Etymology

The Merneptah Stele (13th century BCE). The majority of biblical archeologists
translate a set of hieroglyphs as "Israel," the first instance of the name in the
record.
Upon independence in 1948, the country formally adopted the name "State of Israel"
(Hebrew: ‫שר רא אל‬ ‫ משד דיננת י ש‬About this soundMedīnat Yisrā'el [mediˈnat jisʁaˈʔel]; Arabic:
‫ ردسورلة ئإسسررائئيل‬Dawlat Isrāīl ʼ [dawlat ʔisraːˈʔiːl]) after other proposed historical and
religious names including Eretz Israel ("the Land of Israel"), Zion, and Judea,
were considered but rejected.[67] In the early weeks of independence, the
government chose the term "Israeli" to denote a citizen of Israel, with the formal
announcement made by Minister of Foreign Affairs Moshe Sharett.[68]

The names Land of Israel and Children of Israel have historically been used to
refer to the biblical Kingdom of Israel and the entire Jewish people respectively.
[69] The name "Israel" (Hebrew: Yisraʾel, Isrāʾīl; Septuagint Greek: Ἰσραήλ Israēl;
'El (God) persists/rules', though after Hosea 12:4 often interpreted as "struggle
with God")[70][71][72][73] in these phrases refers to the patriarch Jacob who,
according to the Hebrew Bible, was given the name after he successfully wrestled
with the angel of the Lord.[74] Jacob's twelve sons became the ancestors of the
Israelites, also known as the Twelve Tribes of Israel or Children of Israel. Jacob
and his sons had lived in Canaan but were forced by famine to go into Egypt for
four generations, lasting 430 years,[75] until Moses, a great-great grandson of
Jacob,[76] led the Israelites back into Canaan during the "Exodus". The earliest
known archaeological artifact to mention the word "Israel" as a collective is the
Merneptah Stele of ancient Egypt (dated to the late 13th century BCE).[77]