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.
His brother ... was called Jacob - i:e., heel-catcher, supplanter, tripper-up, as a wrestler does an antagonist (Genesis 27:36; Hosea 12:3). This action of the infant was an early token of the artful, selfish, crafty character of the future man. 'Whether or no the act of Jacob was beyond the strength ordinarily given to infants in the womb, the meaning of the act was beyond man's wisdom to declare' (Pusey, 'Minor Prophets').