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I can't believe this has not been discussed somewhere on here before.

Couldn't we going down the twelve tribes of Israel route here? If Jacob is "Him", then we already have Benjamin and Dan (Pickett). We know Ben has been on the island "all his life", so both he and Pickett could be Jacobs sons?

We know the show has used religous overtones continuously, maybe this is another example?

Anyone else agree?

Ant.

• I agree! There was a mention made here of Ben & Dan, but it somehow got lost in the theory tab move....I've added it again--Kivipat
• Well maybe if we had some of the more obscure names from the thirteen available pop up, like Issachar or Zebulon. Until that happens I think it's just a coincidence that the creators of Lost wouldn't necessarily be too unhappy about.

The name Jacob definitely has some sort of meaning. In an article recently posted on ew.com, the producers were asked in an interview, Who is Jacob, and why is Jack (Matthew Fox) not on his list? The answer lies further downstream in the ongoing story, says Cuse. A clue? Lindelof reminds fans that character names in Lost are not assigned without reason. Yes, that is a clue.—The preceding unsigned comment was added by Stripes (talk • contribs) .

Biblical

I moved this info from "Stranger in a Strange Land" trivia. Use as is appropriate:

• The reference to Jacob in Romans 9:13 refers to the fact that in God's sovereignty, He chose Jacob and his descendants to be blessed and Esau and his descendants to be cursed. The choice was not made based on their merits, whether they were good and evil, but rather on God's divine prerogative. Romans 9:13 is quoting from Malachi 1:1-3, and the full story of Jacob and Esau can be found in Genesis 25-36.
  • Like nearly everything in the Bible, there are different readings for that passage and the story it cites. Esau despised the birthright and was rejected for it. His descendants worshiped pagan gods and were destroyed for it. The argument is an example of views on fate versus free will.

Table

Can the identity section of this page have a little table similar to the one on the Monster and Him pages? Princess Dharma (banned)

Clean Up

Someone needs to clean up the theories that are considered irrelevant since tonight's episode.     Nusentinsaino     talk    contribs    email  

Quasi-Supernatural?

While it's obvious that Jacob is not your average Other, there's something strange about how he's handled.

Consider first the ring of ash or gray salt that - apparently - encircles his cabin. This is reminiscent of a Circle, a Wiccan or neopagan warding designed to contain and isolate malign forces. Whatever Jacob is, he may be held as a prisoner, hence his "help me" comment to Locke.

Bear in mind also his apparent hatred of technology, even something as primitive as a flashlight. His behavior has all the hallmarks of someone who believes his fetish (in this case, technology) caused him great harm. What technology was there on the island capable of causing anybody great harm, save what the Initiative built? Someone mentioned before that the Incident may have played a part in his current condition. Based upon his behavior towards technology, this seems to be an extremely likely possibility.

I'll try to locate some better screen captures of the circle, maybe nail down its material. Perhaps Jacob should be treated as a quasi-supernatural entity; supernatural abilities, fully natural psychosis.

--ConspiracyofDetails 06:44, 10 May 2007 (PDT)

Magnus Hanso and Son

The Magnus Hanso theory seems to be falling into place. We might think that someone who arrived on the Black Rock would avoid technology.

Yet... wouldn't Magnus Hanso be better known as Magnus and not Jacob? —XSG 13:02, 10 May 2007 (PDT)

Did Magnus have a middle name? --ConspiracyofDetails 12:08, 11 May 2007 (PDT)

I suggested Magnus, but I have to say I'm much more intrigued by the "son of Magnus/father of Alvar" idea. He is a complete cypher on the show. Do we know anything at all about the middle Hanso other than his necessary existence? Do we know he went to the Island? It would seem natural that Daddy Hanso would go looking for his daddy's final resting place, especially considering the "daddy issues" theme that runs thick and deep through this series. While Alvar isn't a Danish name, and Magnus is Latin, Jacob is spelled exactly that way in Denmark, and this is something that Jeffrey Jacob Abrams would probably be aware of.Boloboffin 01:49, 12 May 2007 (PDT)

I never thought "Magnus" was his real name. I've always considered it like a title. Who drew the Blast door map knew something about the Hanso family (AH stands for Alvar Hanso, DIHG stands for Dharma Initiative Hanso Group), maybe he/they knew Alvar Hanso, so they called his dad/uncle/granfather/... with the title "Magnus" (maybe they didn't know his first name - ...the producers couldn't talk about a "Jacob Hanso" on the Blast door map). Talking about titles and old big ships, "Magnus" can be considered as a commander name, too. -- Andreapasotti 0:29, 13 May 2007 (Italy)

Jacob as a manifestation of your own imagination

How about the idea that Jacob is the manifestation of the individual seeing "Him", and to see him you must trully believe in the island, in the same way that for instance adults cannot see fairies and ghosts etc. Maybe once you do believe, whatever you imagine is there in your mind would be there in some way - e.g. Jack saw his father, Kate saw the black horse, Hurley saw Dave, Eko saw his brother - maybe these are all just manifestations of Jacob - the only reason he is called Jacob his because the person Ben sees is a man called Jacob and he is the only person to label him? Look at the image of Jacob as Locke sees him - it looks remarkably like himself but with copious amounts of flowing hair - perhaps he sees himself in the future in Jacob? It could explain the black cloud monster thingy - THAT is "Jacob", it just manifests itself in different ways to different people. Either way, the Island posseses some form of supernatural power which allows the presentation of such events. Your thoughts?

• I see a major hole in this: The ones who, according to this, can see Jacob are ones who are the most skeptical about the island's power and the only survivor who completely believes in the island can't. Seems rather reversed, does not it? --Domerin 08:47, 20 May 2007 (PDT)

Radzinsky?

Perhaps Jacob is Radzinsky? After all, there appears to be something on the side of Jacob's head, which when viewed closely, may be a rather large hole in his skull, with a lot of brain missing. Radzinsky did, after all, shoot himself (apparantly).

the eye?

When I was watching the video, the eye seemed to me to be Locke's, not Jacob's. I am wondering why that is considered the valid theory for the theories page, it seemed obvious that it was Locke's. User:Tarabyte 19:52, 21 May 2007 (PDT)

Future Jack?

I'm not sure I personally buy this, but it's an interesting idea. What if Jacob is some sort of projection back of Future Jack, manipulating events on the island to try to make himself never leave. He could have even caused the crash in the first place. His "help me" plea to Locke could be setting up the mission he and Walt send Locke on soon afterward. Jon the Geek 15:33, 24 May 2007 (PDT)

This fits with Locke's reluctance to shoot Jack in Through The Looking Glass (presuming Jacob has revealed his identity to John). --Travisseitler 08:22, 25 May 2007 (PDT)

I disagree. all the time travel that has taken place has been by people's (or Eloise's) conciousness only, and therefore if Jack did travel through time, his future conciousness would travel to his present body, like Desmond and Eloise in The Constant.Roobydo 15:56, 9 March 2008 (PDT)

J? ?antham

Couldn't this be Jacob? That was the first thing I thought. I guess we really don't know enough about either Jacob or Mr. ?antham to put together much of a pro/con list, though.

Jacob Hanso

In Denmark Jacob can also be spelled with a k, but there is more people with c than with k - to be more exact according to Danmarks Statistik, from 2006, (Denmarks Statistics) there is 18770 named with a c (http://dst.dk/Statistik/Navne/Document.aspx?path=%2fhomedk%2fstatistik%2fnavne%2fhvormange&layout={AB08C697-2973-4A81-98AC-E038190BA8DB}) and there is 14895 with a k (http://dst.dk/Statistik/Navne/Document.aspx?path=%2fhomedk%2fstatistik%2fnavne%2fhvormange&layout={AB08C697-2973-4A81-98AC-E038190BA8DB})

All I wanna point out is that there is more uncertainty with his name, pointing out that Jacob can also be spelled with a k. I don't know if this should be added, but if anyone feels like it, please do.

--Isakk 11:53, 24 June 2007 (PDT) (from Denmark)

Osama?

I mean, wtf? I think it should be removed, there's no way it would be him. --Blueeagleislander 03:03, 28 July 2007 (PDT)

• I agree there's no way Osama is Jacob, hopefully no one buys into that theory --Mr. Crabby (Talk) 12:02, 29 July 2007 (PDT)

The Island

I agree that Jacob is not an "inanimate piece of land" as the theories page points out here, but I think that Jacob is a psychic and occasionally physical manifestation of The Island. We know he's not just a man, not by a longshot. He's clearly got something paranormal going on. And if we assume that Ben only takes action when instructed by Jacob to do so, it seems that Jacob percieves both Dharma and Faraday's group to be a threat. Ben claims he and The Others (and therefore Jacob) are "the good guys." Maybe what he means is that they are the ones who are protecting The Island whereas the Dharma Initiative was trying to exploit it. Faraday's group seems to have aims similar to those of the Dharma Initiative, being research scientists and all. Anyway, I'm adding all this to the actual theories page; I wanted to mention it here as an explanation of my theory and in case someone thinks my theory doesn't belong and erases it from the theory page. --Voo 01:27, 23 February 2008 (PST)

I think we can all agree the Island is anything but "an inanimate piece of land", and that Ben's actions are always self serving. I think Jacob is another manifestation of the island, and that he/it knows Ben's selfish intentions, and therefore ask Locke (whom he knows treasures the Island) to help him. I also think The Monster is controlled by Jacob, which is why it didn't harm him on their first encounter, and the hole he was pulling him into on their second encounter wasn't to hurt him, but to bring him to Jacob, or some other location. Roobydo 15:45, 9 March 2008 (PDT)

Jacob's Island was immortalised by Charles Dickens's novel Oliver Twist, in which the principal villain Bill Sikes meets a nasty end in the mud of 'Folly Ditch' - the scene of an attack by Spring Heeled Jack in 1845 - which surrounds Jacob's Island. Dickens provides a vivid description of what it was like:

   "... crazy wooden galleries common to the backs of half a dozen houses, with holes from which to look upon the slime beneath; windows, broken and patched, with poles thrust out, on which to dry the linen that is never there; rooms so small, so filthy, so confined, that the air would seem to be too tainted even for the dirt and squalor which they shelter; wooden chambers thrusting themselves out above the mud and threatening to fall into it - as some have done; dirt-besmeared walls and decaying foundations, every repulsive lineament of poverty, every loathsome indication of filth, rot, and garbage: all these ornament the banks of Jacob's Island.

Vanderfield?

Is it too much to theorize a connection between the mystical Jacob and Jacob Vanderfield, post-2004 imprisoned Hanso board member? Not just on the basis of the name, but also that the "man in charge" isn't always visibly the man in charge (on the board, influencing Hanso).--Tim Thomason 18:22, 8 March 2008 (PST)

It is possible that Jacob is the island. Dickens anf Oliver twist are referenced a few times and here is a bit of info about Oliver twist taken from Wikipedia.

Jacob's Island was immortalised by Charles Dickens's novel Oliver Twist, in which the principal villain Bill Sikes meets a nasty end in the mud of 'Folly Ditch' - the scene of an attack by Spring Heeled Jack in 1845 - which surrounds Jacob's Island. Dickens provides a vivid description of what it was like:

   "... crazy wooden galleries common to the backs of half a dozen houses, with holes from which to look upon the slime beneath; windows, broken and patched, with poles thrust out, on which to dry the linen that is never there; rooms so small, so filthy, so confined, that the air would seem to be too tainted even for the dirt and squalor which they shelter; wooden chambers thrusting themselves out above the mud and threatening to fall into it - as some have done; dirt-besmeared walls and decaying foundations, every repulsive lineament of poverty, every loathsome indication of filth, rot, and garbage: all these ornament the banks of Jacob's Island.

The writers may have got the idea for the discription of Jacob's shack from Oliver Twist

Clean up

Anyone fancy doing it, removing some of the more ridiculous theories?? For example Jack is Jacob and probably a good half of the other ones.Matthew7785 12:48, 7 May 2008 (PDT)

Isaac of Uluru

I just visited his LP page, and this is what I got:

I think the Isaac of Uluru was about how certain places on earth are connected, maybe containing that exotic matter thingy allowing time travel. The place around his crib was one of those places. I'll bet the island is too. Too bad Ben destroyed the Orchid time machine.

I think this guy is directly connected to the Island. He has pictures of the frozen donkey wheel(dharmacakra), and postcards from people he has healed. I think he's Jacob. Could someone who bothers make him a possible identity theory about him? Also, in the mythology of the Uluru, there's something about someone there awakening a monster.--Deus ex Machina 06:27, 17 June 2008 (PDT)