⁴ To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. To Esau I gave the mountains of Seir, while Jacob and his children went down into Egypt.

⁵ Do not bother them, for I have given them all the hill country around Mount Seir as their property, and I will not give you even one square foot of their land.

⁸ So Esau (also known as Edom) settled in the hill country of Seir.

¹⁵ So Jacob went to Egypt. He died there, as did our ancestors.

²⁴ And when the time came to give birth, Rebekah discovered that she did indeed have twins! ²⁵ The first one was very red at birth and covered with thick hair like a fur coat. So they named him Esau.^{[a] 26} Then the other twin was born with his hand grasping Esau’s heel. So they named him Jacob.^[b] Isaac was sixty years old when the twins were born.

Jacob’s Journey to Egypt

46 So Jacob^[a] set out for Egypt with all his possessions. And when he came to Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father, Isaac. ² During the night God spoke to him in a vision. “Jacob! Jacob!” he called.

“Here I am,” Jacob replied.

³ “I am God,^[b] the God of your father,” the voice said. “Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make your family into a great nation. ⁴ I will go with you down to Egypt, and I will bring you back again. You will die in Egypt, but Joseph will be with you to close your eyes.”

⁵ So Jacob left Beersheba, and his sons took him to Egypt. They carried him and their little ones and their wives in the wagons Pharaoh had provided for them. ⁶ They also took all their livestock and all the personal belongings they had acquired in the land of Canaan. So Jacob and his entire family went to Egypt— ⁷ sons and grandsons, daughters and granddaughters—all his descendants.

Jacob Sends Gifts to Esau

³ Then Jacob sent messengers ahead to his brother, Esau, who was living in the region of Seir in the land of Edom.