HEBREW WORD STUDY – CHEATER – ‘EIKEV עקב
Genesis 25:26: “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.”
Let me share with you something interesting that I found in the Talmud and other Jewish literature. In the Talmud Berachot 13a we learn that when God changed someone’s name like Abram to Abraham it remained Abraham from that point on. However, with Jacob, when his name was changed to Israel he was still called Jacob on occasions. Why was he still known as Jacob when his name was changed?
A name was used to describe a person’s character, position or role that he would play in life. Israel meant prince of God. The word Jacob comes from the word ‘eikev which means heel. That was because when was born he grabbed the heel of his twin brother Esau as if Jacob was attempting to pull Esau back into the womb so he would be the firstborn. Thus, he was named on who grabs the heel. However, he was not given that name because he would go through life grabbing the heel of others. The word ‘eikev also carries the idea of a cheater. So the fact that he still kept his old name Jacob after being named Israel, or prince of God suggests that he was still a cheater throughout his life.
What I found interesting is that this idea of being a cheater has a positive aspect. Our English word cheater may not a good word for ‘eikev. It falls short in the sense that the English word conjures up the idea of deception in our minds. Cheating does not always mean deception. Webster defines our English word cheat as defrauding or deception. An example of ‘eikev, however, is to say that someone has cheated death. What we mean by that is that someone should have died from an accident or illness but recovered. Death wanted to take that person but it did not succeed in its attempts thus we say he cheated death. He did not do it by deception but by overcoming it. Hence, a much better English word for ‘eikev would be to use the word overcomer. Jacob in grabbing his brother’s heel tried to overcome him.
Jacob was one who continually overcame attempts by others to defraud him. He overcame the attempts by his father-in-law to pass of Leah to him but Jacob overcame that by working another seven years so as to obtain the woman he really loved, Rachel. He overcame Laban’s attempts to defraud him in the sense of his severance pay with the sheep. In wrestling with the angel he overcame the power of the angel. Thus, symbolizing how he overcame the power of supernatural forces. God showed in Jacob’s life that so long as he walked with God in righteousness, he was an overcomer. That is why he continued with his old name even when given a new name for he continued to be an overcomer.
Jacob gave us the example that God has also called us to be cheaters in the sense of being overcomers. Through the power of God and the blood of Jesus Christ, we overcome the powers of the enemy who is continually trying to lay a claim on us.
My right heel had been bothering me for a while now. After this word study I think I will hold off seeing a podiatrist so when the pain occurs I will remind myself this one word ‘eikev, ‘eikev, ‘eikev. Only say a word……
‘eikev, I am- indeed in Christ.
As a woman rejected by my husband for another woman, I identify with Leah. She too was an overcomer. I have not read the Book of Jasher. However I have been told that the Book of Jasher gives clues that Leah and Rachel were also twins. So according to tradition, then Leah was not only supposed to marry first because she was the oldest, but that she was supposed to marry Esau. She was weak eyed because she was weeping. YHVH heard Leah’s prayers. Laban had compassion for his daughter and Rachel had compassion for her sister. They had to have colluded together to have pulled off what they did. The Bible says that Rachel had that idol doll with her. So was Leah the more fatihful one to YHVH? YHVH knew Leah’s feelings of rejection and so he blessed her over and over again with children. Leah hung in there.
I happen to have a friend who films archeological sites in Israel. In Bethlehem, there is a valley in which the Temple shepherds were known to have kept watch over the lambs which were to be sacrificed. It is located at an ancient crossroads. It was at that crossroads where Rachel gave birth to Benjamin and died. They carried Rachel down into the valley and buried her in a cave. The cave has been found with Paleo Hebrew inscriptions and that idol doll next to the remains. At the entrance to the cave are the same letters that were inscribed over the head of Jesus on the cross. Inside were stone mangers with dividers that were specially made for the Temple lambs so that they would not bite each other. So Jesus was born in the same cave where the Temple sacrificial lambs were cared for. Herod’s temple is located on a mountain that overlooks that valley. In Tehillim 23, there is the verse – Even though I walk through the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. When one knows the location of Jesus’s birth, then that is another prophecy about the birth of Jesus. Jesus could not have been born in December. It had to have been at the time when the Temple lambs were being born or else the Shepherd’s would not have been up all night keeping watch. Israeli Antiquities authorities would not let this information be published to the public and my friend was threatened with death if this information got out. I have seen all of the footage and for a while my friend had me hide the film in a lock box in my house. Just thought you might be interested in some extra Biblical information.