Israel

Israel is the name given to Jacob, son of Isaac and grandson of Abraham, at the ford of the Jabbok after he wrestled with a divine being through the night (Genesis 32:28; 35:10). The name, meaning 'he strives with God' or 'God strives,' became the designation for Jacob's twelve sons and their descendants, who formed the twelve tribes of the nation. Jacob-Israel is a complex patriarchal figure in Scripture: a supplanter who deceived his brother Esau and his father Isaac (Genesis 27), yet also the recipient of the Abrahamic covenant promises of land, descendants, and blessing (Genesis 28:13–15). In the New Testament, Paul reflects on Israel's election and the mystery of the relationship between ethnic Israel and the people of God (Romans 9–11).