Let God Prevail

Genesis 24–36: The Covenant Line Continues with Isaac and Jacob

Church Educational System

Old Testament Student Manual, Genesis–2 Samuel: Religion 301 (2003)

Isaac and Jacob were foreordained to their responsibilities. Through their personal worthiness, however, they justified their callings in the covenant line.

Genesis 24–36: The Covenant Line Continues with Isaac and Jacob

Church Educational System

Old Testament Student Manual, Genesis–2 Samuel: Religion 301 (2003)

Isaac and Jacob were foreordained to their responsibilities. Through their personal worthiness, however, they justified their callings in the covenant line.

Jacob in the Presence of God

Andrew C. Skinner

Sperry Symposium Classics: The Old Testament (2005)

The significance of Jacob’s first vision (Genesis 28) was at least sixfold. First, this vision was Jacob’s opportunity to begin to comprehend for himself “the mysteries of Godliness.” Second, Jacob’s status as a prophet was confirmed. Third, Jacob learned that in his seed, or through his own lineage, all the other families of the earth would be blessed (see Genesis 28:14). Fourth, Jacob learned that if he kept the covenant, God would be with him everywhere he went, that God would fulfill everything He promised to do for Jacob, and that God would bring him back to the land of his inheritance. Fifth, Jacob learned that sanctity and place can be, and often are, linked together. Sixth—and this point ties the other five points together—Jacob received his endowment at Bethel on the occasion of his first vision.

Chiasmus in the Book of Genesis

Gary A. Rendsburg

“Chiasmus: The State of the Art,” BYU Studies Quarterly 59, supplement (2020)

Genesis 25–35 is studied as the Jacob cycle. Gary Rendsburg identifies the chiastic structure of this narrative and points out themes. The focal point of the Jacob cycle is Genesis 30:22–25, in which Rachel gives birth and Jacob decides to return to Canaan. This article points out many details that show how these events are part of the major themes of the Bible: the covenant with God, the land of Canaan, and the people of Israel.

From the Hand of Jacob: A Ritual Analysis of Genesis 27

David E. Bokovoy

Studies in the Bible and Antiquity 1 (2009)

“Genesis 27 is a story that depicts a series of ancient ritual performances. The narrative recounts the time when Jacob, the son of Isaac, received his father’s blessing by means of an act of deception. As an account that contains explicit examples of performances designed to set the activities apart from other less sacred occurrences, the blessing story in Genesis 27 contains features of what scholars refer to as ‘ritualization’ in narrative. Ritualization can be defined as actions designed to distinguish and privilege what is being done in comparison to other, usually more commonplace, activities. Ritualization can assist those of a lesser status in accomplishing their objectives that stand in opposition to the desires of the powerful. When read as ritualization in narrative, Genesis 27 can be interpreted as an account that portrays the use of ancient temple and sacrificial imagery in order to secure a sacred blessing.”

Jacob in the Presence of God

Andrew C. Skinner

Sperry Symposium Classics: The Old Testament (2005)

The significance of Jacob’s first vision (Genesis 28) was at least sixfold. First, this vision was Jacob’s opportunity to begin to comprehend for himself “the mysteries of Godliness.” Second, Jacob’s status as a prophet was confirmed. Third, Jacob learned that in his seed, or through his own lineage, all the other families of the earth would be blessed (see Genesis 28:14). Fourth, Jacob learned that if he kept the covenant, God would be with him everywhere he went, that God would fulfill everything He promised to do for Jacob, and that God would bring him back to the land of his inheritance. Fifth, Jacob learned that sanctity and place can be, and often are, linked together. Sixth—and this point ties the other five points together—Jacob received his endowment at Bethel on the occasion of his first vision.

Jacob in the Presence of God

Andrew C. Skinner

Sperry Symposium Classics: The Old Testament (2005)

The significance of Jacob’s first vision (Genesis 28) was at least sixfold. First, this vision was Jacob’s opportunity to begin to comprehend for himself “the mysteries of Godliness.” Second, Jacob’s status as a prophet was confirmed. Third, Jacob learned that in his seed, or through his own lineage, all the other families of the earth would be blessed (see Genesis 28:14). Fourth, Jacob learned that if he kept the covenant, God would be with him everywhere he went, that God would fulfill everything He promised to do for Jacob, and that God would bring him back to the land of his inheritance. Fifth, Jacob learned that sanctity and place can be, and often are, linked together. Sixth—and this point ties the other five points together—Jacob received his endowment at Bethel on the occasion of his first vision.

“And There Wrestled a Man with Him” (Genesis 32:24): Enos’s Adaptations of the Onomastic Wordplay of Genesis

Matthew L. Bowen

Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture, no. 10 (2014)

In this brief note, Bowen suggests several instances in which the Book of Mormon prophet Enos utilizes wordplay on his own name, the name of his father Jacob, the place name Peniel, and Jacob’s new name Israel in order to connect his experiences to those of his ancestor Jacob in Genesis 32–33, thus infusing them with greater meaning. Familiarity with Jacob and Esau’s conciliatory “embrace” in Genesis 33 is essential to understanding how Enos views the atonement of Christ and the ultimate realization of its blessings in his life.

Hard Sayings and Safe Spaces: Making Room for Struggle as Well as Faith

Eric D. Huntsman

BYU Speeches (Aug. 2018)

In this devotional, Eric Huntsman discusses dealing with challenges and struggles, drawing from John 6:60–69 where Jesus's followers struggled with his teachings.

Limping into the Dawn: Reflections on Genesis 32

Kimberly Matheson

Old Testament Reflections (2026)

Jacob’s nighttime wrestle in Genesis 32 ends not in triumph, but in a limp—and a blessing that changes everything. Kim Matheson explores how weakness, ambiguity, and encounter with God prepare Jacob for reconciliation in ways his cleverness never could.

The Great Jerusalem Temple Prophecy: Latter-day Context and Likening unto Us

Jeffrey R. Chadwick

Ascending the Mountain of the Lord: Temple, Praise, and Worship in the Old Testament, Sidney B. Sperry Symposium 50 (2013)

“The great Jerusalem temple prophecy, found in Isaiah 2:1–3, is one of the most remarkable passages in the Hebrew Bible, or indeed, in all of ancient scripture. At some point in early Jewish history, perhaps around 620 BC, during the reign of King Josiah, the admonitions that now constitute Isaiah 1 were placed in their current position as “the Lord’s preface” to the entire book of Isaiah.”