According to John Tvedtnes, Lehi apparently named his sons Jacob and Joseph after their distant ancestors Jacob and Joseph. Lehi called Jacob "my first-born in the days of my tribulation in the wilderness" (2 Nephi 2:1-1). These tribulations were brought on principally by the disobedience of Laman and Lemuel. The use of the term firstborn implies that Lehi may have considered Jacob to be a replacement for these sons. We have a parallel to this situation in Genesis 48:5,16, where Jacob adopted Joseph's sons Manasseh and Ephraim in place of Reuben and Simeon, who had sinned (see Genesis 34:30; 35:22; 49:3-5).
The name Jacob is explained as "supplanter" in the King James Bible of Genesis 27:36 (compare Genesis 25:23-26), but could just as easily be read "successor" or "replacement," since Jacob replaced Esau as firstborn and received the birthright and the blessing (see Genesis 25:29-34; 27:22-40). Esau was unfit to serve as firstborn. In Hebrews 12:16, Esau is called a "fornicator" and a "profane person." He sought Jacob's life, waiting only for the death of his father to proceed with his plan (see Genesis 27:41). Similarly, after the death of Lehi, Laman and Lemuel sought the life of their brother Nephi [and possibly the life of Jacob and Joseph]. Nephi, Jacob, and Joseph, along with others were forced to flee to the land of Nephi.
While Lehi may have considered Jacob and Joseph to be replacements for the fallen Laman and Lemuel, he did not give the right of the firstborn to Jacob. That blessing fell to Nephi, to whom Jacob and Joseph were to look for leadership (see 1 Nephi 2:21-22; 3:29; 2 Nephi 2:3; 3:25; 5:19-20). [John A. Tvedtnes, "Firstborn in the Wilderness," in Pressing Forward with the Book of Mormon, F.A.R.M.S., 1999, pp. 63-65; see also Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 3/1 (1994): 207-209] [See the commentary on 2 Nephi 3:2]
Note* One of the most striking voids in Nephi's account is the absence of his patriarchal blessing. Perhaps we find pieces of it in the blessings to Jacob and Joseph (as well as the others), where the historical parallels could be better illustrated. [Alan C. Miner, Personal Notes]