![]() Genesis 27:36: ‘Esau said, “Isn’t he rightly named Jacob? This is the second time he has taken advantage of me: He took my birthright, and now he’s taken my blessing!” Then he asked, “Haven’t you reserved any blessing for me?”’ Hosea 12:2: “The LORD has a charge to bring against Judah he will punish Jacob according to his ways and repay him according to his deeds.” Jacob is the patriarch of the 12 tribes of Israel ( Genesis 35: 23-26).Laban also attempted to cheat Jacob out of his wages ( Genesis 30:25-36). Laban then made Jacob work a further 7 years before he could marry his youngest daughter Rachel, who had been Jacob’s first choice of the bride ( Genesis 29:18-30). Firstly, after 7 years of service, Jacob’s uncle Laban tricked him into marrying his eldest daughter Leah. This particular story in the Bible is referred to as Jacob’s Ladder. God appeared to Jacob as he slept and blessed him and his progeny ( Genesis 28:10-19). While Jacob was traveling towards Haran, he lay down to sleep in the desert and dreamt of a staircase that extended up to heaven, on which angels ascended and descended. Though Jacob was a trickster, God did bless him throughout his life. ![]() Even in appearance, the two young men were different: Esau was brawny with a thick covering of red hair, whereas Jacob was smooth-skinned ( Genesis 25:25, Genesis 27:11). Whereas Esau was comfortable in the outdoors hunting, Jacob was content to stay at home ( Genesis 25:27). Jacob and his twin Esau were complete opposites of one another.Jacob’s grandfather was Abraham, who was known as the “Father of the Faithful” ( Genesis 12:1-3).In return for 20 years of service, Jacob tricked Laban into giving him his desired choice of wages - speckled and spotted sheep and goats - by stripping back the branches of poplar, almond, and plane trees and placing them at the watering troughs where the strongest animals came to drink and mate ( Genesis 30:25-43). Moreover, Jacob robbed Esau of their father’s blessing ( Genesis 27:1-29, Genesis 27:35), which had been Esau’s right to receive. Jacob offered his “famished” brother a bowl of soup in exchange for his birthright as the firstborn son, which was a double portion of his father Isaac’s inheritance ( Genesis 25:29-34). Jacob’s most notorious acts of trickery were committed against his twin brother Esau. How is Jacob’s character depicted in the Bible?įrom the time of his birth until his wrestling encounter with God ( Genesis 32:24-29, Jacob was associated with trickery and deception. Jacob’s intention to undermine his brother of both his birthright and father’s blessing also earned him the name of “Supplanter” ( Genesis 27:36). Hence, Jacob means in Hebrew “one who follows on another's heels” ( Genesis 25:26). The name Jacob is derived from the Hebrew verb which means “to follow.” Jacob was born grabbing onto his twin brother Esau’s heel. Additionally, Esau, the elder twin, would become the servant of Jacob, the younger ( Genesis 25:23). God replied that the enmity between the two brothers was a foreshadowing for the two nations that would arise from them – Jacob would be the forefather of Israel ( Genesis 32:28, Genesis 35:10-13), Esau of Edom ( Genesis 36). When Jacob’s mother, Rebekah, was pregnant with him and his fraternal twin Esau, she inquired of God as to why her two babies were fighting in her womb ( Genesis 25:22). Jacob is first mentioned in the Bible in Genesis 25.
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