A History of Israel

The Lord gave the name Israel to Jacob, the son of Isaac and grandson of Abraham in the Old Testament (Gen. 32:28; 35:10). The name Israel can refer to Jacob himself, his descendants, or to the kingdom those descendants once possessed in Old Testament times (2 Sam. 1:24; 23:3). After Moses led the children of Israel out of Egyptian bondage (Ex. 3–14), they were ruled over by judges for over three hundred years. Beginning with King Saul, kings ruled over united Israel until the death of Solomon, when ten tribes revolted from Rehoboam to form a separate nation. After the kingdom of Israel was divided, the northern tribes, as the larger part, kept the name Israel, while the southern kingdom was called Judah. The land of Canaan is also called Israel today. In another sense, Israel means a true believer in Christ (Rom. 10:1; 11:7; Gal. 6:16; Eph. 2:12). Read more in the article, "Israel," from The Guide to the Scriptures, linked below. See also a list of related articles below the timeline.