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Who Was Jacob?

Jacob was the son of Isaac and Rebekah and the grandson of Abraham, a twin who took his brother Esau's birthright and blessing and was later renamed Israel. His story runs from Genesis 25 to Genesis 50, and his twelve sons became the ancestors of the twelve tribes of Israel.

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One of the profiles in People of the Bible, with every point tied to a chapter and verse you can check.

What Jacob is known for

Jacob’s life in order

  1. Twins are born

    Genesis 25:19–26

    Rebekah has twins after a long wait, and they struggle even in the womb. Esau is born first, and Jacob follows holding his brother's heel. Isaac is sixty years old.

  2. A birthright for stew

    Genesis 25:27–34

    Esau becomes a hunter and Jacob a quiet man who stays among the tents. One day Esau comes in starving and trades his birthright to Jacob for a meal. Genesis says Esau despised his birthright.

  3. The stolen blessing

    Genesis 27:1–40

    When Isaac is old and nearly blind, Rebekah helps Jacob disguise himself as Esau. Jacob receives the blessing meant for his brother. Esau is furious and plans to kill him.

  4. The ladder at Bethel

    Genesis 28:10–22

    Fleeing to his uncle Laban, Jacob sleeps in the open and dreams of a ladder with angels going up and down. God repeats the promise first made to Abraham and promises to be with him. Jacob names the place Bethel, “house of God.”

  5. Laban, Leah and Rachel

    Genesis 29:1–30

    Jacob falls in love with Laban's daughter Rachel and works seven years for her. On the wedding night Laban gives him Leah instead. Jacob works seven more years to marry Rachel as well.

  6. Wrestling at the Jabbok

    Genesis 32:22–32

    Returning home and afraid of Esau, Jacob is left alone at night by the Jabbok river. A mysterious man wrestles with him until dawn and injures his hip. He blesses Jacob and gives him the new name Israel.

  7. Meeting Esau again

    Genesis 33:1–17

    Jacob bows to the ground as Esau approaches with four hundred men. Esau runs to meet him, embraces him and weeps. After twenty years, the brothers are reconciled.

  8. Losing Joseph

    Genesis 37:31–35

    Jacob's sons bring him Joseph's bloodstained robe, and he believes his favorite son is dead. He refuses to be comforted. He mourns for years, not knowing Joseph is alive in Egypt.

  9. Final blessings and death

    Genesis 49

    Jacob moves to Egypt in his old age and is reunited with Joseph. Before he dies, he gathers his twelve sons and speaks a blessing or word over each one. He asks to be buried with his ancestors in Canaan.

What does the name Jacob mean?

Genesis 25:26 links the name Jacob (Ya'aqov) to the Hebrew word for “heel,” because he was born holding Esau's heel. Later, Esau plays on the same sound to accuse Jacob of supplanting or deceiving him (Genesis 27:36).

In Genesis 32:28, Jacob is renamed Israel, which the text explains by his striving with God and with people and coming through. Some scholars suggest the name originally meant “God strives” or “God rules.” The new name is repeated in Genesis 35:10 and later becomes the name of the whole people.

Key verses

“And Jacob had a dream about a ladder that rested on the earth with its top reaching up to heaven, and God’s angels were going up and down the ladder.”

Genesis 28:12BSB

“Look, I am with you, and I will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.””

Genesis 28:15BSB

“Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men, and you have prevailed.””

Genesis 32:28BSB

“Esau, however, ran to him and embraced him, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him. And they both wept.”

Genesis 33:4BSB

Verse text: Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain.

What Jacob’s story shows

The deceiver is deceived

Jacob tricks his father by pretending to be the older son. Years later Laban tricks him by giving him the older daughter (Genesis 29:25–26). The story quietly shows deception coming back around.

Wrestling and blessing

Jacob comes away from the night at the Jabbok with a blessing and a limp (Genesis 32:31). Many readers see this as a picture of an honest, even painful, struggle with God.

Reconciliation is possible

Jacob expects Esau to attack, but Esau runs to embrace him (Genesis 33:4). After years of fear, the meeting ends in tears and peace.

Patterns repeat in families

Isaac favored Esau and Rebekah favored Jacob (Genesis 25:28). Jacob later favors Joseph, and the result is another family torn apart (Genesis 37:3–4).

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Frequently asked questions

Why was Jacob renamed Israel?

In Genesis 32:28, after wrestling through the night, Jacob is told his name will now be Israel because of his struggle with God and with people, which he came through. God confirms the new name in Genesis 35:10. His descendants became known as the people of Israel.

Who did Jacob wrestle with?

Genesis 32:24 calls his opponent simply “a man.” Afterward Jacob names the place Peniel and says he has seen God face to face (Genesis 32:30), while Hosea 12:4 speaks of an angel. Jewish and Christian interpreters have understood the figure in different ways.

What is Jacob's ladder?

It is the dream in Genesis 28:12, where Jacob sees a ladder or stairway reaching from earth to heaven with angels going up and down on it. God then speaks to him with a promise of land, descendants and protection. In John 1:51 Jesus alludes to this image.

Who were the twelve sons of Jacob?

Genesis 35:23–26 lists them by mother. Leah's sons were Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun; Rachel's were Joseph and Benjamin; Bilhah's were Dan and Naphtali; and Zilpah's were Gad and Asher.

How long did Jacob work for Laban?

Genesis 31:41 says twenty years in all. He worked fourteen years for Leah and Rachel and six more for his flocks. Laban changed his wages many times during that period.

Where was Jacob buried?

Jacob died in Egypt, but he asked to be buried in the cave of Machpelah in Canaan with Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah and Leah (Genesis 49:29–32). Joseph and his brothers carried his body there (Genesis 50:12–13).

Bible text is quoted from the Berean Standard Bible (public domain); retellings and notes are our own. How we write: editorial policy. Spotted an error? Report a mistake.