First of all, we now find out that dead is dead and no one has ever come back from the dead on the island. Jacob's enemy is clearly the Smoke Monster who has the ability to impersonate dead people like Christian, Yemi, Alex and now Locke. So why are Jacob and the Smoke Monster enemies? Well, Smokey does not believe that humanity will not stop killing each other and Jacob tries to prove Smokey wrong by summoning the Black Ship to come to the island.
Yet, this does not explain why Smokey hates Jacob so much that he wants to kill Jacob. We have to wait until Season 6 to find out why but Jacob and the Smoke Monster are clearly based on the biblical Jacob and his twin brother Esau so we look to the Bible (wikipedia) for possible answers.
1. The Bible depicts Esau as a hunter who prefers the outdoor life, qualities that distinguished him from his brother, who was a shy or simple man.
- Smokey hunts people with sin; Jacob lives so simple that he makes his own clothes.
- When Smokey killed Jacob, he was in Locke’s form, a hunter. In one of Season 3 flashbacks, Locke told that undercover cop that he was not a farmer but a hunter.
2. Esau was the older brother and was supposed to inherit everything from his father. Yet, Jacob uses deception to trick their father Isaac who was blind into giving Jacob the blessing. Esau vowed to kill Jacob for taking away both his birthright and his blessing. Jacob went into hiding to prevent being murdered.
- Smokey wanted to kill Jacob so Jacob stayed in one place of the island and didn’t see anyone on the island to avoid being killed by people corrupted by Smokey.
3. In the Book of Jubilees, Esau's father, Isaac, compels Esau to swear not to attack or kill Jacob after Isaac has died. However, after the death of Isaac, the sons of Esau convince their father to lead them, and hired mercenaries, against Jacob in order to kill Jacob and his family and seize their wealth, (especially the portion of Isaac's wealth that Isaac had left to Jacob upon his death).
- Smokey can’t kill Jacob directly for some reason and need to use a loophole – Ben.
- Jacob told Locke to help him in the cabin and when Locke was shot by Ben, Jacob somehow used Walt to help Locke and this was why Jacob wanted Walt to be kidnapped. Smokey however prevented Locke from helping Jacob by telling Richard to tell Locke that he needed to leave the island and also died on this mission.
4. Why Smokey didn’t kill Eko the first time and kill him the second time?
- Smokey can read people’s memory by scanning them. When Smokey scanned Eko, he was reminded of himself because Yemi also had a bad brother Eko who betrayed him. So Smokey spared Eko’s life and gave him a second chance. Smokey appeared as Yemi and asked Eko to confess for his past sins. Eko then proclaimed that he is in-fact not sorry for anything he has done, nor does he seek forgiveness from Yemi. The Monster, as Yemi, replied, "You speak to me as if I were your brother," then turned to a monster and kill Eko violently.
Yet, this does not explain why Smokey hates Jacob so much that he wants to kill Jacob. We have to wait until Season 6 to find out why but Jacob and the Smoke Monster are clearly based on the biblical Jacob and his twin brother Esau so we look to the Bible (wikipedia) for possible answers.
1. The Bible depicts Esau as a hunter who prefers the outdoor life, qualities that distinguished him from his brother, who was a shy or simple man.
- Smokey hunts people with sin; Jacob lives so simple that he makes his own clothes.
- When Smokey killed Jacob, he was in Locke’s form, a hunter. In one of Season 3 flashbacks, Locke told that undercover cop that he was not a farmer but a hunter.
2. Esau was the older brother and was supposed to inherit everything from his father. Yet, Jacob uses deception to trick their father Isaac who was blind into giving Jacob the blessing. Esau vowed to kill Jacob for taking away both his birthright and his blessing. Jacob went into hiding to prevent being murdered.
- Smokey wanted to kill Jacob so Jacob stayed in one place of the island and didn’t see anyone on the island to avoid being killed by people corrupted by Smokey.
3. In the Book of Jubilees, Esau's father, Isaac, compels Esau to swear not to attack or kill Jacob after Isaac has died. However, after the death of Isaac, the sons of Esau convince their father to lead them, and hired mercenaries, against Jacob in order to kill Jacob and his family and seize their wealth, (especially the portion of Isaac's wealth that Isaac had left to Jacob upon his death).
- Smokey can’t kill Jacob directly for some reason and need to use a loophole – Ben.
- Jacob told Locke to help him in the cabin and when Locke was shot by Ben, Jacob somehow used Walt to help Locke and this was why Jacob wanted Walt to be kidnapped. Smokey however prevented Locke from helping Jacob by telling Richard to tell Locke that he needed to leave the island and also died on this mission.
4. Why Smokey didn’t kill Eko the first time and kill him the second time?
- Smokey can read people’s memory by scanning them. When Smokey scanned Eko, he was reminded of himself because Yemi also had a bad brother Eko who betrayed him. So Smokey spared Eko’s life and gave him a second chance. Smokey appeared as Yemi and asked Eko to confess for his past sins. Eko then proclaimed that he is in-fact not sorry for anything he has done, nor does he seek forgiveness from Yemi. The Monster, as Yemi, replied, "You speak to me as if I were your brother," then turned to a monster and kill Eko violently.
