Jacob

Jacob is the younger twin of Esau, born grasping his brother's heel. After taking Esau's blessing he flees toward Harran. On the way, in Genesis 28, he dreams of a ladder or stairway set on the earth and reaching to heaven, with angels going up and down. He names the place Bethel, "house of God," and calls it the gate of heaven.

Returning years later with his wives Leah and Rachel, he is left alone at the Jabbok river and wrestles a man until daybreak (Genesis 32). The man injures his hip, renames him Israel, and refuses to give his own name. Jacob calls the place Peniel, saying he has seen God face to face. Hosea 12:4 later calls the wrestler an angel. Jacob's twelve sons become the ancestors of the tribes of Israel, and he dies in Egypt at 147.

Scholars generally regard Jacob as a figure of national tradition rather than a demonstrable historical person. Ancient-astronaut writers have read the ladder as a machine; the text presents it as a dream.