Some Bible Stories about Jacob the Patriarch

In Genesis (Bible Book: meaning Beginning), there's the third Father (Patriarch) of the Israelites, the guy's name is Jacob.

1. Jacob was born unto Isaac with his brother Esau. At the last second before their birth, Esau grabs Jacob by the heel and comes out first. Esau then has the birthright. The name Jacob in name books sometimes reads, "held by the heel."

Me: Moral meaning of this story is uncertain

2. Jacob is his mother's favorite son, while Esau is his father's favorite. One is a farmer and one is a herder, but I always forget who is who. The mother dresses Jacob in sheep's clothing in order to seem hairy like Esau, and on Isaac's dying day, he feels Jacob's clothed arms and blesses the boy. Therefore another meaning of Jacob is, "The supplanter," because he supplanted his brother. Another meaning of Jacob is, "the Trickster."

Me: Moral meaning of this story is uncertain

3. Jacob somehow gets exiled and has to sleep in the desert. He sleeps on a rock in the desert, and in some kind of pneumonia-and-peyote acid trip, dreams about angels in heaven climbing a ladder. He sees them move up and down the ladder, working in heaven and earth. I cannot remember if he went up there with him. One of the meanings of Jacob is not, however, break on through to the other side.

Me: Moral meaning of this story is that Jacob saw angels work on heaven and earth.

4. Jacob works for Laban the herder for a long time. Being blessed by God, Jacob works really hard. Jacob asks Laban to marry his daughter Rachel (ask.com says Hebrew meaning is Little lamb or purity). Laban says okay, but you got to work for 7 years for me. Jacob works for 7 whole years. At the wedding, Laban veils his other daughter Leah (Hebrew meaning: weary) and Jacob marries her by accident. Without getting frustrated in the least (because, hey) Jacob works another 7 years and marries Rachel.

Me: Moral meaning of this story is to keep working and not complain too much.



5. While on his journeys, Jacob wrestles with an Angel, and at the end of the night he has a new name, Israel. Everybody pretty much understands this to mean that Jacob wrestled with God, but some people say it wasn't Jacob who wrestles with God, but rather Israel who does.

Me: Moral meaning is that the wrestling match itself is good, because such a battle already posits the existence of a God to wrestle with.

Me on another possible meaning: This is part of the reason for the naming of Israel the country (formally Canaan, Palestine, and different names through time). There was a fierce transgression and people came out differently. In this case, however, the fierce wrestling match was more like the Holocaust. Obviously there's a whole lot more to write here that I'm not getting at.

6. After establishing a farm and a big, big family with all kinds of kids, the baby of the family, Joseph is kidnapped (sold by his older brothers?) to Egypt. Joseph becomes royalty in Egypt. Jacob moves the farm and the big, big family down to Egypt. Generations later, the Jews become slaves of Egypt, and the rest is in another blog post.

Me: Moral meaning is to have a good life.


Wikipedia says that where Abraham had a steady climb, and Isaac had a steady climb, Jacob has more of a rocky transgression, including an emigration from the Holy Land. In this way Jacob represents and foreshadows the Diaspora of the Jews. Diaspora means the spreading out of the Jews.