677 



JACOB. 



JACOBI, FREDERICK HENRY. 



678 



youngest;" and therefore, taking advantage of Esau's hunger anc 

 impetuosity, he obtained from him a formal and solemn relinquish 

 ment of his right of seniority for a mess of potage. It is generally 

 thought that this right, as to which Eeau inquired " what profit shal 

 this birthright do to me ?" related only to the heirship of the promises 

 relating to the foundation of the future kingdom. Abraham had died 

 when Esau and Jacob were fifteen. Isaac had succeeded to his 

 patrimony, as Abraham had already provided for his sons by his 

 second wife Keturah. He had prospered ; but on the occurrence of a 

 famine in Canaan he had thoughts of going down to Egypt, but was 

 forbidden by God. He therefore went to Philistia, and settled at Gerar. 

 Here he denied that Rebekah was his wife, as his father Abraham had 

 done in somewhat similar circumstances; but she was not taken from 

 him, nor was he molested on that account, though Abimelech reproached 

 him for the deception. His prosperity continued to increase, but con 

 tentions arose with the herdsmen of Abimelech the king respecting the 

 wells ; and Isaac, after one or two removals, finally settled at Beersheba. 

 Here Esau at the age of forty married two wives of the neighbouring 

 tribe of the Hittitea, to the great grief of his family, who would naturally 

 wish that he should have united himself with wives of his own race. 

 Isaac was now 137 years old, and imagining himself to be near his end, 

 desired to give his heir bis last blessin?. This Jacob, by a device of 

 his mother, obtained from the dim-sighted old man, who however 

 aid, " the voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau." 

 Esau, though he obtained a second but modified blessing, was greatly 

 irritated, and threatened to kill Jacob, who thereupon, by hia mother's 

 advice, fled to his mother's brother, Laban, who dwelt in Padauaram 

 in Mesopotamia, first receiving the parting injunctions of father and 

 mothr to take no wife from the daughters of Canaan, but to select 

 one of the daughters of Laban. On his journey he had the vision of 

 the Udder that ascended to heaven, at a place afterwards called Bethel. 

 After a long journey he approached the neighbourhood of Laban, where 

 at a well he first saw Rachel, and was enabled to show her courtesy by 

 watering her father's sheep, which she kept. When he had done this 

 he announced himself, and she ran to inform her father. Laban 

 received him kindly, and after Jacob had resided for a month, inquired 

 what wages he should give for his services. Jacob offered to serve him 

 seven years for his younger daughter Rachel, for Laban had an elder 

 daughter Leah. The seven years passed, " and they seemed to him 

 but as a few days, for the love he had to her," and then Jacob claimed 

 his bride. Laban made a feast, the wedding took place, the bride was 

 closely veiled as was and is the custom in the east, and in the morning 

 " behold, it was Leah." Jacob reproached her father for the deception, 

 who pleaded that it was contrary to the custom of the land to marry 

 the younger daughter before the elder; but he agreed to give him 

 Rachel also, after a short interval, on condition that he served another 

 seven years. Jacob consented to this arrangement. Leah was fruitful ; 

 she bore Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Isgachar, and Zebulun, and 

 a daughter named Dinah, and her handmaid bore Gad and Asher. 

 Rachel for many years had no issue; she therefore gave her handmaid 

 to Jacob, who bore Dan and Naphtali. At length Rachel's prayers 

 were beard, and when Jacob was ninety-one she bore to him Joseph. 

 When Jacob's term of servitude for Rachel had expired he expressed 

 a wish to return to Canaan with his wives and family, but Laban, 

 whose Bocks and herds had prospered under Jacob's care, prayed him 

 to tarry, saying " the Lord hath blessed me for thy sake ; appoint me 

 thy wages, and I will give it." Jacob consented, on condition that 

 " all the speckled and spotted cattle, and all the brown cattle among 

 the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats," should be 

 his hire. This was assented to, and by his management he contrived 

 that all the stronger animals should produce young of the description 

 named, while all the weakly ones were Laban's. His remarkable 

 success, and the vast increase of his wealth, excited the envy of Laban's 

 sons, and to avoid the effects of their displeasure he resolved to depart 

 secretly. Laban however pursued and overtook him, but after a short 

 controversy they were reconciled, and Jacob pursued his way to Canaan. 

 When be approached Edom, where Esau was living, he began to fear 

 his brother's resentment, and sent large presents of camels, cattle, and 

 *heep a* presents, in order to propitiate him ; but Esau received him 

 kindly, " fell on his neck and wept," and returned his presents, saying 

 " I have enough, my brother ;" but, finally, at Jacob's urgent request 

 accepting them, and offering to escort him on his way. This was 

 declined. Jacob proceeded, and at length reached the neighbourhood 

 of Sliechem, where he purchased a piece of land, and erected an altar. 

 While living here occurred the violation of his daughter Dinah by 

 Shechem, the son of Hamor, the prince of the country ; in revenge for 

 which, although Shechem wished to marry her, Simeon and Levi slew 

 Hamor and Shechem aud all the males of the city, took their wives 

 and children captives, and spoiled them of their cattle and wealth. 

 Jacob was angry at these violent proceedings, feared retaliation, and 

 was directed by God to remove, which he did to Ephrath, where 

 Rachel died in childbirth of Benjamin. Jacob then resumed his wan- 

 derings until he at length came to his father Isaac, at Mature near 

 Hebron ; and sixteen years after Isaac died, aged 180, and was buried 

 by his sons, Jacob and Esau. 



\Vliile living at Mamre the earlier incidents of the life of Joseph 

 begin, and it will be better to give them in connection with the 

 remaining years of Jacob. On the death of Isaac, Esau probably sue- 



Bioa. DIV. vol. in. 



ceeded to his share of property as eldest son, no mention being made 

 of any discontent on his part, and he returned to the land of Seir, the 

 separate possessions of Jacob being already very great. The sons of 

 Jacob, except the youngest, were of course employed in tending the 

 flocks and herds, but Joseph, who was the father's favourite, was 

 probably only thus employed occasionally, and " he brought unto his 

 father" the "evil report" of his brethren. This, and the finer dress 

 which had been given him, excited their animosity, which was increased 

 by the relation of Joseph's dreams of the sheaves, and of the sun, moon, 

 and stars, all predicting his supremacy. They therefore, on another 

 visit to them in the fields, bound him, cast him into a pit, and sold 

 him to some Midianitish merchants, taking home " the coat of many 

 colours," and informing their father that no doubt his favourite sou 

 had been devoured by wild beasts. Joseph was carried to Egypt, 

 became a slave in Potiphar's house, resisted the seductions of Potiphar's 

 wife, was cast into prison, there explained the dreams of the baker and 

 butler of Pharaoh, and was at length sent for to tell and explain the 

 dreams of the Egyptian king. Having done this, foretelling the years 

 of plenty and of famine, he was set over all the land of Egypt as the 

 most fitting person to guard againt the evil consequences of the 

 calamities he foresaw. Joseph was at this time thirty years old ; his 

 name was changed, and he married a daughter of Poti-pherah, priest 

 of On, by whom he had Manasseh and Ephraim. During the years of 

 plenty he had laid up large stores of corn, and when the years of 

 dearth arrived the corn was sold to the Egyptians and to strangers, 

 for ' the famine was sore in all lands," no doubt to the great profit of 

 the king. The famine extended to Canaan, and Jacob was compelled 

 to send his ten sons to buy corn in Egypt, but he rf tained his youngest 

 and now favourite son Benjamin, the last supposed relic of his beloved 

 Rachel. Joseph knew his brothers on their arrival, but did not 

 discover himself. He questioned them roughly as to who they were, 

 and on being told they were twelve brethren, one man's sons, of whom 

 the youngest was at home, " and one is not," he insisted on their pro- 

 ducing their younger brother, and kept Simeon as a hostage for his 

 forthcoming. He then tilled their sacks, putting into each sack the 

 money that had been paid for it. On their return to their father they 

 related their story, but Jacob would not part with Benjamin, until the 

 famine rendered another supply of food imperative. On their return 

 to Joseph he feasted them in his house, distinguishing Benjamin by the 

 largeness of his mess, and on their proposed return framed a charge of 

 theft against Benjamin, by placing a cup in his sack. Judah proposed to 

 become bondsman in order to release Benjamin, after a touching recital 

 of what would be the grief of their aged parent if his youngest son 

 were detained. On this Joseph discovered himself, and ultimately 

 sent for his father. Jacob was almost overcome with the intelligence. 

 He said, "it is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive : I will go and see 

 him before I die." He took his departure with all his family aud 

 possessions, and they were settled in the laud of Goshen. Here after 

 residing seventeen years, Jacob died, B.C. 1846, aged 147, and was 

 buried by Joseph iu the burial-place of the family at Machpelah iu 

 Canaan. Joseph returned to Egypt, and survived his father fifty-four 

 years, dying at the age of 110, aud "was put in a coffin in Egypt," 

 having exacted an oath that the children of Israel " shall carry up my 

 bones from hence," which was accordingly done when Moses conducted 

 the nation into the wilderness on their way to the Promised Land. 



JA'COBI, FREDERICK HENRY, a philosophical writer of Ger- 

 many, was born at Diisseldorf, in 1743. He was distinguished, not so 

 much as the author of a peculiar system of philosophy, as for the 

 critical acumen and forcible eloquence with which he detected aud 

 exposed the incoherences and defects of the prevailing systems, of which 

 he traced the inevitable consequences with great rigour and sagacity. 

 Originally educated for a mercantile profession, Jacobi united the 

 pursuits of literature to those of commerce until his appointment as 

 councillor in the Hofkammer of his native city, which he obtained by 

 the good offices of the Count von Golstein, enabled him to indulge his 

 natural tastes aud inclination by devoting his whole time and attention 

 to literature. In this new career he sought to combine poetry with 

 philosophy, and his earliest publication was a philosophical poem, 

 entitled 'Friendship and Love,' which first appeared in 1777, but was 

 republished two years afterwards under the simpler title of ' Wolde- 

 mar.' In this year Jacobi was invited to Munich, and appointed 

 geheimrath, in which situation he evinced the honesty and independ- 

 ence of his character by exposing publicly the injurious tendency and 

 imprudence of the Bavarian system of finance. In 1781 he commenced 

 an able controversy with Mendelssohn, by his work ' On the Doctrine 

 of Spinosa,' which he further prosecuted in his 'Observations on 

 ytendelssohu's Apology for the Doctrine of Spinosa.' By the essay, 

 entitled ' David Hume, or Idealism and Realism,' he provoked the 

 lostility of the followers of Kant, and that of the admirers of Fichte 

 >y his ' Seudschreiben an Fichte,' whose respect however, as well as 

 ihat of most of his controversial opponents, he secured by the known 

 sincerity of his character and opinions. When the troubles arising 

 out of the French revolution extended to Germany, Jacobi retired to 

 Jolsteiu, whence he removed successively to Wandsbeck and Ham- 

 >urg ; from the latter he was called, iu 1804, to Munich, to assist in 

 .he formation of the new Academy of Sciences, of which he was 

 appointed president, in 1807. This dignity Jacobi resigned upon 

 attaining his seventieth year, but was allowed to retain the salary and 



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