ישראל Israel (or rather Yishrael) – God has Made Straight

And he is saying, “Heel Chaser (“Jacob”) is not saying the name of yourself going around/iterating again, but rather God Has Straightened (“Israel”)! For you have contended in company with mighty ones and in company with mortal men, and you are overcoming!”

Genesis 32:28 RBT

The Hebrew name “Yisrael,” Strong’s #3478, is traditionally thought to be derived from the roots שׂרה (sarah) and אֵל (El), where שׂרה has been defined as persevere, strive, fight, lead as prince, etc. However, its exact meaning has been debated for centuries. The word עוֹד (od) used in this verse properly means “a repeat, do again, going around” as an adverb (cf. Strongs #5750) or “to repeat, iterate” as a verb (cf. Strong’s #5749), and this was apparently never taken into consideration for interpretation of the meaning of “Israel” (the repeat, or “again” being in the sense of the circuit of time around eternity…round, and round, and round…). Instead, the word שרית (sharit) was the focus for interpretation. From שׂרה Gesenius gave a primary meaning of “set in order or in a row” and a secondary “to fight”, while Fuerst said “to rule, be noble” and Strong said “have power as prince.” BDB defines it simply as persist, persevere citing the Arabic cognate سَرَى: 

Another important key is the use of the preposition עִם which means “with, beside, in company together.” It does not mean “against” for which there is already עַל. Small details can make a huge difference. The usage of שרית was never about contending against God and mortal men.

“…through perseverance let us run the Contest which is being laid out before ourselves.” (Hebrews 12:1 RBT)

שרה or ישר?

The difference in meaning arises from the pointing of the letter ש which can be either “sin” or “shin.” ישר can be from the root שרה (sarah) or the root ישר “yashar” (cf. Strongs #3474) meaning “to be straight/to straighten.” The Masoretes responsible for adding the points in the 7-10th centuries AD, put יִשְׂרָ (yisra) instead of יִשְׁרֵ (yishre) reflecting the traditional pronunciation and understanding. The pointing in Job 37:3 reflects this: יִשְׁרֵהוּ “yishre-hu” meaning “he straightened him.”

The root for “Yishrael” would be ישר (yashar), as seen in the adjective Strong’s #3477. This root means “to be straight, make straight, smooth, easy.” Therefore, the name ישראל would be pronounced something like “Yishrael.” In the Greek New Testament, Ἰσραήλ “Israel” is just as irrelevant to the consonantal pronunciation as the Greek form “Jesus/iesus” is to the Hebrew “Yeshuah.”