Bible in 90 Days

²⁰ And Jacob made a vow^[a] saying, “If God will be with me and protect me on this way that I am going, and gives me food to eat and clothing to wear, ²¹ and if I return in peace to the house of my father, then Yahweh will become my God. ²² And this stone that I have set up as a pillar shall be the house of God, and of all that you give to me I will certainly give a tenth to you.”

Jacob Flees to Haran

29 And Jacob continued his journey^[b] and went to the land of the Easterners.^{[c] 2} And he looked, and behold, there was a well in the field, and behold, there were three flocks of sheep lying beside it, for out of that well the flocks were watered. And the stone on the mouth of the well was large. ³ And when all the flocks were gathered there, they rolled away the stone from the mouth of the well. And they watered the sheep and returned the stone upon the mouth of the well to its place. ⁴ And Jacob said to them, “My brothers, where are you from?” And they said, “We are from Haran.” ⁵ And he said to them, “Do you know Laban, son of Nahor?” And they said, “We know him.” ⁶ And he said to them, “Is he well?”^[d] And they said, “He is well. Now look, Rachel his daughter is coming with the sheep.” ⁷ And he said, “Look, it is still broad daylight;^[e] it is not the time for the livestock to be gathered. Give water to the sheep and go, pasture them.” ⁸ And they said, “We are not able, until all the flocks are gathered. Then the stone is rolled away from the mouth of the well, and we water the sheep.” ⁹ While he was speaking with them, Rachel came with the sheep which belonged to her father, for she was pasturing them. ¹⁰ And it happened that, when Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of Laban, his mother’s brother, and the sheep of Laban, his mother’s brother, Jacob drew near and rolled away the stone from the mouth of the well and watered the sheep of Laban, his mother’s brother. ¹¹ And Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice and wept. ¹² And Jacob told Rachel that he was the relative of her father, and that he was the son of Rebekah. And she ran and told her father. ¹³ And it happened that when Laban heard the message about Jacob, the son of his sister, he ran to meet him. And he embraced him and kissed him, and brought him to his house. And he told Laban all these things. ¹⁴ And Laban said to him, “Surely you are my flesh and my bone!” And he stayed with him a month.

Jacob’s Marriages

¹⁵ Then Laban said to Jacob, “Just because you are my brother should you work for me for nothing? Tell me what your wage should be.” ¹⁶ Now Laban had two daughters. The name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. ¹⁷ Now the eyes of Leah were dull, but Rachel was beautiful in form and appearance. ¹⁸ And Jacob loved Rachel and said, “I will serve you seven years for Rachel your younger daughter.” ¹⁹ Then Laban said, “Better that I give her to you than I give her to another man. Stay with me.” ²⁰ And Jacob worked for Rachel seven years, but they were as a few days in his eyes because he loved her. ²¹ And Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife, that I may go in to her, for my time^[f] is completed.” ²² So Laban gathered all the men of the place and prepared a feast. ²³ And it happened that in the evening he took Leah his daughter and brought her to him, and he went in to her. ²⁴ And Laban gave Zilpah his female servant to her, to Leah his daughter as a female servant. ²⁵ And it happened that in the morning, behold, it was Leah! And he said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve with you for Rachel? Now why did you deceive me?” ²⁶ Then Laban said, “It is not the custom^[g] in our country to give the younger before the firstborn. ²⁷ Complete the week of this one,^[h] then I will also give you the other, on the condition that you will work for me^[i] another seven years.” ²⁸ And Jacob did so. So he completed the week of this one,^[j] then he gave Rachel his daughter to him as a wife. ²⁹ And Laban gave Bilhah his female servant to Rachel his daughter as a female servant. ³⁰ Then he also went in to Rachel, and he loved Rachel more than Leah. And he served with him yet another seven years.

Jacob’s Children

³¹ When Yahweh saw that Leah was unloved he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. ³² Then Leah conceived and gave birth to a son, and she called his name Reuben, for she said, “Because Yahweh has noticed my misery, that I am unloved. Now my husband will love me.” ³³ And she conceived again and gave birth to a son. And she said, “It is because Yahweh has heard that I am unloved that he gave me this son also.” And she called his name Simeon. ³⁴ And she conceived again and gave birth to a son. Then she said, “Now this time my husband will be joined to me, for I have borne him three sons.” Therefore, she called his name Levi. ³⁵ And she conceived again and gave birth to a son. And she said, “This time I will praise Yahweh.” Therefore she called his name Judah. And she ceased bearing children.

Jacob’s Children

30 When Rachel saw that she could not bear children to Jacob, Rachel envied her sister. And she said to Jacob, “Give me children—if not, I will die!” ² And Jacob became angry^[k] with Rachel. And he said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?” ³ Then she said, “Here is my servant girl Bilhah; go in to her that she may bear children as my surrogate.^[l] Then I will even have children^[m] by her.” ⁴ Then she gave him Bilhah, her female servant, as a wife, and Jacob went in to her ⁵ And Bilhah conceived and gave birth to a son for Jacob. ⁶ Then Rachel said, “God has judged me, and has also heard my voice, and has given me a son.” Therefore she called his name Dan. ⁷ And Bilhah, Rachel’s servant, conceived again and bore a second son to Jacob. ⁸ And Rachel said, “I have struggled a mighty struggle with my sister and have prevailed.” And she called his name Naphtali. ⁹ When Leah saw that she had ceased bearing children, she took Zilpah her female servant and gave her to Jacob as a wife. ¹⁰ And Zilpah, the female slave of Leah, bore a son to Jacob. ¹¹ Then Leah said, “Good fortune!” And she called his name Gad. ¹² And Zilpah, Leah’s female servant, bore a second son to Jacob. ¹³ Then Leah said, “How happy am I! For women have called me happy.” So she called his name Asher.

¹⁴ And in the days of the wheat harvest, Reuben went and found mandrakes in the field and he brought them to Leah his mother. And Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.” ¹⁵ And she said to her, “Is your taking my husband such a small thing that you will also take the mandrakes of my son?” Then Rachel said, “Then he may sleep with you tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.” ¹⁶ When Jacob came in from the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him. And she said, “Come in to me, for I have hired^[n] you with my son’s mandrakes.” And he slept with her that night. ¹⁷ And God listened to Leah and she conceived and gave birth to a fifth son for Jacob. ¹⁸ Then Leah said, “God has given me my wage since I gave my servant girl to my husband.” And she called his name Issachar. ¹⁹ And Leah conceived again and gave birth to a sixth son for Jacob. ²⁰ And Leah said, “God has endowed me with a good gift. This time my husband will acknowledge me, because I bore him six sons.” And she called his name Zebulun. ²¹ And afterward she gave birth to a daughter. And she called her name Dinah. ²² Then God remembered Rachel and listened to her, and God opened her womb. ²³ And she conceived and gave birth to a son. And she said, “God has taken away my disgrace.” ²⁴ And she called his name Joseph, saying, “Yahweh has added to me another son.”

Jacob’s Prosperity

²⁵ And it happened that as soon as Rachel had given birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me away that I may go to my place and my land. ²⁶ Give me my wives and my children for which I have served you, and let me go. For you yourself know my service that I have rendered to you.” ²⁷ But Laban said to him, “Please, if I have found favor in your eyes, I have learned by divination that Yahweh has blessed me because of you.” ²⁸ And he said, “Name your wage to me and I will give it.” ²⁹ Then he said to him, “You yourself know how I have served you and how your livestock have been with me.^{[o] 30} For you had little before me, and it has increased abundantly. And Yahweh has blessed you wherever I turned.^[p] So then, when shall I provide for my own family also?” ³¹ And he said, “What shall I give you?” And Jacob said, “Do not give me anything. If you will do this thing for me, I will again feed your flocks and keep them. ³² Let me pass through all your flocks today, removing all the speckled and spotted sheep from them, along with^[q] every dark-colored sheep among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats. That^[r] shall be my wages. ³³ And my righteousness will answer for me later^[s] when you come concerning my wages before you. Every one that is not speckled or spotted among the goats, or dark-colored among the sheep shall be stolen if it is with me.” ³⁴ Then Laban said, “Look! Very well. It shall be according to your word.” ³⁵ But that day he^[t] removed the streaked and spotted male goats and all the speckled and spotted female goats, all that had white on it, and every dark-colored ram, and put them in the charge of his sons.^{[u] 36} And he put a journey of three days between him and Jacob, and Jacob pastured the remainder of Laban’s flock. ³⁷ Then Jacob took fresh branches of poplar, almond, and plane trees and peeled white strips on them, exposing the white which was on the branches. ³⁸ And he set the branches that he had peeled in front of the flocks, in the troughs and in the water containers. And they were in heat when they came to drink. ³⁹ And the flocks mated by the branches, so the flocks bore streaked, speckled, and spotted. ⁴⁰ And Jacob separated the lambs and turned the faces of the flocks toward the streaked and all the dark-colored in Laban’s flocks. And he put his own herds apart, and did not put them with the flocks of Laban. ⁴¹ And whenever any of the stronger of the flocks were in heat, Jacob put the branches in full view^[v] of the flock in the troughs that they might mate among the branches. ⁴² But with the more feeble of the flock he would not put them there. So the feebler were Laban’s and the stronger were Jacob’s. ⁴³ And the man became exceedingly^[w] rich and had large flocks, female slaves, male slaves, camels, and donkeys.

Jacob Flees from Laban

31 Now he^[x] heard the words of the sons of Laban, saying, “Jacob has taken all that our father has,” and “From that which was our father’s he has gained all this wealth.” ² Then Jacob saw the face of Laban and, behold, it was not like it had been in the past.^{[y] 3} And Yahweh said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your ancestors^[z] and to your family, and I will be with you.” ⁴ So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field, to his flocks, ⁵ and he said to them, “Look, I see the face of your father, that it is not like it has been toward me in the past.^[aa] But the God of my father is with me. ⁶ Now you yourselves know that I have served your father with all my strength, ⁷ and your father has cheated me and changed my wages ten times, but God has not allowed him to harm me. ⁸ If thus he said, ‘Speckled shall be your wage,’ then all the flock bore speckled. And if he said, ‘Streaked shall be your wage,’ then all the flock bore streaked. ⁹ God has taken away your father’s livestock and given them to me. ¹⁰ Now it happened that at the time of the mating of the flock I lifted up my eyes and saw in a dream, and behold, the rams mounting the flock were streaked, speckled, and dappled. ¹¹ Then the angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob,’ and I said, ‘Here I am.’ ¹² And he said, ‘Lift up your eyes and see—all the rams mounting the flock are streaked, speckled, and dappled, for I have seen all that Laban is doing to you. ¹³ I am the God of Bethel where you anointed a stone pillar, where you made a vow to me. Now get up, go out from this land and return to the land of your birth.’” ¹⁴ Then Rachel and Leah answered and said to him, “Is there yet a portion for us, and an inheritance in the house of our father? ¹⁵ Are we not regarded as foreigners by him, because he has sold us and completely consumed our money? ¹⁶ For all the wealth that God has taken away from our father, it belongs to us and to our sons. So now, all that God has said to you, do.” ¹⁷ Then Jacob got up and put his children and his wives on the camels. ¹⁸ And he drove all his livestock and his possessions that he had acquired, the livestock of his possession that he had acquired in Paddan-Aram, in order to go to Isaac his father, to the land of Canaan.

¹⁹ Now Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel stole the idols^[ab] that belonged to her father. ²⁰ And Jacob tricked^[ac] Laban the Aramean by not telling him that he intended to flee. ²¹ Then he fled with all that he had, and arose and crossed the Euphrates^[ad] and set his face toward the hill country of Gilead. ²² And on the third day it was told to Laban that Jacob had fled. ²³ Then he took his kinsmen with him and pursued after him, a seven-day journey, and he caught up with him in the hill country of Gilead. ²⁴ And God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night and said to him, “Take care^[ae] that you not speak with Jacob, whether good or evil.” ²⁵ And Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country, and Laban and his kinsmen pitched their tents in the hill country of Gilead. ²⁶ Then Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done that you tricked me^[af] and have carried off my daughters like captives of the sword? ²⁷ Why did you hide your intention to flee and trick me,^[ag] and did not tell me so that I would have sent you away with joy and song and tambourine and lyre? ²⁸ And why did you not give me opportunity to kiss my grandsons^[ah] and my daughters goodbye? Now you have behaved foolishly by doing this. ²⁹ It is in my power^[ai] to do harm to you, but the God of your father spoke to me last night saying, ‘Take care^[aj] from speaking with Jacob, whether good or evil.’ ³⁰ Now, you have surely gone because you desperately longed for the house of your father, but why did you steal my gods?” ³¹ Then Jacob answered and said to Laban, “Because I was afraid, for I thought, ‘Lest you take your daughters from me by force.’ ³² But with whomever you find your gods, he shall not live. In the presence of your kinsmen now identify what is with me that is yours and take it.” Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them. ³³ Then Laban went into Jacob’s tent and Leah’s tent and the tent of the two female servants and did not find his gods. And he came out of Leah’s tent and went into Rachel’s tent. ³⁴ Now Rachel had taken the idols and put them in the saddle bag of the camel and sat on them. And Jacob searched the whole tent thoroughly but did not find them. ³⁵ And she said to her father, “Let there not be anger in the eyes of my lord, for I am not able to rise before you, for the way of women is with me. And he searched carefully and did not find the idols. ³⁶ Then Jacob became angry and quarreled with Laban. Jacob answered and said to Laban, “What is my offense? What is my sin that you pursued after me? ³⁷ For you have searched all my possessions and what did you find among all the possessions of my household? Set it before my kinsmen and your kinsmen that they may decide between the two of us! ³⁸ These twenty years I was with you; your ewes and your female goats did not miscarry, and the rams of your flocks I did not eat. ³⁹ I brought no mangled carcass to you—I bore its loss. From my hand you sought it, whether stolen by day or stolen by night. ⁴⁰ There I was, during the 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. ⁴² If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac had not been with me, indeed now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God saw my misery and the labor of my hands and rebuked you last night.” ⁴³ Then Laban answered and said to Jacob, “The daughters are my daughters and the grandsons^[ak] are my grandsons,^[al] and the flocks are my flocks, and all that you see, it is mine. Now, what can I do for these my daughters today, or for their children whom they have borne? ⁴⁴ So now, come, let us make^[am] a covenant, you and I, and let it be a witness between me and you.” ⁴⁵ And Jacob took a stone and set it up as a stone pillar. ⁴⁶ And Jacob said to his kinsmen, “Gather stones.” And they took stones and made a pile of stones, and they ate there by the pile of stones. ⁴⁷ And Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha,^[an] but Jacob called it Galeed.^{[ao] 48} Then Laban said, “This pile of stones is a witness between me and you today.” Therefore its name is called Galeed,^{[ap] 49} and Mizpah,^[aq] because he said, “Yahweh watch between me and you when we are out of sight of each other.^{[ar] 50} If you mistreat my daughters, and if you take wives besides my daughters, when there is no man with us, see—God is a witness between me and you.” ⁵¹ And Laban said to Jacob, “See, this pile of stones, and see the pillar that I have set up between me and you. ⁵² This pile of stones is a witness, and the pillar is a witness, that I will not pass beyond this pile of stones to you, and that you will not pass beyond this pile of stones and this pillar to me intending harm. ⁵³ May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father^[as] judge between us.” Then Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac. ⁵⁴ And Jacob sacrificed a sacrifice on the hill, and he called his kinsmen to eat the meal.^[at] And they ate the meal^[au] and spent the night on the hill. ^55 [av] And Laban arose early in the morning and kissed his grandsons^[aw] and his daughters, and blessed them. Then Laban departed and returned to his homeland.

Jacob Fears Esau

32 And Jacob went on his way, and angels of God met him. ² And when he saw them, Jacob said, “This is the camp of God!” And he called the name of that place Mahanaim.

³ Then Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother, to the land of Seir, the territory of Edom. ⁴ And he instructed them, saying, “Thus you must say to my lord, to Esau, ‘Thus says your servant Jacob, I have dwelled as an alien with Laban, and I have remained there until now. ⁵ And I have acquired cattle, male donkeys, flocks, and male and female slaves, and I have sent to tell my lord, to find favor in your eyes.’” ⁶ And the messengers returned to Jacob and said, “We came to your brother, to Esau, and he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.” ⁷ Then Jacob was very frightened and distressed. So he divided the people, flocks, cattle, and camels that were with him into two companies. ⁸ And he thought, “If Esau comes to one company and destroys it, the remaining company will be able to escape.” ⁹ Then Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, O Yahweh, who said to me, ‘Return to your land and to your family, and I will deal well with you.’ ¹⁰ I am not worthy^[ax] of all the loyal love and all the faithfulness that you have shown^[ay] your servant, for with only my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps. ¹¹ Please rescue me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him, lest he come and attack mother and children alike. ¹² Now you yourself said, ‘I will surely deal well with you and make your offspring as the sand of the sea that cannot be counted for abundance.’”

¹³ And he lodged there that night. Then he took from what he had with him^[az] a gift for Esau his brother: ¹⁴ two hundred female goats, twenty male goats, two hundred ewes, twenty rams, ¹⁵ thirty milk camels with their young, forty cows, ten bulls, twenty female donkeys, and ten male donkeys. ¹⁶ And he put them under the hand of his servants, herd by herd,^[ba] and said to his servants, “Cross on ahead before me, and put some distance between herds.^{[bb] 17} And he instructed the foremost, saying, “When Esau my brother comes upon you and asks you, saying, ‘Whose are you and where are you going? To whom do these animals belong ahead of you?’ ¹⁸ Then you must say, ‘To your servant, to Jacob. It is a gift sent to my lord, to Esau. Now behold, he is also coming after us.’” ¹⁹ And he also instructed the second servant and the third, and everyone else who was behind the herds, saying, “You must speak to Esau according to this word when you find him. ²⁰ And moreover, you shall say, ‘Look, your servant Jacob is behind us.’” For he thought, “Let me appease him^[bc] with the gift going before me, and afterward I will see his face. Perhaps he will show me favor.”^{[bd] 21} So the gift passed on before him, but he himself spent that night in the camp.

Jacob Wrestles with God

²² That night he arose and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. ²³ And he took them and sent them across the stream. Then he sent across all his possessions. ²⁴ And Jacob remained alone, and a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the dawn. ²⁵ And when he^[be] saw that he could not prevail against him, he struck his hip socket, so that Jacob’s hip socket was sprained as he wrestled with him. ²⁶ Then he^[bf] said, “Let me go, for dawn is breaking.” But he answered, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” ²⁷ Then he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” ²⁸ And he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel,^[bg] for you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed.” ²⁹ Then Jacob asked and said, “Please tell me your name.” And he said, “Why do you ask this—for my name?” And he blessed him there. ³⁰ Then Jacob called the name of the place Peniel which means “I have seen God face to face and my life was spared.” ³¹ Then the sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, and he was limping because of his hip. ³² Therefore the Israelites^[bh] do not eat the sinew of the sciatic nerve that is upon the socket of the hip unto this day, because he struck the socket of the thigh of Jacob at the sinew of the sciatic nerve.

Jacob Meets Esau and Settles at Shechem

33 And Jacob lifted up his eyes and looked. And behold, Esau was coming and four hundred men were with him. And he^[bi] divided the children among Leah and among Rachel, and among the two of his female servants. ² And he put the female slaves and their children first, then Leah and her children next, then Rachel with Joseph last. ³ And he himself passed on before them and bowed down to the ground seven times until he came to his brother. ⁴ But Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell upon his neck and kissed him, and they wept. ⁵ Then Esau lifted up his eyes and saw the women and the children and said, “Who are these with you?” And he said, “The children whom God has graciously given your servant.” ⁶ Then the female servants drew near, they and their children, and they bowed down. ⁷ Then Leah and her children drew near and bowed down, and afterward Joseph and Rachel drew near and they bowed down. ⁸ And he^[bj] said, “What do you mean by^[bk] all this company that I have met?” Then he said, “To find favor in the eyes of my lord.” ⁹ Then Esau said, “I have enough^[bl] my brother; keep what you have.”^{[bm] 10} And Jacob said, “No, please, if I have found favor in your eyes, you must take my gift from my hand, for then I have seen your face which is like seeing the face of God, and you have received me. ¹¹ Please take my gift which has been brought to you, for God has dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough.”^[bn] And he urged him, so he took it. ¹² Then he^[bo] said, “Let us journey and go on, and I will go ahead of you.” ¹³ But he said to him, “My lord knows that the children are frail, and the flocks and the cattle which are nursing are a concern to me. Now if they drove them hard for a day all the flocks would die. ¹⁴ Let my lord pass on before his servant and I will move along slowly at the pace^[bp] of the livestock that are ahead of me, and at the pace^[bq] of the children until I come to my lord in Seir.” ¹⁵ And Esau said, “Let me leave some of my people with you.” But he said, “What need is there?^[br] Let me find favor in the eyes of my lord.” ¹⁶ So Esau turned that day on his way to Seir. ¹⁷ But Jacob traveled on to Succoth, and he built for himself a house, and he made shelters for his livestock. Therefore he called the name of the place Succoth. ¹⁸ And Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem which is in the land of Canaan, on his way^[bs] from Paddan-Aram. And he camped before the city. ¹⁹ And he bought a piece of land where he pitched his tent for one hundred pieces of money^[bt] from the hand of the sons of Hamor, father of Shechem. ²⁰ And there he erected an altar and called it “El Elohe Israel.”^[bu]

The Rape of Dinah and the Massacre at Shechem

34 Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land. ² And Shechem, the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her. And he took her and lay with her and raped her. ³ And his soul clung to Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the girl and spoke tenderly^[bv] to the girl. ⁴ So Shechem said to Hamor his father, saying, “Get this girl for me as a wife.”

⁵ And Jacob heard that Dinah his daughter had been defiled, but his sons were with his flocks in the field. And Jacob kept silent until they came. ⁶ And Hamor, father of Shechem, went out to Jacob to speak with him. ⁷ And the sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard it. And the men were distressed and very angry because he had done a disgraceful thing in Israel by having sexual relations with the daughter of Jacob—something that^[bw] should not be done. ⁸ And Hamor spoke with them saying, “Shechem my son is in love with^[bx] your daughter. Please give her to him for a wife. ⁹ Make marriages with us. Give us your daughters and take our daughters for yourselves. ¹⁰ You shall dwell with us and the land shall be before you; settle and trade in it, and acquire property in it.” ¹¹ Then Shechem said to her father and to her brothers, “Let me find favor in your eyes, and whatever you say to me I will do. ¹² Make the bride price and gift as high as you like;^[by] I will give what you say to me. But give me the girl as a wife.” ¹³ Then the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and his father Hamor speaking deceitfully, because he had defiled Dinah their sister. ¹⁴ And they said to them, “We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to a man who is uncircumcised, for that is a disgrace for us. ¹⁵ Only on this condition will we give consent to you; if you will become like us—every male among you to be circumcised. ¹⁶ Then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take for ourselves your daughters, and we will live with you and become one family. ¹⁷ But if you will not listen to us, to be circumcised, then we will take our daughters and we will go.” ¹⁸ And their words were good in the eyes of Hamor and in the eyes of Shechem, the son of Hamor. ¹⁹ And the young man did not delay to do the thing, for he wanted the daughter of Jacob. Now he was the most honored of his father’s house. ²⁰ Then Hamor and his son Shechem came to the gate of their city, and they spoke to the men of their city, saying, ²¹ “These men are at peace with us. Let them dwell in the land and let them trade in it. Now, behold, the land is broad enough for them.^[bz] Let us take their daughters as wives, and let us give our daughters to them. ²² Only on this condition will they give consent to us, to live with us and to become one family—when every male among us is circumcised as they are circumcised. ²³ Will not their livestock and their property and all their animals be ours? Only let us give consent to them so they will live among us.” ²⁴ And all those who went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor and Shechem. Every male was circumcised, all those who went out of the gate of his city. ²⁵ And it happened that on the third day, while they were in pain, two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, the brothers of Dinah, each took his sword and came against the unsuspecting city and killed all the males. ²⁶ They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the edge of the sword, and they took Dinah from the house of Shechem and went out. ²⁷ The other sons of Jacob came upon the slain and plundered the city, because they had defiled their sister. ²⁸ They took their flocks and their cattle and their donkeys, and whatever was in the field. ²⁹ They captured and plundered all that was in the houses—all their wealth, their little ones, and their women. ³⁰ Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me, making me stink among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites! I am few in number! If they gather against me and attack me, I will be destroyed—I and my household!” ³¹ But they said, “Shall he treat our sister like a prostitute?”

Jacob Goes Back to Bethel

35 And God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there, and make an altar to the God who appeared to you when you fled from before Esau your brother.” ² Then Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods that are in your midst and purify yourselves and change your garments. ³ Then let us make ready and let us go up to Bethel, so that I can make an altar there to the God who answered me in the day of my trouble, and who has been with me on the way that I have gone.” ⁴ So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that were in their hands, and the ornamental rings that were in their ears. And Jacob buried them under the oak which was near Shechem. ⁵ Then they set out on their journey, and the terror of God was upon the cities that were all around them, so that they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob. ⁶ And Jacob came to Luz which was in the land of Canaan (that is Bethel), he and all the people that were with him. ⁷ And he built an altar there and called the place El-Bethel, for there God had appeared to him when he fled before his brother. ⁸ And Deborah, the nurse of Rebekah, died. And she was buried below Bethel, under the oak. And its name was called Allon-Bacuth.^{[ca] 9} And God appeared to Jacob again when he came from Paddan-Aram, and he blessed him. ¹⁰ And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob. Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name.” Then his name was called Israel. ¹¹ And God said to him, “I am El-Shaddai.^[cb] Be fruitful and multiply. A nation and an assemblage of nations shall be from you, and kings shall go out from your loins. ¹² And as for the land that I gave to Abraham and to Isaac, I will give it to you. And to your descendants after you I will give the land. ¹³ And God went up from him at the place where he spoke with him. ¹⁴ And Jacob set up a pillar at the place where God had spoken with him, a pillar of stone. And he poured out a drink offering upon it, and poured oil on it. ¹⁵ And Jacob called the name of the place where God had spoken with him Bethel.

The Death of Rachel

¹⁶ Then they journeyed from Bethel. And when they were still some distance^[cc] from Ephrath, Rachel went into labor. And she had hard labor. ¹⁷ And when her labor was the most difficult^[cd] the midwife said to her, “Do not be afraid for you have another son.”^{[ce] 18} And it happened that when her life was departing (for she was dying), she called his name Ben-Oni.^[cf] But his father called him Benjamin.^{[cg] 19} And Rachel died and she was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). ²⁰ And Jacob erected a pillar at her burial site. That is the pillar of the burial site of Rachel unto this day. ²¹ And Israel journeyed on and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eder.^{[ch] 22} And while Israel was living in that land Reuben went and had sexual relations with Bilhah, his father’s concubine. And Israel heard about it.

The Twelve Sons of Jacob

Now the sons of Jacob were twelve. ²³ The sons of Leah: The firstborn of Jacob was Reuben. Then Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. ²⁴ The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin. ²⁵ The sons of Bilhah, the female servant of Rachel: Dan and Naphtali. ²⁶ The sons of Zilpah, the female servant of Leah: Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan-Aram.

The Death of Isaac

²⁷ And Jacob came to Isaac his father at Mamre, or Kiriath-Arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac dwelled as aliens. ²⁸ Now the days of Isaac were one hundred and eighty years. ²⁹ And Isaac passed away and died, and was gathered to his people, old and full of days. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

The Descendants of Esau

36 Now these are the descendants of Esau (that is, Edom). ² Esau took his wives from the daughters of Canaan: Adah, daughter of Elon, the Hittite, and Oholibamah, daughter of Anah, the daughter of Zibeon, the Hivite, ³ and Basemath, the daughter of Ishmael, the sister of Nebaioth. ⁴ And Adah bore to Esau Eliphaz; and Basemath bore Reuel; ⁵ and Oholibamah bore Jeush and Jalam, and Korah. These are the sons of Esau who were born to him in the land of Canaan. ⁶ And Esau took his wives and his sons and his daughters, and all the persons of his household, and his sheep and goats, and all his cattle, and all the goods 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 many to live together,^[ci] so that the land of their sojourning was not able to support them on account of their livestock. ⁸ So Esau dwelled in the hill country of Seir (Esau, that is Edom).

⁹ Now these are the descendants of Esau, the father of Edom, in the hill country of Seir. ¹⁰ These are the names of the sons of Esau: Eliphaz, the son of Adah, the wife of Esau; Reuel, the son of Basemath, the wife of Esau. ¹¹ The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz. ¹² (Now Timnah was the concubine of Eliphaz, the son of Esau. And she bore Amalek to Eliphaz.) These are the sons of Adah, the wife of Esau. ¹³ Now these are the sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These are the sons of Basemath, the wife of Esau. ¹⁴ Now these are the sons of Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah, daughter of Zibeon, the wife of Esau: 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: the chiefs of Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, ¹⁶ Korah, Gatam, and Amalek. These are the chiefs of Eliphaz in the land of Edom. These are the sons of Adah. ¹⁷ Now these are the sons Reuel, the son of Esau: the chiefs Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These are the chiefs of Reuel in the land of Edom. These are the sons of Basemath, the wife of Esau. ¹⁸ Now these are the sons of Oholibamah, the wife of Esau: the chiefs Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These are the chiefs born of Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah, the wife of Esau. ¹⁹ These are the sons of Esau, 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 And the sons of Lotan were Hori and Hemam. And Lotan’s sister was Timna. ²³ Now these are the sons of Shobal: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam. ²⁴ Now these are the sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah—he is Anah who found the hot springs in the desert while he pastured the donkeys of Zibeon his father. ²⁵ Now these are the sons of Anah: Dishon and Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah. ²⁶ Now these are the sons of Dishon: Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Keran. ²⁷ These are the sons of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan. ²⁸ These are the sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran. ²⁹ These are the chiefs of the Horites: the chiefs Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, ³⁰ Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These are the chiefs of the Horites, according to their chiefs in the land of Seir.

The Kings of Edom

³¹ Now these are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king ruled over the Israelites.^{[cj] 32} Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom. And the name of his city was Dinhabah. ³³ And Bela died, and Jobab, the son of Zerah from Bozrah, reigned in his place. ³⁴ And Jobab died, and Husham from the land of the Temanites reigned in his place. ³⁵ And Husham died, and Hadad, son of Bedad, who defeated Midian in the field^[ck] of Moab reigned in his place. And the name of his city was Avith. ³⁶ And Hadad died, and Samlah from Masrekah reigned in his place. ³⁷ And Samlah died, and Shaul from Rehoboth on the Euphrates^[cl] reigned in his place. ³⁸ And Shaul died, and Baal-Hanan, the son of Acbor, reigned in his place. ³⁹ And Baal-Hanan the son of Acbor died, and Hadar reigned in his place. And the name of his city was Pau, and the name of his wife was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, daughter of Mezahab. ⁴⁰ Now these are the names of the chiefs of Esau according to their families, according to their dwelling places, by their names: the chiefs Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, ⁴¹ Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, ⁴² Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, ⁴³ Magdiel, and Iram. These are the chiefs of Edom (that is, Esau, the father of Edom) according to their settlements in the land of their possession.

The Dreams of Joseph

37 And Jacob settled in the land of the sojourning of his father, in the land of Canaan. ² These are the generations^[cm] of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was shepherding the flock with his brothers. Now he was a helper with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, the wives of his father. And Joseph brought a bad report of them to his father. ³ Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons, for he was a son of his old age. And he made a robe with long sleeves^[cn] for him. ⁴ When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and were not able to speak peaceably to him.

⁵ And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it to his brothers. And they hated him even more.^{[co] 6} And he said to them, “Listen now to this dream that I dreamed. ⁷ Now behold, we were binding sheaves in the midst of the field and, behold, my sheaf stood up and it remained standing. Then behold, your sheaves gathered around and bowed down to my sheaf.” ⁸ Then his brothers said to him, “Will you really rule over us?” And they hated him even more^[cp] on account of his dream and because of his words. ⁹ Then he dreamed yet another dream and told it to his brothers. And he said, “Behold, I dreamed a dream again, and behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” ¹⁰ And he told it to his father and to his brothers. And his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Will I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the ground to you?” ¹¹ And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.

Joseph Sold Into Slavery by his Brothers

¹² Now his brothers went to pasture the flock of their father in Shechem. ¹³ And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers pasturing in Shechem? Come, let me send you to them.” And he said, “Here I am.” ¹⁴ Then he said to him, “Go now, see if it goes well for your brothers and for the flock,^[cq] then return word to me.” And he sent him from the valley of Hebron, and he arrived at Shechem. ¹⁵ And a man found him, and behold, he^[cr] was wandering about in a field. And the man asked him, “What do you seek?” ¹⁶ And he said, “I am seeking my brothers. Tell me, please, where they are pasturing.” ¹⁷ And the man said, “They have moved on from here, for I heard them saying, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’” Then Joseph went after his brothers and found them in Dothan. ¹⁸ And they saw him from a distance. And before he drew near to them, they conspired against him to kill him. ¹⁹ And each said to his brothers, “Look, this master of dreams is coming. ²⁰ Now then, come, let us kill him and throw him in one of the pits. Then we will say a wild animal devoured him. Then we will see what his dreams become.” ²¹ And Reuben heard it and delivered him from their hand and said, “We must not take his life.” ²² And Reuben said to them, “You must not shed blood. Throw him into this pit that is in the desert, but do not lay a hand on him”—so that he might rescue him from their hand to return him to his father. ²³ And it happened that as Joseph came to his brothers they stripped Joseph of his robe, the robe with long sleeves,^[cs] that was upon him. ²⁴ And they took him and threw him into the pit (the pit was empty; there was no water in it). ²⁵ Then they sat down to eat some food. And they lifted up their eyes and looked, and behold, a caravan of Ishmaelites was coming from Gilead. And their camels were carrying aromatic gum and balm and spices on the way^[ct] to Egypt. ²⁶ Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is there if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? ²⁷ Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, but our hand shall not be against him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers agreed. ²⁸ Then Midianite traders passed by. And they^[cu] drew Joseph up and brought him up from the pit, and they sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. And they brought Joseph to Egypt. ²⁹ Then Reuben returned to the pit and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit. And he tore his clothes. ³⁰ And he returned to his brothers and said, “The boy is gone!^[cv] Now I, what can I do?”^{[cw] 31} Then they took the robe of Joseph and slaughtered a goat, and dipped the robe in the blood. ³² Then they sent the robe with long sleeves^[cx] and they brought it to their father and said, “We found this; please examine it. Is it the robe of your son or not?” ³³ And he recognized it and said, “The robe of my son! A wild animal has devoured him! Joseph is surely torn to pieces!” ³⁴ And Jacob tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son many days. ³⁵ And all his sons and daughters tried to console him, but he refused to be consoled. And he said, “No, I shall go down to my son, to Sheol, mourning.” And his father wept for him. ³⁶ And the Midianites sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, a court official of Pharaoh, a commander of the imperial guard.

Judah and Tamar

38 And it happened that at that time Judah went down from his brothers and pitched his tent near a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah. ² And Judah saw the daughter of a certain Canaanite there whose name was Shua. And he took her and went in to her. ³ And she conceived and bore a son, and he called his name Er. ⁴ And she conceived again and bore a son, and he called his name Onan. ⁵ And once again she bore a son, and she called his name Shelah. And he^[cy] was in Chezib when she bore him. ⁶ And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. ⁷ And Er, the firstborn of Judah, was evil in the eyes of Yahweh, and Yahweh killed him. ⁸ Then Judah said to Onan, “Go in to the wife of your brother and perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her, and raise up offspring for your brother.” ⁹ But Onan knew that the offspring would not be for him, so whenever he went in to the wife of his brother he would waste it on the ground^[cz] so as not to give offspring to his brother. ¹⁰ And what he did was evil in the sight of Yahweh, so he killed him also. ¹¹ Then Judah said to Tamar, his daughter-in-law, “Stay a widow in your father’s house until Shelah my son grows up,” for he feared he would also die^[da] like his brother. So Tamar went and stayed in the house of her father. ¹² And in the course of time^[db] the daughter of Shua, the wife of Judah, died. When Judah was consoled he went up to his sheepshearers, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite, to Timnah. ¹³ And it was told to Tamar, saying, “Look, your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep.” ¹⁴ So she removed the clothes of her widowhood and covered herself with the veil and disguised herself. And she sat at the entrance to Eynayim, which is on the way to Timnah, for she saw that Shelah was grown but she had not been given to him as a wife. ¹⁵ And Judah saw her and reckoned her to be a prostitute, for she had covered her face. ¹⁶ And he turned aside to her at the roadside and said, “Please come, let me come in to you,” for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. And she said, “What will you give to me that you may come in to me?” ¹⁷ And he said, “I will send a kid from the goats of the flock.” And she said, “Only if you give a pledge until you send it.” ¹⁸ And he said, “What is the pledge that I must give to you?” And she said, “your seal, your cord, and your staff that is in your hand.” And he gave them to her and went in to her. And she conceived by him. ¹⁹ And she arose and left, and she removed her veil from herself and put on the garments of her widowhood. ²⁰ And Judah sent the kid from the goats by the hand of his friend the Adullamite to take back the pledge from the hand of the woman, but he could not find her. ²¹ So he asked the men of her place, saying, “Where is that cult prostitute that was at Eynayim by the roadside?” And they said, “There is no cult prostitute here.” ²² Then he returned to Judah and said, “I could not find her. Morever, the men of the place said, ‘There is no cult prostitute here.’” ²³ And Judah said, “Let her take them for herself, lest we be laughed at.^[dc] Behold, I sent this kid, but you could not find her.” ²⁴ And about three months later^[dd] it was told to Judah, “Tamar your daughter-in-law has played the whore, and now, behold, she has conceived by prostitution.” And Judah said, “Bring her out and let her be burned.” ²⁵ She was brought out, but she sent to her father-in-law saying, “By the man to whom these belong I have conceived.” And she said, “Now discern^[de] to whom these belong: the seal and cord and the staff.” ²⁶ Then Judah recognized them and said, “She is more righteous than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not know^[df] her again. ²⁷ And it happened that at the time she gave birth that, behold, twins were in her womb. ²⁸ And it happened that at her labor one child put out a hand. And the midwife took it and tied a crimson thread on his hand saying, “This one came out first.” ²⁹ Then his hand drew back and, behold, his brother came out, and she said, “What a breach you have made for yourself!” And she called his name Perez. ³⁰ And afterward his brother who had the crimson thread on his hand came out. And his name was called Zerah.

Joseph in Potiphar’s House

39 Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, a court official of Pharaoh, commander of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the hand of the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there. ² And Yahweh was with Joseph, and he became a successful man. And he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian. ³ And his master observed that Yahweh was with him, and everything that was in his hand to do Yahweh made successful. ⁴ And Joseph found favor in his eyes and he served him. Then he appointed him^[dg] over his house and all that he owned he put into his hand. ⁵ And it happened that from the time he appointed him over his house and over all that he had, Yahweh blessed the house of the Egyptian on account of Joseph. And the blessing of Yahweh was upon all that he had in the house and in the field. ⁶ And he left all that he had in the hand of Joseph, and he did not worry about anything^[dh] except the food that he ate. Now Joseph was well built and handsome.^{[di] 7} And it happened that after these things his master’s wife cast her eyes on Joseph, and she said, “Lie with me.” ⁸ But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Look, my master does not worry about^[dj] what is in the house, and everything he owns he has put in my hand. ⁹ He has no greater authority in this house than me, and he has not withheld anything from me except you, since you are his wife. Now how could I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” ¹⁰ And it happened that as she spoke to Joseph day after day,^[dk] he did not heed her to lie beside her or to be with her. ¹¹ But one particular day^[dl] he came into the house to do his work and none of the men of the house were there in the house, ¹² she seized him by his garment and said, “Lie with me!” And he left his garment in her hand and fled, and he went outside. ¹³ And it happened that when she saw that he left his garment in her hand and fled outside, ¹⁴ she called to the men of her house and said to them, “Look! He^[dm] brought a Hebrew man to us to mock us! He came to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice. ¹⁵ And when he heard me, that I raised my voice and called out, he left his garment beside me and fled, and he went outside.” ¹⁶ Then she put his garment beside her until his master came to his house. ¹⁷ Then she spoke to him according to these words, saying, “The Hebrew slave that you brought to us came to me to make fun of me. ¹⁸ And it happened that as I raised my voice and called out, he left his garment beside me and fled outside.” ¹⁹ And when his master heard the words of his wife that she spoke to him, “This is what your servant did to me,”^[dn] he became very angry.^{[do] 20} And Joseph’s master took him and put him into prison, the place that the king’s prisoners were confined. And he was there in prison. ²¹ And Yahweh was with Joseph, and showed loyal love to him, and gave him favor in the eyes of the chief of the prison. ²² And the chief of the prison put all the prisoners that were in the prison into the hand of Joseph. And everything that was done there, he was the one who did it. ²³ The chief of the prison did not worry about^[dp] anything in his^[dq] hand, since Yahweh was with him. And whatever he did Yahweh made it successful.

Joseph Interprets Dreams in Prison

40 And it happened that after these things the cupbearer of the king of Egypt and his baker did wrong against their lord, against the king of Egypt. ² And Pharaoh was angry with his two officials, with the chief cupbearer and chief baker. ³ And he put them in custody in the house of the chief of the guard, into the prison where Joseph was confined. ⁴ And the chief of the guard appointed Joseph to be with them, and he attended them. And they were in custody many days.^{[dr] 5} And the two of them, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison, dreamed a dream, each his own dream, with its own interpretation. ⁶ When Joseph came to them in the morning he looked at them, and behold, they were troubled. ⁷ And he asked the court officials of Pharaoh that were with him in the custody of his master’s house, “Why are your faces sad today?” ⁸ And they said to him, “We each dreamed a dream, but there is no one to interpret it.” And Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me.” ⁹ Then the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph, and he said to him, “In my dream, now behold, there was a vine before me, ¹⁰ and on the vine were three branches. And as it budded, its blossoms came up, and its clusters of grapes grew ripe. ¹¹ And the cup of Pharaoh was in my hand, and I took the grapes and squeezed them into the cup of Pharaoh. Then I placed the cup into the hand of Pharaoh.”