Jacob

Lore & Background

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. Then, following a severe famine in Canaan, Jacob and his descendants migrated to neighbouring Egypt through the efforts of his son Joseph, who had become governor of Egypt. After dying in Egypt at the age of 147, he is supposed to have been buried in the Cave of Machpelah in Hebron. In the narrative of the Hebrew Bible, Jacob's progeny were begotten by four women: his wives (and maternal 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. He also had a daughter named Dinah, born to his first wife Leah. The descendants of Jacob's sons were collectively known as the Israelites, with each son being the forefather of one of the Twelve Tribes of Israel, of whom all but the Tribe of Levi were allotted territory in the Land of Israel. The Genesis narrative also states that Jacob displayed favoritism among his wives and children, preferring Rachel and her sons Joseph and Benjamin to the rest—culminating in Joseph's older brothers selling him into slavery out of resentment.

Reader's Guide

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

Did You Know?

• The name Jacob is derived from the Hebrew word for 'heel,' as he was born grasping the heel of his twin brother Esau.
• The name Israel given to Jacob after wrestling with an angel is etymologized as a composition of 'el' (god) and the root 'śarah' (to rule, contend, have power, prevail over).