Israel

🏷  Bible name Semitic pun · name   —   by Gerry · May 2019 · 1869 words

The name Israel seems to be a multi-pun about all aspects of spookery: It puns with “veiled ruler” forwards & backwards, but also with “veiled assistant”, “putting on a veil”, and “godseed”, all in one word!

The Israel puns in a nutshell

Don’t mistake the modern nation Israel, or the land from the Biblical stories, with what this word really means to the spooks.

The term Israel is a multi-pun which signifies everything that cryptocracy is about: concealed absolute power.

We’ll probably find even more puns, with decreasing quality. The bottom line is: Israel is a compound word that encompasses so many puns about spookery that it simply had to become one of the favorite spook names. That’s even though the official meaning is not very catchy and somewhat vague.

Israel as yšr-ˀl for “having power as a ruler”

There’s not much to be said about this: The root šr means “ruler” and also “exerting power”. The root ˀl means “God” and also “ruler”.

So even while staying within the official word roots, you can read the name as “striving with God”, but also as “having power as a ruler”, “lordly ruler”, or “ruling lord”, since both terms mean “ruler” & “power”.

Hebrew šr = ruler, exerting

שר šr : chieftain, chief, ruler, official, captain, prince, leader, commander, governor, overseer — Old Hebrew (Strong)

שרה šrh : to persist, exert oneself, persevere; contend, strive; to prevail, have power as a prince — Old Hebrew (Strong)

Hebrew ˀl, ˀlwhym = god, ruler

אל ˀl el : God, god, gods, mighty, Mighty One, power, strong; applied to men of might and rank — Old Hebrew (Strong)

אלהים ˀlhym elohim : God, god, gods; divine being; great, judges, mighty, rulers; Plural of ’elowahh; gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates — Old Hebrew (Strong)

אלוהים ˀlwhym : the Almighty God of Israel; rulers, judges; divine ones; angels; gods, deities — Hebrew (Wikt)

Israel as yšr-rˁl for “veiled ruler”

If you recycle the R in Israel for the second part, then it puns with רעל rˁl raˁul for “veil”. The resulting phrase is then “veiled ruler”, another hidden ruler pun.

But here comes the twist: The term רעל rˁl raˁul for “veil” is an alleged Arabic word for “veil”. But it only ever occurs in Hebrew texts & dictionaries! I have not found a single Arabic dictionary which lists this word as “veil”. Very few list the word root at all. The fact that this obscure loanword was kept alive in Hebrew for millennia is evidence in itself that it’s important to spookery. My best guess is that it was a rare term already in Phoenician times, and was censored out of Arabic dictionaries & parlance, to protect the “Israel” pun.

Hebrew, Arabic rˁl = veil, veiled

רעל rˁl : to veil; Arabic ra‘ul — Hebrew (Jastrow)

רעלה rˁlh : veil — Hebrew (Klein)

רעול rˁwl : veiled — Hebrew (Klein)

רעל rˁl raˁal : quiver, shake, tremble; Arabic رَعْلُ the hanging part of a sheep’s split ear, also (Frey) a kind of veil of which a part hangs down in front — Old Hebrew (Strong)

רעלה rˁlh reˁalah : probably a veil (in list of finery); compare Arabic above — Old Hebrew (Strong)

רעלות rˁlwt : a woman’s vails, so called from their tremulous motion; Arabic رَعْلُ — Old Hebrew (Genesius)

Rashi goes on to provide additional details about veils: “It is the custom of Arab women to keep their heads and faces wrapped, except for their eyes. In Arabic this practice is designated by the verb RˁL” — the same unusual root that is employed by the Mishnah. It is not clear where Rashi, living in northern France, acquired his proficiency in Arabic, but evidently his assertion is correct. The cognate root in Arabic has the meaning of “a kind of veil of which a part hangs down in front.”

Eliezer Segal: On the Trails of Tradition

Israel as ˀzr-ˁl for “veiled ruler”

The first part of Israel puns with אזר ˀzr ˀizar, which also means “veil”. This time, this specific meaning is only attested for Arabic. The general meaning of “cloth bound around” is present in Hebrew as “girdle”.

We can see that this “veil” pun is important as well, because it explains a lot of other Biblical & Phoenician names, such as Azra-El, Eli-Ezer, Jezre-El, Baal-Azer, Azer-Baal, and others. They’re all veiled rulers.

(Further discussion at Nazir.)

Arabic, Aramaic, Hebrew ˀzr = veil, cover, belt

ازر ˀzr izr : a long wrapper, veil — Arabic (Steingass)

ازار ˀzˀr izār : a veil of fine linen or muslin, which, in the East, flows from the ladies heads below the middle of the leg — Arabic (Catafago)

איזאר ˀyzˀr : veil, shawl; Arabic ˀizār — Aramaic (CAL)

אזר ˀzr azar : to gird, encompass, equip; bind, bound, encircle, gird, girded; Arabic أَزَّرَ — Old Hebrew (Strong)

אזור ˀzwr ezor : girdle; zone, region; It is prob. related to Arab. ’izā́r (= loincloth, wrapper, covering). — Hebrew (Klein)

Israel as ˁzr-rˁl for “veiled assistant”

In the actual Bible verses I’ve decrypted so far, Israel typically seems to refer to middle or lower-rank spooklings who are being handed instructions (Lev 17:10ff, Lev 18:2), while the ruling spook aristocracy is represented by God. So, the most likely pun-meaning for Israel in this context is עזר רעל ˁzr-rˁl ˁezer- raˁal “veiled assistants”. They’re the traitorous spies & moles scattered among the populations of the world, who enable the corrupt rule of the overlord scum.

Hebrew ˁzr = assist, help, helper, helpmate; rˁl = veil

עזר ˁzr : to help, assist, aid — Hebrew (Klein)

עזר ˁzr : help, helper, one who helps — Old Hebrew (Strong)

עזר ˁzr : help; helpmate — Hebrew (Jastrow)

רעל rˁl : to veil; Arabic ra‘ul — Hebrew (Jastrow)

Israel as ˀsr-rˁl for “putting on a veil”

The first part of Israel puns with אסר ˀsr aser has the basic meaning “to join”, but also means “to put things on”, like clothing.

With the second part as רעל rˁl raˁal for “veil”, the name Israel can therefore be literally read as אסר רעל ˀsr-rˁl aser-raˁal, which means “putting on a veil”.

That’s what the aristocrats did: Millennia ago, they already had ultimate power & ultimate wealth. But they had gotten it all via scamming & looting, and inheriting. To hide that fact from us, their subjects, they put on a collective mask. They became spooky cryptocrats, that is, hidden rulers.

Hebrew, Aramaic ˀsr = put on, gird, bind, wrap, tie up

אסר ˀsr : to bind; to tie up; to gird the loins with armor or other clothing; to join; to wrap; to have bound or fixate tightly; to be bound; to be girdled; to be joined; to be swaddled — Aramaic (CAL)

יסר ysr : to tie, put on — Hebrew (Jastrow)

אסר ˀsr aser : to surround, enclose; to chain; to harness, put the horses to; to bind — Hebrew (Jastrow)

אסר ˀsr : to chain; to tie up, put on — Hebrew (Jastrow)

Israel as ˁšr-rˁl for “veiled wealth”

One important aspect that had propelled the proto-spooky aristocracy to the top was the concept of “wealth”. At some point in human pre-history, the most powerful individuals enforced that they “owned” things, and could “inherit” those to their own offspring. From then, princelings then started to be born into privileged positions of undeserved wealth. They could then use that wealth to out-compete all of their contemporaries, and pass on even greater wealth.

The first part of Israel also puns with that wealth. it’s the word עשר ˁšr ˁashar, from the same root as the words “ten” & “tithing”. The basic root meaning seems to be “gathering all together”, like the fingers of a hand. Israel thus puns with “veiled wealth”.

(It also puns with אוצר ˁwšr ˀotsar for “treasury”, but the similarity isn’t as great here.)

Hebrew ˁšr = rich, wealth

עשר ˁšr : to become or be rich; made rich, enriched — Hebrew (Klein)

עשר ˁšr : riches, wealth — Hebrew (Klein)

עושר ˁwšr : plenty, wealth, riches. — Hebrew (Jastrow)

עשר ˁšr : to be strong, substantial, wealthy; to become wealthy; to make rich; to become rich — Hebrew (Jastrow)

Hebrew ˀwṣr = treasure, treasury

אוצר ˀwṣr : treasure, treasures, treasury, storehouse, gains — Old Hebrew (Strong)

אוצר ˀwṣr : supply; storehouse, granary; treasure, treasury — Hebrew (Klein)

The official meaning of the Biblical name Israel is “God strives” or “struggles with God”, because the character “wrestles” with a mysterious man all night. That meaning doesn’t really fit well with the wider narrative of the Biblical story. It also doesn’t explain this name’s popularity with the spook aristocrats.

At its core, the name consists of the roots שר-אל šr-ˀl, which also mean “ruler-lord” or “lordly ruler”. That could be the pun, as the spook aristocrats see themselves as overlord rulers of the world.

Israel as zrˁ-ˀl for “godseed”

The name Israel or Yisrael looks & sounds very similar to the Biblical name Jezreel or Yzreel. The second component is the same, “God” or “lord”. The first component of Jezreel is the very common root זרע zrˁ, which means “sowing”, “seed”, “grain”, “offspring”, “descendant”, generally everything that grows out as a branch from something else.

The name Jezreel, which officially means “God sows”, can thus also mean “god-seed” or “lordly offspring”. That may be one reason why the spook aristocrats, all of them descending from the god-overlords of ancient times, call themselves Israelites. It is a pun for Jezreelites, which is what the spooks are: descendants of overlords!

We get some confirmation through the name Armstrong, which also synonym-translates into “godseed”.

Hebrew Yisrael similar to Yzreel, which means God sows, but also lordly offspring

ישראל yšrˀl Yisrael : “God strives,” another name of Jacob and his descendants — Old Hebrew (Strong)

יזרעאל yzrˁˀl Yzreel : “God sows,” two Israelites, also two cities in Israel, also a valley in Northern Israel — Old Hebrew (Strong)

ישראלי yšrˀly Yisreeli : descendant of Israel — Old Hebrew (Strong)

יזרעאלי yzrˁˀly Yzreeli : an inhabitant of Jezreel — Old Hebrew (Strong)

זרע zrˁ zera : sowing, seed, offspring, children, descendants, family, grain, intercourse, seminal — Old Hebrew (Strong)

🏷  Bible name Semitic pun · name