Jacob
The heel-grasper who became Israel — father of the twelve tribes — wrestler with God.
Identity
Jacob is the son of Isaac and Rebekah, twin brother of Esau, and the immediate ancestor of the twelve tribes of Israel. He is renamed 'Israel' by God after wrestling all night at the ford of Peniel (Genesis 32:28) — the name that has covered the covenant people from that day to this.
Name and titles
'Jacob' — Ya'aqov in Hebrew — means 'he grasps the heel' or, by extension, 'supplanter' (Genesis 25:26). 'Israel' — Yisra'el — means 'one who strives with God' or 'God strives' (Genesis 32:28).
Historical period
- c. 2006 BC (traditional) — Born as twin brother of Esau to Isaac and Rebekah (Genesis 25:19-26).
- c. 1929 BC — Buys Esau's birthright for a mess of pottage (Genesis 25:29-34); deceives Isaac and receives the blessing (Genesis 27).
- c. 1928 BC — Flees to Padan-aram; the ladder-vision at Bethel (Genesis 28).
- c. 1921 BC — Marries Leah and Rachel; serves Laban twenty years (Genesis 29-30).
- c. 1908 BC — Returns to Canaan; wrestles all night at Peniel; renamed Israel (Genesis 32).
- c. 1885 BC — Loses Rachel in childbirth of Benjamin at Bethlehem (Genesis 35:16-20).
- c. 1876 BC — Moves to Egypt at Joseph's invitation (Genesis 46-47).
- c. 1859 BC — Dies in Egypt at 147 years; his body is brought back to Machpelah (Genesis 49-50).
Scripture appearances
- Genesis 25:19-34 (KJV) Birth and birthright.
- Genesis 27 (KJV) The stolen blessing.
- Genesis 28:10-22 (KJV) The ladder at Bethel.
- Genesis 29-31 (KJV) Padan-aram: Laban, Leah, Rachel, the sons.
- Genesis 32:22-32 (KJV) Wrestling at Peniel; renamed Israel.
- Genesis 35:16-20 (KJV) Rachel's death near Bethlehem.
- Genesis 46-50 (KJV) Down to Egypt; blessing of the twelve; death.
- Matthew 1:2 (KJV) Named in the genealogy of Christ.
- Hebrews 11:20-21 (KJV) 'By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph.'
Connected Places
Connected People
- Isaac — his father.
- Rebekah — his mother.
- Esau — his brother.
- Leah and Rachel — his wives.
- The twelve sons — ancestors of the twelve tribes.
- Christ Jesus — descendant after the flesh (Matthew 1:2).
Salvation history role
- The immediate father of the twelve tribes.
- The recipient of the Bethel ladder-vision — a type of Christ (John 1:51: 'ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man').
- The wrestler renamed Israel — the model of prayer that will not let God go.
Christian tradition
- Named in the great phrase 'the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob' — used by God Himself (Exodus 3:6) and by Christ (Matthew 22:32).
- The ladder of Jacob (Genesis 28) is a favourite type of Christ in the Fathers.
- In Christian art, Jacob is shown asleep with the ladder rising to heaven, or wrestling with the angel at Peniel.
Household reflection
Jacob teaches the household that God's grace works with our real selves — a heel-grasper, a deceiver, a flawed man — and slowly re-shapes them. Jacob does not become 'Israel' overnight. He wrestles all night for it.
Room connections
Where this entry meets the household in the wider house of CrossAIHub.
- Read (Library) — Read Genesis 25-35 together as the Jacob unit.
- Pray (Chapel) — In dark seasons, pray the Jacob prayer: 'I will not let thee go, except thou bless me' (Genesis 32:26).
- Family (Kitchen Table) — Discuss with the children what it meant that Jacob's name was changed.
- Sing (Choir Room) — Sing 'Come, O Thou Traveler Unknown' (Charles Wesley, 1742) — the great hymn of Jacob at Peniel.
- Learn (Workshop) — Study John 1:51 alongside Genesis 28 — the ladder of Jacob fulfilled in Christ.
Further reading
Genesis 25-50 in the KJV.
Hebrews 11:20-21.
John 1:47-51.
Origen, Homilies on Genesis (third century).
Elsewhere in the Atlas
- Isaac
- Abraham
- Egypt
- Bethlehem
- Christ Jesus
- Return to the atrium — the Atlas's main room.
Continue Your Journey
Where else this page opens into the household library.