Page "Israelites" Paragraph 2

The word " Israelite " derives from the Biblical Hebrew word " Israel ".

Although most literary references to Israelites are located in the Hebrew Bible, there is also abundant non-biblical archaeological and historical evidence of ancient Israel and Judah.

The ethnonym is attested as early as the 13th century BCE in an Egyptian inscription.

The Hebrew Bible etymologizes the name as from yisra " to prevail over " or " to struggle / wrestle with ", and el, " God, the divine ".

The eponymous biblical patriarch of the Israelites is Jacob, who wrestled with God who gave him a blessing and renamed him " Israel " because he had " striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.

" () According to the Hebrew Bible, Israelites were the " chosen people " of God.

The name Hebrews is sometimes used synonymously with " Israelites ".