Jacob
The son of Isaac and Rebecca, third great patriarch of the chosen
people, and the immediate ancestor of the twelve tribes of Israel.
The incidents of his life are given in parts of Gen., xxv, 21-1,
13, wherein the documents (J, E, P) are distinguished by modern
scholars (see ABRAHAM, I, 52). His name-- possibly an abbreviation
of Jacob-El (Babylonian: Ya kub-ilu), with which compare Israel,
Ismael etc. -- means "supplanter", and refers to a well-known
circumstance of his birth (Gen., xxv, 25). His early years were
marked by various efforts to get the birthright from his brother
Esau. His struggle for it began before he was born (xxv, 22-5).
Later, he took advantage of Esau's thoughtlessness and despair to
buy it from him for a pottage of lentils (xxv, 29-33). In virtue
of this purchase, and through a ruse, he finally got it by
securing the blessing which Isaac intended for Esau (xxvii, 1-37),
Then it was that, to escape his brother's avenging wrath, and
apparently also to obtain a wife from his parents' stock, he fled
to Haran, the dwelling place of Laban, his maternal uncle (xxvii,
41-xxviii, 5). On his way thither, he had at Luza the vision of
the angels ascending and descending by a mysterious ladder which
reached from earth to heaven, and of Yahweh renewing to him the
glorious promises which He had made to Abraham and to Isaac; in
consequence of this, he called the place Beth-El, and vowed
exclusive worship to Yahweh should He accompany him on his way and
bring him back safely home (xxviii, 11-22). Jacob's relations with
Laban's household form an interesting episode, the details of
which are perfectly true to Eastern life and need not be set forth
here. Besides blessing him with eleven children, God granted to
Jacob a great material prosperity, so that Laban was naturally
desirous of detaining him. But Jacob, long wearied with Laban's
frequent trickery, and also bidden by God to return, departed
secretly, and, although overtaken and threatened by his angry
father-in-law, he managed to appease him and to pursue his own way
towards Chanaan (xxix-xxxi). He managed also--after a vision of
angels at Mahanaim, and a whole night's wrestling with God at
Phanuel, on which latter occasion he received a new blessing and
the significant name of Israel--to appease his brother Easu, who
had come to meet him with 400 men (xxxii-xxxiii, 16).
Passing through Socoth, Jacob first settled near Salem, a city of
the Sichemites, and there raised an altar to the God of Israel
(xxxiii, 17-20). Compelled to leave on account of the enmity of
the Chanaanites--the precise occasion of which is uncertain--he
went to Bethel, where he fulfilled the vow which he had made when
on his way to Haran (xxxiv-xxxv, 15). Proceeding farther south, he
came to Ephrata, where he buried Rachel, who died giving birth to
Benjamin, and where he erected a pillar on the site of her grave.
Thence, through Migdal- Eder, he came to Hebron, where he was
joined by Esau for their father's burial (xxxv, 16-29). In Hebron,
Jacob lived quietly as the head of a numerous pastoral family,
received with inconsolable grief the apparent evidence of Joseph's
cruel death, passed through the pressure of famine, and agreed
most reluctantly to his separation from Benjamin (xxxvii, 1-4;
xlii, 35-38; xliii, 1-14). The news that Joseph was still alive
and invited him to come to Egypt revived the patriarch, who,
passing through Bersabee, reached Egypt with his sons and
grandchildren (xlv, 25-xlix). There it was given him to meet
Joseph again, to enjoy the honours conferred upon him by Pharaoh,
and to spend prosperously his last days in the land of Gessen.
There, on his death- bed, he foretold the future of fortunes of
the respective descendants of his sons, and passed away at the age
of 147 (xlvi, 29-xlix). According to his last wishes, he was
buried in the land of Chanaan (1, 1-13). Despite the various
difficulties met with in the examination of the Biblical narrative
and dealt with in detail by commentators, it is quite certain that
the history of Jacob is that of a real person whose actual deeds
are recorded with substantial accuracy. Jacob's character is a
mixture of good and evil, gradually chastened by the experience of
a long life, and upon the whole not unworthy of being used by God
for the purpose of His mercy towards the chosen people. The
Talmudic legends concerning Jacob are the acme of fancy.
FRANCIS E. GIGOT
Transcribed by Paul T. Crowley
Dedicated to Mr. Cornelius Crowley
From the Catholic Encyclopedia, copyright � 1913 by the
Encyclopedia Press, Inc. Electronic version copyright � 1996 by
New Advent, Inc.
Taken from the New Advent Web Page (www.knight.org/advent).
This article is part of the Catholic Encyclopedia Project, an
effort aimed at placing the entire Catholic Encyclopedia 1913
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