Beginning
Rededication at Beth-El
35 Then God said to Jacob, “Get up! Go up to Beth-El and stay there. Make an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.”
2 So Jacob said to his household and to everyone who was with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods that are among you. Cleanse yourselves and change your clothes. 3 Now let’s get up and go up to Beth-El so that I can make an altar there to God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and has been with me in the way that I have gone.”
4 So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods in their hand and the rings in their ears, and Jacob hid them under the oak tree near Shechem. 5 Then they journeyed, and the terror of God was on the cities that were around them, so they did not pursue Jacob’s sons. 6 Then Jacob arrived at Luz in the land of Canaan (that is Beth-El), he and all the people who were with him. 7 He built an altar there and called the place El-Beth-El because God had revealed Himself to him there when he fled from the presence of his brother.
8 Then Rebekah’s nurse Deborah died, and was buried below Beth-El, under the oak—so it was named Oak of Weeping.
9 God appeared to Jacob again, after he returned from Paddan-aram, and He blessed him. 10 God said to him:
“Your name was Jacob.
No longer will your name be Jacob, for your name will be Israel.”
So He named him Israel.
11 God also said to him:
“I am El Shaddai.
Be fruitful and multiply.
A nation and an assembly of nations will come from you.
From your loins will come forth kings.
12 The land that I gave to Abraham and to Isaac—
I give it to you, and to your seed after you
I will give the land.”
13 Then God went up from him at the place where He had spoken with him. 14 Jacob set up a memorial stone in the place where He had spoken with him—a stone pillar—and he poured a drink offering on it and poured oil on it. 15 Jacob named the place where God spoke with him Beth-El.
Rachel’s Death in Childbirth
16 Then they traveled from Beth-El, and while they were still a distance from entering Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth, but her labor was difficult. 17 While she was struggling to give birth, the midwife said to her, “Don’t be afraid, for this is also a son for you.” 18 Now as her soul was departing (for she died), she named him Ben-Oni, but his father named him Benjamin. 19 Then Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). 20 Jacob set up a memorial stone over her grave. (It is the memorial stone over Rachel’s grave to this day.)
Israel Returns to Isaac
21 Then Israel journeyed on and set up his tent beyond the tower of Eder. 22 While Israel was living in that land, Reuben went and slept with his father’s concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard about it.
Now Jacob had twelve sons. 23 Leah’s sons were Jacob’s firstborn Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun. 24 Rachel’s sons were Joseph and Benjamin. 25 The sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s female servant, were Dan and Naphtali, 26 and the sons of Zilpah, Leah’s female servant, were Gad and Asher. These are Jacob’s sons, who were born to him in Paddan-aram.
27 Then Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre of Kiriat-arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had stayed.
28 Now Isaac’s days were 180 years. 29 Then Isaac breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his peoples, old and full of days. So his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.
Esau Fathers the Edomites
36 Now these are the genealogies of Esau (that is, Edom). 2 Esau took his wives from the daughters of Canaan: Adah daughter of Elon the Hittite, Oholibamah daughter of Anah, daughter of Tzivion the Hivite, 3 and Basemath daughter of Ishmael, sister of Nebaioth. 4 Adah bore Eliphaz to Esau, Basemath bore Reuel, 5 and Oholibamah bore Jeush, Jalam and Korah. These were Esau’s sons, who were born to him in the land of Canaan.
6 Now Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters and all the people of his household, as well as his livestock, all his cattle, and all his possessions that he had acquired in the land of Canaan, and went to a land away from his brother Jacob. 7 For their possessions were too numerous for them to dwell together, and the land where they were residing was unable to support them because of their livestock. 8 So Esau lived in Mount Seir (Esau is Edom).
9 So these are the genealogies of Esau, the father of Edom in the hill country of Seir. 10 These are the names of Esau’s sons: Eliphaz son of Esau’s wife Adah and Reuel son of Esau’s wife Basemath. 11 The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam and Kenaz. 12 Now Timna was a concubine to Esau’s son Eliphaz, and she bore Amalek to Eliphaz. These are the sons of Esau’s wife Adah. 13 These are Reuel’s sons: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah and Mizzah. These were the sons of Esau’s wife Basemath. 14 These were the sons of Oholibamah, daughter of Anah, daughter of Esau’s wife Zibion—she bore to Esau Jeush, Jalam and Korah.
15 These are the chiefs from Esau’s sons. The sons of Eliphaz, Esau’s firstborn were chief Teman, chief Omar, chief Zepho, chief Kenaz, 16 chief Korah, chief Gatam, chief Amalek. These are the chiefs from Eliphaz in the land of Edom. These are the sons of Adah. 17 These are the sons of Esau’s son Reuel: chief Nahath, chief Zerah, chief Shammah, chief Mizzah. These are chiefs from Reuel in the land of Edom. These are the sons of Esau’s wife Basemath. 18 These are the sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah: chief Jeush, chief Jalam, chief Korah. These are the chiefs from Oholibamah, daughter of Esau’s wife Anah. 19 These are Esau’s sons, and these are their chiefs (that is, Edom).
20 These are the sons of Seir the Horite, the inhabitants of the land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 21 Dishon, Ezer and Dishan. These are the chiefs of the Horites, the sons of Seir in the land of Edom. 22 The sons of Lotan were Hori and Hemam. Lotan’s sister is Timna. 23 These are Shobal’s sons: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho and Onam. 24 These are Zibeon’s sons: Aiah and Anah (that is, the Anah who found the hot springs in the desert while he was pasturing the donkeys of his father Zibeon). 25 These are the children of Anah: Dishon and Oholibamah, Anah’s daughter. 26 These are Dishon’s sons: Hemdan, Eshban, Itran and Cheran. 27 These are Ezer’s sons: Bilhan, Zaavan and Akan. 28 These are Dishan’s sons: Uz and Aran. 29 These are the chiefs of the Horites: chief Lotan, chief Shobal, chief Tzivion, chief Anah, 30 chief Dishon, chief Ezer, chief Dishan—these are the chiefs of the Horites according to their chiefly divisions in the land of Seir.
31 Now these are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned over the sons of Israel. 32 Bela son of Beor reigned in Edom—the name of his city was Dinhabah. 33 When Bela died, Jobab son of Zerah from Bozrah reigned in his place. 34 When Jobab died, Husham from the land of the Temanites reigned in his place. 35 When Husham died, Haddad son of Bedad, who struck down the Midianites in the field of Moab, reigned in his place—the name of his city was Avit. 36 When Hadad died, Samlah from Masrekah reigned in his place. 37 When Samlah died, Shaul from Rehovot by the River reigned in his place. 38 When Shaul died, Baal-hanan son of Achbor reigned in his place. 39 When Baal-hanan son of Achbor died, Hadar reigned in his place—the name of his city is Pau, and his wife’s name is Mehetabel, daughter of Matred, daughter of Me-zehab.
40 Now these are the names of the chiefs from Esau according to their family divisions, according to their places, by their names: chief Timna, chief Alvah, chief Jetheth, 41 chief Oholibamah, chief Elah, chief Pinon, 42 chief Kenaz, chief Teman, chief Mibzar, 43 chief Magdiel, chief Iram. These are the chiefs of Edom according to their places of residence in the land of their possession. This is Esau, the father of Edom.
Parashat Vayeshev
Joseph, Favored Son
37 Now Jacob dwelled in the land where his father had sojourned, in the land of Canaan. 2 These are the genealogies of Jacob.
When Joseph was 17 years old (he was a youth), he was shepherding the flocks with his brothers—with the sons of his father’s wives Bilhah and Zilpah. Joseph brought back a bad report about them to their father.
3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his other sons because he was the son of his old age. So he had made him a long-sleeved tunic. 4 When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak to him in shalom.
5 Then Joseph dreamed a dream and told his brothers—and they hated him even more. 6 He said to them, “Please listen to this dream I dreamed. 7 There we were binding sheaves in the middle of the field. All of a sudden, my sheaf arose and stood upright. And behold, your sheaves gathered around and bowed down to my sheaf.”
8 “Will you truly be a king over us?” his brothers said to him. “Will you really rule over us?” So they hated him even more because of his dreams and because of his words.
9 But then he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers, saying, “I have just dreamed another dream. Suddenly, there was the sun and the moon and the eleven stars bowing down to me!” 10 He told it to his father as well as his brothers.
Then his father rebuked him and said to him, “What’s this dream you dreamed? Will we really come—your mother and I with your brothers—to bow down to the ground to you?” 11 So his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the speech in mind.
Joseph Betrayed
12 Then his brothers went to graze their father’s flocks at Shechem. 13 Israel said to Joseph, “Aren’t your brothers grazing the flocks in Shechem? Come, let me send you to them.”
“Here I am,” he said to him.
14 Then he said to him, “Go now, and check on the welfare of your brothers and the welfare of the flocks and bring word back to me.”
So he sent him from the valley of Hebron and he went to Shechem. 15 A man found him there, wandering in the field, and the man asked him, “What are you looking for?”
16 “I’m looking for my brothers,” he said. “Please tell me where they’re grazing.”
17 The man said, “They moved on from here. For I heard them saying, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.’” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them in Dothan.
18 Now they saw him from a distance. Before he was close to them they plotted together against him in order to kill him. 19 They said to one another, “Here comes the master of dreams! 20 Come on now! Let’s kill him and throw him into one of those pits, so we can say that an evil animal devoured him. Then let’s see what becomes of his dreams.”
21 But Reuben heard and rescued him out of their hands, saying, “We must not beat him to death.” 22 In order to rescue him from their hand and to return him to his father, Reuben said to them, “Don’t shed blood! Throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him!”
23 So as soon as Joseph came up to his brothers they stripped Joseph of his tunic (the long sleeved tunic that he had on). 24 Then they took him and threw him into the pit. (Now the pit was empty, with no water in it.)
25 Then they sat down to eat bread. When they looked up, behold, there was a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels carrying gum, balsam, and myrrh—going to bring them down to Egypt.
26 Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is there if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? Come on! 27 Let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites. Let’s not lay our hand on him—since he’s our brother, our own flesh.” His brothers listened to him. 28 When some men, Midianite merchants, passed by, they dragged Joseph up and out of the pit and they sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for 20 pieces of silver, and they brought Joseph to Egypt. 29 When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not in the pit, he tore his clothes. 30 Then he returned to his brothers and said, “The boy is gone! And I—where should I go?”
31 So they took Joseph’s tunic, slaughtered a billy goat, and they dipped the tunic into the blood. 32 Then they sent the long-sleeved tunic, and it was brought to their father, and they said, “We found this. Do you recognize whether or not it is your son’s tunic?”
33 He did recognize it and said, “My son’s tunic! An evil animal has devoured him! Joseph must be torn to pieces!” 34 Jacob tore his clothing and put on sackcloth and mourned for his son many days. 35 All his sons got up along with all his daughters to console him, but he refused to be comforted. He said, “For I will go down to Sheol to my son, mourning.” So his father kept weeping for him.
36 Meanwhile the Midianites sold him into Egypt, to Potiphar an official of Pharaoh, the commander of the bodyguards.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.