Chronological

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.^{[a] 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.^[b] 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^[c] from Ephrath, Rachel went into labor. And she had hard labor. ¹⁷ And when her labor was the most difficult^[d] the midwife said to her, “Do not be afraid for you have another son.”^{[e] 18} And it happened that when her life was departing (for she was dying), she called his name Ben-Oni.^[f] But his father called him Benjamin.^{[g] 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.^{[h] 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,^[i] 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.^{[j] 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^[k] 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^[l] 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^[m] 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^[n] 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.^{[o] 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^[p] 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,^[q] 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^[r] 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,^[s] 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^[t] 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^[u] 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!^[v] Now I, what can I do?”^{[w] 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^[x] 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.