Jacob

Jacob is the biblical character associated with the tale of “Jacob’s Ladder”. Jacob was the younger twin of Esau, and Jacob cheated his brother out of that natural birthright by trickery. Fearing (rightly) Esau’s anger, Jacob flees to the home of relatives in a neighboring land. Lying down one night on a stone pillow, he dreams of a fabulous ladder to heaven, upon which angels are ascending and descending. At the top of the ladder is the Lord God, who speaks to Jacob and tells him that He will be with Jacob always, and that Jacob will continue the line of Abraham and Isaac. Upon awakening, Jacob anoints the holy stone and pledges to give one tenth of all he has to God. Now, all this is well and good, and perhaps Jacob got his comeuppance in some fashion (he had to work seven years for his wife Rebecca, only to be told he must marry her sister, Leah, first, then labor another seven years for Rebecca); nonetheless, we think Esau got the short end of the stick in this story. Poor old Esau – his father, mother and brother all operated against his natural birthright, and yet, Esau prospered and lived to forgive Jacob and bore ill will against him no longer (after that initial, understandable, fury). Just goes to show – if God is on your side, almost nothing you do can turn to pottage – just ask Jacob.

Jacob Marley is a pivotal character in Charles Dickens’ beloved 1843 novella, A Christmas Carol, the subject of innumerable adaptations. His character is the ghost of his former self, Scrooge’s business partner, who comes back to warn Scrooge of the dire consequences of his continued mean spiritedness. The erstwhile Mr. Marley is one heck of a ghost – he has all the trappings down. He is transparent, he rattles his chains, he moans, he shrieks, he causes mirrors to crack, bells to ring, winds to blow, small children to run in terror (well, ok, there weren’t any small children around, but still…). And after all this, does he get any respect? No, the nefarious Scrooge humbugs around and declares that Jacob Marley is probably a figment of his imagination, in fact, probably “…an undigested bit of beef.” Insult upon injury! Good Mr. Marley, however, soon convinces Scrooge of his authenticity and prepares him for the three ghosts to come, before flying out the window to continue his eternal, fruitless, remorseful roaming of the earth, paying for his sins for all time to come. We are more than a little sorry for Jacob Marley, and wish him the best on his journey. We hope he catches a break, because he did a great job.

Jacob Black is a central character in Stephenie Meyer's famous books known as the Twilight series (Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn). He is of Native American descent, and a friend to Bella Swan. He eventually competes with Edward Cullen for Bella's love as he develops feelings for her. However, Bella only sees him as a friend. As the stories develop, Jacob is able to transform himself into a werewolf, and is destined to become an Alpha male. His character is warm, friendly, strong, good-looking and honorable. No wonder he's such a popular character!