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

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 19:7Referred to, not named
    This is why I am commanding you to set apart for yourselves three cities.
  2. Deuteronomy 19:8Referred to, not named
    And if the LORD your God enlarges your territory, as He swore to your fathers, and gives you all the land He promised them,
  3. Deuteronomy 19:9Referred to, not named
    …and if you carefully keep all these commandments I am giving you today, loving the LORD your God and walking in His ways at all times, then you are to add three more cities to these three.
  4. Deuteronomy 19:10Referred to, not named
    Thus innocent blood will not be shed in the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, so that you will not be guilty of bloodshed.
  5. Deuteronomy 19:13יִשְׂרָאֵל · God; יִשְׂרָאֵל · Israel
    You must show him no pity. You are to purge from Israel the guilt of shedding innocent blood, that it may go well with you.
  6. Deuteronomy 19:14Referred to, not named
    You must not move your neighbor’s boundary marker, which was set up by your ancestors to mark the inheritance you shall receive in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess.
  7. Deuteronomy 19:19Referred to, not named
    …you must do to him as he intended to do to his brother. So you must purge the evil from among you.
  8. Deuteronomy 19:20Referred to, not named
    Then the rest of the people will hear and be afraid, and they will never again do anything so evil among you.
  9. Deuteronomy 19:21Referred to, not named
    You must show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, and foot for foot.
  10. Deuteronomy 20:1Referred to, not named
    When you go out to war against your enemies and see horses, chariots, and an army larger than yours, do not be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, is with you.
  11. Deuteronomy 20:2Referred to, not named
    When you are about to go into battle, the priest is to come forward and address the army,
  12. Deuteronomy 20:3יִשְׂרָאֵל · God; יִשְׂרָאֵל · Israel
    …saying to them, “Hear, O Israel, today you are going into battle with your enemies. Do not be fainthearted or afraid; do not be alarmed or terrified because of them.
  13. Deuteronomy 20:4Referred to, not named
    For the LORD your God goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.”
  14. Deuteronomy 21:8יִשְׂרָאֵל · God; יִשְׂרָאֵל · Israel
    Accept this atonement, O LORD, for Your people Israel whom You have redeemed, and do not hold the shedding of innocent blood against them.” And the bloodshed will be atoned for.
  15. Deuteronomy 21:21יִשְׂרָאֵל · God; יִשְׂרָאֵל · Israel
    Then all the men of his city will stone him to death. So you must purge the evil from among you, and all Israel will hear and be afraid.
  16. Deuteronomy 21:22Referred to, not named
    If a man has committed a sin worthy of death, and he is executed, and you hang his body on a tree,
  17. Deuteronomy 21:23Referred to, not named
    …you must not leave the body on the tree overnight, but you must be sure to bury him that day, because anyone who is hung on a tree is under God’s curse. You must not defile the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.
  18. Deuteronomy 22:1Referred to, not named
    If you see your brother’s ox or sheep straying, you must not ignore it; be sure to return it to your brother.
  19. Deuteronomy 22:2Referred to, not named
    If your brother does not live near you, or if you do not know who he is, you are to take the animal home to remain with you until your brother comes seeking it; then you can return it to him.
  20. Deuteronomy 22:3Referred to, not named
    And you shall do the same for his donkey, his cloak, or anything your brother has lost and you have found. You must not ignore it.
  21. Deuteronomy 22:4Referred to, not named
    If you see your brother’s donkey or ox fallen on the road, you must not ignore it; you must help him lift it up.
  22. Deuteronomy 22:5Referred to, not named
    A woman must not wear men’s clothing, and a man must not wear women’s clothing, for whoever does these things is detestable to the LORD your God.
  23. Deuteronomy 22:6Referred to, not named
    If you come across a bird’s nest with chicks or eggs, either in a tree or on the ground along the road, and the mother is sitting on the chicks or eggs, you must not take the mother along with the young.
  24. Deuteronomy 22:7Referred to, not named
    You may take the young, but be sure to let the mother go, so that it may be well with you and that you may prolong your days.
  25. Deuteronomy 22:8Referred to, not named
    If you build a new house, you are to construct a railing around your roof, so that you do not bring bloodguilt on your house if someone falls from it.
  26. Deuteronomy 22:9Referred to, not named
    Do not plant your vineyard with two types of seed; if you do, the entire harvest will be defiled—both the crop you plant and the fruit of your vineyard.
  27. Deuteronomy 22:10Referred to, not named
    Do not plow with an ox and a donkey yoked together.
  28. Deuteronomy 22:11Referred to, not named
    Do not wear clothes of wool and linen woven together.
  29. Deuteronomy 22:12Referred to, not named
    You are to make tassels on the four corners of the cloak you wear.
  30. Deuteronomy 22:19יִשְׂרָאֵל · God; יִשְׂרָאֵל · Israel
    They are also to fine him a hundred shekels of silver and give them to the young woman’s father, because this man has given a virgin of Israel a bad name. And she shall remain his wife; he must not divorce her as long as he lives.
  31. Deuteronomy 22:21יִשְׂרָאֵל · God; יִשְׂרָאֵל · Israel
    …she shall be brought to the door of her father’s house, and there the men of her city will stone her to death. For she has committed an outrage in Israel by being promiscuous in her father’s house. So you must purge the evil from among you.
  32. Deuteronomy 22:22יִשְׂרָאֵל · God; יִשְׂרָאֵל · Israel
    If a man is found lying with another man’s wife, both the man who slept with her and the woman must die. You must purge the evil from Israel.
  33. Deuteronomy 22:24Referred to, not named
    …you must take both of them out to the gate of that city and stone them to death—the young woman because she did not cry out in the city, and the man because he has violated his neighbor’s wife. So you must purge the evil from among you.
  34. Deuteronomy 22:26Referred to, not named
    Do nothing to the young woman, because she has committed no sin worthy of death. This case is just like one in which a man attacks his neighbor and murders him.
  35. Deuteronomy 23:4Referred to, not named
    For they did not meet you with food and water on your way out of Egypt, and they hired Balaam son of Beor from Pethor in Aram-naharaim to curse you.
  36. Deuteronomy 23:5Referred to, not named
    Yet the LORD your God would not listen to Balaam, and the LORD your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the LORD your God loves you.
  37. Deuteronomy 23:6Referred to, not named
    You are not to seek peace or prosperity from them as long as you live.
  38. Deuteronomy 23:7Referred to, not named
    Do not despise an Edomite, for he is your brother. Do not despise an Egyptian, because you lived as a foreigner in his land.
  39. Deuteronomy 23:9Referred to, not named
    When you are encamped against your enemies, then you shall keep yourself from every wicked thing.
  40. Deuteronomy 23:10Referred to, not named
    If any man among you becomes unclean because of a nocturnal emission, he must leave the camp and stay outside.
  41. Deuteronomy 23:12Referred to, not named
    You must have a place outside the camp to go and relieve yourself.
  42. Deuteronomy 23:13Referred to, not named
    And you must have a digging tool in your equipment so that when you relieve yourself you can dig a hole and cover up your excrement.
  43. Deuteronomy 23:14Referred to, not named
    For the LORD your God walks throughout your camp to protect you and deliver your enemies to you. Your camp must be holy, lest He see anything unclean among you and turn away from you.
  44. Deuteronomy 23:15Referred to, not named
    Do not return a slave to his master if he has taken refuge with you.
  45. Deuteronomy 23:16Referred to, not named
    Let him live among you wherever he chooses, in the town of his pleasing. Do not oppress him.
  46. Deuteronomy 23:17יִשְׂרָאֵל · God; יִשְׂרָאֵל · Israel
    No daughter or son of Israel is to be a shrine prostitute.
  47. Deuteronomy 23:18Referred to, not named
    You must not bring the wages of a prostitute, whether female or male, into the house of the LORD your God to fulfill any vow, because both are detestable to the LORD your God.
  48. Deuteronomy 23:19Referred to, not named
    Do not charge your brother interest on money, food, or any other type of loan.
  49. Deuteronomy 23:20Referred to, not named
    You may charge a foreigner interest, but not your brother, so that the LORD your God may bless you in everything to which you put your hand in the land that you are entering to possess.
  50. Deuteronomy 23:21Referred to, not named
    If you make a vow to the LORD your God, do not be slow to keep it, because He will surely require it of you, and you will be guilty of sin.
  51. Deuteronomy 23:22Referred to, not named
    But if you refrain from making a vow, you will not be guilty of sin.
  52. Deuteronomy 23:23Referred to, not named
    Be careful to follow through on what comes from your lips, because you have freely vowed to the LORD your God with your own mouth.
  53. Deuteronomy 23:24Referred to, not named
    When you enter your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat your fill of grapes, but you must not put any in your basket.
  54. Deuteronomy 23:25Referred to, not named
    When you enter your neighbor’s grainfield, you may pluck the heads of grain with your hand, but you must not put a sickle to your neighbor’s grain.
  55. Deuteronomy 24:4Referred to, not named
    …then the husband who divorced her first may not remarry her after she has been defiled, for that is an abomination to the LORD. You must not bring sin upon the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.
  56. Deuteronomy 24:7יִשְׂרָאֵל · God; יִשְׂרָאֵל · Israel
    If a man is caught kidnapping one of his Israelite brothers, whether he treats him as a slave or sells him, the kidnapper must die. So you must purge the evil from among you.
  57. Deuteronomy 25:6יִשְׂרָאֵל · God; יִשְׂרָאֵל · Israel
    The first son she bears will carry on the name of the dead brother, so that his name will not be blotted out from Israel.
  58. Deuteronomy 25:7יִשְׂרָאֵל · God; יִשְׂרָאֵל · Israel
    But if the man does not want to marry his brother’s widow, she is to go to the elders at the city gate and say, “My husband’s brother refuses to preserve his brother’s name in Israel. He is not willing to perform the duty of a brother-in-law for me.”
  59. Deuteronomy 25:10יִשְׂרָאֵל · God; יִשְׂרָאֵל · Israel
    And his family name in Israel will be called “The House of the Unsandaled.”
  60. Deuteronomy 25:12Referred to, not named
    …you are to cut off her hand. You must show her no pity.
  61. Deuteronomy 25:13Referred to, not named
    You shall not have two differing weights in your bag, one heavy and one light.
  62. Deuteronomy 25:14Referred to, not named
    You shall not have two differing measures in your house, one large and one small.
  63. Deuteronomy 25:15Referred to, not named
    You must maintain accurate and honest weights and measures, so that you may live long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.
  64. Deuteronomy 25:16Referred to, not named
    For everyone who behaves dishonestly in regard to these things is detestable to the LORD your God.
  65. Deuteronomy 25:17Referred to, not named
    Remember what the Amalekites did to you along your way from Egypt,
  66. Deuteronomy 25:18Referred to, not named
    …how they met you on your journey when you were tired and weary, and they attacked all your stragglers; they had no fear of God.
  67. Deuteronomy 25:19Referred to, not named
    When the LORD your God gives you rest from the enemies around you in the land that He is giving you to possess as an inheritance, you are to blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven. Do not forget!
  68. Deuteronomy 26:1Referred to, not named
    When you enter the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, and you take possession of it and settle in it,
  69. Deuteronomy 26:2Referred to, not named
    …you are to take some of the firstfruits of all your produce from the soil of the land that the LORD your God is giving you and put them in a basket. Then go to the place the LORD your God will choose as a dwelling for His Name,
  70. Deuteronomy 26:3Referred to, not named
    …to the priest who is serving at that time, and say to him, “I declare today to the LORD your God that I have entered the land that the LORD swore to our fathers to give us.”
  71. Deuteronomy 26:4Referred to, not named
    Then the priest shall take the basket from your hands and place it before the altar of the LORD your God,
  72. Deuteronomy 26:5Referred to, not named
    …and you are to declare before the LORD your God, “My father was a wandering Aramean, and he went down to Egypt few in number and lived there and became a great nation, mighty and numerous.
  73. Deuteronomy 26:10Referred to, not named
    And now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land that You, O LORD, have given me.” Then you are to place the basket before the LORD your God and bow down before Him.
  74. Deuteronomy 26:11Referred to, not named
    So you shall rejoice—you, the Levite, and the foreigner dwelling among you—in all the good things the LORD your God has given to you and your household.
  75. Deuteronomy 26:12Referred to, not named
    When you have finished laying aside a tenth of all your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe, you are to give it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat and be filled within your gates.
  76. Deuteronomy 26:13Referred to, not named
    Then you shall declare in the presence of the LORD your God, “I have removed from my house the sacred portion and have given it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow, according to all the commandments You have given me. I have not transgressed or forgotten Your commandments.
  77. Deuteronomy 26:14Referred to, not named
    I have not eaten any of the sacred portion while in mourning, or removed any of it while unclean, or offered any of it for the dead. I have obeyed the LORD my God; I have done everything You commanded me.
  78. Deuteronomy 26:15יִשְׂרָאֵל · God; יִשְׂרָאֵל · Israel
    Look down from Your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel and the land You have given us as You swore to our fathers—a land flowing with milk and honey.”
  79. Deuteronomy 26:16Referred to, not named
    The LORD your God commands you this day to follow these statutes and ordinances. You must be careful to follow them with all your heart and with all your soul.
  80. Deuteronomy 26:17Referred to, not named
    Today you have proclaimed that the LORD is your God and that you will walk in His ways, keep His statutes and commandments and ordinances, and listen to His voice.
  81. Deuteronomy 26:18Referred to, not named
    And today the LORD has proclaimed that you are His people and treasured possession as He promised, that you are to keep all His commandments,
  82. Deuteronomy 26:19Referred to, not named
    …that He will set you high in praise and name and honor above all the nations He has made, and that you will be a holy people to the LORD your God, as He has promised.
  83. Deuteronomy 27:1יִשְׂרָאֵל · God; יִשְׂרָאֵל · Israel
    Then Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people: “Keep all the commandments I am giving you today.
  84. Deuteronomy 27:9יִשְׂרָאֵל · God; יִשְׂרָאֵל · Israel
    Then Moses and the Levitical priests spoke to all Israel: “Be silent, O Israel, and listen! This day you have become the people of the LORD your God.
  85. Deuteronomy 27:10Referred to, not named
    You shall therefore obey the voice of the LORD your God and follow His commandments and statutes I am giving you today.”
  86. Deuteronomy 27:14יִשְׂרָאֵל · God; יִשְׂרָאֵל · Israel
    Then the Levites shall proclaim in a loud voice to every Israelite:
  87. Deuteronomy 29:1יִשְׂרָאֵל · God; יִשְׂרָאֵל · Israel
    These are the words of the covenant that the LORD commanded Moses to make with the Israelites in the land of Moab, in addition to the covenant He had made with them at Horeb.
  88. Deuteronomy 29:2יִשְׂרָאֵל · God; יִשְׂרָאֵל · Israel
    Moses summoned all Israel and proclaimed to them, “You have seen with your own eyes everything the LORD did in Egypt to Pharaoh, to all his officials, and to all his land.
  89. Deuteronomy 29:3Referred to, not named
    You saw with your own eyes the great trials, and those miraculous signs and wonders.
  90. Deuteronomy 29:4Referred to, not named
    Yet to this day the LORD has not given you a mind to understand, eyes to see, or ears to hear.
  91. Deuteronomy 29:5Referred to, not named
    For forty years I led you in the wilderness, yet your clothes and sandals did not wear out.
  92. Deuteronomy 29:6Referred to, not named
    You ate no bread and drank no wine or strong drink, so that you might know that I am the LORD your God.
  93. Deuteronomy 29:7Referred to, not named
    When you reached this place, Sihon king of Heshbon and Og king of Bashan came out against us in battle, but we defeated them.
  94. Deuteronomy 29:8Referred to, not named
    We took their land and gave it as an inheritance to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.
  95. Deuteronomy 29:9Referred to, not named
    So keep and follow the words of this covenant, that you may prosper in all you do.
  96. Deuteronomy 29:10יִשְׂרָאֵל · God; יִשְׂרָאֵל · Israel
    All of you are standing today before the LORD your God—you leaders of tribes, elders, officials, and all the men of Israel,
  97. Deuteronomy 29:11Referred to, not named
    …your children and wives, and the foreigners in your camps who cut your wood and draw your water—
  98. Deuteronomy 29:12Referred to, not named
    …so that you may enter into the covenant of the LORD your God, which He is making with you today, and into His oath,
  99. Deuteronomy 29:13יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    …and so that He may establish you today as His people, and He may be your God as He promised you and as He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
  100. Deuteronomy 29:14Referred to, not named
    I am making this covenant and this oath not only with you,