希伯來人牧首（patriarch），以撒（Isaac）之子，亞伯拉罕之孫，以色列人傳統上以他為祖先。其事跡記載于〈創世記〉。他是以掃（Esau）的孿生弟弟，雅各以欺騙的手法，從父親那里獲得祝福和以掃的長子名分（birthright）。在一次前往迦南的旅途中，他跟一位天使搏斗了一整晚，最后這位天使賜福給他，并把他的名字改為以色列。雅各共有十三個子女，其中十個創立了以色列支派。他最寵愛的兒子約瑟（Joseph），被兄長們賣到埃及當奴隸，但后來一場饑荒迫使約瑟的兄長們到埃及尋找糧食，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.