Overview
The Jacob Cycle - Part 1
The part of the Bible where Jacob is largely the main character is called the “Jacob Cycle” in Biblical scholarship. It’s a series of stories recorded in Genesis 25-36 that revolve around the life of Jacob, the son of Isaac and Rebekah, and the grandson of Abraham and Sarah. This post explores the Biblical context of these stories and touches on their overarching structure.
Context in Genesis
Before Adam and Eve are exiled from the garden of Eden, God foretells of the conflict between the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman. Although there would be a struggle, the seed of the woman would ultimately win. Who the seeds of the serpent and woman are isn’t revealed (the serpent, walking and talking, seemed a lot like a human, after all;) the rest of the Bible tells the story. 1
The seed of the woman is the image bearer of God and carries the blessed commission to be fruitful and multiply and rule over creation. Genesis compares and contrasts this chosen seed and the seed of the snake in sections bounded by the phrase “These are the generations.”2
“These are the generations”
The phrase “these are e generations” occurs 11 times in Genesis, 10 of which introduce a family story or genealogy. The Hebrew word translated “generations” (ESV) is toledot. These toledot units are linked into larger groupings by the word “and” (Hebrew waw.)3 Many English Bible translations hide the “and.”
| Theme | toledot | Verses |
|---|---|---|
| Mission | Heavens and earth | Genesis 2:4-4:26 |
| Fall | Adam | Genesis 5:1-6:8 |
| Rescue | Noah | Genesis 6:9-9:29 |
| and Noah's sons | Genesis 10:1-11:9 | |
| Call | Shem | Genesis 11:10-11:26 |
| and Terah | Genesis 11:27-25:11 | |
| and Ishmael | Genesis 25:12-18 | |
| and Isaac | Genesis 25:19-35:29 | |
| and Esau (x2) | Genesis 36:1-8, 36:9-37:1 | |
| Crown | Jacob | Genesis 37:2-50:26 |
While this isn’t the only way to view the structure of Genesis, it’s helpful for understanding the the context of The Jacob Cycle in the book. The life of Jacob is narrated in the toledot of Isaac, which is within a larger toledot chain whose theme is the sustained hope of God rescuing humanity through Abraham’s family, descended from Shem, called from Ur in Mesopotamia.
Historical context
The Jacob story is likely comprised of very old oral traditions that were passed down through history.4 However, there are several things that point to a later date for its final form that we have in the Bible, including parallels with Babylonian literary works and the view of Edom as a threatening nation. It’s likely that it was shaped after Babylon annexed Judah before the rise of the Persian empire.
This is significant for our understanding of the story. It helps explain some peculiarities such as why Laban is described as an Aramean (Genesis 25:20) and why Jacob has a vision of a ziggurat (Genesis 28:12.) More importantly, it frames the entire narrative in the context of exile and the desire to return to the land promised by God to Israel. Therefore, the Jacob Cycle holds multiple historical exiles in tension: Jacob’s exile in Haran, Israel’s exile in Egypt, and Judah’s exile in Babylon. This is done to transcend the concept of exile beyond these historical events and teach people of all times the spiritual truths behind them. Humanity is exiled from Eden and needs God’s intervention to rescue it. The Jacob Cycle, as with the rest of the Bible, points to the one who leads humans back to God: Jesus the Messiah.
Contemporary relevance
What relevance is the Jacob story today? Episodes of the Jacob Cycle are popular in children’s Bible classes, so they may be viewed as elementary in the minds of many. However, when taken seriously and deeply considered, the stories in Genesis provide rich teaching.
Jacob’s story is ours
Jacob’s story illustrates our own: through our failure to love God and others, we have been exiled from His presence. Like Jacob, we cannot return by our own strength—without God’s help and blessing, we are lost. But Jesus, through His death and resurrection, is leading us back home.
17 …conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, 18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.
–1 Peter 1:17–19 (ESV)
The history of salvation is a story of exile and return. Jacob’s journey—from deception and exile to reconciliation and blessing—foreshadows the greater redemption accomplished in Christ. His story helps us understand our own, showing that just as God was faithful to bring Jacob home, He is faithful to bring us back to Himself through Jesus.
Heirs of the promise
In Galatians 3, Paul tries to prove the superiority of faith in Christ over adherence to the Torah/law and call the Galatians back to their spiritual anchor in Christ.
7 Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. 23 Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. 24 So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. 25But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, 26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.
–Galatians 3:7, 23-29 (ESV)
Paul says that Christians been made heirs of the promise to Abraham and God’s blessing through Christ. This means there’s something to learn from the lives of those who carried this blessing in the past and their relationship with God. Romans 11:17-18 reminds Christians that they’ve been grafted into the tree and it’s not they who supports the root, but the root that supports them. The story of Jacob is the story about the foundation and formation of the root that is Israel.
The invincibility of God’s plan
The Jacob story illustrates the invincibility of God’s plan to rescue humanity. The people in the story are constantly grasping for what they want at the expense of others. The narrative makes it clear that such actions are unnecessary and harmful, but God works through and in spite of the grasping to advance the salvation plan. For those who’ve wondered if God can save them or if what they’ve done will cause God to give up on them, this story can help correct the misconception that there are limits to God’s ability and desire to save.
The source of blessing
Blessing is a major theme in the story of the life of Jacob. Who can bless and the limits of blessing are explored through the characters’ interactions with each other and God. While conceptually one might agree that God’s ability to bless is unbounded, it’s easy to fall into the same scarcity mindset that the characters of the story do: “If someone else receives a blessing, that means I don’t get it.” The Jacob story challenges the idea that God’s blessing is limited.
Structure
The main sections of the story of the Jacob Cycle form a chiasm. A chiasm is a literary device where a sequence leads toward a middle point and then is repeated in reverse order. This results in a sentence, poem, or story comprised of two halves which are mirror images of each other. The middle of a chiasm is the turning point and often the main or most important part of the sequence.
Structure of the Jacob Cycle5
| A. Beginnings - Genesis 25:19-34 |
| B. Isaac and the Philistines - Genesis 26:1-33 |
| C. Jacob steals Esau’s blessing - Genesis 26:34-28:9 |
| D. Messengers at Bethel - Genesis 28:10-22 |
| E. Jacob arrives at Laban’s house - Genesis 29:1-14 |
| F. Laban outwits Jacob - Genesis 29:15-30 |
| G. The birth of Jacob’s children - Genesis 29:31-30:24 |
| F’. Jacob outwits Laban - Genesis 30:25-43 |
| E’. Jacob leaves Laban - Genesis 31:1-31:55 |
| D’. Messengers at Mahanaim - Genesis 32:1-21 |
| C’. Jacob returns Esau’s blessing - Genesis 32:22-33:20 |
| B.’ Jacob and the Hivites - Genesis 34:1-31 |
| A.’ Journey’s end - Genesis 35:1-29 |
Each episode also replays some or all of the themes presented in Genesis 1-11.6
- Creation/blessing
- Deception
- Curse
- Division
- Exile
- Violence
- De-creation
After de-creation events, the situation is resolved through rescue/recreation and the cycle begins again.
Bibliography
DeRouchie, “The Blessing-Commission, the Promised Offspring, and the Toledot Structure of Genesis,” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 56, no. 2 (2013): 219-247.
Mackie, Tim. “Session 2: The Thematic Melody of Genesis 1-9,” The BibleProject Classroom: Jacob. Published 2021. https://bibleproject.com/classroom/jacob/notebook/teacher-notes.
Mackie, Tim. “Session 4: The Birth of Esau and Jacob,” The BibleProject Classroom: Jacob. Published 2021. https://bibleproject.com/classroom/jacob/notebook/teacher-notes.
Mazar, Amihay. Archaeology of the Land of the Bible, 10,000-586 B.C.E. Yale University Press, 1992.
Na’aman, Nadav, “The Jacob Story and the Formation of Biblical Israel,” Tel Aviv 41, no. 1 (2014): 95-125.
Sailhamer, John H. Genesis. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary. E-book ed. Zondervan Academic, 2017.
Wenham, Gordon John. Genesis 16-50, Volume 2. World Biblical Commentary. E-book ed. Zondervan Academic, 2017.