Lifespan

Unknown (approximately 2000 B.C.?)

Ministry

Jacob is a pastoral man who spent most of his life in Canaan, except for 14 years working in Mesopotamia in order to win Rachel as wife, and some time in Egypt towards the end of his life when his son Joseph brings the family down to avoid starvation. The time frame is quite uncertain, but many scholars estimate in the vicinity of 2000 B.C.

Preparation and Calling

Jacob’s early years in preparation for serving as a patriarch and high priest present him in a double light. Yes, he is the younger of two twins, but he tricks Esau, his older brother, into giving him his birthright, and then tricks his father into giving him the birthright blessing. The Bible does not seem to condemn these actions, however, and attribute to Jacob the greater righteousness. After getting married and returning home to Canaan, Jacob has an experience which is described as “wrestling” with an angel. At this occasion, he receives the new name of Israel and gains special favor with God.

Interaction with God

Aside from gaining blessings through trickery, little is said about Jacob’s interaction with God until he wrestles with God Himself (Genesis 32). This is obviously a sacred theophany that changes Jacob’s life forever. Unfortunately, little is known of Jacob for the rest of his life, except as he appears in stories about his children.

Social Situation

Jacob is the younger twin to his brother Esau, sons of Isaac and Rebekah. He and his brother were rivals from birth, and this rivalry makes its way throughout the biblical record of his life. He tricked his brother into giving him his birthright and his father into giving him the blessing that should rightfully have gone to his brother Esau as the firstborn. Eventually, he and Esau do become reconciled with each other.

Jacob is also a righteous leader, and God himself gives him the new name of Israel after “wrestling” with the Lord at Penuel. His search for and ultimate marriage to Rachel, for which he himself was tricked into fourteen years of service, is one of the great love stories of the Old Testament. He fathered twelve sons, who became in turn the heads of the twelve tribes of Israel. Most of the scriptural record of his later years deals with him only as he appears in stories of his children.

Key Teachings

Jacob’s life is hallmarked by a firm commitment to do whatever the Lord asked of him. He is also possessed of a quick mind, which he uses sometimes to “bend the rules” a bit to obtain righteous ends.

Living with the Prophet

One of Jacob’s most obvious legacies that he left was as the father of twelve sons. These sons became significant leaders in the history of Israel. It is often within the walls of our own homes that the greatest battles are won, for the family provides the best situation for living God’s teachings. How can you make a difference to the members of your own family?

Prophecies of Christ

“The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come” (Gen. 49:10).

“Joseph is a fruitful bough . . . (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:)” (Gen. 49:22, 24).

Sources

Oxford Companion to the Bible, s.v. “Jacob”

Encyclopedia of Religion, s.v. “Jacob”

Holy Bible, book of Genesis