Jacob

Passages on this topic

From Nave’s Topical Bible (1896), a historical reference index. The groupings are Nave’s; the verses are shown in the text used across this site.

Son of Isaac, and the twin brother of Esau

• Genesis 25:24–26 When her time came to give birth, there were indeed twins in her womb. The first one came out red, covered with hair like a fur coat; so they named him Esau. After this, his brother came out grasping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob. And Isaac was sixty years old when the twins were born.
• Joshua 24:4 and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I gave Esau Mount Seir to possess, but Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt.
• 1 Chronicles 1:34 Abraham was the father of Isaac. The sons of Isaac: Esau and Israel.
• Acts 7:8 Then God gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision, and Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day. And Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs.

Ancestor of Jesus

• Matthew 1:2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.

Given in answer to prayer

• Genesis 25:21 Later, Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was barren. And the LORD heard his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived.

Obtains Esau's birthright for just one bowl of stew

• Genesis 25:29–34 One day, while Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the field and was famished. He said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am famished.” (That is why he was also called Edom.) “First sell me your birthright,” Jacob replied. “Look,” said Esau, “I am about to die, so what go…
• Hebrews 12:16 See to it that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his birthright.

Fradulently obtains his father's blessing

• Genesis 27:1–29 When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could no longer see, he called his older son Esau and said to him, “My son.” “Here I am,” Esau replied. “Look,” said Isaac, “I am now old, and I do not know the day of my death. Take your weapons — your quiver and bow — and go out into the field…
• Hebrews 11:20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning the future.

Esau seeks to kill, escapes to Padan-aram

• Genesis 27:41–46 Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. And Esau said in his heart, “The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then I will kill my brother Jacob.” When the words of her older son Esau were relayed to Rebekah, she sent for her younger son Jacob and to…
• Genesis 28:1–5 So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. “Do not take a wife from the Canaanite women,” he commanded. “Go at once to Paddan-aram, to the house of your mother’s father Bethuel, and take a wife from among the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother. May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitfu…
• Hosea 12:12 Jacob fled to the land of Aram and Israel worked for a wife — for a wife he tended sheep.

His vision of the ladder

• Genesis 28:10–22 Meanwhile Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran. On reaching a certain place, he spent the night there because the sun had set. And taking one of the stones from that place, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. And Jacob had a dream about a ladder that rested on the earth with its t…

God confirms the covenant of Abraham to

• Genesis 28:13–22 And there at the top the LORD was standing and saying, “I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you now lie. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and east and north…
• Genesis 35:9–15 After Jacob had returned from Paddan-aram, God appeared to him again and blessed him. And God said to him, “Though your name is Jacob, you will no longer be called Jacob. Instead, your name will be Israel.” So God named him Israel. And God told him, “I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply. A n…
• 1 Chronicles 16:13–18 O offspring of His servant Israel, O sons of Jacob, His chosen ones. He is the LORD our God; His judgments carry throughout the earth. Remember His covenant forever, the word He ordained for a thousand generations— the covenant He made with Abraham, and the oath He swore to Isaac. He confirmed it t…

Sojourns in Haran with his uncle, Laban

• Genesis 29:30 Jacob slept with Rachel as well, and indeed, he loved Rachel more than Leah. So he worked for Laban another seven years.
• Hosea 12:12 Jacob fled to the land of Aram and Israel worked for a wife — for a wife he tended sheep.

Serves fourteen years for Leah and Rachel

• Genesis 29:15–30 Laban said to him, “Just because you are my relative, should you work for nothing? Tell me what your wages should be.” Now Laban had two daughters; the older was named Leah, and the younger was named Rachel. Leah had weak eyes, but Rachel was shapely and beautiful. Since Jacob loved Rachel, he answ…
• Hosea 12:12 Jacob fled to the land of Aram and Israel worked for a wife — for a wife he tended sheep.

Sharp practice of, with the flocks and herds of Laban

• Genesis 30:32–43 Let me go through all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb, and every spotted or speckled goat. These will be my wages. So my honesty will testify for me when you come to check on my wages in the future. If I have any goats that are not spe…

Dissatisfied with Laban's treatment and returns to the land of Canaan

• Genesis 31 Now Jacob heard that Laban’s sons were saying, “Jacob has taken away all that belonged to our father and built all this wealth at our father’s expense.” And Jacob saw from the countenance of Laban that his attitude toward him had changed. Then the LORD said to Jacob, “Go back to the land of your fa… (whole chapter)

Meets angels of God on the journey, and calls the place "Mahanaim,"

• Genesis 32:1–2 Jacob also went on his way, and the angels of God met him. When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is the camp of God.” So he named that place Mahanaim.

Dreads to meet Esau; sends him presents; wrestles with an angel

• Genesis 32 Jacob also went on his way, and the angels of God met him. When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is the camp of God.” So he named that place Mahanaim. Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom. He instructed them, “You are to say to my master Esau… (whole chapter)

Name of, changed to "Israel,"

• Genesis 32:28 Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men, and you have prevailed.”
• Genesis 35:10 And God said to him, “Though your name is Jacob, you will no longer be called Jacob. Instead, your name will be Israel.” So God named him Israel.

Reconciliation of, with Esau

• Genesis 33:4 Esau, however, ran to him and embraced him, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him. And they both wept.

Journeys to Succoth

• Genesis 33:17 but Jacob went on to Succoth, where he built a house for himself and shelters for his livestock; that is why the place was called Succoth.

Journeys to Shalem, where he purchase a parcel of ground from Hamor and erects an altar

• Genesis 33:18–20 After Jacob had come from Paddan-aram, he arrived safely at the city of Shechem in the land of Canaan, and he camped just outside the city. And the plot of ground where he pitched his tent, he purchased from the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for a hundred pieces of silver. There he set up an alt…

His daughter, Dinah, is raped

• Genesis 34 Now Dinah, the daughter Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the daughters of the land. When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the region, saw her, he took her and lay with her by force. And his soul was drawn to Dinah, the daughter of Jacob. He loved the young girl and spoke to… (whole chapter)

Returns to Beth-el, where he builds an altar, and erects and dedicates a pillar

• Genesis 35:1–7 Then God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel, and settle there. Build an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.” So Jacob told his household and all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods that are among you. Purify yourselves and change your gar…

Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, dies, and is buried at Beth-el

• Genesis 35:8 Now Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died and was buried under the oak below Bethel. So Jacob named it Allon-bacuth.

Journeys to Ephrath; Benjamin is born to; Rachel dies; and is "buried on the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem,"

• Genesis 35:16–19 Later, they set out from Bethel, and while they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth, and her labor was difficult. During her severe labor, the midwife said to her, “Do not be afraid, for you are having another son.” And with her last breath— for she was dying— she name…
• Genesis 48:7 Now as for me, when I was returning from Paddan, to my sorrow Rachel died along the way in the land of Canaan, some distance from Ephrath. So I buried her there beside the road to Ephrath” (that is, Bethlehem).

Erects a monument at Rachel's grave

• Genesis 35:20 Jacob set up a pillar on her grave; it marks Rachel’s tomb to this day.

The incest of his son, Reuben, with his concubine, Bilhah

• Genesis 35:22 While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went in and slept with his father’s concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard about it. Jacob had twelve sons:

List of the names of his twelve sons

• Genesis 35:23–26 The sons of Leah were Reuben the firstborn of Jacob, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. The sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin. The sons of Rachel’s maidservant Bilhah were Dan and Naphtali. And the sons of Leah’s maidservant Zilpah were Gad and Asher. These are the sons of Jacob, who…

Returns to Arbah, the city of his father

• Genesis 35:27 Jacob returned to his father Isaac at Mamre, near Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had stayed.

Lives in the land of Canaan

• Genesis 37:1 Now Jacob lived in the land where his father had resided, the land of Canaan.

His partiality for his son, Joseph, and the consequent jealousy of his other sons

• Genesis 37:3–4 Now Israel loved Joseph more than his other sons, because Joseph had been born to him in his old age; so he made him a robe of many colors. When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.

Joseph's prophetic dream concerning

• Genesis 37:9–11 Then Joseph had another dream and told it to his brothers. “Look,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” He told his father and brothers, but his father rebuked him and said, “What is this dream that you have had? Will your mother an…

His grief over the loss of Joseph

• Genesis 37:34–35 Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth around his waist, and mourned for his son many days. All his sons and daughters tried to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. “No, ” he said. “I will go down to Sheol mourning for my son.” So his father wept for him.

Sends to Egypt to buy corn (grain)

• Genesis 42:1–2 When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why are you staring at one another?” “Look,” he added, “I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us, so that we may live and not die.”
• Genesis 43:1–14 Now the famine was still severe in the land. So when Jacob’s sons had eaten all the grain they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, “Go back and buy us a little more food.” But Judah replied, “The man solemnly warned us, ‘You will not see my face again unless your brother is with you.’

His grief over the detention of Simeon and the demand for Benjamin to be taken into Egypt

• Genesis 42:36 Their father Jacob said to them, “You have deprived me of my sons. Joseph is gone and Simeon is no more. Now you want to take Benjamin. Everything is going against me!”

His love for Benjamin

• Genesis 43:14 May God Almighty grant you mercy before the man, that he may release your other brother along with Benjamin. As for me, if I am bereaved, I am bereaved.”
• Genesis 44:29 Now if you also take this one from me and harm comes to him, you will bring my gray hair down to Sheol in sorrow.’

Hears that Joseph is still alive

• Genesis 45:26–28 “Joseph is still alive,” they said, “and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt!” But Jacob was stunned, for he did not believe them. However, when they relayed all that Joseph had told them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him back, the spirit of their father Jacob was rev…

Moves to Egypt

• Genesis 46:1–7 So Israel set out with all that he had, and when he came to Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. And that night God spoke to Israel in a vision: “Jacob, Jacob!” He said. “Here I am,” replied Jacob. “I am God,” He said, “the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down…
• 1 Samuel 12:8 When Jacob went to Egypt, your fathers cried out to the LORD, and He sent them Moses and Aaron, who brought your fathers out of Egypt and settled them in this place.
• Psalm 105:23 Then Israel entered Egypt; Jacob dwelt in the land of Ham.
• Acts 7:14–15 Then Joseph sent for his father Jacob and all his relatives, seventy-five in all. So Jacob went down to Egypt, where he and our fathers died.

The list of his children and grandchildren who went down into Egypt

• Genesis 46:8–27 Now these are the names of the sons of Israel (Jacob and his descendants) who went to Egypt: Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn. The sons of Reuben: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. The sons of Simeon: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman. The sons of Levi: Gershon, Ko…

Meets Joseph

• Genesis 46:28–34 Now Jacob had sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to get directions to Goshen. When Jacob’s family arrived in the land of Goshen, Joseph prepared his chariot and went there to meet his father Israel. Joseph presented himself to him, embraced him, and wept profusely. Then Israel said to Joseph, “Final…

Pharaoh receives him, and is blessed by Jacob

• Genesis 47:1–10 So Joseph went and told Pharaoh: “My father and my brothers, with their flocks and herds and all they own, have come from the land of Canaan and are now in Goshen.” And he chose five of his brothers and presented them before Pharaoh. “What is your occupation?” Pharaoh asked Joseph’s brothers.

The land of Goshen assigned to

• Genesis 47:11–12 So Joseph settled his father and brothers in the land of Egypt and gave them property in the best part of the land, the district of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded. Joseph also provided his father and brothers and all his father’s household with food for their families.
• Genesis 47:27 Now the Israelites settled in the land of Egypt, in the region of Goshen. They acquired property there and became fruitful and increased greatly in number.

Lives in Egypt for seventeen years

• Genesis 47:28 And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years, and the length of his life was 147 years.

Exacts a promise from Joseph to bury him with his forefathers

• Genesis 47:29–31 When the time drew near for Israel to die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes, put your hand under my thigh and promise to show me kindness and faithfulness. Do not bury me in Egypt, but when I lie down with my fathers, carry me out of Egypt and bury me wi…

His benediction upon Joseph and his two sons

• Genesis 48:15–22 Then he blessed Joseph and said: “May the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day, the angel who has redeemed me from all harm— may He bless these boys. And may they be called by my name and the names of my fathers Abraham and Is…

Gives the land of the Amorites to Joseph

• Genesis 48:22 And to you, as one who is above your brothers, I give the ridge of land that I took from the Amorites with my sword and bow.”
• John 4:5 So He came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.

His final prophetic benedictions upon his sons

Upon Reuben

• Genesis 49:3–4 Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, excelling in honor, excelling in power. Uncontrolled as the waters, you will no longer excel, because you went up to your father’s bed, onto my couch, and defiled it.

Simeon and Levi

• Genesis 49:5–7 Simeon and Levi are brothers; their swords are weapons of violence. May I never enter their council; may I never join their assembly. For they kill men in their anger, and hamstring oxen on a whim. Cursed be their anger, for it is strong, and their wrath, for it is cruel! I will disperse them in Ja…

Judah

• Genesis 49:8–12 Judah, your brothers shall praise you. Your hand shall be on the necks of your enemies; your father’s sons shall bow down to you. Judah is a young lion— my son, you return from the prey. Like a lion he crouches and lies down; like a lioness, who dares to rouse him? The scepter will not depart from…

Zebulun

• Genesis 49:13 Zebulun shall dwell by the seashore and become a harbor for ships; his border shall extend to Sidon.

Issachar

• Genesis 49:14–15 Issachar is a strong donkey, lying down between the sheepfolds. He saw that his resting place was good and that his land was pleasant, so he bent his shoulder to the burden and submitted to labor as a servant.

Dan

• Genesis 49:16–18 Dan shall provide justice for his people as one of the tribes of Israel. He will be a snake by the road, a viper in the path that bites the horse’s heels so that its rider tumbles backward. I await Your salvation, O LORD.

Gad

• Genesis 49:19 Gad will be attacked by raiders, but he will attack their heels.

Asher

• Genesis 49:20 Asher’s food will be rich; he shall provide royal delicacies.

Naphtali

• Genesis 49:21 Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns.

Joseph

• Genesis 49:22–26 Joseph is a fruitful vine— a fruitful vine by a spring, whose branches scale the wall. The archers attacked him with bitterness; they aimed at him in hostility. Yet he steadied his bow, and his strong arms were tempered by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, in the name of the Shepherd, the Rock…

Benjamin

• Genesis 49:27 Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he devours the prey, in the evening he divides the plunder.”

Charges his sons to bury him in the field of Machpelah

• Genesis 49:29–30 Then Jacob instructed them, “I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite. The cave is in the field of Machpelah near Mamre, in the land of Canaan. This is the field Abraham purchased from Ephron the Hittite as a burial site.

Death of

• Genesis 49:33 When Jacob had finished instructing his sons, he pulled his feet into the bed and breathed his last, and he was gathered to his people.

Body of, embalmed

• Genesis 50:2 And Joseph directed the physicians in his service to embalm his father Israel. So they embalmed him,

40 Days mourning for

• Genesis 50:3 taking the forty days required to complete the embalming. And the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days.

Burial of

• Genesis 50:4–13 When the days of mourning had passed, Joseph said to Pharaoh’s court, “If I have found favor in your eyes, please tell Pharaoh that my father made me swear an oath when he said, ‘I am about to die. You must bury me in the tomb that I dug for myself in the land of Canaan.’ Now let me go and bury my…

Descendants of

• Genesis 29:31–35 When the LORD saw that Leah was unloved, He opened her womb; but Rachel was barren. And Leah conceived and gave birth to a son, and she named him Reuben, for she said, “The LORD has seen my affliction. Surely my husband will love me now.” Again she conceived and gave birth to a son, and she said, “…
• Genesis 30:1–24 When Rachel saw that she was not bearing any children for Jacob, she envied her sister. “Give me children, or I will die!” she said to Jacob. Jacob became angry with Rachel and said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld children from you?” Then she said, “Here is my maidservant Bilhah. Sleep…
• Genesis 35:18 And with her last breath— for she was dying— she named vvv him Ben-oni. But his father called him Benjamin.
• Genesis 35:22–26 While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went in and slept with his father’s concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard about it. Jacob had twelve sons: The sons of Leah were Reuben the firstborn of Jacob, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. The sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin. The so…
• Genesis 46:8–27 Now these are the names of the sons of Israel (Jacob and his descendants) who went to Egypt: Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn. The sons of Reuben: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. The sons of Simeon: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman. The sons of Levi: Gershon, Ko…
• Exodus 1:1–5 These are the names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt with Jacob, each with his family: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah; Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin; Dan and Naphtali; Gad and Asher. The descendants of Jacob numbered seventy in all, including Joseph, who was already in Egypt.
• 1 Chronicles 2:9 The sons who were born to Hezron: Jerahmeel, Ram, and Caleb.

Prophecies concerning himself and his descendants

• Genesis 25:23 and He declared to her: “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.”
• Genesis 27:28–29 May God give to you the dew of heaven and the richness of the earth — an abundance of grain and new wine. May peoples serve you and nations bow down to you. May you be the master of your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed, and those who bles…
• Genesis 28:10–15 Meanwhile Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran. On reaching a certain place, he spent the night there because the sun had set. And taking one of the stones from that place, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. And Jacob had a dream about a ladder that rested on the earth with its t…
• Genesis 31:3 Then the LORD said to Jacob, “Go back to the land of your fathers and to your kindred, and I will be with you.”
• Genesis 35:9–13 After Jacob had returned from Paddan-aram, God appeared to him again and blessed him. And God said to him, “Though your name is Jacob, you will no longer be called Jacob. Instead, your name will be Israel.” So God named him Israel. And God told him, “I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply. A n…
• Genesis 46:3 “I am God,” He said, “the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there.
• Deuteronomy 1:8 See, I have placed the land before you. Enter and possess the land that the LORD swore He would give to your fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to their descendants after them.”
• Psalm 105:10–11 He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, to Israel as an everlasting covenant: “I will give you the land of Canaan as the portion of your inheritance.”

His wealth

• Genesis 36:6–7 Later, Esau took his wives and sons and daughters and all the people of his household, along with his livestock, all his other animals, and all the property he had acquired in Canaan, and he moved to a land far away from his brother Jacob. For their possessions were too great for them to dwell toge…

The well of

• John 4:5–30 So He came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Since Jacob’s well was there, Jesus, weary from His journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour. When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Give Me a dri…