Names, especially names of Biblical characters, are very significant. The granting of a name is a divine gift bestowed upon Adam, giving him an active role in Creation Genesis 2:19:
Therefore changing a name should not be taken lightly. There is a Kabbalistic notion that at a childās naming, the parents are given Divine inspiration and choose the best name for his soul. Nonetheless, name changes are surprisingly common in the Torah. Abram and Sarai were the first to have their names changed when God changed their names to Avraham and Sarah in order to prepare him to be the father of nations.
Hosea ben Nun had his name changed to Yehoshua, or Joshua, by Moses. According to the midrash, the letter yud was added to turn his name into a prayer, requesting that God preserve him from being influenced by the other spies. Another midrash explains that Moses changed Joshuaās name to hide his identity from the other nations who would be looking to exact revenge on him for his victory over Amalek.
According to the Midrash, Jethro, Mosesā father-in-law, was originally named Yeter and when he “added” good deeds (to himself), a letter (vav) was added to his name. This is also the case with Yehonadav who became Yonadav after advising Amnon how to sin with Tamar, and therefore lost the letter yud (II Chronicles 20:37).
Shifra and Puah, the meritorious midwives who save the Israelite children in Egypt, had their names changed to Jocheved and Miriam. Hadassah changed her name to Esther (hidden), perhaps, as the name implies, to hide her true identity as part of Israel or, alternatively, to hide her true virtue as Hadas (myrtle) which is a symbol of righteousness (Zechariah 1:8).
The opposite is also true. Ephron, whose name had been spelled with a vav (עֶפְ×Ø×Ö¹×) suddenly appeared without a vav (עֶפְ×ØÖ¹×) after taking an exorbitant sum of money from Abraham as payment for the machpelah cave in Hebron.
Sometimes the changes were made by non-Jews, as in the case of Josephās name being changed to Tzaphnat Paneach (Genesis 41, 45). Nebuchadnezzarās chief officer changed Danielās name to Belteshazzar as a reference to a pagan god.
The Talmud (Rosh Hashanah 16b) lists four things that can cause an unfavorable decree against a person to be torn up, and one of them is a change of name. One commentary explains that the function of a name change is to inspire a person to do complete repentance. Another commentary argues that none of the Biblical characters who changed their name had an exceptional need to repent. A change of name actually changed a personās mazal, translated as āluckā or ādestinyā. Hence Sarahās pregnancy immediately following her name change.
But Jacobās name change was unique in several respects. His name was changed entirely and not simply altered by that addition or subtraction of a single letter. Its meaning changed from referring to his grasping of Esauās heel (ekev) to meaning, āone who has struggled with man and God and has prevailed.ā

Identity is an existential challenge for Jacob, a major recurring theme in his life. Born a twin, he is forced to take on his hairy brotherās identity in order to steal the firstbornās blessing. And Laban cheats him by shuffling his sister brides. In one respect, the new name, Yisrael, returns Jacob to his prenatal nature when rather than cope with cheating and ambiguity by hiding his own identity.
Jacobās name change is also different from that of Abraham who is never referred to as Abram afterward. The Talmud (Berachot 13) states that anyone who calls Abraham by his previous name, āAbramā, violates a positive commandment as God specified, āAnd your name will be Abrahamā (Genesis 17:5). This is clearly not the case with Jacob, as the Torah itself refers to him many times as Jacob after the angel renamed him. This, despite the fact that the angel states explicitly,
This strange dichotomy is emphasized in Psalms 53:7:
God himself calls him Jacob when he appears to him in a dream in Egypt (Genesis 46:2). And Jacob enthusiastically responds, āHere I am.ā
The Jews mirror Godās preference when praying, referring to āthe God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacobā rather than the āGod of Israel.ā
The Talmud (Brachos 12b-13a) notes the same and concludes that Jacob did not have his name changed as did Abraham and Sarah. Rather, he was given an additional name. Israel would be his primary name but Jacob would still be used as well, as his secondary name.
Rebbe Nachman of Uman, the 18th Century founder of the Breslov branch of Hassidut, had a singular explanation of the power of names in his book, Likutei Moharan (56:3:8):
āWe merit this through Torah study. This is because the Torah is the Name of God, and the name of a thing is its vessel; within this name is contained the life force of that thing. As it is written, āliving soul that is its nameā (Genesis 2:19)ācontained in the name of each thing is its soul and life force. This is why when we call a person by his name, we gain his attention immediately because his total soul and life force are contained within his name.ā