Jacob

Jacob was born grasping his twin brother Esau's heel, and his name means 'he grasps the heel' or 'deceiver.' From birth, the twins were rivals, and God declared that the older would serve the younger. Esau became a skillful hunter while Jacob was quiet and stayed among the tents. Isaac favored Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob more.

Jacob first demonstrated his cunning when Esau returned from hunting famished. Jacob offered bread and lentil stew in exchange for Esau's birthright as the firstborn. Esau, caring little for his spiritual inheritance, agreed. Later, when Isaac was old and nearly blind, Rebekah helped Jacob deceive his father into giving him the blessing meant for Esau. Disguised as his hairy brother, Jacob received the irrevocable blessing of the firstborn.

When Esau threatened to kill Jacob, Rebekah sent him to her brother Laban in Haran. On the journey, Jacob had a dream at Bethel of a ladder reaching to heaven with angels ascending and descending. God appeared and confirmed the covenant promises made to Abraham and Isaac, promising to be with Jacob and bring him back to this land. Jacob vowed that if God protected him, the Lord would be his God.

In Haran, Jacob fell in love with Rachel, Laban's younger daughter. He agreed to work seven years for her hand in marriage. Yet on the wedding night, Laban deceived Jacob by substituting Leah, the older daughter. Jacob had to work another seven years for Rachel. The deceiver had been deceived, and Jacob experienced the pain his own trickery had caused others.

Jacob had twelve sons—six by Leah, two by Rachel, two by Leah's servant Zilpah, and two by Rachel's servant Bilhah. These sons became the fathers of the twelve tribes of Israel. Though he loved Rachel more than Leah, God blessed Leah with children while Rachel remained barren for many years. Eventually, God remembered Rachel and she bore Joseph and later Benjamin, dying in childbirth with the latter.

After twenty years, God told Jacob to return to Canaan. He left secretly with his family and possessions, and Laban pursued him. God protected Jacob, warning Laban in a dream. The two made a covenant of peace, and Jacob continued toward home, terrified of meeting Esau. The night before the encounter, Jacob wrestled with a man until daybreak. When the man couldn't overpower Jacob, he touched Jacob's hip and wrenched it. Jacob demanded a blessing and the man renamed him Israel, 'because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.' This encounter transformed Jacob from a deceiver to one who had prevailed with God. When he met Esau, they reconciled peacefully, and Jacob settled in Canaan where God confirmed the covenant promises and the name Israel.