First names in Hebrew

First name Jacob: meaning, origin and its Hebrew spelling

יעקב

Gematria value: 182

Its spelling

In Hebrew, Jacob is written יעקב

Jacob is the English form of Yaakov, יעקב in Hebrew.

Meaning and origin

What does Jacob mean?

Meaning: "the one who holds the heel"; "He will protect" (meaning disputed)
Origin: Hebrew

Your name belongs to the third patriarch, the father of the twelve tribes. The Torah explains it by a gesture: at birth, he was holding the heel of his twin brother Esau, akev in Hebrew (Genesis 25:26). Scholars also read in it an old name meaning "He will protect". Jacob is one of the oldest names in the world still in use, and one of the most popular in America.

Gematria

Jacob = 182

In Hebrew, every letter is also a number. Added together, the letters of the name give its value: this is gematria. יעקב has 4 letters:

• יthe letter Yod10
• עthe letter Ayin70
• קthe letter Kuf100
• בthe letter Bet2
• Total182

The verse of the name

From the letter Yod to the letter Bet

An ancient custom gives each person a verse: the one that begins with the first letter of their name and ends with the last. For Jacob, from י to ב:

יַעֲרֹף כַּמָּטָר לִקְחִי תִּזַּל כַּטַּל אִמְרָתִי כִּשְׂעִירִם עֲלֵי־דֶשֶׁא וְכִרְבִיבִים עֲלֵי־עֵשֶׂב׃

“May my teaching fall like rain, may my word come down like dew, like showers on young grass, like droplets on green plants.”

Deuteronomy 32:2

The book of your first name

Jacob, in nine pages

• Jacob, in Hebrew
• Letter by letter
• The number of your name
• The verse of your name
• The portrait of Jacob
• Jacob, day to day
• What tradition says about names
• The sources

Frequently asked

Jacob in three answers

How do you write Jacob in Hebrew?
In Hebrew, Jacob is written יעקב. Jacob is the English form of Yaakov, יעקב in Hebrew.

What is the gematria value of Jacob?
Written יעקב, Jacob is worth 182: the letter Yod (10) + the letter Ayin (70) + the letter Kuf (100) + the letter Bet (2).

What does Jacob mean?
The one who holds the heel"; "He will protect" (meaning disputed) (origin: Hebrew). Your name belongs to the third patriarch, the father of the twelve tribes. The Torah explains it by a gesture: at birth, he was holding the heel of his twin brother Esau, akev in Hebrew (Genesis 25:26). Scholars also read in it an old name meaning "He will protect". Jacob is one of the oldest names in the world still in use, and one of the most popular in America.