יִשְׂרָאֵל֙

𐤉𐤔𐤓𐤀𐤋

yiserael-2

Israel

from שָׂרָה and אֵל; he will rule as God; Jisrael, a symbolical name of Jacob; also (typically) of his posterity; Israel.

H3478

Numbers 21:23 · Word #15

Lexicon H3478

Lemmaיִשְׂרָאֵל
Lemma (Paleo)𐤉𐤔𐤓𐤀𐤋
TransliterationYisrâʼêl
Strong'sH3478
In-contextIsrael

Morphology HNp All morphology codes

Part of Speech N — Noun — A person, place, thing, or idea
Subtype p — Proper Name — Proper name

SIBI-P1 H3478-10

He-Who-Prevails-With-God

Rootשׂרה + אל (śārah + ʾēl)
Core Meaningsto rule, to have power, to prevail; God, deity
Semantic RangeAs a proper noun, the word functions primarily as a name: (1) the personal name given to Jacob after his divine encounter; (2) the collective designation for Jacob's descendants and the nation of Israel; (3) a theological symbol representing God's covenant people; (4) in later usage, a national and ethnic identifier for the Jewish people and the modern state of Israel.
Conceptual SignificanceYisrâʼêl carries profound theological weight in biblical tradition, marking a transformation of identity and destiny. The name commemorates Jacob's struggle with God and his emergence as a transformed patriarch, establishing the foundation narrative for the entire people of Israel. The name encapsulates the covenant relationship between God and the descendants of Jacob, representing both divine election and human struggle with the divine will. In Jewish liturgy and theology, the phrase 'B'nei Yisrael' (Children of Israel) invokes this collective identity as God's chosen people, making the name central to Jewish religious and national consciousness.
Morphological NotesMorphology HNp: Proper noun (H), masculine singular (N), with no pronominal suffix (p). The word appears consistently across 2,267 biblical occurrences in this form. The spelling includes the yod prefix (יִ) characteristic of the Qal stem verbal origin, though the word functions as a proper noun rather than a finite verb.
Rendering RationaleThe name יִשְׂרָאֵל (Yisrâʼêl) is a masculine singular proper noun combining the verbal root śārah (to rule/prevail) with the divine name ʾēl (God). The morphology HNp indicates a proper noun in the masculine singular form. The faithful rendering preserves the root meaning of prevailing or ruling power combined with God, reflecting the biblical narrative where Jacob received this name after wrestling with the divine messenger and prevailing (Genesis 32:28). The hyphenated form maintains the compound nature of the Hebrew while conveying the grammatical singularity and masculine gender.

AI-generated (perplexity/sonar-pro)

Words from Root שׂרה + אל (to rule, to have power, to prevail; God, deity)

SILEX Code Transliteration SIBI-P1
H3478-04 miyiserael from Israel
H3478-05 uleyiserael and to the God-Contender

Word Usage (2507 occurrences of H3478)

Location Form Transliteration Meaning
Genesis 32:29 יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל yiserael Israel
Genesis 32:33 יִשְׂרָאֵ֜ל yiserael Israel
Genesis 33:20 יִשְׂרָאֵֽל yiserael Israel
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