44 Bible Verses about Jacob, Life And Character Of

The first one was reddish. His skin was like a hairy robe, so he was named Esau. The second one was born holding on tightly to the heel of Esau. He was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when they were born.

Isaac prayed to Jehovah for his wife because she was childless. Jehovah answered his prayer. His wife Rebekah became pregnant. She was going to have twins. Before they were born they struggled against each other in her womb. She said: Why should something like this happen to me? She asked Jehovah for an answer. Jehovah said: Two nations are within you. You will give birth to two rival peoples. One will be stronger than the other. The older will serve the younger.read more.
The time came for her to give birth. She gave birth to twin sons. The first one was reddish. His skin was like a hairy robe, so he was named Esau. The second one was born holding on tightly to the heel of Esau. He was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when they were born.

Esau said: This is the second time that he has cheated me. No wonder his name is Jacob. He took my rights as the firstborn son. Now he has taken my blessing. Have you saved a blessing for me?

One day while Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from hunting. He was hungry. He said to Jacob: I am starving! Give me some of that red stuff. (That is why he was named Edom.) Jacob answered: I will give it to you if you give me your birthright as the firstborn son.read more.
Esau said: All right! I am about to die. What good are rights as firstborn to me? Jacob answered: First make a vow that you will give me your birthright. Esau made the vow and gave his rights as firstborn to Jacob. Jacob gave him some bread and some of the soup. He ate and drank and then got up and left. Esau did not care about his birthright.

Isaac was old and going blind. He called his older son Esau and said to him: Son! Esau answered: Here I am. Isaac said: I am old. I do not know when I will die. Please take your hunting equipment, your quiver and bow, and go out into the open country and hunt some wild game for me.read more.
Prepare a good-tasting meal for me. Prepare it the way I like it. Bring it to me to eat so that I will bless you before I die. Rebekah listened while Isaac was speaking to his son Esau. Esau went into the open country to hunt for some wild game to bring back. Rebekah said to her son Jacob: I have just heard your father speak to your brother Esau. He said: 'Bring me some wild game, and prepare a good-tasting meal for me to eat. Then I will bless you in the presence of Jehovah before I die.' Now listen to me, Son, and do what I tell you. Go to the flock and pick out two fat young goats. I will cook them and make some of that food your father likes so much. You take it to him to eat. Then he will give you his blessing before he dies. Jacob said to his mother: You know that Esau is a hairy man. I have smooth skin. Perhaps my father will touch me and find out that I am deceiving him. That way, I will bring a curse on myself instead of a blessing. His mother replied: Let any curse against you fall on me, my son. Just do as I say, and go and get the goats for me. So Jacob brought the meat to his mother. And she cooked the tasty food that his father liked. Then she took Esau's best clothes and dressed Jacob in them. She also covered the smooth part of his hands and neck with goatskins. She gave her son Jacob the good-tasting meal and the bread she had prepared. He went to his father and said: Father? Yes, he answered. Who are you, Son? Jacob answered: I am your older son Esau. I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of the meat that I brought you. Then you can give me your blessing. Isaac said: How did you find it so quickly, son? Jacob answered: Jehovah your God helped me find it. Isaac said to Jacob: Please come closer. Let me touch you. Are you really Esau? Jacob went closer. His father touched him. He said: You sound like Jacob, but your hands feel hairy like Esau's. So Isaac blessed Jacob, thinking he was Esau. Isaac asked: Are you really my son Esau? Yes, I am, Jacob answered. So Isaac told him: Serve me the wild meat. I can give you my blessing. Jacob gave him some meat, and he ate it. He also gave him some wine, and he drank it. Then his father Isaac said to him: Come close, my son, and kiss me. He came close and kissed him. He smelled the smell of his garments. Then he blessed him and said: See, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field Jehovah has blessed. May God give you of the dew of heaven, the fatness of the earth, and an abundance of grain and new wine. May peoples serve you. And nations bow down to you. Be master of your brothers. And may your mother's sons bow down to you. Cursed be those who curse you. Blessed be those who bless you.

Let no one become immoral or unspiritual like Esau. He sold his birthright for a single meal! Afterward, you know, he wanted to receive (inherit) his father's blessing. He was turned back, because he could not find any way to change what he had done. He was in tears when he looked for it.

Jacob left Beer-sheba and traveled toward Haran. As soon as the sun went down he stopped for the night. He took one of the stones from that place, put it under his head, and lay down there. He had a dream in which he saw a stairway set up on the earth with its top reaching up to heaven. He saw the angels of God going up and coming down on it.read more.
Jehovah was standing above the stairway. He proclaimed: I am Jehovah, the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give the land on which you are lying to you and your descendants. Your descendants will be like the dust on the earth. You will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. Every family on earth will be blessed through you and through your descendants. Remember, I am with you. I will watch over you wherever you go. I will also bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I do what I have promised you.

Jehovah said to Abram: Leave your country, your people, and your father's household, and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you. I will make your name great. You will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you. I will curse whoever curses you. All the people on earth will be blessed through you.

He brought him outside and said: Look toward heaven and count the stars. Are you able to count them? He continued: So shall your descendants be.

May peoples serve you. And nations bow down to you. Be master of your brothers. And may your mother's sons bow down to you. Cursed be those who curse you. Blessed be those who bless you.

Almighty God will bless your marriage and give you many children. You will become the father of many nations! He will bless you and your descendants as he blessed Abraham. You may take possession of this land, in which you have lived and which God gave to Abraham!

God also said: I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and increase in number. A nation and an assembly of nations will come from you. Kings shall come forth from you. The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you. I will give the land to your descendants after you. Then God went up from him at the place where he had spoken with him.

So Esau bore a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him. Esau said to himself: The days of mourning for my father are near. Then I will kill my brother Jacob. When Rebekah heard about Esau's plans to kill Jacob, she called her younger son, Jacob. She said: Your brother Esau is comforting himself by planning to kill you. Go quickly, my son. Run away to my brother Laban in Haran.read more.
Stay with him until your brother's anger cools down. When your brother's anger is gone and he has forgotten what you did to him, I will let you know. Then you may come back. Why should I lose both of you in one day?

Isaac then sent Jacob to stay with Rebekah's brother Laban, the son of Bethuel the Aramean.

Jacob left Beer-sheba and traveled toward Haran. As soon as the sun went down he stopped for the night. He took one of the stones from that place, put it under his head, and lay down there. He had a dream in which he saw a stairway set up on the earth with its top reaching up to heaven. He saw the angels of God going up and coming down on it.read more.
Jehovah was standing above the stairway. He proclaimed: I am Jehovah, the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give the land on which you are lying to you and your descendants. Your descendants will be like the dust on the earth. You will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. Every family on earth will be blessed through you and through your descendants. Remember, I am with you. I will watch over you wherever you go. I will also bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I do what I have promised you. Jacob woke up from his sleep and said: Truly, Jehovah is in this place, and I did not know it! He was filled with reverence. He said: This is an awesome place! Certainly, this is the house of God and the gateway to the heavens! Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had under his head. He set it up as a marker and poured oil on top of it. He named that place Bethel (House of God). Previously, the name of the city was Luz. Jacob made a vow. He said: If God will be with me and will watch over me on my trip and give me food to eat and clothes to wear, and if I return safely to my father's home, then Jehovah will be my God. This stone I placed as a marker will be the house of God. I will certainly give you a tenth of everything you give me.

Isaac called Jacob, blessed him, and told him: Do not marry a Canaanite. Go to Mesopotamia instead, to the home of your grandfather Bethuel. Marry one of the young women there, one of your uncle Laban's daughters.

Laban had two daughters. The older was named Leah and the younger Rachel. Leah had soft eyes and Rachel was shapely and very beautiful. Jacob was in love with Rachel, so he said: I will work seven years for you, if you will let me marry Rachel.read more.
Laban answered: It is better that I give her to you than to anyone else. Stay here with me. Jacob worked seven years for Laban. The time seemed like only a few days, because he loved Rachel so much. Jacob said to Laban: Give me my wife for the time is completed. I want to marry Rachel now! Laban gathered all the men of the place and gave a feast. In the evening when it was dark, he took Leah, his daughter, and gave her to him. Jacob slept with her. Laban gave Zilpah, his servant-girl, to Leah, to be her maid. What have you done to me? Jacob asked Laban: Did I work for you in return for Rachel? Why did you cheat me? Laban answered: It is not our custom to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older one. Finish the week of wedding festivities with this daughter. Then we will give you the other one too. But you will have to work for me another seven years. Jacob did that. He finished the week with Leah. Then Laban gave his daughter Rachel to him as his wife. Laban gave his slave Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her slave. Jacob slept with Rachel too. He loved Rachel more than Leah. So he worked for Laban another seven years.

Jacob responded: You know how much work I have done for you and what has happened to your livestock under my care. The little that you had before I came has grown to a large amount. Jehovah has blessed you wherever I have been. When may I do something for my own family? Laban asked: What should I give you? Jacob answered: Do not give me anything. Instead, do something for me. Then I will go back to taking care of and watching your flocks again.read more.
Let me go through all of your flocks today and take every speckled and spotted sheep, every black lamb, and every spotted and speckled goat. They will be my wages. My honesty will speak for itself whenever you come to check on my wages. Any goat I have that is not speckled or spotted or any lamb that is not black will be considered stolen. Laban answered: I agree; we will do as you have said. Laban took out the striped and spotted male goats, all the speckled and spotted female goats (every one with white on it), and every black lamb. He had his sons take charge of them that same day. They moved away from Jacob with this flock as far as he could travel in three days. Jacob took care of the rest of Laban's flocks. Jacob took green branches of poplar (storax), almond, and plane trees and stripped off some of the bark so that the branches had white stripes on them. He placed these branches in front of the flocks at their drinking troughs. He put them there, because the animals mated when they came to drink. So when the goats bred in front of the branches, they produced young that were streaked, speckled, and spotted. Jacob kept the sheep separate from the goats and made them face in the direction of the streaked and black animals of Laban's flock. In this way he built up his own flock and kept it apart from Laban's. When the strongest of the flock were mating, Jacob would place the rods in the sight of the flock in the gutters, so that they might mate by the rods. When the flock was feeble, he did not put them in. That way the feebler were Laban's and the stronger Jacob's. He became exceedingly prosperous, and had large flocks and female and male servants and camels and donkeys.

Then Jacob sent a message to Rachel and Leah to come out to the open country where his flocks were. He said to them: I have seen that your father's attitude toward me is not as friendly as before. The God of my father has been with me. You both know that I have worked for your father with all my strength.read more.
Yet he has cheated me. He changed my wages ten times. However, God did not let him harm me. When Laban said, 'The speckled goats shall be your wages,' all the flocks produced speckled young. When he said, 'The striped goats shall be your wages,' all the flocks produced striped young. This way God has taken sheep and goats from your father and given them to me.

Jacob heard that Laban's sons were saying: Jacob has taken everything that belonged to our father. He has gained all his wealth from him. He also noticed that Laban did not appear as friendly to him as before. Jehovah said to Jacob: Go back to the land of your ancestors and to your relatives. I will be with you.

Once, when the flocks were mating, I dreamed that all the rams were either spotted or speckled. Then the angel of God said to me in the dream, 'Jacob.' I said, here I am. He said, 'Look up and see, now (please), that all the male goats that are mating are striped, speckled, or spotted, because I have seen everything that Laban is doing to you.read more.
I am the God of Bethel. That is where you anointed a pillar and made a vow to me. Arise and leave this land. Return to the land of your birth.'

Then Jacob was by himself. A man was fighting with him till dawn. The man saw that he was not able to overcome Jacob. He gave him a blow in the hollow part of his thigh, so that his leg was damaged. He said to him: Let me go now, for the dawn is near. But Jacob said: I will not let you go till you have given me your blessing.read more.
Then he asked: What is your name? And he said, Jacob. The man said: Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel (He Struggles With God), because you have struggled with God and with men and you have won. Jacob said: Please tell me your name. The man answered: Why do you ask for my name? Then he blessed Jacob there. Jacob named that place Peniel (Face of God), because he said: I have seen God face to face, yet my life was saved.

God said to Jacob: Go to Bethel and dwell there. Make an altar to God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau. Jacob said to his family and those who were with him: Get rid of the foreign gods that you have. Wash yourselves until you are ritually clean. Change your clothes. After that let us go to Bethel. I will make an altar there to God, who answered me when I was troubled and who has been with me wherever I have gone.read more.
So everyone gave Jacob their idols and their earrings. He buried them under the oak (big) tree near Shechem. Jacob and his family traveled through Canaan. God terrified the people in the towns so much that no one dared bother them.

Jacob saw Esau coming with his four hundred men. Therefore he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two concubines. He put the concubines and their children first, then Leah and her children, and finally Rachel and Joseph at the rear. Jacob went ahead of them. He bowed down to the ground seven times as he approached his brother.read more.
Esau ran to meet him. He threw his arms around him, and kissed him. They both cried. Esau looked around and saw the women and the children. He asked: Who are these people with you? Jacob answered: These are the children whom God has been good enough to give me. Then the concubines came up with their children and bowed down. Leah and her children came next, and last of all Joseph and Rachel came and bowed down. Esau asked: What about that other group I met? What do you mean by all this company? Jacob answered: It was to gain your favor. But, brother, I already have plenty, Esau replied. Keep them for yourself. Jacob said: Please accept these gifts as a sign of your friendship for me. When you welcomed me and I saw your face, it was like seeing the face of God. Take my offering then, with my blessing. God has been very good to me and I have enough. So at his strong request, he took it. Esau said: Let us go on our journey together. I will go in front. Jacob responded: My lord knows that the children are frail and that the flocks and herds that are nursing are a care to me. If they are driven hard one day, all the flocks will die. Please let my lord pass on before his servant. I will proceed at my leisure, according to the pace of the cattle that are before me and according to the pace of the children, until I come to my lord at Seir. Esau said: Please let me leave with you some of the people who are with me. But he said: What need is there? Let me find favor in the sight of my lord. So Esau returned that day on his way to Seir. Jacob moved on to Succoth. He built a house there for himself and made shelters for his livestock. That is why the place is named Succoth.

While Israel lived in that region, Reuben went to bed with his father's concubine Bilhah. Israel heard about it. Jacob had twelve sons. The sons of Leah were Jacob's firstborn Reuben, then Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. The sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin.read more.
The sons of Rachel's slave Bilhah were Dan and Naphtali. The sons of Leah's slave Zilpah were Gad and Asher. These were Jacob's sons, who were born in Paddan-aram.

Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, because she said: Certainly, Jehovah has seen my misery. Now my husband will love me! She became pregnant again and gave birth to another son. She said: Certainly, Jehovah has heard that I am unloved. He has also given me this son. She named him Simeon. She became pregnant again and gave birth to another son. She said: Now at last my husband will become attached to me because I have given him three sons. She named him Levi.read more.
Leah became pregnant again and gave birth to another son. She said: This time I will praise Jehovah. So she named him Judah (Praise). Then she stopped having children.

She said: Here is my maid Bilhah. Sleep with her, so that she can have a child for me. This way I can become a mother through her. Then Rachel let Jacob marry Bilhah. Jacob slept with Bilhah. They had a son.read more.
Rachel named him Dan, because she said: God has answered my prayers. He has vindicated me and given me a son. Bilhah and Jacob had a second son. Rachel said: I have struggled hard with my sister, and I have won! So she named the boy Naphtali. When Leah realized she could not have any more children, she let Jacob marry her servant Zilpah. Leah said: How fortunate. She called him Gad. Leah's slave Zilpah gave birth to her second son for Jacob. Leah said: I am happy, for women will call me blessed. So she named him Asher.

After that they moved from Bethel. When there was still some distance to go to Ephrath, Rachel went into labor. She had severe labor pains. When one of her pains hit, the midwife said: Do not be afraid. You have another son! Rachel was dying! With her last breath she named her son Ben-oni (Son of My Sorrow), but his father named him Benjamin (Son of My Right Hand).

One day Dinah, the daughter of Jacob and Leah, went to visit some of the Canaanite women. Shechem, son of Hamor the Hivite, who was chief of that region, saw her. He grabbed her and raped (sexually defiled) her.

Jacob learned that his daughter had been disgraced. Since his sons were out in the fields with his livestock, he did nothing until they came back.

Jacob (Israel) loved Joseph more than all his sons because Joseph had been born in Israel's old age. So he made Joseph a special multicolored robe with long sleeves. Joseph's brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them. They hated Joseph and could not speak to him in a friendly way.

Then they killed a goat and dipped Joseph's robe in its blood. They took the robe to their father and said: We found this. Does it belong to your son? He recognized it and said: Yes, it is his! Some wild animal has killed him. My son Joseph has been torn to pieces!read more.
Jacob tore his clothes in sorrow and put on sackcloth. He mourned for his son a long time. All his sons and daughters came to comfort him. However, he refused to be comforted. He said: I will go down to the grave still mourning for my son. So he continued to mourn for his son Joseph.

When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons: Why are you doing nothing? He said: I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us from that place, so that we may live and not die. Then ten of Joseph's brothers went to Egypt to buy grain.read more.
Jacob would not send Joseph's brother Benjamin with the other brothers. He was afraid that something would happen to him.

We answered, 'We have a father who is old and a younger brother born to him when he was already old. The boy's brother is dead. He is the only one of his mother's sons left, and his father loves him.'

Joseph got in his chariot and went to Goshen to meet his father. When they met, Joseph threw his arms around his father's neck and cried for a long time. Jacob said to Joseph: Now I am ready to die. Now that I have seen you and know that you are still alive.

Then they told him everything Joseph said. When he saw the wagons Joseph had sent, he felt much better. He said: Now I can believe you! My son Joseph must really be alive. I will get to see him before I die.

Jacob (Israel) packed up everything he owned and left for Egypt. On the way he stopped near the town of Beer-sheba and offered sacrifices to the God his father Isaac had worshiped. That night, God spoke to him and said: Jacob! Jacob! Here I am, Jacob answered. God said: I am God! I am the same God your father worshiped. Do not be afraid to go to Egypt. I will give you so many descendants that one day they will become a nation.read more.
I will go to Egypt with you. I will make sure you come back again. Joseph will close your eyes when you die.

Joseph settled his father and his brothers in Egypt. He gave them property in the best of the land near the city of Rameses. This was as the king had commanded.

By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph. He worshipped while leaning upon the top of his staff.

Jacob blessed Joseph. He said: May God, in whose presence my grandfather Abraham and my father Isaac walked, may this God who has been my shepherd all my life to this very day, May the being who rescued me from all evil bless these boys! May they be called by my name and by the names of my grandfather Abraham and my father Isaac. May they have many children on the earth. Joseph saw that his father had put his right hand on Ephraim's head. Joseph did not like it. So he took his father's hand in order to move it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's.read more.
He said to his father: That is not right, Father! This is the firstborn. Put your right hand on his head. His father refused and said: I know, Son, I know! Manasseh, too, will become a nation. He, too, will be important. Nevertheless, his younger brother will be more important than he. His descendants will become many nations. That day he blessed them. He said: Because of you, Israel will speak this blessing: 'May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh!' In this way Israel put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.

Jacob called for his sons. He said: Gather around, and I will tell you what will happen to you in the future. Come together and listen, sons of Jacob. Listen to your father Israel. Reuben, you are my firstborn; you are my strength and the first child of my manhood. You are the proudest and strongest of all my sons.read more.
You are like a raging flood. But you will not be the most important, for you slept with my concubine. You dishonored your father's bed. Simeon and Levi are brothers. They use their weapons to commit violence. I will not join in their secret talks. I will not take part in their meetings. They killed people in anger. They crippled bulls for sport. A curse is on their anger, because it is so fierce. And a curse is on their fury, because it is so cruel. I will scatter them throughout the land of Israel. I will disperse them among its people. Judah, your brothers will praise you. You hold your enemies by the neck. Your brothers will bow down before you. Judah is like a lion, killing his victim and returning to his den. He is like a lion stretching out and lying down. No one dares disturb him. The royal scepter shall not depart from Judah. His descendants will always rule. Nations will bring him tribute and bow in obedience before him. This, until Shiloh comes and all will obey him. He will tie his donkey to a grapevine, his colt to the best vine. He will wash his clothes in wine, his garments in the blood of grapes. His eyes are darker than wine. His teeth are whiter than milk. Zebulun will live by the coast. He will have ships by the coast. His border will go as far as Sidon. Issachar is a strong donkey, lying down between the saddlebags. When he sees that his resting place is good and that the land is pleasant, he will bend his back to the burden and will become a slave laborer. Dan will judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel. Dan will be a snake on a road, a viper on a path that bites a horse's heels so that its rider falls backwards. I wait with hope for your salvation, O Jehovah. Gad will be attacked by a band of raiders. He will strike back at their heels. Asher's food will be rich. He will provide delicacies fit for a king. Naphtali is a deer set free with beautiful fawns (words). Joseph is a fruitful tree, a fruitful tree by a spring, with branches climbing over a wall. Archers provoked him, shot at him, and harassed him. His bow stayed steady! His arms remained limber because of the help of the Mighty One of Jacob, because of the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, because of the God of your father who helps you, because of the Almighty who blesses you from the heavens above, blessings from the deep springs below the ground, blessings from breasts and womb. The blessings of your father are greater than the blessings of the oldest mountains and the riches of the ancient hills. May these blessings rest on the head of Joseph, on the crown of the prince among his brothers. Benjamin is a ravenous wolf. In the morning and evening he destroys his enemies. These are the twelve tribes of Israel. This is how Jacob blessed each of them.

Jacob lived in Egypt seventeen years, until he was a hundred and forty-seven years old. When the time drew near for him to die, he called for his son Joseph and said to him: Place your hand under my thighs and make a solemn vow that you will not bury me in Egypt. I want to be buried where my fathers are. Carry me out of Egypt and bury me where they are buried. Joseph answered: I will do as you say.

Jacob told his sons: Soon I will die. I want you to bury me in Machpelah Cave. Abraham bought the cave from Ephron the Hittite to use as a burial place. It is near the field of Machpelah. It is also near the town of Mamre in Canaan. Abraham and his wife Sarah are buried there. Isaac and his wife Rebekah are buried there. I also buried Leah there.read more.
The field and the cave in it were bought from the Hittites. Jacob finished giving these instructions to his sons. He pulled his feet into his bed. He took his last breath and joined his ancestors in death.

Then Joseph gave orders to embalm his father's body. It took forty days, which is the normal time for embalming. The Egyptians mourned for him seventy days.