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jacob

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jacob


  5  definitions  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Jacob  \Ja"cob\,  n.  [Cf.  F.  Jacob.  See  2d  {Jack}.] 
  A  Hebrew  patriarch  (son  of  Isaac,  and  ancestor  of  the  Jews), 
  who  in  a  vision  saw  a  ladder  reaching  up  to  heaven  (--Gen. 
  xxviii.  12);  --  also  called  {Israel}. 
 
  And  Jacob  said  .  .  .  with  my  staff  I  passed  over  this 
  Jordan,  and  now  I  am  become  two  bands.  --Gen.  xxxii 
  9,  10. 
 
  Thy  name  shall  be  called  no  more  Jacob,  but  Israel. 
  --Gen.  xxxii 
  28. 
 
  {Jacob's  ladder}. 
  a  (Bot.)  A  perennial  herb  of  the  genus  {Polemonium}  ({P. 
  c[oe]ruleum),  having  corymbs  of  drooping  flowers,  usually 
  blue.  Gray}. 
  b  (Naut.)  A  rope  ladder,  with  wooden  steps,  for  going 
  aloft.  --R.  H.  Dana,  Jr 
  c  (Naut.)  A  succession  of  short  cracks  in  a  defective  spar. 
 
 
  {Jacob's  membrane}.  See  {Retina}. 
 
  {Jacob's  staff}. 
  a  A  name  given  to  many  forms  of  staff  or  weapon,  especially 
  in  the  Middle  Ages;  a  pilgrim's  staff.  [Obs.]  --Spenser. 
  b  (Surveying)  See  under  {Staff}. 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  Jacob 
  n  :  (Old  Testament)  son  of  Isaac;  brother  of  Esau;  father  of  the 
  twelve  patriarchs  of  Israel;  Jacob  wrestled  with  God  and 
  forced  God  to  bless  him  so  God  gave  Jacob  the  new  name 
  of  Israel  (meaning  `one  who  has  been  strong  against  God') 
  [syn:  {Jacob}] 
 
  From  U.S.  Gazetteer  (1990)  [gazetteer]: 
 
  Jacob,  IL 
  Zip  code(s):  62950 
 
  From  Easton's  1897  Bible  Dictionary  [easton]: 
 
  Jacob 
  one  who  follows  on  another's  heels;  supplanter,  (Gen.  25:26; 
  27:36;  Hos.  12:2-4),  the  second  born  of  the  twin  sons  of  Isaac 
  by  Rebekah.  He  was  born  probably  at  Lahai-roi,  when  his  father 
  was  fifty-nine  and  Abraham  one  hundred  and  fifty-nine  years  old 
  Like  his  father,  he  was  of  a  quiet  and  gentle  disposition,  and 
  when  he  grew  up  followed  the  life  of  a  shepherd,  while  his 
  brother  Esau  became  an  enterprising  hunter.  His  dealing  with 
  Esau,  however,  showed  much  mean  selfishness  and  cunning  (Gen. 
  25:29-34). 
 
  When  Isaac  was  about  160  years  of  age,  Jacob  and  his  mother 
  conspired  to  deceive  the  aged  patriarch  (Gen.  27),  with  the  view 
  of  procuring  the  transfer  of  the  birthright  to  himself.  The 
  birthright  secured  to  him  who  possessed  it  (1)  superior  rank  in 
  his  family  (Gen.  49:3);  (2)  a  double  portion  of  the  paternal 
  inheritance  (Deut.  21:17);  (3)  the  priestly  office  in  the  family 
  (Num.  8:17-19);  and  (4)  the  promise  of  the  Seed  in  which  all 
  nations  of  the  earth  were  to  be  blessed  (Gen.  22:18). 
 
  Soon  after  his  acquisition  of  his  father's  blessing  (Gen.  27), 
  Jacob  became  conscious  of  his  guilt;  and  afraid  of  the  anger  of 
  Esau,  at  the  suggestion  of  Rebekah  Isaac  sent  him  away  to  Haran, 
  400  miles  or  more  to  find  a  wife  among  his  cousins,  the  family 
  of  Laban,  the  Syrian  (28).  There  he  met  with  Rachel  (29).  Laban 
  would  not  consent  to  give  him  his  daughter  in  marriage  till  he 
  had  served  seven  years;  but  to  Jacob  these  years  "seemed  but  a 
  few  days,  for  the  love  he  had  to  her."  But  when  the  seven  years 
  were  expired,  Laban  craftily  deceived  Jacob,  and  gave  him  his 
  daughter  Leah.  Other  seven  years  of  service  had  to  be  completed 
  probably  before  he  obtained  the  beloved  Rachel.  But  "life-long 
  sorrow,  disgrace,  and  trials,  in  the  retributive  providence  of 
  God,  followed  as  a  consequence  of  this  double  union." 
 
  At  the  close  of  the  fourteen  years  of  service,  Jacob  desired 
  to  return  to  his  parents,  but  at  the  entreaty  of  Laban  he 
  tarried  yet  six  years  with  him  tending  his  flocks  (31:41).  He 
  then  set  out  with  his  family  and  property  "to  go  to  Isaac  his 
  father  in  the  land  of  Canaan"  (Gen.  31).  Laban  was  angry  when  he 
  heard  that  Jacob  had  set  out  on  his  journey,  and  pursued  after 
  him  overtaking  him  in  seven  days.  The  meeting  was  of  a  painful 
  kind  After  much  recrimination  and  reproach  directed  against 
  Jacob,  Laban  is  at  length  pacified,  and  taking  an  affectionate 
  farewell  of  his  daughters,  returns  to  his  home  in  Padanaram.  And 
  now  all  connection  of  the  Israelites  with  Mesopotamia  is  at  an 
  end 
 
  Soon  after  parting  with  Laban  he  is  met  by  a  company  of 
  angels,  as  if  to  greet  him  on  his  return  and  welcome  him  back  to 
  the  Land  of  Promise  (32:1,  2).  He  called  the  name  of  the  place 
  Mahanaim,  i.e.,  "the  double  camp,"  probably  his  own  camp  and 
  that  of  the  angels.  The  vision  of  angels  was  the  counterpart  of 
  that  he  had  formerly  seen  at  Bethel,  when  twenty  years  before 
  the  weary,  solitary  traveller,  on  his  way  to  Padan-aram,  saw  the 
  angels  of  God  ascending  and  descending  on  the  ladder  whose  top 
  reached  to  heaven  (28:12). 
 
  He  now  hears  with  dismay  of  the  approach  of  his  brother  Esau 
  with  a  band  of  400  men  to  meet  him  In  great  agony  of  mind  he 
  prepares  for  the  worst.  He  feels  that  he  must  now  depend  only  on 
  God,  and  he  betakes  himself  to  him  in  earnest  prayer,  and  sends 
  on  before  him  a  munificent  present  to  Esau,  "a  present  to  my 
  lord  Esau  from  thy  servant  Jacob."  Jacob's  family  were  then 
  transported  across  the  Jabbok;  but  he  himself  remained  behind, 
  spending  the  night  in  communion  with  God.  While  thus  engaged, 
  there  appeared  one  in  the  form  of  a  man  who  wrestled  with  him 
  In  this  mysterious  contest  Jacob  prevailed,  and  as  a  memorial  of 
  it  his  name  was  changed  to  Israel  (wrestler  with  God);  and  the 
  place  where  this  occured  he  called  Peniel,  "for",  said  he  "I 
  have  seen  God  face  to  face,  and  my  life  is  preserved" 
  (32:25-31). 
 
  After  this  anxious  night,  Jacob  went  on  his  way  halting, 
  mysteriously  weakened  by  the  conflict,  but  strong  in  the 
  assurance  of  the  divine  favour.  Esau  came  forth  and  met  him  but 
  his  spirit  of  revenge  was  appeased,  and  the  brothers  met  as 
  friends,  and  during  the  remainder  of  their  lives  they  maintained 
  friendly  relations.  After  a  brief  sojourn  at  Succoth,  Jacob 
  moved  forward  and  pitched  his  tent  near  Shechem  (q.v.),  33:18; 
  but  at  length,  under  divine  directions,  he  moved  to  Bethel, 
  where  he  made  an  altar  unto  God  (35:6,7),  and  where  God  appeared 
  to  him  and  renewed  the  Abrahamic  covenant.  While  journeying  from 
  Bethel  to  Ephrath  (the  Canaanitish  name  of  Bethlehem),  Rachel 
  died  in  giving  birth  to  her  second  son  Benjamin  (35:16-20), 
  fifteen  or  sixteen  years  after  the  birth  of  Joseph.  He  then 
  reached  the  old  family  residence  at  Mamre,  to  wait  on  the  dying 
  bed  of  his  father  Isaac.  The  complete  reconciliation  between 
  Esau  and  Jacob  was  shown  by  their  uniting  in  the  burial  of  the 
  patriarch  (35:27-29). 
 
  Jacob  was  soon  after  this  deeply  grieved  by  the  loss  of  his 
  beloved  son  Joseph  through  the  jealousy  of  his  brothers  (37:33). 
  Then  follows  the  story  of  the  famine,  and  the  successive  goings 
  down  into  Egypt  to  buy  corn  (42),  which  led  to  the  discovery  of 
  the  long-lost  Joseph,  and  the  patriarch's  going  down  with  all 
  his  household,  numbering  about  seventy  souls  (Ex.  1:5;  Deut. 
  10:22;  Acts  7:14),  to  sojourn  in  the  land  of  Goshen.  Here  Jacob, 
  "after  being  strangely  tossed  about  on  a  very  rough  ocean,  found 
  at  last  a  tranquil  harbour,  where  all  the  best  affections  of  his 
  nature  were  gently  exercised  and  largely  unfolded"  (Gen.  48).  At 
  length  the  end  of  his  checkered  course  draws  nigh,  and  he 
  summons  his  sons  to  his  bedside  that  he  may  bless  them  Among 
  his  last  words  he  repeats  the  story  of  Rachel's  death,  although 
  forty  years  had  passed  away  since  that  event  took  place  as 
  tenderly  as  if  it  had  happened  only  yesterday;  and  when  "he  had 
  made  an  end  of  charging  his  sons,  he  gathered  up  his  feet  into 
  the  bed,  and  yielded  up  the  ghost"  (49:33).  His  body  was 
  embalmed  and  carried  with  great  pomp  into  the  land  of  Canaan, 
  and  buried  beside  his  wife  Leah  in  the  cave  of  Machpelah, 
  according  to  his  dying  charge.  There  probably,  his  embalmed 
  body  remains  to  this  day  (50:1-13).  (See  {HEBRON}.) 
 
  The  history  of  Jacob  is  referred  to  by  the  prophets  Hosea 
  (12:3,  4,  12)  and  Malachi  (1:2).  In  Micah  1:5  the  name  is  a 
  poetic  synonym  for  Israel,  the  kingdom  of  the  ten  tribes.  There 
  are  besides  the  mention  of  his  name  along  with  those  of  the 
  other  patriarchs,  distinct  references  to  events  of  his  life  in 
  Paul's  epistles  (Rom.  9:11-13;  Heb.  12:16;  11:21).  See 
  references  to  his  vision  at  Bethel  and  his  possession  of  land  at 
  Shechem  in  John  1:51;  4:5,  12;  also  to  the  famine  which  was  the 
  occasion  of  his  going  down  into  Egypt  in  Acts  7:12  (See  LUZ 
  ¯T0002335;  {BETHEL}.) 
 
 
  From  Hitchcock's  Bible  Names  Dictionary  (late  1800's)  [hitchcock]: 
 
  Jacob,  that  supplants,  undermines;  the  heel 
 




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