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What Is Biblical Israel?

One of the most misunderstood concepts in Scripture is Biblical Israel.

In Hebrew, the name commonly rendered Israel is Yashar’el, יִשְׂרָאֵל(Y-Sh-R-E/A-L) meaning “El is upright” or “upright with El.” (Concordances rendering "God prevails" do not represent accurate Biblical Hebrew, nor linguistics, as those 2 words do not even fit the Hebrew combination when Yahsar and El are direct). From the beginning, this name describes a relationship, not a race, and a covenant, not a piece of land.

The Bible is not the story of any nation’s superiority.
It is the story of Yahuah’s covenant faithfulness. (Eph. 2:12-13)

Israel Is Defined by Covenant

Biblical Israel has never been defined by bloodline alone. From the Exodus forward, Scripture is explicit:

There is one law for the native-born and for the stranger who joins himself to the covenant. (Ex. 12:49 and many others. Moses defined this himself. Any modern church offering a new definition, is not following Torah.)
Yahuah has never established a superior race.
Covenant has always come first.

Noah was not an Israelite—yet he walked in covenant. (Gen. 9:11-17)
Abram was not chosen for blood, but for faithfulness. His seed mattered because the Messiah would come through it, not because it elevated one people above others. (Gen. 26:5; Galatians 3:16 defines that the covenant promises were made to Abraham and his "Seed" (singular), referring to Messiah, meaning all who are "in Yahusha" share in that promise. That is the OT concept as well unchanged.)

Covenant passed through Isaac and Jacob—not because of genetics alone, but because they continued in covenant.

Jacob and the Name Israel

Jacob was renamed Yashar’el, and from that point forward, Israel refers to those who walk uprightly with El. (Gen. 28:20-22)

There is no biblical teaching that the land itself was inherently holy. Scripture records that it was defiled long before Israel entered it and was never fully cleansed afterward. Even ancient Israel was repeatedly judged while living in that land when they broke covenant.

The land never sanctified the people.
Covenant did.

Messiah and Israel

Yahusha did not create a new people—He revealed the fullness of Israel.

He did not abolish covenant; He fulfilled and renewed it. (Matt. 5:17-20)
Gentiles were brought into covenant long before the so-called “New Testament,” and Scripture never teaches two separate peoples of Yahuah. (Gal. 3:28; Rom. 2:28; or Col. 3:11 are not new doctrine but a repeating of Moses who said the same. Acts 10:34 clarifies Yahuah is no respecter of persons/bloodlines. He has never been. Only covenant matters.)

Yahusha is present throughout Scripture—from before Abraham onward—and covenant has always required obedience, faith, and relationship. His ways do not change. (John 8:58; Mal. 3:6; Heb. 13:8)

Who Is Israel Today?

Anyone—regardless of lineage—who is not in covenant with Yahuah and Yahusha is not Biblical Israel, regardless of title, nation, or ancestry. (John 1:12-13)

And anyone—regardless of origin—who walks in covenant belongs to Yashar’el. (Paul clarifies this Old Testament concept in Romans 11:17-24. Even Gentiles are grafted into the Kingdom.)

Scripture records that Yahuah judged rebellion even among ancient Israel. (eg. Num. 16) Bloodline never exempted anyone from correction. Covenant has always been the standard.

The Biblical Conclusion

Biblical Israel is not confined to a land,
not preserved by genetics,
and not defined by nationality.

Biblical Israel is a people in covenant—
upright with El,
walking with the Father,
and revealed fully in Yahusha the Messiah.

Israel has always existed.
Israel still exists.
And Israel will always exist—wherever covenant is kept.

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