This article is about the patriarch. For the name, see Jacob (name). For other uses, see Jacob (disambiguation).
Jacob
יַעֲקֹב
Jacob Wrestling with the Angel, by Rembrandt
Resting place
Traditionally, the Cave of the Patriarchs, Hebron 31°31′29″N35°06′39″E / 31.5247°N 35.1107°E / 31.5247; 35.1107
Spouses
Leah
Rachel
Children
12 sons, traditional founders of the Twelve Tribes of Israel
Dinah (only daughter)
Parents
Isaac (father)
Rebecca (mother)
Relatives
Abraham (grandfather)
Sarah (grandmother)
Ishmael (half-uncle)
Esau (twin brother)
Laban (uncle, father-in-law)
Jacob (/ˈdʒeɪkəb/; Hebrew: יַעֲקֹב, Modern: Yaʿaqōvⓘ, Tiberian: Yaʿăqōḇ; Arabic: يَعْقُوب, romanized: Yaʿqūb; Greek: Ἰακώβ, romanized: Iakṓb),[1] later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Samaritanism, 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.[2] 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.[3] 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.[4]
^"Jacob". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
^"Esau and Jacob and the Birthright". Life, Hope & Truth. Retrieved 2019-09-16.
^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.
^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.
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