The son of Isaac and Rebecca, third great patriarch of the chosen people, and the immediate ancestor of the twelve tribes of Israel. He secured through a ruse the blessing which Isaac intended for Esau, and thus was confirmed Jacob's possession of the birthright, his struggle for which had begun before his birth. He fled to Haran, the dwelling place of Laban, his maternal uncle, serving 14 years for Laban's daughter Rachel. He finally departed secretly for Chanaan. After stopping at Bethel and Ephrata (Genesis 35), he came to Hebron where he dwelt quietly, leaving it only to rejoin his son Joseph in Egypt, and to spend his last days in the land of Gessen.