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 2:12יִשְׂרָאֵל · God; יִשְׂרָאֵל · Israel
    The Horites used to live in Seir, but the descendants of Esau drove them out. They destroyed the Horites from before them and settled in their place, just as Israel did in the land that the LORD gave them as their possession.)
  2. Deuteronomy 3:18יִשְׂרָאֵל · God; יִשְׂרָאֵל · Israel
    At that time I commanded you: “The LORD your God has given you this land to possess. All your men of valor are to cross over, armed for battle, ahead of your brothers, the Israelites.
  3. Deuteronomy 4:1יִשְׂרָאֵל · God; יִשְׂרָאֵל · Israel
    Hear now, O Israel, the statutes and ordinances I am teaching you to follow, so that you may live and may enter and take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you.
  4. Deuteronomy 4:2Referred to, not named
    You must not add to or subtract from what I command you, so that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God that I am giving you.
  5. Deuteronomy 4:3Referred to, not named
    Your eyes have seen what the LORD did at Baal-peor, for the LORD your God destroyed from among you all who followed Baal of Peor.
  6. Deuteronomy 4:4Referred to, not named
    But you who held fast to the LORD your God are alive to this day, every one of you.
  7. Deuteronomy 4:44יִשְׂרָאֵל · God; יִשְׂרָאֵל · Israel
    This is the law that Moses set before the Israelites.
  8. Deuteronomy 4:45יִשְׂרָאֵל · God; יִשְׂרָאֵל · Israel
    These are the testimonies, statutes, and ordinances that Moses proclaimed to them after they had come out of Egypt,
  9. Deuteronomy 4:46יִשְׂרָאֵל · God; יִשְׂרָאֵל · Israel
    …while they were in the valley across the Jordan facing Beth-peor in the land of Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon and was defeated by Moses and the Israelites after they had come out of Egypt.
  10. Deuteronomy 5:1יִשְׂרָאֵל · God; יִשְׂרָאֵל · Israel
    Then Moses summoned all Israel and said to them: Hear, O Israel, the statutes and ordinances that I declare in your hearing this day. Learn them and observe them carefully.
  11. Deuteronomy 5:4Referred to, not named
    The LORD spoke with you face to face out of the fire on the mountain.
  12. Deuteronomy 5:5Referred to, not named
    At that time I was standing between the LORD and you to declare to you the word of the LORD, because you were afraid of the fire and would not go up the mountain. And He said:
  13. Deuteronomy 5:6Referred to, not named
    “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
  14. Deuteronomy 5:7Referred to, not named
    You shall have no other gods before Me.
  15. Deuteronomy 5:8Referred to, not named
    You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in the heavens above, on the earth below, or in the waters beneath.
  16. Deuteronomy 5:9Referred to, not named
    You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,
  17. Deuteronomy 5:11Referred to, not named
    You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave anyone unpunished who takes His name in vain.
  18. Deuteronomy 5:12Referred to, not named
    Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you.
  19. Deuteronomy 5:13Referred to, not named
    Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
  20. Deuteronomy 5:14Referred to, not named
    …but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God, on which you must not do any work—neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your ox or donkey or any of your livestock, nor the foreigner within your gates, so that your manservant and maidservant may rest as you do.
  21. Deuteronomy 5:15Referred to, not named
    Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. That is why the LORD your God has commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.
  22. Deuteronomy 5:16Referred to, not named
    Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, so that your days may be long and that it may go well with you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.
  23. Deuteronomy 5:17Referred to, not named
    You shall not murder.
  24. Deuteronomy 5:18Referred to, not named
    You shall not commit adultery.
  25. Deuteronomy 5:19Referred to, not named
    You shall not steal.
  26. Deuteronomy 5:20Referred to, not named
    You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
  27. Deuteronomy 5:21Referred to, not named
    You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house or field, or his manservant or maidservant, or his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
  28. Deuteronomy 5:22Referred to, not named
    The LORD spoke these commandments in a loud voice to your whole assembly out of the fire, the cloud, and the deep darkness on the mountain; He added nothing more. And He wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me.
  29. Deuteronomy 5:23Referred to, not named
    And when you heard the voice out of the darkness while the mountain was blazing with fire, all the heads of your tribes and your elders approached me,
  30. Deuteronomy 5:24Referred to, not named
    …and you said, “Behold, the LORD our God has shown us His glory and greatness, and we have heard His voice out of the fire. Today we have seen that a man can live even if God speaks with him.
  31. Deuteronomy 5:25Referred to, not named
    But now, why should we die? For this great fire will consume us, and we will die, if we hear the voice of the LORD our God any longer.
  32. Deuteronomy 5:26Referred to, not named
    For who of all flesh has heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the fire, as we have, and survived?
  33. Deuteronomy 5:27Referred to, not named
    Go near and listen to all that the LORD our God says. Then you can tell us everything the LORD our God tells you; we will listen and obey.”
  34. Deuteronomy 5:28Referred to, not named
    And the LORD heard the words you spoke to me, and He said to me, “I have heard the words that these people have spoken to you. They have done well in all that they have spoken.
  35. Deuteronomy 5:32Referred to, not named
    So be careful to do as the LORD your God has commanded you; you are not to turn aside to the right or to the left.
  36. Deuteronomy 5:33Referred to, not named
    You must walk in all the ways that the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess.
  37. Deuteronomy 6:1Referred to, not named
    These are the commandments and statutes and ordinances that the LORD your God has instructed me to teach you to follow in the land that you are about to enter and possess,
  38. Deuteronomy 6:2Referred to, not named
    …so that you and your children and grandchildren may fear the LORD your God all the days of your lives by keeping all His statutes and commandments that I give you, and so that your days may be prolonged.
  39. Deuteronomy 6:3יִשְׂרָאֵל · God; יִשְׂרָאֵל · Israel
    Hear, O Israel, and be careful to observe them, so that you may prosper and multiply greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised you.
  40. Deuteronomy 6:4יִשְׂרָאֵל · God; יִשְׂרָאֵל · Israel
    Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is One.
  41. Deuteronomy 6:5Referred to, not named
    And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
  42. Deuteronomy 6:6Referred to, not named
    These words I am commanding you today are to be upon your hearts.
  43. Deuteronomy 6:7Referred to, not named
    And you shall teach them diligently to your children and speak of them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
  44. Deuteronomy 6:8Referred to, not named
    Tie them as reminders on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.
  45. Deuteronomy 6:9Referred to, not named
    Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates.
  46. Deuteronomy 6:10יַעֲקֹב · Jacob
    And when the LORD your God brings you into the land He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that He would give you—a land with great and splendid cities that you did not build,
  47. Deuteronomy 6:11Referred to, not named
    …with houses full of every good thing with which you did not fill them, with wells that you did not dig, and with vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant—and when you eat and are satisfied,
  48. Deuteronomy 6:12Referred to, not named
    …be careful not to forget the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
  49. Deuteronomy 6:13Referred to, not named
    Fear the LORD your God, serve Him only, and take your oaths in His name.
  50. Deuteronomy 6:14Referred to, not named
    Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you.
  51. Deuteronomy 6:15Referred to, not named
    For the LORD your God, who is among you, is a jealous God. Otherwise the anger of the LORD your God will be kindled against you, and He will wipe you off the face of the earth.
  52. Deuteronomy 6:16Referred to, not named
    Do not test the LORD your God as you tested Him at Massah.
  53. Deuteronomy 6:17Referred to, not named
    You are to diligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God and the testimonies and statutes He has given you.
  54. Deuteronomy 6:18Referred to, not named
    Do what is right and good in the sight of the LORD, so that it may be well with you and that you may enter and possess the good land that the LORD your God swore to give your fathers,
  55. Deuteronomy 6:19Referred to, not named
    …driving out all your enemies before you, as the LORD has said.
  56. Deuteronomy 6:20Referred to, not named
    In the future, when your son asks, “What is the meaning of the decrees and statutes and ordinances that the LORD our God has commanded you?”
  57. Deuteronomy 6:21Referred to, not named
    …then you are to tell him, “We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand.
  58. Deuteronomy 6:22Referred to, not named
    Before our eyes the LORD inflicted great and devastating signs and wonders on Egypt, on Pharaoh, and on all his household.
  59. Deuteronomy 6:23Referred to, not named
    But He brought us out from there to lead us in and give us the land that He had sworn to our fathers.
  60. Deuteronomy 6:24Referred to, not named
    And the LORD commanded us to observe all these statutes and to fear the LORD our God, that we may always be prosperous and preserved, as we are to this day.
  61. Deuteronomy 6:25Referred to, not named
    And if we are careful to observe every one of these commandments before the LORD our God, as He has commanded us, then that will be our righteousness.”
  62. Deuteronomy 7:1Referred to, not named
    When the LORD your God brings you into the land that you are entering to possess, and He drives out before you many nations—the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, seven nations larger and stronger than you—
  63. Deuteronomy 7:2Referred to, not named
    …and when the LORD your God has delivered them over to you to defeat them, then you must devote them to complete destruction. Make no treaty with them and show them no mercy.
  64. Deuteronomy 7:3Referred to, not named
    Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons,
  65. Deuteronomy 7:4Referred to, not named
    …because they will turn your sons away from following Me to serve other gods. Then the anger of the LORD will burn against you, and He will swiftly destroy you.
  66. Deuteronomy 7:5Referred to, not named
    Instead, this is what you are to do to them: tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, cut down their Asherah poles, and burn their idols in the fire.
  67. Deuteronomy 7:6Referred to, not named
    For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His prized possession out of all peoples on the face of the earth.
  68. Deuteronomy 7:7Referred to, not named
    The LORD did not set His affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than the other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples.
  69. Deuteronomy 7:8Referred to, not named
    But because the LORD loved you and kept the oath He swore to your fathers, He brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
  70. Deuteronomy 7:9Referred to, not named
    Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps His covenant of loving devotion for a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commandments.
  71. Deuteronomy 7:11Referred to, not named
    So keep the commandments and statutes and ordinances that I am giving you to follow this day.
  72. Deuteronomy 7:12Referred to, not named
    If you listen to these ordinances and keep them carefully, then the LORD your God will keep His covenant and the loving devotion that He swore to your fathers.
  73. Deuteronomy 7:13Referred to, not named
    He will love you and bless you and multiply you. He will bless the fruit of your womb and the produce of your land—your grain, new wine, and oil, the young of your herds and the lambs of your flocks—in the land that He swore to your fathers to give you.
  74. Deuteronomy 7:14Referred to, not named
    You will be blessed above all peoples; among you there will be no barren man or woman or livestock.
  75. Deuteronomy 7:15Referred to, not named
    And the LORD will remove from you all sickness. He will not lay upon you any of the terrible diseases you knew in Egypt, but He will inflict them on all who hate you.
  76. Deuteronomy 7:16Referred to, not named
    You must destroy all the peoples the LORD your God will deliver to you. Do not look on them with pity. Do not worship their gods, for that will be a snare to you.
  77. Deuteronomy 7:17Referred to, not named
    You may say in your heart, “These nations are greater than we are; how can we drive them out?”
  78. Deuteronomy 7:18Referred to, not named
    But do not be afraid of them. Be sure to remember what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and all Egypt:
  79. Deuteronomy 7:19Referred to, not named
    …the great trials that you saw, the signs and wonders, and the mighty hand and outstretched arm by which the LORD your God brought you out. The LORD your God will do the same to all the peoples you now fear.
  80. Deuteronomy 7:20Referred to, not named
    Moreover, the LORD your God will send the hornet against them until even the survivors hiding from you have perished.
  81. Deuteronomy 7:21Referred to, not named
    Do not be terrified by them, for the LORD your God, who is among you, is a great and awesome God.
  82. Deuteronomy 7:22Referred to, not named
    The LORD your God will drive out these nations before you little by little. You will not be enabled to eliminate them all at once, or the wild animals would multiply around you.
  83. Deuteronomy 7:23Referred to, not named
    But the LORD your God will give them over to you and throw them into great confusion, until they are destroyed.
  84. Deuteronomy 7:24Referred to, not named
    He will hand their kings over to you, and you will wipe out their names from under heaven. No one will be able to stand against you; you will annihilate them.
  85. Deuteronomy 7:25Referred to, not named
    You must burn up the images of their gods; do not covet the silver and gold that is on them or take it for yourselves, or you will be ensnared by it; for it is detestable to the LORD your God.
  86. Deuteronomy 7:26Referred to, not named
    And you must not bring any detestable thing into your house, or you, like it, will be set apart for destruction. You are to utterly detest and abhor it, because it is set apart for destruction.
  87. Deuteronomy 8:1Referred to, not named
    You must carefully follow every commandment I am giving you today, so that you may live and multiply, and enter and possess the land that the LORD swore to give your fathers.
  88. Deuteronomy 8:2Referred to, not named
    Remember that these forty years the LORD your God led you all the way in the wilderness, so that He might humble you and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep His commandments.
  89. Deuteronomy 8:3Referred to, not named
    He humbled you, and in your hunger He gave you manna to eat, which neither you nor your fathers had known, so that you might understand that man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.
  90. Deuteronomy 8:4Referred to, not named
    Your clothing did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years.
  91. Deuteronomy 8:5Referred to, not named
    So know in your heart that just as a man disciplines his son, so the LORD your God disciplines you.
  92. Deuteronomy 8:6Referred to, not named
    Therefore you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God, walking in His ways and fearing Him.
  93. Deuteronomy 8:7Referred to, not named
    For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks and fountains and springs that flow through the valleys and hills;
  94. Deuteronomy 8:9Referred to, not named
    …a land where you will eat food without scarcity, where you will lack nothing; a land whose rocks are iron and whose hills are ready to be mined for copper.
  95. Deuteronomy 8:10Referred to, not named
    When you eat and are satisfied, you are to bless the LORD your God for the good land that He has given you.
  96. Deuteronomy 8:11Referred to, not named
    Be careful not to forget the LORD your God by failing to keep His commandments and ordinances and statutes, which I am giving you this day.
  97. Deuteronomy 8:12Referred to, not named
    Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses in which to dwell,
  98. Deuteronomy 8:13Referred to, not named
    …and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all that you have is multiplied,
  99. Deuteronomy 8:14Referred to, not named
    …then your heart will become proud, and you will forget the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
  100. Deuteronomy 8:15Referred to, not named
    He led you through the vast and terrifying wilderness with its venomous snakes and scorpions, a thirsty and waterless land. He brought you water from the rock of flint.