Jacob: Lives in the Land of Canaan
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Jacob, the son of Isaac and Rebekah, and the twin brother of Esau, is a central patriarchal figure in the biblical narrative. His life and experiences are foundational to the history of Israel, as he is the father of the twelve tribes. Jacob's life in the land of Canaan is marked by divine encounters, familial challenges, and the unfolding of God's covenant promises.

Return to Canaan

After spending twenty years in Paddan-aram with his uncle Laban, Jacob returns to Canaan, the land promised to his grandfather Abraham and his father Isaac. This return is significant as it marks the continuation of God's covenantal promise to give the land to Jacob's descendants. Genesis 31:3 records God's command to Jacob: "Return to the land of your fathers and to your kindred, and I will be with you" . This divine instruction underscores the importance of Canaan as the land of promise.

Encounter with Esau

Upon his return, Jacob faces the daunting prospect of meeting his brother Esau, from whom he had fled years earlier due to the threat of violence. In Genesis 32, Jacob prepares for this encounter with great trepidation, seeking God's protection and favor. His prayer in Genesis 32:9-12 reflects his reliance on God's promises and his acknowledgment of God's past faithfulness. The subsequent reconciliation with Esau in Genesis 33 is a testament to God's providence and Jacob's transformation.

Settling in Canaan

Jacob's life in Canaan is marked by both prosperity and trials. He settles in Shechem, where his daughter Dinah is violated, leading to a violent retaliation by his sons Simeon and Levi (Genesis 34). This incident highlights the moral and social challenges Jacob faces in Canaan. Despite these difficulties, God reaffirms His covenant with Jacob, changing his name to Israel and reiterating the promise of land and descendants (Genesis 35:9-12).

Family Dynamics

Jacob's family life in Canaan is complex, with tensions among his sons, particularly regarding Joseph, his favored son. The jealousy and strife culminate in Joseph being sold into slavery by his brothers (Genesis 37). This act sets in motion a series of events that will eventually lead to the preservation of Jacob's family during a severe famine, as Joseph rises to power in Egypt.

Divine Encounters

Throughout his time in Canaan, Jacob experiences significant divine encounters that shape his faith and destiny. One of the most notable is his wrestling with God at Peniel, where he receives a new name, Israel, symbolizing his struggle and prevailing with God (Genesis 32:24-30). This encounter signifies a turning point in Jacob's spiritual journey, emphasizing his role as the bearer of God's covenant.

Legacy in Canaan

Jacob's life in Canaan concludes with his migration to Egypt during the famine, at the invitation of his son Joseph. Before leaving, God reassures Jacob of His continued presence and promises to bring his descendants back to Canaan (Genesis 46:3-4). Jacob's time in Canaan, therefore, serves as a crucial period in the unfolding of God's redemptive plan, laying the groundwork for the future nation of Israel.

Jacob's experiences in Canaan reflect the complexities of faith, obedience, and the fulfillment of divine promises. His life is a testament to God's faithfulness and the enduring significance of the land of Canaan in the biblical narrative.
Nave's Topical Index
Genesis 37:1
And Jacob dwelled in the land wherein his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan.
Nave's Topical Index

Library

The Testing of Joseph's Brothers
... So the sons of Jacob went with others to buy grain ... brothers, the sons of one father
in the land of Canaan ... you shall be tested: as sure as Pharaoh lives you shall ...
/.../sherman/the childrens bible/the testing of josephs brothers.htm

Jacob-Wrestling
... And that is the second lesson out of Jacob at the ... lesson, namely: that there are
seasons in our lives when true ... Let a long journey then"by land or sea"at ...
//christianbookshelf.org/whyte/lord teach us to pray/iv jacob-wrestling.htm

Jacob and Doubting Souls --A Parallel
... you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a ... be the greatest joy of
all to old Jacob; and this ... your beasts, and so, get you unto the land of Canaan ...
/.../spurgeons sermons volume 42 1896/jacob and doubting soulsa parallel.htm

Joseph --The Savior of his People.
... Thou hast saved our lives.". He afterwards visited his father, and Jacob made him
promise that he ... in the tomb of Abraham and Isaac, his father, in his own land. ...
/.../lathbury/childs story of the bible/chapter viii josephthe savior of.htm

The Story of Joseph and his Coat of Many Colors
... all the more dear to his father, now that Joseph was no longer with him; and Jacob
feared that ... We are the sons of one man, who lives in the land of Canaan ...
/.../marshall/the wonder book of bible stories/the story of joseph and.htm

Growth by Transplanting
... in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses ... it work the same estrangement, if
we would live noble lives. ... To Jacob's eyes his days seem 'few.' Abraham's one ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture k/growth by transplanting.htm

Coming In
... never said to any of the seed of Jacob, Seek ye ... the land is 'evil and naughty,' but
this land we shall ... the sand and never reach the sea, all lives which flow ...
//christianbookshelf.org/maclaren/expositions of holy scripture k/coming in.htm

Chapter xlii
... rightly indicates that such an attitude on Jacob's part is ... are everyday occurrences
even in the lives of God's ... came; for the famine was in the land of Canaan. ...
/...//christianbookshelf.org/leupold/exposition of genesis volume 1/chapter xlii.htm

Chapter xlvii
... reached the days of the years of the lives of my ... Again upon leaving Jacob, the man
of God, bestows a blessing ... the land of Egypt as well as the land of Canaan ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/leupold/exposition of genesis volume 1/chapter xlvii.htm

The Blessing and the Curse.
... their simple forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, wandering with ... The land is ours,
not God's; the houses are ... or after recollecting our own lives"the less ...
/.../kingsley/westminster sermons/sermon xxiv the blessing and.htm

Resources
Why is Jacob called Jacob and Israel alternately in the book of Genesis? | GotQuestions.org

What is the meaning of Jacob wrestling with God? | GotQuestions.org

What was the story of Jacob and Esau? | GotQuestions.org

Jacob: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

Bible ConcordanceBible DictionaryBible EncyclopediaTopical BibleBible Thesuarus
Subtopics

Iconoclasm: Destroyed by Jacob

Jacob

Jacob: 40 Days Mourning For

Jacob: Ancestor of Jesus

Jacob: Body of, Embalmed

Jacob: Burial of

Jacob: Changed to "Israel"

Jacob: Charges his Sons to Bury Him in the Field of Machpelah

Jacob: Death of

Jacob: Deborah, Rebekah's Nurse, Dies, and is Buried at Beth-El

Jacob: Descendants of

Jacob: Dissatisfied With Laban's Treatment and Returns to the Land of Canaan

Jacob: Dreads to Meet Esau; Sends Him Presents; Wrestles With an Angel

Jacob: Erects a Monument at Rachel's Grave

Jacob: Esau Seeks to Kill, Escapes to Padan-Aram

Jacob: Exacts a Promise from Joseph to Bury Him With his Forefathers

Jacob: Fradulently Obtains his Father's Blessing

Jacob: Given in Answer to Prayer

Jacob: Gives the Land of the Amorites to Joseph

Jacob: God Confirms the Covenant of Abraham To

Jacob: Hears That Joseph is Still Alive

Jacob: His Benediction Upon Joseph and his Two Sons

Jacob: His Daughter, Dinah, is Raped

Jacob: His Final Prophetic Benedictions Upon his Sons: Asher

Jacob: His Final Prophetic Benedictions Upon his Sons: Benjamin

Jacob: His Final Prophetic Benedictions Upon his Sons: Dan

Jacob: His Final Prophetic Benedictions Upon his Sons: Gad

Jacob: His Final Prophetic Benedictions Upon his Sons: Issachar

Jacob: His Final Prophetic Benedictions Upon his Sons: Joseph

Jacob: His Final Prophetic Benedictions Upon his Sons: Judah

Jacob: His Final Prophetic Benedictions Upon his Sons: Naphtali

Jacob: His Final Prophetic Benedictions Upon his Sons: Simeon and Levi

Jacob: His Final Prophetic Benedictions Upon his Sons: Upon Reuben

Jacob: His Final Prophetic Benedictions Upon his Sons: Zebulun

Jacob: His Grief Over the Detention of Simeon and the Demand for Benjamin to be Taken Into Egypt

Jacob: His Grief Over the Loss of Joseph

Jacob: His Love for Benjamin

Jacob: His Partiality for his Son, Joseph, and the Consequent Jealousy of his Other Sons

Jacob: His Vision of the Ladder

Jacob: His Wealth

Jacob: Joseph's Prophetic Dream Concerning

Jacob: Journeys to Ephrath

Jacob: Journeys to Shalem, where he Purchase a Parcel of Ground from Hamor and Erects an Altar

Jacob: Journeys to Succoth

Jacob: List of the Names of his Twelve Sons

Jacob: Lives in Egypt for Seventeen Years

Jacob: Lives in the Land of Canaan

Jacob: Meets Angels of God on the Journey, and Calls the Place "Mahanaim"

Jacob: Meets Joseph

Jacob: Moves to Egypt

Jacob: Obtains Esau's Birthright for Just One Bowl of Stew

Jacob: Pharaoh Receives Him, and is Blessed by Jacob

Jacob: Prophecies Concerning Himself and his Descendants

Jacob: Reconciliation of, With Esau

Jacob: Returns to Arbah, the City of his Father

Jacob: Returns to Beth-El, where he Builds an Altar, and Erects and Dedicates a Pillar

Jacob: Sends to Egypt to Buy Corn (Grain)

Jacob: Serves Fourteen Years for Leah and Rachel

Jacob: Sharp Practice of, With the Flocks and Herds of Laban

Jacob: Sojourns in Haran With his Uncle, Laban

Jacob: Son of Isaac, and the Twin Brother of Esau

Jacob: The Incest of his Son, Reuben, With his Concubine, Bilhah

Jacob: The Land of Goshen Assigned To

Jacob: The List of his Children and Grandchildren Who Went Down Into Egypt

Jacob: The Well of

Jacobs Well

Miscegenation: Jacob

Related Terms

Jacob's (34 Occurrences)

Paddan-aram (10 Occurrences)

Sychar (1 Occurrence)

Paddan (11 Occurrences)

Padanaram (10 Occurrences)

Padan-aram (10 Occurrences)

Bilhah (11 Occurrences)

Aram (130 Occurrences)

Hamor (13 Occurrences)

Birthright (10 Occurrences)

Blesseth (55 Occurrences)

Zilpah (7 Occurrences)

Patriarch (2 Occurrences)

Begat (112 Occurrences)

Shalem (1 Occurrence)

Beareth (108 Occurrences)

Kinsmen (74 Occurrences)

Birth-right (9 Occurrences)

Setteth (116 Occurrences)

Sojourned (20 Occurrences)

Souls (114 Occurrences)

Kissed (26 Occurrences)

Primogeniture

Betwixt (16 Occurrences)

Answereth (144 Occurrences)

Aramaean (13 Occurrences)

Aramean (17 Occurrences)

Syrian (12 Occurrences)

Succoth (18 Occurrences)

Bethel (67 Occurrences)

Pillar (72 Occurrences)

Benjamin (167 Occurrences)

Bare (250 Occurrences)

Shechem (61 Occurrences)

Calleth (261 Occurrences)

Saving (37 Occurrences)

Simeon (48 Occurrences)

Kiss (39 Occurrences)

Security (41 Occurrences)

Homeland (8 Occurrences)

Beersheba (33 Occurrences)

Asher (43 Occurrences)

Kissing (10 Occurrences)

Selah (76 Occurrences)

Pursued (75 Occurrences)

Pottage (7 Occurrences)

Pitched (101 Occurrences)

Peniel (4 Occurrences)

Peradventure (35 Occurrences)

Beth-el (65 Occurrences)

Beer-sheba (33 Occurrences)

Camped (100 Occurrences)

Conceiveth (27 Occurrences)

Acquired (32 Occurrences)

Seventeen (12 Occurrences)

Soup (10 Occurrences)

Sixty (70 Occurrences)

Stew (7 Occurrences)

Sepulchre (57 Occurrences)

Sweareth (34 Occurrences)

Slept (74 Occurrences)

Sister's (7 Occurrences)

Vision (106 Occurrences)

Animals (224 Occurrences)

Sware (90 Occurrences)

Se'ir (36 Occurrences)

Younger (39 Occurrences)

Buried (125 Occurrences)

Conceived (66 Occurrences)

Bore (221 Occurrences)

Almond (7 Occurrences)

Slay (189 Occurrences)

Six (198 Occurrences)

Arts (48 Occurrences)

Hebron (71 Occurrences)

Peoples (305 Occurrences)

Stayed (169 Occurrences)

Swore (109 Occurrences)

Jacob: Lives in Egypt for Seventeen Years
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