EXTRAORDINARY: How the nation of Israel really got its name and who named it: was it Almighty God?

ABOVE: Ethiopian Jewish immigrants arrive to Israel on a special plane chartered by the Jewish Agency at the Ben Gurion Airport in Lod on June 1, 2022. This flight is part of Operation Zur Israel that aims to reunite 3,000 Ethiopians with their families in Israel (Photo by GIL COHEN-MAGEN/AFP via Getty Images).

The Israelite nation-state's name comes straight out of the Holy Bible. The country got its name Israel from its patriarch Jacob who was Isaac and Rebekah’s younger twin son, and Abraham and Sarah’s grandson.

Almighty God Himself changed Jacob’s name to Israel (Genesis 32:24-32).

The Children of Israel

In the Holy Bible, Jacob’s children, grandchildren and posterity were collectively known as the children of Israel. Jacob had numerous children from various women - including his two wives: sisters Leah and Rachel plus his paramours Bilhah and Zilpah.

12 Tribes

Twelve of Jacob’s sons were famously known as the leaders of the 12 Tribes of Israel: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Issachar, Zebulun, Gad, Napthali, Asher, Joseph, Benjamin, Dan and Judah (Genesis 46).

In Egypt

The children of Israel grew into a mighty nation while in Egypt under Joseph’s leadership.

Joseph is described as being Jacob’s favorite son (Genesis 37:3).

Some of his brothers were jealous of him and sold him into slavery in Egypt. But Pharoah liked Joseph and gave him a very high position in the Egyptian government. The Hebrew Israelite Joseph through God's amazing grace rose to second in command to Pharoah.

Moses, Aaron, Joshua and the Promised Land

Pharoah allowed Joseph to relocate his family including Jacob and the children of Israel to Egypt. But the Egyptians eventually enslaved the Israelites because they grew too much in population and power.

This led to the rise of Moses, his older brother Aaron and their protégé Joshua - a trinity who led by Almighty God combined their gifts to help lead the children of Israel out of Egyptian bondage into the Promised Land (Territory promised to Abraham's descendants by way of the Abrahamic Covenant).

To this day, the land bears the name of the direct descendants of Abraham including of course Jacob or Israel whose Bible lineages goes back to Abraham, Sarah, Noah, Adam and Eve.

Now you know how the nation of Israel got its name.

And as always...Long live the Gospel of Jesus Christ!