Isaiah 44:2

formed thee from the womb See Isaiah 44:24, ch. Isaiah 49:5.

Jeshurunoccurs again only in Deuteronomy 32:15; Deuteronomy 33:5; Deuteronomy 33:26; always as a synonym for Israel and a title of honour (hardly a diminutive, as the termination might suggest). It means the "Upright One," being formed from an adj. yâshâr, which is applied to Israel in Numbers 23:10, and perhaps also in the phrase "book of Jashar" (see Joshua 10:13, R.V.). The history of the name is, however, altogether obscure. The opinion that it was coined in opposition to Jacob ("the supplanter") has little to recommend it; although that antithesis may have led to its selectionby this prophet.

Should the recent supposed discovery of the name Israel on an Egyptian monument of the reign of Merenptah be confirmed, it is possible that fresh light may be thrown on the relation of the two names Israel and Jeshurun. The form in which the word there appears is said to be Yishir'il, the sibilant agreeing with Jeshurun but differing from the traditional pronunciation of Yisrâ"el. Yishir'iland Yeshûrûn might be derivations from a common root, yâshar. (Brandt, Theologisch Tijdschrift, 1896, p. 511; cf. Renan, Hist. du peuple d'Israël, Vol. i., p. 106).