The grandson of Abraham and son of Isaac, who was chosen by God, despite his personal faults and shortcomings, to be the recipient of the promises made to Abraham. His name means “he grasps the heel”, an allusion to the circumstances of his birth (Genesis 25:25–26).
Jacob's birth
Later, Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was barren. And the LORD heard his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived. But the children inside her struggled with each other, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” So Rebekah went to inquire of the LORD, and He declared to her: “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.” When her time came to give birth, there were indeed twins in her womb. The first one came out red, covered with hair like a fur coat; so they named him Esau. After this, his brother came out grasping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob. And Isaac was sixty years old when the twins were born.
Jacob obtains the rights of the firstborn son
Genesis 27:36 See also Genesis 25:29–34, Genesis 27:1–29; Hebrews 12:16–17
So Esau declared, “Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has cheated me twice. He took my birthright, and now he has taken my blessing.” Then he asked, “Haven’t you saved a blessing for me?”
Jacob inherits the promises made to Abraham
Genesis 28:10–15 See also Genesis 12:1–3, Genesis 15:5, Genesis 27:29, Genesis 28:3–4, Genesis 35:11–13
Meanwhile Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran. On reaching a certain place, he spent the night there because the sun had set. And taking one of the stones from that place, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. And Jacob had a dream about a ladder that rested on the earth with its top reaching up to heaven, and God’s angels were going up and down the ladder. And there at the top the LORD was standing and saying, “I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you now lie. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and east and north and south. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. Look, I am with you, and I will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
Jacob flees to Haran
As the result of Esau's enmity
Genesis 27:41–45 See also Genesis 28:5
Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. And Esau said in his heart, “The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then I will kill my brother Jacob.” When the words of her older son Esau were relayed to Rebekah, she sent for her younger son Jacob and told him, “Look, your brother Esau is consoling himself by plotting to kill you. So now, my son, obey my voice and flee at once to my brother Laban in Haran. Stay with him for a while, until your brother’s fury subsides— until your brother’s rage against you wanes and he forgets what you have done to him. Then I will send for you and bring you back from there. Why should I lose both of you in one day?”
He encounters God at Bethel
Genesis 28:10–22 The encounter with God at Bethel confirms that Jacob has received the promise made to Abraham, and that Jacob has accepted his role of bearer of that promise to future generations.
He marries Leah and Rachel
Genesis 28:1–2 See also Genesis 29:16–30 Jacob is deceived by Laban into marrying Leah before Rachel.
So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. “Do not take a wife from the Canaanite women,” he commanded. “Go at once to Paddan-aram, to the house of your mother’s father Bethuel, and take a wife from among the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother.
He accumulates wealth
Genesis 30:29–43 See also Genesis 31:4–9, Genesis 31:14–16, Genesis 31:36–42
Jacob returns to Canaan
His flight from Haran
Genesis 31:1–3 See also Genesis 31:10–13, Genesis 31:17–24, Genesis 31:44–55
Now Jacob heard that Laban’s sons were saying, “Jacob has taken away all that belonged to our father and built all this wealth at our father’s expense.” And Jacob saw from the countenance of Laban that his attitude toward him had changed. Then the LORD said to Jacob, “Go back to the land of your fathers and to your kindred, and I will be with you.”
His encounter with God
Genesis 32:24–30 The change of his name from “Jacob” (meaning “he grasps the heel”, figuratively, “he deceives”) to “Israel” (meaning “he struggles with God”) confirms Jacob as the recipient of the Abrahamic blessings. See also Genesis 35:1–5, Genesis 35:9–15
So Jacob was left all alone, and there a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When the man saw that he could not overpower Jacob, he struck the socket of Jacob’s hip and dislocated it as they wrestled. Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” “What is your name?” the man asked. “Jacob,” he replied. Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men, and you have prevailed.” And Jacob requested, “Please tell me your name.” But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed Jacob there. So Jacob named the place Peniel, saying, “Indeed, I have seen God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”
His reunion with Esau
Jacob's children
His twelve sons
Genesis 35:22–26 See also Genesis 29:32–35, Genesis 30:3–13, Genesis 35:16–18
While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went in and slept with his father’s concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard about it. Jacob had twelve sons: The sons of Leah were Reuben the firstborn of Jacob, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. The sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin. The sons of Rachel’s maidservant Bilhah were Dan and Naphtali. And the sons of Leah’s maidservant Zilpah were Gad and Asher. These are the sons of Jacob, who were born to him in Paddan-aram.
The rape of his daughter
Genesis 34:1–2 See also Genesis 34:5, Genesis 34:7, Genesis 34:13–31
Now Dinah, the daughter Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the daughters of the land. When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the region, saw her, he took her and lay with her by force.
His favouritism towards Joseph and Benjamin
Genesis 37:3–4 See also Genesis 37:31–35, Genesis 42:1–4, Genesis 44:20, Genesis 44:22, Genesis 44:27–31
Now Israel loved Joseph more than his other sons, because Joseph had been born to him in his old age; so he made him a robe of many colors. When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.
His reunion with Joseph
Genesis 46:29–30 See also Genesis 45:27–28, Genesis 46:1–4, Genesis 47:11
Joseph prepared his chariot and went there to meet his father Israel. Joseph presented himself to him, embraced him, and wept profusely. Then Israel said to Joseph, “Finally I can die, now that I have seen your face and know that you are still alive!”
Jacob blesses his descendants
Hebrews 11:21 See also Genesis 48:15–20, Genesis 49:1–28
By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.
Jacob's death and burial
Genesis 47:28–30 See also Genesis 49:29–33, Genesis 50:2–3, Genesis 50:12–13
And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years, and the length of his life was 147 years. When the time drew near for Israel to die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes, put your hand under my thigh and promise to show me kindness and faithfulness. Do not bury me in Egypt, but when I lie down with my fathers, carry me out of Egypt and bury me with them.” Joseph answered, “I will do as you have requested.”
Related themes
Dictionary of Bible Themes © 1999 Martin Manser, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Bible Aquifer. Formatted for this site, with Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible.