Handbook:Jacob
From Door43
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| Article Sources: | ISBE (International Standard Bible Encyclopedia) |
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When the twin brothers were born, Esau was born first, but Jacob was born right afterward, grasping Esau's heel from inside the womb of their mother. So, they named him Jacob, which means "he grasps the heel", which to them was an expression meaning that he is a deceiver.
Since Esau was born first, he had the right to receive the birthright and the blessing from their father Isaac. But Jacob deceived Esau into giving him the birthright (Genesis 25:29-34), and then he deceived Isaac into giving him the blessing (Genesis 27:1-40). This fulfilled the prophecy that God gave to their mother that the older brother would serve the younger (Genesis 25:19-23).
Jacob then had to run away because Esau hated him and wanted to kill him. He went to his uncle Laban in Haran. There he married two of Laban's daughters, Rachel and Leah, and had sons and daughters by them and their two maidservants. He became very wealthy there, with many large flocks of animals. Eventually, Laban and his sons became jealous of Jacob's wealth, so Jacob took his family and belongings and returned to the land of Canaan, where he made peace with his brother Esau.
During an event in which Jacob wrestled with an unknown man in the night, God changed his name to Israel, which means "he struggles with God". Jacob had 12 sons in all, who eventually became the heads of the 12 tribes of Israel.
Jacob's older sons hated his favorite son, Joseph. They sold him as a slave to some traders who were going to Egypt, and they lied to Jacob, saying that a wild beast had killed him.
During Jacob's later years of life, there was a great famine, and ten of his sons went to Egypt to get food. Their brother Joseph had become the ruler of the country, serving under Pharoah. Joseph brought Jacob's whole family to Egypt, where they stayed for the next 430 years, eventually becoming slaves of the Egyptians. (See the article Israelites.)
Jacob died in Egypt, an old man. His sons took his body back to Canaan and buried it there, then returned to Egypt.
