THE STORY OF JACOB

“After Abraham died, his son Isaac lived in the land of Canaan. Like his father, Isaac had his home in a tent; around him were the tents of his people, and many flocks of sheep and herds of cattle feeding wherever they could find grass to eat and water to drink.

“Isaac and his wife Rebekah had two children. The older was named Esau and the younger Jacob.

“Esau was a man of the woods and very fond of hunting; and he was rough and covered with hair.

“Jacob was quiet and thoughtful, staying at home, dwelling in a tent, and caring for the flocks of his father.

“Isaac loved Esau more than Jacob, because Esau brought to his father that which he had killed in his hunting; but Rebekah liked Jacob, because she saw that he was wise and careful in his work.

“Among the people in those lands, when a man dies, his older son receives twice as much as the younger of what the father has owned. This was called his “birthright,” for it was his right as the oldest born. So Esau, as the older, had a “birthright” to more of Isaac’s possessions than Jacob. And besides this, there was the privilege of the promise of God that the family of Isaac should receive great blessings.” Logan Marshall. The Woner Book of Bible Stories

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HOW JACOB DECEIVED HIS FATHER

Now Isaac prayed to Jehovah for his wife, because she had no children; and Jehovah heard his prayer, and Rebekah became the mother of twin boys. They named one Esau and the other Jacob.

As they grew up, Esau became a skilful hunter, a man who lived out in the fields; but Jacob was a quiet man who stayed about the tents. Isaac loved Esau, for he was fond of game; but Rebekah loved Jacob.

Once when Jacob was preparing a stew, Esau came in from the fields, and he was very hungry; so he said to Jacob, “Let me swallow some of that red stew, for I am very hungry.” But Jacob said, “Sell me first of all your right as the eldest.” Esau replied, “See, I am nearly dead now! So of what use is this birthright to me?” Jacob said, “First solemnly promise to give it to me.” So Esau solemnly promised and sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and stewed lentils, and when he had had something to eat and drink, he got up and went away. In this way Esau gave away his birthright.

When Isaac was so old and so nearly blind that he could not see,[20] he called Esau his oldest son and said to him, “My son.” Esau answered, “Here am I.” Then Isaac said, “See, I am old and do not know how soon I may die. Now, therefore, take your quiver and your bow and go out into the fields and hunt game for me and prepare for me savory food, such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat and that I may bless you before I die.”

Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to his son Esau. So when Esau went into the fields to hunt game, Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “I just now heard your father say to your brother Esau, ‘Bring me game and prepare for me savory food that I may eat it and bless you before I die.’ Now, my son, do as I tell you: Go to the flock and bring me from there two good kids, and I will make of them savory food for your father, such as he loves. Then take it to him, that he may eat, so that he may bless you before he dies.” But Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “You know that my brother Esau is a hairy man, while I am smooth. Perhaps my father will feel of me; then I shall appear to him as a deceiver, and I shall bring blame upon me and not a blessing.” But his mother said to him, “Upon me be the blame, my son; only obey me and go, bring the kids to me.” So he went and brought them to his mother, and his mother made savory food such as his father loved.

Rebekah also took the fine clothes of her older son Esau, which she had with her in the tent, and put them on her younger son Jacob. Then she put the skins of the kids upon his hands and upon the smooth part of his neck, and she placed the savory food and the bread which she had prepared in his hand, and he went to his father and said, “My father.” Isaac answered, “Here am I; who are you, my son?” Jacob said, “I am Esau your oldest son. I have done as you commanded me. Sit up and eat of my game, that you may bless me.” Isaac said to his son, “How very quickly you have found it, my son.” He answered, “Yes, because Jehovah your God gave me success.”

Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come here, my son, that I may feel of you to find out whether you are really my son Esau or not.” So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, and he felt of him and said, “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau. Are you really my son Esau?” Jacob answered, “I am.” And Isaac did not recognize him, for his hands were hairy like his brother Esau’s. So he blessed him. Then Isaac said, “Bring the food to me, that I may eat of my son’s game and bless you.” So he[21] brought it to him, and he ate. Jacob also brought him wine, and he drank.

Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come near now and kiss me, my son.” As he came near and kissed him, he smelled the smell of his garment, and blessed him.

As soon as Isaac had given Jacob his blessing, and Jacob was about to leave his father, Esau his brother came in from his hunting. He also had made savory food and was bringing it to his father. So he said to him, “Father, rise and eat of your son’s game, that you may bless me.” But Isaac his father said to him, “Who are you?” He answered, “I am your son, your oldest, Esau.” Then Isaac trembled and said, “Who then is he that has hunted game and brought it to me, so that I ate plentifully before you came, and blessed him? Also blessed shall he be!”

When Esau heard the words of his father, he uttered a loud and bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me, even me also, O my father.”

But Isaac said, “Your brother came with deceit and has taken away your blessing.” Esau said, “Is it not because he was named Jacob, which means Supplanter, that he has supplanted me these two times: he took my birthright, and now he has taken my blessing!” Then he said, “Have you kept a blessing for me?” Isaac answered Esau, “See, I have made him your master and I have given to him all his relatives as servants and grain and wine as his food. What then can I do for you, my son?” Esau said to his father, “Is that the only blessing you have, my father?” and Esau began to weep aloud. Then Isaac his father answered him:

JACOB’S DREAM

Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing which his father had given him. And Esau said to himself, “My father will soon die; then I will kill Jacob, my brother.”

When the words of her older son Esau were told to Rebekah, she sent for her younger son Jacob and said to him, “Your brother, Esau,[22] is going to kill you. Now therefore, my son, listen to me: run away to my brother Laban at Haran and stay with him for a time until your brother is no longer angry and he forgets what you have done to him. Then I will send and bring you back. Why should I lose both of you in one day?”

Then Jacob set out from Beersheba and went toward Haran. And when he arrived at a certain place, he passed the night there, because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones from its place and put it under his head and lay down to sleep. Then he dreamed and saw a ladder set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and the angels of God were going up and down on it.

Jehovah also stood beside him and said, “I am Jehovah, the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your children. See, I am with you, and will keep you wherever you go and will bring you again to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he said, “Surely Jehovah is in this place, and I did not know it.” And he was filled with awe and said, “This place is the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”

So Jacob rose early in the morning and took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil upon the top of it. And he named that place Bethel, which means House of God. Jacob also made this promise, “If God will be with me and protect me on this journey which I am making and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, and if I return safe and sound to my father’s house, then Jehovah shall be my God, and this stone which I have set up as a pillar shall be a house of God. And of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give a tenth to thee.”

THE DECEIVER DECEIVED

Then Jacob went on his journey and arrived at the land of the children of the East. And he looked and saw a well in the field, and there were three flocks of sheep lying down by it; for from that well they watered the flocks; but there was a large stone over the well. When all the flocks were gathered there, they used to roll away the stone and water the sheep and then put the stone back in its place over the well.[23]

Jacob said to the men, “My friends, from where do you come?” They said, “We are from Haran.” Then he said to them, “Do you know Laban the son of Nahor?” And they said, “We know him.” And he said to them, “Is all well with him?” And they said, “All is well; indeed, this is Rachel his daughter coming with the sheep.” And he said, “See, the sun is still high! It is not time for the cattle to be gathered together. Water the sheep and feed them.” But they said, “We cannot until all the flocks are gathered together, and they roll away the stone from the well; then we will water the sheep.”

While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep; for she was a shepherdess. When Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban, his mother’s brother, and Laban’s sheep, he went up and rolled the stone from the well and watered the flock of Laban his mother’s brother. Then Jacob kissed Rachel and wept aloud. And when Jacob told Rachel that he was a relative of her father and that he was Rebekah’s son, she ran and told her father.

As soon as Laban heard about Jacob, his sister’s son, he ran to meet him, put his arms around him, kissed him many times, and brought him to his home. When Jacob told Laban all about these things, Laban said to him, “Surely you are my bone and my flesh.” So he remained with him a whole month.

Then Laban said to Jacob, “Should you serve me for nothing simply because you are related to me? Tell me what shall be your wages?” Now Laban had two daughters: the name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. Leah’s eyes were weak, but Rachel was beautiful. Jacob loved Rachel, and so he said, “I will serve you seven years for Rachel your younger daughter.” And Laban said, “It is better for me to give her to you than to give her to any other man. Stay with me.” So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days, because he loved her so.

Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my time is up, and let me marry her.” So Laban gathered all the men of the place and made a feast. In the evening he took Leah his daughter and brought her to him, and Jacob received her as his wife.

When in the morning Jacob found it was Leah, he said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve you for Rachel? Why then have you deceived me?” Laban said, “It is not the custom among us to give the younger in marriage before[24] the older. Remain with this one during the marriage week, then we will give you the other also for the service which you shall give me during seven more years.” Jacob did so: he remained with Leah during the marriage week. Then Laban gave him Rachel his daughter to be his wife, but Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah. So he had to serve Laban seven years more.

MEETING A BROTHER WHO HAD BEEN WRONGED

In time Jacob became very wealthy, and he had large flocks, slaves, and asses. But he heard Laban’s sons say, “Jacob has taken all that was our father’s, and from that which was our father’s he has gotten all this wealth.” He also saw that Laban did not act toward him the same as before. So Jacob rose and put his sons and his wives upon the camels and drove away all his cattle. He deceived Laban, for he did not tell him that he was fleeing away. So he fled across the river Euphrates, with all that he had, and set out on his way toward Mount Gilead.

Then Jacob sent messengers before him to his brother Esau. And he gave them this command, “Say to my lord Esau: ‘Your servant Jacob declares, I have lived with Laban and have stayed until now. I have oxen and asses, flocks and slaves, and I have sent to tell my lord, in order that I may win your favor.'” The messengers returned to Jacob with the report, “We came to your brother Esau, even as he was coming to meet you with four hundred men.”

Then Jacob was greatly alarmed and worried. So he divided the people that were with him and the flocks and the herds and the camels into two parts and said, “If Esau comes to the one and attacks and destroys it, then the other which is left can escape.”

Jacob also prayed, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear that he will come and attack me and kill the mothers and the children.”

Then Jacob took as a present for his brother Esau, two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, thirty milch camels and their young, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female asses and ten young asses. These he put, each drove by itself, in the care of his servants and said to them, “Go on before me and leave a space between the droves.”[25]

He gave those in front this command: “When my brother Esau meets you and asks you, ‘To whom do you belong? and where are you going? and whose are these before you?’ then you shall say, ‘To your servant Jacob; it is a present sent by him to my lord Esau; and Jacob himself is just behind us.'” Jacob also commanded the second, and the third, and all that followed the droves, to make the same answer, and to say, “Jacob himself is just behind us.” For he said to himself, “I will please him with the present that goes before me, and then, when I meet him, perhaps he will welcome me.” So he sent the present over before him; but he himself spent that night in the camp.

Later that night he rose up and took his two wives, his two maid servants, and his eleven children, and sent them over the river Jabbok.

Jacob was left alone, and one wrestled with him until daybreak. When he saw that he did not win against Jacob, he struck the socket of his hip, and the socket of Jacob’s hip was strained, as he wrestled with him. Then he said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.” But Jacob replied, “I will not let thee go unless you bless me.” So he said to him, “What is your name?” He answered, “Jacob.” Then he said, “Your name shall be no longer Jacob, but Israel, which means Struggler with God; for you have struggled with God and with men and have won.” So he blessed him there. And Jacob called the place Penuel, which means Face of God, for he said, “I have seen God face to face, and my life has been saved.”

When Jacob looked up, he saw Esau coming with four hundred men. And he put the maid servants and their children in front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and her son Joseph in the rear. Then Jacob himself went in front of them, and he bowed down to the ground seven times, as he drew near to his brother. Esau ran to meet him, threw his arms about his neck, and kissed him, and they wept.

When Esau looked up and saw the women and the children, he said, “Who are these with you?” Jacob answered, “The children whom God has so kindly given me.” Then the maid servants with their children came up and bowed down to the ground. Leah and her children also came and bowed down, and afterward Joseph and Rachel came up and bowed down before Esau.

Esau asked, “What do you mean by all this company which I met?” Jacob answered, “To win your friendship, my lord.” Esau said, “I have enough, my brother; keep what you have.” But[26] Jacob replied, “No, if now I have won your favor, receive this present from me to show that you are my friend. Take, I beg of you, the gift that I bring to you, for God has been generous to me, and I have enough.” So he urged Esau until he took it.

Then Esau said, “Let me at least leave with you some of the people who are with me.” But Jacob replied, “What need is there? Let me only enjoy your friendship, my Lord.” So Esau turned back that day on his way to Seir. Sherman and Kent. The Children’s Bible

The Following is from the Encyclopedia of the Bible

“JACOB (יַעֲקֹֽב). The son of Isaac and Rebecca; the younger twin brother of Esau; the husband of Leah and Rachel. He later was called Israel (Gen 32:28; 49:2) and thus his sons became known as the twelve sons of Israel (Exod 1:1; 1 Chron 2:1).

Outline

1. Birth. At his birth he was holding his older brother’s heel (Gen 25:26). The same Heb. root (עקב) is found in the noun “heel” and the verb “to take by the heel” (Hos 12:3). This same root also means “to deceive” (Jer 9:3; Gen 27:36) and the name Jacob is based on this root. When Jacob stole his older brother’s blessing, Esau affirmed that Jacob was correctly named, “for he has supplanted me (וַֽיַּעְקְבֵ֨נִי׃֙) these two times” (27:36). Personal names containing this same Sem. root (but prob. with different meanings) are also found in the extra-Biblical documents contemporary with the patriarchs but are not found elsewhere in the OT. No individual in Israel, apart from the patriarch, bore the name Jacob until the Hel. period, when it usually occurs in the form ̓Ιάκωβος, G2610.

“The birth of Jacob is described in Genesis 25 and his death is recorded in Genesis 50, which makes his life presented throughout one-half of Genesis. Since Rebecca, like Sarah, was barren, the birth of Jacob was miraculous and an answer to prayer (25:21). This miraculous conception of Rebecca resulted in the birth of twins: Esau, the firstborn was hairy and later became a hunter; but Jacob, who was born holding Esau’s heel, became “a quiet man, dwelling in tents” (25:25-27). Almost immediately, tension and strife existed in the home because Isaac favored Esau whereas Rebecca favored Jacob.

2. Jacob and Esau. One day when Esau the hunter came in from a futile chase, he bargained away his birthright to Jacob for a batch of pottage (25:30), and thus Jacob gained the rights which by birth were not his. This custom of selling a birthright is described in the Nuzi tablets.

“On another day when Esau was out hunting, Jacob listened to his mother’s suggestion and followed her strategy for deceiving his father, and he received the father’s blessing that was intended for Esau, the first-born (ch. 27). Although Isaac was suspicious and doubtful, in his blindness he pronounced upon Jacob the death-bed benediction. Shortly thereafter Esau returned, and Isaac realized how he had been deceived but the oral blessing could not be revoked (another custom confirmed and illuminated by the Nuzi tablets). Since Isaac’s blessing was irrevocable, as the Bible emphasizes (27:33ff.), Jacob became the bearer of God’s promise and the inheritor of Canaan (cf. Rom 9:10-13), and Esau received the less fertile area known as Edom. Rebecca, the mother, obtained Isaac’s permission for Jacob to flee from Esau’s anger to her home in Paddan-aram (Gen 27:41-28:5). Jacob was not a young man when he sought to escape from his brother’s vengeance and to find a wife from his mother’s kindred, for it was before this that Esau at the age of forty had married the Hitt. women (26:34; 27:46).

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[The Red Sea is between Edom and Egypt]

Jacob’s Ladder

3. In Haran. Enroute from Beersheba to Haran, Jacob camped one night near Bethel, and as he slept he was granted a vision of a ladder between heaven and earth with ascending and descending angels upon it. The God of his fathers again revealed Himself and confirmed to Jacob the promise previously given to Isaac and Abraham. Jacob commemorated this dream by setting up the stone on which he had rested his head, pouring a libation of oil over it, and assigning the name Bethel (“House of God”) to the site (28:18, 19).

Jacob’s Well

“The next scene reveals Jacob at a well in the land of “the people of the east” (29:1). The following vv. reveal the great love Jacob had for Rachel, a love prob. reflected in the great display of physical power at the wellside (29:10) and during the patient years of toil for Rachel which “seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her” (29:20). After this love at first sight episode, Laban came and took his nephew Jacob home and agreed to give him Rachel in exchange for seven years’ service. Jacob fulfilled the bargain and brought his uncle great prosperity (30:27-30). Laban, however, deceived Jacob, making him take the elder and less attractive sister, Leah. A week later Jacob married Rachel after agreeing to serve Laban seven additional years. Jacob should not be primarily blamed for the polygamy that brought trouble into his home life. The rivalry between Leah and Rachel—Judah and Joseph—was not based on Jacob’s choice but Laban’s fraud. Laban “changed the wages” of Jacob ten times (31:7, 41).

“Jacob’s years of service for his wives were followed by six years of service rendered for a stipulated wage. Laban’s cunning in limiting the amount of this wage in a variety of ways was matched by Jacob’s cunning in devising means to overreach his uncle, so that the poor wanderer of twenty years before became the wealthy owner of countless cattle and of the hosts of slaves necessary for their care (32:10). God gave to each his due reward: to Jacob, the rich returns of skillful, patient industry; to Laban, rebuke and warning.

Jacob’s Two Wives & Their Children

“Twelve children were born to Jacob during his stay in Mesopotamia (Gen 29:31-30:24). The disdained Leah bore Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, and Dinah; and her maid Zilpah bore Gad and Asher. Rachel, being barren (29:31; 30:1, 2), gave her maid Bilhah to Jacob to obtain children by her (30:3-8). Bilhah bore Dan and Naphtali. Finally, Rachel bore a son, Joseph, a positive answer to her prayer (30:22-24).

4. Return from Haran. Eventually the Lord told Jacob (31:3, 13) to leave the area of Haran, a region noted for trade as well as agriculture and pasturage, and return to “the land of your fathers and to your kindred.” A two-day head start enabled Jacob and his flocks to travel as far as Gilead in N Trans-Jordan before he was overtaken by Laban after seven days travel. Jacob reminded Laban of how well he had served him, complying with all the requirements of a good herdsman, and how ill he had been rewarded. A pact was made and Laban used his authoritative position to dictate the terms: his daughters would not be harmed, nor would Jacob take another wife. A pillar was then erected to commemorate this covenant, a sacrifice was made, and the two parties shared a meal as a sign of their good will. Throughout these episodes in Jacob’s life, the hand of God was at work, protecting and prospering Jacob in the midst of family quarrels.

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Jacob’s Name Changes to Israel

“As Jacob approached the land that God had promised him, a band of angels met him (ch. 32) so he called the place “Mahanaim.” Next he sent out scouts to discover Esau’s attitude. Meanwhile, Jacob took care to safeguard half of his possesions and also sent a large gift to his brother. After he had asked for divine protection, and as he was about to ford the river Jabbok, he became engaged with a stranger who wrestled with him until daybreak. The man prevailed only by dislocating Jacob’s thigh, but Jacob eventually won from the antagonist a blessing that entailed the change of Jacob’s name to Israel, showing that he was able to contend with God (cf. Hosea 12:4).

“As Esau came to meet him, Jacob feared that Esau’s hostility had not subsided with the years, and therefore approached the dreaded meeting with his usual cleverness, seeking to pacify his wronged twin and also to protect himself and his family from any possible attack. To his strategy, however, Jacob added prayer (Gen 32:9-12) for he realized that it was ultimately God with whom he dealt. Esau’s friendly greeting, however, did not overcome Jacob’s fears and Jacob turned down to Succoth instead of following Esau. Esau went to Seir and there became the ancestor of a nation; Jacob remained in Pal. to assume his inheritance. These twins were not to meet again until their father’s death (35:27-29).

From Succoth Jacob traveled to Shechem where he built an altar (33:20). Jacob’s experiences at Shechem (ch. 34) in his relations with the Canaanites are reminiscent of Abraham’s relations with these inhabitants of the land (14:23), or Isaac’s (ch. 26).

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“In Genesis 35, God instructed Jacob to return to Bethel and dwell and make an altar “to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau” (v. 1). In preparation for this, the people put away their foreign gods and purified themselves.

Mesopotamia in Bible History – Pagan gods & the Idols – Ancient Mesopotamian Paganism

At Bethel, the patriarchal promises were again given to Jacob, and again he was told that Israel would be his new name. At this, Jacob raised anew his monument of stone, and stamped forever by this public act upon ancient Luz (35:6) the name of Bethel, which he had privately given it before (28:19).

“Losses and griefs characterized the life of Jacob during this period. The death of his mother’s nurse at Bethel (Gen 35:8; 24:59) was followed by the death of his beloved wife Rachel at Ephrath (Gen 35:19; 48:7) in bringing forth the youngest of his twelve sons, Benjamin. At about the same time the eldest of the twelve, Reuben, forfeited the honor of his station in the family by an act that showed all too clearly the effect of recent association with Canaanites (35:22, 23). Finally, death claimed Jacob’s aged father, whose latest years had been robbed of the companionship, not only of this son, but also of the son Esau. At Isaac’s grave in Hebron the poorly matched twins met once more, thenceforth to go their separate ways, both in their personal careers and in their descendants’ history (35:29).
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“Next, Jacob resided near Hebron (37:14). Although the following material revolves around Joseph, yet Jacob, not Joseph, remains the true center of the narrative until his death. The self-willed older sons come and go at his bidding (42:1-5) and Joseph’s great concern is for his aged father (Gen 43:27; 44:19; 45:3, 9, 13, 23; 46:29).

“Finally, when severe famine gripped Canaan, Jacob and his sons set out for Egypt. At Beersheba he received further assurance of God’s favor (46:1-4). In Egypt he dwelt in the land of Goshen until his death. At the end, Jacob bestowed a blessing upon Ephraim and Manasseh (48:8-20) and then upon his own sons (ch. 49). God’s promise to Jacob was beautifully fulfilled; at his death the Egyptians paid him great homage, and his sons buried him with Isaac and Abraham at the family grave in Machpelah.

5. Jacob the patriarch. The mighty patriarch Jacob inherited from his father Isaac an affectionate attachment to his family, which appears in his life from beginning to end; from his mother Rebecca he inherited shrewdness, initiative, and resourcefulness—qualities that she apparently shared with her brother Laban. Like both Isaac and Abraham, he sometimes lacked courage, and his life frequently revealed deceit and dishonesty. Yet through the entire narrative there is a persistent faith in the God of his fathers. Jacob’s life is a story of conflict. He was constantly beset with dangers from every area of life, and upon many occasions his inheritance of the blessing was threatened.

“Outside the Book of Genesis there still remains almost the entire outline of Jacob’s life (Josh 24:3, 4, 32; Ps 105:10-23; Hos 12:2-4, 12; Mal 1:2ff.). If the Book of Genesis were lost, the significance as well as the basic outline of his life can be reconstructed. The NT references recall events in his life or traits of his character (John 4:5, 6, 12; Acts 7:12, 14-16; Rom 9:10-13; Heb 11:9, 20ff.).

“n the rest of the Bible, outside Genesis, Jacob is considered the child of favor (Mal 1:2; Rom 9:10-13), an heir of the divine promise (Heb 11:9), and a man of blessing (Heb 11:20, 21). As Israel’s third great patriarch, he is often linked with Abraham and Isaac, esp. in connection with their God (Deut 29:13; 2 Kings 13:23; Matt 8:11; Mark 12:26, 27; Acts 3:13).

“Jacob as a synonym for Israel and thus as a poetic name for the Israelites occurs esp. in the prophets. Besides being called the house of Jacob (Exod 19:3; Isa 2:5ff.; 8:17; 27:9; Amos 3:13; 9:8; Mic 2:7), or the sons of Jacob (1 Kings 18:31; Mal 3:6), or the seed of Jacob (Isa 45:19; Jer 33:26), or the community of Jacob (Deut 33:4), the Israelites are also simply called Jacob (Isa 9:8; Hos 10:11); Micah 1:5 refers to the northern kingdom alone, and in Nahum 2:2 to Judah alone. Jacob is sometimes used also as a representative of the nation that bears his name. Israel is the “house of Jacob” (Luke 1:33); its God is the “King of Jacob” (Isa 41:21); and His temple is a “habitation for the God of Jacob” (Acts 7:46).

“Although the Jacob narrative lacks in sufficient historical references to establish an absolute chronology, the geographical references are numerous. Jacob was associated with Bethel (Gen 28:10-22; 31:13; 48:3), Haran (ch. 29), Gilead (31:21), Mahanaim (32:2), Peniel (32:30), Succoth (33:17), Shechem (33:18), Hebron (37:14), Beersheba (46:1), Goshen (47:27).

“The customs reflected in the Jacob narrative (selling of birthright, oral blessing, “teraphim”) are esp. illuminated by the Nuzi tablets found SE of Nineveh.

Jacob (̓Ιακώβ, G2609), the son of Matthan and the father of Joseph, Mary’s husband, is listed in the genealogy of Jesus (Matt 1:15ff.), but not mentioned elsewhere in the Bible.

Bibliography C. Gordon, “The Story of Jacob and Laban in the Light of the Nuzi Tablets,” BASOR, 66 (1937), 25-27; C. Gordon, “Biblical Customs and the Nuzi Tablets,” BA, 3 (1940), 1-12; C. Gordon, “The Patriarchal Age,” JBL, 21 (1953), 240; J. M. Holt, The Patriarchs of Israel (1964); I. Hunt, The World of the Patriarchs (1966). of Israel (1964); I. Hunt, The World of the Patriarchs (1966).” Encyclopedia of the Bible