Jacob (; Hebrew: יַעֲקֹב, Modern: Ya‘aqōv
, Tiberian: Yā‘āqōḇ), later given the
name Israel, is regarded as a Patriarch of
the Israelites.
According to the Book of Genesis, Jacob was
the third Hebrew progenitor with whom God
made a covenant.
He is the son of Isaac and Rebecca, the grandson
of Abraham, Sarah and Bethuel, the nephew
of Ishmael, and the younger twin brother of
Esau.
Jacob had twelve sons and at least one daughter,
by his two wives, Leah and Rachel, and by
their handmaidens Bilhah and Zilpah.
Jacob's twelve sons, named in Genesis, were
Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali,
Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and
Benjamin.
His only daughter mentioned in Genesis is
Dinah.
The twelve sons became the progenitors of
the "Tribes of Israel".
As a result of a severe drought in Canaan,
Jacob and his sons moved to Egypt at the time
when his son Joseph was viceroy.
After 17 years in Egypt, Jacob died, and the
length of Jacob's life was 147 years.
Joseph carried Jacob's remains to the land
of Canaan, and gave him a stately burial in
the same Cave of Machpelah as were buried
Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebecca, and Jacob's
first wife, Leah.
Jacob is mentioned in a number of sacred scriptures,
including the Hebrew Bible, the Talmud, the
New Testament, the Quran, hadith, and the
Book of Mormon.
== Etymology ==
According to the folk etymology found in Genesis
25:26, the name Yaʿaqob יעקב‎ is derived
from aqeb עָקֵב‎ "heel".
The historical origin of the name is uncertain.
Yaʿqob-'el is notably recorded as a placename
in a list by Thutmose III (15th century BC).
The same name is recorded earlier still, in
c. 1800 BC, in cuneiform inscriptions (spelled
ya-ah-qu-ub-el, ya-qu-ub-el).
The suggestion that the personal name may
be shortened from this compound name, which
would translate to "may El protect", originates
with Bright (1960).
The Septuagint renders the name Ιακωβος,
whence Latin Jacobus, English Jacob.
The name Israel given to Jacob following the
episode of his wrestling with the angel (Genesis
32:22–32) is etymologized as composition
of אֵל‎ el "god" and the root שָׂרָה‎
śarah "to rule, contend, have power, prevail
over":
שָׂרִיתָ עִם־אֱלֹהִים‎
(KJV: "a prince hast thou power with God");
alternatively, the el can be read as the subject,
for a translation of "El rules/condends/struggles".
== Genesis narrative ==
The biblical account of the life of Jacob
is found in the Book of Genesis, chapters
25–50.
=== Jacob and Esau's birth ===
Jacob and his twin brother, Esau, were born
to Isaac and Rebecca after 20 years of marriage,
when Isaac was 60 years of age (Genesis 25:20,
25:26).
Rebekah was uncomfortable during her pregnancy
and went to inquire of God why she was suffering.
She received the prophecy that twins were
fighting in her womb and would continue to
fight all their lives, even after they became
two separate nations.
The prophecy also said that "the one people
shall be stronger than the other people; and
the elder shall serve the younger;" (Genesis
25:25 KJV)
When the time came for Rebecca to give birth,
the firstborn, Esau, came out covered with
red hair, as if he were wearing a hairy garment,
and his heel was grasped by the hand of Jacob,
the secondborn.
According to Genesis 25:25, Isaac and Rebecca
named the first son Hebrew: עשו‎, Esau.
The second son they named יעקב, Jacob
(Ya`aqob or Ya`aqov, meaning "heel-catcher,"
"supplanter," "leg-puller," "he who follows
upon the heels of one," from Hebrew: עקב‎,
`aqab or `aqav, "seize by the heel," "circumvent,"
"restrain," a wordplay upon Hebrew: עקבה‎,
`iqqebah or `iqqbah, "heel").The boys displayed
very different natures as they matured. "... and
Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field;
but Jacob was a simple man, dwelling in tents"
(Genesis 25:27).
Moreover, the attitudes of their parents toward
them also differed: "And Isaac loved Esau,
because he did eat of his venison: but Rebecca
loved Jacob."
(Genesis 25:28)
=== Acquiring birthright ===
Genesis 25:29–34 tells the account of Esau
selling his birthright to Jacob.
This passage tells that Esau, returning famished
from the fields, begged Jacob to give him
some of the stew that Jacob had just made.
(Esau referred to the dish as "that same red
pottage", giving rise to his nickname, Hebrew:
אדום‎ (`Edom, meaning "Red").)
Jacob offered to give Esau a bowl of stew
in exchange for his birthright, to which Esau
agreed.
=== Blessing of Isaac ===
As Isaac aged, he became blind and was uncertain
when he would die, so he decided to bestow
Esau's birthright upon him.
He requested that Esau go out to the fields
with his weapons (quiver and bow) to kill
some venison.
Isaac then requested that Esau make "savory
meat" for him out of the venison, according
to the way he enjoyed it the most, so that
he could eat it and bless Esau.
Rebecca overheard this conversation.
It is suggested that she realized prophetically
that Isaac's blessings would go to Jacob,
since she was told before the twins' birth
that the older son would serve the younger.
Rebecca blessed Jacob and she quickly ordered
Jacob to bring her two kid goats from their
flock so that he could take Esau's place in
serving Isaac and receiving his blessing.
Jacob protested that his father would recognize
their deception since Esau was hairy and he
himself was smooth-skinned.
He feared his father would curse him as soon
as he felt him, but Rebecca offered to take
the curse herself, then insisted that Jacob
obey her.
Jacob did as his mother instructed and, when
he returned with the kids, Rebekah made the
savory meat that Isaac loved.
Before she sent Jacob to his father, she dressed
him in Esau's garments and laid goatskins
on his arms and neck to simulate hairy skin.
Disguised as Esau, Jacob entered Isaac's room.
Surprised that Esau was back so soon, Isaac
asked how it could be that the hunt went so
quickly.
Jacob responded, "Because the LORD your God
brought it to me."
Rashi, on Genesis 27:21 says Isaac's suspicions
were aroused even more, because Esau never
used the personal name of God.
Isaac demanded that Jacob come close so he
could feel him, but the goatskins felt just
like Esau's hairy skin.
Confused, Isaac exclaimed, "The voice is Jacob's
voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau!"
Genesis 27:22.
Still trying to get at the truth, Isaac asked
him directly, "Art thou my very son Esau?"
and Jacob answered simply, "I am."
Isaac proceeded to eat the food and to drink
the wine that Jacob gave him, and then told
him to come close and kiss him.
As Jacob kissed his father, Isaac smelled
the clothes which belonged to Esau and finally
accepted that the person in front of him was
Esau.
Isaac then blessed Jacob with the blessing
that was meant for Esau.
Genesis 27:28–29 states Isaac's blessing:
"Therefore God give thee of the dew of heavens,
and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of
corn and wine: Let people serve thee: be lord
over thy brethren, and let thy mother's sons
bow down to thee: cursed be every one that
curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth
thee."
Jacob had scarcely left the room when Esau
returned from the hunt to prepare his game
and receive the blessing.
The realization that he had been deceived
shocked Isaac, yet he acknowledged that Jacob
had received the blessings by adding, "Indeed,
he will be [or remain] blessed!"
(27:33).
Esau was heartbroken by the deception and
begged for his own blessing.
Having made Jacob a ruler over his brothers,
Isaac could only promise, "By your sword you
shall live, but your brother you shall serve;
yet it shall be that when you are aggrieved,
you may cast off his yoke from upon your neck"
(27:39–40).
Although Esau sold Jacob his own birthright,
which was his blessing, for "red pottage,"
Esau still hated Jacob for receiving his blessing
that their father Isaac unknowingly had given
to him.
He vowed to kill Jacob as soon as Isaac died.
When Rebecca heard about his murderous intentions,
she ordered Jacob to travel to her brother
Laban's house in Haran, until Esau's anger
subsided.
She convinced Isaac to send Jacob away by
telling him that she despaired of his marrying
a local girl from the idol-worshipping families
of Canaan (as Esau had done).
After Isaac sent Jacob away to find a wife,
Esau realized his own Canaanite wives were
evil in his father's eyes and so he took a
daughter of Isaac's half-brother, Ishmael,
as another wife.
=== Jacob's ladder ===
Near Luz en route to Haran, Jacob experienced
a vision of a ladder, or staircase, reaching
into heaven with angels going up and down
it, commonly referred to as "Jacob's ladder."
He heard the voice of God, who repeated many
of the blessings upon him, coming from the
top of the ladder.
According to Midrash Genesis Rabbah, the ladder
signified the exiles that the Jewish people
would suffer before the coming of the Jewish
Messiah: the angels that represented the exiles
of Babylonia, Persia, and Greece each climbed
up a certain number of steps, paralleling
the years of the exile, before they "fell
down"; but the angel representing the last
exile, that of Edom, kept climbing higher
and higher into the clouds.
Jacob feared that his descendants would never
be free of Esau's domination, but God assured
him that at the End of Days, Edom too would
come falling down.In the morning, Jacob awakened
and continued on his way to Haran, after naming
the place where he had spent the night "Bethel,"
"God's house."
=== Jacob's marriages ===
Arriving in Haran, Jacob saw a well where
shepherds were gathering their flocks to water
them and met Laban's younger daughter, Rachel,
Jacob's first cousin; she was working as a
shepherdess.
He loved her immediately, and after spending
a month with his relatives, asked for her
hand in marriage in return for working seven
years for Laban the Aramean.
Laban agreed to the arrangement.
These seven years seemed to Jacob "but a few
days, for the love he had for her," but when
they were complete and he asked for his wife,
Laban deceived Jacob by switching Rachel for
her older sister, Leah, as the veiled bride.
In the morning, when the truth became known,
Laban justified his action, saying that in
his country it was unheard of to give a younger
daughter before the older.
However, he agreed to give Rachel in marriage
as well if Jacob would work another seven
years.
After the week of wedding celebrations with
Leah, Jacob married Rachel, and he continued
to work for Laban for another seven years.
Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah, and Leah
felt hated.
God opened Leah's womb and she gave birth
to four sons rapidly: Reuben, Simeon, Levi,
and Judah.
Rachel, however, remained barren.
Following the example of Sarah, who gave her
handmaid to Abraham after years of infertility,
Rachel gave Jacob her handmaid, Bilhah, in
marriage so that Rachel could raise children
through her.
Bilhah gave birth to Dan and Naphtali.
Seeing that she had left off childbearing
temporarily, Leah then gave her handmaid Zilpah
to Jacob in marriage so that Leah could raise
more children through her.
Zilpah gave birth to Gad and Asher.
Afterwards, Leah became fertile again and
gave birth to Issachar, Zebulun, and Dinah,
Jacob's first and only daughter.
God remembered Rachel, who gave birth to Joseph
and Benjamin.
If pregnancies of different marriages overlapped,
the first twelve births (all the sons except
Benjamin, and the daughter Dinah) could have
occurred within seven years.
That is one obvious, but not universally held,
interpretation of Genesis 29:27–30:25.After
Joseph was born, Jacob decided to return home
to his parents.
Laban the Aramean was reluctant to release
him, as God had blessed his flock on account
of Jacob.
Laban asked what he could pay Jacob.
Jacob suggested that all the spotted, speckled,
and brown goats and sheep of Laban's flock,
at any given moment, would be his wages.
Jacob placed rods of poplar, hazel, and chestnut,
all of which he peeled "white streaks upon
them," within the flocks' watering holes or
troughs in a performance of sympathetic magic,
associating the stripes of the rods with the
growth of stripes on the livestock.
Despite this practicing of magic, later on
Jacob says to his wives that it was God who
made the livestock give birth to the convenient
offspring, in order to turn the tide against
the deceptive Laban.
As time passed, Laban's sons noticed that
Jacob was taking the better part of their
flocks, and so Laban's friendly attitude towards
Jacob began to change.
The angel of the Lord, in a dream back during
the breeding season, told Jacob "Now lift
your eyes and see [that] all the he goats
mounting the animals are ringed, speckled,
and striped, for I have seen all that Laban
is doing to you", that he is the God whom
Jacob met at Bethel, and that Jacob should
leave and go back to the land where he was
born, which he and his wives and children
did without informing Laban.
Before they left, Rachel stole the teraphim,
considered to be household idols, from Laban's
house.
Laban pursued Jacob for seven days.
The night before he caught up to him, God
appeared to Laban in a dream and warned him
not to say anything good or bad to Jacob.
When the two met, Laban said to Jacob, “What
have you done, that you have tricked me and
driven away my daughters like captives of
the sword?"
He also asked for his stolen teraphim back.
Knowing nothing about Rachel's theft, Jacob
told Laban that whoever stole them should
die and stood aside to let him search.
When Laban reached Rachel's tent, she hid
the teraphim by sitting on them and stating
she could not get up because she was menstruating.
Jacob and Laban then parted from each other
with a pact to preserve the peace between
them.
Laban returned to his home and Jacob continued
on his way.
=== Journey back to Canaan ===
As Jacob neared the land of Canaan, he sent
messengers ahead to his brother Esau.
They returned with the news that Esau was
coming to meet Jacob with an army of 400 men.
With great apprehension, Jacob prepared for
the worst.
He engaged in earnest prayer to God, then
sent on before him a tribute of flocks and
herds to Esau, "A present to my lord Esau
from thy servant Jacob."
Jacob then transported his family and flocks
across the ford Jabbok by night, then recrossed
back to send over his possessions, being left
alone in communion with God.
There, a mysterious being appeared ("man,"
Genesis 32:24, 28; or "God," Genesis 32:28,
30, Hosea 12:3, 5; or "angel," Hosea 12:4),
and the two wrestled until daybreak.
When the being saw that he did not overpower
Jacob, he touched Jacob on the sinew of his
thigh (the gid hanasheh, גיד הנשה),
and, as a result, Jacob developed a limp (Genesis
32:31).
Because of this, "to this day the people of
Israel do not eat the sinew of the thigh that
is on the hip socket" (Genesis 32:32).
This incident is the source of the mitzvah
of porging.Jacob then demanded a blessing,
and the being declared in Genesis 32:28 that,
from then on, Jacob would be called יִשְׂרָאֵל,
Israel (Yisra`el, meaning "one that struggled
with the divine angel" (Josephus), "one who
has prevailed with God" (Rashi), "a man seeing
God" (Whiston), "he will rule as God" (Strong),
or "a prince with God" (Morris), from Hebrew:
שרה‎, "prevail," "have power as a prince").
While he is still called Jacob in later texts,
his name Israel makes some consider him the
eponymous ancestor of the Israelites.
Jacob asked the being's name, but he refused
to answer.
Afterwards, Jacob named the place Penuel (Penuw`el,
Peniy`el, meaning "face of God"), saying:
"I have seen God face to face and lived."
Because the terminology is ambiguous ("el"
in Yisra`el) and inconsistent, and because
this being refused to reveal his name, there
are varying views as to whether he was a man,
an angel, or God.
Josephus uses only the terms "angel", "divine
angel," and "angel of God," describing the
struggle as no small victory.
According to Rashi, the being was the guardian
angel of Esau himself, sent to destroy Jacob
before he could return to the land of Canaan.
Trachtenberg theorized that the being refused
to identify itself for fear that, if its secret
name was known, it would be conjurable by
incantations.
Literal Christian interpreters like Henry
M. Morris say that the stranger was "God Himself
and, therefore, Christ in His preincarnate
state", citing Jacob's own evaluation and
the name he assumed thereafter, "one who fights
victoriously with God", and adding that God
had appeared in the human form of the Angel
of the Lord to eat a meal with Abraham in
Genesis 18.
Geller wrote that, "in the context of the
wrestling bout, the name implies that Jacob
won this supremacy, linked to that of God's,
by a kind of theomachy."In the morning, Jacob
assembled his four wives and 11 sons, placing
the maidservants and their children in front,
Leah and her children next, and Rachel and
Joseph in the rear.
Some commentators cite this placement as proof
that Jacob continued to favor Joseph over
Leah's children, as presumably the rear position
would have been safer from a frontal assault
by Esau, which Jacob feared.
Jacob himself took the foremost position.
Esau's spirit of revenge, however, was apparently
appeased by Jacob's bounteous gifts of camels,
goats and flocks.
Their reunion was an emotional one.
Esau offered to accompany them on their way
back to Israel, but Jacob protested that his
children were still young and tender (born
six to 13 years prior in the narrative); Jacob
suggested eventually catching up with Esau
at Mount Seir.
According to the Sages, this was a prophetic
reference to the End of Days, when Jacob's
descendants will come to Mount Seir, the home
of Edom, to deliver judgment against Esau's
descendants for persecuting them throughout
the millennia (see Obadiah 1:21).
Jacob actually diverted himself to Succoth
and was not recorded as rejoining Esau until,
at Machpelah, the two bury their father Isaac,
who lived to be 180, and was 60 years older
than they were.
Jacob then arrived in Shechem, where he bought
a parcel of land, now identified as Joseph's
Tomb.
In Shechem, Jacob's daughter Dinah was kidnapped
and raped by the ruler's son, who desired
to marry the girl.
Dinah's brothers, Simeon and Levi, agreed
in Jacob's name to permit the marriage as
long as all the men of Shechem first circumcised
themselves, ostensibly to unite the children
of Jacob in Abraham's covenant of familial
harmony.
On the third day after the circumcisions,
when all the men of Shechem were still in
pain, Simeon and Levi put them all to death
by the sword and rescued their sister Dinah,
and their brothers plundered the property,
women, and children.
Jacob condemned this act, saying: "You have
brought trouble on me by making me a stench
to the Canaanites and Perizzites, the people
living in this land."
He later rebuked his two sons for their anger
in his deathbed blessing (Genesis 49:5–7).
Jacob returned to Bethel, where he had another
vision of blessing.
Although the death of Rebecca, Jacob's mother,
is not explicitly recorded in the Bible, Deborah,
Rebecca's nurse, died and was buried at Bethel,
at a place that Jacob calls Allon Bachuth
(אלון בכות), "Oak of Weepings" (Genesis
35:8).
According to the Midrash, the plural form
of the word "weeping" indicates the double
sorrow that Rebecca also died at this time.
Jacob then made a further move while Rachel
was pregnant; near Bethlehem, Rachel went
into labor and died as she gave birth to her
second son, Benjamin (Jacob's twelfth son).
Jacob buried her and erected a monument over
her grave.
Rachel's Tomb, just outside Bethlehem, remains
a popular site for pilgrimages and prayers
to this day.
Jacob then settled in Migdal Eder, where his
firstborn, Reuben, slept with Rachel's servant
Bilhah; Jacob's response was not given at
the time, but he did condemn Reuben for it
later, in his deathbed blessing.
Jacob was finally reunited with his father
Isaac in Mamre (outside Hebron).
When Isaac died at the age of 180, Jacob and
Esau buried him in the Cave of the Patriarchs,
which Abraham had purchased as a family burial
plot.
At this point in the biblical narrative, two
genealogies of Esau's family appear under
the headings "the generations of Esau".
A conservative interpretation is that, at
Isaac's burial, Jacob obtained the records
of Esau, who had been married 80 years prior,
and incorporated them into his own family
records, and that Moses augmented and published
them.
=== Jacob in Hebron ===
The house of Jacob dwelt in Hebron, in the
land of Canaan.
His flocks were often fed in the pastures
of Shechem as well as Dothan.
Of all the children in his household, he loved
Rachel’s firstborn son, Joseph, the most.
Thus Joseph’s half brothers were jealous
of him and they ridiculed him often.
Joseph even told his father about all of his
half brothers’ misdeeds.
When Joseph was 17 years old, Jacob made a
long coat or tunic of many colors for him.
Seeing this, the half brothers began to hate
Joseph.
Then Joseph began to have dreams that implied
that his family would bow down to him.
When he told his brothers about such dreams,
it drove them to conspire against him.
When Jacob heard of these dreams, he rebuked
his son for proposing the idea that the house
of Jacob would even bow down to Joseph.
Yet, he contemplated his son’s words about
these dreams.
(Genesis 37:1–11)
Sometime afterward, the sons of Jacob by Leah,
Bilhah and Zilpah, were feeding his flocks
in Shechem.
Jacob wanted to know how things were doing,
so he asked Joseph to go down there and return
with a report.
This was the last time he would ever see his
son in Hebron.
Later that day, the report that Jacob ended
up receiving came from Joseph's brothers who
brought before him a coat laden with blood.
Jacob identified the coat as the one he made
for Joseph.
At that moment he cried “It is my son’s
tunic.
A wild beast has devoured him.
Without doubt Joseph is torn to pieces.”
He rent his clothes and put sackcloth around
his waist mourning for days.
No one from the house of Jacob could comfort
him during this time of bereavement.
(Genesis 37:31–35)
The truth was, Joseph's older brothers had
turned on him, apprehended him and ultimately
sold into slavery on a caravan headed for
Egypt.
(Genesis 37:36)
=== Seven 
year famine ===
Twenty years later, throughout the Middle
East a severe famine occurred like none other
that lasted seven years.
It crippled nations.
The word was that the only kingdom prospering
was Egypt.
In the second year of this great famine, when
Israel (Jacob) was about 130 years old, he
told his 10 sons of Leah, Bilhah and Zilpah,
to go to Egypt and buy grain.
Israel’s youngest son Benjamin, born from
Rachel, stayed behind by his father’s order
to keep him safe.
(Genesis 42:1–5)
Nine of the sons returned to their father
Israel from Egypt, stockpiled with grain on
their donkeys.
They relayed to their father all that had
happened in Egypt.
They spoke of being accused of as spies and
that their brother Simeon, had been taken
prisoner.
When Reuben, the eldest, mentioned that they
needed to bring Benjamin to Egypt to prove
their word as honest men, their father became
furious with them.
He couldn't understand how they were put in
a position to tell the Egyptians all about
their family.
When the sons of Israel opened their sacks,
they saw their money that they used to pay
for the grain.
It was still in their possession, and so they
all became afraid.
Israel then became angry with the loss of
Joseph, Simeon, and now possibly Benjamin.
(Genesis 42:26–38)
It turned out that Joseph, who identified
his brothers in Egypt, was able to secretly
return that money that they used to pay for
the grain, back to them.
When the house of Israel consumed all the
grain that they brought from Egypt, Israel
told his sons to go back and buy more.
This time, Judah spoke to his father in order
to persuade him about having Benjamin accompany
them, so as to prevent Egyptian retribution.
In hopes of retrieving Simeon and ensuring
Benjamin's return, Israel told them to bring
the best fruits of their land, including:
balm, honey, spices, myrrh, pistachio nuts
and almonds.
Israel also mentioned that the money that
was returned to their money sacks was probably
a mistake or an oversight on their part.
So, he told them to bring that money back
and use double that amount to pay for the
new grain.
Lastly, he let Benjamin go with them and said
“may God Almighty give you mercy…
If I am bereaved, I am bereaved!”
(Genesis 43:1–14)
=== Jacob in Egypt ===
When the sons of Israel (Jacob) returned to
Hebron from their second trip, they came back
with 20 additional donkeys carrying all kinds
of goods and supplies as well as Egyptian
transport wagons.
When their father came out to meet them, his
sons told him that Joseph was still alive,
that he was the governor over all of Egypt
and that he wanted the house of Israel to
move to Egypt.
Israel’s heart “stood still” and just
couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
Looking upon the wagons he declared “Joseph
my son is still alive.
I will go and see him before I die.”
(Genesis 45:16–28)
Israel and his entire house of 70, gathered
up with all their livestock and began their
journey to Egypt.
En route, Israel stopped at Beersheba for
the night to make a sacrificial offering to
his God, Yahweh.
Apparently he had some reservations about
leaving the land of his forefathers, but God
reassured him not to fear that he would rise
again.
God also assured that he would be with him,
he would prosper, and he would also see his
son Joseph who would lay him to rest.
Continuing their journey to Egypt, when they
approached in proximity, Israel sent his son
Judah ahead to find out where the caravans
were to stop.
They were directed to disembark at Goshen.
It was here, after 22 years, that Jacob saw
his son Joseph once again.
They embraced each other and wept together
for quite a while.
Israel then said, “Now let me die, since
I have seen your face, because you are still
alive.”
(Genesis 46:1–30)
The time had come for Joseph’s family to
personally meet the Pharaoh of Egypt.
After Joseph prepared his family for the meeting,
the brothers came before the Pharaoh first,
formally requesting to pasture in Egyptian
lands.
The Pharaoh honored their stay and even made
the notion that if there were any competent
men in their house, then they may elect a
chief herdsman to oversee Egyptian livestock.
Finally, Joseph’s father was brought out
to meet the Pharaoh.
Because the Pharaoh had such a high regard
for Joseph, practically making him his equal,
it was an honor to meet his father.
Thus, Israel was able to bless the Pharaoh.
The two chatted for a bit, the Pharaoh even
inquiring of Israel’s age which happened
to be 130 years old at that time.
After the meeting, the families were directed
to pasture in the land of Ramses where they
lived in the province of Goshen.
The house of Israel acquired many possessions
and multiplied exceedingly during the course
of 17 years, even through the worst of the
seven-year famine.
(Genesis 46:31–47:28)
=== Final days ===
Israel (Jacob) was 147 years old when he called
to his favorite son Joseph and pleaded that
he not be buried in Egypt.
Rather, he requested to be carried to the
land of Canaan to be buried with his forefathers.
Joseph swore to do as his father asked of
him.
Not too long afterward, Israel had fallen
ill, losing much of his vision.
When Joseph came to visit his father, he brought
with him his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh.
Israel declared that they would be heirs to
the inheritance of the house of Israel, as
if they were his own children, just as Reuben
and Simeon were.
Then Israel laid his right hand on the younger
Ephraim’s head and his left hand on the
eldest Manasseh’s head and blessed Joseph.
However, Joseph was displeased that his father’s
right hand was not on the head of his firstborn,
so he switched his father’s hands.
But Israel refused saying, “but truly his
younger brother shall be greater than he.”
A declaration he made, just as Israel himself
was to his firstborn brother Esau.
Then Israel called all of his sons in and
prophesied their blessings or curses to all
twelve of them in order of their ages.
(Genesis 47:29–49:32)
Afterward, Israel died and the family, including
the Egyptians, mourned him 70 days.
Israel was embalmed and a great ceremonial
journey to Canaan was prepared by Joseph.
He led the servants of Pharaoh, and the elders
of the houses Israel and Egypt beyond the
Jordan River to Atad where they observed seven
days of mourning.
Their lamentation was so great that it caught
the attention of surrounding Canaanites who
remarked “This is a deep mourning of the
Egyptians.”
This spot was then named Abel Mizraim.
Then they buried him in the cave of Machpelah,
the property of Abraham when he bought it
from the Hittites.
(Genesis 49:33–50:14)
=== Children of Jacob ===
Jacob, through his two wives and his two concubines
had 12 biological sons; Reuben (Genesis 29:32),
Simeon (Genesis 29:33), Levi (Genesis 29:34),
Judah
(Genesis 29:35), Dan (Genesis 30:5), Naphtali
(Genesis 30:7),
Gad (Genesis 30:10), Asher (Genesis 30:12),
Issachar (Genesis 30:17),
Zebulun (Genesis 30:19), Joseph
(Genesis 30:23) and Benjamin (Genesis 35:18)
and at least one daughter, Dinah (if there
were other daughters, they are not mentioned
in the Genesis story)(Genesis 30:21).
In addition, Jacob also adopted the two sons
of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim.(Genesis 48:5)
The offspring of Jacob's sons became the tribes
of Israel following the Exodus, when the Israelites
conquered and settled in the Land of Israel.
=== Family tree ===
== Religious perspectives ==
=== Jewish tradition ===
There are two opinions in the Midrash as to
how old Rebekah was at the time of her marriage
and, consequently, at the twins' birth.
According to the traditional counting cited
by Rashi, Isaac was 37 years old at the time
of the Binding of Isaac, and news of Rebekah's
birth reached Abraham immediately after that
event.
In that case, since Isaac was 60 when Jacob
and Essau were born and they had been married
for 20 years, then Isaac was 40 years old
when he married Rebekah (Gen. 25:20), making
Rebekah three years old at the time of her
marriage, and 23 years old at the birth of
Jacob and Essau.
According to the second opinion, Rebekah was
14 years old at the time of their marriage,
and 34 years old at the birth of Jacob and
Essau.
In either case, Isaac and Rebekah were married
for 20 years before Jacob and Esau were born.
The Midrash says that during Rebekah's pregnancy
whenever she would pass a house of Torah study,
Jacob would struggle to come out; whenever
she would pass a house of idolatry, Esau would
agitate to come out.Rashi explained that Isaac,
when blessing Jacob instead of Esau, smelled
the heavenly scent of Gan Eden (Paradise)
when Jacob entered his room and, in contrast,
perceived Gehenna opening beneath Esau when
the latter entered the room, showing him that
he had been deceived all along by Esau's show
of piety.When Laban planned to deceive Jacob
into marrying Leah instead of Rachel, the
Midrash recounts that both Jacob and Rachel
suspected that Laban would pull such a trick;
Laban was known as the "Aramean" (deceiver),
and changed Jacob's wages ten times during
his employ (Genesis 31:7).
The couple therefore devised a series of signs
by which Jacob could identify the veiled bride
on his wedding night.
But when Rachel saw her sister being taken
out to the wedding canopy, her heart went
out to her for the public shame Leah would
suffer if she were exposed.
Rachel therefore gave Leah the signs so that
Jacob would not realize the switch.
Jacob had still another reason for grieving
the loss of Joseph.
God had promised to him: "If none of your
sons dies during your lifetime, you may look
upon it as a token that you will not be put
in (Hell of) Gehenna after your death."
Thinking Joseph to be dead, Jacob had his
own destiny to lament because he considered
that he was doomed to that Hell.Jewish apocalyptic
literature of the Hellenistic period includes
many ancient texts with narratives about Jacob,
many times with details different from Genesis.
The more important are the book of Jubilees
and the Book of Biblical Antiquities.
Jacob is also the protagonist of the Testament
of Jacob, of the Ladder of Jacob and of the
Prayer of Joseph, which interpret the experience
of this Patriarch in the context of merkabah
mysticism.
=== Christianity ===
The Eastern Orthodox Church and those Eastern
Catholic Churches which follow the Byzantine
Rite see Jacob's dream as a prophecy of the
Incarnation of the Logos, whereby Jacob's
ladder is understood as a symbol of the Theotokos
(Virgin Mary), who, according to Orthodox
theology, united heaven and earth in her womb.
The biblical account of this vision (Genesis
28:10–17) is one of the standard Old Testament
readings at Vespers on Great Feasts of the
Theotokos.
The Catholic church considers Jacob as a Saint
along with other biblical patriarchs.
Along with other patriarchs his feast day
is celebrated in the Byzantine rite of the
Catholic Church on the Second Sunday before
the Advent (December 11–17), under the title
the Sunday of the Forefathers.
=== Islamic tradition ===
Yaqub (Arabic: يَعْقُوب‎, translit.
Yaʿqūb; also later Isra'il, Arabic: إِسْرَآئِیل
[ˈisraāˈiyl]; Classical/ Qur'anic Arabic:
إِسْرَآءِیْل [ˈisraāãˈiyl]),
also known as Jacob in the Old Testament,
is recognized in Islam as a prophet who received
inspiration from God.
He is acknowledged as a patriarch of Islam.
Muslims believe that he preached the same
monotheistic faith as his forefathers ʾIbrāhīm,
ʾIsḥāq and Ismā'īl.
Jacob is mentioned 16 times in the Qur'an.
In the majority of these references, Jacob
is mentioned alongside fellow prophets and
patriarchs as an ancient and pious prophet.
According to the Qur'an, Jacob remained in
the company of the elect throughout his life.
(38:47) The Qur'an specifically mentions that
Jacob was guided (6:84) and inspired (4:163)
and was chosen to enforce the awareness of
the Hereafter.
(38:46) Jacob is described as a good-doer
(21:72) and the Qur'an further makes it clear
that God inspired Jacob to contribute towards
purification and hold the contact prayer.
(21:73) Jacob is further described as being
resourceful and a possessor of great vision
(38:45) and is further spoken of as being
granted a "tongue [voice] of truthfulness
to be heard."
(19:50)
Of the life of Jacob, the Qur'an narrates
two especially important events.
The first is the role he plays in the story
of his son Joseph.
The Qur'an narrates the story of Joseph in
detail, and Jacob, being Joseph's father,
is mentioned thrice and is referenced another
25 times.
In the narrative, Jacob does not trust some
of his older sons (12: 11, 18, 23) because
they do not respect him.
(12: 8, 16–17) Jacob's prophetic nature
is evident from his foreknowledge of Joseph's
future greatness (12:6), his foreboding and
response to the supposed death of Joseph (12:
13, 18) and in his response to the sons' plight
in Egypt.
(12: 83, 86–87, 96) Islamic literature fleshes
out the narrative of Jacob, and mentions that
his wives included Rachel.
Jacob is later mentioned in the Qur'an in
the context of the promise bestowed to Zechariah,
regarding the birth of John the Baptist.
(19:6) Jacob’s second mention is in the
Qur'an’s second chapter.
As Jacob lay on his deathbed, he asked his
12 sons to testify their faith to him before
he departed from this world to the next.
(2:132) Each son testified in front of Jacob
that they would promise to remain Muslim (in
submission to God) until the day of their
death, that is they would surrender their
wholeselves to God alone and would worship
only Him.
In contrast to the Judeo-Christian view of
Jacob, one main difference is that the story
of Jacob's blessing, in which he deceives
Isaac, is not accepted in Islam.
The Qur'an makes it clear that Jacob was blessed
by God as a prophet and, therefore, Muslims
believe that his father, being a prophet as
well, also knew of his son's greatness.
Jacob is also cited in the Hadith as an example
of one who was patient and trusting in God
in the face of suffering.
=== Non-religious perspective ===
The life of Jacob as depicted in the Bible
also influenced and inspired many non-religious
people.
Critics tracing the history of the Love Story
note the story of Jacob and Rachel as one
of the earliest examples of this genre.
During the Second World War, the French writer
André Malraux worked on his last novel, The
Struggle with the Angel, the title drawn from
the story of Jacob.
The manuscript was destroyed by the Gestapo
after Malraux's capture in 1944.
A surviving first section, titled The Walnut
Trees of Altenburg, was published after the
war.
== Historicity ==
According to Steven Feldman of the Center
for Online Judaic Studies, most scholars would
date the stories of the patriarchs to the
period of the monarchy.
Recent excavations in the Timna Valley dating
copper mining to the 10th century BCE also
discovered what may be the earliest camel
bones found in Israel or even outside the
Arabian peninsula, dating to around 930 BCE.
This is seen as evidence that the stories
of Abraham, Joseph, Jacob, and Esau were written
after this time.Nahum M. Sarna indicates that
an inability to precisely date the patriarchs,
according to the present state of knowledge
does not necessarily invalidate the historicity
of the narratives.
William F. Albright maintained that the narratives
contained accurate details of an earlier period.Scholars
such as Thomas L. Thompson view the patriarchical
narratives, including the life of Jacob, as
late (6th and 5th centuries BCE) literary
compositions that have ideological and theological
purposes but are unreliable for historical
reconstruction of the presettlement period
of Israel’s past.
In Thompson's The Historicity of the Patriarchal
Narratives, he suggests that the patriarchal
narratives arose in a response to some present
situation, expressed as an imaginative picture
of the past to embody present hope.Gerhard
von Rad, in his Old Testament Theology, seems
to take a middle view, explaining that the
patriarch "saga" describes actual events subsequently
interpreted by the community through its own
experience.
It is neither entirely mythical, nor strictly
"historical", according to the present understanding
of the term.
Goldingay cites R.J Coggins' analogy of looking
to Genesis for the history of ancient Canaan
as similar to reading Hamlet in order to learn
Danish history.
== References ==
== Further reading ==
Trachtenberg, Joshua (1939), Jewish Magic
and Superstition: A Study in Folk Religion,
New York: Behrman's Jewish Book house
== External links ==
Texts on Wikisource:
“Jacob,” a poem by Arthur Hugh Clough
Cook, Stanley Arthur (1911).
"Jacob".
Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.).
"Jacob".
The New Student's Reference Work.
1914.
"Jacob".
Collier's New Encyclopedia.
1921.
