Back Nabi Ya'qub ACE Jakob Afrikaans ያዕቆብ Amharic يعقوب Arabic يعقوب ARZ Xacob AST Yaqub Azerbaijani یعقوب AZB Jacob BCL Якаў (патрыярх) Byelorussian
Jacob | |
|---|---|
יַעֲקֹב | |
.jpg) Detail from Jacob Seeking the Forgiveness of Esau, by Jan Victors | |
| Resting place | Traditionally, the Cave of the Patriarchs, Hebron 31°31′29″N 35°06′39″E / 31.5247°N 35.1107°E |
| Spouses | |
| Children | See Children of Jacob |
| Parents | |
| Relatives | |
Jacob (/ˈdʒeɪkəb/; Hebrew: יַעֲקֹב, Modern: , 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.
Most scholars view the patriarchal narratives as unhistorical literary constructs.[4][5] Scholars generally see the Jacob story as originally belonging to the northern Kingdom of Israel and later becoming a part of the southern Kingdom of Judah.[6][7]
- ^ "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.
- ^ Frevel, Christian. History of Ancient Israel. Atlanta, Georgia. SBL Press. 2023. p. 33. ISBN 9781628375138. “[T]he narratives about the patriarchs and matriarchs are not true in the historical sense.”
- ^ Dever, William G. (2001). p. 98. What Did the Biblical Writers Know, and when Did They Know It?: What Archaeology Can Tell Us about the Reality of Ancient Israel. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. ISBN 978-0-8028-2126-3.
- ^ Blum, Erhard. "The Jacob Tradition.” p. 181-212 (quote p. 209-210) in The Book of Genesis: Composition, Reception, and Interpretation. Edited by Craig A. Evans, Joel N. Lohr, and David L. Petersen. VTSup 152. Leiden: Brill, 2012. “All things considered, it appears to be beyond reasonable doubt that the primary home of our Story of Jacob was the kingdom of Israel…After the end of the northern state, it became the core of a broader story of Israel’s ancestors.”
- ^ Finkelstein, Israel; Römer, Thomas (2014). "Comments on the Historical Background of the Jacob Narrative in Genesis". Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft. 126 (3): 317–338. doi:10.1515/zaw-2014-0020. ISSN 1613-0103. S2CID 170305826.
The Jacob narrative is probably one of the oldest origin traditions conserved in the Hebrew Bible. It existed independently without relation to the Southern Patriarchs and was first a story about the origins of the Transjordanian Bene Ya'agob, who were only later identified with Israel. This identification and probably also the first written version of the Jacob story, occurred in the 8th century BCE. Jacob was made the founder of the (foremost El-) sanctuaries in which Jeroboam II tried to integrate Yhwh. Shortly before, and/or after the fall of Judah, and during the sixth century, Jacob was linked with Abraham, who became the first ancestor, demonstrating the Judahite/Judean superiority. Priestly source was less interested in Jacob; he reinterpreted the conflict with Esau and also the theophany in Bethel and connected the Patriarchs with the Exodus tradition. After P the role of Shechem was strengthened, probably on the background of the difficult relations between Judeans and 'Samaritans'.