִׁים וַתּוּכָל" — בראשית ל״ב, כ״ט
"ישראל שם המדינה התקבל ברוב של שבע מול שלוש" — משה בריליאנט, כתב פוסט פלסטין, 1949 (על ישיבת 12 במאי 1948)
Timeline
- ~1208 BCE: "Israel" attested on the Merneptah Stele (Egyptian inscription) as a people in Canaan
- First Temple period: Kingdom of Israel (northern) uses the name; Genesis 32 records Jacob's renaming
- 722 BCE: Fall of northern Kingdom of Israel to Assyria; Israelites disperse into Judah
- Post-exile: "Israel" becomes a theological and ethnic self-designation for all Jews
- 1896: Writer Yitzhak Fernhof coins "Medinat Israel" in his novella Shnei Dimyonot
- 1946: Moshe Sharett uses "Medinat Israel" in speeches
- May 12, 1948: Name "Israel" chosen by seven-to-three vote of the National Council in Tel Aviv
- May 14, 1948: David Ben-Gurion proclaims the establishment of the State of Israel
Related Words
- יהודה — Judah; the alternative name proposed and rejected in 1948
- ציון — Zion; another proposed name
- ארץ ישראל — the Land of Israel (traditional Hebrew toponym)
- ישראלי — Israeli (the demonym)
- עם ישראל — the People of Israel