Three Jacobs and Their Journeys

There are three people named Jacob in the scriptures who all left their homes on various journeys in order to escape death.  The first and most famous of course was Jacob the son of Isaac, who actually took two such journeys.  His first was when he had to run from Esau after he received the birthright instead of Esau.  We read, “And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob.”  Jacob’s mother said to him, “Therefore, my son, obey my voice; and arise, flee thou to Laban my brother to Haran” (Genesis 27:41, 43).  So Jacob fled for his life and didn’t return until about 15 years later.  Towards the end of his life he made a different journey in order to be saved from starvation.  In the midst of the famine when his sons had found Joseph in Egypt, they left the land of Canaan and traveled to Goshen in Egypt: “And Jacob rose up from Beer-sheba: and the sons of Israel carried Jacob their father… and all his seed brought he with him into Egypt” (Genesis 46:5, 7).  Twice he left his home on a journey to save his life—the Lord was watching out for him and blessed Jacob for his righteousness. 

               The Book of Mormon contains two other people named Jacob who took journeys that were meant to preserve their lives.  The first was Jacob, the son of Lehi.  He was born during one such journey and the trip from the wilderness of the Arabian peninsula to the promised land was done to save him and his family from the destruction that was coming to Jerusalem.  Later in the story after Lehi had died and Laman and Lemuel were again threatening to kill their own family members, Jacob fled again with righteous of his group.  Nephi described this experience saying, “It sufficeth me to say, that they did seek to take away my life.  And it came to pass that the Lord did warn me, that I, Nephi, should depart from them and flee into the wilderness, and all those who would go with me” (2 Nephi 5:4-5).  Jacob was of course one of those Nephi mentioned who went with him.  The other Jacob in the Book of Mormon lived at the time right before Christ visited the Nephites and was an extremely wicked man.  We read that a secret combination “did gather themselves together, and did place at their head a man whom they did call Jacob” and that he was one who “had given his voice against the prophets who testified of Jesus” (3 Nephi 7:9-10).  The other Nephites not part of his group “were united in the hatred” toward Jacob and his followers, so “Jacob seeing that their enemies were more numerous than they, he being the king of the band, therefore he commanded his people that they should take their flight into the northernmost part of the land, and there build up unto themselves a kingdom” (3 Nephi 7:11-12).  They took off for their lives.  Unlike for the other two Jacobs, though, his flight did not save his life for very long.  About three years later when the signs of the death of Christ came, God spoke from heaven saying, “And behold, that great city Jacobugath, which was inhabited by the people of king Jacob, have I caused to be burned with fire because of their sins and their wickedness, which was above all the wickedness of the whole earth, because of their secret murders and combinations” (3 Nephi 9:9).  The other two Jacobs journeyed in the Lord with faith and were miraculously preserved, but Jacob here in 3 Nephi journeyed out of his own selfishness, seeking to save his own life, and he lost it.