Jacob

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This article is about the patriarch.

Jacob (/ˈdʒeɪkəb/; Hebrew: יַעֲקֹב, Modern About this sound Yaʿakov (help·info), Tiberian Jaʕăqob; "heel"; Arabic: يَعْقُوب‎‎ Yaʿqūb), 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".[1]
Jacob's Dream statue and display on the campus of Abilene Christian University. The artwork is based on Genesis 28:10–22 and graphically represents the scenes alluded to in the hymn "Nearer, My God, to Thee" and the spiritual "We Are Climbing Jacob's Ladder" as well as other musical works.

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, Bahá'í scripture,[2] and the Book of Mormon.



Etymology

According to the folk etymology found in Genesis 25:26, the name Jacob is related to the Hebrew word for "heel."[3] According to Jan Fokkelman, the name is a shortened version of Yaaqob-el, meaning "God may protect."[4]

The Hebrew Bible says at Genesis 32:28–29 and 35:10, that God changed Jacob's name to Israel. Etymologically, it has been suggested that the name "Israel" comes from the Hebrew words לִשְׂרות (lisrot, "wrestle") and אֵל (El, "God"). Popular English translations typically reference the face off with God, ranging from "wrestles with God" to "God contends", but various other meanings have also been suggested. Some commentators say the name comes from the verb śārar ("to rule, be strong, have authority over"), thereby making the name mean "God rules" or "God judges";[5] or "the prince of God" (from the King James Version) or "El (God) fights/struggles".[6]