Genesis 35
Christian Standard Bible
Return to Bethel
35 God said to Jacob, “Get up! Go to Bethel and settle there.(A) Build an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.”(B)
2 So Jacob said to his family and all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods that are among you.(C) Purify yourselves and change your clothes.(D) 3 We must get up and go to Bethel. I will build an altar there to the God who answered me in my day of distress.(E) He has been with me everywhere I have gone.”(F)
4 Then they gave Jacob all their foreign gods and their earrings, and Jacob hid them under the oak near Shechem. 5 When they set out, a terror from God came over the cities around them, and they did not pursue Jacob’s sons.(G) 6 So Jacob and all who were with him came to Luz (that is, Bethel(H)) in the land of Canaan. 7 Jacob built an altar there and called the place El-bethel[a] because it was there that God had revealed himself to him when he was fleeing from his brother.
8 Deborah, the one who had nursed and raised Rebekah,[b](I) died and was buried under the oak south of Bethel. So Jacob named it Allon-bacuth.[c]
9 God appeared to Jacob again after he returned from Paddan-aram, and he blessed him. 10 God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; you will no longer be named Jacob, but your name will be Israel.”(J) So he named him Israel. 11 God also said to him, “I am God Almighty.(K) Be fruitful and multiply.(L) A nation, indeed an assembly of nations, will come from you,(M) and kings will descend from you.[d](N) 12 I will give to you the land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac.(O) And I will give the land to your future descendants.” 13 Then God withdrew[e](P) from him at the place where he had spoken to him.
14 Jacob set up a marker at the place where he had spoken to him—a stone marker. He poured a drink offering on it and poured oil on it.(Q) 15 Jacob named the place where God had spoken with him Bethel.
Rachel’s Death
16 They set out from Bethel. When they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth, and her labor was difficult. 17 During her difficult labor, the midwife said to her, “Don’t be afraid, for you have another son.”(R) 18 With her last breath—for she was dying—she named him Ben-oni,[f] but his father called him Benjamin.[g] 19 So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem(S)). 20 Jacob set up a marker on her grave; it is the marker at Rachel’s grave still today.
Israel’s Sons
21 Israel set out again and pitched his tent beyond the Tower of Eder.[h] 22 While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went in and slept with his father’s concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard about it.(T)
Jacob had twelve sons:(U)
23 Leah’s sons were Reuben (Jacob’s firstborn),
Simeon, Levi, Judah,
Issachar, and Zebulun.
24 Rachel’s sons were
Joseph and Benjamin.
25 The sons of Rachel’s slave Bilhah
were Dan and Naphtali.
26 The sons of Leah’s slave Zilpah
were Gad and Asher.
These are the sons of Jacob, who were born to him in Paddan-aram.
Isaac’s Death
27 Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre(V) in Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron(W)), where Abraham and Isaac had stayed. 28 Isaac lived 180 years. 29 He took his last breath and died, and was gathered to his people,(X) old and full of days. His sons Esau and Jacob buried him.
Genesis 35
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Jacob Returns to Bethel
35 God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel, and settle there. Make an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.”(A) 2 So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Put away the foreign gods that are among you, and purify yourselves, and change your clothes;(B) 3 then come, let us go up to Bethel, that I may make an altar there to the God who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone.”(C) 4 So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that they had and the rings that were in their ears, and Jacob hid them under the oak that was near Shechem.(D)
5 As they journeyed, a terror from God fell upon the cities all around them, so that no one pursued them.(E) 6 Jacob came to Luz, that is, Bethel, which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him,(F) 7 and there he built an altar and called the place El-bethel,[a] because it was there that God had revealed himself to him when he fled from his brother.(G) 8 And Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and she was buried under an oak below Bethel. So it was called Allon-bacuth.[b](H)
9 God appeared to Jacob again when he came from Paddan-aram, and he blessed him.(I) 10 God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; no longer shall you be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name.” So he was called Israel.(J) 11 God said to him, “I am God Almighty:[c] be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall spring from you.(K) 12 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.”(L) 13 Then God went up from him at the place where he had spoken with him.(M) 14 Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he had spoken with him, a pillar of stone, and he poured out a drink offering on it and poured oil on it.(N) 15 So Jacob called the place where God had spoken with him Bethel.(O)
The Birth of Benjamin and the Death of Rachel
16 Then they journeyed from Bethel, and when they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel was in childbirth, and she had hard labor. 17 When she was in her hard labor, the midwife said to her, “Do not be afraid, for now you have another son.”(P) 18 As her soul was departing, for she was dying, she named him Ben-oni,[d] but his father called him Benjamin.[e] 19 And Rachel died, and she was buried on the way to Ephrath, that is, Bethlehem,(Q) 20 and Jacob set up a pillar at her grave; it is the pillar of Rachel’s tomb, which is there to this day.(R) 21 Israel journeyed on and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eder.
22 While Israel lived in that land, Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine, and Israel heard of it.
Now the sons of Jacob were twelve.(S) 23 The sons of Leah: 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 maid: Dan and Naphtali. 26 The sons of Zilpah, Leah’s maid: Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan-aram.
The Death of Isaac
27 Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre, or Kiriath-arba, that is, Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac had resided as aliens.(T) 28 Now the days of Isaac were one hundred eighty years. 29 And Isaac breathed his last; he died and was gathered to his people, old and full of days, and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.(U)
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New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.