 The name "Israel" first appears in the Hebrew Bible in .It refers to the renaming of Jacob, who, according to the Bible, wrestled with an angel, who gave him a blessing and renamed him "Israel" because he had "striven with God and with men, and have prevailed".The Hebrew Bible etymologizes the name as from "yisra" "to prevail over" or "to struggle/wrestle with", and "El" (God).