1Then God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to #Gen. 28:19; 31:13Bethel and dwell there; and make an altar there to God, #Gen. 28:13who appeared to you #Gen. 27:43when you fled from the face of Esau your brother.”

2And Jacob said to his #Gen. 18:19; Josh. 24:15household and to all who were with him, “Put away #Gen. 31:19, 30, 34; Josh. 24:2, 14, 23the foreign gods that are among you, #Ex. 19:10, 14; Lev. 13:6purify yourselves, and change your garments. 3Then let us arise and go up to Bethel; and I will make an altar there to God, #Gen. 32:7, 24; Ps. 107:6who answered me in the day of my distress #Gen. 28:15, 20; 31:3, 42and has been with me in the way which I have gone.” 4So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods which were in their hands, and the #Hos. 2:13earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under #Josh. 24:26; Judg. 9:6the terebinth tree which was by Shechem.

5And they journeyed, and #Ex. 15:16; 23:27; (Deut. 2:25; 11:25); Josh. 2:9; 1 Sam. 14:15the terror of God was upon the cities that were all around them, and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob. 6So Jacob came to #Gen. 28:19, 22; 48:3Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him. 7And he #Gen. 33:20; 35:3; Eccl. 5:4built an altar there and called the place El Bethel, because #Gen. 28:13there God appeared to him when he fled from the face of his brother.

8Now #Gen. 24:59Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and she was buried below Bethel under the terebinth tree. So the name of it was called Allon Bachuth.

9Then #Josh. 5:13; Dan. 10:5God appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Padan Aram, and #Gen. 32:29; Hos. 12:4blessed him. 10And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; #Gen. 17:5your name shall not be called Jacob anymore, #Gen. 32:28but Israel shall be your name.” So He called his name Israel. 11Also God said to him: #Gen. 17:1; 28:3; 48:3, 4; Ex. 6:3“I am God Almighty. #Gen. 9:1, 7Be fruitful and multiply; #Gen. 17:5, 6, 16; 28:3; 48:4a nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you, and kings shall come from your body. 12The #Gen. 12:7; 13:15; 26:3, 4; 28:13; 48:4; Ex. 32:13land which I gave Abraham and Isaac I give to you; and to your descendants after you I give this land.” 13Then God #Gen. 17:22; 18:33went up from him in the place where He talked with him. 14So Jacob #Gen. 28:18, 19; 31:45set up a pillar in the place where He talked with him, a pillar of stone; and he poured a drink offering on it, and he poured oil on it. 15And Jacob called the name of the place where God spoke with him, #Gen. 28:19Bethel.

Death of Rachel

16Then they journeyed from Bethel. And when there was but a little distance to go to Ephrath, Rachel labored in childbirth, and she had hard labor. 17Now it came to pass, when she was in hard labor, that the midwife said to her, “Do not fear; #Gen. 30:24; 1 Sam. 4:20you will have this son also.” 18And so it was, as her soul was departing (for she died), that she called his name Ben-Oni; but his father called him Benjamin. 19So #Gen. 48:7Rachel died and was buried on the way to #Ruth 1:2; 4:11; Mic. 5:2; Matt. 2:6Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). 20And Jacob set a pillar on her grave, which is the pillar of Rachel’s grave #1 Sam. 10:2to this day.

21Then Israel journeyed and pitched his tent beyond #Mic. 4:8the tower of Eder. 22And it happened, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and #Gen. 49:4; 1 Chr. 5:1lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine; and Israel heard about it.

Jacob’s Twelve Sons

Now the sons of Jacob were twelve: 23the sons of Leah were #Gen. 29:31–35; 30:18–20; 46:8; Ex. 1:1–4Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, and Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun; 24the sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin; 25the sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s maidservant, were Dan and Naphtali; 26and the sons of Zilpah, Leah’s maidservant, were Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Padan Aram.

Death of Isaac

27Then Jacob came to his father Isaac at #Gen. 13:18; 18:1; 23:19Mamre, or #Josh. 14:15Kirjath Arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had dwelt. 28Now the days of Isaac were one hundred and eighty years. 29So Isaac breathed his last and died, and #Gen. 15:15; 25:8; 49:33was gathered to his people, being old and full of days. And #Gen. 25:9; 49:31his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

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Genesis 35

Jacob in Bethel

1God said to Jacob, “Go to the city of Bethel and live there. Make an altar to the God who appeared to you there. This was when you were running away from your brother Esau.”

2So Jacob said to his family and to all who were with him, “Put away the foreign gods you have. Make yourselves clean, and change your clothes. 3We will leave here and go to Bethel. There I will build an altar to God. He has helped me during my time of trouble. He has been with me everywhere I have gone.” 4So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods they had. And they gave him the earrings they were wearing. He hid them under the great tree near the town of Shechem. 5Then Jacob and his sons left there. But God caused the people in the nearby cities to be afraid. So they did not follow the sons of Jacob. 6And Jacob and all the people who were with him went to Luz. It is now called Bethel. It is in the land of Canaan. 7There Jacob built an altar. He named the place Bethel, after God, because God had appeared to him there. That was when he was running from his brother.

8Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died and was buried under the oak tree at Bethel. They named that place Oak of Crying.

Jacob’s New Name

9When Jacob came back from Northwest Mesopotamia, God appeared to him again. And God blessed him. 10God said to him, “Your name is Jacob. But you will not be called Jacob any longer. Your new name will be Israel.” So he called him Israel. 11God said to him, “I am God All-Powerful. Have many children and grow in number as a nation. You will be the ancestor of many nations and kings. 12I gave Abraham and Isaac land. I will give that same land to you and your descendants.” 13Then God left him. 14Jacob set up a stone on edge in that place where God had talked to him. And he poured a drink offering and olive oil on it to make it special for God. 15And Jacob named the place Bethel.

Rachel Dies Giving Birth

16Jacob and his group left Bethel. Before they came to Ephrath, Rachel began giving birth to her baby. 17But she was having much trouble with this birth. When Rachel’s nurse saw this, she said, “Don’t be afraid, Rachel. You are giving birth to another son.” 18Rachel gave birth to the son, but she died. As she lay dying, she named the boy Son of My Suffering. But Jacob called him Benjamin.# This name means “right-hand son” or “favorite son.”

19Rachel was buried on the road to Ephrath, a district of Bethlehem. 20And Jacob set up a rock on her grave to honor her. That rock is still there today. 21Then Israel, also called Jacob, continued his journey. He camped just south of Migdal Eder.

22While Israel was in that land Reuben had physical relations with Israel’s slave woman Bilhah. And Israel heard about it.

The Family of Israel

Jacob had 12 sons. 23He had 6 sons by his wife Leah. Reuben was his first son. Then Leah had Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun.

24He had 2 sons by his wife Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin.

25He had 2 sons by Rachel’s slave girl Bilhah: Dan and Naphtali.

26And he had 2 sons by Leah’s slave girl Zilpah: Gad and Asher.

These are Jacob’s sons who were born in Northwest Mesopotamia.

27Jacob went to his father Isaac at Mamre near Hebron. This is where Abraham and Isaac had lived. 28Isaac lived 180 years. 29So Isaac breathed his last breath and died when he was very old. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

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Genesis 35

Genesis 35