Why is Jacob called Jacob and Israel alternately in the book of Genesis?

Answer

Among the individuals renamed in the Old Testament under various circumstances, only a few were renamed by God Himself. These include Abram “Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.”, (Genesis 17:5), Sarai “And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be.”, (Genesis 17:15), and Jacob (Genesis 32:28;Genesis 35:9-10), who were later known as Abraham, Sarah, and Israel, respectively. The names Jacob and Israel are used interchangeably throughout Scripture in reference to the second son of Isaac.

Jacob’s original name, Jacob, means “supplanter, deceiver”; he was given this name because when he was born as the second of a set of twins, “his hand [was] grasping [his twin’s] heel” “And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau’s heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them.”, (Genesis 25:26). True to his name, Jacob grew up as a conniver, deceiver, and cheat, eventually supplanting his brother’s position as heir to the birthright.

After Jacob’s struggle with the Lord at Peniel, the Lord gave him a new name: Israel. The reason given by God was, “Because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome” “And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.”, (Genesis 35:9-12). Thus, the “heel-catcher” became “one who struggles with God.” It was before he met with God in Bethel that Jacob purposefully put away his idols and purified himself (verse 2).

After the name change, some passages in Genesis refer to Jacob as “Jacob” (Genesis 33:1; Genesis 34:7; Genesis 35:15; 37:1) and others as “Israel” (Genesis 35:21; Genesis 37:3; Genesis 43:6; 46:1). Some have suggested that the name Jacob represents his old nature and Israel his new. That is, he is called “Jacob” when functioning in his carnal old nature, but he is called “Israel” when he is acting out of his new nature. There could be limited merit in this suggestion in some passages, and it would parallel the Christian’s experience as presented in Ephesians 4:22–24.

In the end, however, it is best not to make too much of the Jacob/Israel distinction, since some passages include both Jacob and Israel within the same immediate context (e.g., Genesis 37:1-3). Also, there are several psalms that use both names side by side: “Let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!” «Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! When God bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, And Israel shall be glad.», (Psalm 53:6) and “He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel” «For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law inIsrael, which He commanded our fathers, that they should make known to their children: », (Psalm 78:5). The parallelism of the poetry identifies the names Jacob and Israel as synonymous, and both names can represent the nation as well as the individual.