Editing Jacob (section)

{{Short description|Hebrew patriarch and forefather of the Israelites}}
{{About|the patriarch|the name|Jacob (name)|other uses|Jacob (disambiguation)}}
{{pp|small=yes}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Jacob
| native_name        = {{nobold|{{Langx|he|{{Script/Hebrew|יַעֲקֹב}}|label=none|rtl=yes}}}}
| native_name_lang   = he
| image              = Jan Victors - Jacob Seeking the Forgiveness of Esau - 79.330 - Indianapolis Museum of Art (cropped).jpg
| caption            = Detail from ''Jacob Seeking the Forgiveness of Esau'' (1652) by [[Jan Victors]]
| other_names        = [[Israel (name)|Israel]] ({{Langx|he|{{Script/Hebrew|יִשְׂרָאֵל}}|label=none|rtl=yes}})
| birth_date         = 
| death_date         = 
| resting_place      = [[Cave of Machpelah]], [[Hebron]], [[Canaan]] (traditional)
| resting_place_coordinates = {{coord|31.5247|35.1107|display=inline}}
| known_for          = Being a [[Patriarchs (Bible)|Hebrew patriarch]] and the forefather of the [[Israelites]]
| father             = [[Isaac]]
| mother             = [[Rebecca]]
| spouse             = [[Leah]]<br />[[Rachel]]
| partner            = [[Bilhah]]<br />[[Zilpah]]
| children           = {{Collapsible list
| title = {{nobold|Oldest to youngest, per woman}}:
| {{tree list}}
* With Leah
** [[Reuben (son of Jacob)|Reuben]]
** [[Simeon (son of Jacob)|Simeon]]
** [[Levi]]
** [[Judah (son of Jacob)|Judah]]
** [[Issachar]]
** [[Zebulun]]
** [[Dinah]] (daughter)
* With Rachel
** [[Joseph (Genesis)|Joseph]]
** [[Benjamin]]
* With Bilhah
** [[Dan (son of Jacob)|Dan]]
** [[Naphtali]]
* With Zilpah
** [[Gad (son of Jacob)|Gad]]
** [[Asher]]
{{tree list/end}}
}}
| relatives          = {{plainlist|
*[[Abraham]] (paternal grandfather)
*[[Sarah]] (paternal grandmother)
*[[Bethuel]] (maternal grandfather)
*[[Ishmael]] (paternal half-uncle)
*[[Esau]] (fraternal twin brother)
*[[Laban (Bible)|Laban]] (maternal uncle, father-in-law)}}
}}
'''Jacob''',{{efn|{{IPAc-en|ˈ|dʒ|eɪ|k|ə|b}}; {{Hebrew name|יַעֲקֹב|{{audio|Yaakov.ogg|Yaʿaqōv}}|Yaʿăqōḇ}}; {{langx|ar|يَعْقُوب|[[Jacob in Islam|Yaʿqūb]]}}; {{langx|el|Ἰακώβ|Iakṓb}}}} later known as '''Israel''',{{efn|{{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɪ|z|r|i|.|ə|l|,_|-|r|eɪ|-}}; {{langx|he|יִשְׂרָאֵל|Yīsrāʾēl}}, {{IPA|he|jisʁaˈʔel|}}}} is a [[Patriarchs (Bible)|Hebrew patriarch]] of the [[Abrahamic religions]]. He first appears in the [[Torah]], where he is described in the [[Book of Genesis]] as a son of [[Isaac]] and [[Rebecca]]. Accordingly, alongside his older fraternal twin brother [[Esau]], Jacob's paternal grandparents are [[Abraham]] and [[Sarah]] and his maternal grandfather is [[Bethuel]], whose wife is not mentioned. He is said to have bought Esau's birthright and, with his mother's help, deceived his aging father to bless him instead of Esau.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://lifehopeandtruth.com/bible/bible-study/bible-stories/esau-and-jacob-and-the-birthright/|title=Esau and Jacob and the Birthright|website=Life, Hope & Truth|language=en|access-date=2019-09-16}}</ref> Then, following a severe drought in his homeland [[Canaan]], Jacob and his descendants migrated to neighbouring [[Biblical Egypt|Egypt]] through the efforts of his son [[Joseph (Genesis)|Joseph]], who had become a confidant of the [[Pharaohs in the Bible|pharaoh]]. After dying in Egypt at the age of 147, he is supposed to have been buried in the [[Cave of Machpelah]] in [[Hebron]].

Per the [[Hebrew Bible]], Jacob's progeny were beget by four women: his wives (and maternal cousins) [[Leah]] and [[Rachel]]; and his concubines [[Bilhah]] and [[Zilpah]]. His sons were, in order of their birth: [[Reuben (son of Jacob)|Reuben]], [[Simeon (son of Jacob)|Simeon]], [[Levi]], [[Judah (son of Jacob)|Judah]], [[Dan (son of Jacob)|Dan]], [[Naphtali]], [[Gad (son of Jacob)|Gad]], [[Asher]], [[Issachar]], [[Zebulun]], Joseph, and [[Benjamin]]. He also had a daughter named [[Dinah]], born to his first wife Leah.<ref>Enumerations of the twelve tribes vary. Because Jacob effectively adopted two of his grandsons by Joseph and [[Asenath]], namely [[Ephraim]] and [[Manasseh (tribal patriarch)|Manasseh]], the two grandsons were often substituted for the [[Tribe of Joseph]], yielding thirteen tribes, or twelve if Levi is set apart.</ref> The descendants of Jacob's sons were collectively known as the [[Israelites]], with each son being the forefather of one of the [[Twelve Tribes of Israel]], of whom all but the [[Tribe of Levi]] were allotted territory in the [[Land of Israel]]. The Genesis narrative also states that Jacob displayed favoritism among his wives and children, preferring Rachel and her sons Joseph and Benjamin to the rest—culminating in Joseph's older brothers selling him into slavery out of resentment.

Scholars have taken a mixed view as to [[Historicity of the Bible|Jacob's historicity]], with archaeology so far producing no evidence for his existence.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Ancient Israelite World |last=Faust |first=Avraham |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=2022 |isbn=978-1-000-77324-8 |pages=71–72 |editor-last=Keimer |editor-first=Kyle H. |chapter=Between the Biblical Story and History: Writing an Archaeological History of Ancient Israel |editor-last2=Pierce |editor-first2=George A. |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4beREAAAQBAJ&pg=PA71}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Misusing Scripture: What are Evangelicals Doing with the Bible? |last=Dever |first=William G. |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=2023 |isbn=978-1-000-85301-8 |editor-last=Elliott |editor-first=Mark |page=PT110 |chapter=Christian Fundamentalism, Faith, and Archaeology |quote=Abraham and the patriarchs may have been itinerant Amorites, but that is all we can say. |editor-last2=Atkinson |editor-first2=Kenneth |editor-last3=Rezetko |editor-first3=Robert |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WGuwEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT110}}</ref> Archaeologist and scholar [[William F. Albright|William Albright]] initially dated Jacob to the 19th century BCE, but later scholars, such as [[John J. Bimson]] and [[Nahum Sarna]], argued against using archaeological evidence to support such claims due to limited knowledge of that period. Recent scholarship by the likes of [[Thomas L. Thompson]] and [[William G. Dever|William Dever]] suggest that these narratives are late literary compositions with ideological purposes rather than historical accounts.

[[File:ACU Jacobs Dream artwork.JPG|right|thumb|240px|Jacob's Dream statue and display on the campus of [[Abilene Christian University]]]]