Jacob

This article is about the patriarch. For the name, see Jacob (name). For other uses, see Jacob (disambiguation).

Jacob
יַעֲקֹב
Detail from Jacob Seeking the Forgiveness of Esau (1652), by Jan Victors
Resting placeTraditionally, the Cave of the Patriarchs, Hebron
31°31′29″N 35°06′39″E / 31.5247°N 35.1107°E / 31.5247; 35.1107
Spouses
ChildrenSee Children of Jacob
Parents
Relatives

Jacob,[a] later given the name Israel,[b] is a patriarch regarded as the forefather of the Israelites, according to Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Jacob first appears in the Book of Genesis, originating from the Hebrew tradition in the Torah. Described as the son of Isaac and Rebecca, and the grandson of Abraham, Sarah, and Bethuel, Jacob is presented as the second-born among Isaac's children. His fraternal twin brother is the elder, named Esau, according to the biblical account. Jacob is said to have bought Esau's birthright and, with his mother's help, deceived his aging father to bless him instead of Esau.[1] Later in the narrative, following a severe drought in his homeland of Canaan, Jacob and his descendants, with the help of his son Joseph (who had become a confidant of the pharaoh), moved to Egypt where Jacob died at the age of 147. He is supposed to have been buried in the Cave of Machpelah.

Jacob had twelve sons through four women: his wives (and cousins), Leah and Rachel, and his concubines, Bilhah and Zilpah. His sons were, in order of their birth: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin, all of whom became the heads of their own family groups, later known as the Twelve Tribes of Israel. He also had a daughter named Dinah.[2] According to Genesis, Jacob displayed favoritism among his wives and children, preferring Rachel and her sons, Joseph and Benjamin, causing tension within the family—culminating in Joseph's older brothers selling him into slavery.

Scholars have taken a mixed view as to Jacob's historicity, with archaeology so far producing no evidence for his existence.[3][4] William Albright initially dated the narratives of Jacob to the 19th century BCE, but later scholars like John J. Bimson and Nahum Sarna argued against using archaeological evidence to support such claims due to limited knowledge of that period. Recent scholars such as Thomas L. Thompson and William Dever suggest that these narratives are late literary compositions with ideological purposes rather than historical accounts.

Jacob's Dream statue and display on the campus of Abilene Christian University


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  1. ^ "Esau and Jacob and the Birthright". Life, Hope & Truth. Retrieved 2019-09-16.
  2. ^ Enumerations of the twelve tribes vary. Because Jacob effectively adopted two of his grandsons by Joseph and Asenath, namely Ephraim and Manasseh, the two grandsons were often substituted for the Tribe of Joseph, yielding thirteen tribes, or twelve if Levi is set apart.
  3. ^ Faust, Avraham (2022). "Between the Biblical Story and History: Writing an Archaeological History of Ancient Israel". In Keimer, Kyle H.; Pierce, George A. (eds.). The Ancient Israelite World. Taylor & Francis. pp. 71–72. ISBN 978-1-000-77324-8.
  4. ^ Dever, William G. (2023). "Christian Fundamentalism, Faith, and Archaeology". In Elliott, Mark; Atkinson, Kenneth; Rezetko, Robert (eds.). Misusing Scripture: What are Evangelicals Doing with the Bible?. Taylor & Francis. p. PT110. ISBN 978-1-000-85301-8. Abraham and the patriarchs may have been itinerant Amorites, but that is all we can say.