together with all their livestock and belongings, to move down to the fertile land of Goshen in Egypt’s delta country, for the great famine was destined to last another five years. Pharaoh even provided wagons and food provisions for their assistance. (Gen. 45:9-24) On the way down, Jehovah assured Jacob that this move had his blessing and approval. (Gen. 46:1-4) All the souls counted as belonging to Jacob’s household, including Manasseh, Ephraim and others that may have been born in Egypt before Jacob died, were seventy in number. (Gen. 46:5-27; Ex. 1:5; Deut. 10:22) This number did not include Leah, who had died in the Promised Land (Gen. 49:31), or his unnamed daughters, or the wives of his sons.—Gen. 46:26; compare Genesis 37:35.

Soon after arriving in Egypt in 1728 B.C.E. Jacob was brought to Pharaoh’s court and there he greeted the king with a blessing. Jacob described himself as an alien resident (the same as Abraham and Isaac, for like them he too had not inherited the God-promised land). Asked about his age, Jacob replied that he was 130 but that, compared with those of his forefathers, his days had been “few and distressing.”—Gen. 47:7-10.

Shortly before his death, Jacob blessed his grandsons, Joseph’s sons, and, by divine guidance, put the younger Ephraim ahead of the older Manasseh. Then to Joseph, who would receive the firstborn’s double portion of the inheritance, Jacob declared: “I do give you one shoulder of land more than to your brothers, which I took from the hand of the Amorites by my sword and by my bow.” (Gen. 48:1-22; 1 Chron. 5:1) Since Jacob had peaceably purchased the plot of ground near Shechem from the sons of Hamor (Gen. 33:19, 20), it seems that this promise to Joseph was an expression of Jacob’s faith, in which he prophetically spoke of the future conquest of Canaan by his descendants as if already accomplished by his own sword and bow. (See AMORITE.) Joseph’s double portion of that conquered land in effect was the two allotments given to the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh.

Before he died, Jacob summoned up enough strength to bless his twelve sons individually. (Gen. 49:1-28) He showed faith in the outworking of Jehovah’s purposes. (Heb. 11:21) Because of his faith and because Jehovah specifically confirmed to him the Abrahamic covenant of blessing, the Scriptures often refer to Jehovah as the God, not only of Abraham and Isaac, but also of Jacob.—Ex. 3:6; 1 Chron. 29:18; Matt. 22:32.

Finally, in 1711 B.C.E., after seventeen years of residence in Egypt, Jacob died at the age of 147. (Gen. 47:27, 28) Thus that period of history from the birth of Jacob to his death ended, a history that occupies more than half the pages of the book of Genesis. (Chaps. 25 to 50) In accordance with Jacob’s wish to be buried in Canaanland, Joseph first had the Egyptian physicians embalm his father’s body in preparation for the trip. A great funeral train, in keeping with the prominence of his son Joseph, then set out from Egypt. When it came into the region of the Jordan, there were seven days of mourning rites, after which Jacob’s sons buried their father in the cave of Machpelah where Abraham and Isaac had been interred.—Gen. 49:29-33; 50:1-14.

The prophets often used “Jacob” in a figurative sense, with reference to the nation descended from the patriarch. (Isa. 9:8; 27:9; Jer. 10:25; Ezek. 39:25; Amos 6:8; Mic. 1:5; Rom. 11:26) Jesus, on one occasion, used the name Jacob figuratively when speaking of those who would be “in the kingdom of the heavens.”—Matt. 8:11.

2. The father of Joseph the husband of Mary, the mother of Jesus.—Matt. 1:15, 16.

JACOB’S FOUNTAIN

The “well” or “fountain” where Jesus Christ, while resting, conversed with a Samaritan woman. (John 4:5-30) It is considered to be Bir Yaʽqub, situated about a mile and a half (2.4 kilometers) SE of Nablus (Shechem). Jacob’s fountain is a deep well, the water level of which never rises to the top. Measurements made in the last century indicate the well’s depth to be about seventy-five feet (c. 23 meters). It is approximately eight feet (2.4 meters) wide, although narrowing at the top. The circumstance that the well is usually dry from about the end of May until the autumn rains has given rise to the view that its water is derived from rain and percolation. But others believe that the well is also spring fed and therefore could also be called a “fountain.”

The Bible does not directly state that Jacob dug the well. However, it does indicate that Jacob had property in this vicinity. (Gen. 33:18-20; Josh. 24:32; John 4:5) And the Samaritan woman told Jesus that “Jacob . . . gave us the well and [he] . . . together with his sons and his cattle drank out of it.” (John 4:12) So Jacob likely dug it or had it dug, perhaps to provide water for his large household and flocks, thereby preventing trouble with his neighbors, who doubtless already owned the other water sources in the region. Or, he may have needed a better and more permanent supply of water when other wells in the area dried up.

[Caption on page 864]

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A woman draws water from the Bir Yaʽqub, thought to represent Jacob’s fountain. (The well is depicted here as it appeared before being glamorized as a shrine)

JADA

(Jaʹda) [the knowing, shrewd one].

A descendant of Judah through Jerahmeel. Jada is listed as a son of Onam and father of Jether and Jonathan.—1 Chron. 2:3, 25, 26, 28, 32.

JADDAI

(Jadʹdai) [beloved, loving].

A son of Nebo; one of those who took non-Israelite wives but sent them away at the urging of Ezra. (Ezra 10:43, 44) Some translations read “Iddo” instead of “Jaddai.”—AS, AT, Mo, Ro.

JADDUA

(Jadʹdu·a) [known].

1. One of the headmen of Israel whose descendant, if not himself, sealed the resolution of faithfulness