# Jacob — Two Treatises of Government character guide

> Jacob in Two Treatises of Government by John Locke.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Esau, Jacob Esau

**First appearance:** 0008-vi-of-adam-s-title-to-sovereignty-by-fatherhood

## Snapshot

The younger twin who bought a birthright and stole a blessing—Locke catches Filmer misreading the timing of both to prop up inheritance theory.

## Who they are

Jacob's story of purchasing Esau's birthright and receiving Isaac's blessing becomes a trap for careless argument: Filmer reports it as if the blessing followed immediately on the purchase, but Scripture places a distance between them. The tension is between compact and paternal grant—if a birthright can be sold, it is not the sacred, inalienable inheritance Filmer needs it to be. Locke's close reading of Jacob matters because it shows how loosely Filmer handles the very scriptural evidence on which his whole edifice rests.

## Relationships

### [Isaac](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/two_treatises_of_government_se/characters/isaac)

_family_

Isaac is the father of Jacob, and their relationship involves the transfer of patriarchal blessing and lineage.

### [Adam](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/two_treatises_of_government_se/characters/adam)

_family_

Adam is the distant ancestor of Jacob, with Jacob being a key patriarch in the line of descent from Adam.

### [Judah](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/two_treatises_of_government_se/characters/judah)

_family_

Jacob is the father of Judah, and Judah becomes the leading tribe and ancestor of the Davidic line.

### [Abraham](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/two_treatises_of_government_se/characters/abraham)

_family_

Abraham is the grandfather of Jacob, and Jacob inherits the covenant promises made to Abraham.

### [Eve](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/two_treatises_of_government_se/characters/eve)

_family_

Eve is the matriarch and distant ancestor of Jacob, linking the first woman to the patriarchal lineage.

### [Judah](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/two_treatises_of_government_se/characters/judah)

_family_

Jacob is the father of Judah, and Judah becomes the leading tribe and ancestor of the Davidic line.

### [Abraham](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/two_treatises_of_government_se/characters/abraham)

_family_

Abraham is the grandfather of Jacob, and Jacob inherits the covenant promises made to Abraham.

### [Adam](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/two_treatises_of_government_se/characters/adam)

_family_

Adam is the distant ancestor of Jacob, with Jacob being a key patriarch in the line of descent from Adam.

## In the story

### [Book I: Of Government](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/two_treatises_of_government_se/chapters/book-i-of-government)

Jacob is cited in discussions of inheritance and the transfer of authority from Adam.

### [Of Adam’s Title to Sovereignty, by the Subjection of Eve](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/two_treatises_of_government_se/chapters/v-of-adam-s-title-to-sovereignty-by-the-subjection-of-eve)

Jacob is referenced in the context of God's prophecy that 'the elder shall serve the younger,' which Locke uses as an analogy to show that such statements are predictions, not grants of political power.

### [Of Adam’s Title to Sovereignty, by the Subjection of Eve](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/two_treatises_of_government_se/chapters/v-of-adam-s-title-to-sovereignty-by-the-subjection-of-eve)

Esau is mentioned alongside Jacob to illustrate that prophetic statements about service do not confer political sovereignty.

### [Of Monarchy, by Inheritance from Adam](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/two_treatises_of_government_se/chapters/ix-of-monarchy-by-inheritance-from-adam)

Referenced as part of the biblical lineage; Locke's argument that all children share equally in the right to subsistence challenges Filmer's inheritance model.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/two_treatises_of_government_se/characters/jacob
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/two_treatises_of_government_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/two_treatises_of_government_se/characters