27) that he fled from Esau’s wrath to his uncle Laban whose two daughters, Rachel and Leah, he married and by them, and by the two concubines Bilhah and Zilpah, he had twelve sons in all (chs. In the Genesis narrative, Jacob, Yaakov in Hebrew, is so called because at his birth he seized hold of the heel (akev) of his twin brother, Esau ( Genesis 25:25), while the name Israel was given to him by the angel with whom he wrestled ( Genesis 32: 25-33).Īmong the salient features in Jacob’s life, as told in Genesis, are that Esau sold him his birthright for a “mess of pottage” (24: 27-34) that, at the instigation of his mother, Rebecca, he tricked his father, Isaac, into giving him, instead of Esau, the blessing (ch. Joseph is the father of two tribes: Manasseh and Ephraim. They are the ancestors of the tribes of Israel, and the ones for whom the tribes are named. Jacob fathered 12 sons: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Zebulun, Issachar, Dan, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Joseph and Benjamin. The next day, Jacob met Esau and was welcomed by him. He blessed Jacob and gave him the name “Israel” (Yisrael), meaning “the one who wrestled with G-d” or “the Champion of G-d.” The Jewish people are generally referred to as the Children of Israel, signifying our descent from Jacob. As the dawn broke, Jacob demanded a blessing from the man, and the “man” revealed himself as an angel. That night, he wrestled with a man until the break of day. The night before he went to meet his brother, he sent his wives, sons, and things across the river, and was alone with G-d. He prayed to G-d and gave his brother gifts.

Between these four women, Jacob fathered 12 sons and one daughter.Īfter many years living with and working for his uncle/father-in-law, Jacob returned to his homeland and sought reconciliation with his brother Esau. Jacob was deceived into marrying Rachel’s older sister, Leah, but later married Rachel as well, and Rachel and Leah’s maidservants, Bilhah and Zilphah. Esau was angry about this, and about the birthright, so Jacob fled to live with his uncle, where he met his beloved Rachel. When Isaac was growing old, Rebecca tricked him into giving Jacob a blessing meant for Esau. Esau was Isaac’s favorite, because he was a good hunter, but the more spiritually-minded Jacob was Rebecca’s favorite.Įsau had little regard for the spiritual heritage of his forefathers, and sold his birthright of spiritual leadership to Jacob for a bowl of lentil stew. The two brothers were at war with each other even before they were born. Isaac’s wife Rebecca (Rivka) gave birth to fraternal twin sons: Jacob (Ya’akov) and Esau.

Grabber and sons