Genesis 35
35
Chapter 35
Jacob goes back to Bethel
1After these things had happened, God said to Jacob, ‘Go to Bethel and live there. Build an altar to worship me. I am the God who appeared to you when you were running away from Esau.’ 2So Jacob told the people in his house and everyone who was with him, ‘Throw out all the foreign idols that you have with you. Wash your body very well and put on clean clothes. 3Then we will go to Bethel. I will build an altar there to worship God. He is the one who answered me when I was in trouble. And he has been with me everywhere that I went.’
4So the people gave to Jacob all their idols and the rings that were in their ears. Jacob buried these things under the oak tree near Shechem city. 5Then they began their journey. All the towns near there were afraid of God's power. So no one attacked Jacob and his people.
6Jacob and everyone with him arrived at Luz, now called Bethel. That is in the land of Canaan. 7Jacob built an altar there. He called the place El Bethel, because that was where God appeared to him. #35:7 El Bethel means ‘God of Bethel’. God had appeared to him when he was running away from his brother Esau.
8Rebekah's nurse, Deborah, died at that time. Jacob buried her under the oak tree near Bethel. That is why they call the place Allon Bacuth. #35:8 Allon Bacuth means ‘oak tree where people wept’.
9After Jacob returned from Paddan Aram, God appeared to him again. God blessed Jacob. 10He said to Jacob, ‘Your name is Jacob, but you will no longer be called Jacob. Instead, your name will be Israel.’ So God gave the name Israel to Jacob. #35:10 See Genesis 32:28.
11Then God said to him, ‘I am Almighty God. Give birth to many children so that your descendants become very many. They will become many nations and some of them will be kings. 12I give to you the land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac. Yes, I will give this land to your descendants that come after you.’ #35:12 God is telling Jacob about the promise that he made to Abraham (Genesis 17:1-8) and to Isaac (Genesis 26:3).
13Then God went away from the place where he spoke to Jacob. 14Jacob set up a special stone on the ground. It showed the place where God had spoken to him. He poured a drink offering on the stone. He also poured olive oil on it. 15In that way, Jacob called the place where God spoke to him Bethel.
16Then they left Bethel and they continued to travel. When they were still a long way from Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth. She had a lot of pain. 17As she was having even more pain, the woman who was helping her said, ‘Do not be afraid. You have another son!’ 18But Rachel was dying. With her last breath, she gave to her son the name Ben-Oni. But Jacob, his father, called him Benjamin. #35:18 Ben-Oni means ‘son of my pain’. Benjamin means ‘son of my right hand’.
19After Rachel died, they buried near the road that goes to Ephrath. #35:19 Ephrath is now called Bethlehem. 20Jacob set up a special stone over the place where they buried Rachel. This stone still shows the place.
21Israel then travelled on again. #35:21 Jacob is now called Israel, but the Bible uses both names. He put up his tents beyond Migdal Eder. 22While Israel stayed there, his son Reuben had sex with Bilhah. She was Israel's slave wife, and Israel heard what had happened.
Jacob had 12 sons:
23The sons of Leah were Jacob's firstborn, Reuben, then Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun.
24The sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin.
25The sons of Rachel's servant, Bilhah, were Dan and Naphtali.
26The sons of Leah's servant, Zilpah, were Gad and Asher.
Those were Jacob's sons who were born to him in Paddan Aram.
27Jacob arrived back at his father Isaac's home. This was in Mamre, also called Kiriath Arba, or Hebron. It was the place where Abraham and Isaac had stayed. 28Isaac lived for 180 years. 29Then he died and he joined his ancestors. He was an old man who had lived a long life. His sons, Esau and Jacob, buried him.
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Genesis 35
35
Jacob’s Fifth Encounter with God
1Then God said to Jacob, “Go to Bethel and live there. Make an altar there. I am the God who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau.”
2So Jacob said to his family and those who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods which you have, wash yourselves until you are ritually clean,#35:2 “Clean” refers to anything that is presentable to God. and change your clothes. 3Then let’s go to Bethel. I will make an altar there to God, who answered me when I was troubled and who has been with me wherever I’ve gone.” 4So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods that they had in their possession as well as the earrings that they had on. Jacob buried these things under the oak tree near Shechem.
5As they moved on, God made the people of the cities that were all around them terrified so that no one pursued them. 6Jacob and all the people who were with him came to Luz (that is, Bethel) in the land of Canaan. 7He built an altar there and called that place El Bethel [God of the House of God]. That’s where God had revealed himself to Jacob when he was fleeing from his brother. 8Rebekah’s nurse Deborah died and was buried under the oak tree outside Bethel. So Jacob called it the Tree of Crying.
Jacob’s Sixth Encounter with God—His Name Changed to Israel
9Then God appeared once more to Jacob after he came back from Paddan Aram, and he blessed him. 10God said to him, “Your name is Jacob. You will no longer be called Jacob, but your name will be Israel.” So he named him Israel.
11God also said to him, “I am God Almighty. Be fertile, and increase in number. A nation and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will come from you. 12I will give you the land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac. I will also give this land to your descendants.” 13Then God went up from him at the place where he had spoken with him. 14So Jacob set up a memorial, a stone marker, to mark the place where God had spoken with him. He poured a wine offering and olive oil on it. 15Jacob named the place where God had spoken with him Bethel [House of God].
Jacob’s [Israel’s] Sons
(1 Chronicles 2:1–2)
16Then they moved on from Bethel. When they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel went into labor and was having severe labor pains. 17During one of her pains, the midwife said to her, “Don’t be afraid! You’re having another son!” 18Rachel was dying. As she took her last breath, she named her son Benoni [Son of My Sorrow], but his father named him Benjamin [Son of My Right Hand].
19Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). 20Then Jacob set up a stone as a marker for her grave. The same marker is at Rachel’s grave today.
21Israel moved on again and put up his tent beyond Migdal Eder. 22While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went to bed with his father’s concubine #35:22 A concubine is considered a wife except she has fewer rights under the law. Bilhah, and Israel heard about it.
Jacob had 12 sons.
23The sons of Leah were
Jacob’s firstborn Reuben, then Simeon,
Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.
24The sons of Rachel were
Joseph and Benjamin.
25The sons of Rachel’s slave Bilhah were
Dan and Naphtali.
26The sons of Leah’s slave Zilpah were
Gad and Asher.
These were Jacob’s sons, who were born in Paddan Aram.
27Jacob came home to his father Isaac to Mamre’s city, Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron). Abraham and Isaac had lived there for a while. 28Isaac was 180 years old 29when he took his last breath and died. He joined his ancestors in death at a very old age. His sons Esau and Jacob buried him.
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