Genesis 35

Genesis 35

1In the mean time, God said to Jacob: Arise, and go up to Bethel, and dwell there, and make there an altar to God, who appeared to thee when thou didst flee from Esau thy brother.

2And Jacob having called together all his household, said: Cast away the strange gods that are among you, and be cleansed and change your garments.

3Arise, and let us go up to Bethel, that we may make there an altar to God: who heard me in the day of my affliction, and accompanied me in my journey.

4So they gave him all the strange gods they had, and the earrings which were in their ears: and he buried them under the turpentine tree, that is behind the city of Sichem.

5And when they were departed, the terror of God fell upon all the cities round about, and they durst not pursue after them as they went away.

6And Jacob came to Luza, which is in the land of Chanaan, surnamed Bethel: he and all the people that were with him.

7And he built there an altar, and called the name of that place, The house of God: for there God appeared to him when he fled from his brother.

8At the same time Debora, the nurse of Rebecca, died, and was buried at the foot of Bethel under an oak: and the name of that place was called, The oak of weeping.

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

10Saying: Thou shalt not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name. And he called him Israel.

11And said to him: I am God Almighty. Increase thou and be multiplied. Nations and peoples of nations shall be from thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins.

12And the land which I gave to Abraham and Isaac, I will give to thee, and to thy seed after thee.

13And he departed from him.

14But he set up a monument of stone, in the place where God had spoken to him: pouring drink offerings upon it, and pouring oil thereon:

15And calling the name of that place Bethel.

16And going forth from thence, he came in the springtime to the land which leadeth to Ephrata: wherein when Rachel was in travail,

17By reason of her hard labor, she began to be in danger, and the midwife said to her: Fear not, for thou shalt have this son also.

18And when her soul was departing for pain, and death was now at hand, she called the name of her son Benoni, that is, The son of my pain: but his father called him Benjamin, that is, The son of the right hand.

19So Rachel died, and was buried in the highway that leadeth to Ephrata. This is Bethlehem.

20And Jacob erected a pillar over her sepulchre. This is the pillar of Rachel's monument, to this day.

21Departing thence, he pitched his tent beyond the Flock tower.

22And when he dwelt in that country, Ruben went, and slept with Bala, the concubine of his father: which he was not ignorant of. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve.

23The sons of Lia: Ruben the firstborn, and Simeon, and Levi, and Juda, and Issachar, and Zabulon.

24The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin.

25The sons of Bala, Rachel's handmaid: Dan and Nephtali.

26The sons of Zelpha, Lia's handmaid: Gad and Aser. These are the sons of Jacob, that were born to him in Mesopotamia of Syria.

27And he came to Isaac his father in Mambre, the city of Arbee, this is Hebron, wherein Abraham and Isaac sojourned.

28And the days of Isaac were a hundred and eighty years.

29And being spent with age he died, and was gathered to his people, being old and full of days: and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

Genesis 35

1God spoke to Jacob: “Go back to Bethel. Stay there and build an altar to the God who revealed himself to you when you were running for your life from your brother Esau.”

2-3Jacob told his family and all those who lived with him, “Throw out all the alien gods which you have, take a good bath and put on clean clothes, we’re going to Bethel. I’m going to build an altar there to the God who answered me when I was in trouble and has stuck with me everywhere I’ve gone since.”

4-5They turned over to Jacob all the alien gods they’d been holding on to, along with their lucky-charm earrings. Jacob buried them under the oak tree in Shechem. Then they set out. A paralyzing fear descended on all the surrounding villages so that they were unable to pursue the sons of Jacob.

6-7Jacob and his company arrived at Luz, that is, Bethel, in the land of Canaan. He built an altar there and named it El-Bethel (God-of-Bethel) because that’s where God revealed himself to him when he was running from his brother.

8And that’s when Rebekah’s nurse, Deborah, died. She was buried just below Bethel under the oak tree. It was named Allon-Bacuth (Weeping-Oak).

9-10God revealed himself once again to Jacob, after he had come back from Paddan Aram and blessed him: “Your name is Jacob (Heel); but that’s your name no longer. From now on your name is Israel (God-Wrestler).”

11-12God continued,

I am The Strong God.

Have children! Flourish!

A nation—a whole company of nations!—

will come from you.

Kings will come from your loins;

the land I gave Abraham and Isaac

I now give to you,

and pass it on to your descendants.

13And then God was gone, ascended from the place where he had spoken with him.

14-15Jacob set up a stone pillar on the spot where God had spoken with him. He poured a drink offering on it and anointed it with oil. Jacob dedicated the place where God had spoken with him, Bethel (God’s-House).

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16-17They left Bethel. They were still quite a ways from Ephrath when Rachel went into labor—hard, hard labor. When her labor pains were at their worst, the midwife said to her, “Don’t be afraid—you have another boy.”

18With her last breath, for she was now dying, she named him Ben-oni (Son-of-My-Pain), but his father named him Ben-jamin (Son-of-Good-Fortune).

19-20Rachel died and was buried on the road to Ephrath, that is, Bethlehem. Jacob set up a pillar to mark her grave. It is still there today, “Rachel’s Grave Stone.”

* * *

21-22a Israel kept on his way and set up camp at Migdal Eder. While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went and slept with his father’s concubine, Bilhah. And Israel heard of what he did.

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22b-26 There were twelve sons of Jacob.

The sons by Leah:

Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn

Simeon

Levi

Judah

Issachar

Zebulun.

The sons by Rachel:

Joseph

Benjamin.

The sons by Bilhah, Rachel’s maid:

Dan

Naphtali.

The sons by Zilpah, Leah’s maid:

Gad

Asher.

These were Jacob’s sons, born to him in Paddan Aram.

* * *

27-29Finally, Jacob made it back home to his father Isaac at Mamre in Kiriath Arba, present-day Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac had lived. Isaac was now 180 years old. Isaac breathed his last and died—an old man full of years. He was buried with his family by his sons Esau and Jacob.

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Genesis 35