Genesis 35
35
Jacob Returns to Bethel
1Then God said to Jacob, “Go up to Bethel and settle there, and build an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau.”
2So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes. 3Then come, let us go up to Bethel, where I will build an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone.” 4So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods they had and the rings in their ears, and Jacob buried them under the oak at Shechem. 5Then they set out, and the terror of God fell on the towns all around them so that no one pursued them.
6Jacob and all the people with him came to Luz (that is, Bethel) in the land of Canaan. 7There he built an altar, and he called the place El Bethel,#35:7 El Bethel means God of Bethel. because it was there that God revealed himself to him when he was fleeing from his brother.
8Now Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died and was buried under the oak outside Bethel. So it was named Allon Bakuth.#35:8 Allon Bakuth means oak of weeping.
9After Jacob returned from Paddan Aram,#35:9 That is, Northwest Mesopotamia; also in verse 26 God appeared to him again and blessed him. 10God said to him, “Your name is Jacob,#35:10 Jacob means he grasps the heel, a Hebrew idiom for he deceives. but you will no longer be called Jacob; your name will be Israel.#35:10 Israel probably means he struggles with God.” So he named him Israel.
11And God said to him, “I am God Almighty#35:11 Hebrew El-Shaddai; be fruitful and increase in number. A nation and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will be among your descendants. 12The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you.” 13Then God went up from him at the place where he had talked with him.
14Jacob set up a stone pillar at the place where God had talked with him, and he poured out a drink offering on it; he also poured oil on it. 15Jacob called the place where God had talked with him Bethel.#35:15 Bethel means house of God.
The Deaths of Rachel and Isaac
16Then they moved on from Bethel. While they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth and had great difficulty. 17And as she was having great difficulty in childbirth, the midwife said to her, “Don’t despair, for you have another son.” 18As she breathed her last—for she was dying—she named her son Ben-Oni.#35:18 Ben-Oni means son of my trouble. But his father named him Benjamin.#35:18 Benjamin means son of my right hand.
19So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). 20Over her tomb Jacob set up a pillar, and to this day that pillar marks Rachel’s tomb.
21Israel moved on again and pitched his tent beyond Migdal Eder. 22While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went in and slept with his father’s concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard of it.
Jacob had twelve sons:
23The sons of Leah:
Reuben the firstborn of Jacob,
Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun.
24The sons of Rachel:
Joseph and Benjamin.
25The sons of Rachel’s servant Bilhah:
Dan and Naphtali.
26The sons of Leah’s servant Zilpah:
Gad and Asher.
These were the sons of Jacob, who were born to him in Paddan Aram.
27Jacob came home to his father Isaac in Mamre, near Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had stayed. 28Isaac lived a hundred and eighty years. 29Then he breathed his last and died and was gathered to his people, old and full of years. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.
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Genesis 35
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.