יעקב Jacob
'Jacob' means 'supplanter'. He usurped his brother's inheritance and blessing. Look at the hg:
What unfinished plans of God were revealed through Jacob?
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
Whenever there are three things we always think of the Trinity. These three are known as 'the Fathers' and represent the Trinity. Abraham whose will is done as indicated when the servant took an oath to carry out his will. He chose the bride for his Son just as God the Father chose those who would be saved to be the bride of Christ.
Isaac represents Christ who willingly gave his life in obedience to the Father. Though Isaac didn't actually die, the figure of death is completed with the ram taking the place of Isaac, so that Isaac may then represent the risen Lord. Jesus in the flesh died without literal heir, and Isaac did not receive the blessing to be fruitful and multiply from Abraham, to represent this.
Jesus was only fruitful in resurrection, which is the role that Jacob plays. Jacob plays the role of the Holy Ghost who gathers and multiplies the church. God promised him that he would multiply, and he did so by having 12 sons, a daughter, and two adopted sons. When the usurper dies figuratively while wrestling with the angel of the Lord, he is resurrected with a new name.
When the prophecy is made that the hearts of the fathers would be turned to the children, and those of the children to the fathers, literally it says that the faith of the fathers would be shared and adopted by the children. Since they represent the Trinity, Figuratively it suggests that the enmity between God and man, and that between man and God would be healed.
יהודה Judah
Look very closely at these two words:
- יהודה - Judah
- יהוה - Yahweh
Judah is the name Yahweh with a dalet ד representing a spoken word in it. Literally it means praised, but the hg suggest that it is Yahweh who is praised. It may even be suggestive that the life of Judah is a prophecy (word) concerning Yahweh. In fact, the story of Tamar in Genesis 38 is a picture of the birth of Christ with Judah playing the role of the Father and Tamar as Mary.
This sort of word play is evident in the name of Yeshua.