希伯来人牧首（patriarch），以撒（Isaac）之子，亚伯拉罕之孙，以色列人传统上以他为祖先。其事迹记载于〈创世记〉。他是以扫（Esau）的孪生弟弟，雅各以欺骗的手法，从父亲那里获得祝福和以扫的长子名分（birthright）。在一次前往迦南的旅途中，他跟一位天使搏斗了一整晚，最后这位天使赐福给他，并把他的名字改为以色列。雅各共有十三个子女，其中十个创立了以色列支派。他最宠爱的儿子约瑟（Joseph），被兄长们卖到埃及当奴隶，但后来一场饥荒迫使约瑟的兄长们到埃及寻找粮食，家族因而重聚。

Hebrew patriarch, son of Isaac and grandson of Abraham, and the
traditional ancestor of the people of Israel. His story is told in the Book of
Genesis. The younger twin brother of Esau, he used trickery to gain Isaac's
blessing and Esau's birthright. On a journey to Canaan he wrestled all night
with an angel, who blessed him and gave him the name Israel. Jacob had 13
children, 10 of whom founded tribes of Israel. His favorite son, Joseph, was
sold into slavery in Egypt by his brothers, but the family was later reunited
when a famine forced the brothers to go to Egypt to seek grain.

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