I. Name

Jacob son of Isaac is the eponym of the bĕnê yaʿăqôb (Gen. 34.7, Gen. 13; Gen. 35.5; Ps. 77.16), more frequently called bêt yaʿăqôb. He became the most colourful and revered ancestor of the early Israelite confederation. The name Jacob is most probably a hypocoristicon of Jacob-El frequently found in Mesopotamia from the early second millennium bce onwards (Freedman 1963:125–126; de Vaux 1971:192–193) and also carried by a 16th dynasty Hyksos-ruler (de Vaux 1971:193 and n. 85, see however…