Jacob Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ==Etymology== According to the [[folk etymology]] found in [[Book of Genesis|Genesis]] 25:26, the name {{lang|he-Latn|Yaʿaqōv}} {{lang|he|יעקב|rtl=yes}} is derived from {{lang|he-Latn|ʿaqev}} {{lang|he|עָקֵב|rtl=yes}} "heel", as Jacob was born grasping the heel of his twin brother [[Esau]].<ref>{{lang|he|יָדֹו אֹחֶזֶת בַּעֲקֵב עֵשָׂו|rtl=yes}} ([[KJV]]: "and his hand took hold on Esau's heel"). ''[[Strong's Concordance]]'' [https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H6119&t=WLC H6119].</ref><ref name="FreedmanMyers2000">{{cite book|author1=David Noel Freedman|author2=Allen C. Myers|title=Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qRtUqxkB7wkC&pg=PA666|date=31 December 2000|publisher=Amsterdam University Press|isbn=978-90-5356-503-2|page=666}}</ref> The historical origin of the name is uncertain, although similar names have been recorded. {{lang|he-Latn|[[Yaqub-Har]]}} is recorded as a place name in a list by [[Thutmose III]] (15th century BC), and later as the ''nomen'' of a [[Hyksos]] pharaoh. The hieroglyphs are ambiguous, and can be read as "Yaqub-Har", "Yaqubaal", or "Yaqub El". The same name is recorded earlier still, in {{circa|1800 BC}}, in cuneiform inscriptions (spelled ''ya-ah-qu-ub-el'', ''ya-qu-ub-el'').<ref>Victor P. Hamilton, ''The Book of Genesis, Chapters 18-50'' (1995), [https://books.google.com/books?id=zlQ4chBCC5oC&pg=PA179 p. 179].</ref> The suggestion that the personal name may be shortened from this compound name, which would translate to "may [[El (god)|El]] protect", originates with Bright (1960).<ref>Jonathan Z. Smith, ''Map is Not Territory: Studies in the History of Religions'', University of Chicago Press (1978), [https://books.google.com/books?id=a8Vvzr7SeuwC&pg=PA33 p. 33].</ref> Previously, scholars had tended to find the more straightforward meaning of Yaqub-El, "Jacob is god."<ref>Wm M F Petrie, pg 38 Palestine and Israel, 1934. Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.</ref> The name ''Israel'' given to Jacob following the episode of his [[Jacob wrestling with the angel|wrestling with the angel]] (Genesis 32:22–32) is etymologized as composition of {{lang|he|אֵל|rtl=yes}} ''[[El (god)|el]]'' "god" and the root {{lang|he|שָׂרָה|rtl=yes}} ''śarah'' "to rule, contend, have power, prevail over":<ref>{{lang|he|שָׂרָה|rtl=yes}} ''śarah'' "to contend, have power, contend with, persist, exert oneself, persevere" (''[[Strong's Concordance]]'' [https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?strongs=H8323&t=KJV H8323]); {{lang|he|שָׂרַר|rtl=yes}} ''śarar'' "to be or act as prince, rule, contend, have power, prevail over, reign, govern" (''[[Strong's Concordance]]'' [https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H8280&t=KJV h8280])</ref> {{lang|he|שָׂרִיתָ עִם־אֱלֹהִים |rtl=yes}} ([[KJV]]: "a prince hast thou power with [[Elohim|God]]"); alternatively, the ''el'' can be read as the subject, for a translation of "El rules/contends/struggles".<ref>"The Jewish Study Bible" of [[Oxford University Press]] (p. 68=) "The scientific etymology of ''Israel'' is uncertain, a good guess being '[The God] El rules.'"[http://www.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/Bibles/StudyBibles/TanakhJewishversion/~~/dmlldz11c2EmY2k9OTc4MDE5NTI5NzUxNQ==]</ref> The [[Septuagint]] renders the name ''Iákobos'' ({{lang-grc|Ἰάκωβος}}), whence Latin {{lang|la|Jacobus}}, English ''Jacob''. Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page