Editing Israelites (section)

==Etymology==
{{further|Israel (name)}}
{{History of Israel}}
The first reference to ''Israel'' in non-biblical sources is found in the [[Merneptah Stele]] in {{circa|1209 BCE}}. The inscription is very brief and says: "Israel is laid waste and his seed is not". The inscription refers to a [[Ethnicity|people]], not an individual or [[nation state]],<ref name="Greenspahn2008">{{cite book |last=Greenspahn |first=Frederick E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=inRKaf_To5sC&pg=PA12 |title=The Hebrew Bible: New Insights and Scholarship |publisher=NYU Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-8147-3187-1 |pages=12ff |access-date=14 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230701135714/https://books.google.com/books?id=inRKaf_To5sC&pg=PA12 |archive-date=1 July 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref> who are located in central [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]]<ref name="Toorn">Van der Toorn, K. (196). [https://books.google.com/books?id=VSJWkrXfbLQC&pg=PA282 ''Family Religion in Babylonia, Ugarit and Israel: Continuity and Changes in the Forms of Religious Life'']. Brill. pp. 181, 282.</ref> or the highlands of [[Samaria]].{{sfn|Grabbe|2008|p=75}} Some Egyptologists suggest that ''Israel'' appeared in earlier topographical reliefs, dating to the [[Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt|Nineteenth Dynasty]] (i.e. reign of [[Ramesses II]]) or the [[Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt|Eighteenth Dynasty]],<ref name=":3">Van der Veern, Peter, et al. "Israel in Canaan (Long) Before Pharaoh Merenptah? A Fresh Look at Berlin Statue Pedestal Relief 21687". ''Journal of Ancient Egyptian Interconnections''. pp. 15–25.</ref> but this reading remains controversial.<ref name=":5">Romer, Thomas (2015). ''The Invention of God'', Harvard. p. 75.</ref><ref name=":6">Dijkstra, Meindert (2017). "Canaan in the Transition from the Late Bronze to the Early Iron Age from an Egyptian Perspective". In Grabbe, Lester, ed. ''The Land of Canaan in the Late Bronze Age''. Bloomsbury. p. 62, n. 17</ref>

In the Hebrew Bible, ''[[Israel (name)|Israel]]'' first appears in {{Bibleverse|Genesis|32:29}}, where an angel gives the name to [[Jacob]] after the [[Jacob wrestling with the angel|latter fought with him]].<ref>{{Bibleverse|Genesis|32:29|HE}}</ref><ref name="Scherman, Rabbi Nosson 2006, pages 176-77">Scherman, Rabbi Nosson, ed. (2006). ''The Chumash''. The Artscroll Series. Mesorah. pp. 176–77.</ref><ref name="Kaplan, Aryeh 1985, page 125">Kaplan, Aryeh (1985). "Jewish Meditation". New York: Schocken. p. 125.</ref> The [[folk etymology]] given in the text derives Israel from ''yisra'', "to prevail over" or "to struggle with", and ''[[El (deity)|El]]'', a Canaanite-[[Mesopotamia]]n [[creator god]] that is tenuously identified with Yahweh.<ref name=":1" />{{sfn|Cross|1973}} However, modern scholarship interprets ''El'' as the subject, "El rules/struggles",<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hamilton |first=Victor |title=The Book of Genesis, Chapters 18–50 |publisher=[[Wm. B. Eerdmans]] |year=1995 |isbn=0-8028-2521-4 |page=334}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Wenham |first=Gordon |title=Word Biblical Commentary |volume=2: Genesis 16–50 |publisher=Word Books |year=1994 |location=Dallas, Texas |pages=296–97}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Berlin |first1=Adele |title=The Jewish Study Bible: Jewish Publication Society Tanakh Translation |last2=Brettler |first2=Marc |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2004 |page=68}}</ref> from ''sarar'' ({{lang|hbo|rtl=y|שָׂרַר}}) 'to rule'<ref>{{cite web |title=שׂרר |url=https://www.sefaria.org/Klein_Dictionary%2C_%D7%A9%D7%82%D7%A8%D7%A8 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921140616/https://www.sefaria.org/Klein_Dictionary,_%D7%A9%D7%82%D7%A8%D7%A8 |archive-date=21 September 2020 |access-date=2020-08-05 |publisher=Sefaria}}</ref> (cognate with ''sar'' ({{lang|hbo|rtl=y|שַׂר}}) 'ruler',<ref>{{cite web |title=Klein Dictionary, שַׂר |url=https://www.sefaria.org/Klein_Dictionary%2C_%D7%A9%D6%B7%D7%82%D7%A8 |access-date=2020-08-05 |website=www.sefaria.org |archive-date=21 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921114549/https://www.sefaria.org/Klein_Dictionary,_%D7%A9%D6%B7%D7%82%D7%A8 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]] ''šarru'' 'ruler, king'<ref>{{cite web |title=šarru |url=http://www.assyrianlanguages.org/akkadian/dosearch.php?searchkey=64&language=id |access-date=2020-08-05 |website=Akkadian Dictionary |publisher=Association Assyrophile de France |archive-date=29 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029214640/http://www.assyrianlanguages.org/akkadian/dosearch.php?searchkey=64&language=id |url-status=live }}</ref>), which is likely cognate with the similar root ''sara'' ({{lang|hbo|rtl=y|שׂרה}}) "fought, strove, contended".<ref>{{cite web |title=שׂרה |url=https://www.sefaria.org/Klein_Dictionary%2C_%D7%A9%D7%82%D7%A8%D7%94 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921140355/https://www.sefaria.org/Klein_Dictionary,_%D7%A9%D7%82%D7%A8%D7%94 |archive-date=21 September 2020 |access-date=2020-08-05 |publisher=Sefaria}}</ref><ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |last=Even-Shoshan |first=Avraham |dictionary=Even-Shoshan Dictionary |title= שׂרה}}</ref>

Afterwards, ''Israel'' refers to the [[Twelve Tribes of Israel|direct descendants of Jacob]],<ref name=":18">{{bibleverse|Genesis|35:22-26|KJV}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=Hayes |first=Christine E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WGZ0_PUBLVcC&pg=PA19 |title=Gentile Impurities and Jewish Identities: Intermarriage and Conversion from the Bible to the Talmud |date=2002 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-803446-9 |pages=19–44}}</ref> a view that was reinforced by [[Second Temple Judaism]].<ref name=":4" /> Some scholars suggest that the Israelite identity was much more inclusive and included [[gentile]]s (i.e. [[Ger toshav|resident aliens]]) who assimilated in the Israelite community.<ref name=":18" /><ref name=":4" /> In fact, it was likely that tribal membership in Israel was based on one's self-declared allegiance or residency within an assigned tribal territory ({{Bibleverse|Ezekiel|47:21-23}}).<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":9" /><ref name=":19" /> ''Israel'' might also exclusively refer to a religious identity,<ref name=":33" /><ref name=":21" /><ref name=":14" /> with Troy W. Martin arguing that it was based on 'covenantal circumcision' rather than ancestry ({{Bibleverse|Genesis|17:9-14}}).<ref name=":14">{{Cite journal |last=Martin |first=Troy W. |date=2003 |title=The Covenant of Circumcision (Genesis 17:9-14) and the Situational Antitheses in Galatians 3:28 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3268093 |journal=Journal of Biblical Literature |volume=122 |issue=1 |pages=111–125 |doi=10.2307/3268093 |jstor=3268093}}</ref> 

''Israel'' was also known as ''Hebrew'' or ''son of Israel''. These ethnonyms may refer to literal descent or as contextual-based ethnonyms. I.e. ''Hebrew'' referred to Israelites of immigrant or economically impoverished backgrounds.<ref>William David. Reyburn, Euan McG. Fry. ''A Handbook on Genesis''. New York: United Bible Societies. 1997.</ref><ref name=":03">{{Cite web |last=D. Friedberg |first=Albert |date=22 February 2017 |title=Who Were the Hebrews? |url=https://www.thetorah.com/article/who-were-the-hebrews#:~:text=%E2%80%9CThe%20Hebrew%2C%E2%80%9D%20a%20member,the%20original%20language%20of%20man. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231128014216/https://www.thetorah.com/article/who-were-the-hebrews |archive-date=28 November 2023 |website=The Torah.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024 |title=Genesis 14 MacLaren Expositions Of Holy Scripture |url=https://biblehub.com/commentaries/maclaren/genesis/14.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240208035016/https://biblehub.com/commentaries/maclaren/genesis/14.htm |archive-date=February 8, 2024 |website=Biblehub.com}}</ref><ref>Flavius Josephus - [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0526.tlg001.perseus-eng1:1.6.4 Antiquities of The Jews, Book I, Chapter VI, Paragraph 4]: {{langx|el|Ἀρφαξάδου δὲ παῖς γίνεται Σάλης, τοῦ δὲ Ἕβερος, ἀφ᾽ οὗ τοὺς Ἰουδαίους Ἑβραίους ἀρχῆθεν ἐκάλουν: Ἕβερος δὲ Ἰούκταν καὶ Φάλεγον ἐγέννησεν: ἐκλήθη δὲ Φάλεγος, ἐπειδὴ κατὰ τὸν ἀποδασμὸν τῶν οἰκήσεων τίκτεται: φαλὲκ γὰρ τὸν μερισμὸν Ἑβραῖοι καλοῦσιν.|translation=Sala was the son of Arphaxad; and his son was Heber, from whom they originally called the Jews Hebrews. Heber begat Joetan and Phaleg: he was called Phaleg, because he was born at the dispersion of the nations to their several countries; for Phaleg among the Hebrews signifies division.}}</ref> ''Son of Israel'' referred to citizens/members of the Israelite community after Israel's biological family transitioned from a clan to a society ({{Bibleverse|Exodus|1:9}}).<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Block |first=Daniel I. |date=1984 |title='Israel'—'sons of Israel': A study in Hebrew eponymic usage |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/000842988401300305 |journal=Studies in Religion/Sciences Religieuses |volume=13 |issue=3 |via=SageJournals}}</ref> They were also known as ''son of God'', reflective of the Hebrew Bible's attempt to portray ''Israel'' as a wayward son who is disciplined and nurtured by Yahweh.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Schmitt |first=John J. |date=2004 |title=Israel as Son of God in Torah |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/01461079040340020301 |journal=Biblical Theology Bulletin: Journal of Bible and Culture |volume=34 |issue=2 |via=SageJournal}}</ref>  

In a secular context, ''Israel'' refers to a population with a distinct material culture in Iron Age Levant.<ref name=":9" /> During the period of the divided monarchy, it refers to the inhabitants of the northern [[Kingdom of Israel (Samaria)|Kingdom of Israel]]<ref name=":25">Cate, Robert L. (1990). "Israelite". In Mills, Watson E.; Bullard, Roger Aubrey. [https://books.google.com/books?id=goq0VWw9rGIC&pg=PA420 ''Mercer Dictionary of the Bible'']. Mercer University Press. p. 420.</ref> although it later included the [[Kingdom of Judah|inhabitants of the southern kingdom]]. ''Israel'' is also contentiously contrasted with ''[[Jews|Jew]]''/''[[Ioudaios|Judea]]'', with Samaritans being recognized as non-Jewish Israelites for example.<ref name=":26">{{Cite book |last=Staples |first=Jason A. |title=The Idea of Israel in Second Temple Judaism: A New Theory of People, Exile, and Israelite Identity |date=2021 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1108842860 |edition=1st}}</ref>