jacob

And Jacob my father slew Beelesath, king of all the kings, a giant in strength, twelve cubits high.

And Jacob smote Esau with an arrow, and he was taken up wounded on Mount Seir, and as he went he died at Anoniram.

Moreover, wine revealeth the mysteries of God and men, even as I also revealed the commandments of God and the mysteries of Jacob my father to the Canaanitish woman Bathshua, which God bade me not to reveal.

For I never caused grief to Jacob, my father; for all things whatsoever he commanded I did.

And Isaac, the father of my father, blessed me to be king in Israel, and Jacob further blessed me in like manner.

For the angel of the Lord said unto me: The Lord chose him rather than thee, to draw near to Him, and to eat of His table and to offer Him the first-fruits of the choice things of the sons of Israel; but thou shalt be king of Jacob.

Until the appearing of the God of righteousness, that Jacob, and all the Gentiles may rest in peace.

And after these things shall a star arise to you from Jacob in peace,

And after these things shall Abraham and Isaac and Jacob arise unto life; and I and my brethren shall be chiefs of the tribes of Israel:

And the harts of Jacob shall run in joyfulness, and the eagles of Israel shall fly in gladness; and all the people shall glorify the Lord for ever.

I was born the fifth son to Jacob, by way of hire for the mandrakes.

For the Lord hath despised me, and I have not borne children to Jacob.

And Rachel said to her: Thou shalt have Jacob this night for the mandrakes of thy son,

And Leah said to her: Jacob is mine, for I am the wife of his youth.

And had not craft increased on the earth and the wickedness of men prospered, thou wouldst not now see the face of Jacob.

And my father deceived me, and removed me on that night, and did not suffer Jacob to see me; for had I been there, this had not happened to him.

Nevertheless, for the mandrakes I am hiring Jacob to thee for one night.

And Jacob knew Leah, and she conceived and bare me, and on account of the hire I was called Issachar.

Then appeared to Jacob an angel of the Lord, saying: Two children shall Rachel bear, inasmuch as she hath refused company with her husband, and hath chosen continency.

For He knew that for the sake of children she wished to company with Jacob, and not for lust of pleasure.

For on the morrow also she again gave up Jacob.

And the Lord increased ten thousandfold His benefits in my hands; and also Jacob, my father, knew that God aided my singleness.

For our father Jacob blessed me with blessings of the earth and of first-fruits.

And Levi and Judah were glorified by the Lord even among the sons of Jacob; for the Lord gave them an inheritance, and to Levi He gave the priesthood, and to Judah the kingdom.

For Simeon and Gad came against Joseph to kill him, and he said unto them with tears: Pity me, my brethren, have mercy upon the bowels of Jacob our father: lay not upon me your hands to shed innocent blood, for I have not sinned against you.

And if indeed I have sinned, with chastening chastise me, my brethren, but lay not upon me your hand, for the sake of Jacob our father,

How shall I look on the face of my father Jacob? And he took the money and ran after the merchants but as he failed to find them he returned grieving.

Dan therefore came to him and said: Weep not, neither grieve; for we have found what we can say to our father Jacob.

Let us slay a kid of the goats, and dip in it the coat of Joseph; and let us send it to Jacob, saying: Know, is this the coat of thy son?

And when I was in the land of Canaan, by the sea-coast, I made a catch of fish for Jacob my father; and when many were choked in the sea, I continued unhurt.

And his sons buried him, and after that they carried up his bones, and placed them near Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob.

I was born from Bilhah, and because Rachel dealt craftly, and gave Bilhah in place of herself to Jacob, and she conceived and bare me upon Rachel's knees, therefore she called my name Naphtali.

And I was swift on my feet like the deer, and my father Jacob appointed me for all messages, and as a deer did he give me his blessing.

And again, after seven days, I saw our father Jacob standing by the sea of Jamnia, and we were with him.

And behold, there came a ship sailing by, without sailors or pilot; and there was written upon the ship, The Ship of Jacob.

And he said, weeping: Ah me, my son Joseph, thou livest, though I behold thee not, and thou seest not Jacob that begat thee.

Do ye also, therefore, charge your children that they be united to Levi and to Judah; for through them shall salvation arise unto Israel, and in them shall Jacob be blessed.

Hearken, my children, I was the ninth son born to Jacob, and I was valiant in keeping the flocks.

For God brought upon me a disease of the liver; and had not the prayers of Jacob my father succoured me, it had hardly failed but my spirit had departed.

But the Lord will gather you together in faith through His tender mercy, and for the sake of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

And I did not raise myself against them with evil intent, but I honoured my brethren; and out of respect for them, even when I was being sold, I refrained from telling the Ishmaelites that I was a son of Jacob, a great man and a mighty.

Now after four and twenty days came the Ishmaelites; for they had heard that Jacob my father was mourning much concerning me.

And after the death of Jacob my father I loved them more abundantly, and all things whatsoever he commanded I did very abundantly for them.

And He gave me also beauty as a flower beyond the beautiful ones of Israel; and He preserved me unto old age in strength and in beauty, because I was like in all things to Jacob.

And he kissed them, and said: As Isaac was born to Abraham in his old age, so also was I to Jacob.

And thus Jacob cried out: My good child, thou hast prevailed over the bowels of thy father Jacob.

And thus Jacob cried out: My good child, thou hast prevailed over the bowels of thy father Jacob.

Now when Joseph was in Egypt, I longed to see his figure and the form of his countenance; and through the prayers of Jacob my father I saw him, while awake in the daytime, even his entire figure exactly as he was.

Do ye also, therefore, give them to your children for an everlasting possession; for so did both Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob.

And then shall ye see Enoch, Noah, and Shem, and Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, rising on the right hand in gladness,

And through them he shall go to and fro as Jacob my father, saying: He shall fill up that which lacketh of thy tribe.

Of the fifth tribe, Isaac, Jacob, Jesus, Sabbataeus, Simon, Levi.

Of the seventh tribe, Sabbataeus, Zedekiah, Jacob, Isaac, Jesias, Natthaeus.

Why else did our wise father Jacob blame the houses of Simeon and Levi for their unreasoning slaughter of the tribe of the Shechemites, saying, 'Accursed be their anger!'

But as many as with their whole heart make righteousness their first thought, these alone are able to master the weakness of the flesh, believing that unto God they die not, as our patriarchs, Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, died not, but that they live unto God.

After this our passion, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob shall receive us, and all our forefathers shall praise us.'

With these words the mother of the seven encouraged every single one of her sons to die rather than transgress the ordinance of God; they themselves also knowing well that men dying for God live unto God, as live Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the patriarchs.