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Jacob
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Boyd’s Bible Dictionary
:
(supplanter).
Son
of
Isaac
and second born twin with
Esau
(
Gen. 25:24-34
24
And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.
25
And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau.
26
And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau's heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them.
27
And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents.
28
And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob.
29
And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint:
30
And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom.
31
And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright.
32
And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me?
33
And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob.
34
Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright. (Genesis 25:24‑34)
). Bought Esau’s birthright, fled to Padanaram, married
Rachel
and
Leah
, wandered to
Hebron
, name changed to
Israel
, drifted to
Egypt
, where he died, aged 147 years (Gen. 25-50).
Concise Bible Dictionary
:
Son
of
Isaac
and
Rebekah
. Though a twin, he is called “the younger,” being born after
Esau
. Before the
children
were born it was said, “the elder shall serve the younger.” The promises made by
God
to
Abraham
were thus confirmed to
Jacob
, as they had been to Isaac. When they grew up, Esau became a hunter, whereas Jacob was a peaceful
man
, dwelling in tents. Isaac loved Esau, and Rebekah loved Jacob. The typical character of these
three
patriarchs has been described thus: “In general, Abraham is the root of all promise, and the
picture
of the
life
of
faith
; Isaac is a
type
of the heavenly Man, who receives the
church
; and Jacob represents
Israel
as
heir
of the promises according to the
flesh
.” The difference may be seen by comparing
Genesis 22:17
17
That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; (Genesis 22:17)
(“stars” and “sand”), with
Genesis 26:4
4
And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; (Genesis 26:4)
(“stars” only), and
Genesis 28:14
14
And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. (Genesis 28:14)
(“
dust
of the
earth
” only).
Though Jacob was heir of the promises, and valued God’s
blessing
in a selfish manner, he sought it not by faith, but tried in an evil and mean way to obtain it: first in buying the birthright when his
brother
was at the point of
death
; and then, in obtaining the blessing from his
father
by lying and deceit: a blessing which would surely have been his in God’s way if he had waited (compare
Gen. 48:14-20
14
And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh's head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the firstborn.
15
And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day,
16
The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.
17
And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held up his father's hand, to remove it from Ephraim's head unto Manasseh's head.
18
And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head.
19
And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations.
20
And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh. (Genesis 48:14‑20)
).
Jacob had then to become a wanderer; but God was
faithful
to him, and spoke to him, not openly as to Abraham, but in a dream. The ladder reaching to
heaven
, and the
angels
ascending and descending on it, showed that he on earth was the object of heaven’s care. The promises as to the land being possessed by his descendants, and all nations being blessed in his Seed, were confirmed to him, with this difference that in connection with the latter promise it says “
in thee
and in
thy seed
,” because it includes the earthly blessings to his seed in the
millennium
. God also said He would keep Jacob wherever he went, and bring him back to the promised land. Jacob called the place
Beth
-el, saying that it was the
house
of God, and the
gate
of heaven. It is figurative of Israel’s position, not in heaven, but the “gate” is theirs. He made a vow that if God would bless him and bring him back in
peace
,
Jehovah
should be his God. This was not the language of faith.
Jacob, who had tricked his brother, was treated in a similar way by
Laban
, and
Leah
was given to him as wife instead of
Rachel
, though he had Rachel, the one he loved, afterward. He had not learned to trust God, but used subtle ways to increase his possessions; and he also was dealt with in a like manner, having his wages changed “
ten
times
.” But God was watching over him and bade him return to the land of his
fathers
; and when Laban pursued after him, God warned him in a dream not to speak to Jacob either good or bad. They made a
covenant
together, and each went his way.
Immediately afterward the angels of God met Jacob, and he recognized them as “God’s host.” Then he had to meet Esau, and doubtless
conscience
smote him, for he was greatly alarmed. He prayed to God for help, yet was full of plans, sending presents to appease his brother, and dividing his people into two bands, so that if one of them were smitten, the other might escape. When he was alone God took him in hand: a “man” (called “the angel” in
Hosea 12:4
4
Yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication unto him: he found him in Beth-el, and there he spake with us; (Hosea 12:4)
) wrestled with him. He was lamed, yet he clung, and in faith said, “I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.” He was accounted a victor, and his name was changed from Jacob to ISRAEL: “for as a
prince
hast thou
power
with God and with men, and hast prevailed.” God did not yet make known
His
name to him.
God protected him from Esau, as He had from Laban: they kissed each other and wept. He then feigned that he would follow Esau to
Seir
, but turned aside to
Shechem
, where he bought the portion of a field, thus settling down for his own ease in the midst of
the Canaanites
, instead of going to Beth-el, God’s house, from whence he had started. His peace was soon disturbed by his
daughter
Dinah
going to see the daughters of the land, and being dishonored, which was avenged by the slaughter of the
Shechemites
by his sons
Simeon
and
Levi
, bringing Jacob into great fear.
God used this humiliating sorrow to
discipline
Jacob, and recover him to his true
calling
. He therefore bade Jacob go to
Beth-el
, and make an
altar
there. This disclosed a sad state of things: he had to meet God, and must purify himself, and his
household
must
put
away their strange
gods
. He built an altar and called it, “
El-beth-el
”; “the God of
Bethel
.” God renewed His promises and revealed Himself to Jacob as GOD
ALMIGHTY
.
Jacob loved
Joseph
more than all his other sons, which caused them to hate Joseph; they also hated him for the communications given to him through
dreams
, and eventually sold him to the
Ishmeelites
. Again Jacob was dealt with deceitfully; his sons pretended that they had found Joseph’s
coat
stained with
blood
, and Jacob was greatly distressed. But God was watching and overruling all for good. When Jacob and his household arrived in
Egypt
, he as a prince of God blessed
Pharaoh
king of Egypt. He lived in Egypt seventeen years, and died at the good old
age
of 147.
Jacob at the close of his life
rose
up to the height of God’s thoughts, and by faith blessed the two sons of Joseph, being led of God to
cross
his hands, and gave the richest blessing to
Ephraim
. Then, as a true
prophet
of God, he called all his sons before him, and blessed them, with an appropriate
prophecy
as to the historical future of each (considered under each of the sons’
names
). He fell asleep, and his body was embalmed and carried into
Palestine
to lie with those of Abraham and Isaac.
Jacob being named ISRAEL led to his descendants being called the CHILDREN OF ISRAEL. They are however frequently addressed as “JACOB,” or “house of Jacob,” as if they had not preserved the higher character involved in the name of “Israel,” but must be addressed by the
natural
name of their forefather, Jacob (Gen. 25-49).
Jackson’s
Dictionary of Scripture Proper Names
:
he will take by the heel
Related Books and Articles:
Jacob
From:
To the Parents of My Grandchildren: Meditations on Some Parents of the Bible for Christian Parents, by a Grandfather
By:
George Christopher Willis
The Life of Jacob: November 2009
The Patriarchs
By:
John Gifford Bellett
Call: 1-630-543-1441
“Study to show thyself approved unto God, … rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).
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