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), Naphtali (Genesis 30:7),

Gad (Genesis 30:10), Asher (Genesis 30:12), Issachar (Genesis 30:17), Zebulun (Genesis 30:19), Joseph (Genesis 30:23) and Benjamin (Genesis 35:18) and at least one daughter, Dinah (if there were other daughters, they are not mentioned in the Genesis story)(Genesis 30:21). In addition, Jacob also adopted the two sons of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim.(Genesis 48:5)

The offspring of Jacob's sons became the tribes of Israel following the Exodus, when the Israelites conquered and settled in the Land of Israel.

Family tree

Religious perspectives

Jacob/Israel
Russian Orthodox Icon of St. Jacob, 18th century (Iconostasis) of Kizhi monastery, Russia
Prophet, Patriarch
Venerated in	Judaism Christianity Islam Bahá'í Faith
Major shrine	Cave of the Patriarchs, Hebron

Jewish tradition

There are two opinions in the Midrash as to how old Rebekah was at the time of her marriage and, consequently, at the twins' birth. According to the traditional counting cited by Rashi, Isaac was 37 years old at the time of the Binding of Isaac, and news of Rebekah's birth reached Abraham immediately after that event. In that case, since Isaac was 60 when Jacob and Essau were born and they had been married for 20 years, then Isaac was 40 years old when he married Rebekah (Gen. 25:20), making Rebekah 3 years old at the time of her marriage, and 23 years old at the birth of Jacob and Essau. According to the second opinion, Rebekah was 14 years old at the time of their marriage, and 34 years old at the birth of Jacob and Essau. In either case, Isaac and Rebekah were married for 20 years before Jacob and Esau were born. The Midrash says that during Rebekah's pregnancy whenever she would pass a house of Torah study, Jacob would struggle to come out; whenever she would pass a house of idolatry, Esau would agitate to come out.

Rashi explained that Isaac, when blessing Jacob instead of Esau, smelled the heavenly scent of Gan Eden (Paradise) when Jacob entered his room and, in contrast, perceived Gehenna opening beneath Esau when the latter entered the room, showing him that he had been deceived all along by Esau's show of piety.

When Laban planned to deceive Jacob into marrying Leah instead of Rachel, the Midrash recounts that both Jacob and Rachel suspected that Laban would pull such a trick; Laban was known as the "Aramean" (deceiver), and changed Jacob's wages ten times during his employ (Genesis 31:7). The couple therefore devised a series of signs by which Jacob could identify the veiled bride on his wedding night. But when Rachel saw her sister being taken out to the wedding canopy, her heart went out to her for the public shame Leah would suffer if she were exposed. Rachel therefore gave Leah the signs so that Jacob would not realize the switch.

Jewish Apocalyptic literature of the Hellenistic period includes many ancient texts with narratives about Jacob, many times with details different from Genesis. The more important are the book of Jubilees and the Book of Biblical Antiquities. Jacob is also the protagonist of the Testament of Jacob, of the Ladder of Jacob and of the Prayer of Joseph, which interpret the experience of this Patriarch in the context of merkabah mysticism.

Christianity

The Eastern Orthodox Church and those Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Byzantine Rite see Jacob's dream as a prophecy of the Incarnation of the Logos, whereby Jacob's ladder is understood as a symbol of the Theotokos (Virgin Mary), who, according to Orthodox theology, united heaven and earth in her womb. The biblical account of this vision (Genesis 28:10–17) is one of the standard Old Testament readings at Vespers on Great Feasts of the Theotokos.

The Catholic church considers Jacob as a Saint along with other biblical patriarchs. Along with other patriarchs his feast day is celebrated in the Byzantine rite of the Catholic Church on the Second Sunday before the Advent (December 11–17), under the title the Sunday of the Forefathers.

Islamic tradition

Yaqub (Template:Lang-ar; also later Isra'il, Arabic: إِسْرَآئِیل ; Classical/ Qur'anic Arabic: إِسْرَآءِیْل ), also known as Jacob in the Old Testament, is recognized in Islam as a prophet who received inspiration from God. He is acknowledged as a patriarch of Islam. Muslims believe that he preached the same monotheistic faith as his forefathers ʾIbrāhīm, ʾIsḥāq and Ismā'īl. Jacob is mentioned 16 times in the Qur'an. In the majority of these references, Jacob is mentioned alongside fellow prophets and patriarchs as an ancient and pious prophet. According to the Qur'an, Jacob remained in the company of the elect throughout his life. (38:47) The Qur'an specifically mentions that Jacob was guided (6:84) and inspired (4:163) and was chosen to enforce the awareness of the Hereafter. (38:46) Jacob is described as a good-doer (21:72) and the Qur'an further makes it clear that God inspired Jacob to contribute towards purification and hold the contact prayer. (21:73) Jacob is further described as being resourceful and a possessor of great vision (38:45) and is further spoken of as being granted a "tongue of truthfulness to be heard". (19:50)

in which he deceives Isaac, is not accepted in Islam. The Qur'an makes it clear that Jacob was blessed by God as a prophet and, therefore, Muslims believe that his father, being a prophet as well, also knew of his son's greatness. Jacob is also cited in the Hadith as an example of one who was patient and trusting in God in the face of suffering.

The story of Jacob in Islam also draws many parallels with the Islamic traditions of Job, In that both had lost many things, and still upheld patience. In Islamic tradition, Jacob had lost his father, Isaac as well as his wife Rachel in the same year, followed by his loss of his favorite son, Joseph. Similarly Job lost everything, and stayed patient and kept faith in God, and eventually everything was returned to him and some things were multiplied for him.

Historicity

According to Steven Feldman of the Center for Online Judaic Studies, most scholars would date the stories of the patriarchs to the period of the monarchy. Recent excavations in the Timna Valley dating copper mining to the 10th century BCE also discovered what may be the earliest camel bones found in Israel or even outside the Arabian peninsula, dating to around 930 BCE. This is seen as evidence that the stories of Abraham, Joseph, Jacob, and Esau were written after this time.

N. M. Sarna indicates that an inability to precisely date the patriarchs, according to the present state of knowledge does not necessarily invalidate the historicity of the narratives. William F. Albright maintained that the narratives contained accurate details of an earlier period.

Scholars such as Thomas L. Thompson view the patriarchical narratives, including the life of Jacob, as late (6th and 5th centuries BCE) literary compositions that have ideological and theological purposes but are unreliable for historical reconstruction of the presettlement period of Israel’s past. In Thompson's The Historicity of the Patriarchal Narratives, he suggests that the patriarchal narratives arose in a response to some present situation, expressed as an imaginative picture of the past to embody present hope.

Gerhard von Rad, in his Old Testament Theology, seems to take a middle view, explaining that the patriarch "saga" describes actual events subsequently interpreted by the community through its own experience. It is neither entirely mythical, nor strictly "historical", according to the present understanding of the term. Goldingay cites R.J Coggins' analogy of looking to Genesis for the history of ancient Canaan as similar to reading Hamlet in order to learn Danish history.

References

1. https://www.sefaria.org/Genesis.11.11?lang=bi&aliyot=0
2. Sarah was the half–sister of Abraham (Genesis 20:12). An alternative tradition holds that she was Abraham's niece (see Sarah#In rabbinic literature).
3. ^ Genesis 11:27–29
4. Genesis 16:15
5. Genesis 22:21–22: Uz, Buz, Kemuel, Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, and Jidlaph
6. Rashi writes, "The Holy One, blessed be He, announced to him that Rebekah, his mate, had been born." Commentary on Gen. 22:20.
7. Bereshit Rabbah 63:6.
8. Pirkei d'Rav Kahana, quoted in Scherman, p. 139.
9. The patriarchs, prophets and certain other Old Testament figures have been and always will be honored as saints in all the Church's liturgical traditions. - Catechism of the Catholic Church 61
10. Liturgy > Liturgical year >The Christmas Fast - Byzantine Catholic Archeparchy of Pittsburgh
11. ^ Cite error: The named reference Encyclopedia of Islam 254 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
12. Azzam, Leila. "Isaac and Jacob", Lives of the Prophets
13. Feldman, Steven. "Biblical History: From Abraham to Moses, c. 1850-1200 BCE", COJS
14. Hasson, Nir (Jan 17, 2014). "Hump stump solved: Camels arrived in region much later than biblicalreference". Haaretz. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
15. Bimson, John J. "Archaeological Data and the Dating of the Patriarchs", Essays on the Patriarchal Narratives, pp. 59-92, (A.R. Millard & D.J. Wiseman, eds., Leicester: IVP, 1980. Hbk. ISBN 0851117430
16. Megan Bishop Moore, Brad E. Kelle, Biblical History and Israel's Past: The Changing Study of the Bible and History, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2011, pp. 57-74.
17. Rainer Albertz, Israel in exile: the history and literature of the sixth century B.C.E., Society of Biblical Literature, 2003, p. 246
18. ^ Goldingay, John. "The Patriarchs in Scripture and History", Essays on the Patriarchal Narratives, pp. 11-42, (A.R. Millard & D.J. Wiseman, eds., Leicester: IVP, 1980. Hbk. ISBN 0851117430
19. von Rad, Gerhard. Old Testament Theology, vol. 1, pp.106-108, New York: Harper, 1962

Further reading

• Trachtenberg, Joshua (1939), Jewish Magic and Superstition: A Study in Folk Religion, New York: Behrman's Jewish Book house

External links

• Texts on Wikisource:
  • “Jacob,” a poem by Arthur Hugh Clough
  • Cook, Stanley Arthur (1911). "Jacob". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.).
  • "Jacob". The New Student's Reference Work. 1914.
  • "Jacob". Collier's New Encyclopedia. 1921.

• Prophets in the Hebrew Bible
• Jacob
• Angelic visionaries
• Biblical patriarchs
• Biblical twins
• Book of Genesis
• Christian saints from the Old Testament
• Esau
• Prophets of Islam