Vayeitzei Genesis 28-32 Part Two

In parashah Vayeitzei found in Genesis 28-32 tells of Jacob’s travels to, life in, and return from Haran. The parashah recounts Jacob’s dream of a ladder to heaven, Jacob’s meeting of Rachel at the well, Jacob’s time working for Laban and living with Rachel and Leah, the birth of Jacob’s children, and the departure of Jacob’s family from Laban.

In the Hebrew Bible, he is the son of Isaac and Rebekah, the grandson of Abraham, Sarah and of Bethuel, and the younger twin brother of Esau. Jacob had twelve sons and at least one daughter, by his  wives, Leah and Rachel, and by their female handmaids Bilhah and Zilpah. The children named in Genesis were Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, daughter Dinah, Joseph, and Benjamin. Before the birth of Benjamin, Jacob is renamed “Israel” by God (Genesis 32:28-29 and 35:10). The name “Israel” translated as “God contended”.