The Call of Abram

12 The Lord said to Abram:

⁴ So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was 75 years old when he left Haran.^{(G) 5} He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated, and the people he had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan, ⁶ Abram passed through the land to the site of Shechem,^(H) at the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. ⁷ Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring.”^(I) So he built an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him. ⁸ From there he moved on to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. He built an altar to Yahweh there, and he called on the name of Yahweh.^{(J) 9} Then Abram journeyed by stages to the Negev.

Abram in Egypt

¹⁰ There was a famine in the land,^(K) so Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine in the land was severe. ¹¹ When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “Look, I know what a beautiful woman you are. ¹² When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ They will kill me but let you live.^{(L) 13} Please say you’re my sister so it will go well for me because of you, and my life will be spared on your account.” ¹⁴ When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. ¹⁵ Pharaoh’s officials saw her and praised her to Pharaoh, so the woman was taken to Pharaoh’s household. ¹⁶ He treated Abram well because of her, and Abram acquired flocks and herds, male and female donkeys, male and female slaves, and camels.

¹⁷ But the Lord struck Pharaoh and his household with severe plagues because of Abram’s wife Sarai.^{(M) 18} So Pharaoh sent for Abram and said, “What have you done to me? Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? ¹⁹ Why did you say, ‘She’s my sister,’ so that I took her as my wife? Now, here is your wife. Take her and go!” ²⁰ Then Pharaoh gave his men orders about him, and they sent him away with his wife and all he had.

Abram and Lot Separate

13 Then Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev^(N)—he, his wife, and all he had, and Lot with him. ² Abram was very rich^[e] in livestock, silver, and gold. ³ He went by stages from the Negev to Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had formerly been, ⁴ to the site where he had built the altar. And Abram called on the name of Yahweh there.^(O)

⁵ Now Lot, who was traveling with Abram, also had flocks, herds, and tents. ⁶ But the land was unable to support them as long as they stayed together, for they had so many possessions that they could not stay together,^{(P) 7} and there was quarreling between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock.^(Q) At that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were living in the land.^(R)

⁸ Then Abram said to Lot, “Please, let’s not have quarreling between you and me, or between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, since we are relatives.^{[f] 9} Isn’t the whole land before you? Separate from me: if you go to the left, I will go to the right; if you go to the right, I will go to the left.”

¹⁰ Lot looked out and saw that the entire Jordan Valley^(S) as far as^[g] Zoar^(T) was well watered everywhere like the Lord’s garden^(U) and the land of Egypt. This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.^{(V) 11} So Lot chose the entire Jordan Valley for himself. Then Lot journeyed eastward, and they separated from each other. ¹² Abram lived in the land of Canaan, but Lot lived in the cities of the valley and set up his tent near Sodom. ¹³ Now the men of Sodom were evil, sinning greatly^[h] against the Lord.^(W)

¹⁴ After Lot had separated from him, the Lord said to Abram, “Look from the place where you are. Look north and south, east and west,^{(X) 15} for I will give you and your offspring forever all the land that you see.^{(Y) 16} I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth,^(Z) so that if anyone could count the dust of the earth, then your offspring could be counted. ¹⁷ Get up and walk around the land, through its length and width, for I will give it to you.”

¹⁸ So Abram moved his tent and went to live near the oaks of Mamre at Hebron,^(AA) where he built an altar to the Lord.

The Abrahamic Covenant

15 After these events, the word of the Lord came^(A) to Abram in a vision:

² But Abram said, “Lord God, what can You give me, since I am childless and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”^{[a] 3} Abram continued, “Look, You have given me no offspring, so a slave born in^[b] my house will be my heir.”

⁴ Now the word of the Lord came to him: “This one will not be your heir; instead, one who comes from your own body^[c] will be your heir.” ⁵ He took him outside and said, “Look at the sky and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then He said to him, “Your offspring will be that numerous.”^(D)

⁶ Abram believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness.^(E)

⁷ He also said to him, “I am Yahweh who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.”^(F)

⁸ But he said, “Lord God, how can I know^(G) that I will possess it?”

⁹ He said to him, “Bring Me a three-year-old cow, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”

¹⁰ So he brought all these to Him, split them down the middle, and laid the pieces opposite each other, but he did not cut up the birds.^{(H) 11} Birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away. ¹² As the sun was setting, a deep sleep^(I) fell on Abram, and suddenly great terror and darkness descended on him.

¹³ Then the Lord said to Abram,^(J) “Know this for certain: Your offspring will be foreigners^(K) in a land that does not belong to them; they will be enslaved and oppressed^[d] 400 years.^{(L) 14} However, I will judge the nation they serve,^(M) and afterward they will go out with many possessions.^{(N) 15} But you will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a ripe old age.^{(O) 16} In the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.”^[e](P)

¹⁷ When the sun had set and it was dark, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch appeared and passed between the divided animals. ¹⁸ On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “I give this land to your offspring,^(Q) from the brook of Egypt^(R) to the Euphrates River:^{[f] 19} the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, ²⁰ Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaim, ²¹ Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.”

Hagar and Ishmael

16 Abram’s wife Sarai had not borne any children for him, but she owned an Egyptian slave named Hagar. ² Sarai said to Abram, “Since the Lord has prevented me from bearing children, go to my slave; perhaps through her I can build a family.” And Abram agreed to what Sarai said.^{[g] 3} So Abram’s wife Sarai took Hagar, her Egyptian slave, and gave her to her husband Abram as a wife for him. This happened after Abram had lived in the land of Canaan 10 years. ⁴ He slept with^[h] Hagar, and she became pregnant. When she realized that she was pregnant, she treated her mistress with contempt. ⁵ Then Sarai said to Abram, “You are responsible for my suffering!^[i] I put my slave in your arms,^[j] and ever since she saw that she was pregnant, she has treated me with contempt. May the Lord judge between me and you.”^(S)

⁶ Abram replied to Sarai, “Here, your slave is in your hands; do whatever you want with her.” Then Sarai mistreated her so much that she ran away from her.

⁷ The Angel of the Lord^(T) found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. ⁸ He said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?”

She replied, “I’m running away from my mistress Sarai.”

⁹ Then the Angel of the Lord said to her, “You must go back to your mistress and submit to her mistreatment.”^{[k] 10} The Angel of the Lord also said to her, “I will greatly multiply your offspring,^(U) and they will be too many to count.”

¹¹ Then the Angel of the Lord said to her:

¹³ So she called the Lord who spoke to her: The God Who Sees,^[n] for she said, “In this place, have I actually seen^(W) the One who sees me?”^{[o] 14} That is why she named the spring, “A Well of the Living One Who Sees Me.”^[p] It is located between Kadesh and Bered.

¹⁵ So Hagar gave birth to Abram’s son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son Hagar had. ¹⁶ Abram was 86 years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to him.

Covenant Circumcision

17 When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to him, saying, “I am God Almighty.^(X) Live in My presence and be blameless.^{(Y) 2} I will establish My covenant between Me and you, and I will multiply you greatly.”

³ Then Abram fell facedown and God spoke with him: ⁴ “As for Me, My covenant is with you: you will become the father of many nations.^{[q] 5} Your name will no longer be Abram,^[r] but your name will be Abraham,^[s] for I will make you the father of many nations.^{(Z) 6} I will make you extremely fruitful and will make nations and kings come from you. ⁷ I will keep My covenant between Me and you, and your future offspring throughout their generations, as an everlasting covenant^(AA) to be your God and the God of your offspring after you.^{(AB) 8} And to you and your future offspring^(AC) I will give the land where you are residing—all the land of Canaan—as an eternal possession,^(AD) and I will be their God.”

⁹ God also said to Abraham, “As for you, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations are to keep My covenant. ¹⁰ This is My covenant, which you are to keep, between Me and you and your offspring after you: Every one of your males must be circumcised. ¹¹ You must circumcise the flesh of your foreskin to serve as a sign of the covenant between Me and you.^{[t](AE) 12} Throughout your generations, every male among you at eight days old is to be circumcised.^(AF) This includes a slave born in your house and one purchased with money from any foreigner. The one who is not your offspring, ¹³ a slave born in your house, as well as one purchased with money, must be circumcised. My covenant will be marked in your flesh as an everlasting covenant. ¹⁴ If any male is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that man will be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.”

¹⁵ God said to Abraham, “As for your wife Sarai, do not call her Sarai, for Sarah^[u] will be her name. ¹⁶ I will bless her; indeed, I will give you a son by her.^(AG) I will bless her, and she will produce nations; kings of peoples will come from her.”

¹⁷ Abraham fell facedown. Then he laughed^(AH) and said to himself, “Can a child be born to a hundred-year-old man? Can Sarah, a ninety-year-old woman, give birth?” ¹⁸ So Abraham said to God, “If only Ishmael were acceptable to You!”^[v]

¹⁹ But God said, “No. Your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will name him Isaac.^[w] I will confirm My covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his future offspring. ²⁰ As for Ishmael, I have heard you. I will certainly bless him; I will make him fruitful and will multiply him greatly. He will father 12 tribal leaders,^(AI) and I will make him into a great nation. ²¹ But I will confirm My covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this time next year.”^{(AJ) 22} When He finished talking with him, God withdrew^[x] from Abraham.^(AK)

²³ Then Abraham took his son Ishmael and all the slaves born in his house or purchased with his money—every male among the members of Abraham’s household—and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskin on that very day, just as God had said to him. ²⁴ Abraham was 99 years old when the flesh of his foreskin was circumcised, ²⁵ and his son Ishmael was 13 years old when the flesh of his foreskin was circumcised. ²⁶ On that same day Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised. ²⁷ And all the men of his household—both slaves born in his house and those purchased with money from a foreigner—were circumcised with him.

The Birth of Isaac

21 The Lord came to Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what He had promised.^{(A) 2} Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the appointed time God had told him.^{(B) 3} Abraham named his son who was born to him—the one Sarah bore to him—Isaac.^{(C) 4} When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God had commanded him.^{(D) 5} Abraham was 100 years old when his son Isaac was born to him.^(E)

⁶ Sarah said, “God has made me laugh, and everyone who hears will laugh with me.”^{[a](F) 7} She also said, “Who would have told Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne a son for him^[b] in his old age.”

Hagar and Ishmael Sent Away

⁸ The child grew and was weaned, and Abraham held a great feast on the day Isaac was weaned. ⁹ But Sarah saw the son mocking^[c]—the one Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham.^{(G) 10} So she said to Abraham, “Drive out this slave with her son, for the son of this slave will not be a coheir with my son Isaac!”^(H)

¹¹ Now this was a very difficult thing for^[d] Abraham because of his son. ¹² But God said to Abraham, “Do not be concerned^[e] about the boy and your slave. Whatever Sarah says to you, listen to her, because your offspring will be traced through Isaac.^{(I) 13} But I will also make a nation of the slave’s son^(J) because he is your offspring.”

¹⁴ Early in the morning Abraham got up, took bread and a waterskin, put them on Hagar’s shoulders, and sent her and the boy away.^[f] She left and wandered in the Wilderness of Beer-sheba. ¹⁵ When the water in the skin was gone, she left the boy under one of the bushes. ¹⁶ Then she went and sat down nearby, about a bowshot away, for she said, “I can’t bear to watch the boy die!” So as she sat nearby, she^[g] wept loudly.^(K)

¹⁷ God heard the voice of the boy, and the^[h] angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What’s wrong, Hagar? Don’t be afraid, for God has heard the voice of the boy from the place where he is. ¹⁸ Get up, help the boy up, and support him, for I will make him a great nation.” ¹⁹ Then God opened her eyes,^(L) and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the waterskin and gave the boy a drink. ²⁰ God was with the boy, and he grew; he settled in the wilderness and became an archer. ²¹ He settled in the Wilderness of Paran, and his mother got a wife for him from the land of Egypt.

Abraham’s Covenant with Abimelech

²² At that time Abimelech, accompanied by Phicol the commander of his army,^(M) said to Abraham, “God is with you in everything you do.^{(N) 23} Swear to me by God here and now, that you will not break an agreement with me or with my children and descendants. As I have been loyal to you, so you will be loyal to me and to the country where you are a foreign resident.”

²⁴ And Abraham said, “I swear it.” ²⁵ But Abraham complained to Abimelech because of the water well that Abimelech’s servants had seized.^(O)

²⁶ Abimelech replied, “I don’t know who did this thing. You didn’t report anything to me, so I hadn’t heard about it until today.”

²⁷ Abraham took sheep and cattle^[i] and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them made a covenant.^{(P) 28} Abraham separated seven ewe lambs from the flock. ²⁹ And Abimelech said to Abraham, “Why have you separated these seven ewe lambs?”

³⁰ He replied, “You are to accept the seven ewe lambs from my hand so that this act^[j] will serve as my witness that I dug this well.” ³¹ Therefore that place was called Beer-sheba^[k](Q) because it was there that the two of them swore an oath. ³² After they had made a covenant at Beer-sheba, Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, left and returned to the land of the Philistines.

³³ Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beer-sheba, and there he called on the name of Yahweh, the Everlasting God.^{(R) 34} And Abraham lived as a foreigner in the land of the Philistines for many days.

The Sacrifice of Isaac

22 After these things God tested Abraham^(S) and said to him, “Abraham!”

“Here I am,” he answered.

² “Take your son,” He said, “your only son Isaac, whom you love,^(T) go to the land of Moriah,^(U) and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.”

³ So Abraham got up early in the morning,^(V) saddled his donkey, and took with him two of his young men and his son Isaac. He split wood for a burnt offering and set out to go to the place God had told him about. ⁴ On the third day^(W) Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. ⁵ Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey. The boy and I will go over there to worship; then we’ll come back to you.” ⁶ Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac.^(X) In his hand he took the fire and the sacrificial knife,^[l] and the two of them walked on together.

⁷ Then Isaac spoke to his father Abraham and said, “My father.”

And he replied, “Here I am, my son.”

Isaac said, “The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”

⁸ Abraham answered, “God Himself will provide^[m](Y) the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” Then the two of them walked on together.

⁹ When they arrived at the place that God had told him about, Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood. He bound his son Isaac^[n] and placed him on the altar^(Z) on top of the wood. ¹⁰ Then Abraham reached out and took the knife to slaughter his son.

¹¹ But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!”

He replied, “Here I am.”

¹² Then He said, “Do not lay a hand on the boy or do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your only son from Me.”^{(AA) 13} Abraham looked up and saw a ram^[o] caught in the thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram and offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son. ¹⁴ And Abraham named that place The Lord Will Provide,^[p] so today it is said: “It will be provided^[q] on the Lord’s mountain.”

¹⁵ Then the Angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven ¹⁶ and said, “By Myself I have sworn,”^(AB) this is the Lord’s declaration: “Because you have done this thing and have not withheld your only son,^{[r] 17} I will indeed bless you^(AC) and make your offspring as numerous as the stars of the sky^(AD) and the sand on the seashore.^(AE) Your offspring will possess the gates of their enemies.^{(AF) 18} And all the nations of the earth will be blessed^[s] by your offspring^(AG) because you have obeyed My command.”

¹⁹ Abraham went back to his young men, and they got up and went together to Beer-sheba. And Abraham settled in Beer-sheba.

Rebekah’s Family

²⁰ Now after these things Abraham was told, “Milcah also has borne sons to your brother Nahor:^{(AH) 21} Uz his firstborn, his brother Buz, Kemuel the father of Aram, ²² Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.” ²³ And Bethuel fathered Rebekah.^(AI) Milcah bore these eight to Nahor, Abraham’s brother. ²⁴ His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.

Preparing to Meet Esau

32 Jacob went on his way, and God’s angels met him.^{(A) 2} When he saw them, Jacob said, “This is God’s camp.” So he called that place Mahanaim.^[a](B)

³ Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom. ⁴ He commanded them, “You are to say to my lord Esau, ‘This is what your servant Jacob says. I have been staying with Laban and have been delayed until now. ⁵ I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, male and female slaves. I have sent this message to inform my lord, in order to seek your favor.’”^(C)

⁶ When the messengers returned to Jacob, they said, “We went to your brother Esau; he is coming to meet you—and he has 400 men with him.”^{(D) 7} Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed; he divided the people with him into two camps, along with the flocks, cattle, and camels. ⁸ He thought, “If Esau comes to one camp and attacks it, the remaining one can escape.”^(E)

⁹ Then Jacob said, “God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac,^(F) the Lord who said to me, ‘Go back to your land and to your family, and I will cause you to prosper,’^{(G) 10} I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness You have shown Your servant. Indeed, I crossed over this Jordan with my staff, and now I have become two camps. ¹¹ Please rescue me from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid of him; otherwise, he may come and attack me, the mothers, and their children. ¹² You have said, ‘I will cause you to prosper, and I will make your offspring like the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted.’”^(H)

¹³ He spent the night there and took part of what he had brought with him as a gift for his brother Esau:^{(I) 14} 200 female goats, 20 male goats, 200 ewes, 20 rams, ¹⁵ 30 milk camels with their young, 40 cows, 10 bulls, 20 female donkeys, and 10 male donkeys. ¹⁶ He entrusted them to his slaves as separate herds and said to them, “Go on ahead of me, and leave some distance between the herds.”

¹⁷ And he told the first one: “When my brother Esau meets you and asks, ‘Who do you belong to? Where are you going? And whose animals are these ahead of you?’ ¹⁸ then tell him, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a gift sent to my lord Esau. And look, he is behind us.’”

¹⁹ He also told the second one, the third, and everyone who was walking behind the animals, “Say the same thing to Esau when you find him. ²⁰ You are also to say, ‘Look, your servant Jacob is right behind us.’” For he thought, “I want to appease Esau with the gift that is going ahead of me. After that, I can face him, and perhaps he will forgive me.”

²¹ So the gift was sent on ahead of him while he remained in the camp that night. ²² During the night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female slaves, and his 11 sons, and crossed the ford of Jabbok.^{(J) 23} He took them and sent them across the stream, along with all his possessions.

Jacob Wrestles with God

²⁴ Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak.^{(K) 25} When the man saw that He could not defeat him, He struck Jacob’s hip socket as they wrestled and dislocated his hip. ²⁶ Then He said to Jacob, “Let Me go, for it is daybreak.”

But Jacob said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me.”

²⁷ “What is your name?” the man asked.

“Jacob,” he replied.

²⁸ “Your name will no longer be Jacob,”^(L) He said. “It will be Israel^[b] because you have struggled with God^(M) and with men and have prevailed.”

²⁹ Then Jacob asked Him, “Please tell me Your name.”

But He answered, “Why do you ask My name?”^(N) And He blessed him there.

³⁰ Jacob then named the place Peniel,^[c] “For I have seen God face to face,” he said, “and I have been delivered.”^{(O) 31} The sun shone on him as he passed by Penuel^[d](P)—limping because of his hip. ³² That is why, to this day, the Israelites don’t eat the thigh muscle that is at the hip socket: because He struck Jacob’s hip socket at the thigh muscle.^[e]

Jacob Meets Esau

33 Now Jacob looked up and saw Esau coming toward him with 400 men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two female slaves. ² He put the female slaves and their children first, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph last. ³ He himself went on ahead and bowed to the ground^(Q) seven times until he approached his brother.

⁴ But Esau ran to meet him, hugged him, threw his arms around him, and kissed him. Then they wept.^{(R) 5} When Esau looked up and saw the women and children, he asked, “Who are these with you?”

He answered, “The children God has graciously given your servant.”^{(S) 6} Then the female slaves and their children approached him and bowed down. ⁷ Leah and her children also approached and bowed down, and then Joseph and Rachel approached and bowed down.

⁸ So Esau said, “What do you mean by this whole procession^[f] I met?”^(T)

“To find favor with you, my lord,”^(U) he answered.

⁹ “I have enough, my brother,” Esau replied. “Keep what you have.”

¹⁰ But Jacob said, “No, please! If I have found favor with you, take this gift from my hand. For indeed, I have seen your face, and it is like seeing God’s face, since you have accepted me. ¹¹ Please take my present that was brought to you, because God has been gracious to me and I have everything I need.” So Jacob urged him until he accepted.

¹² Then Esau said, “Let’s move on, and I’ll go ahead of you.”

¹³ Jacob replied, “My lord knows that the children are weak, and I have nursing sheep and cattle. If they are driven hard for one day, the whole herd will die. ¹⁴ Let my lord go ahead of his servant. I will continue on slowly, at a pace suited to the livestock and the children, until I come to my lord at Seir.”

¹⁵ Esau said, “Let me leave some of my people with you.”

But he replied, “Why do that? Please indulge me,^[g] my lord.”^(V)

¹⁶ That day Esau started on his way back to Seir, ¹⁷ but Jacob went on to Succoth. He built a house for himself and stalls for his livestock; that is why the place was called Succoth.^[h](W)

¹⁸ After Jacob came from Paddan-aram, he arrived safely^(X) at Shechem^(Y) in the land of Canaan and camped in front of the city. ¹⁹ He purchased a section of the field where he had pitched his tent from the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for 100 qesitahs.^{[i](Z) 20} And he set up an altar there and called it “God, the God of Israel.”^[j]

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 God of 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 Oak of Weeping.^[c]

⁹ God appeared to Jacob again after he returned from Paddan-aram, and He blessed him. ¹⁰ God said to him:

So He named him Israel. ¹¹ God also said to him:

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 anointed it with oil.^{(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 to this day.

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 12 sons:^(U)

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.