Genesis 20:1-34:15

Holman Christian Standard Bible

Sarah Rescued from Abimelech

20 From there Abraham traveled to the region of the Negev and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he lived in Gerar,^{(A) 2} Abraham said about his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.”^(B) So Abimelech king of Gerar had Sarah brought to him.

³ But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, “You are about to die because of the woman you have taken, for she is a married woman.”^[a]

⁴ Now Abimelech had not approached her, so he said, “Lord, would You destroy a nation even though it is innocent? ⁵ Didn’t he himself say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ I did this with a clear conscience^[b] and clean^[c] hands.”

⁶ Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that you did this with a clear conscience.^[d] I have also kept you from sinning against Me. Therefore I have not let you touch her. ⁷ Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet,^(C) and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not return her, know that you will certainly die, you and all who are yours.”

⁸ Early in the morning Abimelech got up, called all his servants together, and personally^[e] told them all these things, and the men were terrified.

⁹ Then Abimelech called Abraham in and said to him, “What have you done to us? How did I sin against you that you have brought such enormous guilt on me and on my kingdom? You have done things to me that should never be done.”^{(D) 10} Abimelech also said to Abraham, “What did you intend when you did this thing?”

¹¹ Abraham replied, “I thought, ‘There is absolutely no fear of God in this place.^(E) They will kill me because of my wife.’ ¹² Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father though not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife. ¹³ So when God had me wander from my father’s house,^(F) I said to her: Show your loyalty to me wherever we go and say about me: ‘He’s my brother.’”^(G)

¹⁴ Then Abimelech took sheep and cattle and male and female slaves, gave them to Abraham, and returned his wife Sarah to him. ¹⁵ Abimelech said, “Look, my land is before you.^(H) Settle wherever you want.”^{[f] 16} And he said to Sarah, “Look, I am giving your brother 1,000 pieces of silver. It is a verification of your honor^[g] to all who are with you. You are fully vindicated.”

¹⁷ Then Abraham prayed to God,^(I) and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female slaves so that they could bear children, ¹⁸ for the Lord had completely closed all the wombs in Abimelech’s household on account of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.

The Birth of Isaac

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

⁶ Sarah said, “God has made me laugh, and everyone who hears will laugh with me.”^{[h](O) 7} She also said, “Who would have told Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne a son for him^[i] 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^[j]—the one Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham.^{(P) 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!”^(Q)

¹¹ Now this was a very difficult thing for^[k] Abraham because of his son. ¹² But God said to Abraham, “Do not be concerned^[l] about the boy and your slave. Whatever Sarah says to you, listen to her, because your offspring will be traced through Isaac.^{(R) 13} But I will also make a nation of the slave’s son^(S) 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.^[m] 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^[n] wept loudly.^(T)

¹⁷ God heard the voice of the boy, and the^[o] 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,^(U) 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,^(V) said to Abraham, “God is with you in everything you do.^{(W) 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.^(X)

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^[p] and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them made a covenant.^{(Y) 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^[q] will serve as my witness that I dug this well.” ³¹ Therefore that place was called Beer-sheba^[r](Z) 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.^{(AA) 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^(AB) and said to him, “Abraham!”

“Here I am,” he answered.

² “Take your son,” He said, “your only son Isaac, whom you love,^(AC) go to the land of Moriah,^(AD) 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,^(AE) 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^(AF) 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.^(AG) In his hand he took the fire and the sacrificial knife,^[s] 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^[t](AH) 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^[u] and placed him on the altar^(AI) 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.”^{(AJ) 13} Abraham looked up and saw a ram^[v] 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,^[w] so today it is said: “It will be provided^[x] 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,”^(AK) this is the Lord’s declaration: “Because you have done this thing and have not withheld your only son,^{[y] 17} I will indeed bless you^(AL) and make your offspring as numerous as the stars of the sky^(AM) and the sand on the seashore.^(AN) Your offspring will possess the gates of their enemies.^{(AO) 18} And all the nations of the earth will be blessed^[z] by your offspring^(AP) 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:^{(AQ) 21} Uz his firstborn, his brother Buz, Kemuel the father of Aram, ²² Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.” ²³ And Bethuel fathered Rebekah.^(AR) Milcah bore these eight to Nahor, Abraham’s brother. ²⁴ His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.

Sarah’s Burial

23 Now Sarah lived 127 years; these were all the years of her life. ² Sarah died in Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron^(AS)) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.

³ Then Abraham got up from beside his dead wife and spoke to the Hittites:^{[aa] 4} “I am a foreign resident among you.^(AT) Give me a burial site among you so that I can bury my dead.”^[ab](AU)

⁵ The Hittites replied to Abraham,^{[ac] 6} “Listen to us, lord.^[ad] You are God’s chosen one^[ae] among us. Bury your dead in our finest burial place.^[af] None of us will withhold from you his burial place for burying your dead.”

⁷ Then Abraham rose and bowed down to the Hittites, the people of the land. ⁸ He said to them, “If you are willing for me to bury my dead, listen to me and ask Ephron son of Zohar on my behalf ⁹ to give me the cave of Machpelah that belongs to him; it is at the end of his field. Let him give it to me in your presence, for the full price, as a burial place.”

¹⁰ Ephron was sitting among the Hittites. So in the presence^[ag] of all the Hittites who came to the gate of his city,^(AV) Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham: ¹¹ “No, my lord. Listen to me. I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it. I give it to you in the presence^[ah] of my people. Bury your dead.”

¹² Abraham bowed down to the people of the land ¹³ and said to Ephron in the presence^[ai] of the people of the land, “Please listen to me. Let me pay the price of the field. Accept it from me, and let me bury my dead there.”

¹⁴ Ephron answered Abraham and said to him, ¹⁵ “My lord, listen to me. Land worth 400 shekels of silver^(AW)—what is that between you and me? Bury your dead.” ¹⁶ Abraham agreed with Ephron, and Abraham weighed out to Ephron the silver that he had agreed to in the presence^[aj] of the Hittites: 400 shekels of silver at the current commercial rate.^{(AX) 17} So Ephron’s field^(AY) at Machpelah near Mamre—the field with its cave and all the trees anywhere within the boundaries of the field—became ¹⁸ Abraham’s possession in the presence of all the Hittites who came to the gate of his city. ¹⁹ After this, Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave of the field at Machpelah near Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. ²⁰ The field with its cave passed from the Hittites to Abraham^(AZ) as a burial place.

A Wife for Isaac

24 Abraham was now old, getting on in years,^[ak](BA) and the Lord had blessed him in everything. ² Abraham said to his servant, the elder of his household who managed all he owned, “Place your hand under my thigh,^{(BB) 3} and I will have you swear by the Lord, God of heaven and God of earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I live,^{(BC) 4} but will go to my land and my family to take a wife for my son Isaac.”

⁵ The servant said to him, “Suppose the woman is unwilling to follow me to this land? Should I have your son go back to the land you came from?”

⁶ Abraham answered him, “Make sure that you don’t take my son back there. ⁷ The Lord, the God of heaven,^(BD) who took me from my father’s house and from my native land,^(BE) who spoke to me and swore to me, ‘I will give this land to your offspring’^(BF)—He will send His angel before you,^(BG) and you can take a wife for my son from there. ⁸ If the woman is unwilling to follow you, then you are free from this oath to me,^(BH) but don’t let my son go back there.” ⁹ So the servant placed his hand under his master Abraham’s thigh and swore an oath to him concerning this matter.

¹⁰ The servant took 10 of his master’s camels and departed with all kinds of his master’s goods in hand. Then he set out for Nahor’s town Aram-naharaim. ¹¹ He made the camels kneel beside a well of water outside the town at evening. This was the time when the women went out to draw water.

¹² “Lord, God of my master Abraham,” he prayed, “give me success today,^(BI) and show kindness to my master Abraham. ¹³ I am standing here^(BJ) at the spring where the daughters of the men of the town are coming out to draw water. ¹⁴ Let the girl to whom I say, ‘Please lower your water jug so that I may drink,’ and who responds, ‘Drink, and I’ll water your camels also’—let her be the one You have appointed for Your servant Isaac. By this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master.”

¹⁵ Before he had finished speaking, there was Rebekah—daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah,^(BK) the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor—coming with a jug on her shoulder. ¹⁶ Now the girl was very beautiful,^(BL) a young woman who had not known a man intimately. She went down to the spring, filled her jug, and came up. ¹⁷ Then the servant ran to meet her and said, “Please let me have a little water from your jug.”

¹⁸ She replied, “Drink, my lord.” She quickly lowered her jug to her hand and gave him a drink. ¹⁹ When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I’ll also draw water for your camels until they have had enough to drink.”^{[al] 20} She quickly emptied her jug into the trough and hurried to the well again to draw water. She drew water for all his camels ²¹ while the man silently watched her to see whether or not the Lord had made his journey a success.

²² After the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold ring weighing half a shekel, and for her wrists two bracelets weighing 10 shekels of gold. ²³ “Whose daughter are you?” he asked. “Please tell me, is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?”

²⁴ She answered him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor.” ²⁵ She also said to him, “We have plenty of straw and feed and a place to spend the night.”

²⁶ Then the man bowed down, worshiped the Lord,^{(BM) 27} and said, “Praise the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not withheld His kindness and faithfulness from my master.^(BN) As for me, the Lord has led me on the journey to the house of my master’s relatives.”

²⁸ The girl ran and told her mother’s household about these things. ²⁹ Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban,^(BO) and Laban ran out to the man at the spring. ³⁰ As soon as he had seen the ring and the bracelets on his sister’s wrists, and when he had heard his sister Rebekah’s words—“The man said this to me!”—he went to the man. He was standing there by the camels at the spring.

³¹ Laban said, “Come, you who are blessed by the Lord.^(BP) Why are you standing out here? I have prepared the house and a place for the camels.” ³² So the man came to the house, and the camels were unloaded.^(BQ) Straw and feed were given to the camels, and water was brought to wash his feet and the feet of the men with him.

³³ A meal was set before him, but he said, “I will not eat until I have said what I have to say.”

So Laban said, “Please speak.”

³⁴ “I am Abraham’s servant,” he said. ³⁵ “The Lord has greatly blessed my master, and he has become rich. He has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male and female slaves, and camels and donkeys. ³⁶ Sarah, my master’s wife, bore a son to my master in her^[am] old age,^(BR) and he has given him everything he owns.^{(BS) 37} My master put me under this oath: ‘You will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites in whose land I live ³⁸ but will go to my father’s household and to my family to take a wife for my son.’ ³⁹ But I said to my master, ‘Suppose the woman will not come back with me?’ ⁴⁰ He said to me, ‘The Lord before whom I have walked^(BT) will send His angel with you and make your journey a success, and you will take a wife for my son from my family and from my father’s household. ⁴¹ Then you will be free from my oath if you go to my family and they do not give her to you—you will be free from my oath.’

⁴² “Today when I came to the spring, I prayed: Lord, God of my master Abraham, if only You will make my journey successful! ⁴³ I am standing here at a spring. Let the virgin who comes out to draw water, and I say to her: Please let me drink a little water from your jug, ⁴⁴ and who responds to me, ‘Drink, and I’ll draw water for your camels also’—let her be the woman the Lord has appointed for my master’s son.

⁴⁵ “Before I had finished praying silently,^(BU) there was Rebekah coming with her jug on her shoulder, and she went down to the spring and drew water. So I said to her: Please let me have a drink. ⁴⁶ She quickly lowered her jug from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I’ll water your camels also.’ So I drank, and she also watered the camels. ⁴⁷ Then I asked her: Whose daughter are you? She responded, ‘The daughter of Bethuel son of Nahor, whom Milcah bore to him.’ So I put the ring on her nose^(BV) and the bracelets on her wrists. ⁴⁸ Then I bowed down, worshiped the Lord, and praised the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who guided me on the right way to take the granddaughter of my master’s brother for his son. ⁴⁹ Now, if you are going to show kindness and faithfulness to my master,^(BW) tell me; if not, tell me, and I will go elsewhere.”^[an]

⁵⁰ Laban and Bethuel answered, “This is from the Lord; we have no choice in the matter.^{[ao](BX) 51} Rebekah is here in front of you. Take her and go, and let her be a wife for your master’s son, just as the Lord has spoken.”

⁵² When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he bowed to the ground before the Lord. ⁵³ Then he brought out objects of silver and gold, and garments, and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave precious gifts to her brother and her mother. ⁵⁴ Then he and the men with him ate and drank and spent the night.

When they got up in the morning, he said, “Send me to my master.”

⁵⁵ But her brother and mother said, “Let the girl stay with us for about 10 days.^[ap] Then she^[aq] can go.”

⁵⁶ But he responded to them, “Do not delay me, since the Lord has made my journey a success. Send me away so that I may go to my master.”

⁵⁷ So they said, “Let’s call the girl and ask her opinion.”^[ar]

⁵⁸ They called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?”

She replied, “I will go.” ⁵⁹ So they sent away their sister Rebekah with the one who had nursed and raised her,^[as](BY) and Abraham’s servant and his men.

⁶⁰ They blessed Rebekah, saying to her:

⁶¹ Then Rebekah and her female servants got up, mounted the camels, and followed the man. So the servant took Rebekah and left.

⁶² Now Isaac was returning from Beer-lahai-roi,^[au](CB) for he was living in the Negev region. ⁶³ In the early evening Isaac went out to walk^[av] in the field, and looking up he saw camels coming. ⁶⁴ Rebekah looked up, and when she saw Isaac, she got down from her camel ⁶⁵ and asked the servant, “Who is that man in the field coming to meet us?”

The servant answered, “It is my master.” So she took her veil and covered herself. ⁶⁶ Then the servant told Isaac everything he had done.

⁶⁷ And Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah and took Rebekah to be his wife. Isaac loved her, and he was comforted after his mother’s death.^(CC)

Abraham’s Other Wife and Sons

25 Now Abraham had taken another wife, whose name was Keturah,^{(CD) 2} and she bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. ³ Jokshan fathered Sheba and Dedan. Dedan’s sons were the Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim. ⁴ And Midian’s sons were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were sons of Keturah. ⁵ Abraham gave everything he owned to Isaac.^{(CE) 6} And Abraham gave gifts to the sons of his concubines, but while he was still alive he sent them eastward, away from his son Isaac, to the land of the East.^(CF)

Abraham’s Death

⁷ This is the length of Abraham’s life:^[aw] 175 years. ⁸ He took his last breath and died at a ripe old age,^(CG) old and contented,^[ax] and he was gathered to his people.^{(CH) 9} His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah^(CI) near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite. ¹⁰ This was the field that Abraham bought from the Hittites.^(CJ) Abraham was buried there with his wife Sarah. ¹¹ After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac, who lived near Beer-lahai-roi.^(CK)

Ishmael’s Family Records

¹² These are the family records^(CL) of Abraham’s son Ishmael,^(CM) whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s slave, bore to Abraham. ¹³ These are the names of Ishmael’s sons; their names according to the family records are: Nebaioth, Ishmael’s firstborn, then Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, ¹⁴ Mishma, Dumah, Massa, ¹⁵ Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. ¹⁶ These are Ishmael’s sons, and these are their names by their villages and encampments: 12 leaders^[ay](CN) of their clans.^{[az] 17} This is the length^[ba] of Ishmael’s life: 137 years. He took his last breath and died, and was gathered to his people. ¹⁸ And they^[bb] settled from Havilah to Shur, which is opposite Egypt as you go toward Asshur. He^[bc] lived in opposition to^[bd] all his brothers.^(CO)

The Birth of Jacob and Esau

¹⁹ These are the family records of Isaac son of Abraham. Abraham fathered Isaac.^{(CP) 20} Isaac was 40 years old when he took as his wife Rebekah^(CQ) daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan-aram^(CR) and sister of Laban the Aramean.^{(CS) 21} Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife because she was childless.^(CT) The Lord heard his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived.^{(CU) 22} But the children inside her struggled with each other, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?”^[be] So she went to inquire of the Lord.^{(CV) 23} And the Lord said to her:

²⁴ When her time came to give birth, there were indeed twins in her womb. ²⁵ The first one came out red-looking,^[bf] covered with hair^[bg] like a fur coat, and they named him Esau.^{(CY) 26} After this, his brother came out grasping Esau’s heel with his hand.^(CZ) So he was named Jacob.^[bh](DA) Isaac was 60 years old when they were born.

Esau Sells His Birthright

²⁷ When the boys grew up, Esau became an expert hunter, an outdoorsman,^[bi] but Jacob was a quiet man who stayed at home.^{[bj] 28} Isaac loved Esau because he had a taste for wild game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.^(DB)

²⁹ Once when Jacob was cooking a stew, Esau came in from the field exhausted. ³⁰ He said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stuff, because I’m exhausted.” That is why he was also named Edom.^[bk]

³¹ Jacob replied, “First sell me your birthright.”

³² “Look,” said Esau, “I’m about to die, so what good is a birthright to me?”

³³ Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore to Jacob and sold his birthright to him. ³⁴ Then Jacob gave bread and lentil stew to Esau; he ate, drank, got up, and went away. So Esau despised his birthright.^(DC)

The Promise Reaffirmed to Isaac

26 There was another famine in the land in addition to the one that had occurred in Abraham’s time.^(DD) And Isaac went to Abimelech, king of the Philistines, at Gerar.^{(DE) 2} The Lord appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt. Live in the land that I tell you about; ³ stay in this land as a foreigner, and I will be with you and bless you.^(DF) For I will give all these lands to you and your offspring,^(DG) and I will confirm the oath that I swore to your father Abraham.^{(DH) 4} I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of the sky, I will give your offspring all these lands, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed^[bl] by your offspring,^{(DI) 5} because Abraham listened to My voice and kept My mandate, My commands, My statutes, and My instructions.”^{(DJ) 6} So Isaac settled in Gerar.

Isaac’s Deception

⁷ When the men of the place asked about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,”^(DK) for he was afraid to say “my wife,” thinking,^(DL) “The men of the place will kill me on account of Rebekah, for she is a beautiful woman.”^{(DM) 8} When Isaac had been there for some time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked down from the window and was surprised to see^[bm] Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah.

⁹ Abimelech sent for Isaac and said, “So she is really your wife! How could you say, ‘She is my sister’?”

Isaac answered him, “Because I thought I might die on account of her.”

¹⁰ Then Abimelech said, “What is this you’ve done to us? One of the people could easily have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us.”^{(DN) 11} So Abimelech warned all the people with these words: “Whoever harms this man or his wife will certainly die.”

Conflicts over Wells

¹² Isaac sowed seed in that land, and in that year he reaped^[bn] a hundred times what was sown. The Lord blessed him,^{(DO) 13} and the man became rich and kept getting richer until he was very wealthy. ¹⁴ He had flocks of sheep, herds of cattle, and many slaves, and the Philistines were envious of him. ¹⁵ The Philistines stopped up all the wells that his father’s slaves had dug in the days of his father Abraham,^(DP) filling them with dirt. ¹⁶ And Abimelech said to Isaac, “Leave us, for you are much too powerful for us.”^[bo]

¹⁷ So Isaac left there, camped in the Valley of Gerar, and lived there. ¹⁸ Isaac reopened the water wells that had been dug in the days of his father Abraham and that the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham died. He gave them the same names his father had given them. ¹⁹ Then Isaac’s slaves dug in the valley and found a well of spring^[bp] water there. ²⁰ But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen and said, “The water is ours!” So he named the well Quarrel^[bq] because they quarreled with him.^{(DQ) 21} Then they dug another well and quarreled over that one also, so he named it Hostility.^{[br] 22} He moved from there and dug another, and they did not quarrel over it. He named it Open Spaces^[bs] and said, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we will be fruitful in the land.”

The Lord Appears to Isaac

²³ From there he went up to Beer-sheba, ²⁴ and the Lord appeared to him that night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham.^(DR) Do not be afraid, for I am with you.^(DS) I will bless you and multiply your offspring because of My servant Abraham.”

²⁵ So he built an altar there,^(DT) called on the name of Yahweh, and pitched his tent there. Isaac’s slaves also dug a well there.^(DU)

Covenant with Abimelech

²⁶ Now Abimelech came to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath his adviser and Phicol the commander of his army.^{(DV) 27} Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me? You hated me and sent me away from you.”

²⁸ They replied, “We have clearly seen how the Lord has been with you. We think there should be an oath between two parties—between us and you. Let us make a covenant with you: ²⁹ You will not harm us, just as we have not harmed you but have only done what was good to you, sending you away in peace. You are now blessed by the Lord.”^(DW)

³⁰ So he prepared a banquet for them, and they ate and drank. ³¹ They got up early in the morning and swore an oath to each other.^[bt](DX) Then Isaac sent them on their way, and they left him in peace. ³² On that same day Isaac’s slaves came to tell him about the well they had dug, saying to him, “We have found water!”^{(DY) 33} He called it Sheba.^[bu] Therefore the name of the city is Beer-sheba^[bv](DZ) to this day.

Esau’s Wives

³⁴ When Esau was 40 years old, he took as his wives Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite.^{(EA) 35} They made life bitter^[bw] for Isaac and Rebekah.^(EB)

The Stolen Blessing

27 When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could not see,^(EC) he called his older son Esau and said to him, “My son.”

And he answered, “Here I am.”

² He said, “Look, I am old and do not know the day of my death. ³ Take your hunting gear, your quiver and bow, and go out in the field to hunt some game for me.^{(ED) 4} Then make me a delicious meal that I love and bring it to me to eat, so that I can bless you before I die.”^(EE)

⁵ Now Rebekah was listening to what Isaac said to his son Esau. So while Esau went to the field to hunt some game to bring in, ⁶ Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “Listen! I heard your father talking with your brother Esau. He said, ⁷ ‘Bring me the game and make a delicious meal for me to eat so that I can bless you in the Lord’s presence before I die.’ ⁸ Now obey every order I give you, my son. ⁹ Go to the flock and bring me two choice young goats, and I will make them into a delicious meal for your father—the kind he loves. ¹⁰ Then take it to your father to eat so that he may bless you before he dies.”

¹¹ Jacob answered Rebekah his mother, “Look, my brother Esau is a hairy man, but I am a man with smooth skin.^{(EF) 12} Suppose my father touches me. Then I will be revealed to him as a deceiver and bring a curse rather than a blessing on myself.”

¹³ His mother said to him, “Your curse be on me, my son. Just obey me and go get them for me.”

¹⁴ So he went and got the goats and brought them to his mother, and his mother made the delicious food his father loved. ¹⁵ Then Rebekah took the best clothes of her older son Esau, which were in the house, and had her younger son Jacob wear them. ¹⁶ She put the skins of the young goats on his hands and the smooth part of his neck. ¹⁷ Then she handed the delicious food and the bread she had made to her son Jacob.

¹⁸ When he came to his father, he said, “My father.”

And he answered, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?”

¹⁹ Jacob replied to his father, “I am Esau, your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game so that you may bless me.”

²⁰ But Isaac said to his son, “How did you ever find it so quickly, my son?”

He replied, “Because the Lord your God worked it out for me.”

²¹ Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come closer so I can touch you, my son. Are you really my son Esau or not?”

²² So Jacob came closer to his father Isaac. When he touched him, he said, “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” ²³ He did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like those of his brother Esau; so he blessed him. ²⁴ Again he asked, “Are you really my son Esau?”

And he replied, “I am.”

²⁵ Then he said, “Serve me, and let me eat some of my son’s game so that I can bless you.” Jacob brought it to him, and he ate; he brought him wine, and he drank.

²⁶ Then his father Isaac said to him, “Please come closer and kiss me, my son.” ²⁷ So he came closer and kissed him. When Isaac smelled^[bx] his clothes, he blessed him and said:

³⁰ As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob and Jacob had left the presence of his father Isaac, his brother Esau arrived from the hunt. ³¹ He had also made some delicious food and brought it to his father. Then he said to his father, “Let my father get up and eat some of his son’s game, so that you may bless me.”

³² But his father Isaac said to him, “Who are you?”

He answered, “I am Esau your firstborn son.”

³³ Isaac began to tremble uncontrollably. “Who was it then,” he said, “who hunted game and brought it to me? I ate it all before you came in, and I blessed him. Indeed, he will be blessed!”

³⁴ When Esau heard his father’s words, he cried out with a loud and bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me too, my father!”^(EL)

³⁵ But he replied, “Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing.”

³⁶ So he said, “Isn’t he rightly named Jacob?^[by](EM) For he has cheated me twice now. He took my birthright, and look, now he has taken my blessing.” Then he asked, “Haven’t you saved a blessing for me?”

³⁷ But Isaac answered Esau: “Look, I have made him a master over you, have given him all of his relatives as his servants, and have sustained him with grain and new wine. What then can I do for you, my son?”

³⁸ Esau said to his father, “Do you only have one blessing, my father? Bless me too, my father!” And Esau wept loudly.^[bz]

³⁹ Then his father Isaac answered him:

Esau’s Anger

⁴¹ Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. And Esau determined in his heart: “The days of mourning for my father are approaching; then I will kill my brother Jacob.”

⁴² When the words of her older son Esau were reported to Rebekah, she summoned her younger son Jacob and said to him, “Listen, your brother Esau is consoling himself by planning to kill you. ⁴³ So now, my son, listen to me. Flee at once to my brother Laban in Haran, ⁴⁴ and stay with him for a few days until your brother’s anger subsides— ⁴⁵ until your brother’s rage turns away from you and he forgets what you have done to him. Then I will send for you and bring you back from there. Why should I lose you both in one day?”

⁴⁶ So Rebekah said to Isaac, “I’m sick of my life because of these Hittite women.^(EN) If Jacob marries a Hittite woman like one of them,^[cb] what good is my life?”^(EO)

Jacob’s Departure

28 Isaac summoned Jacob, blessed him, and commanded him: “Don’t take a wife from the Canaanite women. ² Go at once to Paddan-aram, to the house of Bethuel, your mother’s father. Marry one of the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother. ³ May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you^(EP) so that you become an assembly of peoples.^{(EQ) 4} May God give you and your offspring the blessing of Abraham^(ER) so that you may possess the land where you live as a foreigner, the land God gave to Abraham.”^{(ES) 5} So Isaac sent Jacob to Paddan-aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.

⁶ Esau noticed that Isaac blessed Jacob and sent him to Paddan-aram to get a wife there. When he blessed him, Isaac commanded Jacob, “Do not marry a Canaanite woman.” ⁷ And Jacob listened to his father and mother and went to Paddan-aram. ⁸ Esau realized that his father Isaac disapproved of the Canaanite women,^{(ET) 9} so Esau went to Ishmael and married, in addition to his other wives, Mahalath daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son. She was the sister of Nebaioth.

Jacob at Bethel

¹⁰ Jacob left Beer-sheba and went toward Haran. ¹¹ He reached a certain place and spent the night there because the sun had set. He took one of the stones from the place, put it there at his head, and lay down in that place. ¹² And he dreamed:^(EU) A stairway was set on the ground with its top reaching heaven, and God’s angels were going up and down on it.^{(EV) 13} Yahweh was standing there beside him,^[cc] saying, “I am Yahweh,^(EW) the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your offspring the land that you are now sleeping on. ¹⁴ Your offspring will be like the dust of the earth,^(EX) and you will spread out toward the west, the east, the north, and the south. All the peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.^{(EY) 15} Look, I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go. I will bring you back to this land,^(EZ) for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

¹⁶ When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.”^{(FA) 17} He was afraid and said, “What an awesome place this is! This is none other than the house of God. This is the gate of heaven.”

¹⁸ Early in the morning Jacob took the stone that was near his head and set it up as a marker. He poured oil on top of it ¹⁹ and named the place Bethel,^[cd] though previously the city was named Luz.^{(FB) 20} Then Jacob made a vow:^(FC) “If God will be with me and watch over me on this journey, if He provides me with food to eat and clothing to wear, ²¹ and if I return safely to my father’s house,^(FD) then the Lord will be my God.^{(FE) 22} This stone that I have set up as a marker will be God’s house, and I will give to You a tenth of all that You give me.”^(FF)

Jacob Meets Rachel

29 Jacob resumed his journey^[ce] and went to the eastern country.^{[cf](FG) 2} He looked and saw a well in a field. Three flocks of sheep were lying there beside it because the sheep were watered from this well. A large stone covered the opening of the well. ³ When all the flocks^[cg] were gathered there, the shepherds would roll the stone from the opening of the well and water the sheep. The stone was then placed back on the well’s opening.

⁴ Jacob asked the men at the well, “My brothers! Where are you from?”

“We’re from Haran,” they answered.

⁵ “Do you know Laban grandson of Nahor?” Jacob asked them.

They answered, “We know him.”

⁶ “Is he well?” Jacob asked.

“Yes,” they said, “and here is his daughter Rachel, coming with his sheep.”

⁷ Then Jacob said, “Look, it is still broad daylight. It’s not time for the animals to be gathered. Water the flock, then go out and let them graze.”

⁸ But they replied, “We can’t until all the flocks have been gathered and the stone is rolled from the well’s opening. Then we will water the sheep.”

⁹ While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess. ¹⁰ As soon as Jacob saw his uncle Laban’s daughter Rachel with his sheep,^[ch] he went up and rolled the stone from the opening and watered his uncle Laban’s sheep. ¹¹ Then Jacob kissed Rachel and wept loudly.^{[ci] 12} He told Rachel that he was her father’s relative, Rebekah’s son. She ran and told her father.

Jacob Deceived

¹³ When Laban heard the news about his sister’s son Jacob, he ran to meet him, hugged him, and kissed him. Then he took him to his house, and Jacob told him all that had happened.

¹⁴ Laban said to him, “Yes, you are my own flesh and blood.”^[cj](FH)

After Jacob had stayed with him a month, ¹⁵ Laban said to him, “Just because you’re my relative, should you work for me for nothing? Tell me what your wages should be.”

¹⁶ Now Laban had two daughters: the older was named Leah, and the younger was named Rachel. ¹⁷ Leah had ordinary^[ck] eyes, but Rachel was shapely and beautiful. ¹⁸ Jacob loved Rachel, so he answered Laban, “I’ll work for you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.”^(FI)

¹⁹ Laban replied, “Better that I give her to you than to some other man. Stay with me.” ²⁰ So Jacob worked seven years for Rachel, and they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her.

²¹ Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my time is completed. I want to sleep with^[cl] her.” ²² So Laban invited all the men of the place to a feast. ²³ That evening, Laban took his daughter Leah and gave her to Jacob, and he slept with her. ²⁴ And Laban gave his slave Zilpah to his daughter Leah as her slave.

²⁵ When morning came, there was Leah! So he said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Wasn’t it for Rachel that I worked for you? Why have you deceived me?”

²⁶ Laban answered, “It is not the custom in this place to give the younger daughter in marriage before the firstborn. ²⁷ Complete this week of wedding celebration, and we will also give you this younger one in return for working yet another seven years for me.”

²⁸ And Jacob did just that. He finished the week of celebration, and Laban gave him his daughter Rachel as his wife. ²⁹ And Laban gave his slave Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her slave. ³⁰ Jacob slept with Rachel also, and indeed, he loved Rachel more than Leah. And he worked for Laban another seven years.^(FJ)

Jacob’s Sons

³¹ When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved,^(FK) He opened her womb;^(FL) but Rachel was unable to conceive.^{(FM) 32} Leah conceived, gave birth to a son, and named him Reuben,^[cm] for she said, “The Lord has seen my affliction;^(FN) surely my husband will love me now.”

³³ She conceived again, gave birth to a son, and said, “The Lord heard that I am unloved and has given me this son also.” So she named him Simeon.^[cn]

³⁴ She conceived again, gave birth to a son, and said, “At last, my husband will become attached to me because I have borne three sons for him.” Therefore he was named Levi.^[co]

³⁵ And she conceived again, gave birth to a son, and said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” Therefore she named him Judah.^[cp](FO) Then Leah stopped having children.

30 When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she envied her sister. “Give me sons, or I will die!”^(FP) she said to Jacob.

² Jacob became angry with Rachel and said, “Am I in God’s place, who has withheld children^[cq] from you?”

³ Then she said, “Here is my slave Bilhah. Go sleep with her, and she’ll bear children for me^[cr](FQ) so that through her I too can build a family.” ⁴ So Rachel gave her slave Bilhah to Jacob as a wife, and he slept with her. ⁵ Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. ⁶ Rachel said, “God has vindicated me; yes, He has heard me and given me a son,” and she named him Dan.^[cs]

⁷ Rachel’s slave Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. ⁸ Rachel said, “In my wrestlings with God,^[ct] I have wrestled with my sister and won,” and she named him Naphtali.^[cu]

⁹ When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took her slave Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. ¹⁰ Leah’s slave Zilpah bore Jacob a son. ¹¹ Then Leah said, “What good fortune!”^[cv] and she named him Gad.^[cw]

¹² When Leah’s slave Zilpah bore Jacob a second son, ¹³ Leah said, “I am happy that the women call me happy,”^(FR) so she named him Asher.^[cx]

¹⁴ Reuben went out during the wheat harvest and found some mandrakes in the field.^(FS) When he brought them to his mother Leah, Rachel asked, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”

¹⁵ But Leah replied to her, “Isn’t it enough that you have taken my husband? Now you also want to take my son’s mandrakes?”

“Well,” Rachel said, “you can sleep with him tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.”

¹⁶ When Jacob came in from the field that evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must come with me, for I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So Jacob slept with her that night.

¹⁷ God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. ¹⁸ Leah said, “God has rewarded me for giving my slave to my husband,” and she named him Issachar.^[cy]

¹⁹ Then Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son. ²⁰ “God has given me a good gift,” Leah said. “This time my husband will honor me because I have borne six sons for him,” and she named him Zebulun.^{[cz] 21} Later, Leah bore a daughter and named her Dinah.

²² Then God remembered Rachel. He listened to her and opened her womb.^{(FT) 23} She conceived and bore a son, and said, “God has taken away my shame.”^{(FU) 24} She named him Joseph:^[da] “May the Lord add another son to me.”^(FV)

Jacob’s Flocks Multiply

²⁵ After Rachel gave birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me on my way so that I can return to my homeland. ²⁶ Give me my wives and my children that I have worked for, and let me go.^(FW) You know how hard I have worked for you.”

²⁷ But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your sight, stay. I have learned by divination that the Lord has blessed me because of you.” ²⁸ Then Laban said, “Name your wages, and I will pay them.”^(FX)

²⁹ So Jacob said to him, “You know what I have done for you and your herds.^{(FY) 30} For you had very little before I came, but now your wealth has increased. The Lord has blessed you because of me. And now, when will I also do something for my own family?”

³¹ Laban asked, “What should I give you?”

And Jacob said, “You don’t need to give me anything. If you do this one thing for me, I will continue to shepherd and keep your flock. ³² Let me go through all your sheep today and remove every sheep that is speckled or spotted, every dark-colored sheep among the lambs, and the spotted and speckled among the female goats. Such will be my wages. ³³ In the future when you come to check on my wages, my honesty will testify for me. If I have any female goats that are not speckled or spotted, or any lambs that are not black, they will be considered stolen.”

³⁴ “Good,” said Laban. “Let it be as you have said.”

³⁵ That day Laban removed the streaked and spotted male goats and all the speckled and spotted female goats—every one that had any white on it—and every dark-colored one among the lambs, and he placed his sons in charge of them. ³⁶ He put a three-day journey between himself and Jacob. Jacob, meanwhile, was shepherding the rest of Laban’s flock.

³⁷ Jacob then took branches of fresh poplar, almond, and plane wood, and peeled the bark, exposing white stripes on the branches. ³⁸ He set the peeled branches in the troughs in front of the sheep—in the water channels where the sheep came to drink. And the sheep bred when they came to drink. ³⁹ The flocks bred in front of the branches and bore streaked, speckled, and spotted young.^{(FZ) 40} Jacob separated the lambs and made the flocks face the streaked and the completely dark sheep in Laban’s flocks. Then he set his own stock apart and didn’t put them with Laban’s sheep.

⁴¹ Whenever the stronger of the flock were breeding, Jacob placed the branches in the troughs, in full view of the flocks, and they would breed in front of the branches. ⁴² As for the weaklings of the flocks, he did not put out the branches. So it turned out that the weak sheep belonged to Laban and the stronger ones to Jacob. ⁴³ And the man became very rich.^[db] He had many flocks, male and female slaves, and camels and donkeys.^(GA)

Jacob Separates from Laban

31 Now Jacob heard what Laban’s sons were saying: “Jacob has taken all that was our father’s and has built this wealth from what belonged to our father.” ² And Jacob saw from Laban’s face that his attitude toward him was not the same.

³ Then the Lord said to him, “Go back to the land of your fathers and to your family, and I will be with you.”^(GB)

⁴ Jacob had Rachel and Leah called to the field where his flocks were. ⁵ He said to them, “I can see from your father’s face that his attitude toward me is not the same, but the God of my father has been with me. ⁶ You know that I’ve worked hard^[dc] for your father^{(GC) 7} and that he has cheated me and changed my wages 10 times. But God has not let him harm me. ⁸ If he said, ‘The spotted sheep will be your wages,’ then all the sheep were born spotted. If he said, ‘The streaked sheep will be your wages,’ then all the sheep were born streaked.^{(GD) 9} God has taken away your father’s herds and given them to me.

¹⁰ “When the flocks were breeding, I saw in a dream that the streaked, spotted, and speckled males were mating with the females. ¹¹ In that dream the Angel of God said to me, ‘Jacob!’ and I said, ‘Here I am.’ ¹² And He said, ‘Look up and see: all the males that are mating with the flocks are streaked, spotted, and speckled, for I have seen all that Laban has been doing to you.^{(GE) 13} I am the God of Bethel, where you poured oil on the stone marker and made a solemn vow to Me.^(GF) Get up, leave this land, and return to your native land.’”

¹⁴ Then Rachel and Leah answered him, “Do we have any portion or inheritance in our father’s household? ¹⁵ Are we not regarded by him as outsiders? For he has sold us^(GG) and has certainly spent our money. ¹⁶ In fact, all the wealth that God has taken away from our father belongs to us and to our children. So do whatever God has said to you.”

¹⁷ Then Jacob got up and put his children and wives on the camels. ¹⁸ He took all the livestock and possessions he had acquired in Paddan-aram, and he drove his herds to go to the land of his father Isaac in Canaan. ¹⁹ When Laban had gone to shear his sheep, Rachel stole her father’s household idols.^{(GH) 20} And Jacob deceived^[dd] Laban the Aramean, not telling him that he was fleeing. ²¹ He fled with all his possessions, crossed the Euphrates, and headed for^[de] the hill country of Gilead.

Laban Overtakes Jacob

²² On the third day Laban was told that Jacob had fled. ²³ So he took his relatives with him, pursued Jacob for seven days, and overtook him at Mount Gilead. ²⁴ But God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night. “Watch yourself!” God warned him. “Don’t say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.”^(GI)

²⁵ When Laban overtook Jacob, Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country, and Laban and his brothers also pitched their tents in the hill country of Gilead. ²⁶ Then Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done? You have deceived me and taken my daughters away like prisoners of war! ²⁷ Why did you secretly flee from me, deceive me, and not tell me? I would have sent you away with joy and singing, with tambourines and lyres, ²⁸ but you didn’t even let me kiss my grandchildren and my daughters. You have acted foolishly. ²⁹ I could do you great harm, but last night the God of your father said to me: ‘Watch yourself. Don’t say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.’ ³⁰ Now you have gone off because you long for your father—but why have you stolen my gods?”^(GJ)

³¹ Jacob answered, “I was afraid, for I thought you would take your daughters from me by force. ³² If you find your gods with anyone here, he will not live!^(GK) Before our relatives, point out anything that is yours and take it.” Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen the idols.

³³ So Laban went into Jacob’s tent, then Leah’s tent, and then the tents of the two female slaves, but he found nothing. Then he left Leah’s tent and entered Rachel’s. ³⁴ Now Rachel had taken Laban’s household idols, put them in the saddlebag of the camel, and sat on them. Laban searched the whole tent but found nothing.

³⁵ She said to her father, “Sir, don’t be angry that I cannot stand up in your presence;^(GL) I am having my period.” So Laban searched, but could not find the household idols.

Jacob’s Covenant with Laban

³⁶ Then Jacob became incensed and brought charges against Laban. “What is my crime?” he said to Laban. “What is my sin, that you have pursued me? ³⁷ You’ve searched all my possessions! Have you found anything of yours? Put it here before my relatives and yours, and let them decide between the two of us. ³⁸ I’ve been with you these 20 years. Your ewes and female goats have not miscarried, and I have not eaten the rams from your flock. ³⁹ I did not bring you any of the flock torn by wild beasts; I myself bore the loss. You demanded payment from me for what was stolen by day or by night. ⁴⁰ There I was—the heat consumed me by day and the frost by night, and sleep fled from my eyes. ⁴¹ For 20 years I have worked in your household—14 years for your two daughters and six years for your flocks^(GM)—and you have changed my wages 10 times! ⁴² If the God of my father, the God of Abraham, the Fear of Isaac, had not been with me, certainly now you would have sent me off empty-handed. But God has seen my affliction and my hard work,^[df] and He issued His verdict last night.”

⁴³ Then Laban answered Jacob, “The daughters are my daughters; the sons, my sons; and the flocks, my flocks! Everything you see is mine! But what can I do today for these daughters of mine or for the children they have borne? ⁴⁴ Come now, let’s make a covenant, you and I.^(GN) Let it be a witness between the two of us.”

⁴⁵ So Jacob picked out a stone and set it up as a marker.^{(GO) 46} Then Jacob said to his relatives, “Gather stones.” And they took stones and made a mound, then ate there by the mound. ⁴⁷ Laban named the mound Jegar-sahadutha, but Jacob named it Galeed.^[dg]

⁴⁸ Then Laban said, “This mound is a witness between you and me today.” Therefore the place was called Galeed ⁴⁹ and also Mizpah,^[dh](GP) for he said, “May the Lord watch between you and me when we are out of each other’s sight. ⁵⁰ If you mistreat my daughters or take other wives, though no one is with us, understand that God will be a witness between you and me.”^{(GQ) 51} Laban also said to Jacob, “Look at this mound and the marker I have set up between you and me. ⁵² This mound is a witness and the marker is a witness that I will not pass beyond this mound to you, and you will not pass beyond this mound and this marker to do me harm. ⁵³ The God of Abraham, and the gods^(GR) of Nahor—the gods of their father^[di]—will judge between us.” And Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac. ⁵⁴ Then Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain and invited his relatives to eat a meal. So they ate a meal and spent the night on the mountain. ^55 [dj]Laban got up early in the morning, kissed his grandchildren and daughters, and blessed them. Then Laban left to return home.

Preparing to Meet Esau

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

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.’”^(GU)

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.”^{(GV) 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.”^(GW)

⁹ Then Jacob said, “God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac,^(GX) the Lord who said to me, ‘Go back to your land and to your family, and I will cause you to prosper,’^{(GY) 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.’”^(GZ)

¹³ He spent the night there and took part of what he had brought with him as a gift for his brother Esau:^{(HA) 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.^{(HB) 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.^{(HC) 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,”^(HD) He said. “It will be Israel^[dl] because you have struggled with God^(HE) 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?”^(HF) And He blessed him there.

³⁰ Jacob then named the place Peniel,^[dm] “For I have seen God face to face,” he said, “and I have been delivered.”^{(HG) 31} The sun shone on him as he passed by Penuel^[dn](HH)—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.^[do]

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^(HI) 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.^{(HJ) 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.”^{(HK) 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^[dp] I met?”^(HL)

“To find favor with you, my lord,”^(HM) 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,^[dq] my lord.”^(HN)

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.^[dr](HO)

¹⁸ After Jacob came from Paddan-aram, he arrived safely^(HP) at Shechem^(HQ) 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.^{[ds](HR) 20} And he set up an altar there and called it “God, the God of Israel.”^[dt]

Dinah Defiled

34 Dinah, Leah’s daughter^(HS) whom she bore to Jacob, went out to see some of the young women of the area. ² When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, a prince of the region, saw her, he took her and raped her. ³ He became infatuated with Dinah, daughter of Jacob. He loved the young girl and spoke tenderly to her.^{[du] 4} “Get me this girl as a wife,”^(HT) he told his father Hamor.

⁵ Jacob heard that Shechem had defiled his daughter Dinah, but since his sons were with his livestock in the field, he remained silent until they returned. ⁶ Meanwhile, Shechem’s father Hamor came to speak with Jacob. ⁷ Jacob’s sons returned from the field when they heard about the incident and were deeply grieved and angry. For Shechem had committed an outrage against Israel by raping Jacob’s daughter,^(HU) and such a thing should not be done.

⁸ Hamor said to Jacob’s sons, “My son Shechem is strongly attracted to your^[dv] daughter. Please give her to him as a wife. ⁹ Intermarry with us; give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves. ¹⁰ Live with us. The land is before you. Settle here, move about, and acquire property in it.”

¹¹ Then Shechem said to Dinah’s father and brothers, “Grant me this favor,^[dw] and I’ll give you whatever you say. ¹² Demand of me a high compensation^[dx] and gift; I’ll give you whatever you ask me. Just give the girl to be my wife!”

¹³ But Jacob’s sons answered Shechem and his father Hamor deceitfully because he had defiled their sister Dinah. ¹⁴ “We cannot do this thing,” they said to them. “Giving our sister to an uncircumcised man is a disgrace to us. ¹⁵ We will agree with you only on this condition: if all your males are circumcised as we are.^(HV)