Jacob Moves to Bethel
Then God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to aBethel and live there, and make an altar there to bGod, who appeared to you cwhen you fled from your brother Esau.” 2 So Jacob said to his ahousehold and to all who were with him, “Put away bthe foreign gods which are among you, and cpurify yourselves and change your garments; 3 and let us arise and go up to Bethel, and I will make aan altar there to God, bwho answered me in the day of my distress and chas been with me wherever I have gone.” 4 So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods which they had and the rings which were in their ears, and Jacob hid them under the oak which was near Shechem.
5 As they journeyed, there was aa great terror upon the cities which were around them, and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob. 6 So Jacob came to aLuz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him. 7 aHe built an altar there, and called the place El-bethel, because there God had revealed Himself to him when he fled from his brother. 8 Now aDeborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and she was buried below Bethel under the oak; it was named Allon-bacuth.
Jacob Is Named Israel
9 Then God appeared to Jacob again when he came from Paddan-aram, and He ablessed him. 10 aGod said to him,
“Your name is Jacob;
You shall no longer be called Jacob,
But Israel shall be your name.”
Thus He called him Israel. 11 God also said to him,
“I am aGod Almighty;
bBe fruitful and multiply;
A nation and a ccompany of nations shall come from you,
And dkings shall come forth from you.
12 “aThe land which I gave to Abraham and Isaac,
I will give it to you,
And I will give the land to your descendants after you.”
13 Then aGod went up from him in the place where He had spoken with him. 14 Jacob set up aa pillar in the place where He had spoken with him, a pillar of stone, and he poured out a drink offering on it; he also poured oil on it. 15 So Jacob named the place where God had spoken with him, aBethel.
16 Then they journeyed from Bethel; and when there was still some distance to go to aEphrath, Rachel began to give birth and she suffered severe labor. 17 When she was in severe labor the midwife said to her, “Do not fear, for now ayou have another son.” 18 It came about as her soul was departing (for she died), that she named him Ben-oni; but his father called him Benjamin. 19 So aRachel died and was buried on the way to bEphrath (that is, Bethlehem). 20 Jacob set up a pillar over her grave; that is the apillar of Rachel’s grave to this day. 21 Then Israel journeyed on and pitched his tent beyond the atower of Eder.
22 It came about while Israel was dwelling in that land, that aReuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine, and Israel heard of it.
The Sons of Israel
Now there were twelve sons of Jacob— 23 athe sons of Leah: Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, then Simeon and Levi and Judah and Issachar and Zebulun; 24 athe sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin; 25 and athe sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s maid: Dan and Naphtali; 26 and athe sons of Zilpah, Leah’s maid: Gad and Asher. These are the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan-aram.
27 Jacob came to his father Isaac at aMamre of bKiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had sojourned.
28 Now the days of Isaac were aone hundred and eighty years. 29 Isaac breathed his last and died and was agathered to his people, an bold man of ripe age; and chis sons Esau and Jacob buried him.
Esau Moves
Now these are the records of the generations of aEsau (that is, Edom).
2 Esau atook his wives from the daughters of Canaan: Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and bOholibamah the daughter of Anah and the cgranddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite; 3 also Basemath, Ishmael’s daughter, the sister of Nebaioth. 4 Adah bore aEliphaz to Esau, 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 aThen Esau took his wives and his sons and his daughters and all his household, and his livestock and all his cattle and all his goods which he had acquired in the land of Canaan, and went to another land away from his brother Jacob. 7 aFor their property had become too great for them to live together, and the bland where they csojourned could not sustain them because of their livestock. 8 So Esau lived in the hill country of aSeir; Esau is bEdom.
Descendants of Esau
9 These then are the records of 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 Esau’s wife Adah, Reuel the son of Esau’s wife Basemath. 11 The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho and Gatam and Kenaz. 12 Timna was a concubine of Esau’s son Eliphaz and she bore aAmalek to Eliphaz. These are the sons of Esau’s wife Adah. 13 These are the sons of Reuel: Nahath and 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 and the granddaughter of Zibeon: she bore to Esau, Jeush and Jalam and Korah.
15 These are the chiefs of the sons of Esau. The sons of Eliphaz, the firstborn of Esau, are chief Teman, chief Omar, chief Zepho, chief Kenaz, 16 chief Korah, chief Gatam, chief Amalek. These are the chiefs descended from Eliphaz in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Adah. 17 These are the sons of Reuel, Esau’s son: chief Nahath, chief Zerah, chief Shammah, chief Mizzah. These are the chiefs descended from Reuel in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Esau’s wife Basemath. 18 These are the sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah: chief Jeush, chief Jalam, chief Korah. These are the chiefs descended from Esau’s wife Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah. 19 These are the sons of Esau (that is, Edom), and these are their chiefs.
20 These are the sons of Seir athe Horite, the inhabitants of the land: Lotan and Shobal and Zibeon and Anah, 21 and Dishon and Ezer and Dishan. These are the chiefs descended from the Horites, the sons of Seir in the land of Edom. 22 The sons of Lotan were Hori and Hemam; and Lotan’s sister was Timna. 23 These are the sons of Shobal: Alvan and Manahath and Ebal, Shepho and Onam. 24 These are the sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah—he is the Anah who found the hot springs in the wilderness when he was pasturing the donkeys of his father Zibeon. 25 These are the children of Anah: Dishon, and Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah. 26 These are the sons of aDishon: Hemdan and Eshban and Ithran and Cheran. 27 These are the sons of Ezer: Bilhan and Zaavan and Akan. 28 These are the sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran. 29 These are the chiefs descended from the Horites: chief Lotan, chief Shobal, chief Zibeon, chief Anah, 30 chief Dishon, chief Ezer, chief Dishan. These are the chiefs descended from the Horites, according to their various chiefs in the land of Seir.
31 Now these are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any aking reigned over the sons of Israel. 32 aBela the son of Beor reigned in Edom, and the name of his city was Dinhabah. 33 Then Bela died, and Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah became king in his place. 34 Then Jobab died, and Husham of the land of the Temanites became king in his place. 35 Then Husham died, and Hadad the son of Bedad, who defeated Midian in the field of Moab, became king in his place; and the name of his city was Avith. 36 Then Hadad died, and Samlah of Masrekah became king in his place. 37 Then Samlah died, and Shaul of Rehoboth on the Euphrates River became king in his place. 38 Then Shaul died, and Baal-hanan the son of Achbor became king in his place. 39 Then Baal-hanan the son of Achbor died, and Hadar became king in his place; and the name of his city was Pau; and his wife’s name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, daughter of Mezahab.
40 Now these are the names of the chiefs descended from Esau, according to their families and their localities, by their names: chief Timna, chief Alvah, chief Jetheth, 41 chief Oholibamah, chief Elah, chief Pinon, 42 chief Kenaz, chief Teman, chief Mibzar, 43 chief Magdiel, chief Iram. These are the chiefs of Edom (that is, Esau, the father of the Edomites), according to their habitations in the land of their possession.
Joseph’s Dream
Now Jacob lived in athe land where his father had sojourned, in the land of Canaan. 2 These are the records of the generations of Jacob.
Joseph, when aseventeen years of age, was pasturing the flock with his brothers while he was still a youth, along with bthe sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives. And Joseph brought back a cbad report about them to their father. 3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons, because he was athe son of his old age; and he made him a bvaricolored tunic. 4 His brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers; and so they ahated him and could not speak to him on friendly terms.
5 Then Joseph ahad 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 had; 7 for behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and lo, my sheaf rose up and also stood erect; and behold, your sheaves gathered around and abowed down to my sheaf.” 8 Then his brothers said to him, “aAre you actually going to reign over us? Or are you really going to rule over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.
9 Now he had still another dream, and related it to his brothers, and said, “Lo, I have had still another dream; and behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” 10 He related it to his father and to his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have had? Shall I and your mother and ayour brothers actually come to bow ourselves down before you to the ground?” 11 aHis brothers were jealous of him, but his father bkept the saying in mind.
12 Then his brothers went to pasture their father’s flock in Shechem. 13 Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flock in aShechem? Come, and I will send you to them.” And he said to him, “I will go.” 14 Then he said to him, “Go now and see about the welfare of your brothers and the welfare of the flock, and bring word back to me.” So he sent him from the valley of aHebron, and he came to Shechem.
15 A man found him, and behold, he was wandering in the field; and the man asked him, “What are you looking for?” 16 He said, “I am looking for my brothers; please tell me where they are pasturing the flock.” 17 Then the man said, “They have moved from here; for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to aDothan.’” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.
The Plot against Joseph
18 When they saw him from a distance and before he came close to them, they aplotted against him to put him to death. 19 They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer! 20 Now then, come and let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; and awe will say, ‘A wild beast devoured him.’ Then let us see what will become of his dreams!” 21 But aReuben heard this and rescued him out of their hands and said, “Let us not take his life.” 22 Reuben further said to them, “Shed no blood. Throw him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but do not lay hands on him”—that he might rescue him out of their hands, to restore him to his father. 23 So it came about, when Joseph reached his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the varicolored tunic that was on him; 24 and they took him and threw him into the pit. Now the pit was empty, without any water in it.
25 Then they sat down to eat a meal. And as they raised their eyes and looked, behold, a caravan of aIshmaelites was coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing baromatic gum and cbalm and myrrh, on their way to bring them down to Egypt. 26 Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it for us to kill our brother and acover up his blood? 27 aCome and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers listened to him. 28 Then some aMidianite traders passed by, so they pulled him up and lifted Joseph out of the pit, and bsold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. Thus cthey brought Joseph into Egypt.
29 Now Reuben returned to the pit, and behold, Joseph was not in the pit; so he atore his garments. 30 He returned to his brothers and said, “aThe boy is not there; as for me, where am I to go?” 31 So athey took Joseph’s tunic, and slaughtered a male goat and dipped the tunic in the blood; 32 and they sent the varicolored tunic and brought it to their father and said, “We found this; please examine it to see whether it is your son’s tunic or not.” 33 Then he examined it and said, “It is my son’s tunic. aA wild beast has devoured him; bJoseph has surely been torn to pieces!” 34 So Jacob atore his clothes, and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son many days. 35 Then all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. And he said, “Surely I will ago down to Sheol in mourning for my son.” So his father wept for him. 36 Meanwhile, the Midianites asold him in Egypt to Potiphar, Pharaoh’s officer, the captain of the bodyguard. New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995
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