Skip to main content
Jacob

Jacob

28 4.3
The son of Isaac who becomes the father of the twelve tribes and is named Israel
  • proper noun
  • /ˈdʒeɪ.kəb/
  • Literature
: Jacob
  • Well, Leah had been consigned to marry Esau, Jacob's older brother.
  • Jacob and Esau
  • Jacob and Isaac
  • Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob

Examples

  • "'and the God of Jacob.'

  • "God will give him the throne of David "and he will reign over Jacob's house forever.

  • And as the day approaches, the angel says to Jacob, let me go.

  • Is this the chance and hope you mentioned, Jacob?

  • "Rachel the shepherdess, daughter of Laban, wife of Jacob, mother of Joseph and Benjamin."

    Fiction book (1990)
  • In the Bible, Jacob was known for his struggle with an angel in the night.

  • The story of Jacob and Esau highlights the complexities of their relationship.

  • Jacob's descendants formed the twelve tribes of Israel.

Surface Forms

Jacob main

Etymology

Jacob comes from an old Hebrew word akev that means 'heel', because in the Bible he was born holding his brother's heel. That idea of 'following' or 'taking another's place' helps explain the name and fits his story as the son of Isaac who later becomes Israel and the father of the twelve tribes.