It happened to Jacob after his mysterious struggle at night with God (Gen. XXXII, 28). After this event, the names Jacob and I. are indifferently attached to it, but the latter later received a broader meaning, so that it sometimes means the entire Jewish people, as descended from the 12 sons of Jacob - I., as well as the Christian Church, as spiritual I. (Rom. IX, 6).
Encyclopedic Dictionary F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron. - S.-Pb.: Brockhaus-Efron. 1890-1907 .
See what “Israel in the Bible” is in other dictionaries:
ISRAEL (Israel), in the Bible the second name of Jacob (see JACOB) ... encyclopedic Dictionary
State of Israel, in the West. Asia, to the east Mediterranean coast. Established in 1948 on the basis of a decision of the UN General Assembly of November 29, 1947. The name of the Jewish state that existed approximately in these... ... Geographical encyclopedia
Israel (ישראל) Hebrew Gender: male. Patronymic: Izrailevich Izrailevna Other forms: Israel (obsolete) Produced. forms: Izya, Raya, Srul Foreign language analogues: English. ... Wikipedia
I Israel Israel, in the Bible the second name of Jacob. II Israel (State of Israel), a state in Western Asia, on the Mediterranean coast. 20.8 thousand km2. Population 5.5 million people (1996); Jews (82%), Palestinian Arabs and others (18%).… … encyclopedic Dictionary
Israel, State of Israel. I. General information I. state in the Middle East. Located in Western Asia, on the southeastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders on the north with Lebanon, on the northeast with Syria, on the east with Jordan, on the southwest with Egypt.... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia
- (Heb. Israel, from sarah to fight and el God). 1) fighter of the Lord, nickname of Jacob. 2) the name of the Jewish people. Dictionary of foreign words included in the Russian language. Chudinov A.N., 1910. ISRAEL Heb. Jisrael, from sarah, to fight, and el, God. A)… … Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language
- (Israel), (And capital), Israel, plural. no, husband (ancient Hebrew: Israel, nickname for Jacob, lit. fought with God) (church, history). In the Bible, the Jewish people. Ushakov's explanatory dictionary. D.N. Ushakov. 1935 1940 ... Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary
- (Israel), in the Bible the second name of Jacob... Modern encyclopedia
- (Israel) in the Bible is the second name of Jacob... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary
Israel (Biblical)- ISRAEL (Israel), in the Bible the second name of Jacob. ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary
Books
- Guide to the Bible (set of 2 books), Isaac Asimov. Famous science fiction writer, world-famous scientist, great popularizer of science, author of about 500...
- Old Testament. A Guide to the Bible, Isaac Asimov. Asimov’s book is a real guide to the ancient biblical world, which is already about three thousand years old,…
After the words “God” and “Lord,” “Israel” is the most frequently mentioned word in the Bible!
WHAT IS ISRAEL?
All over the world, everyone - both scientists and atheistic materialists - cannot understand in any way what this phenomenon is - the Jews, who, by all logical considerations, should have been wiped out from the face of the earth, should have dissolved among other peoples, should have just stop being.
Other nations mentioned in the Bible: the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Ammonites, the Philistines, the Sidonians, the Amalekites, the Moabites, the Edomites - all disappeared. There is none of them. These peoples have sunk into oblivion.
Who's left? Only the Jews remained. Moreover, for two thousand years this people were in dispersion. All other peoples that were ever dispersed disappeared, mixed, assimilated and ceased to exist. From any materialistic and historical point of view, the people of Israel should have ceased to exist long ago.
Let's get acquainted with the statements of famous people about the miracle of the existence of the sons of Israel.
Mark Twain, 1899
“The great empires of antiquity: the Egyptians, Babylonians and Persians - at one time arose and filled the earth with their noisy voices, splendor and splendor. But their time was running out, and they withered, turned into ghosts and disappeared. After them the Greeks and Romans came and made a big noise - but they also passed and left...
The Jewish people saw them all, eventually conquered them all, and today they are the same as always, showing neither withering nor aging; his strength does not decrease, and his soul is awake, active, proactive and bright. Everyone is mortal - except the Jews. The great nations have passed, and only the Jews remain. What is the secret of the eternity of the Jews?
Religious philosopher Nikolai Berdyaev said in 1923:
“The survival of the Jewish people in history, its indestructibility, the continuation of its existence in completely exceptional conditions and the fatal role that this people plays in history - all this points to the special, mystical foundations of its historical destiny. Its existence is a strange, mysterious and miraculous phenomenon, which indicates that special destinies are associated with the fate of this people.”
Can you imagine, Berdyaev says that Jews play a fatal role in history. What is a fatal role? This is a fateful role.
Dostoevsky, who was never particularly fond of Jews, wrote (“A Writer’s Diary for 1877”):
“Here, it is not self-preservation alone that is the main reason, but a certain idea, driving and attracting, something global and deep, about which, perhaps, humanity is not yet able to utter its last word.”
Do you understand at all what we are talking about? Jews have preserved their identity and their God-given way of life for two millennia. And it is impossible to attribute this only to the desire for self-preservation.
Kuprin says the same thing.
“Amazing, incomprehensible Jewish people! ... He passed through dozens of centuries, without mixing with anyone, ... preserved his faith, ... preserved the sacred language of his inspired Divine books, his mystical alphabet ... There was no trace left of his mysterious enemies, and he, flexible and immortal, is still lives as if fulfilling someone’s supernatural predestination.
How could he stay alive? Or, in fact, does the fate of nations have its own mysterious goals, incomprehensible to us?.. Who knows: maybe some Higher Power wanted the Jews, having lost their homeland, to play the role of eternal leaven in the vast world fermentation? »
And today we will talk about this predestination and fateful role.
WHO IS ISRAEL?
First of all, where did the word Israel come from?
The word Israel is the name of a person. Jacob's new name given to him by God.
The name Israel passed on to all the descendants of Jacob. It's kind of a surname. All the descendants of Jacob began to be called Israel. In fact, this is the story of one family.
What then does the word “Jew” mean? When Abraham, according to the word of God, crossed the river and went to the land indicated by God, he was called Ivri (Gen. 14:13), because in Hebrew “Ivri” means to cross. He became the one who crossed over. Hence the concept of “JEWS” – nomads or immigrants.
The ancient Jewish people descended from Abraham, his son Isaac, and Isaac's son Jacob. These three people are considered the patriarchs of the people. In the Bible, God says more than once that He is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Jacob-Israel had twelve sons: Reuben, Shimon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, Gad, Naphtali (Naphtali), Asher (Asser), Joseph and Benjamin. All of them became the ancestors of 12 tribes - the tribes of Israel.
The family settled in the land of Canaan, located between the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River (1451 BC).
In the Bible, inheritance runs through the male line. The father, the owner of the land, bequeaths it only to his male descendants. So the Promised Land passes from father to sons. The Promised Land is called the “Land of Israel” because it belongs to Israel, and its sons are called Israelites, denoting a connection with the land of their father.
In the Bible, this people is called either the “sons of Israel” or the “sons of Jacob.”
Time passed, the twelve sons of Jacob got married, gave birth to children and, together with their father Jacob-Israel, numbering seventy souls (not counting their wives), ended up in Egypt. They stayed in Egypt for about two hundred and ten years. There they became slaves; and when their cry reached God, God with a strong hand, with the help of Moses, brought them out of Egypt.
For what?
God brought out, in fact, one big family. The family grew over 210 years, and some other foreigners joined them. Scripture speaks of strangers joining the children of Israel.
PEOPLE OF ISRAEL
Many people ask why God chose the Jews? God did not choose the Jews, He created the Jews. There was no such people; God created a people for Himself. God chose Abraham, and from his descendants came a people whom God trained for forty years in the wilderness. For what?
God led the children of Israel into the desert to “conduct a seminar on the formation of a nation.”
You've heard of all sorts of introductory sessions or seminars being held in designated areas where people are asked to turn off their phones and disconnect from everyday life. That is, people are asked to isolate themselves from everything so that they can be completely immersed in the workshop to achieve certain goals. The creators of the seminars took this principle from God, who brought a family, that is, a society bound by kinship ties, into the desert and taught them, trained them to be a people.
Where were they going?
God led His people to the land of their ancestors in Canaan, the land that was first promised to Abraham:
“To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates.” (Gen. 15:18-21).
Then God updated His word to Abraham's son Isaac:
“I will give all these lands to you and your descendants, and I will fulfill the oath that I swore to Abraham your father” (Gen. 26:3).
He later confirmed His promise to Isaac's son Jacob-Israel, Abraham's grandson.
“I will give to you and to your descendants the land on which you lie.” (Genesis 28:13).
This promise was fulfilled only at the end of the Exodus from Egypt. Deut. 1:8
“Behold, I have given you this land; go, take as an inheritance the land that the Lord promised with an oath to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to them and their descendants.”
It took a long time before the Israelites were able to conquer the Canaanite inhabitants of the land.
Let's go back to the desert.
In the wilderness, the Almighty, with great wonders and signs, taught the Israelites to become His community on earth (“a kingdom of priests” - a people of holiness; Ex. 19:6). No one on the whole earth, except this family, knew or saw the living God and His great works. But “word of mouth” worked very well at that time. All the surrounding peoples, wherever these people passed, knew that some kind of God was with them, possessing absolutely incredible power, that He could do everything, and that God had pushed the Red apart for them sea.
By the way, one of the hidden meanings of the word “Israel” is “directly to God” or “directly to God.” “YASHAR-EL”
In Hebrew, the word "Israel" is written with five letters. The first 3 letters – “י”, “yud”, “ש”, “shin”, “ר”, “reish” – are read as “YASHAR”, which means straight, directly. And the last part of the word “אל” is EL (God) – often found in Hebrew names: Daniel, Raphael, etc.
And this YasharEl was led out into the desert.
KINGDOM OF PRIESTS
Still, why did God continue to teach them?
We learn this in Exodus 19, verse 6, when God revealed Israel's main purpose:
“You will be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”
“I will make you a light for the nations, so that My salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.” Isaiah 49:6
Two questions arise. First, what is a kingdom?
Kingdom is a twofold concept. This is also a state ruled by a king. And by the word “kingdom” they mean the general characteristic or composition of the population of the state. For example, the Sleepy Kingdom is about many people sleeping or sleeping for a long time and a lot. Animal Kingdom. Plant kingdom. Kingdom of light.
Then what is the kingdom of priests? This means that every person in this state must be a priest.
The second question is to be a priest for whom?
For the whole world, for other nations, so that the rest of the world could know the living God just as the people of Israel knew Him.
Do you know the functions of priests? To put it very briefly, the priest had to unite and reconcile a person with God. How did he do this? Through sacrifices, through certain rituals - this is not important now. The important thing is that the main function of a priest is to be a link between man and God.
Priests are supposed to have close contact with the Almighty. They often interpret the meaning of certain events. Priests are leaders to whom other people turn for advice on spiritual matters.
Remember, the name Israel is “direct to God.” What is “direct to God”? This means that the doors are open and the “hot line” with the Creator is always available. The access code is included in the name.
HOLY PEOPLE
So in Exodus 19:6 God revealed Israel's destiny and calling:
“You will be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”
Sometimes it is difficult for us to understand the full meaning of what is said, because we live in a different time and in a different culture.
What is a saint?
HOLY in Hebrew means dedicated, set apart, isolated, set apart from others, specially set apart or dedicated to something/someone.
This word in Hebrew is not only used to describe sacred concepts or to designate sacred things.
In the tradition of a Jewish wedding, the bride is declared dedicated, HOLY, in the sense of her devotion, separation for the groom.
Thus, the HOLY PEOPLE are a separate people dedicated to the Most High.
TORA – OPERATING MANUAL
Immediately after declaring Israel's calling and purpose, the Creator of the earth gives them instructions on how to use what He has created. (Exodus 20).
Imagine that you bought a new car. There are many different devices, cords, etc. How to find out what a particular button is for, how and when it should be pressed - answers to all questions can be found in the corresponding instruction manual. Each car, coffee grinder, and washing machine comes with manufacturer's instructions.
In addition, the Safety Information always states:
“WHEN OPERATING...to avoid the risk of injury, basic safety precautions must be strictly followed.”
And so God - as the Manufacturer - gave His people a manual for the operation of the Earth so that “in order to avoid the risk of injury DURING OPERATION,” they strictly adhere to basic safety rules.
Keep the words of this covenant and do them, so that you may have success in everything you do. (Deuteronomy 29:9)
So that it may be good for you and your children after you, if you do what is right in the sight of the Lord. (Deuteronomy 12:25)
This Instruction in Hebrew is called “TORAH”. Instructions for using the Earth or a guide for life are secret knowledge entrusted only to the sons of Israel. Because this people will have to fulfill their fateful role - the priestly function. It is set out in the Pentateuch of Moses.
The Torah is safety rules, warnings. It contains vital instructions for life. It covers all aspects of human existence. It contains answers to all questions.
I want to emphasize again that Israel's most important purpose is to be a kingdom of priests.
This is the global function of the Jewish people, and it has not yet been fulfilled.
BIRTHRIGHT
It is important to note the birthright of Israel here. Israel is called the firstborn of GOD. (Exodus 4:22)
And the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Pharaoh, Thus says the Lord: Israel [is] My son, My firstborn.”
What did it mean to be the firstborn in those days?
Genesis 25:31-34 describes how a hungry Esau, the eldest of the twin sons of the patriarch Isaac, SOLD his birthright to his younger brother Jacob for lentil stew.
It is impossible to sell something worthless - simply no one will buy it! The right of primogeniture is SPECIAL RIGHTS that, according to ancient custom, the first-born boy in the family received. Among the descendants of Abraham, birthright was of great importance. The first-born received priority over all other children born from his father.
Remember in Genesis 49:3, Jacob deprives his firstborn son Reuben of preferential treatment?
“Reuben, my firstborn! You are my strength and the beginning of my strength, the height of dignity and the height of power; but you raged like water, you will not ADVANTAGE.”
Usually the eldest son inherited the lion's share of his father's property. Deuteronomy 21:17 specifically states that a father must give his firstborn “double portion of all that he has.”
“to the firstborn... he shall be given a double portion of all that he has, for he is the firstfruits of his strength, and to him [belongs] the right of the firstborn.”
After the death of the father, the first-born son became the head of the family with all the ensuing rights (to respect and to property) and responsibilities (to take care of his father's widows, unmarried sisters and minor brothers).
Summarize. Israel's role
In ancient tradition, the eldest son by birth had the following advantages:
■The firstborn received double share of the inheritance (Deuteronomy 21:17)
■The firstborn not only inherited his father’s house, but had the right to always be in it during his father’s lifetime. (Israel by birthright can always be in the house of God and in His presence);
■The firstborn became the head of his brothers; and after the death of his father he became the head of the family.
“Be lord over your brothers, and let your mother’s sons worship you.” – With these words Isaac blessed his firstborn. Later in the story, Isaac said to another son, “Behold, I have made him lord over you, and have given all his brothers to him as slaves.” (Genesis 27:29,37)
Israel was created to always be in the presence of God in His house and to be the head over all other nations.
These people must play a key role in the salvation of humanity.
According to statistics, the Bible is one of the most published and sold books in the world. It combines many written monuments from different regions and times. One of the most important sections of the Bible is In the tradition of Judaism, it is called the Tanakh. We will talk about what it is, what the composition and content of the Tanakh are, in this article.
Hebrew Bible
It is known that there are two Bibles - Christian and Jewish. The first, in addition to the Old Testament, includes a corpus of texts, which is called But the Hebrew Bible is limited only to the Old. Of course, the very definition of “old”, that is, outdated, is not recognized by the Jews and considers it somewhat offensive towards them. The Jews call their canon the word “Tanakh”. This is actually an abbreviation that comes from the words “Torah”, “Neviim”, “Ketuvim” - components of the Jewish Bible. We will talk about them in more detail, but for now let’s turn to history.
Origin of the Tanakh, language and historical development
As mentioned above, the Tanakh is a collection of texts that had different authors who lived at different times and in different places. The oldest layers of Scripture are approximately 3,000 years old. The youngest ones were written a little over two thousand years ago. One way or another, the age is quite impressive and respectable. According to the most common version, the formation of the Old Testament began in the 13th century BC. e. in the Middle East and ended by the 1st century BC. e. The language of scripture is Hebrew. Some parts are also written in later Aramaic. In the 3rd century BC. e. In Alexandria, a Greek translation was made for the Jews of the Diaspora, called the Septuagint. It was in vogue among Greek-speaking Jews until the new Christian religion entered the world stage, whose followers began to actively translate sacred texts into all languages of the world, considering them all equally sacred. Supporters of Judaism, although they use translations, recognize only the authentic Jewish text as canonical.
The books of the Old Testament are very diverse in their content. But first of all, the Tanakh is a story about the history of the Israeli people and their relationship with God the Creator, who bears the name Yahweh. In addition, the Hebrew Bible contains religious instructions, hymnographic material and prophecies aimed at the future. Believers believe that the entire Tanakh is a divinely inspired complete text in which not a single letter can be changed.
Components of the Tanakh
There are 24 books in the Hebrew Scriptures. In essence, they are almost identical to the Christian canon, but differ in the nature of their classification. In addition, some books that are considered different texts by Christians are combined into one in the Tanakh. Therefore, the total number of books among Jews is 24 (sometimes they are even reduced to 22 in order to justify the correspondence of the books of the Tanakh to the letters of which, as is known, there are 22), while among Christians it is at least 39.
As already mentioned, all books of the Tanakh are divided into three classes: Torah, Neviim, Ketuvim. The first of them - the Torah - is the most important. This part is also called the Pentateuch because it consists of five books whose authorship is attributed to the prophet Moses. However, this is a religious attribution, which is dubious from a scientific point of view.
The word “Torah” means a law that must be known and followed exactly. These books tell about the creation of the world, people, their fall, the history of ancient humanity, the birth and election of the Jewish people by God, the conclusion of a covenant with them and the path to Israel.
The Nevi'im section literally means "prophets". But, in addition to the prophetic books, it includes some historical narratives. Within itself, Nevi'im is divided into two parts: the early prophets and the late prophets. The early category includes works attributed to Joshua, the Prophet Samuel, etc. In general, they are more historical in nature than prophetic. The later prophets include the books of three so-called great prophets - Jeremiah, Isaiah, Ezekiel - and twelve minor ones. Unlike the Christian tradition, the latter are combined into one book. In total, there are 8 books in Neviim.
Ketuvim is the section that concludes the Tanakh. In Russian it means "scriptures". It includes prayer and hymnographic texts, as well as wisdom literature - instructions of a religious and moral nature, the authorship of which is attributed to the sages of Israel, for example, King Solomon. There are a total of 11 books in this section.
Tanakh in Christianity
The entire Tanakh is accepted as Holy Scripture in Christendom, with the exception of some heterodox movements, such as the Gnostics. However, if the followers of Judaism included in the canon only texts that have a Hebrew original, then Christians recognize as sacred some other scriptures, the Hebrew original of which either has not been preserved or did not exist at all. All such texts go back to the Septuagint, the Greek version of the Tanakh. They are included in the Orthodox Bibles as sacred texts. In Catholicism they are recognized conditionally and are called deuterocanonical. And in Protestantism they are completely rejected. In this sense, the Protestant canon is more similar than other Christian versions of the Tanakh to the Jewish one. In fact, the Protestant version of the Old Testament is simply a translation of the later Jewish canon. All three Christian traditions have changed the classification of books. Thus, the three-part structure was replaced by a four-part one, borrowed from the same Septuagint. It includes the Pentateuch, historical, educational and prophetic books.
The cardinal question is this: Is it permissible for the Christian believer to perceive the Old Testament Scriptures as a complete system in isolation from the New Testament testimony regarding their fulfillment? Or should he accept the Old Testament and the New Testament together as one organic revelation of God in Christ Jesus?
God Himself is the interpreter of His Word. The words of Scripture receive their meaning and significance from their Divine Author and must continually be related to His dynamic purposes so that His own interpretation of earlier promises will be heard “thus saith the Lord.” The promises relating to Israel as a nation, dynasty, land, city, and mountain are not complete, isolated promises for Israel, but an integral part of God's dynamic plan for the salvation of the world and the human race.
The New Testament emphasizes the truth that God fulfilled his promise to Abraham in Jesus and renewed His covenant with Israel through Jesus Christ in a “better covenant” (Heb. 7:22),* providing a “better hope” (verse 19) for all who believe in Christ of the Israelites and the Gentiles (Heb. 8). Thus, the apostles testify to the fundamental fulfillment of the Old Testament promise in the Messiah Jesus.
The entire theological essence of Israel's history can only be understood by those who believe that Jesus is the Messiah of prophecy, that God's covenant with the 12 tribes of Israel fulfilled Christ's covenant with His 12 apostles (2 Cor. 3; Heb. 4). The main focus of the Gospel and its prophetic hope is that the Church of Christ is called to fulfill the divine purpose in Israel's elections: to be a saving light to the Gentiles. In the biblical typology, not only Christ is a type, but also Christ and His people, united for the purpose of God's salvation of the world.
Israel in the Old Testament
At the very first mention of the name "Israel" in the Bible, in Genesis 32, the origin and meaning of this new name is explained. Before entering the land of Canaan, Jacob - under the weight of guilt and overcome by fear - one night fought with the Unknown One, who possessed superhuman strength. Jacob persistently asked the One who fought with him for a blessing. Finally the following answer was given to him: “From now on your name will not be Jacob, but Israel; for you have wrestled with God, and you will overcome men” (Gen. 32:28; cf. Gen. 35:9-10).
Later, the prophet Hosea interpreted Jacob's struggle as a struggle “with God,” “with the Angel” (Hos. 12:3-4). Thus we receive the revelation that the name "Israel" is of Divine origin. It symbolizes the new spiritual relationship that arose between Jacob and Yahweh, and signifies the reconciliation of Jacob through the forgiving grace of God.
Holy Scripture never loses sight of this sacred root of the word “Israel.” Hosea presents Jacob's struggle and faith in God as an example to be copied by the apostate tribes of Israel (verses 3-6; 14:1-3). In other words, Jacob's struggle with God was formulated as the prototype of the true Israel that the house of Israel must follow in order to become the Israel of God.
The predictive prophecies of chapters 40-66 occupy a special place in the Book of Isaiah as great promises of the restoration of Israel after the Assyrian-Babylonian captivity. In these assurances of the reunification of Israel from the great dispersion, the prophecy is addressed not only to the physical descendants of Jacob who are faithful to Yahweh. Isaiah foretells that in the blind Israel there will be a multitude of non-Israelites who will choose to worship the God of Israel. Those two groups of people - foreigners and eunuchs - who, according to the law of Moses (Deut. 23: 1-3), were prohibited from entering the community that worshiped Yahweh, are now allowed to worship in the new temple on Mount Zion, provided that they accept the Sabbath of the Lord and hold fast the commandments of God (see Isaiah 56:4-7; also 45:20-25).
To those Gentiles who come to Him in faith and obedience to the Lord (Is. 56:3), the God of Israel will give in Israel an “everlasting name” (verse 5). Thus, Isaiah reveals how God's universal gospel to the world, reflected in His covenant, will be finally fulfilled through the new Israel. This new Israel is characterized primarily not by an ethnic connection with Abraham, but by Abraham's faith and worship of Yahweh. Gentile believers will have the same rights and covenant promises as Israelite believers.
The prophet Jeremiah uses the name "Israel" in different ways. Its meaning is always determined by the immediate context. However, it is clear that the focus of Jeremiah's promises and predictions is not on the restoration of Israel as an independent political state, but on Israel as the spiritually regenerated people of God, gathered from all twelve tribes. The new covenant that Yahweh will make with the house of Israel and the house of Judah after the Babylonian captivity will be completely different from the Sinai covenant (see Jer. 31:31-34). The restored Israel will be a praying and worshiping Remnant from all twelve tribes, in which every Israelite will be in a personal saving relationship with God and will be completely obedient to His holy Law (verse 6, 32:38-40).
The prophet Ezekiel, who himself was exiled to Babylon in 597 BC, also predicted that a new, spiritual Israel after the captivity would be restored to its homeland: “And they will come there and cast out from it all her abominations and all her abominations.” . And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and I will take out of their flesh the heart of stone, and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in My commandments, and keep My statutes, and do them; and they will be My people, and I will be their God. But whose heart is carried away after their abominations and their abominations, I will turn their conduct upon their heads, says the Lord God” (Ezek. 11:18-21).
These and similar predictions (cf. Ezek. 36:24-33; 37:22-26) emphasize that in restoring Israel, God is primarily interested not in a secular political state, but in a unified theocracy, in a spiritually purified and truly believing people of God.
Israel, returning from captivity, was a religious community centered not on a royal throne, but on a rebuilt temple. Although the majority of those who returned from captivity were from the tribes of Judah and Levi, this spiritual Remnant saw itself as an extension and personification of the Israel of God (see Ezra 2:2,70; 3:1,11; 4:3; 6:16-17 ,21; Neh.1:6; 8:1,17; 10:39; Mal.1:1,5). The last prophet, Mapachiah, emphasized that God's people were the Israelites who "fear God" and that God would recognize as His own on the final day of judgment only those who serve Him (Mal. 3:16-4:3). Judah is seen as the sons of Jacob and heirs of God's covenant with Israel (see Mal. 1:1; 2:11; 3:6; 4:4).
conclusions
The Old Testament uses the name "Israel" in more than one aspect. First, it designates a religious covenant community, a people who worship God in manifest truth and Spirit. Secondly, it denotes the various ethnic groups or nations that are called to become spiritual Israel. The original meaning of the name “Israel” as a symbol of acceptance by God through His forgiving grace (Gen. 32.28) always remains the sacred root to which the prophets call the ethnic tribes of Israel to return (Hos. 12.6; Jer. 31.31-34; Ezek. 36.26-28) .