Yigal (anglicized as Igal or Igeal) is a Hebrew personal name meaning 'may God redeem' or 'God will redeem.' It is the imperfect/jussive form of gaal (H1350), the verb for kinsman-redeemer. Three biblical figures bear this name: one of the twelve spies sent into Canaan from the tribe of Issachar (Num 13:7); one of David's mighty warriors, son of Nathan of Zobah (2 Sam 23:36); and an ancestor in the Davidic lineage (1 Chr 3:22).
The name Yigal embeds one of the most important theological concepts of the Hebrew Bible into a personal name: redemption by a kinsman-redeemer (goel). The goel was a near relative with both the right and responsibility to redeem — to buy back a person or property from bondage or loss. Boaz is the great narrative illustration of the goel in action (Ruth 3-4). Ultimately, the theology of gaal finds its fullest expression in Christ — the divine kinsman who became flesh to have the standing to redeem what was lost. The name Yigal is thus a living prayer: 'May God redeem.'