Jacob, Israel

Definition

Jacob was the younger twin son of Isaac by Rebekah. God changed his name to “Israel.” His descendants became the nation of Israel.

• Jacob is the last of the three patriarchs of the Israelite nation: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The descendants of Jacob’s twelve sons became the twelve tribes of Israel.
• The name Jacob is similar to the Hebrew word meaning “heel.” As Jacob was being born, he was holding onto the heel of his twin brother Esau. In the Old Testament times, the heel was a body part associated both with attack and with the rear part of a person’s body. The Hebrew name Jacob was probably associated with the idea of attacking someone from behind.
• Many years later, God changed Jacob’s name to “Israel,” which probably means “He struggles with God.”
• The name Jacob is often used to represent the nation of Israel.
• Jacob married Laban’s two daughters, Leah and Rachel, as well as each of their servants, Zilpah and Bilhah. These four women mothered the twelve sons who became the ancestral fathers of the twelve tribes of Israel.
• In the New Testament, a different man named Jacob is listed as being Joseph’s father in Matthew’s genealogy.

(Translation suggestions: How to Translate Names)

(See also: Israel, twelve tribes of Israel, Leah, Rachel, Zilpah, Bilhah, deceive, Esau, Isaac, Rebekah, Laban)

Bible References

• Acts 7:11
• Acts 7:46
• Genesis 25:26
• Genesis 29:1-3
• Genesis 32:1-2
• John 4:4-5
• Matthew 8:11-13
• Matthew 22:32

Examples from the Bible stories

• __7:1 As the boys grew up, Rebekah loved Jacob, but Isaac loved Esau. Jacob__ loved to stay at home, but Esau loved to hunt.
• __7:7 Jacob__ lived there for many years, and during that time he married and had twelve sons and a daughter. God made him very wealthy.
• __7:8 After twenty years away from his home in Canaan, Jacob__ returned there with his family, his servants, and all his herds of animals.
• __7:10 The covenant promises God had promised to Abraham and then to Isaac now passed on to Jacob__.
• __8:1 Many years later, when Jacob__ was an old man, he sent his favorite son, Joseph, to check on his brothers who were taking care of the herds.

Word Data

• Strong’s: H3290, G23840