Jacob: The Journey from Jacob to Israel

Jacob, the grandson of Abraham and the second-born son of Isaac, becomes the father of the twelve tribes of Israel. Even though Jacob’s faith shines through the Genesis narratives, yet his life is a narrative of conflict, one in which he always seems to be running from someone or something – such as from his brother Esau, his wife’s brother Laban, or from the famine in Canaan. Thus, his life was often peppered with rebellion, one in which he escaped from one situation only to find himself in another trial.