Genesis 35
35
Jacob’s Return to Bethel
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.
Currently Selected:
Genesis 35: NKJV
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Genesis 35
35
Jacob’s Return to Bethel
1Then God said to Jacob, “Get ready and move to Bethel and settle there. Build an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother, Esau.”
2So Jacob told everyone in his household, “Get rid of all your pagan idols, purify yourselves, and put on clean clothing. 3We are now going to Bethel, where I will build an altar to the God who answered my prayers when I was in distress. He has been with me wherever I have gone.”
4So they gave Jacob all their pagan idols and earrings, and he buried them under the great tree near Shechem. 5As they set out, a terror from God spread over the people in all the towns of that area, so no one attacked Jacob’s family.
6Eventually, Jacob and his household arrived at Luz (also called Bethel) in Canaan. 7Jacob built an altar there and named the place El-bethel (which means “God of Bethel”), because God had appeared to him there when he was fleeing from his brother, Esau.
8Soon after this, Rebekah’s old nurse, Deborah, died. She was buried beneath the oak tree in the valley below Bethel. Ever since, the tree has been called Allon-bacuth (which means “oak of weeping”).
9Now that Jacob had returned from Paddan-aram, God appeared to him again at Bethel. God blessed him, 10saying, “Your name is Jacob, but you will not be called Jacob any longer. From now on your name will be Israel.”#35:10 Jacob sounds like the Hebrew words for “heel” and “deceiver.” Israel means “God fights.” So God renamed him Israel.
11Then God said, “I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Be fruitful and multiply. You will become a great nation, even many nations. Kings will be among your descendants! 12And I will give you the land I once gave to Abraham and Isaac. Yes, I will give it to you and your descendants after you.” 13Then God went up from the place where he had spoken to Jacob.
14Jacob set up a stone pillar to mark the place where God had spoken to him. Then he poured wine over it as an offering to God and anointed the pillar with olive oil. 15And Jacob named the place Bethel (which means “house of God”), because God had spoken to him there.
The Deaths of Rachel and Isaac
16Leaving Bethel, Jacob and his clan moved on toward Ephrath. But Rachel went into labor while they were still some distance away. Her labor pains were intense. 17After a very hard delivery, the midwife finally exclaimed, “Don’t be afraid—you have another son!” 18Rachel was about to die, but with her last breath she named the baby Ben-oni (which means “son of my sorrow”). The baby’s father, however, called him Benjamin (which means “son of my right hand”). 19So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). 20Jacob set up a stone monument over Rachel’s grave, and it can be seen there to this day.
21Then Jacob#35:21 Hebrew Israel; also in 35:22a. The names “Jacob” and “Israel” are often interchanged throughout the Old Testament, referring sometimes to the individual patriarch and sometimes to the nation. traveled on and camped beyond Migdal-eder. 22While he was living there, Reuben had intercourse with Bilhah, his father’s concubine, and Jacob soon heard about it.
These are the names of the twelve sons of Jacob:
23The sons of Leah were Reuben (Jacob’s oldest son), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.
24The sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin.
25The sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s servant, were Dan and Naphtali.
26The sons of Zilpah, Leah’s servant, were Gad and Asher.
These are the names of the sons who were born to Jacob at Paddan-aram.
27So Jacob returned to his father, Isaac, in Mamre, which is near Kiriath-arba (now called Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had both lived as foreigners. 28Isaac lived for 180 years. 29Then he breathed his last and died at a ripe old age, joining his ancestors in death. And his sons, Esau and Jacob, buried him.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
For more information about the NLT: