2,207 related texts · 56 related myths · Page 2 of 46
"Your name shall no more be called Jacob, but Israel." Targum Pseudo-Jonathan adds a line the plain text only implies (Genesis 32:29): the new name was given "because you are magni...
"And the sun rose upon him before his time." Targum Pseudo-Jonathan (Genesis 32:32) preserves one of the tenderest details in the whole Jacob cycle: the sun itself rearranged its s...
The chapter opens with Jacob finishing his seven years of service to Laban, all for the hand of Rachel. The wedding day arrives, a feast is prepared, and everyone gathers to celebr...
The Bible tells us that Jacob was "greatly enraged." And can you blame him? He confronted Laban, his uncle and father-in-law, accusing him of treachery. "Why didst thou deal treach...
Tonight, It centers on Jacob, later known as Israel, and a pivotal dream he had while resting his head on a rather unusual pillow. The story goes that Jacob, in his travels, took t...
Our ancestor Jacob knew that feeling well. He was a man on the run, with a destiny he couldn’t fully grasp. Let's rewind a bit. Jacob, fleeing from his brother Esau's wrath, finds ...
The story of Jacob's ladder in Genesis 28 is one of the most famous visions in all of scripture, a ladder reaching to heaven, angels ascending and descending. But the Targum Jonath...
Bereshit Rabbah turns to Jacob Anoints the Stone Pillar with Heavenly Oil. We find ourselves in (Genesis 28:18). Jacob, after his famous dream of the ladder stretching to heaven, w...
You remember the story. Jacob, madly in love with Rachel, agrees to work for her father, Laban, for seven long years to earn her hand in marriage. But Laban, that sly trickster, sw...
The ancient rabbis pondered such a moment, centered on our patriarch, Jacob, and a vision of a ladder reaching to the heavens. The scene is set in Genesis, where Jacob dreams of a ...
Jacob's vow at Bethel is, in the plain Torah text, a conditional prayer: if God keeps me and feeds me, then the Lord will be my God (Genesis 28:20–21). The Targum Pseudo-Jonathan r...
When Jacob arrived in Haran after his kefitzat ha-derekh, the folding of the road, he came to a well in a field (Genesis 29:2). Three flocks of sheep lay beside it, and a great sto...
Jakob told his wives what their father had done during the twenty years of his service. If now he said, The streaked shall be thy wages, all the sheep bare streaked; and if now he ...
It's a passage that, The first reading, but whispers volumes about love, labor, and divine intervention in the lives of Jacob, Leah, and Rachel. "And he gave to Rachel Bilhah, the ...
Laban, his father-in-law, is off shearing sheep – a detail that might seem trivial, but remember, in those days, that was a big deal, a whole event. And Jacob? He senses a shift. H...
That sense of, "Which way do I go?" That's precisely where we find Jacob in the Book of Jubilees, chapter 44. He's facing a dilemma of epic proportions. His son, Joseph, is a power...
Jacob certainly did when dealing with Laban. Can you blame him? Laban wasn’t exactly known for his straightforward dealings. We pick up the story of Jacob from Ginzberg's Legends o...
Our story today takes us back to Jacob, and his daring escape from his father-in-law, Laban. Jacob, after years of laboring for Laban, felt it was time to return to his homeland. H...
The trickster uncle. Father to both Leah and Rachel, Jacob's wives. And in this story, he's about to confront Jacob in a big way. Jacob has finally left Laban's house, after years ...
The Talmudic Sages certainly did, and they taught some beautiful stories that explore this idea. One of the most moving involves our matriarch, RACHEL. Imagine the scene: Jacob, tr...
The sages pondered this question deeply, and stories like this one from Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer (chapter 36) offer a glimpse into the intricate workings of Providence. Rab Huna tell...
Bereshit Rabbah turns to Rachel — Jacob at the Dawn of Creation. The verse in Genesis (29:18) tells us, "Jacob loved Rachel, and he said: I will work for you seven years for Rachel...
In (Genesis 31:43), after Jacob decides to leave Laban and return to his homeland, Laban confronts him, saying, "The girls are my daughters, and the boys are my sons, and the flock...
Rivekah had only just finished her story, gold still on her hand, when her brother Laban moved. The Torah's text is brief, but Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Genesis 24:30) notices the...
The second twin emerged differently. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Genesis 25:26) gives the detail plainly: "Afterward came forth his brother, and his hand had hold on the heel of Esa...
The verse is plain, and the Targum Pseudo-Jonathan keeps it that way. "Arise, go to Padan of Aram, to the house of Bethuel thy mother's father, and take thee from thence a wife fro...
Before Jacob left Beersheba for Haran, Isaac did something that could not be undone. He transferred the blessing of Abraham, the promise of land, seed, and covenant, from father to...
The Torah says only that Jacob left Beersheba and went toward Haran (Genesis 28:10). The Targum Pseudo-Jonathan refuses to let the sentence stay that quiet. It unpacks the day into...
The promise to Jacob at Bethel scales. From a single man sleeping on stones, the Word of God opens outward: sons as many as the dust, spreading west, east, north, and south (Genesi...
The Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Genesis 28:15) renders a line that changes how you read Jacob's exile. God does not merely promise Jacob that He will be with him. God says: My Word ...
The Torah says Jacob's anger burned against Rachel (Genesis 30:2). The Targum Pseudo-Jonathan keeps the heat of the verb. The anger of Jakob was strong against Rahel. Why was he an...
There is an old phrase Jakob quietly used against his father-in-law: the Lord hath blessed thee at my foot. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan preserves it exactly (Genesis 30:30). The little ...
The offer Jakob put on the table sounded like a bad deal on purpose. I will pass through thy whole flock today, he said to Laban, and will set apart every lamb streaked and spotted...
The moment the deal was struck, Laban moved fast. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan describes him that same day separating out every goat marked on its feet, every spotted one, every one with...
Laban did not just separate the flocks. He placed three days of walking between them, a buffer wide enough that no marked goat could wander home by accident, no hopeful lamb could ...
As the marked lambs began to appear, Jakob did not mix them back in. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan is precise: he set them apart, placed them in front of the remaining flocks, and then qu...
Between Laban's hot pursuit and his morning confrontation, something happened in a dream that the plain Hebrew text only hints at. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan makes it vivid: an angel c...
Laban went tent by tent. First Jakob's, then Leah's, then the tents of the two concubines. Nothing. And he went out from the tent of Leah, and entered the tent of Rahel (Genesis 31...
Cornered, Laban made the last argument of a man who cannot let go. The children whom thou hast received of thy wives are my children, and the children whom they may bear will be re...
Jacob was a strategist, and Targum Pseudo-Jonathan preserves the tactical cleverness of his gift to Esau (Genesis 32:17). He did not send one large herd. He sent flock after flock,...
That feeling, that very human emotion, is at the heart of our story today, straight from the Book of Jubilees. Remember Jacob? He of the ladder dream and the trickster uncle? Well,...
Our scene opens with Jacob, newly blessed and carrying the weight of his future. He ascends to Bethel, a place already heavy with significance – the very spot where he had that ear...
The Book of Jasher, an ancient Hebrew text referenced in the Bible itself (Joshua 10:13 and (2 Samuel 1:1)8), fills in some fascinating details. Jacob, now on the run toward Haran,...
Book of Jasher turns to Jacob Returns to Bethel and Builds an Altar. Even in this sacred space, life keeps happening. She's buried beneath an oak tree near Bethel. Then, a heavy bl...
Legends of the Jews (Ginzberg) turns to Jacob With Laban. Apparently, the locals were shocked by such displays of affection, and they criticized Jacob for it. According to Ginzberg...
He finds a group of shepherds just standing there, killing time. "Why aren't you watering your sheep?" he asks, a little puzzled. "Are you day laborers? It's early to stop working....
After fleeing his brother Esau’s wrath, Jacob found himself in Haran, and his eyes landed on Rachel. It was love at first sight. According to Legends of the Jews, Jacob, upon seein...
The story of how she found a way forward, a way to reclaim her dignity, is a powerful one. Remember Jacob, the son of Isaac? He was tricked into marrying Leah, even though he loved...
