Jacob Moves to Bethel

35 Then God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to (A)Bethel and live there, and make an altar there to (B)God, who appeared to you (C)when you fled [a]from your brother Esau.” So Jacob said to his (D)household and to all who were with him, “Remove (E)the foreign gods which are among you, and (F)purify yourselves and change your garments; and let’s arise and go up to Bethel, and I will make (G)an altar there to God, (H)who answered me on the day of my distress and (I)has been with me [b]wherever I have gone.” So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods which [c]they had and the rings which were in their ears, and Jacob hid them under the [d]oak which was near Shechem.

As they journeyed, there was [e](J)a great terror upon the cities which were around them, and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob. So Jacob came to (K)Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him. Then (L)he built an altar there, and called the place [f]El-bethel, because there God had revealed Himself to him when he fled [g]from his brother. Now (M)Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and she was buried below Bethel under the oak; and it was named [h]Allon-bacuth.

Jacob Is Named Israel

Then God appeared to Jacob again when he came from Paddan-aram, and He (N)blessed him. 10 (O)God said to him,

“Your name is Jacob;
[i]You shall no longer be called Jacob,
But Israel shall be your name.”

So He called [j]him Israel. 11 God also said to him,

“I am [k](P)God Almighty;
(Q)Be fruitful and multiply;
A nation and a (R)multitude of nations shall [l]come from you,
And (S)kings shall [m]come from [n]you.
12 And (T)the land which I gave to Abraham and Isaac,
I will give to you,
And I will give the land to your [o]descendants after you.”

13 Then (U)God went up from him at the place where He had spoken with him. 14 So Jacob set up (V)a memorial stone in the place where He had spoken with him, a memorial of stone, and he poured out a drink offering on it; he also poured oil on it. 15 And Jacob named the place where God had spoken with him, [p](W)Bethel.

16 Then they journeyed on from Bethel; but when there was still some distance to go to (X)Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth and she suffered severe difficulties in her labor. 17 And when she was suffering severe difficulties in her labor, the midwife said to her, “Do not fear, for (Y)you have another son!” 18 And it came about, as her soul was departing (for she died), that she named him [q]Ben-oni; but his father called him [r]Benjamin. 19 So (Z)Rachel died and was buried on the way to (AA)Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). 20 And Jacob set up a memorial stone over her grave; that is the (AB)memorial stone of Rachel’s grave to this day. 21 Then Israel journeyed on and pitched his tent beyond the [s](AC)tower of [t]Eder.

The Sons of Israel

22 And it came about, while Israel was living in that land, that (AD)Reuben went and slept with his father’s concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard about it.

Now there were twelve sons of Jacob— 23 (AE)the sons of Leah were Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, then Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun; 24 (AF)the sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin; 25 and (AG)the sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s female slave, were Dan and Naphtali; 26 and (AH)the sons of Zilpah, Leah’s female slave, were Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan-aram.

27 Jacob came to his father Isaac at (AI)Mamre of (AJ)Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had resided.

28 Now the days of Isaac were (AK)180 years. 29 Then Isaac breathed his last and died, and was (AL)gathered to his people, an (AM)old man [u]of ripe age; and (AN)his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 35:1 Lit from the face of
  2. Genesis 35:3 Lit in the way which
  3. Genesis 35:4 Lit were in their hand
  4. Genesis 35:4 Or terebinth
  5. Genesis 35:5 Or a terror of God
  6. Genesis 35:7 I.e., the God of Bethel
  7. Genesis 35:7 Lit from the face of
  8. Genesis 35:8 I.e., oak of weeping
  9. Genesis 35:10 Lit Your name
  10. Genesis 35:10 Lit his name
  11. Genesis 35:11 Heb El Shaddai
  12. Genesis 35:11 Or come into being
  13. Genesis 35:11 Or come into being
  14. Genesis 35:11 Lit your loins
  15. Genesis 35:12 Lit seed
  16. Genesis 35:15 I.e., house of God
  17. Genesis 35:18 I.e., the son of my sorrow
  18. Genesis 35:18 I.e., the son of the right hand
  19. Genesis 35:21 Heb Migdal-eder
  20. Genesis 35:21 Or flock
  21. Genesis 35:29 Lit and satisfied with days

God Blesses and Renames Jacob

35 God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to (A)Bethel and dwell there. Make an altar there to the God who appeared to you (B)when you fled from your brother Esau.” So Jacob said to his (C)household and to all who were with him, “Put away (D)the foreign gods that are among you and (E)purify yourselves and change your garments. Then let us arise and go up to Bethel, so that I may make there an altar to the God (F)who answers me in the day of my distress and (G)has been with me wherever I have gone.” So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that they had, and the rings that were in their ears. Jacob hid them under (H)the terebinth tree that was near Shechem.

And as they journeyed, a terror from God fell upon the cities that were around them, so that they did not pursue the sons of Jacob. And Jacob came to (I)Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him, and there he built an altar and called the place El-bethel,[a] because (J)there God had revealed himself to him when he fled from his brother. And (K)Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died, and she was buried under an oak below Bethel. So he called its name Allon-bacuth.[b]

God appeared[c] to Jacob again, when he came from Paddan-aram, and blessed him. 10 And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; (L)no longer shall your name be called Jacob, but (M)Israel shall be your name.” So he called his name Israel. 11 And God said to him, (N)“I am God Almighty:[d] be (O)fruitful and multiply. (P)A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come from your own body.[e] 12 (Q)The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give the land to your offspring after you.” 13 Then God (R)went up from him in the place where he had spoken with him. 14 And Jacob (S)set up a pillar in the place where he had spoken with him, a pillar of stone. He poured out a drink offering on it and poured oil on it. 15 So Jacob called the name of the place where God had spoken with him (T)Bethel.

The Deaths of Rachel and Isaac

16 Then they journeyed from Bethel. When they were still some distance[f] from Ephrath, Rachel went into labor, and she had hard labor. 17 And when her labor was at its hardest, the midwife said to her, “Do not fear, for (U)you have another son.” 18 And as her soul was departing (for she was dying), she called his name Ben-oni;[g] (V)but his father called him Benjamin.[h] 19 So (W)Rachel died, and she was buried on the way to (X)Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem), 20 and Jacob set up a pillar over her tomb. It is (Y)the pillar of Rachel's tomb, which is there to this day. 21 Israel journeyed on and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eder.

22 While Israel lived in that land, Reuben went and (Z)lay with Bilhah his father's concubine. And Israel heard of it.

Now the sons of Jacob were twelve. 23 The sons of Leah: (AA)Reuben (Jacob's firstborn), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. 24 The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin. 25 The sons of Bilhah, Rachel's servant: Dan and Naphtali. 26 The sons of Zilpah, Leah's servant: Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan-aram.

27 And Jacob came to his father Isaac at (AB)Mamre, or (AC)Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had sojourned. 28 Now the days of Isaac were 180 years. 29 And Isaac breathed his last, and he died (AD)and was gathered to his people, old and full of days. And (AE)his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 35:7 El-bethel means God of Bethel
  2. Genesis 35:8 Allon-bacuth means oak of weeping
  3. Genesis 35:9 Or had appeared
  4. Genesis 35:11 Hebrew El Shaddai
  5. Genesis 35:11 Hebrew from your loins
  6. Genesis 35:16 Or about two hours' distance
  7. Genesis 35:18 Ben-oni could mean son of my sorrow, or son of my strength
  8. Genesis 35:18 Benjamin means son of the right hand