Israel
2 of the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf carry an entry for Israel. Both are reproduced below, so you can see where they agree and where they differ.
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
the name divinely given to Jacob during the scene at Peniel or Penuel as a memorial that , as a prince , he had power with God and with men and had prevailed (Gen. xxxii: 28). Also the Jewish people; a contraction for Children of Israel or House of Israel (Hosea xi: 1). See JEWS. Also a religious sect which appeared for the first in England in 1883. ISRAELITES. See JEWS. ISRÄELS, JOSEF, a Dutch artist; born in Groningen in 1824. He studied at Amsterdam under Pieneman and Kruseman, and in Paris under Picot and Henri Scheffer. In 1855 his "William, Prince of Orange, opposing the Decree of the King of Spain" attracted attention in the Exposition Universelle . In 1867 his celebrated "Interior of the Orphan Asylum at Katwijk" gained for him a third-class medal and the ribbon of the Legion of Honor; and eight years later he was awarded the cross and a first-class medal. Later he resided at The Hague. Among his chief pictures may be named "The Sewing-School at Katwijk" (1881), "Silent Company" (1882), "Fine Weather" (1883), and "The Struggle for Life" (1883). He is also favorably known as an etcher by "Old Mary," "The Cradle," "The Mother," "The Fisherman," etc. He died in 1911.
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
a name given to Jacob after he had wrestled successfully with the Angel of the Lord, as related in Genesis xxxii. The name is Hebrew for "soldier of God." Hence the Hebrews were called the children of Israel, and the people of Israel, the Israelites. About 953 B. C. the northern tribes seceded from the southern tribes and set up an independent monarchy under Jeroboam. Other kings were Ahab and Jehu. This kingdom was called Israel. The citizens were carried into captivity by Sargon about 722 B. C. They are henceforth unknown to history and are spoken of as the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. See Hebrews
What Has Changed in the Last Century
For both these entries Israel is a name and an ancient kingdom: the title given to Jacob at Peniel, and the northern monarchy that broke away under Jeroboam and was carried off by Sargon II about 722 B.C. Neither Aiton's in 1910 nor Collier's in 1921 could point to a country so called, though the year Collier's went to press the League of Nations was preparing the British Mandate for Palestine that followed the 1917 Balfour Declaration. The modern State of Israel was declared on 14 May 1948, fought a war of independence, and today has a population of roughly ten million with Jerusalem as its seat of government and unresolved conflict with the Palestinians over the same land. On the ancient side the picture has firmed up too: the Merneptah Stele, read in the 1890s, carries the earliest known mention of "Israel" as a people in Egyptian records of about 1207 B.C., and the Tel Dan inscription found in 1993 names the "House of David."
Written for this edition, 2026.