Keraia
People

Israel

Israel, also named Jacob, was the son of Isaac, the father of the twelve tribes of Israel, and a key patriarch of the Jewish people.

The name Israel means “who prevails with God”

MaleEarly PatriarchPatriarchs eraOld & New Testaments47 books3,504 verses

Summary

A man living at the time of the Patriarchs, first mentioned at Genesis 25:26; referred to as Israel (Aramiac יִשְׂרָאֵל), Jacob (יַעֲקֹב), Jeshurun (יְשֻׁרוּן), Israelite (יִשְׂרְאֵלִי), Israelitess (יִשְׂרְאֵלִית), Israelite (Ἰσραήλ), Jacob (Ἰακώβ), or Israel (Ἰσραηλίτης); son of Isaac and Rebekah; a brother of Esau; husband of Rachel and Leah, with concubines Zilpah and Bilhah; father of Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Dinah, Joseph and Benjamin.

Profile

Jacob was the younger twin son of Isaac and Rebekah. He struggled with his twin brother Esau in the womb and was born holding Esau’s heel (Genesis 25:21–26). God told Rebekah that the boys symbolized two nations and that the older son would serve the younger (Genesis 25:23).

Isaac favored Esau, who loved the outdoors, while Rebekah preferred Jacob, who enjoyed staying at home. One day, Esau came back very hungry from hunting, and Jacob traded him some red stew for his inheritance rights (Genesis 25:27–34; see Hebrews 12:16). Later, Isaac asked Esau to prepare wild game for him to eat so he could bless him (Genesis 27:1–4; compare 25:28). However, Rebekah sent Jacob to trick Isaac into giving him the blessing instead, and her plan worked (Genesis 27:5–29). Jacob's deception was soon discovered (Genesis 27:30–35). But legally, valid blessings were unchangeable promises (27:33). So Isaac gave Esau a lesser blessing (Genesis 27:36–40). Esau planned to kill Jacob (27:41). Rebekah persuaded Isaac to send Jacob to her brother Laban so Jacob could marry within the family (Genesis 27:42–46).

Isaac gave the covenant promises to Jacob and sent him to Haran (Genesis 28:1–5). On the way, God appeared to Jacob in a dream and confirmed the promises of land and descendants given to Abraham and Isaac (Genesis 28:10–15). Jacob worshiped the Lord and named the place Bethel, meaning "house of God."

In Haran, Jacob worked for his uncle Laban (Genesis 29–31). Jacob loved Laban's daughter Rachel and worked seven years to marry her. However, Laban tricked him by giving him his older daughter Leah on the wedding night. Jacob then worked another seven years for Rachel and six more years to build his own flocks (Genesis 30:25–43; see also 31:38–42). Despite many challenges, he had thirteen children and became very wealthy.

After twenty years, God told Jacob to return to Canaan (Genesis 31:3). Jacob feared Laban and his sons (Genesis 31:1–2). So, he organized his caravan and left while Laban was away (31:4–21). Laban chased after him, but God stopped him from harming Jacob (Genesis 31:22–24, 29). Instead, Laban scolded Jacob for leaving secretly and accused him of stealing his idols (Genesis 31:25–30). Jacob allowed Laban to search his tents, but the idols were not found (Genesis 31:33–35). Jacob then became angry (Genesis 31:36–42). Although their conflict was unresolved, the two men made a peace agreement (Genesis 31:43–54). The location became a lasting boundary between Israel and Aram.

Jacob now faced Esau and God. When Esau came with four hundred men, Jacob asked for God's protection and sent gifts to make peace with his brother, whom he had not seen for many years (Genesis 32:3–21). That night, in an event symbolizing his life, Jacob wrestled with a man who dislocated his hip and gave him the blessing he wanted (Genesis 32:22–32). God also changed his name to Israel, meaning "God fights."

In the morning, Jacob met Esau, and they reconciled (Genesis 33:1–11). Esau was kind and forgiving, and Jacob shared some of his blessings. Esau then returned to Seir, while Jacob continued to Canaan. In Shechem, Jacob bought land and built an altar (Genesis 33:18–20). He then moved to Bethel and removed all foreign idols from his household (Genesis 35:1–8). God reaffirmed Jacob's new name, Israel, and renewed his promises of land and descendants (Genesis 35:9–15).

Jacob favored Rachel and her son Joseph (Genesis 37:1–3). Joseph's brothers grew jealous and hated him. Joseph's dreams made them angrier (Genesis 37:4–11), so they sold him as a slave (Genesis 37:12–28). For over twenty years, Jacob thought Joseph was dead. Jacob only learned Joseph was alive after sending Benjamin to Egypt with Judah. Joseph then helped his family during the famine (Genesis 43:1–14; 45:24–28). Jacob felt renewed and moved to Egypt. He joyfully reunited with Joseph in Goshen (Genesis 46:28–30) and thrived for seventeen more years.

When Jacob was near death at age 147, he planned for his family's future. He made Joseph promise to bury him in Canaan (Genesis 47:29–31; 49:29–32). He gave Joseph’s sons his main blessing and placed Ephraim, the younger son, first (Genesis 48:1–20). He assured the family they would return to Canaan (Genesis 48:21–22). Then he blessed each of his sons and predicted the future of their descendants (Genesis 49:1–28). He died and was buried in the cave of Machpelah, accompanied by his sons and a large Egyptian procession (Genesis 49:33–50:13). His death marked the end of the patriarchal age and the start of Israel’s growth as a nation in Egypt until they returned to live in the promised land (see Exodus—Joshua).

The name "Jacob" became another name for the nation of Israel (see Numbers 23:7, 21; 24:5; Hosea 12:2). God called the nation to serve him as their ancestors did (Hosea 12:3–14). He promised Israel the same love he showed Jacob (Malachi 1:2). He also promised that a powerful leader would come from Jacob's descendants (Genesis 49:8–12; Numbers 24:17–19).

Passages for Further Study

Genesis 25:19–34; 27:1–35:29; 37:1–35; 42:1–4, 29–38; 43:1–13; 45:25–50:14; Exodus 1:1–5; Numbers 23:7–10, 20–23; 24:5–9, 17–19; Deuteronomy 26:5; Joshua 24:4, 32; Hosea 12:2–14; Malachi 1:2; John 4:5–6, 12; Acts 7:8–16; Romans 9:10–13; Hebrews 11:8–9, 20–21

Events

Dates are approximate

Glossary entries

Jacob Jeshurun Israel (Person) Israelite Jesurun

Family members

Father

Isaac

Mother

Rebekah

Spouse

Bilhah Leah Rachel Zilpah

Siblings

Esau

Children

Asher Benjamin Dan Dinah Gad Issachar Joseph Judah Levi Naphtali Reuben Simeon Zebulun

Alternative names

Mentions

First 200 of 3,504

Includes 926 verses that refer to Israel without naming them, as “he”, “she”, or the subject of a verb.

  1. Genesis 25:26יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    After this, his brother came out grasping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob. And Isaac was sixty years old when the twins were born.
  2. Genesis 25:27יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    When the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man who stayed at home.
  3. Genesis 25:28יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    Because Isaac had a taste for wild game, he loved Esau; but Rebekah loved Jacob.
  4. Genesis 25:29יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    One day, while Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the field and was famished.
  5. Genesis 25:30יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    He said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am famished.” (That is why he was also called Edom.)
  6. Genesis 25:31יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    “First sell me your birthright,” Jacob replied.
  7. Genesis 25:33יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    “Swear to me first,” Jacob said. So Esau swore to Jacob and sold him the birthright.
  8. Genesis 25:34יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    Then Jacob gave some bread and lentil stew to Esau, who ate and drank and then got up and went away. Thus Esau despised his birthright.
  9. Genesis 27:6יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “Behold, I overheard your father saying to your brother Esau,
  10. Genesis 27:11יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    Jacob answered his mother Rebekah, “Look, my brother Esau is a hairy man, but I am smooth-skinned.
  11. Genesis 27:12Referred to, not named
    What if my father touches me? Then I would be revealed to him as a deceiver, and I would bring upon myself a curse rather than a blessing.”
  12. Genesis 27:13Referred to, not named
    His mother replied, “Your curse be on me, my son. Just obey my voice and go get them for me.”
  13. Genesis 27:14Referred to, not named
    So Jacob went and got two goats and brought them to his mother, who made the tasty food his father loved.
  14. Genesis 27:15יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    And Rebekah took the finest clothes in the house that belonged to her older son Esau, and she put them on her younger son Jacob.
  15. Genesis 27:16Referred to, not named
    She also put the skins of the young goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck.
  16. Genesis 27:17יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    Then she handed her son Jacob the tasty food and bread she had made.
  17. Genesis 27:18Referred to, not named
    So Jacob went to his father and said, “My father.” “Here I am!” he answered. “Which one are you, my son?”
  18. Genesis 27:19יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau, your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may bless me.”
  19. Genesis 27:21יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come closer so I can touch you, my son. Are you really my son Esau, or not?”
  20. Genesis 27:22יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    So Jacob came close to his father Isaac, who touched him and said, “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.”
  21. Genesis 27:23Referred to, not named
    Isaac did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like those of his brother Esau; so he blessed him.
  22. Genesis 27:24Referred to, not named
    Again he asked, “Are you really my son Esau?” And he replied, “I am.”
  23. Genesis 27:25Referred to, not named
    “Serve me,” said Isaac, “and let me eat some of my son’s game, so that I may bless you.” Jacob brought it to him, and he ate; then he brought him wine, and he drank.
  24. Genesis 27:26Referred to, not named
    Then his father Isaac said to him, “Please come near and kiss me, my son.”
  25. Genesis 27:27Referred to, not named
    So he came near and kissed him. When Isaac smelled his clothing, he blessed him and said: “Ah, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field that the LORD has blessed.
  26. Genesis 27:30יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    As soon as Isaac had finished blessing him and Jacob had left his father’s presence, his brother Esau returned from the hunt.
  27. Genesis 27:33Referred to, not named
    Isaac began to tremble violently and said, “Who was it, then, who hunted the game and brought it to me? Before you came in, I ate it all and blessed him—and indeed, he will be blessed!”
  28. Genesis 27:36יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    So Esau declared, “Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has cheated me twice. He took my birthright, and now he has taken my blessing.” Then he asked, “Haven’t you saved a blessing for me?”
  29. Genesis 27:41יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. And Esau said in his heart, “The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then I will kill my brother Jacob.”
  30. Genesis 27:42יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    When the words of her older son Esau were relayed to Rebekah, she sent for her younger son Jacob and told him, “Look, your brother Esau is consoling himself by plotting to kill you.
  31. Genesis 27:46יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am weary of my life because of these Hittite women. If Jacob takes a Hittite wife from among them, what good is my life?”
  32. Genesis 28:1יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. “Do not take a wife from the Canaanite women,” he commanded.
  33. Genesis 28:2Referred to, not named
    “Go at once to Paddan-aram, to the house of your mother’s father Bethuel, and take a wife from among the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother.
  34. Genesis 28:3Referred to, not named
    May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, so that you may become a company of peoples.
  35. Genesis 28:4Referred to, not named
    And may He give the blessing of Abraham to you and your descendants, so that you may possess the land where you dwell as a foreigner, the land God gave to Abraham.”
  36. Genesis 28:5יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    So Isaac sent Jacob to Paddan-aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, who was the mother of Jacob and Esau.
  37. Genesis 28:6יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    Now Esau learned that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him to Paddan-aram to take a wife there, commanding him, “Do not marry a Canaanite woman,”
  38. Genesis 28:7יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    …and that Jacob had obeyed his father and mother and gone to Paddan-aram.
  39. Genesis 28:10יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    Meanwhile Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran.
  40. Genesis 28:11Referred to, not named
    On reaching a certain place, he spent the night there because the sun had set. And taking one of the stones from that place, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep.
  41. Genesis 28:12Referred to, not named
    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.
  42. Genesis 28:13Referred to, not named
    And there at the top the LORD was standing and saying, “I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you now lie.
  43. Genesis 28:14Referred to, not named
    Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and east and north and south. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.
  44. Genesis 28:15Referred to, not named
    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.”
  45. Genesis 28:16יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    When Jacob woke up, he said, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was unaware of it.”
  46. Genesis 28:17Referred to, not named
    And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven!”
  47. Genesis 28:18יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    Early the next morning, Jacob took the stone that he had placed under his head, and he set it up as a pillar. He poured oil on top of it,
  48. Genesis 28:19Referred to, not named
    …and he called that place Bethel, though previously the city had been named Luz.
  49. Genesis 28:20יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and watch over me on this journey, and if He will provide me with food to eat and clothes to wear,
  50. Genesis 28:21Referred to, not named
    …so that I may return safely to my father’s house, then the LORD will be my God.
  51. Genesis 28:22Referred to, not named
    And this stone I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give You a tenth.”
  52. Genesis 29:1יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    Jacob resumed his journey and came to the land of the people of the east.
  53. Genesis 29:2Referred to, not named
    He looked and saw a well in the field, and near it lay three flocks of sheep, because the sheep were watered from this well. And a large stone covered the mouth of the well.
  54. Genesis 29:4יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    “My brothers,” Jacob asked the shepherds, “where are you from?” “We are from Haran,” they answered.
  55. Genesis 29:5Referred to, not named
    “Do you know Laban the grandson of Nahor?” Jacob asked. “We know him,” they replied.
  56. Genesis 29:6Referred to, not named
    “Is he well?” Jacob inquired. “Yes,” they answered, “and here comes his daughter Rachel with his sheep.”
  57. Genesis 29:7Referred to, not named
    “Look,” said Jacob, “it is still broad daylight; it is not yet time to gather the livestock. Water the sheep and take them back to pasture.”
  58. Genesis 29:9Referred to, not named
    While he was still speaking with them, Rachel arrived with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess.
  59. Genesis 29:10יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    As soon as Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of his mother’s brother Laban, with Laban’s sheep, he went up and rolled the stone away from the mouth of the well and watered his uncle’s sheep.
  60. Genesis 29:11יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    Then Jacob kissed Rachel and wept aloud.
  61. Genesis 29:12יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    He told Rachel that he was Rebekah’s son, a relative of her father, and she ran and told her father.
  62. Genesis 29:13יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    When Laban heard the news about his sister’s son Jacob, he ran out to meet him. He embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his home, where Jacob told him all that had happened.
  63. Genesis 29:14Referred to, not named
    Then Laban declared, “You are indeed my own flesh and blood.” After Jacob had stayed with him a month,
  64. Genesis 29:15יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    Laban said to him, “Just because you are my relative, should you work for nothing? Tell me what your wages should be.”
  65. Genesis 29:18יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    Since Jacob loved Rachel, he answered, “I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.”
  66. Genesis 29:19Referred to, not named
    Laban replied, “Better that I give her to you than to another. Stay here with me.”
  67. Genesis 29:20יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, yet it seemed but a few days because of his love for her.
  68. Genesis 29:21יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    Finally Jacob said to Laban, “Grant me my wife, for my time is complete, and I want to sleep with her.”
  69. Genesis 29:23Referred to, not named
    But when evening came, Laban took his daughter Leah and gave her to Jacob, and he slept with her.
  70. Genesis 29:25Referred to, not named
    When morning came, there was Leah! “What have you done to me?” Jacob said to Laban. “Wasn’t it for Rachel that I served you? Why have you deceived me?”
  71. Genesis 29:27Referred to, not named
    Finish this week’s celebration, and we will give you the younger one in return for another seven years of work.”
  72. Genesis 29:28יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    And Jacob did just that. He finished the week’s celebration, and Laban gave him his daughter Rachel as his wife.
  73. Genesis 29:30Referred to, not named
    Jacob slept with Rachel as well, and indeed, he loved Rachel more than Leah. So he worked for Laban another seven years.
  74. Genesis 30:1יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    When Rachel saw that she was not bearing any children for Jacob, she envied her sister. “Give me children, or I will die!” she said to Jacob.
  75. Genesis 30:2יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    Jacob became angry with Rachel and said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld children from you?”
  76. Genesis 30:3Referred to, not named
    Then she said, “Here is my maidservant Bilhah. Sleep with her, that she may bear children for me, so that through her I too can build a family.”
  77. Genesis 30:4יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    So Rachel gave Jacob her servant Bilhah as a wife, and he slept with her,
  78. Genesis 30:5יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    …and Bilhah conceived and bore him a son.
  79. Genesis 30:7יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    And Rachel’s servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son.
  80. Genesis 30:9יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she gave her servant Zilpah to Jacob as a wife.
  81. Genesis 30:10יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    And Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son.
  82. Genesis 30:12יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    When Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son,
  83. Genesis 30:16יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    When Jacob came in from the field that evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must come with me, for I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So he slept with her that night.
  84. Genesis 30:17יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore a fifth son to Jacob.
  85. Genesis 30:19יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    Again Leah conceived and bore a sixth son to Jacob.
  86. Genesis 30:25יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    Now after Rachel had given birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me on my way so I can return to my homeland.
  87. Genesis 30:26Referred to, not named
    Give me my wives and children for whom I have served you, that I may go on my way. You know how hard I have worked for you.”
  88. Genesis 30:27Referred to, not named
    But Laban replied, “If I have found favor in your eyes, please stay. I have learned by divination that the LORD has blessed me because of you.”
  89. Genesis 30:28Referred to, not named
    And he added, “Name your wages, and I will pay them.”
  90. Genesis 30:29Referred to, not named
    Then Jacob answered, “You know how I have served you and how your livestock have thrived under my care.
  91. Genesis 30:30Referred to, not named
    Indeed, you had very little before my arrival, but now your wealth has increased many times over. The LORD has blessed you wherever I set foot. But now, when may I also provide for my own household?”
  92. Genesis 30:31יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    “What can I give you?” Laban asked. “You do not need to give me anything,” Jacob replied. “If you do this one thing for me, I will keep on shepherding and keeping your flocks.
  93. Genesis 30:32Referred to, not named
    Let me go through all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb, and every spotted or speckled goat. These will be my wages.
  94. Genesis 30:33Referred to, not named
    So my honesty will testify for me when you come to check on my wages in the future. If I have any goats that are not speckled or spotted, or any lambs that are not dark-colored, they will be considered stolen.”
  95. Genesis 30:34Referred to, not named
    “Agreed,” said Laban. “Let it be as you have said.”
  96. Genesis 30:36יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    Then he put a three-day journey between himself and Jacob, while Jacob was shepherding the rest of Laban’s flocks.
  97. Genesis 30:37יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    Jacob, however, took fresh branches of poplar, almond, and plane trees, and peeled the bark, exposing the white inner wood of the branches.
  98. Genesis 30:38Referred to, not named
    Then he set the peeled branches in the watering troughs in front of the flocks coming in to drink. So when the flocks were in heat and came to drink,
  99. Genesis 30:40יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    Jacob set apart the young, but made the rest face the streaked dark-colored sheep in Laban’s flocks. Then he set his own stock apart and did not put them with Laban’s animals.
  100. Genesis 30:41יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    Whenever the stronger females of the flock were in heat, Jacob would place the branches in the troughs, in full view of the animals, so that they would breed in front of the branches.
  101. Genesis 30:42יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    But if the animals were weak, he did not set out the branches. So the weaker animals went to Laban and the stronger ones to Jacob.
  102. Genesis 31:1יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    Now Jacob heard that Laban’s sons were saying, “Jacob has taken away all that belonged to our father and built all this wealth at our father’s expense.”
  103. Genesis 31:2יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    And Jacob saw from the countenance of Laban that his attitude toward him had changed.
  104. Genesis 31:3יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    Then the LORD said to Jacob, “Go back to the land of your fathers and to your kindred, and I will be with you.”
  105. Genesis 31:4יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    So Jacob sent word and called Rachel and Leah to the field where his flocks were,
  106. Genesis 31:5Referred to, not named
    …and he told them, “I can see from your father’s countenance that his attitude toward me has changed; but the God of my father has been with me.
  107. Genesis 31:6Referred to, not named
    You know that I have served your father with all my strength.
  108. Genesis 31:7Referred to, not named
    And although he has cheated me and changed my wages ten times, God has not allowed him to harm me.
  109. Genesis 31:8Referred to, not named
    If he said, ‘The speckled will be your wages,’ then the whole flock bore speckled offspring. If he said, ‘The streaked will be your wages,’ then the whole flock bore streaked offspring.
  110. Genesis 31:9Referred to, not named
    Thus God has taken away your father’s livestock and given them to me.
  111. Genesis 31:10Referred to, not named
    When the flocks were breeding, I saw in a dream that the streaked, spotted, and speckled males were mating with the females.
  112. Genesis 31:11יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    In that dream the angel of God said to me, ‘Jacob!’ And I replied, ‘Here I am.’
  113. Genesis 31:12Referred to, not named
    ‘Look up,’ he said, ‘and see that all the males that are mating with the flock are streaked, spotted, or speckled; for I have seen all that Laban has done to you.
  114. Genesis 31:13Referred to, not named
    I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed the pillar and made a solemn vow to Me. Now get up, leave this land at once, and return to your native land.’”
  115. Genesis 31:14Referred to, not named
    And Rachel and Leah replied, “Do we have any portion or inheritance left in our father’s house?
  116. Genesis 31:16Referred to, not named
    Surely all the wealth that God has taken away from our father belongs to us and to our children. So do whatever God has told you.”
  117. Genesis 31:17יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    Then Jacob got up and put his children and his wives on camels,
  118. Genesis 31:18Referred to, not named
    …and he drove all his livestock before him, along with all the possessions he had acquired in Paddan-aram, to go to his father Isaac in the land in Canaan.
  119. Genesis 31:20יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    Moreover, Jacob deceived Laban the Aramean by not telling him that he was running away.
  120. Genesis 31:21Referred to, not named
    So he fled with all his possessions, crossed the Euphrates, and headed for the hill country of Gilead.
  121. Genesis 31:22יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    On the third day Laban was informed that Jacob had fled.
  122. Genesis 31:23Referred to, not named
    So he took his relatives with him, pursued Jacob for seven days, and overtook him in the hill country of Gilead.
  123. Genesis 31:24יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    But that night God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream and warned him, “Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.”
  124. Genesis 31:25יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country of Gilead when Laban overtook him, and Laban and his relatives camped there as well.
  125. Genesis 31:26יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    Then Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done? You have deceived me and carried off my daughters like captives of war!
  126. Genesis 31:27Referred to, not named
    Why did you run away secretly and deceive me, without even telling me? I would have sent you away with joy and singing, with tambourines and harps.
  127. Genesis 31:28Referred to, not named
    But you did not even let me kiss my grandchildren and my daughters goodbye. Now you have done a foolish thing.
  128. Genesis 31:29יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    I have power to do you great harm, but last night the God of your father said to me, ‘Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.’
  129. Genesis 31:30Referred to, not named
    Now you have gone off because you long for your father’s house. But why have you stolen my gods?”
  130. Genesis 31:31יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    “I was afraid,” Jacob answered, “for I thought you would take your daughters from me by force.
  131. Genesis 31:32יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    If you find your gods with anyone here, he shall not live! In the presence of our relatives, see for yourself if anything is yours, and take it back.” For Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen the idols.
  132. Genesis 31:33יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    So Laban went into Jacob’s tent, then Leah’s tent, and then the tents of the two maidservants, but he found nothing. Then he left Leah’s tent and entered Rachel’s tent.
  133. Genesis 31:36יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    Then Jacob became incensed and challenged Laban. “What is my crime?” he said. “For what sin of mine have you so hotly pursued me?
  134. Genesis 31:37Referred to, not named
    You have searched all my goods! Have you found anything that belongs to you? Put it here before my brothers and yours, that they may judge between the two of us.
  135. Genesis 31:38Referred to, not named
    I have been with you for twenty years now. Your sheep and goats have not miscarried, nor have I eaten the rams of your flock.
  136. Genesis 31:39Referred to, not named
    I did not bring you anything torn by wild beasts; I bore the loss myself. And you demanded payment from me for what was stolen by day or night.
  137. Genesis 31:40Referred to, not named
    As it was, the heat consumed me by day and the frost by night, and sleep fled from my eyes.
  138. Genesis 31:41Referred to, not named
    Thus for twenty years I have served in your household—fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flocks—and you have changed my wages ten times!
  139. Genesis 31:42Referred to, not named
    If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been with me, surely by now you would have sent me away empty-handed. But God has seen my affliction and the toil of my hands, and last night He rendered judgment.”
  140. Genesis 31:43יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    But Laban answered Jacob, “These daughters are my daughters, these sons are my sons, and these flocks are my flocks! Everything you see is mine! Yet what can I do today about these daughters of mine or the children they have borne?
  141. Genesis 31:44Referred to, not named
    Come now, let us make a covenant, you and I, and let it serve as a witness between you and me.”
  142. Genesis 31:45יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    So Jacob picked out a stone and set it up as a pillar,
  143. Genesis 31:46יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    …and he said to his relatives, “Gather some stones.” So they took stones and made a mound, and there by the mound they ate.
  144. Genesis 31:47יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    Laban called it Jegar-sahadutha, and Jacob called it Galeed.
  145. Genesis 31:51יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    Laban also said to Jacob, “Here is the mound, and here is the pillar I have set up between you and me.
  146. Genesis 31:52Referred to, not named
    This mound is a witness, and this pillar is a witness, that I will not go past this mound to harm you, and you will not go past this mound and pillar to harm me.
  147. Genesis 31:53יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.” So Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac.
  148. Genesis 31:54יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    Then Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain and invited his relatives to eat a meal. And after they had eaten, they spent the night on the mountain.
  149. Genesis 32:1יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    Jacob also went on his way, and the angels of God met him.
  150. Genesis 32:2יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is the camp of God.” So he named that place Mahanaim.
  151. Genesis 32:3יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom.
  152. Genesis 32:4יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    He instructed them, “You are to say to my master Esau, ‘Your servant Jacob says: I have been staying with Laban and have remained there until now.
  153. Genesis 32:6יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    When the messengers returned to Jacob, they said, “We went to your brother Esau, and now he is coming to meet you—he and four hundred men with him.”
  154. Genesis 32:7יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    In great fear and distress, Jacob divided his people into two camps, as well as the flocks and herds and camels.
  155. Genesis 32:8Referred to, not named
    He thought, “If Esau comes and attacks one camp, then the other camp can escape.”
  156. Genesis 32:9יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    Then Jacob declared, “O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, the LORD who told me, ‘Go back to your country and to your kindred, and I will make you prosper,’
  157. Genesis 32:10Referred to, not named
    I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness You have shown Your servant. Indeed, with only my staff I came across the Jordan, but now I have become two camps.
  158. Genesis 32:13Referred to, not named
    Jacob spent the night there, and from what he had brought with him, he selected a gift for his brother Esau:
  159. Genesis 32:16Referred to, not named
    He entrusted them to his servants in separate herds and told them, “Go on ahead of me, and keep some distance between the herds.”
  160. Genesis 32:17Referred to, not named
    He instructed the one in the lead, “When my brother Esau meets you and asks, ‘To whom do you belong, where are you going, and whose animals are these before you?’
  161. Genesis 32:18יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    …then you are to say, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a gift, sent to my lord Esau. And behold, Jacob is behind us.’”
  162. Genesis 32:19Referred to, not named
    He also instructed the second, the third, and all those following behind the herds: “When you meet Esau, you are to say the same thing to him.
  163. Genesis 32:20יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    You are also to say, ‘Look, your servant Jacob is right behind us.’” For he thought, “I will appease Esau with the gift that is going before me. After that I can face him, and perhaps he will accept me.”
  164. Genesis 32:21Referred to, not named
    So Jacob’s gifts went on before him, while he spent the night in the camp.
  165. Genesis 32:22Referred to, not named
    During the night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two maidservants, and his eleven sons, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok.
  166. Genesis 32:23Referred to, not named
    He took them and sent them across the stream, along with all his possessions.
  167. Genesis 32:24יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    So Jacob was left all alone, and there a man wrestled with him until daybreak.
  168. Genesis 32:25יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    When the man saw that he could not overpower Jacob, he struck the socket of Jacob’s hip and dislocated it as they wrestled.
  169. Genesis 32:26Referred to, not named
    Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
  170. Genesis 32:27יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    “What is your name?” the man asked. “Jacob,” he replied.
  171. Genesis 32:28יִשְׂרָאֵל · God; יִשְׂרָאֵל · Israel; יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    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.”
  172. Genesis 32:29יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    And Jacob requested, “Please tell me your name.” But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed Jacob there.
  173. Genesis 32:30יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    So Jacob named the place Peniel, saying, “Indeed, I have seen God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”
  174. Genesis 32:31Referred to, not named
    The sun rose above him as he passed by Penuel, and he was limping because of his hip.
  175. Genesis 32:32יִשְׂרָאֵל · God; יִשְׂרָאֵל · Israel; יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip, because the socket of Jacob’s hip was struck near that tendon.
  176. Genesis 33:1יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    Now Jacob looked up and saw Esau coming toward him with four hundred men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two maidservants.
  177. Genesis 33:2Referred to, not named
    He put the maidservants and their children in front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph at the rear.
  178. Genesis 33:3Referred to, not named
    But Jacob himself went on ahead and bowed to the ground seven times as he approached his brother.
  179. Genesis 33:4Referred to, not named
    Esau, however, ran to him and embraced him, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him. And they both wept.
  180. Genesis 33:5Referred to, not named
    When Esau looked up and saw the women and children, he asked, “Who are these with you?” Jacob answered, “These are the children God has graciously given your servant.”
  181. Genesis 33:8Referred to, not named
    “What do you mean by sending this whole company to meet me?” asked Esau. “To find favor in your sight, my lord,” Jacob answered.
  182. Genesis 33:10יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    But Jacob insisted, “No, please! If I have found favor in your sight, then receive this gift from my hand. For indeed, I have seen your face, and it is like seeing the face of God, since you have received me favorably.
  183. Genesis 33:11Referred to, not named
    Please accept my gift that was brought to you, because God has been gracious to me and I have all I need.” So Jacob pressed him until he accepted.
  184. Genesis 33:12Referred to, not named
    Then Esau said, “Let us be on our way, and I will go ahead of you.”
  185. Genesis 33:13Referred to, not named
    But Jacob replied, “My lord knows that the children are frail, and I must care for sheep and cattle that are nursing their young. If they are driven hard for even a day, all the animals will die.
  186. Genesis 33:14Referred to, not named
    Please let my lord go ahead of his servant. I will continue on slowly, at a comfortable pace for the livestock and children, until I come to my lord at Seir.”
  187. Genesis 33:15Referred to, not named
    “Let me leave some of my people with you,” Esau said. But Jacob replied, “Why do that? Let me find favor in the sight of my lord.”
  188. Genesis 33:17יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    …but Jacob went on to Succoth, where he built a house for himself and shelters for his livestock; that is why the place was called Succoth.
  189. Genesis 33:18יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    After Jacob had come from Paddan-aram, he arrived safely at the city of Shechem in the land of Canaan, and he camped just outside the city.
  190. Genesis 33:19Referred to, not named
    And the plot of ground where he pitched his tent, he purchased from the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for a hundred pieces of silver.
  191. Genesis 33:20Referred to, not named
    There he set up an altar and called it El-Elohe-Israel.
  192. Genesis 34:1יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    Now Dinah, the daughter Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the daughters of the land.
  193. Genesis 34:3יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    And his soul was drawn to Dinah, the daughter of Jacob. He loved the young girl and spoke to her tenderly.
  194. Genesis 34:5יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    Jacob heard that Shechem had defiled his daughter Dinah, but since his sons were with his livestock in the field, he remained silent about it until they returned.
  195. Genesis 34:6יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    Meanwhile, Shechem’s father Hamor came to speak with Jacob.
  196. Genesis 34:7יִשְׂרָאֵל · God; יִשְׂרָאֵל · Israel; יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    When Jacob’s sons heard what had happened, they returned from the field. They were filled with grief and fury, because Shechem had committed an outrage in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter—a thing that should not be done.
  197. Genesis 34:8Referred to, not named
    But Hamor said to them, “My son Shechem longs for your daughter. Please give her to him as his wife.
  198. Genesis 34:9Referred to, not named
    Intermarry with us; give us your daughters and take our daughters for yourselves.
  199. Genesis 34:10Referred to, not named
    You may settle among us, and the land will be open to you. Live here, move about freely, and acquire your own property.”
  200. Genesis 34:13יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    But because Shechem had defiled their sister Dinah, Jacob’s sons answered him and his father Hamor deceitfully.