Israel
Archimandrite Nikifor’s Biblical Encyclopedia
(he who strove with God) (Gen 32:28)—the name given to Jacob when he wrestled with God in the person of the angel of God. “I said (to him): thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for thou hast striven with God, and hast prevailed with men.” After this event the names Jacob and Israel are used, apparently, interchangeably. On account of the meaning of the name Israel, given by God to Jacob on so momentous and mysterious an occasion, this latter name came into common use.
In a figurative sense it embraces the whole Church of God (Isa 49:3, Rom 9:6). After the division of the kingdom under Rehoboam, the name Israel came to designate specifically the kingdom of the ten tribes. After the Babylonian captivity this name was applied to all Jews, as it is used even at the present day.