Abraham’s Death

25 Now Abraham took another wife, [a]whose name was Keturah. (A)She bore to him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. Jokshan fathered Sheba and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim. The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All of these were the sons of Keturah. (B)Now Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac; but to the sons of [b]his concubines, Abraham gave gifts while he was still living, and (C)sent them away from his son Isaac eastward, to the land of the east.

These are [c]all the years of Abraham’s life that he lived, (D)175 years. Abraham breathed his last and died (E)at a good old age, an old man and satisfied with life; and he was (F)gathered to his people. Then his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in (G)the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, facing Mamre, 10 (H)the field which Abraham purchased from the sons of Heth; there Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah. 11 It came about after the death of Abraham, that (I)God blessed his son Isaac; and Isaac [d]lived by (J)Beer-lahai-roi.

Descendants of Ishmael

12 Now these are the records of the generations of (K)Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s slave woman, bore to Abraham; 13 and these are the names of (L)the sons of Ishmael, by their names, [e]in the order of their birth: Nebaioth, the firstborn of Ishmael, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 16 These are the sons of Ishmael and these are their names, by their villages, and by their camps; (M)twelve princes according to their [f]tribes. 17 These are the years of the life of Ishmael, (N)137 years; and he breathed his last and died, and was (O)gathered to his people. 18 They [g]settled from (P)Havilah to (Q)Shur which is [h]east of Egypt [i]going toward Assyria; (R)he [j]settled in defiance of all his relatives.

Isaac’s Sons

19 Now these are the records of (S)the generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham fathered Isaac; 20 and Isaac was forty years old when he took (T)Rebekah, the (U)daughter of Bethuel the [k]Aramean of Paddan-aram, the (V)sister of Laban the [l]Aramean, to be his wife. 21 Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was unable to have children; and (W)the Lord [m]answered him, and his wife Rebekah (X)conceived. 22 But the children struggled together within her; and she said, “If it is so, why am I in this condition?” So she went to (Y)inquire of the Lord. 23 And the Lord said to her,

(Z)Two nations are in your womb;
(AA)And two peoples will be separated from your body;
And one people will be stronger than the other;
And (AB)the older will serve the younger.”

24 When her days leading to the delivery were at an end, behold, there were twins in her womb. 25 Now the first came out red, (AC)all over like a hairy garment; and they named him Esau. 26 Afterward his brother came out with (AD)his hand holding on to Esau’s heel, so (AE)he was named [n]Jacob; and Isaac was (AF)sixty years old when she gave birth to them.

27 When the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the field; but Jacob was a [o]civilized man, (AG)living in tents. 28 Now Isaac loved Esau because [p]he had (AH)a taste for game; (AI)but Rebekah loved Jacob. 29 When Jacob had cooked a (AJ)stew one day, Esau came in from the field and he was exhausted; 30 and Esau said to Jacob, “Please let me have a mouthful of [q]that red stuff there, for I am exhausted.” Therefore he was called [r]Edom by name. 31 But Jacob said, “[s]First sell me your (AK)birthright.” 32 Esau said, “Look, I am about to die; so of what use then is the birthright to me?” 33 And Jacob said, “[t]First swear to me”; so he swore an oath to him, and (AL)sold his birthright to Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew; and he ate and drank, and got up and went on his way. So Esau despised his birthright.

Isaac Settles in Gerar

26 Now there was (AM)a famine in the land, besides the previous famine that had occurred in the days of Abraham. So Isaac went to Gerar, to (AN)Abimelech king of the Philistines. And the Lord (AO)appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; (AP)stay in the land of which I shall tell you. Live for a time in this land and (AQ)I will be with you and (AR)bless you, for (AS)to you and to your [u]descendants I will give all these lands, and I will establish (AT)the oath which I swore to your father Abraham. (AU)I will multiply your [v]descendants as the stars of heaven, and will give your [w]descendants all these lands; and (AV)by your [x]descendants all the nations of the earth [y]shall be blessed, because Abraham [z](AW)obeyed Me and fulfilled his duty to Me, and kept My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.”

So Isaac lived in Gerar. When the men of the place asked about his wife, he said, “(AX)She is my sister,” for he was (AY)afraid to say, “my wife,” thinking, “[aa]the men of the place might kill me on account of Rebekah, since she is (AZ)beautiful.” Now it came about, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked down through a window, and saw them, and behold, Isaac was caressing his wife Rebekah. Then Abimelech called Isaac and said, “Behold, she certainly is your wife! So how is it that you said, ‘She is my sister’?” And Isaac said to him, “Because I thought, ‘otherwise I might be killed on account of her.’” 10 And (BA)Abimelech said, “What is this that you have done to us? One of the people might easily have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.” 11 So Abimelech commanded all the people, saying, “He who (BB)touches this man or his wife will certainly be put to death.”

12 Now Isaac sowed in that land and [ab]reaped in the same year a hundred times as much. And (BC)the Lord blessed him, 13 and the man (BD)became rich, and continued to grow [ac]richer until he became very [ad]wealthy; 14 for (BE)he had possessions of flocks [ae]and herds, and a great household, so that the Philistines envied him. 15 Now (BF)all the wells which his father’s servants had dug in the days of his father Abraham, the Philistines stopped up [af]by filling them with dirt. 16 Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for you are [ag](BG)too powerful for us.” 17 So Isaac departed from there and camped in the Valley of Gerar, and [ah]settled there.

Argument over the Wells

18 Then Isaac dug again the wells of water which [ai]had been dug in the days of his father Abraham, for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham; and he [aj]gave them the same names which his father had [ak]given them. 19 But when Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found there a well of [al]flowing water, 20 the herdsmen of Gerar (BH)quarreled with the herdsmen of Isaac, saying, “The water is ours!” So he named the well [am]Esek, because they argued with him. 21 Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over it too, so he named it [an]Sitnah. 22 Then he moved away from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it; so he named it [ao]Rehoboth, for he said, “[ap](BI)At last the Lord has made [aq]room for us, and we will be (BJ)fruitful in the land.”

23 And he went up from there to (BK)Beersheba. 24 And the Lord (BL)appeared to him the same night and said,

(BM)I am the God of your father Abraham;
(BN)Do not fear, for I am with you.
I (BO)will bless you and multiply your [ar]descendants,
For the sake of My servant Abraham.”

25 So he built an (BP)altar there and called upon the name of the Lord, and pitched his tent there; and there Isaac’s servants dug a well.

Covenant with Abimelech

26 Then (BQ)Abimelech came to him from Gerar [as]with his adviser Ahuzzath, and Phicol the commander of his army. 27 Isaac said to them, “(BR)Why have you come to me, since you hate me and have sent me away from you?” 28 They said, “We have seen plainly (BS)that the Lord has been with you; so we said, ‘An oath must now be taken [at]by us,’ that is, [au]by you and us. So let us make a covenant with you, 29 that you will do us no harm, just as we have not touched you [av]and have done to you nothing but good, and have sent you away in peace. You are now the (BT)blessed of the Lord.” 30 Then (BU)he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. 31 In the morning they got up early and [aw](BV)exchanged oaths; then Isaac sent them away, and they left him in peace. 32 Now it came about on the same day, that Isaac’s servants came in and told him about the well which they had dug, and said to him, “We have found water.” 33 So he called it [ax]Shibah; therefore the name of the city is (BW)Beersheba to this day.

34 When Esau was forty years old (BX)he [ay]married Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite; 35 and (BY)they [az]brought grief to Isaac and Rebekah.

Jacob’s Deception

27 Now it came about, when Isaac was old and (BZ)his eyes were too dim to see, that he called his (CA)older son Esau and said to him, “My son.” And he said to him, “Here I am.” Then [ba](CB)Isaac said, “Behold now, I am old and I do not know the day of my death. Now then, please take your gear, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and (CC)hunt game for me; and prepare a delicious meal for me such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, so that (CD)my soul may bless you before I die.”

Now Rebekah was listening while Isaac spoke to his son Esau. So when Esau went to the field to hunt for game to bring home, (CE)Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “Behold, I heard your father speak to your brother Esau, saying, ‘Bring me some game and prepare a delicious meal for me, so that I may eat, and bless you in the presence of the Lord before my death.’ So now, my son, (CF)listen to [bb]me [bc]as I command you. Go now to the flock and [bd]bring me two choice [be]young goats from there, so that I may prepare them as a delicious meal for your father, such as he loves. 10 Then you shall bring it to your father, that he may eat, so that he may bless you before his death.” 11 But Jacob said to his mother Rebekah, “Behold, my brother Esau is a (CG)hairy man and I am a smooth man. 12 (CH)Perhaps my father will touch me, then I will be like a [bf]deceiver in his sight, and I will bring upon myself a curse and not a blessing.” 13 But his mother said to him, “Your curse be on me, my son; only (CI)obey my voice, and go, get the goats for me.” 14 So he went and got them, and brought them to his mother; and his mother made a delicious meal such as his father loved. 15 Then Rebekah took the [bg]best (CJ)garments of her elder son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob. 16 And she put the skins of the [bh]young goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. 17 She also gave the delicious meal and the bread which she had made [bi]to her son Jacob.

18 Then he came to his father and said, “My father.” And he said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?” 19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn; I have done as you told me. (CK)Come now, sit and eat of my game, so that [bj](CL)you may bless me.” 20 Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have it so quickly, my son?” And he said, “(CM)Because the Lord your God made it [bk]come to me.” 21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come close, so that (CN)I may feel you, my son, whether you are really my son Esau or not.” 22 So Jacob came close to his father Isaac, and he touched him and said, “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” 23 And he did not recognize him, because his hands were (CO)hairy like his brother Esau’s hands; so he blessed him. 24 And he said, “Are you really my son Esau?” And he said, “I am.” 25 So he said, “Bring it to me, and I will eat of my son’s game, that [bl](CP)I may bless you.” And he brought it to him, and he ate; he also brought him wine and he drank. 26 Then his father Isaac said to him, “Please come close and kiss me, my son.” 27 So he came close and kissed him; and when he smelled the smell of his garments, he (CQ)blessed him and said,

“See, (CR)the smell of my son
Is like the smell of a field (CS)which the Lord has blessed;
28 Now may (CT)God give you of the dew of heaven,
And of the (CU)fatness of the earth,
And an abundance of grain and new wine;
29 (CV)May peoples serve you,
And nations bow down to you;
(CW)Be master of your brothers,
(CX)And may your mother’s sons bow down to you.
(CY)Cursed be those who curse you,
And blessed be those who bless you.”

The Stolen Blessing

30 Now it came about, as soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had hardly gone out from the presence of his father Isaac, that his brother Esau came in from his hunting. 31 Then he also made a delicious meal, and brought it to his father; and he said to his father, “(CZ)Let my father arise and eat of his son’s game, that [bm](DA)you may bless me.” 32 His father Isaac said to him, “(DB)Who are you?” And he said, “I am your son, (DC)your firstborn, Esau.” 33 Then Isaac [bn]trembled violently, and said, “(DD)Who then was he who hunted game and brought it to me, so that I ate from all of it before you came, and blessed him? (DE)Yes, and he shall be blessed.” 34 When Esau heard the words of his father, (DF)he cried out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, “Bless me, me as well, my father!” 35 And he said, “(DG)Your brother came deceitfully and has taken away your blessing.” 36 Then Esau said, “[bo]Is he not rightly named (DH)[bp]Jacob, for he has betrayed me these two times? He took away my birthright, and behold, now he has taken away my blessing.” And he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?” 37 But Isaac replied to Esau, “Behold, I have made him (DI)your master, and I have given to him all his relatives [bq]as servants; and with grain and new wine I have sustained him. What then can I do for you, my son?” 38 Esau said to his father, “Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me, me as well, my father.” So Esau raised his voice and (DJ)wept.

39 Then (DK)his father Isaac answered and said to him,

“Behold, [br](DL)away from the [bs]fertility of the earth shall be your dwelling,
And [bt]away from the dew of heaven from above.
40 And by your sword you shall live,
And (DM)you shall serve your brother;
But it shall come about (DN)when you become restless,
That you will [bu]break his yoke from your neck.”

41 So Esau (DO)held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him; and Esau said [bv]to himself, “(DP)The days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob.” 42 Now when the words of her elder son Esau were reported to Rebekah, she sent word and called her younger son Jacob, and said to him, “Behold your brother Esau is consoling himself concerning you by planning to kill you. 43 Now then, my son, (DQ)obey my voice, and arise, [bw]flee to (DR)Haran, to my brother (DS)Laban! 44 Stay with him (DT)a few days, until your brother’s fury [bx]subsides, 45 until your brother’s anger [by]against you subsides and he forgets (DU)what you did to him. Then I will send word and get you from there. Why should I lose you both in one day?”

46 And Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am tired of [bz]living because of (DV)the daughters of Heth; (DW)if Jacob takes a wife from the daughters of Heth like these from the daughters of the land, what good will my life be to me?”

Jacob Is Sent Away

28 So Isaac called Jacob and (DX)blessed him and commanded him, [ca]saying to him, “(DY)You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan. Arise, go to Paddan-aram, to the house of (DZ)Bethuel your mother’s father; and from there take to yourself a wife from the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother. May [cb](EA)God Almighty (EB)bless you and (EC)make you fruitful and (ED)multiply you, so that you may become a (EE)multitude of peoples. May He also give you the (EF)blessing of Abraham, to you and to your [cc]descendants with you, so that you may (EG)possess the land where you (EH)live as a stranger, which God gave to Abraham.” Then (EI)Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Paddan-aram to Laban, son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.

Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan-aram to take to himself a wife from there, and that when he blessed him he commanded him, saying, “(EJ)You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan,” and that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and had gone to Paddan-aram. So Esau saw that (EK)the daughters of Canaan displeased [cd]his father Isaac; and Esau went to Ishmael, and [ce]married, (EL)besides the wives that he had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebaioth.

Jacob’s Dream

10 Then Jacob departed from (EM)Beersheba and went toward (EN)Haran. 11 And he [cf]happened upon a [cg](EO)particular place and spent the night there, because the sun had set; and he took one of the stones of the place and made it a support for his head, and lay down in that place. 12 And (EP)he had a dream, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth with its top reaching to heaven; and behold, (EQ)the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 Then behold, (ER)the Lord was standing [ch]above it and said, “I am the Lord, (ES)the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give (ET)to you and to (EU)your [ci]descendants. 14 Your [cj]descendants will also be like (EV)the dust of the earth, and you will [ck]spread out (EW)to the west and to the east, and to the north and to the south; and (EX)in you and in your [cl]descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15 Behold, (EY)I am with you and (EZ)will keep you wherever you go, and (FA)will bring you back to this land; for (FB)I will not leave you until I have done what I have [cm]promised you.” 16 Then Jacob (FC)awoke from his sleep and said, “(FD)The Lord is certainly in this place, and I did not know it!” 17 And he was afraid and said, “(FE)How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!”

18 So Jacob got up early in the morning, and took (FF)the stone that he had placed as a support for his head, and set it up as a memorial stone, and poured oil on its top. 19 Then he named that place [cn](FG)Bethel; but [co]previously the name of the city had been (FH)Luz. 20 Jacob also (FI)made a vow, saying, “(FJ)If God will be with me and will keep me on this journey that I [cp]take, and give me [cq](FK)food to eat and garments to wear, 21 and (FL)I return to my father’s house in [cr]safety, (FM)then the Lord will be my God. 22 And this stone, which I have set up as a memorial stone, (FN)will be God’s house, and (FO)of everything that You give me I will assuredly give a tenth to You.”

Jacob Meets Rachel

29 Then Jacob [cs]set out on his journey, and went to the land of (FP)the [ct]people of the east. He looked, and [cu]saw (FQ)a well in the field, and behold, three flocks of sheep were lying there beside it, because they watered the flocks from that well. Now the stone on the mouth of the well was large. When all the flocks were gathered there, they would roll the stone from the mouth of the well and water the sheep. Then they would put the stone back in its place on the mouth of the well.

Jacob said to them, “My brothers, where are you from?” And they said, “We are from (FR)Haran.” So he said to them, “Do you know Laban the (FS)son of Nahor?” And they said, “We know him.” And he said to them, “Is it well with him?” And they said, “It is well, and here is his daughter (FT)Rachel coming with the sheep.” Then he said, “Look, it is still high day; it is not time for the livestock to be gathered. Water the sheep, and go, pasture them.” But they said, “We cannot, until all the flocks are gathered, and they roll the stone from the mouth of the well; then we water the sheep.”

While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess. 10 When Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of his mother’s brother Laban, and the sheep of his mother’s brother Laban, Jacob went up and rolled the stone from the mouth of the well, and watered the flock of his mother’s brother Laban. 11 Then Jacob (FU)kissed Rachel, and raised his voice and wept. 12 Jacob told Rachel that he was a (FV)relative of her father and that he was Rebekah’s son, and (FW)she ran and told her father.

13 So when (FX)Laban heard the news about Jacob, his sister’s son, he ran to meet him, and (FY)embraced him and kissed him, and brought him to his house. Then he told Laban all these things. 14 And Laban said to him, “You certainly are (FZ)my bone and my flesh.” And he stayed with him a month.

15 Then Laban said to Jacob, “Because you are my relative, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall (GA)your wages be?” 16 Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. 17 And Leah’s eyes were weak, but Rachel was (GB)beautiful in figure and appearance. 18 Now Jacob (GC)loved Rachel, so he said, “(GD)I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.” 19 Laban said, “It is better that I give her to you than to give her to another man; stay with me.” 20 So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him like only a few days (GE)because of his love for her.

Laban’s Treachery

21 Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my [cv]time is completed, that I may (GF)have relations with her.” 22 So Laban gathered all the people of the place and held a feast. 23 Now in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to him; and Jacob had relations with her. 24 Laban also gave his female slave Zilpah to his daughter Leah as a slave. 25 So it came about in the morning that, behold, it was Leah! And he said to Laban, “(GG)What is this that you have done to me? Was it not for Rachel that I served with you? Why then have you (GH)deceived me?” 26 But Laban said, “It is not [cw]the practice in our place to [cx]marry off the younger before the firstborn. 27 Complete the week of this one, and we will give you the other also for the service which (GI)you shall serve with me, for another seven years.” 28 Jacob did so and completed her week, and he gave him his daughter Rachel as his wife. 29 Laban also gave his female slave Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her slave. 30 So Jacob had relations with Rachel also, and indeed (GJ)he loved Rachel more than Leah, and he served with [cy]Laban for (GK)another seven years.

31 Now the Lord saw that Leah was [cz]unloved, and He opened her womb, but Rachel was unable to have children. 32 Leah conceived and gave birth to a son, and named him [da]Reuben, for she said, “Because the Lord has [db](GL)seen my affliction; surely now my husband will love me.” 33 Then she conceived again and gave birth to a son, and said, “(GM)Because the Lord has [dc]heard that I am [dd]unloved, He has therefore given me this son also.” So she named him Simeon. 34 And she conceived again and gave birth to a son, and said, “Now this time my husband will become [de]attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore he was named (GN)Levi. 35 And she conceived again and gave birth to a son, and said, “This time I will [df]praise the Lord.” Therefore she named him [dg](GO)Judah. Then she stopped having children.

The Sons of Jacob

30 Now when Rachel saw that (GP)she had not borne Jacob any children, [dh]she became jealous of her sister; and she said to Jacob, “(GQ)Give me children, or else I am going to die.” Then Jacob’s anger burned against Rachel, and he said, “Am I in the place of God, who has (GR)withheld from you the fruit of the womb?” Then she said, “(GS)Here is my female slave Bilhah: have relations with her that she may (GT)give birth [di]on my knees, so that [dj](GU)by her I too may obtain a child.” So (GV)she gave him her slave Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob had relations with her. Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. Then Rachel said, “God has [dk](GW)vindicated me, and has indeed heard my voice and has given me a son.” Therefore she named him [dl]Dan. And Rachel’s slave Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. So Rachel said, “With [dm]mighty wrestling I have [dn]wrestled with my sister, and I have indeed prevailed.” And she named him Naphtali.

When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took her slave Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. 10 And Leah’s slave Zilpah bore Jacob a son. 11 Then Leah said, “[do]How fortunate!” So she named him [dp]Gad. 12 And Leah’s slave Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. 13 Then Leah said, “[dq]Happy am I! For women (GX)will call me happy.” So she named him [dr]Asher.

14 Now in the days of wheat harvest Reuben went and found (GY)mandrake fruits in the field, and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.” 15 But she said to her, “Is it a small matter for you to take my husband? And would you take my son’s mandrakes also?” So Rachel said, “Therefore he may sleep with you tonight in return for your son’s mandrakes.” 16 When Jacob came in from the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must have relations with me, for I have indeed hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So he slept with her that night. 17 God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. 18 Then Leah said, “God has given me my [ds]reward, because I gave my slave to my husband.” So she named him Issachar. 19 And Leah conceived again and bore a sixth son to Jacob. 20 Then Leah said, “God has endowed me with a good gift; finally my husband [dt]will acknowledge me as his wife, because I have borne him six sons.” So she named him Zebulun. 21 Afterward she gave birth to a daughter, and named her Dinah.

22 Then (GZ)God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and (HA)opened her womb. 23 So she conceived and gave birth to a son, and said, “God has (HB)taken away my disgrace.” 24 And she named him Joseph, saying, “(HC)May the Lord [du]give me another son.”

Jacob Prospers

25 Now it came about, when Rachel had given birth to Joseph, that Jacob said to Laban, “(HD)Send me away, so that I may go to my own place and to my own country. 26 Give me my wives and my children (HE)for whom I have served you, and let me go; for you yourself know my service which I have [dv]rendered you.” 27 But Laban said to him, “If [dw]it pleases you at all, stay with me; I have determined by divination (HF)that the Lord has blessed me on your account.” 28 He [dx]continued, “(HG)Name me your wages, and I will give them.” 29 But Jacob said to him, “(HH)You yourself know how I have served you and how your livestock have [dy]fared with me. 30 For you had little before [dz]I came, and it has [ea]increased to a multitude, and the Lord has blessed you [eb]wherever I turned. But now, when shall I provide for my own household also?” 31 So he said, “What shall I give you?” And Jacob said, “You shall not give me anything. If you will do this one thing for me, I will again pasture and keep your flock: 32 let me pass through your entire flock today, removing from there every (HI)speckled or spotted sheep and every black sheep among the lambs, and the spotted or speckled among the goats; and those shall be my wages. 33 So my [ec]honesty will answer for me later, when you come concerning my [ed]wages. Every one that is not speckled or spotted among the goats, or black among the lambs, if found with me, will be considered stolen.” 34 Laban said, “[ee]Good, let it be according to your word.” 35 So he removed on that day the striped or spotted male goats, and all the speckled or spotted female goats, every one with white on it, and all the black ones among the sheep, and put them in the [ef]care of his sons. 36 And he put a distance of three days’ journey between himself and Jacob, and Jacob fed the rest of Laban’s flocks.

37 Then Jacob [eg]took fresh rods of poplar, almond, and plane trees, and peeled white stripes in them, exposing the white that was [eh]in the rods. 38 He set the rods which he had peeled in front of the flocks in the drinking troughs, that is, in the watering channels where the flocks came to drink; and they mated when they came to drink. 39 So the flocks mated by the rods, and the flocks delivered striped, speckled, and spotted offspring. 40 Then Jacob separated the lambs, and [ei]made the flocks face toward the striped and all the black in the flock of Laban; and he put his own herds apart, and did not put them with Laban’s flock. 41 Moreover, whenever the stronger of the flock were mating, Jacob would place the rods in the sight of the flock in the drinking troughs, so that they would mate by the rods; 42 but when the flock was sickly, he did not put them in; so the sickly were Laban’s, and the stronger were Jacob’s. 43 So (HJ)the man [ej]became exceedingly prosperous, and had large flocks, and female and male servants, and camels and donkeys.

Jacob Leaves Secretly for Canaan

31 Now [ek]Jacob heard the words of Laban’s sons, saying, “Jacob has taken away all that was our father’s, and from what belonged to our father he has made all this [el]wealth.” And Jacob saw the [em]attitude of Laban, and behold, it was not friendly toward him as it had been before. Then the Lord said to Jacob, “(HK)Return to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and (HL)I will be with you.” So Jacob sent word and called Rachel and Leah to his flock in the field, and said to them, “(HM)I see your father’s [en]attitude, that it is not friendly toward me as it was before, but (HN)the God of my father has been with me. (HO)You know that I have served your father with all my strength. Yet your father has (HP)cheated me and (HQ)changed my wages ten times; however, (HR)God did not allow him to do me harm. If (HS)he said this: ‘The speckled shall be your wages,’ then all the flock delivered speckled; and if he said this: ‘The striped shall be your wages,’ then all the flock delivered striped. So God has (HT)taken away your father’s livestock and given them to me. 10 And it came about at the time when the flock was breeding that I raised my eyes and saw in a dream—and behold—the male goats that were [eo]mating were striped, speckled, or mottled. 11 Then (HU)the angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob’; and I said, ‘Here I am.’ 12 He said, ‘Now raise your eyes and see that all the male goats that are [ep]mating are striped, speckled, or mottled; for (HV)I have seen everything that Laban has been doing to you. 13 I am (HW)the God of Bethel, where you (HX)anointed a memorial stone, where you made a vow to Me; now arise, [eq]leave this land, and (HY)return to the land of your birth.’” 14 Rachel and Leah said to him, “Do we still have any share or inheritance in our father’s house? 15 Are we not regarded by him as foreigners? For (HZ)he has sold us, and has also [er]entirely consumed our [es]purchase price. 16 Surely all the wealth which God has taken away from our father belongs to us and our children; now then, do whatever God has told you.”

17 Then Jacob stood up and put his children and his wives on camels; 18 and he drove away all his livestock and all his property which he had acquired, the livestock he possessed which he had acquired in Paddan-aram, (IA)to go to the land of Canaan to his father Isaac. 19 Laban had gone to shear his flock, and Rachel stole the [et](IB)household idols that were her father’s. 20 And Jacob [eu]deceived Laban the Aramean by not telling him that he was fleeing. 21 So he fled with all that he had; and he got up and crossed the Euphrates River, and set [ev]out for the hill country of (IC)Gilead.

Laban Pursues Jacob

22 When Laban was informed on the third day that Jacob had fled, 23 he took his kinsmen with him and pursued him a distance of seven days’ journey, and he overtook him in the hill country of Gilead. 24 However, (ID)God came to Laban the Aramean in a (IE)dream of the night and said to him, “[ew](IF)Be careful that you do not speak to Jacob either good or bad.”

25 And Laban caught up with Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country, and Laban with his kinsmen camped in the hill country of Gilead. 26 Then Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done [ex]by deceiving me and carrying away my daughters like captives of the sword? 27 Why did you flee secretly and [ey]deceive me, and did not tell me, so that I might have sent you away with joy and with songs, with (IG)tambourine and with (IH)lyre; 28 and did not allow me (II)to kiss my [ez]grandchildren and my daughters? Now you have done foolishly. 29 It is in [fa]my power to do you harm, but (IJ)the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, ‘[fb](IK)Be careful not to speak either good or bad to Jacob.’ 30 Now you have indeed gone away because you longed greatly for your father’s house; but why did you steal (IL)my gods?” 31 Then Jacob replied to Laban, “Because I was afraid, for I thought that you would take your daughters from me by force. 32 (IM)The one with whom you find your gods shall not live; in the presence of our relatives [fc]point out what is yours [fd]among my belongings and take it for yourself.” Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.

33 So Laban went into Jacob’s tent, and into Leah’s tent, and into the tent of the two slave women, but he did not find them. Then he went out of Leah’s tent and entered Rachel’s tent. 34 Now Rachel had taken the [fe]household idols and put them in the camel’s saddlebag, and she sat on them. So Laban searched through all the tent, but did not find them. 35 And she said to her father, “May my lord not be angry that I cannot (IN)stand in your presence, because the [ff]way of women is upon me.” So he searched but did not find the [fg](IO)household idols.

36 Then Jacob became angry and argued with Laban; and Jacob said to Laban, “What is my offense? What is my sin that you have hotly pursued me? 37 Though you have searched through all my property, what have you found of all your household property? Set it here in front of my relatives and your relatives, so that they may decide between the two of us. 38 For these twenty years I have been with you; your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried, nor have I eaten the rams of your flocks. 39 I did not even bring to you that which was torn by wild animals; I took the loss myself. You demanded it of my hand whether stolen by day or stolen by night. 40 This is how I was: by day the [fh]heat consumed me and the frost by night, and my sleep fled from my eyes. 41 For these twenty years I have been in your house; (IP)I served you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your flock, and you (IQ)changed my wages ten times. 42 If (IR)the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the fear of Isaac, had not been for me, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. (IS)God has seen my affliction and the labor of my hands, so He (IT)rendered judgment last night.”

The Covenant of Mizpah

43 Then Laban replied to Jacob, “The daughters are my daughters, the [fi]children are my [fj]grandchildren, (IU)the flocks are my flocks, and everything that you see is mine. But what can I do this day to these daughters of mine or to their children to whom they have given birth? 44 So now come, let’s (IV)make a covenant, [fk]you and I, and (IW)it shall be a witness between [fl]you and me.” 45 Then Jacob took (IX)a stone and set it up as a memorial stone. 46 Jacob said to his relatives, “Gather stones.” So they took stones and made a heap, and they ate there by the heap. 47 Now Laban (IY)called it [fm]Jegar-sahadutha, but Jacob called it [fn]Galeed. 48 Laban said, “(IZ)This heap is a witness between [fo]you and me this day.” Therefore it was named Galeed, 49 and [fp](JA)Mizpah, for he said, “May the Lord keep watch between [fq]you and me when we are [fr]absent one from the other. 50 If you mistreat my daughters, or if you take wives besides my daughters, although no one is with us, see, (JB)God is witness between [fs]you and me.” 51 Laban also said to Jacob, “Behold this heap and behold the memorial stone which I have set between [ft]you and me. 52 This heap is a witness, and the memorial stone is a witness, that I will not pass by this heap to you for harm, and you will not pass by this heap and this memorial stone to me, for harm. 53 (JC)The God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, (JD)judge between us.” So Jacob swore by (JE)the fear of his father Isaac. 54 Then Jacob (JF)offered a sacrifice on the mountain, and called his relatives to [fu]the meal; and they ate [fv]the meal and spent the night on the mountain. 55 [fw]Then early in the morning Laban got up, and (JG)kissed his [fx]grandchildren and his daughters and blessed them. Then Laban departed and returned to his place.

Jacob’s Fear of Esau

32 Now as Jacob went on his way, (JH)the angels of God met him. And when he saw them, Jacob said, “This is God’s [fy]camp.” So he named that place [fz](JI)Mahanaim.

Then Jacob (JJ)sent messengers ahead of himself to his brother Esau in the land of (JK)Seir, the [ga]country of (JL)Edom. He commanded them, saying, “This is what you shall say to my lord Esau: ‘Your servant Jacob says the following: “I have resided with Laban, and (JM)stayed until now; and (JN)I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, and male and female servants; and I have sent messengers to tell my lord, (JO)so that I may find favor in your sight.”’”

And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother Esau, and furthermore (JP)he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.” Then Jacob was (JQ)greatly afraid and distressed; and he divided the people who were with him, and the flocks, the herds, and the camels, into two companies; for he said, “If Esau comes to the one company and [gb]attacks it, then the company which is left will escape.”

Then Jacob said, “(JR)God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, Lord, who said to me, ‘(JS)Return to your country and to your relatives, and I will [gc]make you prosper,’ 10 [gd]I am unworthy (JT)of all the [ge]favor and of all the [gf]faithfulness, which You have shown to Your servant; for with only my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two companies. 11 (JU)Save me, please, (JV)from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, that he will come and [gg]attack me and the (JW)mothers with the children. 12 For You said, ‘(JX)I will assuredly [gh]make you prosper and (JY)make your [gi]descendants as the sand of the sea, which is too great to be counted.’”

13 So he spent the night there. Then he [gj]selected from what [gk]he had with him a (JZ)gift for his brother Esau: 14 two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, 15 thirty milking camels and their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, and twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. 16 Then he placed them in the [gl]care of his servants, every flock by itself, and said to his servants, “Pass on ahead of me, and put a space between flocks.” 17 And he commanded the [gm]one in front, saying, “When my brother Esau meets you and asks you, saying, ‘To whom do you belong, and where are you going, and to whom do these animals in front of you belong?’ 18 then you shall say, ‘These belong to your servant Jacob; it is a gift sent to my lord Esau. And behold, he also is behind us.’” 19 Then he commanded also the second and the third, and all those who followed the flocks, saying, “In this way you shall speak to Esau when you find him; 20 and you shall say, ‘Behold, your servant Jacob also is behind us.’” For he said, “I will appease him with the gift that goes ahead of me. Then afterward I will see his face; perhaps he will accept me.” 21 So the gift passed on ahead of him, while he himself spent that night in the camp.

22 Now he got up that same night and took his two wives, his two female slaves, and his eleven children, and crossed the shallow place of the (KA)Jabbok. 23 He took them and sent them across the stream. And he sent across whatever he had.

Jacob Wrestles

24 Then Jacob was left alone, and a man (KB)wrestled with him until daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he had not prevailed against him, he touched the socket of [gn]Jacob’s hip; and the socket of Jacob’s hip was dislocated while he wrestled with him. 26 Then he said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.” But he said, “(KC)I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27 So he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” 28 Then (KD)he said, “Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but [go]Israel; for you have contended with God and with men, and have prevailed.” 29 And (KE)Jacob asked him and said, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And he blessed him there. 30 So Jacob named the place [gp]Peniel, for he said, “(KF)I have seen God face to face, yet my [gq]life has been [gr]spared.” 31 Now the sun rose upon him just as he crossed over (KG)Penuel, and he was limping on his hip. 32 Therefore, to this day the sons of Israel do not eat the tendon of the hip which is on the socket of the hip, because he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip in the tendon of the hip.

Jacob Meets Esau

33 Then Jacob raised his eyes and looked, and behold, (KH)Esau was coming, and four hundred men with him. So he divided the children [gs]among Leah and Rachel, and the two slave women. He put the slave women and their children [gt]in front, and Leah and her children [gu]next, and Rachel and Joseph [gv]last. But he himself passed on ahead of them and (KI)bowed down to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.

Then Esau ran to meet him and embraced him, and (KJ)fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept. He raised his eyes and saw the women and the children, and said, “[gw]Who are these with you?” So he said, “(KK)The children whom God has graciously given your servant.” Then the slave women came forward [gx]with their children, and they bowed down. And Leah likewise came forward with her children, and they bowed down; and afterward Joseph came forward with Rachel, and they bowed down. And he said, “What do you mean by (KL)all this company which I have met?” And he said, “(KM)To find favor in the sight of my lord.” But Esau said, “(KN)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 accept my gift from my hand, [gy]for I see your face as one sees the face of God, and you have received me favorably. 11 Please accept my [gz](KO)gift which has been brought to you, (KP)because God has dealt graciously with me and because I have [ha]plenty.” So he urged him, and he accepted it.

12 Then [hb]Esau said, “Let’s journey on and go, and I will go ahead of you.” 13 But he said to him, “My lord knows that the children are frail and that the flocks and herds that are nursing are [hc]a matter of concern to me. And if they are driven hard just one day, all the flocks will die. 14 Please let my lord pass on ahead of his servant, and I will proceed at my leisure, at the pace of the cattle that are ahead of me and at the pace of the children, until I come to my lord at (KQ)Seir.”

15 Then Esau said, “Please let me leave with you some of the people who are with me.” But he said, “[hd]What need is there? (KR)Let me find favor in the sight of my lord.” 16 So Esau returned that day on his way to Seir. 17 But Jacob journeyed to [he](KS)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 (KT)Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from (KU)Paddan-aram, and camped before the city. 19 (KV)He bought the plot of land where he had pitched his tent from the hand of the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for a hundred [hf]pieces of money. 20 Then he erected there an altar and called it [hg]El-Elohe-Israel.

The Treachery of Jacob’s Sons

34 Now (KW)Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to [hh]visit the daughters of the land. When Shechem the son of Hamor (KX)the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her, he took her and lay with her and raped her. But [hi]he was deeply attracted to Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the girl and [hj]spoke tenderly to her. So Shechem (KY)spoke to his father Hamor, saying, “Get me this young woman as a wife.” Now Jacob heard that he had defiled his daughter Dinah; but his sons were with his livestock in the field, so Jacob said nothing until they came in. Then Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him. Now the sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard about it; and the men were grieved, and they were very angry because he had done a [hk](KZ)disgraceful thing in Israel by [hl]sleeping with Jacob’s daughter, for such a thing ought not to be done.

But Hamor spoke with them, saying, “The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter; please give her to him [hm]in marriage. And intermarry with us; give your daughters to us and take our daughters for yourselves. 10 So you will live with us, and (LA)the land shall be [hn]open to you; live and (LB)trade in it and (LC)acquire property in it.” 11 Shechem also said to her father and to her brothers, “Let me find favor in your sight, and I will give whatever you tell me. 12 Demand of me ever so much bridal payment and gift, and I will give whatever you tell me; but give me the girl [ho]in marriage.”

13 But Jacob’s sons answered Shechem and his father Hamor with deceit, because he had defiled their sister Dinah. 14 They said to them, “We cannot do this thing, that is, give our sister to a (LD)man 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 will be circumcised, 16 then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters for ourselves, and we will live with you and become one people. 17 But if you do not listen to us to be circumcised, then we will take our daughter and go.”

18 Now their words seemed [hp]reasonable to Hamor and Shechem, Hamor’s son. 19 The young man did not delay to do [hq]this, 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 (LE)gate of their city and spoke to the people of their city, saying, 21 “These men are [hr]friendly to us; therefore let them live in the land and trade in it, for behold, the land is [hs]large enough for them. We will take their daughters [ht]in marriage, and give our daughters to them. 22 Only on this condition will the men consent to us to live with us, to become one people: that every male among us be circumcised just as they are circumcised. 23 Will their livestock and their property and all their animals not be ours? Let’s just consent to them, and they will live with us.” 24 (LF)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—(LG)Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers—each took his sword and came upon the city undetected, 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 left. 27 Jacob’s sons came upon those killed and looted the city, because they had defiled their sister. 28 They took their flocks, 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 everything that was in the houses. 30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have (LH)brought trouble on me by (LI)making me repulsive among the inhabitants of the land, among (LJ)the Canaanites and the Perizzites; and [hu](LK)since my men are few in number, they will band together against me and [hv]attack me, and I will be destroyed, I and my household!” 31 But they said, “Should he [hw]treat our sister like a prostitute?”

Jacob Moves to Bethel

35 Then God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to (LL)Bethel and live there, and make an altar there to (LM)God, who appeared to you (LN)when you fled [hx]from your brother Esau.” So Jacob said to his (LO)household and to all who were with him, “Remove (LP)the foreign gods which are among you, and (LQ)purify yourselves and change your garments; and let’s arise and go up to Bethel, and I will make (LR)an altar there to God, (LS)who answered me on the day of my distress and (LT)has been with me [hy]wherever I have gone.” So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods which [hz]they had and the rings which were in their ears, and Jacob hid them under the [ia]oak which was near Shechem.

As they journeyed, there was [ib](LU)a great terror upon the cities which were around them, and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob. So Jacob came to (LV)Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him. Then (LW)he built an altar there, and called the place [ic]El-bethel, because there God had revealed Himself to him when he fled [id]from his brother. Now (LX)Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and she was buried below Bethel under the oak; and it was named [ie]Allon-bacuth.

Jacob Is Named Israel

Then God appeared to Jacob again when he came from Paddan-aram, and He (LY)blessed him. 10 (LZ)God said to him,

“Your name is Jacob;
[if]You shall no longer be called Jacob,
But Israel shall be your name.”

So He called [ig]him Israel. 11 God also said to him,

“I am [ih](MA)God Almighty;
(MB)Be fruitful and multiply;
A nation and a (MC)multitude of nations shall [ii]come from you,
And (MD)kings shall [ij]come from [ik]you.
12 And (ME)the land which I gave to Abraham and Isaac,
I will give to you,
And I will give the land to your [il]descendants after you.”

13 Then (MF)God went up from him at the place where He had spoken with him. 14 So Jacob set up (MG)a memorial stone in the place where He had spoken with him, a memorial of stone, and he poured out a drink offering on it; he also poured oil on it. 15 And Jacob named the place where God had spoken with him, [im](MH)Bethel.

16 Then they journeyed on from Bethel; but when there was still some distance to go to (MI)Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth and she suffered severe difficulties in her labor. 17 And when she was suffering severe difficulties in her labor, the midwife said to her, “Do not fear, for (MJ)you have another son!” 18 And it came about, as her soul was departing (for she died), that she named him [in]Ben-oni; but his father called him [io]Benjamin. 19 So (MK)Rachel died and was buried on the way to (ML)Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). 20 And Jacob set up a memorial stone over her grave; that is the (MM)memorial stone of Rachel’s grave to this day. 21 Then Israel journeyed on and pitched his tent beyond the [ip](MN)tower of [iq]Eder.

The Sons of Israel

22 And it came about, while Israel was living in that land, that (MO)Reuben went and slept with his father’s concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard about it.

Now there were twelve sons of Jacob— 23 (MP)the sons of Leah were Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, then Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun; 24 (MQ)the sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin; 25 and (MR)the sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s female slave, were Dan and Naphtali; 26 and (MS)the sons of Zilpah, Leah’s female slave, were Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan-aram.

27 Jacob came to his father Isaac at (MT)Mamre of (MU)Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had resided.

28 Now the days of Isaac were (MV)180 years. 29 Then Isaac breathed his last and died, and was (MW)gathered to his people, an (MX)old man [ir]of ripe age; and (MY)his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

Esau Moves

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

Esau (NA)took his wives from the daughters of Canaan: Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and (NB)Oholibamah the daughter of Anah, the [is](NC)granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite; also Basemath, Ishmael’s daughter, the sister of Nebaioth. Adah bore (ND)Eliphaz to Esau, and Basemath gave birth to Reuel, and Oholibamah gave birth to Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These are the sons of Esau who were born to him in the land of Canaan.

(NE)Then Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all [it]his household, and his livestock and all his cattle, and all his property which he had acquired in the land of Canaan, and went to another land away from his brother Jacob. (NF)For their possessions had become too great for them to live together, and the (NG)land where they (NH)resided could not support them because of their livestock. So Esau lived in the hill country of (NI)Seir; Esau is (NJ)Edom.

Descendants of Esau

These then are the records of the generations of Esau the father of [iu]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, and Reuel the son of Esau’s wife Basemath. 11 The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, [iv]Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz. 12 Timna was a concubine of Esau’s son Eliphaz, and she bore (NK)Amalek to Eliphaz. These are the sons of Esau’s wife Adah. 13 And these are the sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These were the sons of Esau’s wife Basemath. 14 And these were the sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah, the [iw]granddaughter of Zibeon: [ix]she bore to Esau Jeush, 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, and chief Amalek. These are the chiefs [iy]descended from Eliphaz in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Adah. 17 And these are the sons of Reuel, Esau’s son: chief Nahath, chief Zerah, chief Shammah, and chief Mizzah. These are the chiefs [iz]descended from Reuel in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Esau’s wife Basemath. 18 And these are the sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah: chief Jeush, chief Jalam, and chief Korah. These are the chiefs [ja]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 (NL)the Horite, the inhabitants of the land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 21 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These are the chiefs [jb]descended from the Horites, the sons of Seir in the land of Edom. 22 And the sons of Lotan were Hori and [jc]Hemam; and Lotan’s sister was Timna. 23 And these are the sons of Shobal: [jd]Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, [je]Shepho, and Onam. 24 And 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 And these are the children of Anah: Dishon, and Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah. 26 And these are the sons of [jf](NM)Dishon: [jg]Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran. 27 These are the sons of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan, and [jh]Akan. 28 These are the sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran. 29 These are the chiefs [ji]descended from the Horites: chief Lotan, chief Shobal, chief Zibeon, chief Anah, 30 chief Dishon, chief Ezer, and chief Dishan. These are the chiefs [jj]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 (NN)king reigned over the sons of Israel. 32 [jk](NO)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 [jl]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 [jm]Hadar became king in his place; and the name of his city was [jn]Pau; and his wife’s name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, daughter of Mezahab.

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

Notas al pie

  1. Genesis 25:1 Lit and her name
  2. Genesis 25:6 Lit concubines which belonged to Abraham
  3. Genesis 25:7 Lit the days of
  4. Genesis 25:11 Lit dwelt
  5. Genesis 25:13 Lit in regard to their generations
  6. Genesis 25:16 Or peoples
  7. Genesis 25:18 Lit dwelt
  8. Genesis 25:18 Lit before
  9. Genesis 25:18 Lit as you go
  10. Genesis 25:18 Lit fell over against
  11. Genesis 25:20 I.e., Syrian
  12. Genesis 25:20 I.e., Syrian
  13. Genesis 25:21 Lit was entreated of him
  14. Genesis 25:26 I.e., one who takes by the heel or supplants
  15. Genesis 25:27 Lit complete
  16. Genesis 25:28 Lit game was in his mouth
  17. Genesis 25:30 Lit the red, this red
  18. Genesis 25:30 I.e., red
  19. Genesis 25:31 Lit Today
  20. Genesis 25:33 Lit Today
  21. Genesis 26:3 Lit seed
  22. Genesis 26:4 Lit seed
  23. Genesis 26:4 Lit seed
  24. Genesis 26:4 Lit seed
  25. Genesis 26:4 Or bless themselves
  26. Genesis 26:5 Lit listened diligently to My voice
  27. Genesis 26:7 Lit lest...place
  28. Genesis 26:12 Lit found
  29. Genesis 26:13 Lit great
  30. Genesis 26:13 Lit great
  31. Genesis 26:14 Lit and possessions of herds
  32. Genesis 26:15 Lit and filled them
  33. Genesis 26:16 Lit much mightier than we
  34. Genesis 26:17 Lit dwelt
  35. Genesis 26:18 Lit they had dug
  36. Genesis 26:18 Lit called their names as the names
  37. Genesis 26:18 Lit called
  38. Genesis 26:19 Lit living
  39. Genesis 26:20 I.e., argument
  40. Genesis 26:21 I.e., accusation
  41. Genesis 26:22 I.e., broad places
  42. Genesis 26:22 Lit Truly now
  43. Genesis 26:22 Or broad
  44. Genesis 26:24 Lit seed
  45. Genesis 26:26 Lit and his confidential friend
  46. Genesis 26:28 Lit between us
  47. Genesis 26:28 Lit between us and you
  48. Genesis 26:29 Lit and just as we
  49. Genesis 26:31 Lit swore one to another
  50. Genesis 26:33 Meaning uncertain, perhaps oath
  51. Genesis 26:34 Lit took as wife
  52. Genesis 26:35 Lit were a bitterness of spirit to
  53. Genesis 27:2 Lit he
  54. Genesis 27:8 Lit my voice
  55. Genesis 27:8 Lit according to what
  56. Genesis 27:9 Lit take
  57. Genesis 27:9 Lit kids of goats
  58. Genesis 27:12 Lit mocker
  59. Genesis 27:15 Lit desirable; or choice
  60. Genesis 27:16 Lit kids of the goats
  61. Genesis 27:17 Lit into the hand of
  62. Genesis 27:19 Lit your soul
  63. Genesis 27:20 Lit meet me
  64. Genesis 27:25 Lit my soul
  65. Genesis 27:31 Lit your soul
  66. Genesis 27:33 Lit trembled with a very great trembling
  67. Genesis 27:36 Or Was he then named Jacob that he has
  68. Genesis 27:36 Fr Heb verb meaning to seize someone by the heel, and so to betray
  69. Genesis 27:37 Lit for
  70. Genesis 27:39 Or of
  71. Genesis 27:39 Lit fatness
  72. Genesis 27:39 Or of
  73. Genesis 27:40 Lit tear off
  74. Genesis 27:41 Lit in his heart
  75. Genesis 27:43 Lit flee for yourself
  76. Genesis 27:44 Lit turns away
  77. Genesis 27:45 Lit turns away from you
  78. Genesis 27:46 Lit my life
  79. Genesis 28:1 Lit and said to
  80. Genesis 28:3 Heb El Shaddai
  81. Genesis 28:4 Lit seed
  82. Genesis 28:8 Lit in the eyes of his
  83. Genesis 28:9 Lit took for his wife
  84. Genesis 28:11 Lit lighted on
  85. Genesis 28:11 Lit the place
  86. Genesis 28:13 Or beside him
  87. Genesis 28:13 Lit seed
  88. Genesis 28:14 Lit seed
  89. Genesis 28:14 Lit break through
  90. Genesis 28:14 Lit seed
  91. Genesis 28:15 Lit spoken to
  92. Genesis 28:19 I.e., the house of God
  93. Genesis 28:19 Lit at the first
  94. Genesis 28:20 Lit go
  95. Genesis 28:20 Lit bread
  96. Genesis 28:21 Lit peace
  97. Genesis 29:1 Lit lifted up his feet
  98. Genesis 29:1 Lit sons
  99. Genesis 29:2 Lit behold
  100. Genesis 29:21 Lit days are
  101. Genesis 29:26 Lit done thus in
  102. Genesis 29:26 Lit give
  103. Genesis 29:30 Lit him
  104. Genesis 29:31 Lit hated
  105. Genesis 29:32 I.e., see, a son
  106. Genesis 29:32 Lit looked at
  107. Genesis 29:33 Heb shama, related to Simeon
  108. Genesis 29:33 Lit hated
  109. Genesis 29:34 Heb lavah, related to Levi
  110. Genesis 29:35 Heb Jadah, related to Judah
  111. Genesis 29:35 Heb Jehudah
  112. Genesis 30:1 Lit Rachel
  113. Genesis 30:3 I.e., Prob. referring to a ritual of adoption
  114. Genesis 30:3 Lit from her I too may be built
  115. Genesis 30:6 Lit judged
  116. Genesis 30:6 I.e., He judged
  117. Genesis 30:8 Lit wrestlings of God
  118. Genesis 30:8 Heb niphtal, related to Naphtali
  119. Genesis 30:11 Lit With fortune! Some ancient versions Fortune has come
  120. Genesis 30:11 I.e., Fortune
  121. Genesis 30:13 Lit With my happiness!
  122. Genesis 30:13 I.e., happy
  123. Genesis 30:18 Heb sachar, related to Issachar
  124. Genesis 30:20 Heb zabal, related to Zebulun
  125. Genesis 30:24 Lit add to me; Heb Joseph
  126. Genesis 30:26 Lit served
  127. Genesis 30:27 Lit I have found favor in your eyes
  128. Genesis 30:28 Lit said
  129. Genesis 30:29 Lit been
  130. Genesis 30:30 Lit me
  131. Genesis 30:30 Lit broken forth
  132. Genesis 30:30 Lit at my foot
  133. Genesis 30:33 Lit righteousness
  134. Genesis 30:33 Lit wages which are before you
  135. Genesis 30:34 Lit Behold, would that it might be
  136. Genesis 30:35 Lit hand
  137. Genesis 30:37 Lit took to himself
  138. Genesis 30:37 Lit on
  139. Genesis 30:40 Lit set the faces
  140. Genesis 30:43 Lit broke forth
  141. Genesis 31:1 Lit he
  142. Genesis 31:1 Lit glory
  143. Genesis 31:2 Lit face
  144. Genesis 31:5 Lit face
  145. Genesis 31:10 Lit leaping upon the flock
  146. Genesis 31:12 Lit leaping upon the flock
  147. Genesis 31:13 Lit Go out from
  148. Genesis 31:15 I.e., enjoyed the benefit of
  149. Genesis 31:15 Lit money
  150. Genesis 31:19 Heb teraphim
  151. Genesis 31:20 Lit stole the heart of
  152. Genesis 31:21 Lit his face
  153. Genesis 31:24 Lit Take heed to yourself
  154. Genesis 31:26 Lit and you have stolen my heart
  155. Genesis 31:27 Lit steal me
  156. Genesis 31:28 Lit sons
  157. Genesis 31:29 Lit the power of my hand
  158. Genesis 31:29 Lit Take heed to yourself
  159. Genesis 31:32 Lit recognize
  160. Genesis 31:32 Lit with me
  161. Genesis 31:34 Heb teraphim
  162. Genesis 31:35 I.e., menstruation
  163. Genesis 31:35 Heb teraphim
  164. Genesis 31:40 Or drought
  165. Genesis 31:43 Lit sons
  166. Genesis 31:43 Lit sons
  167. Genesis 31:44 Lit I and you
  168. Genesis 31:44 Lit me and you
  169. Genesis 31:47 I.e., the heap of witness, in Aram
  170. Genesis 31:47 I.e., the heap of witness, in Heb
  171. Genesis 31:48 Lit me and you
  172. Genesis 31:49 Lit the Mizpah; i.e., the watchtower
  173. Genesis 31:49 Lit me and you
  174. Genesis 31:49 Lit hidden
  175. Genesis 31:50 Lit me and you
  176. Genesis 31:51 Lit me and you
  177. Genesis 31:54 Lit eat bread
  178. Genesis 31:54 Lit bread
  179. Genesis 31:55 Ch 32:1 in Heb
  180. Genesis 31:55 Lit sons
  181. Genesis 32:2 Or company
  182. Genesis 32:2 I.e., Two Camps, or Two Companies
  183. Genesis 32:3 Lit field
  184. Genesis 32:8 Lit strikes
  185. Genesis 32:9 Lit do good with you
  186. Genesis 32:10 Lit I am less than all
  187. Genesis 32:10 I.e., generosity
  188. Genesis 32:10 Or truth
  189. Genesis 32:11 Lit strike
  190. Genesis 32:12 Lit do good with you
  191. Genesis 32:12 Lit seed
  192. Genesis 32:13 Lit took
  193. Genesis 32:13 Lit had come to his hand
  194. Genesis 32:16 Lit hand
  195. Genesis 32:17 Lit first
  196. Genesis 32:25 Lit his
  197. Genesis 32:28 I.e., he who contends with God; or God contends
  198. Genesis 32:30 I.e., the face of God
  199. Genesis 32:30 Lit soul
  200. Genesis 32:30 Lit saved
  201. Genesis 33:1 Or to
  202. Genesis 33:2 Lit first
  203. Genesis 33:2 Lit behind
  204. Genesis 33:2 Lit behind
  205. Genesis 33:5 Or What relation are these to you?
  206. Genesis 33:6 Lit they and
  207. Genesis 33:10 Lit for therefore I have seen your face like seeing God’s face
  208. Genesis 33:11 Lit blessing
  209. Genesis 33:11 Lit all
  210. Genesis 33:12 Lit he
  211. Genesis 33:13 Lit upon me
  212. Genesis 33:15 Lit Why this?
  213. Genesis 33:17 I.e., booths
  214. Genesis 33:19 Heb qesitah
  215. Genesis 33:20 I.e., God, the God of Israel
  216. Genesis 34:1 Lit see
  217. Genesis 34:3 Lit His soul clung
  218. Genesis 34:3 Lit spoke to the heart of the girl
  219. Genesis 34:7 Lit senseless
  220. Genesis 34:7 I.e., violating her
  221. Genesis 34:8 Lit for a wife
  222. Genesis 34:10 Lit before you
  223. Genesis 34:12 Lit for a wife
  224. Genesis 34:18 Lit good
  225. Genesis 34:19 Lit the thing
  226. Genesis 34:21 Lit peaceful
  227. Genesis 34:21 Lit wide of hands before them
  228. Genesis 34:21 Lit to us for wives
  229. Genesis 34:30 Lit I, few in number
  230. Genesis 34:30 Lit strike
  231. Genesis 34:31 Or make
  232. Genesis 35:1 Lit from the face of
  233. Genesis 35:3 Lit in the way which
  234. Genesis 35:4 Lit were in their hand
  235. Genesis 35:4 Or terebinth
  236. Genesis 35:5 Or a terror of God
  237. Genesis 35:7 I.e., the God of Bethel
  238. Genesis 35:7 Lit from the face of
  239. Genesis 35:8 I.e., oak of weeping
  240. Genesis 35:10 Lit Your name
  241. Genesis 35:10 Lit his name
  242. Genesis 35:11 Heb El Shaddai
  243. Genesis 35:11 Or come into being
  244. Genesis 35:11 Or come into being
  245. Genesis 35:11 Lit your loins
  246. Genesis 35:12 Lit seed
  247. Genesis 35:15 I.e., house of God
  248. Genesis 35:18 I.e., the son of my sorrow
  249. Genesis 35:18 I.e., the son of the right hand
  250. Genesis 35:21 Heb Migdal-eder
  251. Genesis 35:21 Or flock
  252. Genesis 35:29 Lit and satisfied with days
  253. Genesis 36:2 Lit daughter; LXX son (referring to Anah)
  254. Genesis 36:6 Lit the souls of his house
  255. Genesis 36:9 Lit Edom
  256. Genesis 36:11 In 1 Chr 1:36, Zephi
  257. Genesis 36:14 See note v 2
  258. Genesis 36:14 Lit and she
  259. Genesis 36:16 Lit of Eliphaz
  260. Genesis 36:17 Lit of Reuel
  261. Genesis 36:18 Lit of Oholibamah, Esau’s wife
  262. Genesis 36:21 Lit of the Horites
  263. Genesis 36:22 In 1 Chr 1:39, Homam
  264. Genesis 36:23 In 1 Chr 1:40, Alian
  265. Genesis 36:23 In 1 Chr 1:40, Shephi
  266. Genesis 36:26 Heb Dishan
  267. Genesis 36:26 In 1 Chr 1:41, Hamran
  268. Genesis 36:27 In 1 Chr 1:42, Jaakan
  269. Genesis 36:29 Lit of the Horites
  270. Genesis 36:30 Lit of the Horites
  271. Genesis 36:32 Lit And Bela
  272. Genesis 36:35 Or struck
  273. Genesis 36:39 In 1 Chr 1:50, Hadad
  274. Genesis 36:39 In 1 Chr 1:50, Pai
  275. Genesis 36:40 Lit of Esau
  276. Genesis 36:40 In 1 Chr 1:51, Aliah
  277. Genesis 36:43 Heb Edom

Abraham Marries Keturah

25 Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah. She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah.(A) Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan. The sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim. The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah. Abraham gave all he had to Isaac.(B) But to the sons of his concubines Abraham gave gifts, while he was still living, and he sent them away from his son Isaac, eastward to the east country.

The Death of Abraham

This is the length of Abraham’s life, one hundred seventy-five years. Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, old and full of years, and was gathered to his people.(C) His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite, east of Mamre, 10 the field that Abraham purchased from the Hittites. There Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah.(D) 11 After the death of Abraham, God blessed his son Isaac. And Isaac settled at Beer-lahai-roi.(E)

Ishmael’s Descendants

12 These are the descendants of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s slave, bore to Abraham.(F) 13 These are the names of the sons of Ishmael, named in the order of their birth: Nebaioth, the firstborn of Ishmael; and Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam,(G) 14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 16 These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, by their villages and by their encampments, twelve princes according to their tribes.(H) 17 (This is the length of the life of Ishmael, one hundred thirty-seven years; he breathed his last and died and was gathered to his people.) 18 They settled from Havilah to Shur, which is opposite Egypt in the direction of Assyria; he settled down[a] alongside[b] all his people.(I)

The Birth and Youth of Esau and Jacob

19 These are the descendants of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham was the father of Isaac, 20 and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah, daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, sister of Laban the Aramean.(J) 21 Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife because she was barren, and the Lord granted his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived.(K) 22 The children struggled together within her, and she said, “If it is to be this way, why do I live?”[c] So she went to inquire of the Lord. 23 And the Lord said to her,

“Two nations are in your womb,
    and two peoples born of you shall be divided;
the one shall be stronger than the other;
    the elder shall serve the younger.”(L)

24 When her time to give birth was at hand, there were twins in her womb. 25 The first came out red, all his body like a hairy mantle, so they named him Esau.(M) 26 Afterward his brother came out, with his hand gripping Esau’s heel, so he was named Jacob.[d] Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.(N)

27 When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, living in tents.(O) 28 Isaac loved Esau because he was fond of game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

Esau Sells His Birthright

29 Once when Jacob was cooking a stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was famished. 30 Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stuff, for I am famished!” (Therefore he was called Edom.[e]) 31 Jacob said, “First sell me your birthright.” 32 Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?” 33 Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob.(P) 34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

Isaac and Abimelech

26 Now there was a famine in the land, besides the former famine that had occurred in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Gerar, to King Abimelech of the Philistines.(Q) The Lord appeared to Isaac[f] and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; settle in the land that I shall show you.(R) Reside in this land as an alien, and I will be with you and will bless you, for to you and to your descendants I will give all these lands, and I will fulfill the oath that I swore to your father Abraham.(S) I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands, and all the nations of the earth shall gain blessing for themselves through your offspring,(T) because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.”

So Isaac settled in Gerar. When the men of the place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,” for he was afraid to say “my wife,” thinking, “or else the men of the place might kill me for the sake of Rebekah, because she is attractive in appearance.”(U) When Isaac had been there a long time, King Abimelech of the Philistines looked out of a window and saw him fondling his wife Rebekah. So Abimelech called for Isaac and said, “So she is your wife! Why, then, did you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac said to him, “Because I thought I might die because of her.” 10 Abimelech said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the people might easily have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.”(V) 11 So Abimelech warned all the people, saying, “Whoever touches this man or his wife shall be put to death.”

12 Isaac sowed seed in that land and in the same year reaped a hundredfold. The Lord blessed him,(W) 13 and the man became rich; he prospered more and more until he became very wealthy. 14 He had possessions of flocks and herds and a great household, so that the Philistines envied him.(X) 15 (Now the Philistines had stopped up and filled with earth all the wells that his father’s servants had dug in the days of his father Abraham.)(Y) 16 And Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us; you have become too powerful for us.”

17 So Isaac departed from there and camped in the Wadi Gerar and settled there. 18 Isaac dug again the wells of water that had been dug in the days of his father Abraham, for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham, and he gave them the names that his father had given them.(Z) 19 But when Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found there a well of spring water, 20 the herders of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herders, saying, “The water is ours.” So he called the well Esek,[g] because they contended with him. 21 Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that one also, so he called it Sitnah.[h] 22 He moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it, so he called it Rehoboth,[i] saying, “Now the Lord has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.”(AA)

23 From there he went up to Beer-sheba. 24 And that very night the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham; do not be afraid, for I am with you and will bless you and make your offspring numerous for my servant Abraham’s sake.”(AB) 25 So he built an altar there, called on the name of the Lord, and pitched his tent there. And there Isaac’s servants dug a well.(AC)

26 Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his adviser and Phicol the commander of his army.(AD) 27 Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me, seeing that you hate me and have sent me away from you?”(AE) 28 They said, “We see plainly that the Lord has been with you, so we say, let there be an oath between you and us, and let us make a covenant with you(AF) 29 so that you will do us no harm, just as we have not touched you and have done to you nothing but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of the Lord.” 30 So he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. 31 In the morning they rose early and exchanged oaths, and Isaac set them on their way, and they departed from him in peace.(AG) 32 That same day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well that they had dug and said to him, “We have found water!” 33 He called it Shibah;[j] therefore the name of the city is Beer-sheba[k] to this day.(AH)

Esau’s Hittite Wives

34 When Esau was forty years old, he married Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite and Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite,(AI) 35 and they made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah.(AJ)

Isaac Blesses Jacob

27 When Isaac was old and his eyes were dim so that he could not see, he called his elder son Esau and said to him, “My son,” and he answered, “Here I am.” He said, “See, I am old; I do not know the day of my death.(AK) Now then, take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field, and hunt game for me.(AL) Then prepare for me savory food, such as I like, and bring it to me to eat, so that I may bless you before I die.”(AM)

Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to his son Esau. So when Esau went to the field to hunt for game for his father,[l] Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “I heard your father say to your brother Esau, ‘Bring me game, and prepare for me savory food to eat, that I may bless you before the Lord before I die.’ Now therefore, my son, obey my word as I command you.(AN) Go to the flock, and get me two choice kids, so that I may prepare from them savory food for your father, such as he likes, 10 and you shall take it to your father to eat, so that he may bless you before he dies.” 11 But Jacob said to his mother Rebekah, “Look, my brother Esau is a hairy man, and I am a man of smooth skin.(AO) 12 Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be mocking him and bring a curse on myself and not a blessing.”(AP) 13 His mother said to him, “Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my word, and go, get them for me.”(AQ) 14 So he went and got them and brought them to his mother, and his mother prepared savory food, such as his father loved. 15 Then Rebekah took the best garments of her elder son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob,(AR) 16 and she put the skins of the kids on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. 17 Then she handed the savory food and the bread that she had prepared to her son Jacob.

18 So he went in to his father and said, “My father,” and he said, “Here I am; who are you, my son?” 19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me; now sit up and eat of my game, so that you may bless me.”(AS) 20 But Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?” He answered, “Because the Lord your God granted me success.” 21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come near, that I may feel you, my son, to know whether you are really my son Esau or not.”(AT) 22 So Jacob went up to his father Isaac, who felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” 23 He did not recognize him because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau’s hands, so he blessed him.(AU) 24 He said, “Are you really my son Esau?” He answered, “I am.” 25 Then he said, “Bring it to me, that I may eat of my son’s game and bless you.” So he brought it to him, and he ate, and he brought him wine, and he drank.(AV) 26 Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come near and kiss me, my son.” 27 So he came near and kissed him, and he smelled the smell of his garments and blessed him and said,

“Ah, the smell of my son
    is like the smell of a field that the Lord has blessed.(AW)
28 May God give you of the dew of heaven
    and of the fatness of the earth
    and plenty of grain and wine.(AX)
29 Let peoples serve you
    and nations bow down to you.
Be lord over your brothers,
    and may your mother’s sons bow down to you.
Cursed be everyone who curses you,
    and blessed be everyone who blesses you!”(AY)

Esau’s Lost Blessing

30 As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, when Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of his father Isaac, his brother Esau came in from his hunting. 31 He also prepared savory food and brought it to his father. And he said to his father, “Let my father sit up and eat of his son’s game, so that you may bless me.”(AZ) 32 His father Isaac said to him, “Who are you?” He answered, “I am your firstborn son, Esau.”(BA) 33 Then Isaac trembled violently and said, “Who was it then that hunted game and brought it to me, and I ate it all before you came, and I have blessed him?—yes, and blessed he shall be!”(BB) 34 When Esau heard his father’s words, he cried out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me, me also, father!”(BC) 35 But he said, “Your brother came deceitfully, and he has taken away your blessing.” 36 Esau said, “Is he not rightly named Jacob?[m] For he has supplanted me these two times. He took away my birthright, and look, now he has taken away my blessing.” Then he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?”(BD) 37 Isaac answered Esau, “I have already made him your lord, and I have given him all his brothers as servants, and with grain and wine I have sustained him. What then can I do for you, my son?”(BE) 38 Esau said to his father, “Have you only one blessing, father? Bless me, me also, father!” And Esau lifted up his voice and wept.(BF)

39 Then his father Isaac answered him:

“See, away from the fatness of the earth shall your home be
    and away from the dew of heaven on high.(BG)
40 By your sword you shall live,
    and you shall serve your brother,
but when you break loose,[n]
    you shall break his yoke from your neck.”(BH)

Jacob Escapes Esau’s Fury

41 Now Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him, and Esau said to himself, “The days of mourning for my father are approaching; then I will kill my brother Jacob.”(BI) 42 But the words of her elder son Esau were told to Rebekah, so she sent and called her younger son Jacob and said to him, “Your brother Esau is consoling himself by planning to kill you. 43 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; flee at once to my brother Laban in Haran,(BJ) 44 and stay with him a while, until your brother’s fury turns away— 45 until your brother’s anger against you turns away, and he forgets what you have done to him; then I will send and bring you back from there. Why should I lose both of you in one day?”

46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am weary of my life because of the Hittite women. If Jacob marries one of the Hittite women such as these, one of the women of the land, what good will my life be to me?”(BK)

28 Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him and charged him, “You shall not marry one of the Canaanite women.(BL) Go at once to Paddan-aram to the house of Bethuel, your mother’s father, and take as wife from there one of the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother.(BM) May God Almighty[o] bless you and make you fruitful and numerous, that you may become a company of peoples.(BN) May he give to you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your offspring with you, so that you may take possession of the land where you now live as an alien, land that God gave to Abraham.”(BO) Thus Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Paddan-aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob’s and Esau’s mother.

Esau Marries Ishmael’s Daughter

Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan-aram to take a wife from there and that as he blessed him he charged him, “You shall not marry one of the Canaanite women,”(BP) and that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and gone to Paddan-aram. So when Esau saw that the Canaanite women did not please his father Isaac,(BQ) Esau went to Ishmael and took Mahalath daughter of Abraham’s son Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth to be his wife in addition to the wives he had.(BR)

Jacob’s Dream at Bethel

10 Jacob left Beer-sheba and went toward Haran. 11 He came to a certain place and stayed there for the night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place. 12 And he dreamed that there was a stairway[p] set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.(BS) 13 And the Lord stood beside him[q] and said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring,(BT) 14 and your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and all the families of the earth shall be blessed[r] in you and in your offspring.(BU) 15 Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land, for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”(BV) 16 Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place—and I did not know it!”(BW) 17 And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”

18 So Jacob rose early in the morning, and he took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it.(BX) 19 He called that place Bethel,[s] but the name of the city was Luz at the first.(BY) 20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear,(BZ) 21 so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God,(CA) 22 and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will surely give one-tenth to you.”(CB)

Jacob Meets Rachel

29 Then Jacob went on his journey and came to the land of the people of the east.(CC) As he looked, he saw a well in the field and three flocks of sheep lying there beside it, for out of that well the flocks were watered. The stone on the well’s mouth was large, and when all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would roll the stone from the mouth of the well and water the sheep and put the stone back in its place on the mouth of the well.

Jacob said to them, “My brothers, where do you come from?” They said, “We are from Haran.”(CD) He said to them, “Do you know Laban son of Nahor?” They said, “We do.”(CE) He said to them, “Is it well with him?” “Yes,” they replied, “and here is his daughter Rachel, coming with the sheep.”(CF) He said, “Look, it is still broad daylight; it is not time for the animals to be gathered together. Water the sheep, and go, pasture them.” But they said, “We cannot until all the flocks are gathered together, and the stone is rolled from the mouth of the well; then we water the sheep.”

While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she kept them.(CG) 10 Now when Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of his mother’s brother Laban, and the sheep of his mother’s brother Laban, Jacob went up and rolled the stone from the well’s mouth and watered the flock of his mother’s brother Laban.(CH) 11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel and wept aloud. 12 And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father’s kinsman and that he was Rebekah’s son, and she ran and told her father.(CI)

13 When Laban heard the news about his sister’s son Jacob, he ran to meet him; he embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house. Jacob[t] told Laban all these things,(CJ) 14 and Laban said to him, “Surely you are my bone and my flesh!” And he stayed with him a month.(CK)

Jacob Marries Laban’s Daughters

15 Then Laban said to Jacob, “Because you are my kinsman, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be?” 16 Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. 17 Leah’s eyes were weak,[u] but Rachel was graceful and beautiful. 18 Jacob loved Rachel, so he said, “I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.”(CL) 19 Laban said, “It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to any other man; stay with me.” 20 So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of his love for her.

21 Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife that I may go in to her, for my time is completed.”(CM) 22 So Laban gathered together all the people of the place and made a feast.(CN) 23 But in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob, and he went in to her. 24 (Laban gave his maid Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her maid.) 25 When morning came, it was Leah! And Jacob said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve with you for Rachel? Why then have you deceived me?” 26 Laban said, “This is not done in our country—giving the younger before the firstborn. 27 Complete the week of this one, and we will give you the other also in return for serving me another seven years.”(CO) 28 Jacob did so and completed her week; then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel as a wife. 29 (Laban gave his maid Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be her maid.) 30 So Jacob went in to Rachel also, and he loved Rachel more than Leah. He served Laban[v] for another seven years.(CP)

31 When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren.(CQ) 32 Leah conceived and bore a son, and she named him Reuben,[w] for she said, “Because the Lord has looked on my affliction, surely now my husband will love me.”(CR) 33 She conceived again and bore a son and said, “Because the Lord has heard that I am hated, he has given me this son also,” and she named him Simeon.[x] 34 Again she conceived and bore a son and said, “Now this time my husband will be joined to me, because I have borne him three sons”; therefore he was named Levi.[y](CS) 35 She conceived again and bore a son and said, “This time I will praise the Lord,” therefore she named him Judah;[z] then she ceased bearing.(CT)

30 When Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, she envied her sister, and she said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I shall die!”(CU) Jacob became very angry with Rachel and said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?”(CV) Then she said, “Here is my maid Bilhah; go in to her, that she may bear upon my knees and that I too may have children through her.”(CW) So she gave him her maid Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob went in to her.(CX) And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. Then Rachel said, “God has judged me and has also heard my voice and given me a son”; therefore she named him Dan.[aa](CY) Rachel’s maid Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. Then Rachel said, “With mighty wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister and have prevailed,” so she named him Naphtali.[ab](CZ)

When Leah saw that she had ceased bearing children, she took her maid Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife.(DA) 10 Then Leah’s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a son. 11 And Leah said, “Good fortune!” So she named him Gad.[ac] 12 Leah’s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. 13 And Leah said, “Happy am I! For the women will call me happy,” so she named him Asher.[ad](DB)

14 In the days of wheat harvest Reuben went and found mandrakes in the field and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”(DC) 15 But she said to her, “Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes also?” Rachel said, “Then he may lie with you tonight for your son’s mandrakes.”(DD) 16 When Jacob came from the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must come in to me, for I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So he lay with her that night. 17 And God heeded Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. 18 Leah said, “God has given me my hire because I gave my maid to my husband,” so she named him Issachar.[ae] 19 And Leah conceived again, and she bore Jacob a sixth son. 20 Then Leah said, “God has endowed me with a good gift; now my husband will honor me, because I have borne him six sons,” so she named him Zebulun.[af](DE) 21 Afterwards she bore a daughter and named her Dinah.

22 Then God remembered Rachel, and God heeded her and opened her womb.(DF) 23 She conceived and bore a son and said, “God has taken away my reproach,”(DG) 24 and she named him Joseph,[ag] saying, “May the Lord add to me another son!”(DH)

Jacob Prospers at Laban’s Expense

25 When Rachel had borne Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me away, that I may go to my own home and country.(DI) 26 Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served you, and let me go, for you know very well the service I have given you.” 27 But Laban said to him, “If you will allow me to say so, I have learned by divination that the Lord has blessed me because of you;(DJ) 28 name your wages, and I will give it.”(DK) 29 Jacob said to him, “You yourself know how I have served you and how your livestock have fared with me.(DL) 30 For you had little before I came, and it has increased abundantly, and the Lord has blessed you wherever I turned. But now when shall I provide for my own household also?”(DM) 31 He said, “What shall I give you?” Jacob said, “You shall not give me anything; if you will do this for me, I will again feed your flock and keep it: 32 let me pass through all your flock today, removing from it every speckled and spotted sheep and every black lamb and the spotted and speckled among the goats, and such shall be my wages.(DN) 33 So my honesty will answer for me later, when you come to look into my wages with you. Every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats and black among the lambs, if found with me, shall be counted stolen.”(DO) 34 Laban said, “Good! Let it be as you have said.” 35 But that day Laban removed the male goats that were striped and spotted, and all the female goats that were speckled and spotted, every one that had white on it, and every lamb that was black and put them in charge of his sons, 36 and he set a distance of three days’ journey between himself and Jacob, while Jacob was pasturing the rest of Laban’s flock.

37 Then Jacob took fresh rods of poplar and almond and plane and peeled white streaks in them, exposing the white of the rods.(DP) 38 He set the rods that he had peeled in front of the flocks in the troughs, that is, the watering places, where the flocks came to drink. And since they bred when they came to drink, 39 the flocks bred in front of the rods, and so the flocks produced young that were striped, speckled, and spotted. 40 Jacob separated the lambs and set the faces of the flocks toward the striped and the completely black animals in the flock of Laban, and he put his own droves apart and did not put them with Laban’s flock. 41 Whenever the stronger of the flock were breeding, Jacob laid the rods in the troughs before the eyes of the flock, that they might breed among the rods, 42 but for the feebler of the flock he did not lay them there, so the feebler were Laban’s and the stronger Jacob’s. 43 Thus the man grew exceedingly rich and had large flocks and male and female slaves and camels and donkeys.(DQ)

Jacob Flees with Family and Flocks

31 Now Jacob heard that the sons of Laban were saying, “Jacob has taken all that was our father’s; he has gained all this wealth from what belonged to our father.” And Jacob saw that Laban did not regard him as favorably as he did before. Then the Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your ancestors and to your kindred, and I will be with you.”(DR) So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah into the field where his flock was and said to them, “I see that your father does not regard me as favorably as he did before. But the God of my father has been with me.(DS) You know that I have served your father with all my strength, yet your father has cheated me and changed my wages ten times, but God did not permit him to harm me.(DT) If he said, ‘The speckled shall be your wages,’ then all the flock bore speckled, and if he said, ‘The striped shall be your wages,’ then all the flock bore striped.(DU) Thus God has taken away the livestock of your father and given them to me.

10 “During the mating of the flock I once had a dream in which I looked up and saw that the male goats that leaped upon the flock were striped, speckled, and mottled. 11 Then the angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob,’ and I said, ‘Here I am!’(DV) 12 And he said, ‘Look up and see that all the goats that leap on the flock are striped, speckled, and mottled, for I have seen all that Laban is doing to you. 13 I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and made a vow to me. Now leave this land at once and return to the land of your birth.’ ”(DW) 14 Then Rachel and Leah answered him, “Is there any portion or inheritance left to us in our father’s house?(DX) 15 Are we not regarded by him as foreigners? For he has sold us, and he has been using up the money given for us. 16 All the property that God has taken away from our father belongs to us and to our children; now then, do whatever God has said to you.”

17 So Jacob arose and set his children and his wives on camels, 18 and he drove away all his livestock, all the property that he had gained, the livestock in his possession that he had acquired in Paddan-aram, to go to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan.

19 Now Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel stole her father’s household gods.(DY) 20 And Jacob deceived Laban the Aramean, in that he did not tell him that he intended to flee. 21 So he fled with all that he had; starting out he crossed the Euphrates[ah] and set his face toward the hill country of Gilead.(DZ)

Laban Overtakes Jacob

22 On the third day Laban was told that Jacob had fled. 23 So he took his kinsfolk with him and pursued him for seven days until he caught up with him in the hill country of Gilead.(EA) 24 But God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream by night and said to him, “Take heed that you say not a word to Jacob, either good or bad.”(EB)

25 Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country, and Laban with his kinsfolk camped in the hill country of Gilead. 26 Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done? You have deceived me and carried away my daughters like captives of the sword.(EC) 27 Why did you flee secretly and deceive me and not tell me? I would have sent you away with mirth and songs, with tambourine and lyre.(ED) 28 And why did you not permit me to kiss my sons and my daughters farewell? What you have done is foolish. 29 It is in my power to do you harm, but the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, ‘Take heed that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad.’(EE) 30 Even though you had to go because you longed greatly for your father’s house, why did you steal my gods?”(EF) 31 Jacob answered Laban, “Because I was afraid, for I thought that you would take your daughters from me by force. 32 But anyone with whom you find your gods shall not live. In the presence of our kinsfolk, point out what I have that is yours, and take it.” Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen the gods.[ai](EG)

33 So Laban went into Jacob’s tent and into Leah’s tent and into the tent of the two maids, but he did not find them. And he went out of Leah’s tent and entered Rachel’s. 34 Now Rachel had taken the household gods and put them in the camel’s saddle and sat on them. Laban felt all about in the tent but did not find them. 35 And she said to her father, “Let not my lord be angry that I cannot rise before you, for the way of women is upon me.” So he searched but did not find the household gods.(EH)

36 Then Jacob became angry and upbraided Laban. Jacob said to Laban, “What is my offense? What is my sin, that you have hotly pursued me? 37 Although you have felt about through all my goods, what have you found of all your household goods? Set it here before my kinsfolk and your kinsfolk, so that they may decide between us two. 38 These twenty years I have been with you; your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried, and I have not eaten the rams of your flocks. 39 That which was torn by wild beasts I did not bring to you; I bore the loss of it myself; of my hand you required it, whether stolen by day or stolen by night.(EI) 40 It was like this with me: by day the heat consumed me and the cold by night, and my sleep fled from my eyes. 41 These twenty years I have been in your house; I served you fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flock, and you have changed my wages ten times.(EJ) 42 If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear[aj] of Isaac, had not been on my side, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God saw my affliction and the labor of my hands and rebuked you last night.”(EK)

Laban and Jacob Make a Covenant

43 Then Laban answered and said to Jacob, “The daughters are my daughters, the children are my children, the flocks are my flocks, and all that you see is mine. But what can I do today about these daughters of mine or about their children whom they have borne? 44 Come now, let us make a covenant, you and I, and let it be a witness between you and me.”(EL) 45 So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar.(EM) 46 And Jacob said to his kinsfolk, “Gather stones,” and they took stones and made a heap, and they ate there by the heap. 47 Laban called it Jegar-sahadutha,[ak] but Jacob called it Galeed.[al] 48 Laban said, “This heap is a witness between you and me today.” Therefore he called it Galeed(EN) 49 and the pillar[am] Mizpah, for he said, “The Lord watch between you and me, when we are absent one from the other.(EO) 50 If you ill-treat my daughters or if you take wives in addition to my daughters, though no one else is with us, remember that God is witness between you and me.”

51 Then Laban said to Jacob, “See this heap and see the pillar, which I have set between you and me. 52 This heap is a witness, and the pillar is a witness, that I will not pass beyond this heap to you, and you will not pass beyond this heap and this pillar to me, for harm. 53 May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor[an] judge between us.” So Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac,(EP) 54 and Jacob offered a sacrifice on the height and called his kinsfolk to eat bread, and they ate bread and tarried all night in the hill country.

55 [ao]Early in the morning Laban rose up and kissed his grandchildren and his daughters and blessed them; then he departed and returned home.(EQ)

32 Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him; when Jacob saw them he said, “This is God’s camp!” So he called that place Mahanaim.[ap](ER)

Jacob Sends Presents to Appease Esau

Jacob sent messengers before him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom,(ES) instructing them, “Thus you shall say to my lord Esau: Thus says your servant Jacob, ‘I have lived with Laban as an alien and stayed until now,(ET) and I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, male and female slaves, and I have sent to tell my lord, in order that I may find favor in your sight.’ ”(EU)

The messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother Esau, and he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.”(EV) Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed, and he divided the people who were with him and the flocks and herds and camels into two companies,(EW) thinking, “If Esau comes to the one company and destroys it, then the company that is left will escape.”

And Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O Lord who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your kindred, and I will do you good,’(EX) 10 I am not worthy of the least of all the steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant, for with only my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two companies.(EY) 11 Deliver me, please, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I am afraid of him; he may come and kill us all, the mothers with the children.(EZ) 12 Yet you have said, ‘I will surely do you good and make your offspring as the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted because of their number.’ ”(FA)

13 So he spent that night there, and from what he had with him he took a present for his brother Esau,(FB) 14 two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, 15 thirty milch camels and their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. 16 These he delivered into the hand of his servants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, “Pass on ahead of me, and put a space between drove and drove.” 17 He instructed the one in the lead, “When Esau my brother meets you and asks you, ‘To whom do you belong? Where are you going? And whose are these ahead of you?’ 18 then you shall say, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob; they are a present sent to my lord Esau, and moreover he is behind us.’ ” 19 He likewise instructed the second and the third and all who followed the droves, “You shall say the same thing to Esau when you meet him, 20 and you shall say, ‘Moreover your servant Jacob is behind us.’ ” For he thought, “I may appease him with the present that goes ahead of me, and afterwards I shall see his face; perhaps he will accept me.”(FC) 21 So the present passed on ahead of him, and he himself spent that night in the camp.

Jacob Wrestles at Peniel

22 The same night he got up and took his two wives, his two maids, and his eleven children and crossed the ford of the Jabbok.(FD) 23 He took them and sent them across the stream, and likewise everything that he had. 24 Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak.(FE) 25 When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket, and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. 26 Then he said, “Let me go, for the day is breaking.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go, unless you bless me.”(FF) 27 So he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” 28 Then the man[aq] said, “You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel,[ar] for you have striven with God and with humans[as] and have prevailed.”(FG) 29 Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him.(FH) 30 So Jacob called the place Peniel,[at] saying, “For I have seen God face to face, yet my life is preserved.”(FI) 31 The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip. 32 Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the thigh muscle that is on the hip socket, because he struck Jacob on the hip socket at the thigh muscle.

Jacob and Esau Meet

33 Now Jacob looked up and saw Esau coming, and four hundred men with him. So he divided the children among Leah and Rachel and the two maids.(FJ) He put the maids with their children in front, then Leah with her children, and Rachel and Joseph last of all. He himself went on ahead of them, bowing himself to the ground seven times, until he came near his brother.(FK)

But Esau ran to meet him and embraced him and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept.(FL) When Esau looked up and saw the women and children, he said, “Who are these with you?” Jacob said, “The children whom God has graciously given your servant.”(FM) Then the maids drew near, they and their children, and bowed down; Leah likewise and her children drew near and bowed down; and finally Joseph and Rachel drew near, and they bowed down. Esau said, “What do you mean by all this company that I met?” Jacob answered, “To find favor with my lord.”(FN) But Esau said, “I have enough, my brother; keep what you have for yourself.” 10 Jacob said, “No, please; if I find favor with you, then accept my present from my hand, for truly to see your face is like seeing the face of God, since you have received me with such favor.(FO) 11 Please accept my gift that is brought to you, because God has dealt graciously with me and because I have everything I want.” So he urged him, and he took it.(FP)

12 Then Esau said, “Let us journey on our way, and I will go alongside you.” 13 But Jacob said to him, “My lord knows that the children are frail and that the flocks and herds, which are nursing, are a care to me, and if they are overdriven for one day, all the flocks will die. 14 Let my lord pass on ahead of his servant, and I will lead on slowly, 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 in Seir.”(FQ)

15 So Esau said, “Let me leave with you some of the people who are with me.” But he said, “Why should my lord be so kind to me?”(FR) 16 So Esau returned that day on his way to Seir. 17 But Jacob journeyed to Succoth[au] and built himself a house and made booths for his cattle; therefore the place is called Succoth.(FS)

Jacob Reaches Shechem

18 Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, on his way from Paddan-aram, and he camped before the city.(FT) 19 And from the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, he bought for one hundred pieces of money[av] the plot of land on which he had pitched his tent.(FU) 20 There he erected an altar and called it El-Elohe-Israel.[aw]

The Rape of Dinah

34 Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the daughters of the region.(FV) When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the region, saw her, he seized her and lay with her by force. And his soul was drawn to Dinah daughter of Jacob; he loved the young woman and spoke tenderly to her. So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, “Get me this girl to be my wife.”(FW)

Now Jacob heard that Shechem[ax] had defiled his daughter Dinah, but his sons were with his cattle in the field, so Jacob held his peace until they came. And Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him, just as the sons of Jacob came in from the field. When they heard of it, the men were indignant and very angry, because he had committed an outrage in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter, for such a thing ought not to be done.(FX)

But Hamor spoke with them, saying, “The heart of my son Shechem longs for your daughter; please give her to him in marriage. Make marriages with us; give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves. 10 You shall live with us, and the land shall be open to you; live and trade in it and get property in it.”(FY) 11 Shechem also said to her father and to her brothers, “Let me find favor with you, and whatever you say to me I will give. 12 Put the marriage present and gift as high as you like, and I will give whatever you ask me; only give me the young woman to be my wife.”(FZ)

13 The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and his father Hamor deceitfully because he had defiled their sister Dinah. 14 They said to them, “We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised, for that would be a disgrace to us.(GA) 15 Only on this condition will we consent to you: that you will become as we are and every male among you be circumcised. 16 Then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters for ourselves, and we will live among you and become one people. 17 But if you will not listen to us and be circumcised, then we will take our daughter and be gone.”

18 Their words pleased Hamor and Hamor’s son Shechem. 19 And the young man did not delay to do the thing because he was delighted with Jacob’s daughter. Now he was the most honored of all his family.(GB) 20 So Hamor and his son Shechem came to the gate of their city and spoke to the men of their city, saying, 21 “These people are friendly with us; let them live in the land and trade in it, for the land is large enough for them; let us take their daughters in marriage, and let us give them our daughters. 22 Only on this condition will they agree to live among us, to become one people: that every male among us be circumcised as they are circumcised. 23 Will not their livestock, their property, and all their animals be ours? Only let us agree with them, and they will live among us.” 24 And all who went out of the city gate heeded Hamor and his son Shechem, and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city.(GC)

Dinah’s Brothers Avenge Their Sister

25 On the third day, when they were still in pain, two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, took their swords and came against the city unawares and killed all the males.(GD) 26 They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the sword and took Dinah out of Shechem’s house and went away. 27 And the other sons of Jacob came upon the slain and plundered the city because their sister had been defiled. 28 They took their flocks and their herds, their donkeys, and whatever was in the city and in the field. 29 All their wealth, all their little ones and their wives, all that was in the houses, they captured and made their prey. 30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me by making me odious to the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites and the Perizzites; my numbers are few, and if they gather themselves against me and attack me, I shall be destroyed, both I and my household.”(GE) 31 But they said, “Should our sister be treated like a prostitute?”

Jacob Returns to Bethel

35 God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel, and settle there. Make an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.”(GF) So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Put away the foreign gods that are among you, and purify yourselves, and change your clothes;(GG) then come, let us go up to Bethel, that I may make an altar there to the God who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone.”(GH) So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that they had and the rings that were in their ears, and Jacob hid them under the oak that was near Shechem.(GI)

As they journeyed, a terror from God fell upon the cities all around them, so that no one pursued them.(GJ) Jacob came to Luz, that is, Bethel, which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him,(GK) and there he built an altar and called the place El-bethel,[ay] because it was there that God had revealed himself to him when he fled from his brother.(GL) And Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and she was buried under an oak below Bethel. So it was called Allon-bacuth.[az](GM)

God appeared to Jacob again when he came from Paddan-aram, and he blessed him.(GN) 10 God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; no longer shall you be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name.” So he was called Israel.(GO) 11 God said to him, “I am God Almighty:[ba] be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall spring from you.(GP) 12 The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give the land to your offspring after you.”(GQ) 13 Then God went up from him at the place where he had spoken with him.(GR) 14 Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he had spoken with him, a pillar of stone, and he poured out a drink offering on it and poured oil on it.(GS) 15 So Jacob called the place where God had spoken with him Bethel.(GT)

The Birth of Benjamin and the Death of Rachel

16 Then they journeyed from Bethel, and when they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel was in childbirth, and she had hard labor. 17 When she was in her hard labor, the midwife said to her, “Do not be afraid, for now you have another son.”(GU) 18 As her soul was departing, for she was dying, she named him Ben-oni,[bb] but his father called him Benjamin.[bc] 19 And Rachel died, and she was buried on the way to Ephrath, that is, Bethlehem,(GV) 20 and Jacob set up a pillar at her grave; it is the pillar of Rachel’s tomb, which is there to this day.(GW) 21 Israel journeyed on and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eder.

22 While Israel lived in that land, Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine, and Israel heard of it.

Now the sons of Jacob were twelve.(GX) 23 The sons of Leah: Reuben (Jacob’s firstborn), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. 24 The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin. 25 The sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s maid: Dan and Naphtali. 26 The sons of Zilpah, Leah’s maid: Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan-aram.

The Death of Isaac

27 Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre, or Kiriath-arba, that is, Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac had resided as aliens.(GY) 28 Now the days of Isaac were one hundred eighty years. 29 And Isaac breathed his last; he died and was gathered to his people, old and full of days, and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.(GZ)

Esau’s Descendants

36 These are the descendants of Esau, that is, Edom.(HA) Esau took his wives from the Canaanites: Adah daughter of Elon the Hittite, Oholibamah daughter of Anah son[bd] of Zibeon the Hivite,(HB) and Basemath, Ishmael’s daughter, sister of Nebaioth. Adah bore Eliphaz to Esau; Basemath bore Reuel; and Oholibamah bore Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These are the sons of Esau who were born to him in the land of Canaan.

Then Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the members of his household, his cattle, all his livestock, and all the property he had acquired in the land of Canaan, and he moved to a land some distance from his brother Jacob.(HC) For their possessions were too great for them to live together; the land where they were staying could not support them because of their livestock.(HD) So Esau settled in the hill country of Seir; Esau is Edom.(HE)

These are the descendants of Esau, ancestor of the Edomites, in the hill country of Seir. 10 These are the names of Esau’s sons: Eliphaz, the son of Adah the wife of Esau; Reuel, the son of Esau’s wife Basemath.(HF) 11 The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz. 12 Timna was a concubine of Eliphaz, Esau’s son; she bore Amalek to Eliphaz. These were the sons of Adah, Esau’s wife.(HG) 13 These were the sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These were the sons of Basemath, Esau’s wife. 14 These were the sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah, daughter of Anah son[be] of Zibeon; she bore to Esau Jeush, Jalam, and Korah.

Clans and Kings of Edom

15 These are the clans[bf] of the sons of Esau. The sons of Eliphaz the firstborn of Esau: the clans[bg] Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz,(HH) 16 Korah, Gatam, and Amalek; these are the clans[bh] of Eliphaz in the land of Edom; they are the sons of Adah. 17 These are the sons of Esau’s son Reuel: the clans[bi] Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah; these are the clans[bj] of Reuel in the land of Edom; they are the sons of Esau’s wife Basemath.(HI) 18 These are the sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah: the clans[bk] Jeush, Jalam, and Korah; these are the clans[bl] born of Esau’s wife Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah.(HJ) 19 These are the sons of Esau, that is, Edom, and these are their clans.[bm]

20 These are the sons of Seir the Horite, the inhabitants of the land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah,(HK) 21 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan; these are the clans[bn] of the Horites, the sons of Seir in the land of Edom. 22 The sons of Lotan were Hori and Heman, and Lotan’s sister was Timna. 23 These are the sons of Shobal: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam. 24 These are the sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah; he is the Anah who found the springs[bo] in the wilderness as he pastured the donkeys of his father Zibeon. 25 These are the children of Anah: Dishon and Oholibamah daughter of Anah.(HL) 26 These are the sons of Dishon: Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran. 27 These are the sons of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan.(HM) 28 These are the sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran. 29 These are the clans[bp] of the Horites: the clans[bq] Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 30 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan; these are the clans[br] of the Horites, clan by clan[bs] in the land of Seir.

31 These are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned over the Israelites.(HN) 32 Bela son of Beor reigned in Edom, the name of his city being Dinhabah. 33 Bela died, and Jobab son of Zerah of Bozrah succeeded him as king. 34 Jobab died, and Husham of the land of the Temanites succeeded him as king. 35 Husham died, and Hadad son of Bedad, who defeated Midian in the country of Moab, succeeded him as king, the name of his city being Avith. 36 Hadad died, and Samlah of Masrekah succeeded him as king. 37 Samlah died, and Shaul of Rehoboth on the Euphrates succeeded him as king. 38 Shaul died, and Baal-hanan son of Achbor succeeded him as king. 39 Baal-hanan son of Achbor died, and Hadar succeeded him as king, the name of his city being Pau; his wife’s name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, daughter of Me-zahab.(HO)

40 These are the names of the clans[bt] of Esau, according to their families and their localities by their names: the clans[bu] Timna, Alvah, Jetheth,(HP) 41 Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, 42 Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, 43 Magdiel, and Iram; these are the clans[bv] of Edom, that is, Esau, the father of Edom, according to their settlements in the land that they held.

Notas al pie

  1. 25.18 Heb he fell
  2. 25.18 Or down in opposition to
  3. 25.22 Syr: Meaning of Heb uncertain
  4. 25.26 That is, he takes by the heel or he supplants
  5. 25.30 That is, red
  6. 26.2 Heb him
  7. 26.20 That is, contention
  8. 26.21 That is, enmity
  9. 26.22 That is, broad places or room
  10. 26.33 In Heb Shibah resembles the word for oath
  11. 26.33 That is, well of the oath or well of seven
  12. 27.5 Gk: Heb to bring
  13. 27.36 That is, he supplants or he takes by the heel
  14. 27.40 Meaning of Heb uncertain
  15. 28.3 Traditional rendering of Heb El Shaddai
  16. 28.12 Or ramp
  17. 28.13 Or stood above it
  18. 28.14 Or shall bless themselves
  19. 28.19 That is, house of God
  20. 29.13 Heb He
  21. 29.17 Gk: Meaning of Heb uncertain
  22. 29.30 Heb him
  23. 29.32 That is, see, a son
  24. 29.33 In Heb Simeon resembles the verb for has heard
  25. 29.34 In Heb Levi resembles the verb for will be joined
  26. 29.35 In Heb Judah resembles the verb for I will praise
  27. 30.6 That is, he judged
  28. 30.8 In Heb Naphtali resembles the verb for I have wrestled
  29. 30.11 That is, fortune
  30. 30.13 That is, happy
  31. 30.18 In Heb Issachar resembles the word for my hire
  32. 30.20 In Heb Zebulun resembles the verb for honor
  33. 30.24 That is, he adds
  34. 31.21 Heb the river
  35. 31.32 Heb them
  36. 31.42 Meaning of Heb uncertain
  37. 31.47 In Aramaic, heap of witness
  38. 31.47 In Hebrew, heap of witness
  39. 31.49 Cn: MT lacks pillar
  40. 31.53 Heb mss Gk: MT adds the God of their father
  41. 31.55 32.1 in Heb
  42. 32.2 That is, two camps
  43. 32.28 Heb he
  44. 32.28 That is, the one who strives with God or God strives
  45. 32.28 Or with divine and human beings
  46. 32.30 That is, the face of God
  47. 33.17 That is, booths
  48. 33.19 Heb one hundred qesitah
  49. 33.20 That is, God, the God of Israel
  50. 34.5 Heb he
  51. 35.7 That is, God of Bethel
  52. 35.8 That is, oak of weeping
  53. 35.11 Traditional rendering of Heb El Shaddai
  54. 35.18 That is, son of my sorrow
  55. 35.18 That is, son of the right hand or son of the south
  56. 36.2 Sam Gk Syr: Heb daughter
  57. 36.14 Gk Syr: Heb daughter
  58. 36.15 Or chiefs
  59. 36.15 Or chiefs
  60. 36.16 Or chiefs
  61. 36.17 Or chiefs
  62. 36.17 Or chiefs
  63. 36.18 Or chiefs
  64. 36.18 Or chiefs
  65. 36.19 Or chiefs
  66. 36.21 Or chiefs
  67. 36.24 Meaning of Heb uncertain
  68. 36.29 Or chiefs
  69. 36.29 Or chiefs
  70. 36.30 Or chiefs
  71. 36.30 Or chief by chief
  72. 36.40 Or chiefs
  73. 36.40 Or chiefs
  74. 36.43 Or chiefs

25 And Abraham married another wife, named Cetura:

Who bore him Zamran, and Jecsan, and Madan, and Madian, and Jesboc, and Sue.

Jecsan also begot Saba and Dadan. The children of Dadan were Assurim, and Latusim, and Loomin.

But of Madian was born Epha, and Opher, and Henoch, and Abida, and Eldaa: all these were the children of Cetura.

And Abraham gave all his possessions to Isaac.

And to the children of the concubines he gave gifts, and separated them from Isaac his son, while he yet lived, to the east country.

And the days of Abraham's life were a hundred and seventy-five years.

And decaying he died in a good old age, and having lived a long time, and being full of days: and was gathered to his people.

And Isaac and Ismael his sons buried him in the double cave, which was situated in the field of Ephron the son of Seor the Hethite, over against Mambre;

10 Which he had bought of the children of Heth: there was he buried, and Sara his wife.

11 And after his death, God blessed Isaac his son, who dwelt by the well named Of the living and seeing.

12 These are the generations of Ismael the son of Abraham, whom Agar the Egyptian, Sara's servant, bore unto him:

13 And these are the names of his children according to their calling and generations. The firstborn of Ismael was Nabajoth, then Cedar, and Adbeel, and Mabsam.

14 And Masma, and Duma, and Massa,

15 Hadar, and Thema, and Jethur, and Naphis, and Cedma.

16 These are the sons of Ismael: and these are their names by their castles and towns, twelve princes of their tribes.

17 And the years of Ismael's life were a hundred and thirty-seven, and decaying he died, and was gathered unto his people.

18 And he dwelt from Hevila as far as Sur, which looketh towards Egypt, to them that go towards the Assyrians. He died in the presence of all his brethren.

19 These also are the generations of Isaac the son of Abraham: Abraham begot Isaac:

20 Who when he was forty years old, took to wife Rebecca the daughter of Bathuel the Syrian of Mesopotamia, sister to Laban.

21 And Isaac besought the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; and he heard him, and made Rebecca to conceive.

22 But the children struggled in her womb: and she said: If it were to be so with me, what need was there to conceive? And she went to consult the Lord.

23 And he answering said: Two nations are in thy womb, and two peoples shall be divided out of thy womb, and one people shall overcome the other, and the elder shall serve the younger.

24 And when her time was come to be delivered, behold twins were found in her womb.

25 He that came forth first was red, and hairy like a skin: and his name was called Esau. Immediately the other coming forth, held his brother's foot in his hand, and therefore he was called Jacob.

26 Isaac was threescore years old when the children were born unto him.

27 And when they were grown up, Esau became a skillful hunter, and a husbandman, but Jacob a plain man dwelt in tents.

28 Isaac loved Esau, because he ate of his hunting: and Rebecca loved Jacob.

29 And Jacob boiled pottage: to whom Esau, coming faint out of the field,

30 Said: Give me of this red pottage, for I am exceeding faint. For which reason his name was called Edom.

31 And Jacob said to him: Sell me thy first birthright.

32 He answered: Lo I die, what will the first birthright avail me?

33 Jacob said: Swear therefore to me. Esau swore to him, and sold his first birthright.

34 And so taking bread and the pottage of lentils, he ate, and drank, and went his way; making little account of having sold his first birthright.

26 And when a famine came in the land, after that barrenness which had happened in the days of Abraham, Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Palestines to Gerara.

And the Lord appeared to him and said: Go not down into Egypt, but stay in the land that I shall tell thee.

And sojourn in it, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee: for to thee and to thy seed I will give all these countries, to fulfill the oath which I swore to Abraham thy father.

And I will multiply thy seed like the stars of heaven: and I will give to thy posterity all these countries: and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.

Because Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my precepts and commandments, and observed my ceremonies and laws.

So Isaac abode in Gerara.

And when he was asked by the men of that place, concerning his wife, he answered: She is my sister; for he was afraid to confess that she was his wife, thinking lest perhaps they would kill him because of her beauty.

And when very many days were passed, and he abode there, Abimelech king of the Palestines looking out through a window, saw him playing with Rebecca his wife.

And calling for him, he said: It is evident she is thy wife: why didst thou feign her to be thy sister? He answered: I feared lest I should die for her sake.

10 And Abimelech said: Why hast thou deceived us? Some man of the people might have lain with thy wife, and thou hadst brought upon us a great sin. And he commanded all the people, saying:

11 He that shall touch this man's wife, shall surely be put to death.

12 And Isaac sowed in that land, and he found that same year a hundredfold: and the Lord blessed him.

13 And the man was enriched, and he went on prospering and increasing, till he became exceeding great:

14 And he had possessions of sheep and of herds, and a very great family. Wherefore the Palestines envying him,

15 Stopped up at that time all the wells, that the servants of his father Abraham had digged, filling them up with earth:

16 Insomuch that Abimelech himself said to Isaac: Depart from us, for thou art become much mightier than we.

17 So he departed and came to the torrent of Gerara, to dwell there:

18 And he digged again other wells, which the servants of his father Abraham had digged, and which, after his death, the Palestines had of old stopped up: and he called them by the same names by which his father before had called them.

19 And they digged in the torrent, and found living water.

20 But there also the herdsmen of Gerara strove against the herdsmen of Isaac, saying: It is our water. Wherefore he called the name of the well, on occasion of that which had happened, Calumny.

21 And they digged also another; and for that they quarrelled likewise, and he called the name of it, Enmity.

22 Going forward from thence, he digged another well, for which they contended not: therefore he called the name thereof, Latitude, saying: Now hath the Lord given us room, and made us to increase upon the earth.

23 And he went up from that place to Bersabee,

24 Where the Lord appeared to him that same night, saying: I am the God of Abraham thy father; do not fear, for I am with thee: I will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake.

25 And he built there an altar: and called upon the name of the Lord, and pitched his tent: and commanded his servants to dig a well.

26 To which place when Abimelech, and Ochozath his friend, and Phicol chief captain of his soldiers came from Gerara,

27 Isaac said to them: Why are ye come to me, a man whom you hate, and have thrust out from you?

28 And they answered: We saw that the Lord is with thee, and therefore we said: Let there be an oath between us, and let us make a covenant,

29 That thou do us no harm, as we on our part have touched nothing of thine, nor have done any thing to hurt thee: but with peace have sent thee away increased with the blessing of the Lord.

30 And he made them a feast, and after they had eaten and drunk:

31 Arising in the morning, they swore one to another: and Isaac sent them away peaceably to their own home.

32 And behold the same day the servants of Isaac came, telling him of a well which they had digged, and saying: We have found water.

33 Whereupon he called it Abundance: and the name of the city was called Bersabee, even to this day.

34 And Esau being forty years old, married wives, Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hethite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon of the same place.

35 And they both offended the mind of Isaac and Rebecca.

27 Now Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, and he could not see: and he called Esau, his elder son, and said to him: My son? And he answered: Here I am.

And his father said to him: Thou seest that I am old, and know not the day of my death.

Take thy arms, thy quiver, and bow, and go abroad: and when thou hast taken some thing by hunting,

Make me savoury meat thereof, as thou knowest I like, and bring it, that I may eat: and my soul may bless thee before I die.

And when Rebecca had heard this, and he was gone into the field to fulfill his father's commandment,

She said to her son Jacob: I heard thy father talking with Esau thy brother, and saying to him:

Bring me of thy hunting, and make me meats that I may eat, and bless thee in the sight of the Lord, before I die.

Now, therefore, my son, follow my counsel:

And go thy way to the flock, bring me two kids of the best, that I may make of them meat for thy father, such as he gladly eateth:

10 Which when thou hast brought in, and he hath eaten, he may bless thee before he die.

11 And he answered her: Thou knowest that Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am smooth.

12 If my father shall feel me, and perceive it, I fear lest he will think I would have mocked him, and I shall bring upon me a curse instead of a blessing.

13 And his mother said to him: Upon me be this curse, my son: only hear thou my voice, and go, fetch me the things which I have said.

14 He went, and brought, and gave them to his mother. She dressed meats, such as she knew his father liked.

15 And she put on him very good garments of Esau, which she had at home with her:

16 And the little skins of the kids she put about his hands, and covered the bare of his neck.

17 And she gave him the savoury meat, and delivered him bread that she had baked.

18 Which when he had carried in, he said: My father? But he answered: I hear. Who art thou, my son?

19 And Jacob said: I am Esau thy firstborn: I have done as thou didst command me: arise, sit, and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me.

20 And Isaac said to his son: How couldst thou find it so quickly, my son? He answered: It was the will of God, that what I sought came quickly in my way.

21 And Isaac said: Come hither, that I may feel thee, my son, and may prove whether thou be my son Esau, or not.

22 He came near to his father, and when he had felt him, Isaac said: The voice indeed is the voice of Jacob; but the hands are the hands of Esau.

23 And he knew him not, because his hairy hands made him like to the elder. Then blessing him,

24 He said: Art thou my son Esau? He answered: I am.

25 Then he said: Bring me the meats of thy hunting, my son, that my soul may bless thee. And when they were brought, and he had eaten, he offered him wine also, which after he had drunk,

26 He said to him: Come near me, and give me a kiss, my son.

27 He came near, and kissed him. And immediately as he smelled the fragrant smell of his garments, blessing him, he said: Behold the smell of my son is as the smell of a plentiful field, which the Lord hath blessed.

28 God give thee the dew of heaven, and of the fatness of the earth, abundance of corn and wine.

29 And let peoples serve thee, and tribes worship thee: be thou lord of thy brethren, and let thy mother's children bow down before thee. Cursed be he that curseth thee: and let him that blesseth thee be filled with blessings.

30 Isaac had scarce ended his words, when Jacob being now gone out abroad, Esau came,

31 And brought in to his father meats made of what he had taken in hunting, saying: Arise, my father, and eat of thy son's venison; that thy soul may bless me.

32 And Isaac said to him: Why! who art thou? He answered: I am thy firstborn son Esau.

33 Isaac was struck with fear, and astonished exceedingly: and wondering beyond what can be believed, said Who is he then that even now brought me venison that he had taken, and I ate of all before thou camest? and I have blessed him, and he shall be blessed.

34 Esau having heard his father's words, roared out with a great cry: and being in a great consternation, said: Bless me also, my father.

35 And he said: Thy brother came deceitfully and got thy blessing.

36 But he said again: Rightly is his name called Jacob; for he hath supplanted me lo this second time: my first birthright he took away before, and now this second time he hath stolen away my blessing. And again he said to his father: Hast thou not reserved me also a blessing?

37 Isaac answered: I have appointed him thy lord, and have made all his brethren his servants: I have established him with corn and wine, and after this, what shall I do more for thee, my son?

38 And Esau said to him: Hast thou only one blessing, father? I beseech thee bless me also. And when he wept with a loud cry,

39 Isaac being moved, said to him: In the fat of the earth, and in the dew of heaven from above,

40 Shall thy blessing be. Thou shalt live by the sword and shalt serve thy brother: and the time shall come, when thou shalt shake off and loose his yoke from thy neck.

41 Esau therefore always hated Jacob for the blessing wherewith his father had blessed him: and he said in his heart: The days will come of the mourning of my father, and I will kill my brother Jacob.

42 These things were told to Rebecca: and she sent and called Jacob her son, and said to him: Behold Esau thy brother threateneth to kill thee.

43 Now therefore, my son, hear my voice: arise and flee to Laban my brother to Haran:

44 And thou shalt dwell with him a few days, till the wrath of thy brother be assuaged,

45 And his indignation cease, and he forget the things thou hast done to him: afterwards I will send, and bring thee from thence hither. Why shall I be deprived of both my sons in one day?

46 And Rebecca said to Isaac: I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth: if Jacob take a wife of the stock of this land, I choose not to live.

28 And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, saying: Take not a wife of the stock of Chanaan:

But go, and take a journey to Mesopotamia of Syria, to the house of Bathuel thy mother's father, and take thee a wife thence of the daughters of Laban thy uncle.

And God almighty bless thee, and make thee to increase, and multiply thee: that thou mayst be a multitude of people.

And give the blessings of Abraham to thee, and to thy seed after thee: that thou mayst possess the land of thy sojournment, which he promised to thy grandfather.

And when Isaac had sent him away, he took his journey and went to Mesopotamia of Syria to Laban the son of Bathuel the Syrian, brother to Rebecca his mother.

And Esau seeing that his father had blessed Jacob, and had sent him into Mesopotamia of Syria, to marry a wife thence; and that after the blessing he had charged him, saying: Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Chanaan:

And that Jacob obeying his parents was gone into Syria:

Experiencing also that his father was not well pleased with the daughters of Chanaan:

He went to Ismael, and took to wife, besides them he had before, Maheleth the daughter of Ismael, Abraham's son, the sister of Nabajoth.

10 But Jacob being departed from Bersabee, went on to Haran.

11 And when he was come to a certain place, and would rest in it after sunset, he took of the stones that lay there, and putting under his head, slept in the same place.

12 And he saw in his sleep a ladder standing upon the earth, and the top thereof touching heaven: the angels also of God ascending and descending by it;

13 And the Lord leaning upon the ladder, saying to him: I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac; the land, wherein thou sleepest, I will give to thee and to thy seed.

14 And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth: thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and IN THEE and thy seed all the tribes of the earth SHALL BE BLESSED.

15 And I will be thy keeper whithersoever thou goest, and will bring thee back into this land: neither will I leave thee, till I shall have accomplished all that I have said.

16 And when Jacob awaked out of sleep, he said: Indeed the Lord is in this place, and I knew it not.

17 And trembling he said: How terrible is this place! this is no other but the house of God, and the gate of heaven.

18 And Jacob, arising in the morning, took the stone, which he had laid under his head, and set it up for a title, pouring oil upon the top of it.

19 And he called the name of the city Bethel, which before was called Luza.

20 And he made a vow, saying: If God shall be with me, and shall keep me in the way by which I walk, and shall give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on,

21 And I shall return prosperously to my father's house: the Lord shall be my God:

22 And this stone, which I have set up for a title, shall be called the house of God: and of all things that thou shalt give to me, I will offer tithes to thee.

29 Then Jacob went on in his journey, and came into the east country.

And he saw a well in the field, and three flocks of sheep lying by it: for the beasts were watered out of it, and the mouth thereof was closed with a great stone.

And the custom was, when all the sheep were gathered together to roll away the stone, and after the sheep were watered, to put it on the mouth of the well again.

And he said to the shepherds: Brethren, whence are you? They answered: Of Haran.

And he asked them, saying: Know you Laban the son of Nachor? They said: We know him.

He said: Is he in health? He is in health, say they: and behold Rachel his daughter cometh with his flock.

And Jacob said: There is yet much day remaining, neither is it time to bring the flocks into the folds again: first give the sheep drink, and so lead them back to feed.

They answered: We cannot, till all the cattle be gathered together, and we remove the stone from the well's mouth, that we may water the flocks.

They were yet speaking, and behold Rachel came with her father's sheep: for she fed the flock.

10 And when Jacob saw her, and knew her to be his cousin-german, and that they were the sheep of Laban, his uncle: he removed the stone wherewith the well was closed.

11 And having watered the flock, he kissed her: and lifting up his voice, wept.

12 And he told her that he was her father's brother, and the son of Rebecca: but she went in haste and told her father.

13 Who, when he heard that Jacob his sister's son was come, ran forth to meet him; and embracing him, and heartily kissing him, brought him into his house. And when he had heard the causes of his journey,

14 He answered: Thou art my bone and my flesh. And after the days of one month were expired,

15 He said to him: Because thou art my brother, shalt thou serve me without wages? Tell me what wages thou wilt have.

16 Now he had two daughters, the name of the elder was Lia: and the younger was called Rachel.

17 But Lia was blear eyed: Rachel was well favoured, and of a beautiful countenance.

18 And Jacob being in love with her, said: I will serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter.

19 Laban answered: It is better that I give her to thee than to another man; stay with me.

20 So Jacob served seven years for Rachel: and they seemed but a few days, because of the greatness of his love.

21 And he said to Laban: Give me my wife; for now the time is fulfilled, that I may go in unto her.

22 And he, having invited a great number of his friends to the feast, made the marriage.

23 And at night he brought in Lia his daughter to him,

24 Giving his daughter a handmaid, named Zelpha. Now when Jacob had gone in to her according to custom when morning was come he saw it was Lia:

25 And he said to his father in law: What is it that thou didst mean to do? did not I serve thee for Rachel? why hast thou deceived me?

26 Laban answered: It is not the custom in this place, to give the younger in marriage first.

27 Make up the week of days of this match: and I will give thee her also, for the service that thou shalt render me other seven years.

28 He yielded to his pleasure: and after the week was past, he married Rachel:

29 To whom her father gave Bala for her servant.

30 And having at length obtained the marriage he wished for, he preferred the love of the latter before the former, and served with him other seven years.

31 And the Lord seeing that he despised Lia, opened her womb, but her sister remained barren.

32 And she conceived and bore a son, and called his name Ruben, saying: The Lord saw my affliction: now my husband will love me.

33 And again she conceived and bore a son, and said: Because the Lord heard that I was despised, he hath given this also to me: and she called his name Simeon.

34 And she conceived the third time, and bore another son: and said: Now also my husband will be joined to me, because I have borne him three sons: and therefore she called his name Levi.

35 The fourth time she conceived and bore a son, and said: now will I praise the Lord: and for this she called him Juda. And she left bearing.

30 And Rachel, seeing herself without children, envied her sister, and said to her husband: Give me children, otherwise I shall die.

And Jacob being angry with her, answered: Am I as God, who hath deprived thee of the fruit of thy womb?

But she said: I have here my servant Bala: go in unto her, that she may bear upon my knees, and I may have children by her.

And she gave him Bala in marriage: who,

When her husband had gone in unto her, conceived and bore a son.

And Rachel said: The Lord hath judged for me, and hath heard my voice, giving me a son, and therefore she called his name Dan.

And again Bala conceived and bore another,

For whom Rachel said: God hath compared me with my sister, and I have prevailed: and she called him Nephtali.

Lia, perceiving that she had left off bearing, gave Zelpha her handmaid to her husband.

10 And when she had conceived and brought forth a son,

11 She said: Happily. And therefore called his name Gad.

12 Zelpha also bore another.

13 And Lia said: This is for my happiness: for women will call me blessed. Therefore she called him Aser.

14 And Ruben, going out in the time of the wheat harvest into the field, found mandrakes: which he brought to his mother Lia. And Rachel said: Give me part of thy son's mandrakes.

15 She answered: Dost thou think it a small matter, that thou hast taken my husband from me, unless thou take also my son's mandrakes? Rachel said: He shall sleep with thee this night, for thy son's mandrakes.

16 And when Jacob returned at even from the field, Lia went out to meet him, and said: Thou shalt come in unto me, because I have hired thee for my son's mandrakes. And he slept with her that night.

17 And God heard her prayers: and she conceived and bore the fifth son,

18 And said: God hath given me a reward, because I gave my handmaid to my husband. And she called his name Issachar.

19 And Lia conceived again, and bore the sixth son,

20 And said: God hath endowed me with a good dowry: this turn also my husband will be with me, because I have borne him six sons: and therefore she called his name Zabulon.

21 After whom she bore a daughter, named Dina.

22 The Lord also remembering Rachel, heard her, and opened her womb.

23 And she conceived, and bore a son, saying: God hath taken away my reproach.

24 And she called his name Joseph, saying: The Lord give me also another son.

25 And when Joseph was born, Jacob said to his father in law: Send me away that I may return into my country, and to my land.

26 Give me my wives, and my children, for whom I have served thee, that I may depart: thou knowest the service that I have rendered thee.

27 Laban said to him: Let me find favour in thy sight: I have learned by experience, that God hath blessed me for thy sake.

28 Appoint thy wages which I shall give thee.

29 But he answered: Thou knowest how I have served thee, and how great thy possession hath been in my hands.

30 Thou hadst but little before I came to thee, and now thou art become rich: and the Lord hath blessed thee at my coming. It is reasonable therefore that I should now provide also for my own house.

31 And Laban said: What shall I give thee? But he said: I require nothing: but if thou wilt do what I demand, I will feed, and keep thy sheep again.

32 Go round through all thy flocks, and separate all the sheep of divers colours, and speckled: and all that is brown and spotted, and of divers colours, as well among the sheep, as among the goats, shall be my wages.

33 And my justice shall answer for me to morrow before thee when the time of the bargain shall come: and all that is not of divers colours, and spotted, and brown, as well among the sheep as among the goats, shall accuse me of theft.

34 And Laban said: I like well what thou demandest.

35 And he separated the same day the she goats, and the sheep, and the he goats, and the rams of divers colours, and spotted: and all the flock of one colour, that is, of white and black fleece, he delivered into the hands of his sons.

36 And he set the space of three days' journey betwixt himself and his son in law, who fed the rest of his flock.

37 And Jacob took green rods of poplar, and of almond, and of plane trees, and pilled them in part: so when the bark was taken off, in the parts that were pilled, there appeared whiteness: but the parts that were whole remained green: and by this means the colour was divers.

38 And he put them in the troughs, where the water was poured out: that when the flocks should come to drink, they might have the rods before their eyes, and in the sight of them might conceive.

39 And it came to pass that in the very heat of coition, the sheep beheld the rods, and brought forth spotted, and of divers colours, and speckled.

40 And Jacob separated the flock, and put the rods in the troughs before the eyes of the rams: and all the white and the black were Laban's: and the rest were Jacob's, when the flocks were separated one from the other.

41 So when the ewes went first to ram, Jacob put the rods in the troughs of water before the eyes of the rams, and of the ewes, that they might conceive while they were looking upon them:

42 But when the latter coming was, and the last conceiving, he did not put them. And those that were lateward, became Laban's: and they of the first time, Jacob's.

43 And the man was enriched exceedingly, and he had many flocks, maid servants and men servants, camels and asses.

31 But after that he heard the words of the sons of Laban, saying: Jacob hath taken away all that was our father's, and being enriched by his substance is become great:

And perceiving also that Laban's countenance was not towards him as yesterday and the other day,

Especially the Lord saying to him: Return into the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred, and I will be with thee.

He sent, and called Rachel and Lia into the field, where he fed the flocks,

And said to them: I see your father's countenance is not towards me as yesterday and the other day: but the God of my father hath been with me.

And you know that I have served your father to the uttermost of my power.

Yea, your father also hath overreached me, and hath changed my wages ten times: and yet God hath not suffered him to hurt me.

If at any time he said: The speckled shall be thy wages: all the sheep brought forth speckled: but when he said on the contrary: Thou shalt take all the white ones for thy wages: all the flocks brought forth white ones.

And God hath taken your father's substance, and given it to me.

10 For after that time came of the ewes conceiving, I lifted up my eyes, and saw in my sleep that the males which leaped upon the females were of divers colours, and spotted, and speckled.

11 And the angel of God said to me in my sleep: Jacob? And I answered: Here I am.

12 And he said: Lift up thy eyes, and see that all the males leaping upon the females, are of divers colours, spotted, and speckled. For I have seen all that Laban hath done to thee.

13 I am the God of Bethel, where thou didst anoint the stone, and make a vow to me. Now therefore arise, and go out of this land, and return into thy native country.

14 And Rachel and Lia answered: Have we any thing left among the goods and inheritance of our father's house?

15 Hath he not counted us as strangers and sold us, and eaten up the price of us?

16 But God hath taken our father's riches, and delivered them to us, and to our children: wherefore do all that God hath commanded thee.

17 Then Jacob rose up, and having set his children and wives upon camels, went his way.

18 And he took all his substance, and flocks, and whatsoever he had gotten in Mesopotamia, and went forward to Isaac his father to the land of Chanaan.

19 At that time Laban was gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel stole away her father's idols.

20 And Jacob would not confess to his father in law that he was flying away.

21 And when he was gone, together with all that belonged to him, and having passed the river, was going on towards mount Galaad,

22 It was told Laban on the third day that Jacob fled.

23 And he took his brethren with him, and pursued after him seven days; and overtook him in the mount of Galaad.

24 And he saw in a dream God saying to him: Take heed thou speak not any thing harshly against Jacob.

25 Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mountain: and when he with his brethren had overtaken him, he pitched his tent in the same mount of Galaad.

26 And he said to Jacob: Why hast thou done thus, to carry away, without my knowledge, my daughters, as captives taken with the sword.

27 Why wouldst thou run away privately and not acquaint me, that I might have brought thee on the way with joy, and with songs, and with timbrels, and with harps?

28 Thou hast not suffered me to kiss my sons and daughters: thou hast done foolishly: and now, indeed,

29 It is in my power to return thee evil: but the God of your father said to me yesterday: Take heed thou speak not any thing harshly against Jacob.

30 Suppose thou didst desire to go to thy friends, and hadst a longing after thy father's house: why hast thou stolen away my gods?

31 Jacob answered: That I departed unknown to thee, it was for fear lest thou wouldst take away thy daughters by force.

32 But whereas thou chargest me with theft: with whomsoever thou shalt find thy gods, let him be slain before our brethren. Search, and if thou find any of thy things with me, take them away. Now when he said this, he knew not that Rachel had stolen the idols.

33 So Laban went into the tent of Jacob, and of Lia, and of both the handmaids, and found them not. And when he was entered into Rachel's tent,

34 She in haste hid the idols under the camel's furniture, and sat upon them: and when he had searched all the tent, and found nothing,

35 She said: Let not my lord be angry that I cannot rise up before thee, because it has now happened to me, according to the custom of women, So his careful search was in vain.

36 And Jacob being angry, said in a chiding manner: For what fault of mine, and for what offence on my part hast thou so hotly pursued me,

37 And searched all my household stuff? What hast thou found of all the substance of thy house? lay it here before my brethren, and thy brethren, and let them judge between me and thee.

38 Have I therefore been with thee twenty years? thy ewes and goats were not barren, the rams of thy flocks I did not eat:

39 Neither did I shew thee that which the beast had torn, I made good all the damage: whatsoever was lost by theft, thou didst exact it of me:

40 Day and night was I parched with heat, and with frost, and sleep departed from my eyes.

41 And in this manner have I served thee in thy house twenty years, fourteen for thy daughters, and six for thy flocks: thou hast changed also my wages ten times.

42 Unless the God of my father Abraham, and the fear of Isaac had stood by me, peradventure now thou hadst sent me away naked: God beheld my affliction and the labour of my hands, and rebuked thee yesterday.

43 Laban answered him: The daughters are mine and the children, and thy flocks, and all things that thou seest are mine: what can I do to my children, and grandchildren?

44 Come therefore, let us enter into a league: that it may be for a testimony between me and thee.

45 And Jacob took a stone, and set it up for a title:

46 And he said to his brethren: Bring hither stones. And they gathering stones together, made a heap, and they ate upon it.

47 And Laban called it The witness heap: and Jacob, The hillock of testimony: each of them according to the propriety of his language.

48 And Laban said: This heap shall be a witness between me and thee this day, and therefore the name thereof was called Galaad, that is, The witness heap.

49 The Lord behold and judge between us when we shall be gone one from the other.

50 If thou afflict my daughters, and if thou bring in other wives over them: none is witness of our speech but God, who is present and beholdeth.

51 And he said again to Jacob: Behold, this heap, and the stone which I have set up between me and thee,

52 Shall be a witness: this heap, I say, and the stone, be they for a testimony, if either I shall pass beyond it going towards thee, or thou shalt pass beyond it, thinking harm to me.

53 The God of Abraham, and the God of Nachor, the God of their father, judge between us. And Jacob swore by the fear of his father Isaac.

54 And after he had offered sacrifices in the mountain, he called his brethren to eat bread. And when they had eaten, they lodged there:

55 But Laban arose in the night, and kissed his sons, and daughters, and blessed them: and returned to his place.

32 Jacob also went on the journey he had begun: and the angels of God met him.

And when he saw them, he said: These are the camps of God, and he called the name of that place Mahanaim, that is, Camps.

And he sent messengers before him to Esau his brother to the land of Seir to the country of Edom:

And he commanded them, saying: Thus shall ye speak to my lord Esau: Thus saith thy brother Jacob: I have sojourned with Laban, and have been with him until this day.

I have oxen, and asses, and sheep, and menservants, and womenservants: and now I send a message to my lord, that I may find favour in thy sight.

And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying: We came to Esau thy brother, and behold he cometh with speed to meet thee with four hundred men.

Then Jacob was greatly afraid; and in his fear divided the people that was with him, and the flocks, and the sheep, and the oxen, and the camels, into two companies,

Saying: If Esau come to one company and destroy it, the other company that is left shall escape.

And Jacob said: O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, O Lord, who saidst to me: Return to thy land and to the place of thy birth, and I will do well for thee,

10 I am not worthy of the least of all thy mercies, and of thy truth which thou hast fulfilled to thy servant. With my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I return with two companies.

11 Deliver me from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am greatly afraid of him: lest perhaps he come, and kill the mother with the children.

12 Thou didst say that thou wouldst do well by me, and multiply my seed like the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.

13 And when he had slept there that night, he set apart, of the things which he had, presents for his brother Esau.

14 Two hundred she goats, twenty he goats, two hundred ewes, and twenty rams,

15 Thirty milch camels with their colts, forty kine, and twenty bulls, twenty she asses, and ten of their foals.

16 And he sent them by the hands of his servants, every drove by itself, and he said to his servants: Go before me, and let there be a space between drove and drove.

17 And he commanded the first, saying: If thou meet my brother Esau, and he ask thee: Whose art thou? or whither goest thou? or whose are these before thee?

18 Thou shalt answer: Thy servant Jacob's: he hath sent them as a present to my lord Esau: and he cometh after us.

19 In like manner he commanded the second and the third, and all that followed the droves, saying: Speak ye the same words to Esau, when ye find him.

20 And ye shall add: Thy servant Jacob himself also followeth after us: for he said: I will appease him with the presents that go before, and afterwards I will see him, perhaps he will be gracious to me.

21 So the presents went before him, but himself lodged that night in the camp.

22 And rising early he took his two wives, and his two handmaids, with his eleven sons, and passed over the ford of Jaboc.

23 And when all things were brought over that belonged to him,

24 He remained alone: and behold a man wrestled with him till morning.

25 And when he saw that he could not overcome him, he touched the sinew of his thigh, and forthwith it shrank.

26 And he said to him: Let me go, for it is break of day. He answered: I will not let thee go except thou bless me.

27 And he said: What is thy name? He answered: Jacob.

28 But he said: Thy name shall not be called Jacob, but Israel: for if thou hast been strong against God, how much more shalt thou prevail against men?

29 Jacob asked him, Tell me by what name art thou called? He answered: Why dost thou ask my name? And he blessed him in the same place.

30 And Jacob called the name of the place Phanuel, saying: I have seen God face to face, and my soul has been saved.

31 And immediately the sun rose upon him, after he was past Phanuel; but he halted on his foot.

32 Therefore the children of Israel, unto this day, eat not the sinew, that shrank in Jacob's thigh: because he touched the sinew of his thigh and it shrank.

33 And Jacob lifting up his eyes, saw Esau coming, and with him four hundred men: and he divided the children of Lia, and of Rachel, and of the two handmaids:

And he put both the handmaids and their children foremost: and Lia and her children in the second place: and Rachel and Joseph last.

And he went forward and bowed down with his face to the ground seven times until his brother came near.

Then Esau ran to meet his brother, and embraced him: and clasping him fast about the neck, and kissing him, wept.

And lifting up his eyes, he saw the women and their children, and said: What mean these? And do they belong to thee? He answered: They are the children which God hath given to me thy servant.

Then the handmaids and their children came near, and bowed themselves.

Lia also with her children came near, and bowed down in like manner, and last of all Joseph and Rachel bowed down.

And Esau said: What are the droves that I met? He answered: That I might find favour before my lord.

But he said: I have plenty, my brother, keep what is thine for thyself.

10 And Jacob said: Do not so I beseech thee, but if I have found favour in thy eyes, receive a little present at my hands: for I have seen thy face, as if I should have seen the countenance of God: be gracious to me,

11 And take the blessing, which I have brought thee, and which God hath given me, who giveth all things. He took it with much ado at his brother's earnest pressing him,

12 And said: Let us go on together, and I will accompany thee in thy journey.

13 And Jacob said: My lord, thou knowest that I have with me tender children, and sheep, and kine with young: which if I should cause to be overdriven, in one day all the flocks will die.

14 May it please my lord to go before his servant: and I will follow softly after him, as I shall see my children to be able, until I come to my lord in Seir.

15 Esau answered: I beseech thee, that some of the people at least, who are with me, may stay to accompany thee in the way. And he said: There is no necessity: I want nothing else but only to find favour, my lord, in thy sight.

16 So Esau returned, that day, the way that he came, to Seir.

17 And Jacob came to Socoth: where having built a house, and pitched tents, he called the name of the place Socoth, that is, Tents.

18 And he passed over to Salem, a city of the Sichemites, which is in the land of Chanaan, after he returned from Mesopotamia of Syria: and he dwelt by the town:

19 And he bought that part of the field, in which he pitched his tents, of the children of Hemor, the father of Sichem for a hundred lambs.

20 And raising an altar there, he invoked upon it the most mighty God of Israel.

34 And Dina the daughter of Lia went out to see the women of that country.

And when Sichem the son of Hemor the Hevite, the prince of that land, saw her, he was in love with her: and took her away, and lay with her, ravishing the virgin.

And his soul was fast knit unto her, and whereas she was sad, he comforted her with sweet words.

And going to Hemor his father, he said: Get me this damsel to wife.

But when Jacob had heard this, his sons being absent, and employed in feeding the cattle, he held his peace till they came back.

And when Hemor the father of Sichem was come out to speak to Jacob,

Behold his sons came from the field: and hearing what had passed, they were exceeding angry, because he had done a foul thing in Israel, and committed an unlawful act, in ravishing Jacob's daughter,

And Hemor spoke to them: The soul of my son Sichem has a longing for your daughter: give her him to wife:

And let us contract marriages one with another: give us your daughters and take you our daughters,

10 And dwell with us: the land is at your command, till, trade, and possess it.

11 Sichem also said to her father and to her brethren: Let me find favour in your sight: and whatsoever you shall appoint I will give.

12 Raise the dowry, and ask gifts, and I will gladly give what you shall demand: only give me this damsel to wife.

13 The sons of Jacob answered Sichem and his father deceitfully, being enraged at the deflowering of their sister:

14 We cannot do what you demand, nor give our sister to one that is uncircumcised, which with us is unlawful and abominable.

15 But in this we may be allied with you, if you will be like us, and all the male sex among you be circumcised:

16 Then will we mutually give and take your daughters, and ours: and we will dwell with you, and will be one people:

17 But if you will not be circumcised, we will take our daughter and depart:

18 Their offer pleased Hemor, and Sichem his son:

19 And the young man made no delay, but forthwith fulfilled what was required, for he loved the damsel exceedingly, and he was the greatest man in all his father's house.

20 And going into the gate of the city they spoke to the people:

21 These men are peaceable and willing to dwell with us: let them trade in the land, and till it, which being large and wide wanteth men to till it: we shall take their daughters for wives, and we will give them ours.

22 One thing there is for which so great a good is deferred: We must circumcise every male among us, following the manner of the nation.

23 And their substance, and cattle, and all that they possess, shall be ours: only in this let us condescend, and by dwelling together, we shall make one people.

24 And they all agreed, and circumcised all the males.

25 And behold the third day, when the pain of the wound was greatest, two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, the brothers of Dina, taking their swords, entered boldly into the city, and slew all the men:

26 And they killed also Hemor and Sichem, and took away their sister Dina, out of Sichem's house.

27 And when they were gone out, the other sons of Jacob came upon the slain; and plundered the city in revenge of the rape.

28 And they took their sheep and their herds and their asses, wasting all they had in their houses and in the fields.

29 And their children and wives they took captive,

30 And when they had boldly perpetrated these things, Jacob said to Simeon and Levi: You have troubled me, and made me hateful to the Chanaanites and Pherezites, the inhabitants of this land: we are few: they will gather themselves together and kill me; and both I, and my house, shall be destroyed.

31 They answered: Should they abuse our sister as a strumpet?

35 In the meantime God said to Jacob: Arise, and go up to Bethel, and dwell there, and make there an altar to God, who appeared to thee when thou didst flee from Esau thy brother.

And Jacob having called together all his household, said: Cast away the strange gods that are among you, and be cleansed and change your garments.

Arise, and let us go up to Bethel, that we may make there an altar to God: who heard me in the day of my affliction, and accompanied me in my journey.

So they gave him all the strange gods they had, and the earrings which were in their ears: and he buried them under the turpentine tree, that is behind the city of Sichem.

And when they were departed, the terror of God fell upon all the cities round about, and they durst not pursue after them as they went away.

And Jacob came to Luza, which is in the land of Chanaan, surnamed Bethel: he and all the people that were with him.

And he built there an altar, and called the name of that place, The house of God: for there God appeared to him when he fled from his brother.

At the same time Debora the nurse of Rebecca died, and was buried at the foot of Bethel under an oak: and the name of that place was called, The oak of weeping.

And God appeared again to Jacob, after he returned from Mesopotamia of Syria, and he blessed him,

10 Saying: Thou shalt not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name. And he called him Israel.

11 And said to him: I am God Almighty, increase thou and be multiplied. Nations and peoples of nations shall be from thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins.

12 And the land which I gave to Abraham and Isaac, I will give to thee, and to thy seed after thee.

13 And he departed from him.

14 But he set up a monument of stone, in the place where God had spoken to him: pouring drink offerings upon it, and pouring oil thereon:

15 And calling the name of that place Bethel.

16 And going forth from thence, he came in the springtime to the land which leadeth to Ephrata: wherein when Rachel was in travail,

17 By reason of her hard labour she began to be in danger, and the midwife said to her: Fear not, for thou shalt have this son also.

18 And when her soul was departing for pain, and death was now at hand, she called the name of her son Benoni, that is, The son of my pain: but his father called him Benjamin, that is, The son of the right hand.

19 So Rachel died, and was buried in the highway that leadeth to Ephrata, this is Bethlehem.

20 And Jacob erected a pillar over her sepulchre: this is the pillar of Rachel's monument, to this day.

21 Departing thence, he pitched his tent beyond the Flock tower.

22 And when he dwelt in that country, Ruben went, and slept with Bala, the concubine of his father: which he was not ignorant of. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve.

23 The sons of Lia: Ruben the firstborn, and Simeon, and Levi, and Juda, and Issachar, and Zabulon.

24 The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin.

25 The sons of Bala, Rachel's handmaid: Dan and Nephtali.

26 The sons of Zelpha, Lia's handmaid: Gad and Aser: these are the sons of Jacob, that were born to him in Mesopotamia of Syria.

27 And he came to Isaac his father in Mambre, the city of Arbee, this is Hebron: wherein Abraham and Isaac sojourned.

28 And the days of Isaac were a hundred and eighty years.

29 And being spent with age he died, and was gathered to his people, being old and full of days: and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

36 And these are the generations of Esau, the same is Edom.

Esau took wives of the daughters of Chanaan: Ada the daughter of Elon the Hethite, and Oolibama the daughter of Ana, the daughter of Sebeon the Hevite:

And Basemath the daughter of Ismael, sister of Nabajoth.

And Ada bore Eliphaz: Basemath bore Rahuel:

Oolibama bore Jehus and Ihelon and Core. These are the sons of Esau, that were born to him in the land of Chanaan.

And Esau took his wives and his sons and daughters, and every soul of his house, and his substance, and cattle, and all that he was able to acquire in the land of Chanaan: and went into another country, and departed from his brother Jacob.

For they were exceeding rich, and could not dwell together: neither was the land in which they sojourned able to bear them, for the multitude of their flocks.

And Esau dwelt in mount Seir: he is Edom.

And these are the generations of Esau the father of Edom in mount Seir,

10 And these the names of his sons: Eliphaz the son of Ada the wife of Esau: and Rahuel the son of Basemath his wife.

11 And Eliphaz had sons: Theman, Omar, Sepho, and Gatham, and Cenez.

12 And Thamna was the concubine of Eliphaz the son of Esau: and she bore him Amalech. These are the sons of Ada the wife of Esau.

13 And the sons of Rahuel were Nahath and Zara, Samma and Meza. These were the sons of Basemath the wife of Esau.

14 And these were the sons of Oolibama, the daughter of Ana, the daughter of Sebeon, the wife of Esau, whom she bore to him, Jehus, and Ihelon, and Core.

15 These were dukes of the sons of Esau: the sons of Eliphaz the firstborn of Esau: duke Theman, duke Omar, duke Sepho, duke Cenez,

16 Duke Core, duke Gatham, duke Amalech: these are the sons of Eliphaz, in the land of Edom, and these the sons of Ada.

17 And these were the sons of Rahuel, the son of Esau: duke Nahath, duke Zara, duke Samma, duke Meza. And these are the dukes of Rahuel, in the land of Edom: these the sons of Basemath the wife of Esau.

18 And these the sons of Oolibama the wife of Esau: duke Jehus, duke Ihelon, duke Core. These are the dukes of Oolibama, the daughter of Ana, and wife of Esau.

19 These are the sons of Esau, and these the dukes of them: the same is Edom.

20 These are the sons of Seir the Horrite, the inhabitants of the land: Lotan, and Sobal, and Sebeon, and Ana,

21 And Dison, and Eser, and Disan. These are dukes of the Horrites, the sons of Seir in the land of Edom.

22 And Lotan had sons: Hori and Heman. And the sister of Lotan was Thamna.

23 And these the sons of Sobal: Alvan and Manahat, and Ebal, and Sepho, and Oman.

24 And these the sons of Sebeon: Aia and Ana. This is Ana that found the hot waters in the wilderness, when he fed the asses of Sebeon his father:

25 And he had a son Dison, and a daughter Oolibama.

26 And these were the sons of Dison: Hamdan, and Eseban, and Jethram, and Charan.

27 These also were the sons of Eser: Balaan, and Zavan, and Acan.

28 And Disan had sons: Hus, and Aram.

29 These were dukes of the Horrites: duke Lotan, duke Sobal, duke Sebeon, duke Ana,

30 Duke Dison, duke Eser, duke Disan: these were dukes of the Horrites that ruled in the land of Seir.

31 And the kings that ruled in the land of Edom, before the children of Israel had a king were these:

32 Bela the son of Beor, and the name of his city Denaba.

33 And Bela died, and Jobab the son of Zara of Bosra reigned in his stead.

34 And when Jobab was dead, Husam of the land of the Themanites reigned in his stead.

35 And after his death, Adad the son of Badad reigned in his stead, who defeated the Madianites in the country of Moab: and the name of his city was Avith.

36 And when Adad was dead, there reigned in his stead, Semla of Masreca.

37 And he being dead, Saul of the river Rohoboth, reigned in his stead.

38 And when he also was dead, Balanan the son of Achobor succeeded to the kingdom.

39 This man also being dead, Adar reigned in his place, and the name of his city was Phau: and his wife was called Meetabel, the daughter of Matred, daughter of Mezaab.

40 And these are the names of the dukes of Esau in their kindreds, and places, and callings: duke Thamna, duke Alva, duke Jetheth,

41 Duke Oolibama, duke Ela, duke Phinon,

42 Duke Cenez, duke Theman, duke Mabsar,

43 Duke Magdiel, duke Hiram: these are the dukes of Edom dwelling in the land of their government; the same is Esau the father of the Edomites.

25 1-2 Abraham married a second time; his new wife was named Keturah. She gave birth to Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah.

Jokshan had Sheba and Dedan.

Dedan’s descendants were the Asshurim, the Letushim, and the Leummim.

Midian had Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah—all from the line of Keturah.

5-6 But Abraham gave everything he possessed to Isaac. While he was still living, he gave gifts to the sons he had by his concubines, but then sent them away to the country of the east, putting a good distance between them and his son Isaac.

7-11 Abraham lived 175 years. Then he took his final breath. He died happy at a ripe old age, full of years, and was buried with his family. His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite, next to Mamre. It was the field that Abraham had bought from the Hittites. Abraham was buried next to his wife Sarah. After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac. Isaac lived at Beer Lahai Roi.

The Family Tree of Ishmael

12 This is the family tree of Ishmael son of Abraham, the son that Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s maid, bore to Abraham.

13-16 These are the names of Ishmael’s sons in the order of their births: Nebaioth, Ishmael’s firstborn, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah—all the sons of Ishmael. Their settlements and encampments were named after them. Twelve princes with their twelve tribes.

17-18 Ishmael lived 137 years. When he breathed his last and died he was buried with his family. His children settled down all the way from Havilah near Egypt eastward to Shur in the direction of Assyria. The Ishmaelites didn’t get along with any of their kin.

Jacob and Esau

19-20 This is the family tree of Isaac son of Abraham: Abraham had Isaac. Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan Aram. She was the sister of Laban the Aramean.

21-23 Isaac prayed hard to God for his wife because she was barren. God answered his prayer and Rebekah became pregnant. But the children tumbled and kicked inside her so much that she said, “If this is the way it’s going to be, why go on living?” She went to God to find out what was going on. God told her,

Two nations are in your womb,
    two peoples butting heads while still in your body.
One people will overpower the other,
    and the older will serve the younger.

24-26 When her time to give birth came, sure enough, there were twins in her womb. The first came out reddish, as if snugly wrapped in a hairy blanket; they named him Esau (Hairy). His brother followed, his fist clutched tight to Esau’s heel; they named him Jacob (Heel). Isaac was sixty years old when they were born.

27-28 The boys grew up. Esau became an expert hunter, an outdoorsman. Jacob was a quiet man preferring life indoors among the tents. Isaac loved Esau because he loved his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

29-30 One day Jacob was cooking a stew. Esau came in from the field, starved. Esau said to Jacob, “Give me some of that red stew—I’m starved!” That’s how he came to be called Edom (Red).

31 Jacob said, “Make me a trade: my stew for your rights as the firstborn.”

32 Esau said, “I’m starving! What good is a birthright if I’m dead?”

33-34 Jacob said, “First, swear to me.” And he did it. On oath Esau traded away his rights as the firstborn. Jacob gave him bread and the stew of lentils. He ate and drank, got up and left. That’s how Esau shrugged off his rights as the firstborn.

* * *

26 There was a famine in the land, as bad as the famine during the time of Abraham. And Isaac went down to Abimelech, king of the Philistines, in Gerar.

2-5 God appeared to him and said, “Don’t go down to Egypt; stay where I tell you. Stay here in this land and I’ll be with you and bless you. I’m giving you and your children all these lands, fulfilling the oath that I swore to your father Abraham. I’ll make your descendants as many as the stars in the sky and give them all these lands. All the nations of the Earth will get a blessing for themselves through your descendants. And why? Because Abraham obeyed my summons and kept my charge—my commands, my guidelines, my teachings.”

So Isaac stayed put in Gerar.

The men of the place questioned him about his wife. He said, “She’s my sister.” He was afraid to say “She’s my wife.” He was thinking, “These men might kill me to get Rebekah, she’s so beautiful.”

8-9 One day, after they had been there quite a long time, Abimelech, king of the Philistines, looked out his window and saw Isaac fondling his wife Rebekah. Abimelech sent for Isaac and said, “So, she’s your wife. Why did you tell us ‘She’s my sister’?”

Isaac said, “Because I thought I might get killed by someone who wanted her.”

10 Abimelech said, “But think of what you might have done to us! Given a little more time, one of the men might have slept with your wife; you would have been responsible for bringing guilt down on us.”

11 Then Abimelech gave orders to his people: “Anyone who so much as lays a hand on this man or his wife dies.”

12-15 Isaac planted crops in that land and took in a huge harvest. God blessed him. The man got richer and richer by the day until he was very wealthy. He accumulated flocks and herds and many, many servants, so much so that the Philistines began to envy him. They got back at him by throwing dirt and debris into all the wells that his father’s servants had dug back in the days of his father Abraham, clogging up all the wells.

16 Finally, Abimelech told Isaac: “Leave. You’ve become far too big for us.”

17-18 So Isaac left. He camped in the valley of Gerar and settled down there. Isaac dug again the wells which were dug in the days of his father Abraham but had been clogged up by the Philistines after Abraham’s death. And he renamed them, using the original names his father had given them.

19-24 One day, as Isaac’s servants were digging in the valley, they came on a well of spring water. The shepherds of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s shepherds, claiming, “This water is ours.” So Isaac named the well Esek (Quarrel) because they quarreled over it. They dug another well and there was a difference over that one also, so he named it Sitnah (Accusation). He went on from there and dug yet another well. But there was no fighting over this one so he named it Rehoboth (Wide-Open Spaces), saying, “Now God has given us plenty of space to spread out in the land.” From there he went up to Beersheba. That very night God appeared to him and said,

I am the God of Abraham your father;
    don’t fear a thing because I’m with you.
I’ll bless you and make your children flourish
    because of Abraham my servant.

25 Isaac built an altar there and prayed, calling on God by name. He pitched his tent and his servants started digging another well.

26-27 Then Abimelech came to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath his advisor and Phicol the head of his troops. Isaac asked them, “Why did you come to me? You hate me; you threw me out of your country.”

28-29 They said, “We’ve realized that God is on your side. We’d like to make a deal between us—a covenant that we maintain friendly relations. We haven’t bothered you in the past; we treated you kindly and let you leave us in peace. So—God’s blessing be with you!”

30-31 Isaac laid out a feast and they ate and drank together. Early in the morning they exchanged oaths. Then Isaac said good-bye and they parted as friends.

32-33 Later that same day, Isaac’s servants came to him with news about the well they had been digging, “We’ve struck water!” Isaac named the well Sheba (Oath), and that’s the name of the city, Beersheba (Oath-Well), to this day.

* * *

34-35 When Esau was forty years old he married Judith, daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath, daughter of Elon the Hittite. They turned out to be thorns in the sides of Isaac and Rebekah.

* * *

27 When Isaac had become an old man and was nearly blind, he called his eldest son, Esau, and said, “My son.”

“Yes, Father?”

2-4 “I’m an old man,” he said; “I might die any day now. Do me a favor: Get your quiver of arrows and your bow and go out in the country and hunt me some game. Then fix me a hearty meal, the kind that you know I like, and bring it to me to eat so that I can give you my personal blessing before I die.”

5-7 Rebekah was eavesdropping as Isaac spoke to his son Esau. As soon as Esau had gone off to the country to hunt game for his father, Rebekah spoke to her son Jacob. “I just overheard your father talking with your brother, Esau. He said, ‘Bring me some game and fix me a hearty meal so that I can eat and bless you with God’s blessing before I die.’

8-10 “Now, my son, listen to me. Do what I tell you. Go to the flock and get me two young goats. Pick the best; I’ll prepare them into a hearty meal, the kind that your father loves. Then you’ll take it to your father, he’ll eat and bless you before he dies.”

11-12 “But Mother,” Jacob said, “my brother Esau is a hairy man and I have smooth skin. What happens if my father touches me? He’ll think I’m playing games with him. I’ll bring down a curse on myself instead of a blessing.”

13 “If it comes to that,” said his mother, “I’ll take the curse on myself. Now, just do what I say. Go and get the goats.”

14 So he went and got them and brought them to his mother and she cooked a hearty meal, the kind his father loved so much.

15-17 Rebekah took the dress-up clothes of her older son Esau and put them on her younger son Jacob. She took the goatskins and covered his hands and the smooth nape of his neck. Then she placed the hearty meal she had fixed and fresh bread she’d baked into the hands of her son Jacob.

18 He went to his father and said, “My father!”

“Yes?” he said. “Which son are you?”

19 Jacob answered his father, “I’m your firstborn son Esau. I did what you told me. Come now; sit up and eat of my game so you can give me your personal blessing.”

20 Isaac said, “So soon? How did you get it so quickly?”

“Because your God cleared the way for me.”

21 Isaac said, “Come close, son; let me touch you—are you really my son Esau?”

22-23 So Jacob moved close to his father Isaac. Isaac felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob’s voice but the hands are the hands of Esau.” He didn’t recognize him because his hands were hairy, like his brother Esau’s.

23-24 But as he was about to bless him he pressed him, “You’re sure? You are my son Esau?”

“Yes. I am.”

25 Isaac said, “Bring the food so I can eat of my son’s game and give you my personal blessing.” Jacob brought it to him and he ate. He also brought him wine and he drank.

26 Then Isaac said, “Come close, son, and kiss me.”

27-29 He came close and kissed him and Isaac smelled the smell of his clothes. Finally, he blessed him,

Ahhh. The smell of my son
    is like the smell of the open country
    blessed by God.
May God give you
    of Heaven’s dew
    and Earth’s bounty of grain and wine.
May peoples serve you
    and nations honor you.
You will master your brothers,
    and your mother’s sons will honor you.
Those who curse you will be cursed,
    those who bless you will be blessed.

30-31 And then right after Isaac had blessed Jacob and Jacob had left, Esau showed up from the hunt. He also had prepared a hearty meal. He came to his father and said, “Let my father get up and eat of his son’s game, that he may give me his personal blessing.”

32 His father Isaac said, “And who are you?”

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

33 Isaac started to tremble, shaking violently. He said, “Then who hunted game and brought it to me? I finished the meal just now, before you walked in. And I blessed him—he’s blessed for good!”

34 Esau, hearing his father’s words, sobbed violently and most bitterly, and cried to his father, “My father! Can’t you also bless me?”

35 “Your brother,” he said, “came here falsely and took your blessing.”

36 Esau said, “Not for nothing was he named Jacob, the Heel. Twice now he’s tricked me: first he took my birthright and now he’s taken my blessing.”

He begged, “Haven’t you kept back any blessing for me?”

37 Isaac answered Esau, “I’ve made him your master, and all his brothers his servants, and lavished grain and wine on him. I’ve given it all away. What’s left for you, my son?”

38 “But don’t you have just one blessing for me, Father? Oh, bless me my father! Bless me!” Esau sobbed inconsolably.

39-40 Isaac said to him,

You’ll live far from Earth’s bounty,
    remote from Heaven’s dew.
You’ll live by your sword, hand-to-mouth,
    and you’ll serve your brother.
But when you can’t take it any more
    you’ll break loose and run free.

41 Esau seethed in anger against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him; he brooded, “The time for mourning my father’s death is close. And then I’ll kill my brother Jacob.”

42-45 When these words of her older son Esau were reported to Rebekah, she called her younger son Jacob and said, “Your brother Esau is plotting vengeance against you. He’s going to kill you. Son, listen to me. Get out of here. Run for your life to Haran, to my brother Laban. Live with him for a while until your brother cools down, until his anger subsides and he forgets what you did to him. I’ll then send for you and bring you back. Why should I lose both of you the same day?”

46 Rebekah spoke to Isaac, “I’m sick to death of these Hittite women. If Jacob also marries a native Hittite woman, why live?”

28 1-2 So Isaac called in Jacob and blessed him. Then he ordered him, “Don’t take a Canaanite wife. Leave at once. Go to Paddan Aram to the family of your mother’s father, Bethuel. Get a wife for yourself from the daughters of your uncle Laban.

3-4 “And may The Strong God bless you and give you many, many children, a congregation of peoples; and pass on the blessing of Abraham to you and your descendants so that you will get this land in which you live, this land God gave Abraham.”

So Isaac sent Jacob off. He went to Paddan Aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah who was the mother of Jacob and Esau.

6-9 Esau learned that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him to Paddan Aram to get a wife there, and while blessing him commanded, “Don’t marry a Canaanite woman,” and that Jacob had obeyed his parents and gone to Paddan Aram. When Esau realized how deeply his father Isaac disliked the Canaanite women, he went to Ishmael and married Mahalath the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son. This was in addition to the wives he already had.

* * *

10-12 Jacob left Beersheba and went to Haran. He came to a certain place and camped for the night since the sun had set. He took one of the stones there, set it under his head and lay down to sleep. And he dreamed: A stairway was set on the ground and it reached all the way to the sky; angels of God were going up and going down on it.

13-15 Then God was right before him, saying, “I am God, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. I’m giving the ground on which you are sleeping to you and to your descendants. Your descendants will be as the dust of the Earth; they’ll stretch from west to east and from north to south. All the families of the Earth will bless themselves in you and your descendants. Yes. I’ll stay with you, I’ll protect you wherever you go, and I’ll bring you back to this very ground. I’ll stick with you until I’ve done everything I promised you.”

16-17 Jacob woke up from his sleep. He said, “God is in this place—truly. And I didn’t even know it!” He was terrified. He whispered in awe, “Incredible. Wonderful. Holy. This is God’s House. This is the Gate of Heaven.”

18-19 Jacob was up first thing in the morning. He took the stone he had used for his pillow and stood it up as a memorial pillar and poured oil over it. He christened the place Bethel (God’s House). The name of the town had been Luz until then.

20-22 Jacob vowed a vow: “If God stands by me and protects me on this journey on which I’m setting out, keeps me in food and clothing, and brings me back in one piece to my father’s house, this God will be my God. This stone that I have set up as a memorial pillar will mark this as a place where God lives. And everything you give me, I’ll return a tenth to you.”

* * *

29 1-3 Jacob set out again on his way to the people of the east. He noticed a well out in an open field with three flocks of sheep bedded down around it. This was the common well from which the flocks were watered. The stone over the mouth of the well was huge. When all the flocks were gathered, the shepherds would roll the stone from the well and water the sheep; then they would return the stone, covering the well.

Jacob said, “Hello friends. Where are you from?”

They said, “We’re from Haran.”

Jacob asked, “Do you know Laban son of Nahor?”

“We do.”

“Are things well with him?” Jacob continued.

“Very well,” they said. “And here is his daughter Rachel coming with the flock.”

Jacob said, “There’s a lot of daylight still left; it isn’t time to round up the sheep yet, is it? So why not water the flocks and go back to grazing?”

“We can’t,” they said. “Not until all the shepherds get here. It takes all of us to roll the stone from the well. Not until then can we water the flocks.”

9-13 While Jacob was in conversation with them, Rachel came up with her father’s sheep. She was the shepherd. The moment Jacob spotted Rachel, daughter of Laban his mother’s brother, saw her arriving with his uncle Laban’s sheep, he went and single-handedly rolled the stone from the mouth of the well and watered the sheep of his uncle Laban. Then he kissed Rachel and broke into tears. He told Rachel that he was related to her father, that he was Rebekah’s son. She ran and told her father. When Laban heard the news—Jacob, his sister’s son!—he ran out to meet him, embraced and kissed him and brought him home. Jacob told Laban the story of everything that had happened.

14-15 Laban said, “You’re family! My flesh and blood!”

When Jacob had been with him for a month, Laban said, “Just because you’re my nephew, you shouldn’t work for me for nothing. Tell me what you want to be paid. What’s a fair wage?”

16-18 Now Laban had two daughters; Leah was the older and Rachel the younger. Leah had nice eyes, but Rachel was stunningly beautiful. And it was Rachel that Jacob loved.

So Jacob answered, “I will work for you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.”

19 “It is far better,” said Laban, “that I give her to you than marry her to some outsider. Yes. Stay here with me.”

20 So Jacob worked seven years for Rachel. But it only seemed like a few days, he loved her so much.

21-24 Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife; I’ve completed what we agreed I’d do. I’m ready to consummate my marriage.” Laban invited everyone around and threw a big feast. At evening, though, he got his daughter Leah and brought her to the marriage bed, and Jacob slept with her. (Laban gave his maid Zilpah to his daughter Leah as her maid.)

25 Morning came: There was Leah in the marriage bed!

Jacob confronted Laban, “What have you done to me? Didn’t I work all this time for the hand of Rachel? Why did you cheat me?”

26-27 “We don’t do it that way in our country,” said Laban. “We don’t marry off the younger daughter before the older. Enjoy your week of honeymoon, and then we’ll give you the other one also. But it will cost you another seven years of work.”

28-30 Jacob agreed. When he’d completed the honeymoon week, Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. (Laban gave his maid Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her maid.) Jacob then slept with her. And he loved Rachel more than Leah. He worked for Laban another seven years.

31-32 When God realized that Leah was unloved, he opened her womb. But Rachel was barren. Leah became pregnant and had a son. She named him Reuben (Look-It’s-a-Boy!). “This is a sign,” she said, “that God has seen my misery; and a sign that now my husband will love me.”

33-35 She became pregnant again and had another son. “God heard,” she said, “that I was unloved and so he gave me this son also.” She named this one Simeon (God-Heard). She became pregnant yet again—another son. She said, “Now maybe my husband will connect with me—I’ve given him three sons!” That’s why she named him Levi (Connect). She became pregnant a final time and had a fourth son. She said, “This time I’ll praise God.” So she named him Judah (Praise-God). Then she stopped having children.

* * *

30 When Rachel realized that she wasn’t having any children for Jacob, she became jealous of her sister. She told Jacob, “Give me sons or I’ll die!”

Jacob got angry with Rachel and said, “Am I God? Am I the one who refused you babies?”

3-5 Rachel said, “Here’s my maid Bilhah. Sleep with her. Let her substitute for me so I can have a child through her and build a family.” So she gave him her maid Bilhah for a wife and Jacob slept with her. Bilhah became pregnant and gave Jacob a son.

6-8 Rachel said, “God took my side and vindicated me. He listened to me and gave me a son.” She named him Dan (Vindication). Rachel’s maid Bilhah became pregnant again and gave Jacob a second son. Rachel said, “I’ve been in an all-out fight with my sister—and I’ve won.” So she named him Naphtali (Fight).

9-13 When Leah saw that she wasn’t having any more children, she gave her maid Zilpah to Jacob for a wife. Zilpah had a son for Jacob. Leah said, “How fortunate!” and she named him Gad (Lucky). When Leah’s maid Zilpah had a second son for Jacob, Leah said, “A happy day! The women will congratulate me in my happiness.” So she named him Asher (Happy).

14 One day during the wheat harvest Reuben found some mandrakes in the field and brought them home to his mother Leah. Rachel asked Leah, “Could I please have some of your son’s mandrakes?”

15 Leah said, “Wasn’t it enough that you got my husband away from me? And now you also want my son’s mandrakes?”

Rachel said, “All right. I’ll let him sleep with you tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.”

16-21 When Jacob came home that evening from the fields, Leah was there to meet him: “Sleep with me tonight; I’ve bartered my son’s mandrakes for a night with you.” So he slept with her that night. God listened to Leah; she became pregnant and gave Jacob a fifth son. She said, “God rewarded me for giving my maid to my husband.” She named him Issachar (Bartered). Leah became pregnant yet again and gave Jacob a sixth son, saying, “God has given me a great gift. This time my husband will honor me with gifts—I’ve given him six sons!” She named him Zebulun (Honor). Last of all she had a daughter and named her Dinah.

22-24 And then God remembered Rachel. God listened to her and opened her womb. She became pregnant and had a son. She said, “God has taken away my humiliation.” She named him Joseph (Add), praying, “May God add yet another son to me.”

* * *

25-26 After Rachel had had Joseph, Jacob spoke to Laban, “Let me go back home. Give me my wives and children for whom I’ve served you. You know how hard I’ve worked for you.”

27-28 Laban said, “If you please, I have learned through divine inquiry that God has blessed me because of you.” He went on, “So name your wages. I’ll pay you.”

29-30 Jacob replied, “You know well what my work has meant to you and how your livestock has flourished under my care. The little you had when I arrived has increased greatly; everything I did resulted in blessings for you. Isn’t it about time that I do something for my own family?”

31-33 “So, what should I pay you?”

Jacob said, “You don’t have to pay me a thing. But how about this? I will go back to pasture and care for your flocks. Go through your entire flock today and take out every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb, every spotted or speckled goat. They will be my wages. That way you can check on my honesty when you assess my wages. If you find any goat that’s not speckled or spotted or a sheep that’s not black, you will know that I stole it.”

34 “Fair enough,” said Laban. “It’s a deal.”

35-36 But that very day Laban removed all the mottled and spotted billy goats and all the speckled and spotted nanny goats, every animal that had even a touch of white on it plus all the black sheep and placed them under the care of his sons. Then he put a three-day journey between himself and Jacob. Meanwhile Jacob went on tending what was left of Laban’s flock.

37-42 But Jacob got fresh branches from poplar, almond, and plane trees and peeled the bark, leaving white stripes on them. He stuck the peeled branches in front of the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink. When the flocks were in heat, they came to drink and mated in front of the streaked branches. Then they gave birth to young that were streaked or spotted or speckled. Jacob placed the ewes before the dark-colored animals of Laban. That way he got distinctive flocks for himself which he didn’t mix with Laban’s flocks. And when the sturdier animals were mating, Jacob placed branches at the troughs in view of the animals so that they mated in front of the branches. But he wouldn’t set up the branches before the feebler animals. That way the feeble animals went to Laban and the sturdy ones to Jacob.

43 The man got richer and richer, acquiring huge flocks, lots and lots of servants, not to mention camels and donkeys.

31 1-2 Jacob learned that Laban’s sons were talking behind his back: “Jacob has used our father’s wealth to make himself rich at our father’s expense.” At the same time, Jacob noticed that Laban had changed toward him. He wasn’t treating him the same.

That’s when God said to Jacob, “Go back home where you were born. I’ll go with you.”

4-9 So Jacob sent word for Rachel and Leah to meet him out in the field where his flocks were. He said, “I notice that your father has changed toward me; he doesn’t treat me the same as before. But the God of my father hasn’t changed; he’s still with me. You know how hard I’ve worked for your father. Still, your father has cheated me over and over, changing my wages time and again. But God never let him really hurt me. If he said, ‘Your wages will consist of speckled animals’ the whole flock would start having speckled lambs and kids. And if he said, ‘From now on your wages will be streaked animals’ the whole flock would have streaked ones. Over and over God used your father’s livestock to reward me.

10-11 “Once, while the flocks were mating, I had a dream and saw the billy goats, all of them streaked, speckled, and mottled, mounting their mates. In the dream an angel of God called out to me, ‘Jacob!’

“I said, ‘Yes?’

12-13 “He said, ‘Watch closely. Notice that all the goats in the flock that are mating are streaked, speckled, and mottled. I know what Laban’s been doing to you. I’m the God of Bethel where you consecrated a pillar and made a vow to me. Now be on your way, get out of this place, go home to your birthplace.’”

14-16 Rachel and Leah said, “Has he treated us any better? Aren’t we treated worse than outsiders? All he wanted was the money he got from selling us, and he’s spent all that. Any wealth that God has seen fit to return to us from our father is justly ours and our children’s. Go ahead. Do what God told you.”

17-18 Jacob did it. He put his children and his wives on camels and gathered all his livestock and everything he had gotten, everything acquired in Paddan Aram, to go back home to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan.

19-21 Laban was off shearing sheep. Rachel stole her father’s household gods. And Jacob had concealed his plans so well that Laban the Aramean had no idea what was going on—he was totally in the dark. Jacob got away with everything he had and was soon across the Euphrates headed for the hill country of Gilead.

22-24 Three days later, Laban got the news: “Jacob’s run off.” Laban rounded up his relatives and chased after him. Seven days later they caught up with him in the hill country of Gilead. That night God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream and said, “Be careful what you do to Jacob, whether good or bad.”

25 When Laban reached him, Jacob’s tents were pitched in the Gilead mountains; Laban pitched his tents there, too.

26-30 “What do you mean,” said Laban, “by keeping me in the dark and sneaking off, hauling my daughters off like prisoners of war? Why did you run off like a thief in the night? Why didn’t you tell me? Why, I would have sent you off with a great celebration—music, timbrels, flutes! But you wouldn’t permit me so much as a kiss for my daughters and grandchildren. It was a stupid thing for you to do. If I had a mind to, I could destroy you right now, but the God of your father spoke to me last night, ‘Be careful what you do to Jacob, whether good or bad.’ I understand. You left because you were homesick. But why did you steal my household gods?”

31-32 Jacob answered Laban, “I was afraid. I thought you would take your daughters away from me by brute force. But as far as your gods are concerned, if you find that anybody here has them, that person dies. With all of us watching, look around. If you find anything here that belongs to you, take it.” Jacob didn’t know that Rachel had stolen the gods.

33-35 Laban went through Jacob’s tent, Leah’s tent, and the tents of the two maids but didn’t find them. He went from Leah’s tent to Rachel’s. But Rachel had taken the household gods, put them inside a camel cushion, and was sitting on them. When Laban had gone through the tent, searching high and low without finding a thing, Rachel said to her father, “Don’t think I’m being disrespectful, my master, that I can’t stand before you, but I’m having my period.” So even though he turned the place upside down in his search, he didn’t find the household gods.

36-37 Now it was Jacob’s turn to get angry. He lit into Laban: “So what’s my crime, what wrong have I done you that you badger me like this? You’ve ransacked the place. Have you turned up a single thing that’s yours? Let’s see it—display the evidence. Our two families can be the jury and decide between us.

38-42 “In the twenty years I’ve worked for you, ewes and she-goats never miscarried. I never feasted on the rams from your flock. I never brought you a torn carcass killed by wild animals but that I paid for it out of my own pocket—actually, you made me pay whether it was my fault or not. I was out in all kinds of weather, from torrid heat to freezing cold, putting in many a sleepless night. For twenty years I’ve done this: I slaved away fourteen years for your two daughters and another six years for your flock and you changed my wages ten times. If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not stuck with me, you would have sent me off penniless. But God saw the fix I was in and how hard I had worked and last night rendered his verdict.”

43-44 Laban defended himself: “The daughters are my daughters, the children are my children, the flock is my flock—everything you see is mine. But what can I do about my daughters or for the children they’ve had? So let’s settle things between us, make a covenant—God will be the witness between us.”

45 Jacob took a stone and set it upright as a pillar.

46-47 Jacob called his family around, “Get stones!” They gathered stones and heaped them up and then ate there beside the pile of stones. Laban named it in Aramaic, Yegar-sahadutha (Witness Monument); Jacob echoed the naming in Hebrew, Galeed (Witness Monument).

48-50 Laban said, “This monument of stones will be a witness, beginning now, between you and me.” (That’s why it is called Galeed—Witness Monument.) It is also called Mizpah (Watchtower) because Laban said, “God keep watch between you and me when we are out of each other’s sight. If you mistreat my daughters or take other wives when there’s no one around to see you, God will see you and stand witness between us.”

51-53 Laban continued to Jacob, “This monument of stones and this stone pillar that I have set up is a witness, a witness that I won’t cross this line to hurt you and you won’t cross this line to hurt me. The God of Abraham and the God of Nahor (the God of their ancestor) will keep things straight between us.”

53-55 Jacob promised, swearing by the Fear, the God of his father Isaac. Then Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain and worshiped, calling in all his family members to the meal. They ate and slept that night on the mountain. Laban got up early the next morning, kissed his grandchildren and his daughters, blessed them, and then set off for home.

32 1-2 And Jacob went his way. Angels of God met him. When Jacob saw them he said, “Oh! God’s Camp!” And he named the place Mahanaim (Campground).

3-5 Then Jacob sent messengers on ahead to his brother Esau in the land of Seir in Edom. He instructed them: “Tell my master Esau this, ‘A message from your servant Jacob: I’ve been staying with Laban and couldn’t get away until now. I’ve acquired cattle and donkeys and sheep; also men and women servants. I’m telling you all this, my master, hoping for your approval.’”

The messengers came back to Jacob and said, “We talked to your brother Esau and he’s on his way to meet you. But he has four hundred men with him.”

7-8 Jacob was scared. Very scared. Panicked, he divided his people, sheep, cattle, and camels into two camps. He thought, “If Esau comes on the first camp and attacks it, the other camp has a chance to get away.”

9-12 And then Jacob prayed, “God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, God who told me, ‘Go back to your parents’ homeland and I’ll treat you well.’ I don’t deserve all the love and loyalty you’ve shown me. When I left here and crossed the Jordan I only had the clothes on my back, and now look at me—two camps! Save me, please, from the violence of my brother, my angry brother! I’m afraid he’ll come and attack us all, me, the mothers and the children. You yourself said, ‘I will treat you well; I’ll make your descendants like the sands of the sea, far too many to count.’”

13-16 He slept the night there. Then he prepared a present for his brother Esau from his possessions: two hundred female goats, twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, thirty camels with their nursing young, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. He put a servant in charge of each herd and said, “Go ahead of me and keep a healthy space between each herd.”

17-18 Then he instructed the first one out: “When my brother Esau comes close and asks, ‘Who is your master? Where are you going? Who owns these?’—answer him like this, ‘Your servant Jacob. They are a gift to my master Esau. He’s on his way.’”

19-20 He gave the same instructions to the second servant and to the third—to each in turn as they set out with their herds: “Say ‘Your servant Jacob is on his way behind us.’” He thought, “I will soften him up with the succession of gifts. Then when he sees me face-to-face, maybe he’ll be glad to welcome me.”

21 So his gifts went before him while he settled down for the night in the camp.

22-23 But during the night he got up and took his two wives, his two maidservants, and his eleven children and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. He got them safely across the brook along with all his possessions.

24-25 But Jacob stayed behind by himself, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When the man saw that he couldn’t get the best of Jacob as they wrestled, he deliberately threw Jacob’s hip out of joint.

26 The man said, “Let me go; it’s daybreak.”

Jacob said, “I’m not letting you go ’til you bless me.”

27 The man said, “What’s your name?”

He answered, “Jacob.”

28 The man said, “But no longer. Your name is no longer Jacob. From now on it’s Israel (God-Wrestler); you’ve wrestled with God and you’ve come through.”

29 Jacob asked, “And what’s your name?”

The man said, “Why do you want to know my name?” And then, right then and there, he blessed him.

30 Jacob named the place Peniel (God’s Face) because, he said, “I saw God face-to-face and lived to tell the story!”

31-32 The sun came up as he left Peniel, limping because of his hip. (This is why Israelites to this day don’t eat the hip muscle; because Jacob’s hip was thrown out of joint.)

33 1-4 Jacob looked up and saw Esau coming with his four hundred men. He divided the children between Leah and Rachel and the two maidservants. He put the maidservants out in front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph last. He led the way and, as he approached his brother, bowed seven times, honoring his brother. But Esau ran up and embraced him, held him tight and kissed him. And they both wept.

Then Esau looked around and saw the women and children: “And who are these with you?”

Jacob said, “The children that God saw fit to bless me with.”

6-7 Then the maidservants came up with their children and bowed; then Leah and her children, also bowing; and finally, Joseph and Rachel came up and bowed to Esau.

Esau then asked, “And what was the meaning of all those herds that I met?”

“I was hoping that they would pave the way for my master to welcome me.”

Esau said, “Oh, brother. I have plenty of everything—keep what is yours for yourself.”

10-11 Jacob said, “Please. If you can find it in your heart to welcome me, accept these gifts. When I saw your face, it was as the face of God smiling on me. Accept the gifts I have brought for you. God has been good to me and I have more than enough.” Jacob urged the gifts on him and Esau accepted.

12 Then Esau said, “Let’s start out on our way; I’ll take the lead.”

13-14 But Jacob said, “My master can see that the children are frail. And the flocks and herds are nursing, making for slow going. If I push them too hard, even for a day, I’d lose them all. So, master, you go on ahead of your servant, while I take it easy at the pace of my flocks and children. I’ll catch up with you in Seir.”

15 Esau said, “Let me at least lend you some of my men.”

“There’s no need,” said Jacob. “Your generous welcome is all I need or want.”

16 So Esau set out that day and made his way back to Seir.

17 And Jacob left for Succoth. He built a shelter for himself and sheds for his livestock. That’s how the place came to be called Succoth (Sheds).

18-20 And that’s how it happened that Jacob arrived all in one piece in Shechem in the land of Canaan—all the way from Paddan Aram. He camped near the city. He bought the land where he pitched his tent from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem. He paid a hundred silver coins for it. Then he built an altar there and named it El-Elohe-Israel (Mighty Is the God of Israel).

* * *

34 1-4 One day Dinah, the daughter Leah had given Jacob, went to visit some of the women in that country. Shechem, the son of Hamor the Hivite who was chieftain there, saw her and raped her. Then he felt a strong attraction to Dinah, Jacob’s daughter, fell in love with her, and wooed her. Shechem went to his father Hamor, “Get me this girl for my wife.”

5-7 Jacob heard that Shechem had raped his daughter Dinah, but his sons were out in the fields with the livestock so he didn’t say anything until they got home. Hamor, Shechem’s father, went to Jacob to work out marriage arrangements. Meanwhile Jacob’s sons on their way back from the fields heard what had happened. They were outraged, explosive with anger. Shechem’s rape of Jacob’s daughter was intolerable in Israel and not to be put up with.

8-10 Hamor spoke with Jacob and his sons, “My son Shechem is head over heels in love with your daughter—give her to him as his wife. Intermarry with us. Give your daughters to us and we’ll give our daughters to you. Live together with us as one family. Settle down among us and make yourselves at home. Prosper among us.”

11-12 Shechem then spoke for himself, addressing Dinah’s father and brothers: “Please, say yes. I’ll pay anything. Set the bridal price as high as you will—the sky’s the limit! Only give me this girl for my wife.”

13-17 Jacob’s sons answered Shechem and his father with cunning. Their sister, after all, had been raped. They said, “This is impossible. We could never give our sister to a man who was uncircumcised. Why, we’d be disgraced. The only condition on which we can talk business is if all your men become circumcised like us. Then we will freely exchange daughters in marriage and make ourselves at home among you and become one big, happy family. But if this is not an acceptable condition, we will take our sister and leave.”

18 That seemed fair enough to Hamor and his son Shechem.

19 The young man was so smitten with Jacob’s daughter that he proceeded to do what had been asked. He was also the most admired son in his father’s family.

20-23 So Hamor and his son Shechem went to the public square and spoke to the town council: “These men like us; they are our friends. Let them settle down here and make themselves at home; there’s plenty of room in the country for them. And, just think, we can even exchange our daughters in marriage. But these men will only accept our invitation to live with us and become one big family on one condition, that all our males become circumcised just as they themselves are. This is a very good deal for us—these people are very wealthy with great herds of livestock and we’re going to get our hands on it. So let’s do what they ask and have them settle down with us.”

24 Everyone who was anyone in the city agreed with Hamor and his son, Shechem; every male was circumcised.

25-29 Three days after the circumcision, while all the men were still very sore, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, each with his sword in hand, walked into the city as if they owned the place and murdered every man there. They also killed Hamor and his son Shechem, rescued Dinah from Shechem’s house, and left. When the rest of Jacob’s sons came on the scene of slaughter, they looted the entire city in retaliation for Dinah’s rape. Flocks, herds, donkeys, belongings—everything, whether in the city or the fields—they took. And then they took all the wives and children captive and ransacked their homes for anything valuable.

30 Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You’ve made my name repulsive to the people here, these Canaanites and Perizzites. If they decided to gang up on us and attack, as few as we are we wouldn’t stand a chance; they’d wipe me and my people right off the map.”

31 They said, “Nobody is going to treat our sister like a whore and get by with it.”

* * *

35 God spoke to Jacob: “Go back to Bethel. Stay there and build an altar to the God who revealed himself to you when you were running for your life from your brother Esau.”

2-3 Jacob told his family and all those who lived with him, “Throw out all the alien gods which you have, take a good bath and put on clean clothes, we’re going to Bethel. I’m going to build an altar there to the God who answered me when I was in trouble and has stuck with me everywhere I’ve gone since.”

4-5 They turned over to Jacob all the alien gods they’d been holding on to, along with their lucky-charm earrings. Jacob buried them under the oak tree in Shechem. Then they set out. A paralyzing fear descended on all the surrounding villages so that they were unable to pursue the sons of Jacob.

6-7 Jacob and his company arrived at Luz, that is, Bethel, in the land of Canaan. He built an altar there and named it El-Bethel (God-of-Bethel) because that’s where God revealed himself to him when he was running from his brother.

And that’s when Rebekah’s nurse, Deborah, died. She was buried just below Bethel under the oak tree. It was named Allon-Bacuth (Weeping-Oak).

9-10 God revealed himself once again to Jacob, after he had come back from Paddan Aram and blessed him: “Your name is Jacob (Heel); but that’s your name no longer. From now on your name is Israel (God-Wrestler).”

11-12 God continued,

I am The Strong God.
    Have children! Flourish!
A nation—a whole company of nations!—
    will come from you.
Kings will come from your loins;
    the land I gave Abraham and Isaac
I now give to you,
    and pass it on to your descendants.

13 And then God was gone, ascended from the place where he had spoken with him.

14-15 Jacob set up a stone pillar on the spot where God had spoken with him. He poured a drink offering on it and anointed it with oil. Jacob dedicated the place where God had spoken with him, Bethel (God’s-House).

* * *

16-17 They left Bethel. They were still quite a ways from Ephrath when Rachel went into labor—hard, hard labor. When her labor pains were at their worst, the midwife said to her, “Don’t be afraid—you have another boy.”

18 With her last breath, for she was now dying, she named him Ben-oni (Son-of-My-Pain), but his father named him Ben-jamin (Son-of-Good-Fortune).

19-20 Rachel died and was buried on the road to Ephrath, that is, Bethlehem. Jacob set up a pillar to mark her grave. It is still there today, “Rachel’s Grave Stone.”

* * *

21-22 Israel kept on his way and set up camp at Migdal Eder. While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went and slept with his father’s concubine, Bilhah. And Israel heard of what he did.

* * *

22-26 There were twelve sons of Jacob.

The sons by Leah:

Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn

Simeon

Levi

Judah

Issachar

Zebulun.

The sons by Rachel:

Joseph

Benjamin.

The sons by Bilhah, Rachel’s maid:

Dan

Naphtali.

The sons by Zilpah, Leah’s maid:

Gad

Asher.

These were Jacob’s sons, born to him in Paddan Aram.

* * *

27-29 Finally, Jacob made it back home to his father Isaac at Mamre in Kiriath Arba, present-day Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac had lived. Isaac was now 180 years old. Isaac breathed his last and died—an old man full of years. He was buried with his family by his sons Esau and Jacob.

* * *

36 This is the family tree of Esau, who is also called Edom.

2-3 Esau married women of Canaan: Adah, daughter of Elon the Hittite; Oholibamah, daughter of Anah and the granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite; and Basemath, daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth.

Adah gave Esau Eliphaz;

Basemath had Reuel;

Oholibamah had Jeush, Jalam, and Korah.

These are the sons of Esau who were born to him in the land of Canaan.

6-8 Esau gathered up his wives, sons and daughters, and everybody in his household, along with all his livestock—all the animals and possessions he had gotten in Canaan—and moved a considerable distance away from his brother Jacob. The brothers had too many possessions to live together in the same place; the land couldn’t support their combined herds of livestock. So Esau ended up settling in the hill country of Seir (Esau and Edom are the same).

9-10 So this is the family tree of Esau, ancestor of the people of Edom, in the hill country of Seir. The names of Esau’s sons:

Eliphaz, son of Esau’s wife Adah;

Reuel, son of Esau’s wife Basemath.

11-12 The sons of Eliphaz: Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz. (Eliphaz also had a concubine Timna, who had Amalek.) These are the grandsons of Esau’s wife Adah.

13 And these are the sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah—grandsons of Esau’s wife Basemath.

14 These are the sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah, daughter of Anah the son of Zibeon. She gave Esau his sons Jeush, Jalam, and Korah.

15-16 These are the chieftains in Esau’s family tree. From the sons of Eliphaz, Esau’s firstborn, came the chieftains Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, Korah, Gatam, and Amalek—the chieftains of Eliphaz in the land of Edom; all of them sons of Adah.

17 From the sons of Esau’s son Reuel came the chieftains Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These are the chieftains of Reuel in the land of Edom; all these were sons of Esau’s wife Basemath.

18 These are the sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah: the chieftains Jeush, Jalam, and Korah—chieftains born of Esau’s wife Oholibamah, daughter of Anah.

19 These are the sons of Esau, that is, Edom, and these are their chieftains.

20-21 This is the family tree of Seir the Horite, who were native to that land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These are the chieftains of the Horites, the sons of Seir in the land of Edom.

22 The sons of Lotan were Hori and Homam; Lotan’s sister was Timna.

23 The sons of Shobal were Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam.

24 The sons of Zibeon were Aiah and Anah—this is the same Anah who found the hot springs in the wilderness while herding his father Zibeon’s donkeys.

25 The children of Anah were Dishon and his daughter Oholibamah.

26 The sons of Dishon were Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Keran.

27 The sons of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan.

28 The sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran.

29-30 And these were the Horite chieftains: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan—the Horite chieftains clan by clan in the land of Seir.

31-39 And these are the kings who ruled in Edom before there was a king in Israel: Bela son of Beor was the king of Edom; the name of his city was Dinhabah. When Bela died, Jobab son of Zerah from Bozrah became the next king. When Jobab died, he was followed by Hushan from the land of the Temanites. When Hushan died, he was followed by Hadad son of Bedad; he was the king who defeated the Midianites in Moab; the name of his city was Avith. When Hadad died, Samlah of Masrekah became the next king. When Samlah died, Shaul from Rehoboth-on-the-River became king. When Shaul died, he was followed by Baal-Hanan son of Acbor. When Baal-Hanan son of Acbor died, Hadad became king; the name of his city was Pau; his wife’s name was Mehetabel daughter of Matred, daughter of Me-Zahab.

40-43 And these are the chieftains from the line of Esau, clan by clan, region by region: Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, Magdiel, and Iram—the chieftains of Edom as they occupied their various regions.

This accounts for the family tree of Esau, ancestor of all Edomites.