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Jacob

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Revision as of 04:37, 4 February 2007 by 68.203.201.220 (talk) (befor the vandalism)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) This article is about Jacob in the Hebrew Bible. For other uses of the name, see Jacob (disambiguation).
Jacob Wrestling with the AngelGustave Doré, 1855

Jacob or Ya'akov, (Hebrew: יַעֲקֹב, Standard Yaʿaqov Tiberian Yaʿăqōḇ; Arabic: يعقوب, Yaʿqūb; "holds the heel"), also known as Israel (Hebrew: יִשְׂרָאֵל, Standard Yisraʾel Tiberian Yiśrāʾēl; Arabic: اسرائيل, Isrāʾīl; "Struggled with God"), is the third Biblical patriarch. His father is Isaac, and his grandfather is Abraham. Jacob plays a major part in some of the later events in the Book of Genesis.

poop was inportant to jake he ate it

Other references

Jacob is the only person in Old Testament (Jewish) Scripture whom God said He "loved". (Malachi 1:2–3, "...I loved Jacob, and I hated Esau...", also quoted in Romans).

Jacob's sons

Main article: Israelite
Children of Jacob
With Leah
With Rachel
With Bilhah, Rachel's servant
With Zilpah, Leah's servant
Adopted
Tribes of Israel
The Tribes of Israel
Other tribes
Related topics

Jacob had twelve sons by his four wives, as follows:

These 12 sons comprise the twelve Tribes of Israel. These tribes were recorded on the vestments of the Kohen Gadol (high priest). However, when the land of Israel was apportioned among the tribes in the days of Joshua, the Tribe of Levi, being priests, did not receive land. Therefore, when the tribes are listed in reference to their receipt of land, as well as to their encampments during the 40 years of wandering in the desert, the Tribe of Joseph is replaced by the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh (the two sons of Joseph by his Egyptian wife Asenath, whom Jacob elevated to the status of full tribes).

Thus, the two divisions of the tribes are:

Traditional division:

  1. Reuben
  2. Simeon
  3. Levi
  4. Judah
  5. Issachar
  6. Zebulun
  7. Dan
  8. Naphtali
  9. Gad
  10. Asher
  11. Joseph
  12. Benjamin

Division according to apportionment of land in Israel:

  1. Reuben
  2. Simeon
  3. Judah
  4. Issachar
  5. Zebulun
  6. Dan
  7. Naphtali
  8. Gad
  9. Asher
  10. Benjamin
  11. Ephraim
  12. Manasseh

Rabbinical teachings

According to the classic Jewish texts, Jacob, as the third and last patriarch, lived a life that paralleled the descent of his offspring, the Jewish people, into the darkness of exile. In contrast to Abraham—who illuminated the world with knowledge of God and earned the respect of the inhabitants of the land of Canaan—and Isaac—who continued his father's teachings and also lived in relative harmony with his neighbors—Jacob experienced many personal struggles both in the land and out of it (including the hatred of his brother Esau, the death of his favorite wife Rachel, the sale of his son Joseph, the rape of his daughter Dinah, and the deception of his father-in-law Laban). For this reason, the Jewish commentators interpret many elements of his story as being symbolic of the future difficulties and struggles the Jewish people would undergo during their long exile, which continues to the present day.

Jacob in Islam

Main article: Yaqub

In Arabic, Jacob is known as Yaqub. He is revered as a prophet who received inspiration from God. The Qur'an does not give the details of Jacob’s life. It is said that he was later honored by God with the name Is'rail (Israel in English) (Yisrael in Hebrew) because of his devotion and dedication to God's will. Isra' means Night Journey and Il simply means God (Allah) (similar to the word El in Semitic Language meaning God). Yaqub was said to have migrated somewhere in a night journey with his children and later favored by God with this name. God perfected his favor on Jacob and his posterity as he perfected his favor on Abraham and Isaac (12:6). Jacob was a man of might and vision (38:45) and was chosen by God to preach the Message. The Qur'an stresses that worshiping and bowing to the One true God was the main legacy of Jacob and his fathers (2:132-133). Salvation, according to the Qu'ran, hinges upon this legacy rather than being a Jew or Christian (See Qu'ran 2:130-141).

According to the Qu'ran, Jacob was of the company of the Elect and the Good (38:47, 21:75). Yaqub is a name that is accepted in Muslim community showing the value attributed to Jacob.

See also

  • History of ancient Israel and Judah
  • Jacob Wrestling with the Angel, the name given to at least three different major paintings
  • During the Second World War the French writer and anti-Nazi resistance fighter André Malraux worked on a long novel, The Struggle Against the Angel, the manuscript of which was destroyed by the Gestapo upon his capture in 1944. The name was apparently inspired by the Jacob story. A surviving opening book to The Struggle Against the Angel, named The Walnut Trees of Altenburg, was published after the war.

References

External links


Adam to David according to the Hebrew Bible
Creation to Flood
Patriarchs after Flood
Tribe of Judah to Kingdom
Names in italics only appear in the Greek Septuagint version

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