Holy Bible - Obsidian Study Guide

Israel

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Israel (Nation)

Overview

Description

The name Israel originates with the patriarch Jacob, to whom God gave the name after his nightlong wrestling with a divine messenger at Peniel: “Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed” (Gen 32:28, KJV). From Jacob’s twelve sons descended the twelve tribes who bore the collective name the Children of Israel. Under Moses this people was formed into a covenant nation through the Exodus from Egypt and the giving of the Law at Sinai; under Joshua they entered and settled the land of Canaan as their inheritance.

The united monarchy under Saul, David, and Solomon eventually fractured after Solomon’s death (c. 930 BC) into two rival kingdoms. The northern kingdom retained the name Israel — sometimes also called Ephraim after its dominant tribe — with its capital at Samaria, while the southern kingdom took the name Judah. The northern kingdom of Israel fell to the Assyrian Empire under Shalmaneser V and Sargon II in 722 BC, its population deported and scattered in what became the tragedy of the “ten lost tribes.” Judah survived until the Babylonian conquest of 586 BC.

Despite the political dissolution of the kingdoms, the theological concept of Israel as the covenant people of God persisted through the prophetic writings and into the New Testament. Paul (Apostle) wrestles with the relationship between ethnic Israel and the believing Gentiles in Romans 9–11, declaring that “all Israel shall be saved” (Rom 11:26, KJV) and that not all who are of Israel are Israel in the deepest sense (Rom 9:6). The book of Revelation envisions the twelve tribes sealed in the final age (Rev 7), signaling the enduring biblical significance of the name Israel across both Testaments.

Key Events

  • Jacob receives the name Israel at Peniel (Gen 32:28)
  • The Exodus and wilderness journey under Moses forms the nation
  • Entry into Canaan under Joshua establishes the land
  • Division of the kingdom after Solomon into Israel (north) and Judah (south)
  • Fall of the northern kingdom to Assyria, 722 BC (2 Kgs 17)

Key Verses

“Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.” — Genesis 32:28 (KJV)

“For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel.” — Romans 9:6 (KJV)

“And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob.” — Romans 11:26 (KJV)

Cross-References

  • Jacob — patriarch from whom the name Israel derives
  • The Covenant — the foundational bond between God and the nation
  • The Remnant — the theological concept of a faithful core within Israel
  • Moses — leader who formed the covenant nation
  • Joshua — led Israel into the Promised Land
  • Paul (Apostle) — theological treatment of Israel’s future in Romans 9–11

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