Definition

1. Proper noun:
   • Biblical patriarch: In the Old Testament, Jacob is the son of Isaac and Rebekah, the younger twin brother of Esau, and the father of the twelve founders of the twelve tribes of Israel. He is notable for wrestling with a divine being and receiving the name Israel.
   • Surname of a notable scientist: François Jacob was a French biologist and Nobel laureate who made significant contributions to understanding genetic regulation.

Usage Examples

• Proper noun (Biblical):
  • The story of Jacob and Esau is a foundational narrative in Genesis.
  • Jacob's dream of a ladder to heaven is a famous biblical episode.
• Proper noun (Surname):
  • The work of Jacob and Monod was pivotal in molecular biology.
  • François Jacob shared the 1965 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

Advanced Usage

• "Jacob's Ladder": A term originating from the biblical story, now used as the name for a plant species (), a type of electrical discharge, and a metaphorical reference to a connection between earth and heaven.
  • The hiker saw a beautiful patch of Jacob's Ladder growing on the hillside.
• "Jacobite": A supporter of the deposed King James II of England and his descendants in the 17th and 18th centuries. This is a derived term from the name , the Latin form of James/Jacob.
  • The Jacobite risings were a series of rebellions in Great Britain and Ireland.

Variants and Related Words

• Jacobian (adj/noun): In mathematics, relating to or denoting a determinant whose elements are the partial derivatives of a set of functions with respect to a set of variables. Derived from the surname of mathematician Carl Gustav Jacob Jacobi.
  • Calculating the Jacobian matrix is essential for this transformation.
• Jacobean (adj): Pertaining to the period of the reign of James I of England (Latin: ), especially in architecture and drama.
  • Shakespeare wrote many of his later plays during the Jacobean era.

Synonyms

• Israel (specifically for the biblical figure after his name was changed).
• Patriarch (a general term for a founding biblical father, which includes Jacob).

Related Phrases

• To wrestle like Jacob: A phrase alluding to a prolonged, determined struggle, often with a spiritual or moral dimension.
  • He spent the night in prayer, wrestling like Jacob with his doubts.

Related Idioms

• "To sell one's birthright for a mess of pottage": This idiom originates from the story where Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for a meal of lentil stew (pottage). It means to trade something of great value for a momentary or trivial gain.
  • By dropping out of school for a quick job, he felt he had sold his birthright for a mess of pottage.

Noun

1. (Old Testament) son of Isaac; brother of Esau; father of the twelve patriarchs of Israel; Jacob wrestled with God and forced God to bless him, so God gave Jacob the new name of Israel (meaning `one who has been strong against God')
2. French biochemist who (with Jacques Monod) studied regulatory processes in cells (born in 1920)