Jacob, the patriarch

God's covenant promises to Abraham were inherited by Jacob, through his father Isaac, and so it was through his line of descent that the promised Messiah was to come.

Jacob was one of the three patriarchs

Exodus 3:6 See also Numbers 32:11; Deuteronomy 1:8; Matthew 8:11, Matthew 22:32; Acts 3:13

Then He said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

Jacob received the Abrahamic promises

God's promise to Abraham

Genesis 12:1–3

Then the LORD said to Abram, “Leave your country, your kindred, and your father’s household, and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”

Jacob chosen in preference to Esau

Romans 9:11–13 See also Genesis 25:23; Malachi 1:2

Yet before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad, in order that God’s plan of election might stand, not by works but by Him who calls, she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” So it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”

The promises given to Jacob and his descendants

Genesis 28:3–4 See also Genesis 28:13–15, Genesis 35:11–12; Leviticus 26:42; 1 Chronicles 16:17 parallel Psalm 105:10; Hebrews 11:9

May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, so that you may become a company of peoples. And may He give the blessing of Abraham to you and your descendants, so that you may possess the land where you dwell as a foreigner, the land God gave to Abraham.”

Jacob's descendants

He fathered the twelve tribes

Exodus 1:1–5 See also 1 Kings 18:31; 1 Chronicles 2:1–2

These are the names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt with Jacob, each with his family: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah; Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin; Dan and Naphtali; Gad and Asher. The descendants of Jacob numbered seventy in all, including Joseph, who was already in Egypt.

He was the father of the nation

Psalm 22:23 See also Psalm 77:15; Isaiah 45:19

You who fear the LORD, praise Him! All descendants of Jacob, honor Him! All offspring of Israel, revere Him!

Jacob as a symbol for the nation

Jacob and Israel were linked together as equivalent terms for the nation

Psalm 14:7 See also Numbers 23:7, Numbers 24:5; 1 Chronicles 16:13; Psalm 78:5, Psalm 114:1, Psalm 135:4; Isaiah 9:8, Isaiah 43:28

Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come from Zion! When the LORD restores His captive people, let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad!

The nation is described as the house of Jacob

Exodus 19:3 See also Isaiah 2:6, Isaiah 8:17; Jeremiah 5:20; Amos 9:8; Luke 1:33

Then Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain, “This is what you are to tell the house of Jacob and explain to the sons of Israel:

Other descriptions of the nation

Deuteronomy 33:4; Psalm 87:2; Isaiah 27:9, Isaiah 59:20, Isaiah 41:21; Jeremiah 30:18; Lamentations 2:2; Malachi 2:12; Romans 11:26

National and patriarchal references merged

Psalm 46:7 See also Psalm 20:1, Psalm 24:6, Psalm 75:9, Psalm 94:7, Psalm 99:4; Jeremiah 10:16

The LORD of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah