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Jacob
Jacob Son of Isaac and Rebekah, and brother of Esau whom he twice outwitted (Gen. 25: 29 ff.; 27). The traditions about Jacob were compiled over several centuries but in so far as it can be assumed that Jacob was a historical person he is likely to have lived in the period between about 1750 and 1570 BCE. Some authorities believe there are indications that he lived about 1200 BCE at the beginning of the early Iron Age, but this date would assume a surprisingly late date for the Exodus. The combination of the Jacob stories from the two sources J and E and then with the addition of P material (in Gen. 35) is in a remarkably sophisticated arrangement reflecting, by the genealogical relationship of Jacob to his sons, something of the actual social realities at the time of compilation.
Jacob is portrayed unattractively: he steals from his father-in-law Laban; he deceives his brother Esau and so obtains his birthright; and he tricks his father into giving him the blessing of the first-born which was Esau's privilege. In his old age, Jacob comes into the Joseph narrative and dies near Joseph, his favourite son (Gen. 49: 33). In the NT Jacob is mentioned in the speech of Stephen (Acts 7: 8) in his recital of the promises of God to his people; but more importantly the preference of Jacob over Esau is used by Paul (Rom. 9: 13) to illustrate the sovereign grace of God, and by Heb. 11: 9 as one of the examplars of true faith. In the conversation between Jesus and a Samaritan woman, she asks whether he is greater than the ancestor Jacob (John 4: 12). It is an example of John's irony: she thinks it is absurd—but the readers of the gospel know otherwise. |
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W. R. F. BROWNING. "Jacob." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. W. R. F. BROWNING. "Jacob." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O94-Jacob.html W. R. F. BROWNING. "Jacob." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O94-Jacob.html |
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Jacob
Jacob ♂ Biblical name, from Hebrew Yaakov. This was borne by perhaps the most important of all the patriarchs in the Book of Genesis. Jacob was the father of twelve sons, who gave their names to the twelve tribes of Israel. He was the son of Isaac and Rebecca and twin brother of Esau. According to the story in Genesis, he was the cunning younger twin, who persuaded his brother Esau to part with his right to his inheritance in exchange for a bowl of soup (‘a mess of pottage’). Later, he tricked his blind and dying father into blessing him in place of Esau. The derivation of the name has been much discussed. It is traditionally explained as being derived from Hebrew akev ‘heel’ and to have meant ‘heel grabber’, because when Jacob was born ‘his hand took hold of Esau's heel’ (Genesis 25:26). This is interpreted later in the Bible as ‘supplanter’ Esau himself remarks, ‘Is he not rightly named Jacob? for he has supplanted me these two times’ (Genesis 27:36). Jacob is especially common as a Jewish given name, although it also became very popular among the Puritans from the 16th century onwards, and has again been widely used since the 1990s. Compare James.
Cognates: Welsh: Iago. German: Jakob. Dutch: Jakob, Jaap. Scandinavian: Jakob. French: Jacques. Spanish, Portuguese: Jacob, Jacobo. Italian: Giacobbe. Russian: Yakov. Polish: Jakub. Czech: Jakub. Croatian: Jakov. Finnish: Jaakko. Hungarian: Jákob. |
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PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Jacob." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Jacob." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O41-Jacob.html PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Jacob." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O41-Jacob.html |
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Jacob
Jacob in the Bible, a Hebrew patriarch, the younger of the twin sons of Isaac and Rebecca, who persuaded his brother Esau to sell him his birthright and tricked him out of his father's blessing (Genesis 25, 27).
Jacob married his cousin Rachel and (through the deception of their father, his uncle Laban) her sister Leah; it was Rachel's children, his youngest sons Joseph and Benjamin who were dearest to him. His twelve sons became the founders of the twelve tribes of ancient Israel. Jacob sheep a breed of piebald sheep named originally from the story in Genesis 30:40, in which Jacob, who has herded his uncle Laban's cattle and sheep, is given the speckled and brown animals for his portion. Jacob's ladder a ladder reaching up to heaven, seen in a dream by Jacob (Genesis 28:12), when he saw the angels of God ascending and descending; it was in the same dream that God spoke to him and promised to him and his descendants the land on which he was then lying. When he woke in the morning he set up the stone which had been his pillow to mark the place, which was later named Bethel. Jacob's stone a name given to the stone of Scone, said to have been the stone used by Jacob for a pillow when he had the dream of Jacob's ladder. |
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Jacob." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Jacob." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-Jacob.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Jacob." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-Jacob.html |
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Jacob
Jacob , in the Bible, ancestor of the Hebrews, the younger of Isaac and Rebecca's twin sons; the older was Esau. In exchange for a bowl of lentil soup, Jacob obtained Esau's birthright and, with his mother's help, received the blessing that the dying Isaac had intended for his older son. Esau became so enraged that Jacob fled to his uncle, Laban, in Paddan-aram. On his way, at Bethel, he had a vision of angels ascending and descending the ladder to heaven. After 20 years serving Laban, Jacob started back to his native land with his two wives, Leah and Rachel, and his many sons—the eponymous ancestors of the 12 tribes of Israel. On the banks of the Jabbok, Jacob wrestled with an angel, received the name of Israel , and reconciled with Esau the next day. Later, Jacob migrated to Egypt, where he was reunited with his son Joseph . Jacob died there, but his sons buried him in the family plot at Machpelah. Modern biblical scholars question the historicity of Jacob. In the New Testament the name James is equivalent to the Hebrew Jacob. |
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"Jacob." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Jacob." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Jacob.html "Jacob." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Jacob.html |
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Jacob
Jacob (Heb., Yaʿakov). Third Hebrew patriarch. Jacob was the younger twin son (with Esau) of Isaac and Rebekah. In the aggadah, the story of Jacob is understood as symbolic of the later history of the Jews—so Esau struggling with Jacob in their mother's womb is interpreted as the conflict between Rome and Israel (e.g. Gen.R. 63. 8).
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JOHN BOWKER. "Jacob." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN BOWKER. "Jacob." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-Jacob.html JOHN BOWKER. "Jacob." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-Jacob.html |
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Jacob
Jacob Old Testament figure, grandson of Abraham and, by tradition, ancestor of the nation of Israel. He was the second-born son of Isaac and Rebecca and younger twin brother of Esau. Stories about him and his family form the last part of Genesis (25:19–50:13). The descendants of his 12 sons became the 12 tribes of Israel.
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"Jacob." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Jacob." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-Jacob.html "Jacob." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-Jacob.html |
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Jacob
Jacob, OT Patriarch. The son of Isaac, he deprived his brother Esau of his birthright by an elaborate ruse and fled to Haran in Mesopotamia. On his way back to Canaan he wrestled with a mysterious Divine stranger and received the name of ‘Israel’. The twelve tribes of Israel took their names from those of his sons.
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E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Jacob." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Jacob." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-Jacob.html E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Jacob." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-Jacob.html |
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Jacob
Jacob •Jacob
•Arab, carob, scarab, Shatt al-Arab
•cherub
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"Jacob." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Jacob." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-Jacob.html "Jacob." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-Jacob.html |
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