Jacob
Etymology

According to the folk etymology found in Genesis 25:26, the name Yaʿaqōv יעקב is derived from ʿaqev עָקֵב "heel", as Jacob was born grasping the heel of his twin brother Esau. The historical origin of the name is uncertain, although similar names have been recorded. Yaqub-Har is recorded as a place name in a list by Thutmose III (15th century BC), and later as the nomen of a Hyksos pharaoh. The hieroglyphs are ambiguous, and can be read as "Yaqub-Har", "Yaqubaal", or "Yaqub El". The same name is recorded earlier still, in c. 1800 BC, in cuneiform inscriptions (spelled ya-ah-qu-ub-el, ya-qu-ub-el). The suggestion that the personal name may be shortened from this compound name, which would translate to "may El protect", originates with Bright (1960). Previously, scholars had tended to find the more straightforward meaning of Yaqub-El, "Jacob is god."

The name Israel given to Jacob following the episode of his wrestling with the angel (Genesis 32:22 – 32) is etymologized as composition of אֵל el "god" and the root שָׂרָה śarah "to rule, contend, have power, prevail over": שָׂרִיתָ עִם־אֱלֹהִים (KJV: "a prince hast thou power with God "); alternatively, the el can be read as the subject, for a translation of "El rules/contends/struggles".

The Septuagint renders the name Iákobos (Ancient Greek: Ἰάκωβος), whence Latin Jacobus, English Jacob.
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