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Genesis 35-37
Christian Standard Bible
Genesis 35-37
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.
Esau’s Family
36 These are the family records(Y) of Esau (that is, Edom(Z)). 2 Esau took his wives from the Canaanite women: Adah daughter of Elon the Hethite,(AA) Oholibamah daughter of Anah and granddaughter[i] of Zibeon the Hivite, 3 and Basemath daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth.(AB) 4 Adah bore Eliphaz to Esau, Basemath bore Reuel, 5 and Oholibamah bore Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These were Esau’s sons, who were born to him in the land of Canaan.
6 Esau took his wives, sons, daughters, and all the people of his household, as well as his herds, all his livestock, and all the property he had acquired in Canaan; he went to a land away from his brother Jacob. 7 For their possessions were too many for them to live together,(AC) and because of their herds, the land where they stayed could not support them.(AD) 8 So Esau (that is, Edom) lived in the mountains of Seir.(AE)
9 These are the family records of Esau, father of the Edomites in the mountains of Seir.
10 These are the names of Esau’s sons:(AF)
Eliphaz son of Esau’s wife Adah,
and Reuel son of Esau’s wife Basemath.
11 The sons of Eliphaz were
Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz.
12 Timna, a concubine of Esau’s son Eliphaz,
bore Amalek to Eliphaz.
These are the sons of Esau’s wife Adah.
13 These are Reuel’s sons:
Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah.
These are the sons of Esau’s wife Basemath.
14 These are the sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah
daughter of Anah and granddaughter[j] of Zibeon:
She bore Jeush, Jalam, and Korah to Edom.
15 These are the chiefs among Esau’s sons:
the sons of Eliphaz, Esau’s firstborn:
chief Teman, chief Omar, chief Zepho, chief Kenaz,
16 chief Korah,[k] chief Gatam, and chief Amalek.
These are the chiefs descended from Eliphaz
in the land of Edom.
These are the sons of Adah.
17 These are the sons of Reuel, Esau’s son:
chief Nahath, chief Zerah, chief Shammah, and chief Mizzah.
These are the chiefs descended from Reuel
in the land of Edom.
These are the sons of Esau’s wife Basemath.
18 These are the sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah:
chief Jeush, chief Jalam, and chief Korah.
These are the chiefs descended from Esau’s wife Oholibamah
daughter of Anah.
19 These are the sons of Esau (that is, Edom),
and these are their chiefs.
Seir’s Family
20 These are the sons of Seir the Horite,(AG)
the inhabitants of the land:
Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah,
21 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan.
These are the chiefs among the Horites,
the sons of Seir, in the land of Edom.
22 The sons of Lotan were Hori and Heman.
Timna was Lotan’s sister.
23 These are Shobal’s sons:
Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam.
24 These are Zibeon’s sons: Aiah and Anah.
This was the Anah who found the hot springs[l] in the wilderness
while he was pasturing the donkeys of his father Zibeon.
25 These are the children of Anah:
Dishon and Oholibamah daughter of Anah.
26 These are Dishon’s sons:
Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran.
27 These are Ezer’s sons:
Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan.
28 These are Dishan’s sons: Uz and Aran.
29 These are the chiefs among the Horites:
chief Lotan, chief Shobal, chief Zibeon, chief Anah,
30 chief Dishon, chief Ezer, and chief Dishan.
These are the chiefs among the Horites,
clan by clan,[m] in the land of Seir.
Rulers of Edom
31 These are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom(AH)
before any king reigned over the Israelites:
32 Bela son of Beor reigned in Edom;
the name of his city was Dinhabah.
33 When Bela died, Jobab son of Zerah from Bozrah reigned in his place.
34 When Jobab died, Husham from the land of the Temanites reigned in his place.
35 When Husham died, Hadad son of Bedad reigned in his place.
He defeated Midian in the field of Moab;
the name of his city was Avith.
36 When Hadad died, Samlah from Masrekah reigned in his place.
37 When Samlah died, Shaul from Rehoboth on the Euphrates River reigned in his place.
38 When Shaul died, Baal-hanan son of Achbor reigned in his place.
39 When Baal-hanan son of Achbor died, Hadar[n] reigned in his place.
His city was Pau, and his wife’s name was Mehetabel
daughter of Matred daughter of Me-zahab.
40 These are the names of Esau’s chiefs,
according to their families and their localities,
by their names:
chief Timna, chief Alvah, chief Jetheth,
41 chief Oholibamah, chief Elah, chief Pinon,
42 chief Kenaz, chief Teman, chief Mibzar,
43 chief Magdiel, and chief Iram.
These are Edom’s chiefs,
according to their settlements in the land they possessed.
Esau[o] was father of the Edomites.
Joseph’s Dreams
37 Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, the land of Canaan.(AI) 2 These are the family records of Jacob.
At seventeen years of age, Joseph tended sheep with his brothers. The young man was working with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives,(AJ) and he brought a bad report about them to their father.(AK)
3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than his other sons because Joseph was a son born to him in his old age,(AL) and he made a long-sleeved robe[p] for him. 4 When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not bring themselves to speak peaceably to him.
5 Then Joseph had a dream. When he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more. 6 He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: 7 There we were, binding sheaves of grain in the field. Suddenly my sheaf stood up, and your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.”(AM)
8 “Are you really going to reign over us?” his brothers asked him. “Are you really going to rule us?” So they hated him even more because of his dream and what he had said.
9 Then he had another dream and told it to his brothers. “Look,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun, moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”
10 He told his father and brothers, and his father rebuked him. “What kind of dream is this that you have had?” he said. “Am I and your mother and your brothers really going to come and bow down to the ground before you?” 11 His brothers were jealous of him,(AN) but his father kept the matter in mind.(AO)
Joseph Sold into Slavery
12 His brothers had gone to pasture their father’s flocks at Shechem. 13 Israel said to Joseph, “Your brothers, you know, are pasturing the flocks at Shechem. Get ready. I’m sending you to them.”
“I’m ready,” Joseph replied.
14 Then Israel said to him, “Go and see how your brothers and the flocks are doing, and bring word back to me.” So he sent him from the Hebron(AP) Valley, and he went to Shechem.
15 A man found him there, wandering in the field, and asked him, “What are you looking for?”
16 “I’m looking for my brothers,” Joseph said. “Can you tell me where they are pasturing their flocks?”
17 “They’ve moved on from here,” the man said. “I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.’”(AQ) So Joseph set out after his brothers and found them at Dothan.
18 They saw him in the distance, and before he had reached them, they plotted to kill him.(AR) 19 They said to one another, “Oh, look, here comes that dream expert![q] 20 So now, come on, let’s kill him and throw him into one of the pits.[r] We can say that a vicious animal ate him. Then we’ll see what becomes of his dreams!”
21 When Reuben heard this, he tried to save him from them.[s] He said, “Let’s not take his life.”(AS) 22 Reuben also said to them, “Don’t shed blood. Throw him into this pit in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him”—intending to rescue him from them and return him to his father.
23 When Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped off Joseph’s robe, the long-sleeved robe that he had on. 24 Then they took him and threw him into the pit. The pit was empty, without water.(AT)
25 They sat down to eat a meal,(AU) and when they looked up, there was a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead.(AV) Their camels were carrying aromatic gum, balsam, and resin, going down to Egypt.(AW)
26 Judah said to his brothers, “What do we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? 27 Come on, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay a hand on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh,” and his brothers agreed. 28 When Midianite(AX) traders passed by, his brothers pulled Joseph out of the pit and sold him for twenty pieces of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took Joseph to Egypt.(AY)
29 When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes.(AZ) 30 He went back to his brothers and said, “The boy is gone! What am I going to do?” [t] 31 So they took Joseph’s robe, slaughtered a male goat, and dipped the robe in its blood. 32 They sent the long-sleeved robe to their father and said, “We found this. Examine it. Is it your son’s robe or not?”
33 His father recognized it. “It is my son’s robe,” he said. “A vicious animal has devoured him. Joseph has been torn to pieces!” (BA) 34 Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth around his waist, and mourned for his son many days. 35 All his sons and daughters tried to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. “No,” he said. “I will go down to Sheol to my son, mourning.” And his father wept for him.
36 Meanwhile, the Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and the captain of the guards.
Footnotes
- 35:7 = God of Bethel
- 35:8 Lit Deborah, Rebekah’s wet nurse; Gn 24:59
- 35:8 = Oak of Weeping
- 35:11 Lit will come from your loins
- 35:13 Lit went up
- 35:18 = Son of My Sorrow
- 35:18 = Son of the Right Hand
- 35:21 Or beyond Migdal-eder
- 36:2 Sam, LXX read Anah son
- 36:14 Sam, LXX read Anah son
- 36:16 Sam omits Korah
- 36:24 Syr, Vg; Tg reads the mules; Hb obscure
- 36:30 Lit Horites, for their chiefs
- 36:39 Many Hb mss, Sam, Syr read Hadad
- 36:43 Lit He Esau
- 37:3 Or an ornate robe; see 2Sm 13:18,19
- 37:19 Lit comes the lord of the dreams
- 37:20 Or cisterns
- 37:21 Lit their hands
- 37:30 Lit And I, where am I going?
Genesis 35-37
New International Version
Genesis 35-37
New International Version
Jacob Returns to Bethel
35 Then God said to Jacob, “Go up to Bethel(A) and settle there, and build an altar(B) there to God,(C) who appeared to you(D) when you were fleeing from your brother Esau.”(E)
2 So Jacob said to his household(F) and to all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods(G) you have with you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes.(H) 3 Then come, let us go up to Bethel, where I will build an altar to God,(I) who answered me in the day of my distress(J) and who has been with me wherever I have gone.(K)” 4 So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods they had and the rings in their ears,(L) and Jacob buried them under the oak(M) at Shechem.(N) 5 Then they set out, and the terror of God(O) fell on the towns all around them so that no one pursued them.(P)
6 Jacob and all the people with him came to Luz(Q) (that is, Bethel) in the land of Canaan.(R) 7 There he built an altar,(S) and he called the place El Bethel,[a](T) because it was there that God revealed himself to him(U) when he was fleeing from his brother.(V)
8 Now Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse,(W) died and was buried under the oak(X) outside Bethel.(Y) So it was named Allon Bakuth.[b]
9 After Jacob returned from Paddan Aram,[c](Z) God appeared to him again and blessed him.(AA) 10 God said to him, “Your name is Jacob,[d] but you will no longer be called Jacob; your name will be Israel.[e]”(AB) So he named him Israel.
11 And God said to him, “I am God Almighty[f];(AC) be fruitful and increase in number.(AD) A nation(AE) and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will be among your descendants.(AF) 12 The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you.(AG)”(AH) 13 Then God went up from him(AI) at the place where he had talked with him.
14 Jacob set up a stone pillar(AJ) at the place where God had talked with him, and he poured out a drink offering(AK) on it; he also poured oil on it.(AL) 15 Jacob called the place where God had talked with him Bethel.[g](AM)
The Deaths of Rachel and Isaac(AN)
16 Then they moved on from Bethel. While they were still some distance from Ephrath,(AO) Rachel(AP) began to give birth and had great difficulty. 17 And as she was having great difficulty in childbirth, the midwife(AQ) said to her, “Don’t despair, for you have another son.”(AR) 18 As she breathed her last—for she was dying—she named her son Ben-Oni.[h](AS) But his father named him Benjamin.[i](AT)
19 So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath(AU) (that is, Bethlehem(AV)). 20 Over her tomb Jacob set up a pillar, and to this day(AW) that pillar marks Rachel’s tomb.(AX)
21 Israel moved on again and pitched his tent beyond Migdal Eder.(AY) 22 While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went in and slept with his father’s concubine(AZ) Bilhah,(BA) and Israel heard of it.
Jacob had twelve sons:
23 The sons of Leah:(BB)
Reuben the firstborn(BC) of Jacob,
Simeon, Levi, Judah,(BD) Issachar and Zebulun.(BE)
24 The sons of Rachel:
25 The sons of Rachel’s servant Bilhah:(BH)
Dan and Naphtali.(BI)
26 The sons of Leah’s servant Zilpah:(BJ)
These were the sons of Jacob,(BM) who were born to him in Paddan Aram.(BN)
27 Jacob came home to his father Isaac(BO) in Mamre,(BP) near Kiriath Arba(BQ) (that is, Hebron),(BR) where Abraham and Isaac had stayed.(BS) 28 Isaac lived a hundred and eighty years.(BT) 29 Then he breathed his last and died and was gathered to his people,(BU) old and full of years.(BV) And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.(BW)
Esau’s Descendants(BX)(BY)
36 This is the account(BZ) of the family line of Esau (that is, Edom).(CA)
2 Esau took his wives from the women of Canaan:(CB) Adah daughter of Elon the Hittite,(CC) and Oholibamah(CD) daughter of Anah(CE) and granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite(CF)— 3 also Basemath(CG) daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth.(CH)
4 Adah bore Eliphaz to Esau, Basemath bore Reuel,(CI) 5 and Oholibamah bore Jeush, Jalam and Korah.(CJ) These were the sons of Esau, who were born to him in Canaan.
6 Esau took his wives and sons and daughters and all the members of his household, as well as his livestock and all his other animals and all the goods he had acquired in Canaan,(CK) and moved to a land some distance from his brother Jacob.(CL) 7 Their possessions were too great for them to remain together; the land where they were staying could not support them both because of their livestock.(CM) 8 So Esau(CN) (that is, Edom)(CO) settled in the hill country of Seir.(CP)
9 This is the account(CQ) of the family line of Esau the father of the Edomites(CR) in the hill country of Seir.
10 These are the names of Esau’s sons:
Eliphaz, the son of Esau’s wife Adah, and Reuel, the son of Esau’s wife Basemath.(CS)
11 The sons of Eliphaz:(CT)
Teman,(CU) Omar, Zepho, Gatam and Kenaz.(CV)
12 Esau’s son Eliphaz also had a concubine(CW) named Timna, who bore him Amalek.(CX) These were grandsons of Esau’s wife Adah.(CY)
13 The sons of Reuel:
Nahath, Zerah, Shammah and Mizzah. These were grandsons of Esau’s wife Basemath.(CZ)
14 The sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah(DA) daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon, whom she bore to Esau:
Jeush, Jalam and Korah.(DB)
15 These were the chiefs(DC) among Esau’s descendants:
The sons of Eliphaz the firstborn of Esau:
Chiefs Teman,(DD) Omar, Zepho, Kenaz,(DE) 16 Korah,[j] Gatam and Amalek. These were the chiefs descended from Eliphaz(DF) in Edom;(DG) they were grandsons of Adah.(DH)
17 The sons of Esau’s son Reuel:(DI)
Chiefs Nahath, Zerah, Shammah and Mizzah. These were the chiefs descended from Reuel in Edom; they were grandsons of Esau’s wife Basemath.(DJ)
18 The sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah:(DK)
Chiefs Jeush, Jalam and Korah.(DL) These were the chiefs descended from Esau’s wife Oholibamah daughter of Anah.
19 These were the sons of Esau(DM) (that is, Edom),(DN) and these were their chiefs.(DO)
20 These were the sons of Seir the Horite,(DP) who were living in the region:
Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah,(DQ) 21 Dishon, Ezer and Dishan. These sons of Seir in Edom were Horite chiefs.(DR)
22 The sons of Lotan:
Hori and Homam.[k] Timna was Lotan’s sister.
23 The sons of Shobal:
Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho and Onam.
24 The sons of Zibeon:(DS)
Aiah and Anah. This is the Anah who discovered the hot springs[l](DT) in the desert while he was grazing the donkeys(DU) of his father Zibeon.
25 The children of Anah:(DV)
Dishon and Oholibamah(DW) daughter of Anah.
26 The sons of Dishon[m]:
Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran and Keran.
27 The sons of Ezer:
Bilhan, Zaavan and Akan.
28 The sons of Dishan:
Uz and Aran.
29 These were the Horite chiefs:
Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah,(DX) 30 Dishon, Ezer and Dishan. These were the Horite chiefs,(DY) according to their divisions, in the land of Seir.
The Rulers of Edom(DZ)
31 These were the kings who reigned in Edom before any Israelite king(EA) reigned:
32 Bela son of Beor became king of Edom. His city was named Dinhabah.
33 When Bela died, Jobab son of Zerah from Bozrah(EB) succeeded him as king.
34 When Jobab died, Husham from the land of the Temanites(EC) succeeded him as king.
35 When Husham died, Hadad son of Bedad, who defeated Midian(ED) in the country of Moab,(EE) succeeded him as king. His city was named Avith.
36 When Hadad died, Samlah from Masrekah succeeded him as king.
37 When Samlah died, Shaul from Rehoboth(EF) on the river succeeded him as king.
38 When Shaul died, Baal-Hanan son of Akbor succeeded him as king.
39 When Baal-Hanan son of Akbor died, Hadad[n] succeeded him as king. His city was named Pau, and his wife’s name was Mehetabel daughter of Matred, the daughter of Me-Zahab.
40 These were the chiefs(EG) descended from Esau, by name, according to their clans and regions:
Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, 41 Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, 42 Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, 43 Magdiel and Iram. These were the chiefs of Edom, according to their settlements in the land they occupied.
This is the family line of Esau, the father of the Edomites.(EH)
Joseph’s Dreams
37 Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed,(EI) the land of Canaan.(EJ)
2 This is the account(EK) of Jacob’s family line.
Joseph,(EL) a young man of seventeen,(EM) was tending the flocks(EN) with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah(EO) and the sons of Zilpah,(EP) his father’s wives, and he brought their father a bad report(EQ) about them.
3 Now Israel(ER) loved Joseph more than any of his other sons,(ES) because he had been born to him in his old age;(ET) and he made an ornate[o] robe(EU) for him.(EV) 4 When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him(EW) and could not speak a kind word to him.
5 Joseph had a dream,(EX) and when he told it to his brothers,(EY) they hated him all the more.(EZ) 6 He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: 7 We were binding sheaves(FA) of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.”(FB)
8 His brothers said to him, “Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?”(FC) And they hated him all the more(FD) because of his dream and what he had said.
9 Then he had another dream,(FE) and he told it to his brothers. “Listen,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars(FF) were bowing down to me.”(FG)
10 When he told his father as well as his brothers,(FH) his father rebuked(FI) him and said, “What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?”(FJ) 11 His brothers were jealous of him,(FK) but his father kept the matter in mind.(FL)
Joseph Sold by His Brothers
12 Now his brothers had gone to graze their father’s flocks near Shechem,(FM) 13 and Israel(FN) said to Joseph, “As you know, your brothers are grazing the flocks near Shechem.(FO) Come, I am going to send you to them.”
“Very well,” he replied.
14 So he said to him, “Go and see if all is well with your brothers(FP) and with the flocks, and bring word back to me.” Then he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron.(FQ)
When Joseph arrived at Shechem, 15 a man found him wandering around in the fields and asked him, “What are you looking for?”
16 He replied, “I’m looking for my brothers. Can you tell me where they are grazing their flocks?”
17 “They have moved on from here,” the man answered. “I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.(FR)’”
So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan. 18 But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him.(FS)
19 “Here comes that dreamer!(FT)” they said to each other. 20 “Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns(FU) and say that a ferocious animal(FV) devoured him.(FW) Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams.”(FX)
21 When Reuben(FY) heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. “Let’s not take his life,” he said.(FZ) 22 “Don’t shed any blood. Throw him into this cistern(GA) here in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him.” Reuben said this to rescue him from them and take him back to his father.(GB)
23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the ornate robe(GC) he was wearing— 24 and they took him and threw him into the cistern.(GD) The cistern was empty; there was no water in it.
25 As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites(GE) coming from Gilead.(GF) Their camels were loaded with spices, balm(GG) and myrrh,(GH) and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt.(GI)
26 Judah(GJ) said to his brothers, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood?(GK) 27 Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother,(GL) our own flesh and blood.(GM)” His brothers agreed.
28 So when the Midianite(GN) merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern(GO) and sold(GP) him for twenty shekels[p] of silver(GQ) to the Ishmaelites,(GR) who took him to Egypt.(GS)
29 When Reuben returned to the cistern and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes.(GT) 30 He went back to his brothers and said, “The boy isn’t there! Where can I turn now?”(GU)
31 Then they got Joseph’s robe,(GV) slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood.(GW) 32 They took the ornate robe(GX) back to their father and said, “We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son’s robe.”
33 He recognized it and said, “It is my son’s robe! Some ferocious animal(GY) has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces.”(GZ)
34 Then Jacob tore his clothes,(HA) put on sackcloth(HB) and mourned for his son many days.(HC) 35 All his sons and daughters came to comfort him,(HD) but he refused to be comforted.(HE) “No,” he said, “I will continue to mourn until I join my son(HF) in the grave.(HG)” So his father wept for him.
36 Meanwhile, the Midianites[q](HH) sold Joseph(HI) in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard.(HJ)
Footnotes
- Genesis 35:7 El Bethel means God of Bethel.
- Genesis 35:8 Allon Bakuth means oak of weeping.
- Genesis 35:9 That is, Northwest Mesopotamia; also in verse 26
- Genesis 35:10 Jacob means he grasps the heel, a Hebrew idiom for he deceives.
- Genesis 35:10 Israel probably means he struggles with God.
- Genesis 35:11 Hebrew El-Shaddai
- Genesis 35:15 Bethel means house of God.
- Genesis 35:18 Ben-Oni means son of my trouble.
- Genesis 35:18 Benjamin means son of my right hand.
- Genesis 36:16 Masoretic Text; Samaritan Pentateuch (also verse 11 and 1 Chron. 1:36) does not have Korah.
- Genesis 36:22 Hebrew Hemam, a variant of Homam (see 1 Chron. 1:39)
- Genesis 36:24 Vulgate; Syriac discovered water; the meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
- Genesis 36:26 Hebrew Dishan, a variant of Dishon
- Genesis 36:39 Many manuscripts of the Masoretic Text, Samaritan Pentateuch and Syriac (see also 1 Chron. 1:50); most manuscripts of the Masoretic Text Hadar
- Genesis 37:3 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain; also in verses 23 and 32.
- Genesis 37:28 That is, about 8 ounces or about 230 grams
- Genesis 37:36 Samaritan Pentateuch, Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac (see also verse 28); Masoretic Text Medanites
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