Israel

Israel proper n

Heb. 'he perseveres with God', 'let God prevail'; see Jacob.

  1. Family of Jacob the patriarch; group named after the grandson of Abraham; posterity of Isaac and Rebekah through their son Jacob; descendants of Jacob's twelve sons and one daughter; people of the covenant; twelve tribes of the Old Testament (see Genesis 25, 32, 49); stubborn people led by Moses from Egypt to Canaan; (see Exodus 13; ED's letters).