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

Family tree

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Alternative names

Mentions

3,504 verses

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

  1. Deuteronomy 8:16Referred to, not named
    He fed you in the wilderness with manna that your fathers had not known, in order to humble you and test you, so that in the end He might cause you to prosper.
  2. Deuteronomy 8:17Referred to, not named
    You might say in your heart, “The power and strength of my hands have made this wealth for me.”
  3. Deuteronomy 8:18Referred to, not named
    But remember that it is the LORD your God who gives you the power to gain wealth, in order to confirm His covenant that He swore to your fathers even to this day.
  4. Deuteronomy 8:19Referred to, not named
    If you ever forget the LORD your God and go after other gods to worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely perish.
  5. Deuteronomy 8:20Referred to, not named
    Like the nations that the LORD has destroyed before you, so you will perish if you do not obey the LORD your God.
  6. Deuteronomy 9:1יִשְׂרָאֵל · God; יִשְׂרָאֵל · Israel
    Hear, O Israel: Today you are about to cross the Jordan to go in and dispossess nations greater and stronger than you, with large cities fortified to the heavens.
  7. Deuteronomy 9:2Referred to, not named
    The people are strong and tall, the descendants of the Anakim. You know about them, and you have heard it said, “Who can stand up to the sons of Anak?”
  8. Deuteronomy 9:3Referred to, not named
    But understand that today the LORD your God goes across ahead of you as a consuming fire; He will destroy them and subdue them before you. And you will drive them out and annihilate them swiftly, as the LORD has promised you.
  9. Deuteronomy 9:4Referred to, not named
    When the LORD your God has driven them out before you, do not say in your heart, “Because of my righteousness the LORD has brought me in to possess this land.” Rather, the LORD is driving out these nations before you because of their wickedness.
  10. Deuteronomy 9:5יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    It is not because of your righteousness or uprightness of heart that you are going in to possess their land, but it is because of their wickedness that the LORD your God is driving out these nations before you, to keep the promise He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
  11. Deuteronomy 9:6Referred to, not named
    Understand, then, that it is not because of your righteousness that the LORD your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people.
  12. Deuteronomy 9:7Referred to, not named
    Remember this, and never forget how you provoked the LORD your God in the wilderness. From the day you left the land of Egypt until you reached this place, you have been rebelling against the LORD.
  13. Deuteronomy 9:8Referred to, not named
    At Horeb you provoked the LORD, and He was angry enough to destroy you.
  14. Deuteronomy 9:9Referred to, not named
    When I went up on the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant that the LORD made with you, I stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights. I ate no bread and drank no water.
  15. Deuteronomy 9:10Referred to, not named
    Then the LORD gave me the two stone tablets, inscribed by the finger of God with the exact words that the LORD spoke to you out of the fire on the mountain on the day of the assembly.
  16. Deuteronomy 9:13Referred to, not named
    The LORD also said to me, “I have seen this people, and they are indeed a stiff-necked people.
  17. Deuteronomy 9:16Referred to, not named
    And I saw how you had sinned against the LORD your God; you had made for yourselves a molten calf. You had turned aside quickly from the way that the LORD had commanded you.
  18. Deuteronomy 9:17Referred to, not named
    So I took the two tablets and threw them out of my hands, shattering them before your eyes.
  19. Deuteronomy 9:18Referred to, not named
    Then I fell down before the LORD for forty days and forty nights, as I had done the first time. I did not eat bread or drink water because of all the sin you had committed in doing what was evil in the sight of the LORD and provoking Him to anger.
  20. Deuteronomy 9:19Referred to, not named
    For I was afraid of the anger and wrath that the LORD had directed against you, enough to destroy you. But the LORD listened to me this time as well.
  21. Deuteronomy 9:22Referred to, not named
    You continued to provoke the LORD at Taberah, at Massah, and at Kibroth-hattaavah.
  22. Deuteronomy 9:23Referred to, not named
    And when the LORD sent you out from Kadesh-barnea, He said, “Go up and possess the land that I have given you.” But you rebelled against the command of the LORD your God. You neither believed Him nor obeyed Him.
  23. Deuteronomy 9:24Referred to, not named
    You have been rebelling against the LORD since the day I came to know you.
  24. Deuteronomy 9:25Referred to, not named
    So I fell down before the LORD for forty days and forty nights, because the LORD had said He would destroy you.
  25. Deuteronomy 9:27יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    Remember Your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Overlook the stubbornness of this people and the wickedness of their sin.
  26. Deuteronomy 10:4Referred to, not named
    And the LORD wrote on the tablets what had been written previously, the Ten Commandments that He had spoken to you on the mountain out of the fire on the day of the assembly. The LORD gave them to me,
  27. Deuteronomy 10:6יִשְׂרָאֵל · God; יִשְׂרָאֵל · Israel
    The Israelites traveled from Beeroth Bene-jaakan to Moserah, where Aaron died and was buried, and Eleazar his son succeeded him as priest.
  28. Deuteronomy 10:10Referred to, not named
    I stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights, like the first time, and that time the LORD again listened to me and agreed not to destroy you.
  29. Deuteronomy 10:12יִשְׂרָאֵל · God; יִשְׂרָאֵל · Israel
    And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God by walking in all His ways, to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul,
  30. Deuteronomy 10:13Referred to, not named
    …and to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORD that I am giving you this day for your own good?
  31. Deuteronomy 10:14Referred to, not named
    Behold, to the LORD your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, and the earth and everything in it.
  32. Deuteronomy 10:15Referred to, not named
    Yet the LORD has set His affection on your fathers and loved them. And He has chosen you, their descendants after them, above all the peoples, even to this day.
  33. Deuteronomy 10:16Referred to, not named
    Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and stiffen your necks no more.
  34. Deuteronomy 10:17Referred to, not named
    For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, mighty, and awesome God, showing no partiality and accepting no bribe.
  35. Deuteronomy 10:19Referred to, not named
    So you also must love the foreigner, since you yourselves were foreigners in the land of Egypt.
  36. Deuteronomy 10:20Referred to, not named
    You are to fear the LORD your God and serve Him. Hold fast to Him and take your oaths in His name.
  37. Deuteronomy 10:21Referred to, not named
    He is your praise and He is your God, who has done for you these great and awesome wonders that your eyes have seen.
  38. Deuteronomy 10:22Referred to, not named
    Your fathers went down to Egypt, seventy in all, and now the LORD your God has made you as numerous as the stars in the sky.
  39. Deuteronomy 11:1Referred to, not named
    You shall therefore love the LORD your God and always keep His charge, His statutes, His ordinances, and His commandments.
  40. Deuteronomy 11:2Referred to, not named
    Know this day that it is not your children who have known and seen the discipline of the LORD your God: His greatness, His mighty hand, and His outstretched arm;
  41. Deuteronomy 11:4Referred to, not named
    …what He did to the Egyptian army and horses and chariots when He made the waters of the Red Sea engulf them as they pursued you, and how He destroyed them completely, even to this day;
  42. Deuteronomy 11:5Referred to, not named
    …what He did for you in the wilderness until you reached this place;
  43. Deuteronomy 11:6יִשְׂרָאֵל · God; יִשְׂרָאֵל · Israel
    …and what He did in the midst of all the Israelites to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab the Reubenite, when the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, their households, their tents, and every living thing that belonged to them.
  44. Deuteronomy 11:7Referred to, not named
    For it is your own eyes that have seen every great work that the LORD has done.
  45. Deuteronomy 11:8Referred to, not named
    You shall therefore keep every commandment I am giving you today, so that you may have the strength to go in and possess the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess,
  46. Deuteronomy 11:9Referred to, not named
    …and so that you may live long in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers to give them and their descendants, a land flowing with milk and honey.
  47. Deuteronomy 11:10Referred to, not named
    For the land that you are entering to possess is not like the land of Egypt, from which you have come, where you sowed your seed and irrigated on foot, like a vegetable garden.
  48. Deuteronomy 11:11Referred to, not named
    But the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess is a land of mountains and valleys that drinks in the rain from heaven.
  49. Deuteronomy 11:12Referred to, not named
    It is a land for which the LORD your God cares; the eyes of the LORD your God are always on it, from the beginning to the end of the year.
  50. Deuteronomy 11:13Referred to, not named
    So if you carefully obey the commandments I am giving you today, to love the LORD your God and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul,
  51. Deuteronomy 11:14Referred to, not named
    …then I will provide rain for your land in season, the autumn and spring rains, that you may gather your grain, new wine, and oil.
  52. Deuteronomy 11:15Referred to, not named
    And I will provide grass in the fields for your livestock, and you will eat and be satisfied.
  53. Deuteronomy 11:16Referred to, not named
    But be careful that you are not enticed to turn aside to worship and bow down to other gods,
  54. Deuteronomy 11:17Referred to, not named
    …or the anger of the LORD will be kindled against you. He will shut the heavens so that there will be no rain, nor will the land yield its produce, and you will soon perish from the good land that the LORD is giving you.
  55. Deuteronomy 11:18Referred to, not named
    Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as reminders on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.
  56. Deuteronomy 11:19Referred to, not named
    Teach them to your children, speaking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
  57. Deuteronomy 11:20Referred to, not named
    Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates,
  58. Deuteronomy 11:21Referred to, not named
    …so that as long as the heavens are above the earth, your days and those of your children may be multiplied in the land that the LORD swore to give your fathers.
  59. Deuteronomy 11:22Referred to, not named
    For if you carefully keep all these commandments I am giving you to follow—to love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, and to hold fast to Him—
  60. Deuteronomy 11:23Referred to, not named
    …then the LORD will drive out all these nations before you, and you will dispossess nations greater and stronger than you.
  61. Deuteronomy 11:24Referred to, not named
    Every place where the sole of your foot treads will be yours. Your territory will extend from the wilderness to Lebanon, and from the Euphrates River to the Western Sea.
  62. Deuteronomy 11:25Referred to, not named
    No man will be able to stand against you; the LORD your God will put the fear and dread of you upon all the land, wherever you set foot, as He has promised you.
  63. Deuteronomy 11:26Referred to, not named
    See, today I am setting before you a blessing and a curse—
  64. Deuteronomy 11:27Referred to, not named
    …a blessing if you obey the commandments of the LORD your God that I am giving you today,
  65. Deuteronomy 11:28Referred to, not named
    …but a curse if you disobey the commandments of the LORD your God and turn aside from the path I command you today by following other gods, which you have not known.
  66. Deuteronomy 11:29Referred to, not named
    When the LORD your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess, you are to proclaim the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal.
  67. Deuteronomy 11:31Referred to, not named
    For you are about to cross the Jordan to enter and possess the land that the LORD your God is giving you. When you take possession of it and settle in it,
  68. Deuteronomy 11:32Referred to, not named
    …be careful to follow all the statutes and ordinances that I am setting before you today.
  69. Deuteronomy 12:1Referred to, not named
    These are the statutes and ordinances you must be careful to follow all the days you live in the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, has given you to possess.
  70. Deuteronomy 12:2Referred to, not named
    Destroy completely all the places where the nations you are dispossessing have served their gods—atop the high mountains, on the hills, and under every green tree.
  71. Deuteronomy 12:3Referred to, not named
    Tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, burn up their Asherah poles, cut down the idols of their gods, and wipe out their names from every place.
  72. Deuteronomy 12:4Referred to, not named
    You shall not worship the LORD your God in this way.
  73. Deuteronomy 12:5Referred to, not named
    Instead, you must seek the place the LORD your God will choose from among all your tribes to establish as a dwelling for His Name, and there you must go.
  74. Deuteronomy 12:6Referred to, not named
    To that place you are to bring your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and heave offerings, your vow offerings and freewill offerings, as well as the firstborn of your herds and flocks.
  75. Deuteronomy 12:7Referred to, not named
    There, in the presence of the LORD your God, you and your households shall eat and rejoice in all you do, because the LORD your God has blessed you.
  76. Deuteronomy 12:8Referred to, not named
    You are not to do as we are doing here today, where everyone does what seems right in his own eyes.
  77. Deuteronomy 12:9Referred to, not named
    For you have not yet come to the resting place and the inheritance that the LORD your God is giving you.
  78. Deuteronomy 12:10Referred to, not named
    When you cross the Jordan and live in the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, and He gives you rest from all the enemies around you and you dwell securely,
  79. Deuteronomy 12:11Referred to, not named
    …then the LORD your God will choose a dwelling for His Name. And there you are to bring everything I command you: your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, and all the choice offerings you vow to the LORD.
  80. Deuteronomy 12:12Referred to, not named
    And you shall rejoice before the LORD your God—you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levite within your gates, since he has no portion or inheritance among you.
  81. Deuteronomy 12:13Referred to, not named
    Be careful not to offer your burnt offerings in just any place you see;
  82. Deuteronomy 12:14Referred to, not named
    …you must offer them only in the place the LORD will choose in one of your tribal territories, and there you shall do all that I command you.
  83. Deuteronomy 12:15Referred to, not named
    But whenever you want, you may slaughter and eat meat within any of your gates, according to the blessing the LORD your God has given you. Both the ceremonially clean and unclean may eat it as they would a gazelle or deer,
  84. Deuteronomy 12:16Referred to, not named
    …but you must not eat the blood; pour it on the ground like water.
  85. Deuteronomy 12:17Referred to, not named
    Within your gates you must not eat the tithe of your grain or new wine or oil, the firstborn of your herds or flocks, any of the offerings that you have vowed to give, or your freewill offerings or special gifts.
  86. Deuteronomy 12:18Referred to, not named
    Instead, you must eat them in the presence of the LORD your God at the place the LORD your God will choose—you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levite within your gates. Rejoice before the LORD your God in all you do,
  87. Deuteronomy 12:19Referred to, not named
    …and be careful not to neglect the Levites as long as you live in your land.
  88. Deuteronomy 12:20Referred to, not named
    When the LORD your God expands your territory as He has promised, and you crave meat and say, “I want to eat meat,” you may eat it whenever you want.
  89. Deuteronomy 12:21Referred to, not named
    If the place where the LORD your God chooses to put His Name is too far from you, then you may slaughter any of the herd or flock He has given you, as I have commanded you, and you may eat it within your gates whenever you want.
  90. Deuteronomy 12:22Referred to, not named
    Indeed, you may eat it as you would eat a gazelle or deer; both the ceremonially unclean and the clean may eat it.
  91. Deuteronomy 12:23Referred to, not named
    Only be sure not to eat the blood, because the blood is the life, and you must not eat the life with the meat.
  92. Deuteronomy 12:24Referred to, not named
    You must not eat the blood; pour it on the ground like water.
  93. Deuteronomy 12:25Referred to, not named
    Do not eat it, so that it may go well with you and your children after you, because you will be doing what is right in the eyes of the LORD.
  94. Deuteronomy 12:26Referred to, not named
    But you are to take your holy things and your vow offerings and go to the place the LORD will choose.
  95. Deuteronomy 12:27Referred to, not named
    Present the meat and blood of your burnt offerings on the altar of the LORD your God. The blood of your other sacrifices must be poured out beside the altar of the LORD your God, but you may eat the meat.
  96. Deuteronomy 12:28Referred to, not named
    Be careful to obey all these things I command you, so that it may always go well with you and your children after you, because you will be doing what is good and right in the eyes of the LORD your God.
  97. Deuteronomy 12:29Referred to, not named
    When the LORD your God cuts off before you the nations you are entering to dispossess, and you drive them out and live in their land,
  98. Deuteronomy 12:30Referred to, not named
    …be careful not to be ensnared by their ways after they have been destroyed before you. Do not inquire about their gods, asking, “How do these nations serve their gods? I will do likewise.”
  99. Deuteronomy 12:31Referred to, not named
    You must not worship the LORD your God in this way, because they practice for their gods every abomination which the LORD hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods.
  100. Deuteronomy 12:32Referred to, not named
    See that you do everything I command you; do not add to it or subtract from it.