Chronological

Jacob Moves to Bethel

35 Later, God told Jacob, “Get up, move to Bethel, and live there. Build an altar to the God who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau.”

² Jacob announced to his household and to everyone with him, “Throw away the foreign gods that you’ve kept among you, purify yourselves, and change your clothes. ³ Then let’s get up and go to Bethel, where I’ll build an altar to the God who answered me when I was in distress and who was with me on the road, wherever I went.”

⁴ So they handed over to Jacob all their foreign gods on which they had been depending,^[a] along with the rings that they were wearing on their ears. Jacob buried them under the oak that grew near Shechem. ⁵ As they set out on their journey, because the people who lived in the^[b] cities around them feared God, they did not pursue Jacob’s sons.

⁶ Eventually, Jacob and everyone with him arrived at Luz (also called Beth-el) in the territory of Canaan. ⁷ He built an altar there to God and named the place El Beth-el, because God had revealed himself there when he was fleeing from his brother. ⁸ Rebekah’s nurse Deborah died and was buried there, under the oak tree that was below Beth-el. That’s why the place was named Allon-bacuth.^[c]

God Appears Again to Jacob

⁹ God appeared again to Jacob after he had arrived from Paddan-aram^[d] and blessed him. ¹⁰ Then God told him,

So God called his name Israel ¹¹ and also told him,

¹³ After this, God ascended from the place where he had been speaking to him. ¹⁴ Jacob erected a pillar of stone at that very place where God had spoken to him. He poured a drink offering over it, anointed it with oil, ¹⁵ and named the place where God had spoken to him Beth-el.

Rachel Dies in Childbirth

¹⁶ Later, they set out from Beth-el. While still a long way^[e] from Ephrathah, Rachel started to have trouble giving birth. ¹⁷ While she was suffering due to her difficult labor, the midwife told her, “Don’t fear! You’re going to have another son.”

¹⁸ Just before she died,^[f] Rachel called her son’s^[g] name Ben-oni,^[h] but his father Jacob^[i] named him Benjamin.^{[j] 19} So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrathah, also known as Bethlehem. ²⁰ Jacob erected a pillar over her grave, and that pillar stands over Rachel’s grave to this day.

Jacob Settles Near Migdal Eder

²¹ Jacob continued his travels, and eventually pitched his tent facing Migdal Eder. ²² But while Israel lived in that land, Reuben went inside his father’s tent^[k] and had sexual relations with his father’s concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard about it. Now Jacob had twelve sons. ²³ Leah’s sons were Reuben (Jacob’s first-born), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. ²⁴ Rachel’s sons were Joseph and Benjamin. ²⁵ Rachel’s servant Bilhah’s sons were Dan and Naphtali. ²⁶ Leah’s servant Zilpah’s sons were Gad and Asher. These were Jacob’s sons who were born to him while he lived in Paddan-aram.^[l]

The Death of Isaac

²⁷ So Jacob reached his father Isaac at Mamre, in Kiriath-arba (also known as Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had lived. ²⁸ Isaac had lived a total of 180 years ²⁹ when he died and joined his ancestors at a ripe old age. Then his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

Esau’s Genealogies

36 This is a record of Esau’s genealogy, that is, of Edom. ² Esau had married Canaanite women, including Elon the Hittite’s daughter Adah, Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah (who was Zibeon the Hivite’s daughter), and ³ Ishamael’s daughter Basemath (who was Nebaioth’s sister). ⁴ Adah bore Eliphaz to Esau, Basemath bore Reuel, and ⁵ Oholibamah bore Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These were Esau’s sons, who were born to him in the territory of Canaan.

⁶ Later, Esau took his wives, his children, everyone in his household, his livestock, all his animals, and all his possessions that he had acquired in the territory of Canaan and moved far away from his brother Jacob, ⁷ because their holdings were too vast to allow them to stay together, since the land where they had settled was not able to support all of their livestock. ⁸ So Esau lived in Mount Seir.^[m] (Esau was also known as Edom.)

⁹ This is a record of the family history of Esau, the ancestor of the Edomites of Mount Seir. ¹⁰ The names of Esau’s sons were Eliphaz (the son of Esau’s wife Adah) and Reuel (the son of Esau’s wife Basemath).

¹¹ Eliphaz’s sons were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz. ¹² Timnah was a concubine of Esau’s son Eliphaz. She bore Amalek to Eliphaz.

¹³ Reuel’s sons were Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These were the sons of Esau’s wife Basemath.

¹⁴ These were the sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah, who was the daughter of Zibeon. She bore Jeush, Jalam, and Korah for Esau.

Leaders of Esau’s Descendants

¹⁵ These were the tribal leaders of Esau’s descendants; that is, the children of Eliphaz, who was Esau’s firstborn: tribal leaders^[n] Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, ¹⁶ Korah, Gatam, and Amalek. These were the tribal leaders who descended^[o] from Eliphaz in the territory of Edom. These were Adah’s sons.

¹⁷ These were the descendants of Esau’s son Reuel: tribal leaders Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These were the tribal leaders who descended from Reuel in the territory of Edom. These were the sons of Esau’s wife Basemath.

¹⁸ These were the descendants of Esau’s wife Oholibamah: tribal leaders Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These tribal leaders descended from Esau’s wife Oholibamah, Anah’s daughter. ¹⁹ These were the descendants of Esau (also known as Edom) and their tribal leaders.

Leaders of Seir’s Descendants

²⁰ These were the descendants of Seir the Horite, who lived in the territory: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, ²¹ Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These were the tribal leaders who descended from the Horites, the descendants of Seir in the territory of Edom.

²² Lotan’s children were Hori and Hemam. Lotan’s sister was Timna.

²³ Shobal’s children were Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam.

²⁴ Zibeon’s children were Aiah and Anah. Anah discovered the hot springs in the wilderness while grazing his father Zibeon’s donkeys.

²⁵ Anah’s children were Dishon and Anah’s daughter Oholibamah.

²⁶ Dishon’s children were Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Keran.

²⁷ Ezer’s children were Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan.

²⁸ Dishan’s children were Uz and Aran.

²⁹ These were the tribal leaders who descended from the Horites: tribal leaders Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, ³⁰ Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These were the tribal leaders who descended from the Horites, according to their tribal leaders in the territory of Seir.

³¹ This is a list of the kings who ruled the territory of Edom before any king reigned over the Israelis. ³² Beor’s son Bela ruled over Edom. His city’s name was Dinhabah.

³³ After Bela died, Zerah’s son Jobab from Bozrah ruled in his place.

³⁴ After Jobab died, Husham from the territory of the Temanites ruled in his place.

³⁵ After Husham died, Bedad’s son Hadad, who killed Midian in the field of Moab, ruled in his place. His city’s name was Avith.

³⁶ After Hadad died, Samlah from Masrekah ruled in his place.

³⁷ After Samlah died, Shaul from Rehoboth by the river ruled in his place.

³⁸ After Shaul died, Achbor’s son Baal-hanan ruled in his place.

³⁹ After Achbor’s son Baal-hanan died, Hadar ruled in his place. His city’s name was Pau. And his wife’s name was Mehetabel, who was the daughter of Matred, and granddaughter of Me-zahab.

⁴⁰ These were the names of the chiefs who descended from Esau according to their clans, territories, and names: tribal leaders Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, ⁴¹ Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, ⁴² Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, ⁴³ Magdiel, and Iram. These were the chiefs who descended from Edom, according to their territories in their own land.^[p] This was the dynasty of Esau, who was the ancestor of the Edomites.

Joseph’s Life before His Captivity

37 Jacob continued to live in the land they were occupying, where his father had journeyed in the territory of Canaan. ² This is a record of Jacob’s descendants.

When Joseph was seventeen years old, he was helping his brothers tend their flocks. He was a young man at that time, as were the children of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives. But Joseph would come back and tell his father that his brothers were doing bad things. ³ Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his brothers, since he was born to him in his old age, so he had made a richly-embroidered^[q] tunic for him. ⁴ When Joseph’s^[r] brothers realized that their father loved him more than all of his brothers, they hated him so much that they were unable to speak politely to him.

Joseph’s Dreams

⁵ Right about this time, Joseph had a dream and then told it to his brothers. As a result, his brothers hated him all the more! ⁶ “Let me tell you about this dream that I had!” he said. ⁷ “We were tying sheaves together out in the middle of the fields, when all of a sudden, my sheaf stood up erect! And then your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf!”

⁸ At this, his brothers replied, “Do you really think you’re going to rule us or lord it over us?” So they hated him even more because of his dreams and his interpretations of them.

⁹ But then he had another dream, and he proceeded to tell his brothers about that one, too. “I had another dream,” he said. “The sun, moon, and eleven of the stars were bowing down before me!”

¹⁰ When Joseph told his father about this, his father rebuked him and asked him, “What kind of dream is that? Will I, your mother, and your brothers really come to you and bow down to the ground in front of you?” ¹¹ As a result, his brothers became more envious of him. But his father kept thinking about all of this.

Joseph is Sent to Visit His Brothers

¹² Some time later, his brothers left to tend their father’s flock in Shechem. ¹³ And Israel instructed Joseph, “Your brothers are tending the flock in Shechem. Come here, because I’m going to send you to them.”

“Here I am!” he responded.

¹⁴ “Go and see how things are with your brothers,” Israel^[s] ordered him. “And see how things are with the flock. Bring back a report for me.” Then he sent Joseph^[t] from the valley of Hebron.

When Joseph reached Shechem, ¹⁵ a man found him wandering around in a field. So the man asked him, “What are you looking for?”

¹⁶ “I’m searching for my brothers,” he responded. “Tell me, where are they tending the flock?”^[u]

¹⁷ “They’ve already left,” the man answered. “I heard them saying that they were headed to Dothan.” So Joseph followed his brothers to Dothan and found them there.

Joseph’s Brothers Plot to Kill Him

¹⁸ Now as soon as they saw him approaching from a distance, before he arrived they plotted together to kill him. ¹⁹ “Look!” they said. “Here comes the Dream Master! ²⁰ Come on! Let’s kill him and toss him into one of the cisterns. Then we’ll report that some wild animal devoured him and wait to see what becomes of his dreams!”

²¹ When Reuben heard about it, he tried to save Joseph^[v] from their plot. “Let’s not do any killing,”^{[w] 22} Reuben told them. “And no blood shedding, either. Instead, let’s toss him into this cistern that’s way out here in the wilderness. But don’t lay a hand on him.” (Reuben^[x] intended to free Joseph^[y] and return him to his father.)

Joseph is Sold into Slavery

²³ As it was, when Joseph arrived where his brothers were, they stripped off the tunic that Jacob had given him—that is, the richly-embroidered^[z] tunic that he was wearing. ²⁴ They grabbed him and tossed him into the cistern, but the cistern was empty. (There was no water in it.) ²⁵ After this, while they were seated, eating their food, they looked around and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead with camels carrying spices, balm, and myrrh for sale down in Egypt.

²⁶ Then Judah suggested to his brothers, “Where’s the profit in just killing our brother and shedding his blood? ²⁷ Come on! Let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites! That way, we won’t have laid our hands on him. After all, he’s our brother, our own flesh.”

So Judah’s^[aa] brothers listened to him. ²⁸ As the Midianite merchants were passing through, they extracted Joseph from the cistern and sold Joseph for 20 pieces of silver to the Ishmaelites, who then took Joseph down to Egypt.

²⁹ Later, when Reuben returned to the cistern, Joseph wasn’t there! In mounting panic, he tore his clothes, ³⁰ returned to his brothers, and shouted, “He’s^[ab] not there! Now what? Where am I to go?”

³¹ So they took Joseph’s coat, slaughtered a young goat, and dipped the coat in the blood. ³² Then they stretched out the richly-embroidered^[ac] tunic to dry,^[ad] and brought it to their father.

“We’ve found this,” they reported. “Look at it and see if this is or isn’t your son’s tunic.”

³³ Examining it, he cried out, “It’s my son’s tunic! A wild animal has no doubt torn Joseph to pieces.”

³⁴ So Jacob tore his clothes, dressed himself in sackcloth, and then mourned many days for his son. ³⁵ All his sons and daughters showed^[ae] up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. He kept saying, “Leave me alone! I’ll go down to the next world,^[af] still mourning for my son.” So Joseph’s father wept for him.

Joseph is Enslaved to Potiphar

³⁶ Meanwhile, down in Egypt, the Midianites sold Joseph^[ag] to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s court officials, who was also Commander-in-Chief of the imperial guards.