Bible in 90 Days
20 Jacob vowed a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will protect me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, 21 so that I return to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord will be my God. 22 Then this stone, which I have set for a pillar, will be the house of God, and from all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.”
Jacob Meets Rachel
29 Then Jacob went on his journey and came into the land of the people of the east. 2 As he looked, he saw a well in the field and three flocks of sheep lying by it, for out of that well the flocks were watered. A large stone was on the well’s opening. 3 When all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds rolled the stone from the well’s opening, watered the sheep, then put the stone back on the well’s opening in its place.
4 Jacob said to them, “My brothers, where are you from?”
And they said, “We are from Harran.”
5 Then he said to them, “Do you know Laban the son of Nahor?”
And they said, “We know him.”
6 He said to them, “Is he well?”
And they said, “He is well, and here is Rachel his daughter coming with the sheep.”
7 He said, “Since it is yet midday, it is not the time that the livestock should be gathered together. Water the sheep, and go and feed them.”
8 They said, “We cannot until all the flocks are gathered together and the stone is rolled from the well’s opening. Then we may water the sheep.”
9 While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she kept them. 10 When Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother’s brother and the sheep of Laban his mother’s brother, Jacob went near and rolled the stone from the well’s opening and watered the flock of Laban his mother’s brother. 11 Jacob kissed Rachel and wept aloud. 12 Jacob told Rachel that he was her father’s relative and that he was Rebekah’s son. Then she ran and told her father.
13 When Laban heard the news of Jacob his sister’s son, he ran to meet him and embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house. Then Jacob told Laban all these things. 14 Laban said to him, “Surely you are my bone and my flesh.”
And he stayed with him for a month. 15 Laban said to Jacob, “Since you are my relative, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be?”
Jacob Marries Leah and Rachel
16 Now Laban had two daughters. The name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. 17 Leah’s eyes were tender, but Rachel was beautiful in form and appearance. 18 Jacob loved Rachel, so he said, “I will serve you seven years for Rachel your younger daughter.”
19 Laban said, “It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to another man. Stay with me.” 20 So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her.
21 Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, so that I may have relations with her.”
22 Laban gathered together all the men of the place and prepared a feast. 23 But in the evening he took Leah his daughter and brought her to Jacob, and Jacob had relations with her. 24 Laban gave Zilpah his maid to his daughter Leah for a maidservant.
25 In the morning Jacob discovered it was Leah, and he said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve you for Rachel? Why then have you tricked me?”
26 Then Laban said, “It is not the custom in our country to marry off the younger before the firstborn. 27 Fulfill the period of seven days for this one, and we will give you the other also in return for serving me another seven years.”
28 Jacob did so and completed her week. Then Laban gave him Rachel his daughter as his wife also. 29 Laban gave Bilhah his maidservant to Rachel his daughter to be her maid. 30 So Jacob also had relations with Rachel, and he loved Rachel more than Leah and served Laban another seven years.
Jacob’s Children
31 When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, He opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. 32 Leah conceived and gave birth to a son, and she called his name Reuben, for she said, “Surely the Lord has looked upon my affliction. Now therefore my husband will love me.”
33 She conceived again and gave birth to a son and said, “Because the Lord has heard that I was unloved, He has therefore given me this son also.” Then she called his name Simeon.
34 She conceived again and gave birth to a son and said, “Now this time my husband will be joined to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore his name was called Levi.
35 She conceived again and gave birth to a son, and she said, “Now I will praise the Lord!” Therefore she called his name Judah. Then she stopped giving birth.
30 When Rachel saw that she could not give Jacob children, she became jealous of her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I will die.”
2 Jacob became angry with Rachel and 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 maid Bilhah. Have relations with her so that she may bear a child on my knees,[a] so that I may also have children through her.”
4 So she gave him Bilhah her maidservant as a wife, and Jacob had relations with her. 5 Bilhah conceived and gave Jacob a son. 6 Rachel said, “God has vindicated me, and He has also heard my voice and has given me a son.” Therefore she called his name Dan.
7 Bilhah, Rachel’s maid, conceived again and gave Jacob a second son. 8 Then Rachel said, “With great wrestling have I wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed.” So she called his name Naphtali.
9 When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took Zilpah her maid and gave her to Jacob as a wife. 10 Zilpah, Leah’s maid, gave Jacob a son. 11 Then Leah said, “How fortunate!” So she called his name Gad.
12 Zilpah, Leah’s maid, gave Jacob a second son. 13 Then Leah said, “Happy am I, for women will call me happy.” So she called his name Asher.
14 At the time of the 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.”
15 Leah said to her, “Is it a small matter that you have taken my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes also?”
So Rachel said, “All right, he may lie with you tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.”
16 When Jacob came out of the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must sleep with me, because I have paid for you with my son’s mandrakes.” And he slept with her that night.
17 God listened to Leah, and she conceived and gave Jacob a fifth son. 18 Leah said, “God has given me my reward because I have given my maid to my husband.” So she called his name Issachar.
19 Leah conceived again and gave Jacob a sixth son. 20 Leah said, “God has given me a good gift. Now my husband will dwell with me, because I have given him six sons.” So she called his name Zebulun.
21 Afterwards she gave birth to a daughter and called her name Dinah.
22 Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb. 23 She conceived and gave birth to a son and said, “God has taken away my reproach.” 24 And she called his name Joseph, saying, “The Lord will add to me another son.”
Jacob’s Agreement With Laban
25 When Rachel had given birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me away, so that I may go to my own place, to my country. 26 Give me my wives and my children, for whom I have served you, and let me go. For you know the service that I have given you.”
27 Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes, please stay. For I have learned by divination that the Lord has blessed me on account of you.” 28 He said, “Name me your wages, and I will give it.”
29 Jacob said to him, “You know how I have served you, and how your livestock have fared with me. 30 For you had little before I came, and it is now increased to a multitude. The Lord has blessed you since I came, and now when may I also provide for my own house?”
31 Laban said, “What may I give you?”
And Jacob said, “You may not give me anything, but if you will do this one thing for me, I will continue to feed and keep your flock. 32 I will pass through all your flock today, removing from it all the speckled and spotted sheep, and every brown sheep from among the lambs, and the spotted and speckled among the goats. These shall be my wages. 33 So my integrity will answer for me in time to come. When you come to examine my wages, every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and brown among the sheep that are with me will be considered stolen.”
34 Laban said, “Agreed. Let it be according to your word.” 35 He removed that day the male goats that were striped and spotted and all the female goats that were speckled and spotted, every one that had some white in it, and all the brown ones among the sheep, and gave them into the care of his sons. 36 He put three days’ journey between himself and Jacob, and Jacob fed the rest of Laban’s flocks.
37 Then Jacob took rods of fresh-cut poplar, almond, and plane trees, and peeled white streaks in them, exposing the white which was in the rods. 38 He set the rods which he had peeled before the flocks in the troughs, that is, the watering places, where the flocks came to drink, so that they would mate when they came to drink. 39 The flocks mated before the rods and gave birth to young that were striped, speckled, and spotted. 40 Jacob separated the lambs and made the flocks face toward the striped and all the brown in the flock of Laban. He put his own flocks by themselves and did not put them with Laban’s sheep. 41 Whenever the stronger sheep mated, Jacob laid the rods before the eyes of the sheep in the troughs, so that they might mate among the rods. 42 But when the livestock were feeble, he did not put them in. So the weaker were Laban’s and the stronger Jacob’s. 43 The man became exceedingly prosperous and had many sheep and female servants and male servants and camels and donkeys.
Jacob Flees From Laban
31 Now Jacob heard the words of Laban’s sons, saying, “Jacob has taken away all that was our father’s, and he has gotten all his wealth from what was our father’s.” 2 Jacob saw the look of Laban and saw he was not congenial toward him as before.
3 Then the Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers, to your family, and I will be with you.”
4 So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field where his flock was, 5 and said to them, “I see your father’s demeanor, that it is not congenial toward me as before; but the God of my father has been with me. 6 You know that with all my strength I have served your father. 7 Your father has deceived me and changed my wages ten times, but God did not allow him to hurt me. 8 If he said, ‘The speckled will be your wages,’ then all the flock produced speckled. If he said, ‘The striped will be your pay,’ then all the flock produced striped. 9 In this way God has taken away your father’s flock and given them to me.
10 “When the livestock conceived, I lifted up my eyes and saw in a dream that the male goats mating with the flock were striped, speckled, and spotted. 11 The angel of God spoke to me in a dream, saying, ‘Jacob.’ And I said, ‘Here I am.’ 12 He said, ‘Now lift up your eyes and see all the male goats which mate with the flock are striped, speckled, and spotted, for I have seen all that Laban has done to you. 13 I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed the pillar, where you vowed a vow to Me. Now arise, and get out of this land, and return to the land of your family.’ ”
14 Rachel and Leah answered him, “Is there any portion or inheritance left for us in our father’s house? 15 Are we not seen by him as foreigners? For he has sold us and has completely spent our money also. 16 For all the riches which God has taken from our father are ours and our children’s. Now then, whatever God has said to you, do it.”
17 Then Jacob rose up and set his sons and his wives on camels. 18 Then he carried away all his livestock and all his goods which he had obtained, his acquired livestock which he had gotten in Paddan Aram, in order to go to Isaac his father in the land of Canaan.
19 When Laban went to shear his sheep, Rachel stole the household idols that were her father’s. 20 Jacob also deceived Laban the Syrian by not telling him that he was fleeing. 21 So Jacob fled with all that he had, and he rose up and passed over the river and headed toward the mountains of Gilead.
Laban Pursues Jacob
22 Laban was told on the third day that Jacob had fled. 23 He took his kinsmen with him and pursued him for seven days until he caught up with him in the mountains of Gilead. 24 But God came to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night and said to him, “Take care that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad.”
25 Then Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent on the mountain, and Laban with his kinsmen pitched in the mountains of Gilead. 26 Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done that you have stolen away without my knowing and carried away my daughters like captives taken with the sword? 27 Why did you flee away secretly and sneak away from me and not tell me? I would have sent you away with joy and with songs, with the tambourine and harp. 28 And why did you not permit me to kiss my sons and my daughters farewell? You have acted foolishly in so doing. 29 It is in my power to do you harm, but the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, ‘Take care that you not speak to Jacob either good or bad.’ 30 Now you surely have gone away because you longed desperately after your father’s house, yet why have you stolen my gods?”
31 Then Jacob answered and said to 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, let him not live. In the presence of our kinsmen, point out what I have that is yours and take it.” For 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 two female servants’ tents, but he did not find them. Then he went out of Leah’s tent and entered into Rachel’s tent. 34 Now Rachel had taken the household idols and put them in the camel’s saddle and sat on them. Laban searched the entire tent, but could not find them.
35 She said to her father, “Let not my lord be displeased that I cannot rise before you, for the manner of women is on me.” So he searched, but he did not find the household idols.
36 Then Jacob became angry and berated Laban. And Jacob asked Laban, “What is my offense? What is my sin that you have so hotly pursued after me? 37 You have searched all my things, and yet what have you found of all your household things? Set it here before my kinsmen and your kinsmen, so that they may judge between us both.
38 “This twenty years I have been with you. Your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried their young, and the male goats of your flock I have not eaten. 39 That which was torn by beasts I did not bring to you. I bore the loss of it. You required it from my hand whether it was stolen by day or stolen by night. 40 It was like this with me: In the day the heat consumed me and the frost by night, and my sleep fled from my eyes. 41 I have been twenty years 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, surely you would have sent me away empty now. God has seen my affliction and the labor of my hands and rebuked you last night.”
Laban’s Covenant With Jacob
43 Laban answered and said to Jacob, “These daughters are my daughters, and these children are my children, and the flocks are my flocks, and all that you see is mine. But what can I do this day to my daughters or to their children whom they have borne? 44 Now therefore come, let us make a covenant, you and I, and let it be as a witness between you and me.”
45 So Jacob took a stone and set it up for a pillar. 46 Jacob said to his kinsmen, “Gather stones.” So they took stones and made a pile, and they ate there on the pile. 47 And Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha, but Jacob called it Galeed.
48 Laban said, “This pile is a witness between me and you this day.” Therefore its name was called Galeed, 49 and Mizpah, for he said, “May the Lord watch between you and me, when we are apart from one another. 50 If you mistreat my daughters, or if you take other wives beside my daughters, although no one else is with us, remember that God is witness between you and me.”
51 Then Laban said to Jacob, “See this pile and see this pillar which I have thrown between you and me. 52 This heap is a witness, and this pillar is a witness, so that I will not cross over this pile to you and so that you will not pass over this pile and this pillar to me for harm. 53 The God of Abraham, the God of Nahor, and the God of their father, judge between us.”
Then Jacob vowed by the Fear of his father Isaac. 54 Then Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain and called his kinsmen to eat bread. And they ate bread and stayed all night on the mountain.
55 Early in the morning Laban rose up, kissed his grandchildren and his daughters, and blessed them. Then Laban departed and returned to his place.
Jacob Prepares to Meet Esau
32 Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. 2 When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is God’s camp.” So he called the name of that place Mahanaim.
3 Jacob sent messengers before him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom. 4 He commanded them, saying, “This is what you must say to my lord Esau: This is what your servant Jacob says, ‘I have sojourned with Laban and stayed there until now. 5 I have oxen and donkeys, flocks, and male servants and female servants, and I am sending this message to tell my lord, so that I may find favor in your sight.’ ”
6 The messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We went to your brother Esau. He is coming to meet you, and what is more, four hundred men are with him.”
7 Then Jacob was very afraid and distressed, and he divided the people that were with him, along with the flocks and herds and the camels, into two groups. 8 He said, “If Esau comes to the one camp and attacks it, then the other camp which is left may escape.”
9 And Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, the Lord who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your relatives, and I will prosper you,’ 10 I am not worthy of all the lovingkindness and of all the faithfulness which You have shown to Your servant. For with my staff I crossed over this Jordan, and now I have become two encampments. 11 Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau. For I fear him, that he will come and attack me and the mothers with the children. 12 You said, ‘I will surely prosper you and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which is too many to be counted.’ ”
13 So he spent the night there. Then he selected from what he had with him a gift for his brother Esau: 14 two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, 15 thirty female camels with their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. 16 He gave them to his servants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, “Pass over before me, and keep a distance between each drove.”
17 He commanded the one leading, 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 belong?’ 18 then you are to say, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a gift sent to my lord Esau, and he is also behind us.’ ”
19 Likewise he commanded the second and the third and all that followed the droves, saying, “This is what you are to say to Esau when you find him. 20 Moreover, say, ‘Your servant Jacob is behind us.’ ” For he said, “I will appease him with the gift that goes before me, and then I will see his face. Perhaps he will accept me.” 21 So the gift went before him, but he lodged that night in the encampment.
Jacob Wrestles With God
22 The same night he arose and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven sons, and crossed over the ford of the Jabbok. 23 He took them and sent them across the stream along with all that he had. 24 Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him there until daybreak. 25 When the man saw that He did not prevail against Jacob, He touched the socket of his thigh, so the socket of Jacob’s thigh was dislocated, as he wrestled with Him. 26 Then He said, “Let Me go, for the day breaks.”
But Jacob said, “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 the man said, “Your name will no more be called Jacob, but Israel. For you have fought with God and with men, and have prevailed.”
29 Then Jacob asked Him, “Tell me, I pray You, Your name.”
But He said, “Why do you ask Me My name?” Then He blessed him there.
30 Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, “I have seen God face to face, and my life has been preserved.”
31 As he crossed over Peniel, the sun rose over him, and he was limping on his thigh. 32 Therefore to this day the children of Israel do not eat the sinew which is attached to the socket of the thigh, because He touched the socket of Jacob’s thigh in the sinew of the hip.
Jacob Meets Esau
33 Then Jacob looked up and saw Esau coming and four hundred men with him. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two female servants. 2 He put the female servants and their children in front, then Leah and her children next, and then Rachel and Joseph last. 3 He went on before them, bowing himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.
4 But Esau ran to meet him and embraced him and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept. 5 When Esau looked up and saw the women and the children, he said, “Who are those with you?”
Jacob said, “The children whom God has graciously given your servant.”
6 Then the female servants came near, they and their children, and they bowed down. 7 Leah also with her children came near and bowed themselves. Afterward Joseph and Rachel came near, and they bowed themselves.
8 Esau said, “What do you mean by all this company that I met?”
Jacob answered, “These are to find favor in the sight of my lord.”
9 Esau said, “I have enough, my brother. Keep what you have for yourself.”
10 Jacob said, “No, I pray you, if I have now found favor in your sight, then receive my gift from my hand. For I have seen your face, and it is as though I have seen the face of God, with you having received me favorably. 11 Please take my blessing that has been brought to you, because God has dealt graciously with me and because I have plenty.” So he urged him, and he took it.
12 Then Esau said, “Let us journey on our way, and I will go ahead of you.”
13 But Jacob said to him, “My lord knows that the children are weak, and the flocks and herds with young are with me. If they are driven too hard one day, all the flock will die. 14 Please let my lord pass over before his servant, and I will lead on slowly, according to the pace of the livestock that goes before me and the pace the children will be able to endure, until I come to my lord at Seir.”
15 So Esau said, “Let me leave some of the people that are with me with you.”
But Jacob said, “What need is there? Let me find favor in the sight of my lord.”
16 So Esau returned that day making his way back to Seir. 17 But Jacob journeyed to Sukkoth and built himself a house and made booths for his livestock. Therefore the name of the place is called Sukkoth.
18 Jacob came peacefully to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, on his way from Paddan Aram, and camped before the city. 19 He bought a parcel of a field, where he had pitched his tent, from the children of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for a hundred pieces[b] of silver. 20 He erected an altar there and called it El Elohe Israel.
Dinah Is Defiled
34 Now Dinah, the daughter of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land. 2 When Shechem, the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the land, saw her, he took her and lay with her and defiled her. 3 He was very smitten by Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the girl and spoke kindly to her. 4 Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, “Get me this girl for my wife.”
5 Now Jacob heard that Shechem had violated his daughter Dinah, but his sons were with his livestock in the field, so Jacob held his peace until they came.
6 Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to commune with him. 7 The sons of Jacob came out of the field when they heard it, and the men were grieved and were very disturbed, because Shechem had disgraced Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter, a thing that should not be done.
8 Hamor spoke with them, saying, “The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter. I pray that you will give her to him to marry. 9 Make marriages with us, and give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves. 10 You may dwell with us, and the land will be before you. Dwell and trade in it and get possessions in it.”
11 Shechem said to her father and to her brothers, “Let me find favor in your eyes, and whatever you say to me I will give. 12 You can make the dowry and gift I must bring high, and I will give according to what you say to me. Just give me the girl to marry.”
13 The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father deceitfully, because he had defiled Dinah their sister. 14 They said to them, “We cannot do this. To give our sister to one who is uncircumcised would be a disgrace to us. 15 But we will consent to you in this: If you will become as we are, that is, every one of your males be circumcised, 16 then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters to us, and we will dwell with you, and we will become one people. 17 But if you will not listen to us and be circumcised, then we will take our daughter, and we will leave.”
18 Their words pleased Hamor and Shechem, Hamor’s son. 19 The young man did not delay to do the thing, because he wanted Jacob’s daughter. Now he was more respected than all the household of his father. 20 So Hamor and Shechem his son came to the gate of their city, and they spoke with the men of their city, saying, 21 “These men are at peace with us. Therefore let them dwell in the land and trade in it. For the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters as our wives, and let us give them our daughters. 22 Only on this condition will the men consent to dwell with us and be one people: if every male among us will be circumcised as they are circumcised. 23 Will not their livestock and their possessions and every animal of theirs be ours? Only, let us agree with them, and they will dwell with us.”
24 All who went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor and Shechem his son, and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city.
25 On the third day, when they were in pain, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, took their swords and went to the unsuspecting city and killed all the males. 26 They killed Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword and took Dinah out of the house of Shechem and departed. 27 The sons of Jacob came upon the slain and looted the city, because they had defiled their sister. 28 They took their flocks and their herds, their donkeys and whatever was in the city and in the fields. 29 They took captive and looted all their wealth, all their little ones, and their wives, even all that was in each house.
30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me by making me revolting among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites. Our being few in number, they will gather themselves together against me and slay me, and I will be destroyed, both I and my household.”
31 But they said, “Should he treat our sister like a prostitute?”
Jacob Returns to Bethel
35 Then God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel, dwell there, and there make an altar to God, who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau your brother.”
2 So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Put away the foreign gods that are among you. Purify yourselves and change your clothes. 3 Let us arise and go up to Bethel, and there I will make an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone.” 4 So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods which were in their possession and all their earrings which were in their ears, and Jacob hid them under the oak which was near Shechem. 5 As they traveled, the terror of God was on the cities that were around them, and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob.
6 So Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him. 7 There he built an altar and called the place El Bethel, because God had appeared to him there when he fled from his brother.
8 Now Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died and was buried beneath Bethel under the oak. So it was called Allon Bakuth.
9 God appeared to Jacob again when he came out of Paddan Aram and blessed him. 10 God said to him, “Your name is Jacob. Your name shall not be called Jacob any more, but Israel shall be your name.” So He called his name Israel.
11 God said to him, “I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations will come from you, and kings shall come forth from you. 12 The land that I gave Abraham and Isaac, I will give to you, and to your descendants after you I will give the land.” 13 Then God went up from him in the place where He had spoken with him.
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 he poured oil on it too. 15 So Jacob called the name of the place where God had spoken with him Bethel.
The Deaths of Rachel and Isaac(A)
16 They journeyed from Bethel, and when they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel went into labor, and she had a difficult labor. 17 When she was in hard labor, the midwife said to her, “Do not fear. You will have this son also.” 18 As her soul was departing (for she died), she called his name Ben-Oni, but his father called him Benjamin.
19 Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem. 20 Jacob set a pillar on her grave. It is the pillar of Rachel’s grave to this day.
21 Israel journeyed and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eder. 22 When Israel lived in that land, Reuben went and lay with Bilhah, his father’s concubine, and Israel heard about it.
Now the sons of Jacob were twelve:
23 The sons of Leah were
Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn,
and Simeon and Levi and Judah and Issachar and Zebulun.
24 The sons of Rachel were
Joseph and Benjamin.
25 And the sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s maidservant, were
Dan and Naphtali.
26 And the sons of Zilpah, Leah’s maidservant, were
Gad and Asher.
These are the sons of Jacob, which were born to him in Paddan Aram.
27 Jacob came back to Isaac his father in Mamre of Kiriath Arba (which is Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had sojourned. 28 Now the days of Isaac were one hundred and eighty years. 29 And Isaac breathed his last and died and was gathered to his people, being old and full of days, and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.
Esau’s Descendants(B)
36 Now these are the generations of Esau, who is Edom.
2 Esau took his wives from the daughters of Canaan: Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite, 3 and Basemath, Ishmael’s daughter, sister of Nebaioth.
4 Adah bore to Esau Eliphaz, and Basemath bore Reuel, 5 and Oholibamah bore Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These are the sons of Esau, who were born to him in the land of Canaan.
6 Then Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the people of his house, his livestock, all his animals, and all his property that he had acquired in the land of Canaan, and he moved to a land some distance from his brother Jacob. 7 For their possessions were too great for them to dwell together, and the land where they were foreigners could not sustain them because of their livestock. 8 So Esau settled in the hill country of Seir. Esau is Edom.
9 These are the generations of Esau the father 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, and Reuel the son of Basemath the wife of Esau.
11 The sons of Eliphaz were
Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz.
12 Timna was a concubine to Eliphaz, Esau’s son, and she bore to Eliphaz Amalek. These were the sons of Adah, Esau’s wife.
13 These are the sons of Reuel:
Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These were the sons of Basemath, Esau’s wife.
14 These were the sons of Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon, Esau’s wife: she bore to Esau
Jeush, Jalam, and Korah.
The Chiefs of Edom
15 These were chiefs of the sons of Esau.
The sons of Eliphaz the firstborn son of Esau were
Chief Teman, Chief Omar, Chief Zepho, Chief Kenaz, 16 Chief Korah, Chief Gatam, and Chief Amalek. These are the chiefs who came from Eliphaz in the land of Edom. These were the sons of Adah.
17 These were the sons of Reuel Esau’s son:
Chief Nahath, Chief Zerah, Chief Shammah, and Chief Mizzah. These are the chiefs who came from Reuel in the land of Edom. These were the sons of Basemath, Esau’s wife.
18 These were the sons of Oholibamah, Esau’s wife:
Chief Jeush, Chief Jalam, and Chief Korah. These were the chiefs who came from Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah, Esau’s wife.
19 These were the sons of Esau, who is Edom, and these were their chiefs.
The Sons of Seir
20 These were the sons of Seir the Horite, who inhabited the land:
Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 21 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These were the chiefs of the Horites, the children of Seir in the land of Edom.
22 The children of Lotan were
Hori and Homam, and Lotan’s sister was Timna.
23 The children of Shobal were these:
Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam.
24 These were the children of Zibeon:
Aiah and Anah. This was the Anah who found the water in the wilderness as he fed the donkeys of Zibeon, his father.
25 The children of Anah were these:
Dishon and Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah.
26 These are the children of Dishon:
Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Keran.
27 The children of Ezer were these:
Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan.
28 The children of Dishan were these:
Uz and Aran.
29 These were the chiefs that came from the Horites:
Chief Lotan, Chief Shobal, Chief Zibeon, Chief Anah, 30 Chief Dishon, Chief Ezer, and Chief Dishan. These are the chiefs who came from Hori, among their chiefs in the land of Seir.
The Kings of Edom(C)
31 These were the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before there reigned any king over the children of Israel.
32 Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom, and the name of his city was Dinhabah.
33 Bela died, and Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his stead.
34 Jobab died, and Husham of the land of Temani reigned in his stead.
35 Husham died, and Hadad the son of Bedad, who defeated Midian in the field of Moab, reigned in his stead, and the name of his city was Avith.
36 Hadad died, and Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his stead.
37 Samlah died, and Shaul of Rehoboth by the river reigned in his stead.
38 Shaul died, and Baal-Hanan the son of Akbor reigned in his stead.
39 Baal-Hanan the son of Akbor died, and Hadad reigned in his stead, and the name of his city was Pau. His wife’s name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Me-Zahab.
40 These are the names of the chiefs who came from Esau, according to their families, according to their places, by their names:
Chief Timnah, Chief Alvah, Chief Jetheth, 41 Chief Oholibamah, Chief Elah, Chief Pinon, 42 Chief Kenaz, Chief Teman, Chief Mibzar, 43 Chief Magdiel, and Chief Iram. These were the chiefs of Edom, according to their settlements in the land of their possession.
Esau was the father of the Edomites.
Joseph’s Dreams
37 Now Jacob lived in the land where his father was a foreigner, in the land of Canaan.
2 These are the generations of Jacob.
Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brothers, and the boy was with the sons of Bilhah and with the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives. Joseph brought back a bad report about them to their father.
3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons, because he was the son of his old age, and he made him a coat of many colors.[c] 4 But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him.
5 Now Joseph dreamed a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more. 6 He said to them, “Please listen to this dream which I have dreamed. 7 We were binding sheaves in the field. All of a sudden my sheaf rose up and stood upright, and your sheaves stood around it and bowed down to my sheaf.”
8 His brothers said to him, “Will you really reign over us, or will you really have dominion over us?” So they hated him even more because of his dreams and his words.
9 Then he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, “I have dreamed another dream. The sun and the moon and eleven stars were bowing to me.”
10 But when he told it to his father and his brothers, his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Will I and your mother and your brothers really come to bow down ourselves to you to the ground?” 11 So his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.
Joseph Sold Into Slavery
12 Now his brothers went to feed their father’s flock in Shechem. 13 Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers feeding the flock in Shechem? Come, and I will send you to them.”
He answered, “Here I am.”
14 Israel said to him, “Please go and see if it is well with your brothers and well with the flocks, and bring back word to me.” So he sent him out of the Valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.
15 A certain man found him wandering in the field. The man asked him, “What are you looking for?”
16 And he said, “I am looking for my brothers. Please tell me where they are feeding their flocks.”
17 The man said, “They have departed from here. I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’ ”
So Joseph went after his brothers and found them in Dothan.
18 When they saw him some distance away, before he came near to them, they conspired against him to kill him.
19 They said one to another, “The master of dreams comes! 20 Come now, let us kill him and throw him into some pit, and we will say, ‘Some evil beast has devoured him.’ Then we will see what will become of his dreams.”
21 But when Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not kill him.” 22 Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood, but throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but lay no hand on him,” so that he might rescue him out of their hands and deliver him to his father again.
23 When Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped Joseph of his coat—his coat of many colors that he had on. 24 And they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty, and there was no water in it.
25 Then they sat down to eat. And looking up, they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing spices, balm, and myrrh, carrying it down to Egypt.
26 Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? 27 Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let us not lay our hand on him, for he is our brother and our own flesh.” So his brothers agreed.
28 Then when the Midianite merchants passed by, they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver.[d] They took Joseph to Egypt.
29 When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not in the pit, he tore his clothes. 30 He returned to his brothers, and said, “The boy is not there, and I, where can I go?”
31 They took Joseph’s coat and killed a young goat and dipped the coat in the blood. 32 Then they took the coat of many colors and brought it to their father and said, “This we have found. Do you know whether it is your son’s robe or not?”
33 He knew it and said, “It is my son’s coat. A wild beast has devoured him. Joseph has without a doubt been torn into pieces.”
34 Jacob tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his waist and mourned for his son many days. 35 All his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. And he said, “For I will go down into the grave mourning for my son.” So his father wept for him.
36 Meanwhile the Midianites sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard.
Judah and Tamar
38 At that time Judah left his brothers and visited a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah. 2 There Judah saw the daughter of a certain Canaanite, whose name was Shua, and he took her and had relations with her. 3 She conceived and bore a son, and he called his name Er. 4 She conceived again and bore a son, and she called his name Onan. 5 She again conceived and bore a son and called his name Shelah. He was at Kezib when she bore him.
6 Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, whose name was Tamar. 7 But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord, so the Lord killed him.
8 Then Judah said to Onan, “Go have relations with your brother’s wife, and marry her, and raise up descendants for your brother.” 9 But Onan knew that the descendant would not be his, so when he had relations with his brother’s wife, he let his semen go on the ground, so that he would not give a descendant to his brother. 10 What he did displeased the Lord; therefore He killed him also.
11 Then Judah said to Tamar, his daughter-in-law, “Remain a widow at your father’s house until Shelah my son grows up.” For he thought, “He may die also, just as his brothers did.” So Tamar went and lived in her father’s house.
12 As time went on, the daughter of Shua, Judah’s wife, died. After Judah was consoled, he went up to his sheepshearers in Timnah, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite.
13 It was told to Tamar, “Your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep.” 14 She took off her widow’s clothing, covered herself with a veil, wrapped herself up, and sat in an open place, which is by the road to Timnah. For she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given to him as his wife.
15 When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, because she had covered her face. 16 He turned to her by the road and said, “Come now, let me have relations with you” (for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law).
And she said, “What will you give me, so that you may have relations with me?”
17 And he said, “I will send you a young goat from the flock.”
And she said, “Will you give me a pledge, until you send it?”
18 And he said, “What pledge should I give you?”
And she said, “Your signet, your bracelets, and your staff that is in your hand.” So he gave them to her and had relations with her, and she conceived by him. 19 She arose and went away, and taking off her veil, she put on her widow’s clothing.
20 Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite to receive his pledge from the woman’s hand, but he could not find her. 21 Then he asked the men of the place, “Where is the cult prostitute who was at Enaim by the road?”
And they said, “There was no prostitute in this place.”
22 So he returned to Judah and said, “I cannot find her. Also, the men of the place said there was no cult prostitute in this place.”
23 Judah replied, “Let her keep them for herself, or we shall be laughed at. I sent this young goat, and you did not find her.”
24 After about three months, it was told Judah, “Tamar your daughter-in-law has turned to prostitution, and what is more, as a result of prostitution she is pregnant.”
Then Judah said, “Bring her forth, and let her be burned!”
25 When she was brought forth, she sent word to her father-in-law, saying, “By the man to whom these belong am I with child.” And she said, “Please identify whose these are—the signet and bracelet and staff.”
26 Judah recognized them and said, “She has been more righteous than I, because I did not give her to Shelah my son.” He did not have relations with her again.
27 When it was time for her to give birth, there were twins in her womb. 28 While she was giving birth, one put out his hand, and the midwife took and tied on his hand a scarlet thread, saying, “This one came out first.” 29 But as he drew back his hand, his brother came out. Then she said, “How have you made a breach for yourself?” Therefore his name was called Perez. 30 Afterward his brother came out, the one that had the scarlet thread on his hand, and his name was called Zerah.
Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife
39 Now Joseph was brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there.
2 The Lord was with Joseph, so that he became a prosperous man. He was in the house of his master, the Egyptian. 3 His master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made all that he did to prosper. 4 Joseph found favor in his sight and served him. So he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put under his charge. 5 From the time that he had made him overseer in his house and over all that he had, the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house on account of Joseph. So the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had in the house and in the field. 6 So he left all that he had in Joseph’s charge, and he had no concerns regarding anything except the food he ate.
Now Joseph was handsome and well-built. 7 After a time, his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Lie with me.”
8 But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “My master does not concern himself with anything concerning me in the house, and he has committed all that he has to my charge. 9 There is none greater in this house than I. He has kept nothing back from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” 10 She spoke to Joseph every day, but he did not listen to her about lying with her or being with her.
11 But it happened one day that Joseph went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the house was there. 12 She caught him by his clothing, saying, “Lie with me.” But he left his clothing in her hand and fled and got outside.
13 When she saw that he had left his clothing in her hand and had fled outside, 14 she called to the men of her house and spoke to them, saying, “See, he has brought in a Hebrew among us to humiliate us. He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice. 15 When he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried out, he left his clothing with me, fled, and got outside.”
16 She laid up his clothing next to her until his master came home. 17 She spoke to him using these words, saying, “The Hebrew servant, whom you have brought to us, came in to me to mock me. 18 When I lifted up my voice and cried out, he left his clothing with me and fled outside.”
19 When his master heard the words of his wife, which she spoke to him, saying, “This is what your servant did to me,” he became enraged. 20 Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were confined.
So he was there in the prison. 21 But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. 22 The keeper of the prison committed all the prisoners that were in the prison to the charge of Joseph. So whatever they did there, he was the one responsible for it. 23 The keeper of the prison did not concern himself with anything that was under Joseph’s charge because the Lord was with him. And whatever he did, the Lord made it to prosper.
Joseph Interprets Dreams
40 Sometime after this, the cupbearer of the king of Egypt and his baker offended their lord, the king of Egypt. 2 Pharaoh was angry with his two officials, with the chief of the cupbearers and with the chief of the bakers. 3 So he put them in confinement in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison, the place where Joseph was confined. 4 The captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he attended to them.
They continued to be in confinement for some time. 5 Then the cupbearer and the baker for the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison, both had a dream the same night, each man with his own dream and each dream with its own interpretation.
6 Joseph came in to them in the morning and looked at them and realized they were sad. 7 So he asked Pharaoh’s officials who were with him in the care of his lord’s house, saying, “Why do you look so sad today?”
8 And they said to him, “We have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter for it.”
Then Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me.”
9 The chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph and said to him, “In my dream, a vine was in front of me. 10 And in the vine there were three branches. As it budded, its blossoms shot forth and its clusters brought forth ripe grapes. 11 Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes, and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and I put the cup into Pharaoh’s hand.”
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.