1God said to Ya‘akov, “Get up, go up to Beit-El and live there, and make there an altar to God, who appeared to you when you fled ‘Esav your brother.” 2Then Ya‘akov said to his household and all the others with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods that you have with you, purify yourselves, and put on fresh clothes. 3We’re going to move on and go up to Beit-El. There I will build an altar to God, who answered me when I was in such distress and stayed with me wherever I went.” 4They gave Ya‘akov all the foreign gods in their possession and the earrings they were wearing, and Ya‘akov buried them under the pistachio tree near Sh’khem. 5While they were traveling, a terror from God fell upon the cities around them, so that none of them pursued the sons of Ya‘akov.

6Ya‘akov and all the people with him arrived at Luz (that is, Beit-El) in the land of Kena‘an. 7He built there an altar and called the place El-Beit-El [God of Beit-El], because it was there that God was revealed to him, at the time when he was fleeing from his brother.

8Then D’vorah, Rivkah’s nurse, died. She was buried below Beit-El under the oak, which was given the name Alon-Bakhut [oak of weeping].

9After Ya‘akov arrived from Paddan-Aram, God appeared to him again and blessed him. 10God said to him, “Your name is Ya‘akov, but you will be called Ya‘akov no longer; your name will be Isra’el.” Thus he named him Isra’el. 11God further said to him, “I am El Shaddai. Be fruitful and multiply. A nation, indeed a group of nations, will come from you; kings will be descended from you. (A: vi) 12Moreover, the land which I gave to Avraham and Yitz’chak I will give to you, and I will give the land to your descendants after you.” 13Then God went up from him there where he had spoken with him. (S: vi) 14Ya‘akov set up a standing-stone in the place where he had spoken with him, a stone pillar. Then he poured out a drink offering on it and poured oil on it. 15Ya‘akov called the place where God spoke with him Beit-El.

16Then they traveled on from Beit-El, and while there was still some distance to go before arriving in Efrat, Rachel went into labor, and she had great difficulty with it. 17While she was undergoing this hard labor, the midwife said to her, “Don’t worry, this is also a son for you.” 18But she died in childbirth. As she was dying she named her son Ben-Oni [son of my grief], but his father called him Binyamin [son of the right hand, son of the south]. 19So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Efrat (that is, Beit-Lechem). 20Ya‘akov set up a standing-stone on her grave; it is the standing-stone of Rachel’s grave to this day.

21Isra’el continued his travels and pitched his tent on the other side of Migdal-‘Eder. 22It was while Isra’el was living in that land that Re’uven went and slept with Bilhah his father’s concubine, and Isra’el heard about it.

Ya‘akov had twelve sons. 23The sons of Le’ah were Re’uven Ya‘akov’s firstborn, Shim‘on, Levi, Y’hudah, Yissakhar and Z’vulun. 24The sons of Rachel were Yosef and Binyamin. 25The sons of Bilhah Rachel’s slave-girl were Dan and Naftali. 26And the sons of Zilpah Le’ah’s slave-girl were Gad and Asher. These were Ya‘akov’s sons, born to him in Paddan-Aram.

27Ya‘akov came home to his father Yitz’chak at Mamre, near Kiryat-Arba (also known as Hevron), where Avraham and Yitz’chak had lived as foreigners. 28Yitz’chak lived to be 180 years old. 29Then he breathed his last, died and was gathered to his people, an old man full of years; and his sons ‘Esav and Ya‘akov buried him.

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Genesis 35

1 About this time, God said to Jacob, "Arise and go up to Bethel, and live there, and make an altar to God, who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau."

2 In truth, Jacob, having called together all his house, said: "Cast away the foreign gods that are in your midst and be cleansed, and also change your garments.

3 Arise, and let us go up to Bethel, so that we may make an altar there to God, who heeded me in the day of my tribulation, and who accompanied me on my journey."

4 Therefore, they gave him all the foreign gods which they had, and the earrings which were in their ears. And then he buried them under the terebinth tree, which is beyond the city of Shechem.

5 And when they had set out, the terror of God invaded all the surrounding cities, and they dared not pursue them as they withdrew.

6 And so, Jacob arrived at Luz, which is in the land of Canaan, also named Bethel: he and all the people with him.

7 And he built an altar there, and he called the name of that place, 'House of God.' For there God appeared to him when he fled from his brother.

8 About the same time, Deborah, the nurse of Rebekah, died, and she was buried at the base of Bethel, under an oak tree. And the name of that place was called, 'Oak of Weeping.'

9 Then God appeared again to Jacob, after he returned from Mesopotamia of Syria, and he blessed him,

10 saying: "You will no longer be called Jacob, for your name shall be Israel." And he called him Israel,

11 and he said to him: "I am Almighty God: increase and multiply. Tribes and peoples of nations will be from you, and kings will go forth from your loins.

12 And the land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac, I will give to you, and to your offspring after you."

13 And he withdrew from him.

14 In truth, he set up a monument of stone, in the place where God had spoken to him, pouring out libations over it, and pouring oil,

15 and he called the name of that place, 'Bethel.'

16 Then, departing from there, he arrived in springtime at the land that leads to Ephrath. And there, when Rachel was giving birth,

17 because it was a difficult birth, she began to be in danger. And the midwife said to her, "Do not be afraid, for you will have this son also."

18 Then, when her life was departing because of the pain, and death was now imminent, she called the name of her son Benoni, that is, the son of my pain. Yet truly, his father called him Benjamin, that is, the son of the right hand.

19 And so Rachel died, and she was buried in the way that leads to Ephrath: this place is Bethlehem.

20 And Jacob erected a monument over her sepulcher. This is the monument to Rachel's tomb, even to the present day.

21 Departing from there, he pitched his tent beyond the Tower of the Flock.

22 And when he was living in that region, Reuben went out, and he slept with Bilhah the concubine of his father, which was not such a small matter as to be hidden from him. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve.

23 The sons of Leah: Reuben the first born, and Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Zebulun.

24 The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin.

25 The sons of Bilhah, handmaid of Rachel: Dan and Naphtali.

26 The sons of Zilpah, handmaid of Leah: Gad and Asher. These are the sons of Jacob, who were born to him in Mesopotamia of Syria.

27 And then he went to his father Isaac in Mamre, the city of Arba: this place is Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac sojourned.

28 And the days of Isaac were completed: one hundred and eighty years.

29 And being consumed by old age, he died. And he was placed with his people, being old and full of days. And his sons, Esau and Jacob, buried him.

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B'resheet (Gen) 35

Genesis 35