Genesis 33-36

New American Standard Bible 1995

Jacob Meets Esau

33 Then Jacob lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, ^(A)Esau was coming, and four hundred men with him. So he divided the children ^[a]among Leah and Rachel and the two maids. ² He put the maids and their children ^[b]in front, and Leah and her children ^[c]next, and Rachel and Joseph ^[d]last. ³ But he himself passed on ahead of them and ^(B)bowed down to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.

⁴ Then Esau ran to meet him and embraced him, and ^(C)fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept. ⁵ He lifted his eyes and saw the women and the children, and said, “^[e]Who are these with you?” So he said, “^(D)The children whom God has graciously given your servant.” ⁶ Then the maids came near ^[f]with their children, and they bowed down. ⁷ Leah likewise came near with her children, and they bowed down; and afterward Joseph came near with Rachel, and they bowed down. ⁸ And he said, “What do you mean by ^(E)all this company which I have met?” And he said, “^(F)To find favor in the sight of my lord.” ⁹ But Esau said, “^(G)I have plenty, my brother; let what you have be your own.” ¹⁰ Jacob said, “No, please, if now I have found favor in your sight, then take my present from my hand, ^[g]for I see your face as one sees the face of God, and you have received me favorably. ¹¹ Please take my ^[h](H)gift which has been brought to you, ^(I)because God has dealt graciously with me and because I have ^[i]plenty.” Thus he urged him and he took it.

¹² Then ^[j]Esau said, “Let us take our journey and go, and I will go before you.” ¹³ But he said to him, “My lord knows that the children are frail and that the flocks and herds which are nursing are ^[k]a care to me. And if they are driven hard one day, all the flocks will die. ¹⁴ Please let my lord pass on before his servant, and I will proceed at my leisure, according to the pace of the cattle that are before me and according to the pace of the children, until I come to my lord at ^(J)Seir.”

¹⁵ Esau said, “Please let me leave with you some of the people who are with me.” But he said, “^[l]What need is there? ^(K)Let me find favor in the sight of my lord.” ¹⁶ So Esau returned that day on his way to Seir. ¹⁷ Jacob journeyed to ^[m](L)Succoth, and built for himself a house and made booths for his livestock; therefore the place is named Succoth.

Jacob Settles in Shechem

¹⁸ Now Jacob came safely to the city of ^(M)Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from ^(N)Paddan-aram, and camped before the city. ^19 (O)He bought the piece of land where he had pitched his tent from the hand of the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for one hundred ^[n]pieces of money. ²⁰ Then he erected there an altar and called it ^[o]El-Elohe-Israel.

The Treachery of Jacob’s Sons

34 Now ^(P)Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to ^[p]visit the daughters of the land. ² When Shechem the son of Hamor ^(Q)the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her, he took her and lay with her ^[q]by force. ^3 [r]He was deeply attracted to Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the girl and ^[s]spoke tenderly to her. ⁴ So Shechem ^(R)spoke to his father Hamor, saying, “Get me this young girl for a wife.” ⁵ Now Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter; but his sons were with his livestock in the field, so Jacob kept silent until they came in. ⁶ Then Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him. ⁷ Now the sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard it; and the men were grieved, and they were very angry because he had done a ^[t](S)disgraceful thing in Israel ^[u]by lying with Jacob’s daughter, for such a thing ought not to be done.

⁸ But Hamor spoke with them, saying, “The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter; please give her to him ^[v]in marriage. ⁹ Intermarry with us; give your daughters to us and take our daughters for yourselves. ¹⁰ Thus you shall ^[w]live with us, and ^(T)the land shall be open before you; ^[x]live and ^(U)trade in it and ^(V)acquire property in it.” ¹¹ Shechem also said to her father and to her brothers, “If I find favor in your sight, then I will give whatever you say to me. ¹² Ask me ever so much bridal payment and gift, and I will give according as you say to me; but give me the girl ^[y]in marriage.”

¹³ But Jacob’s sons answered Shechem and his father Hamor with deceit, because he had defiled Dinah their sister. ¹⁴ They said to them, “We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to ^(W)one who is uncircumcised, for that would be a disgrace to us. ¹⁵ Only on this condition will we consent to you: if you will become like us, in that every male of you be circumcised, ¹⁶ then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters for ourselves, and we will ^[z]live with you and become one people. ¹⁷ But if you will not listen to us to be circumcised, then we will take our daughter and go.”

¹⁸ Now their words seemed ^[aa]reasonable to Hamor and Shechem, Hamor’s son. ¹⁹ The young man did not delay to do the thing, because he was delighted with Jacob’s daughter. Now he was more respected than all the household of his father. ²⁰ So Hamor and his son Shechem came to the ^(X)gate of their city and spoke to the men of their city, saying, ²¹ “These men are ^[ab]friendly with us; therefore let them ^[ac]live in the land and trade in it, for behold, the land is ^[ad]large enough for them. Let us take their daughters ^[ae]in marriage, and give our daughters to them. ²² Only on this condition will the men consent to us to ^[af]live with us, to become one people: that every male among us be circumcised as they are circumcised. ²³ Will not their livestock and their property and all their animals be ours? Only let us consent to them, and they will ^[ag]live with us.” ^24 (Y)All who went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor and to his son Shechem, and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city.

²⁵ Now it came about on the third day, when they were in pain, that two of Jacob’s sons, ^(Z)Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, each took his sword and came upon the city unawares, and killed every male. ²⁶ They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah from Shechem’s house, and went forth. ²⁷ Jacob’s sons came upon the slain and looted the city, because they had defiled their sister. ²⁸ They took their flocks and their herds and their donkeys, and that which was in the city and that which was in the field; ²⁹ and they captured and looted all their wealth and all their little ones and their wives, even all that was in the houses. ³⁰ Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have ^(AA)brought trouble on me by ^(AB)making me odious among the inhabitants of the land, among ^(AC)the Canaanites and the Perizzites; and ^[ah](AD)my men being few in number, they will gather together against me and ^[ai]attack me and I will be destroyed, I and my household.” ³¹ But they said, “Should he ^[aj]treat our sister as a harlot?”

Jacob Moves to Bethel

35 Then God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to ^(AE)Bethel and ^[ak]live there, and make an altar there to ^(AF)God, who appeared to you ^(AG)when you fled ^[al]from your brother Esau.” ² So Jacob said to his ^(AH)household and to all who were with him, “Put away ^(AI)the foreign gods which are among you, and ^(AJ)purify yourselves and change your garments; ³ and let us arise and go up to Bethel, and I will make ^(AK)an altar there to God, ^(AL)who answered me in the day of my distress and ^(AM)has been with me ^[am]wherever I have gone.” ⁴ So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods which ^[an]they had and the rings which were in their ears, and Jacob hid them under the ^[ao]oak which was near Shechem.

⁵ As they journeyed, there was ^[ap](AN)a great terror upon the cities which were around them, and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob. ⁶ So Jacob came to ^(AO)Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him. ^7 (AP)He built an altar there, and called the place ^[aq]El-bethel, because there God had revealed Himself to him when he fled ^[ar]from his brother. ⁸ Now ^(AQ)Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and she was buried below Bethel under the oak; it was named ^[as]Allon-bacuth.

Jacob Is Named Israel

⁹ Then God appeared to Jacob again when he came from Paddan-aram, and He ^(AR)blessed him. ^10 (AS)God said to him,

Thus He called ^[au]him Israel. ¹¹ God also said to him,

¹³ Then ^(AY)God went up from him in the place where He had spoken with him. ¹⁴ Jacob set up ^(AZ)a pillar in the place where He had spoken with him, a pillar of stone, and he poured out a drink offering on it; he also poured oil on it. ¹⁵ So Jacob named the place where God had spoken with him, ^[ba](BA)Bethel.

¹⁶ Then they journeyed from Bethel; and when there was still some distance to go to ^(BB)Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth and she ^[bb]suffered severe labor. ¹⁷ When she was in severe labor the midwife said to her, “Do not fear, for now ^(BC)you have another son.” ¹⁸ It came about as her soul was departing (for she died), that she named him ^[bc]Ben-oni; but his father called him ^[bd]Benjamin. ¹⁹ So ^(BD)Rachel died and was buried on the way to ^(BE)Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). ²⁰ Jacob set up a pillar over her grave; that is the ^(BF)pillar of Rachel’s grave to this day. ²¹ Then Israel journeyed on and pitched his tent beyond the ^[be](BG)tower of ^[bf]Eder.

²² It came about while Israel was dwelling in that land, that ^(BH)Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine, and Israel heard of it.

The Sons of Israel

Now there were twelve sons of Jacob— ^23 (BI)the sons of Leah: Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, then Simeon and Levi and Judah and Issachar and Zebulun; ^24 (BJ)the sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin; ²⁵ and ^(BK)the sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s maid: Dan and Naphtali; ²⁶ and ^(BL)the sons of Zilpah, Leah’s maid: Gad and Asher. These are the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan-aram.

²⁷ Jacob came to his father Isaac at ^(BM)Mamre of ^(BN)Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had sojourned.

²⁸ Now the days of Isaac were ^(BO)one hundred and eighty years. ²⁹ Isaac breathed his last and died and was ^(BP)gathered to his people, an ^(BQ)old man ^[bg]of ripe age; and ^(BR)his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

Esau Moves

36 Now these are the records of the generations of ^(BS)Esau (that is, Edom).

² Esau ^(BT)took his wives from the daughters of Canaan: Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and ^(BU)Oholibamah the daughter of Anah and the ^(BV)granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite; ³ also Basemath, Ishmael’s daughter, the sister of Nebaioth. ⁴ Adah bore ^(BW)Eliphaz to Esau, and Basemath bore Reuel, ⁵ and Oholibamah bore Jeush and Jalam and Korah. These are the sons of Esau who were born to him in the land of Canaan.

^6 (BX)Then Esau took his wives and his sons and his daughters and all ^[bh]his household, and his livestock and all his cattle and all his goods which he had acquired in the land of Canaan, and went to another land away from his brother Jacob. ^7 (BY)For their property had become too great for them to ^[bi]live together, and the ^(BZ)land where they ^(CA)sojourned could not sustain them because of their livestock. ⁸ So Esau lived in the hill country of ^(CB)Seir; Esau is ^(CC)Edom.

Descendants of Esau

⁹ These then are the records of the generations of Esau the father of ^[bj]the Edomites in the hill country of Seir. ¹⁰ These are the names of Esau’s sons: Eliphaz the son of Esau’s wife Adah, Reuel the son of Esau’s wife Basemath. ¹¹ The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, ^[bk]Zepho and Gatam and Kenaz. ¹² Timna was a concubine of Esau’s son Eliphaz and she bore ^(CD)Amalek to Eliphaz. These are the sons of Esau’s wife Adah. ¹³ These are the sons of Reuel: Nahath and Zerah, Shammah and Mizzah. These were the sons of Esau’s wife Basemath. ¹⁴ These were the sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah and the ^[bl]granddaughter of Zibeon: ^[bm]she bore to Esau, Jeush and Jalam and Korah.

¹⁵ These are the chiefs of the sons of Esau. The sons of Eliphaz, the firstborn of Esau, are chief Teman, chief Omar, chief Zepho, chief Kenaz, ¹⁶ chief Korah, chief Gatam, chief Amalek. These are the chiefs ^[bn]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, chief Mizzah. These are the chiefs ^[bo]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, chief Korah. These are the chiefs ^[bp]descended from Esau’s wife Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah. ¹⁹ These are the sons of Esau (that is, Edom), and these are their chiefs.

²⁰ These are the sons of Seir ^(CE)the Horite, the inhabitants of the land: Lotan and Shobal and Zibeon and Anah, ²¹ and Dishon and Ezer and Dishan. These are the chiefs ^[bq]descended from the Horites, the sons of Seir in the land of Edom. ²² The sons of Lotan were Hori and ^[br]Hemam; and Lotan’s sister was Timna. ²³ These are the sons of Shobal: ^[bs]Alvan and Manahath and Ebal, ^[bt]Shepho and Onam. ²⁴ These are the sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah—he is the Anah who found the hot springs in the wilderness when he was pasturing the donkeys of his father Zibeon. ²⁵ These are the children of Anah: Dishon, and Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah. ²⁶ These are the sons of ^[bu](CF)Dishon: ^[bv]Hemdan and Eshban and Ithran and Cheran. ²⁷ These are the sons of Ezer: Bilhan and Zaavan and ^[bw]Akan. ²⁸ These are the sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran. ²⁹ These are the chiefs ^[bx]descended from the Horites: chief Lotan, chief Shobal, chief Zibeon, chief Anah, ³⁰ chief Dishon, chief Ezer, chief Dishan. These are the chiefs ^[by]descended from the Horites, according to their various chiefs in the land of Seir.

³¹ Now these are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any ^(CG)king reigned over the sons of Israel. ^32 [bz](CH)Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom, and the name of his city was Dinhabah. ³³ Then Bela died, and Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah became king in his place. ³⁴ Then Jobab died, and Husham of the land of the Temanites became king in his place. ³⁵ Then Husham died, and Hadad the son of Bedad, who ^[ca]defeated Midian in the field of Moab, became king in his place; and the name of his city was Avith. ³⁶ Then Hadad died, and Samlah of Masrekah became king in his place. ³⁷ Then Samlah died, and Shaul of Rehoboth on the Euphrates River became king in his place. ³⁸ Then Shaul died, and Baal-hanan the son of Achbor became king in his place. ³⁹ Then Baal-hanan the son of Achbor died, and ^[cb]Hadar became king in his place; and the name of his city was ^[cc]Pau; and his wife’s name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, daughter of Mezahab.

⁴⁰ Now these are the names of the chiefs ^[cd]descended from Esau, according to their families and their localities, by their names: chief Timna, chief ^[ce]Alvah, chief Jetheth, ⁴¹ chief Oholibamah, chief Elah, chief Pinon, ⁴² chief Kenaz, chief Teman, chief Mibzar, ⁴³ chief Magdiel, chief Iram. These are the chiefs of Edom (that is, Esau, the father of ^[cf]the Edomites), according to their habitations in the land of their possession.