B'resheet (Gen) 28
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1So Yitz’chak called Ya‘akov, and, after blessing him, charged him: “You are not to choose a wife from the Hitti women. 2Go now to the home of B’tu’el your mother’s father, and choose a wife there from the daughters of Lavan your mother’s brother. 3May El Shaddai bless you, make you fruitful and increase your descendants, until they become a whole assembly of peoples. 4And may he give you the blessing which he gave Avraham, you and your descendants with you, so that you will possess the land you will travel through, the land God gave to Avraham.”
(vii) 5So Yitz’chak sent Ya‘akov away; and he went to Paddan-Aram, to Lavan, son of B’tu’el the Arami, the brother of Rivkah Ya‘akov’s and ‘Esav’s mother. 6Now ‘Esav saw that Yitz’chak had blessed Ya‘akov and sent him away to Paddan-Aram to choose a wife from there, and that as he blessed him he charged him, “You are not to choose a Kena‘ani woman as your wife,” (Maftir) 7and that Ya‘akov had listened to his father and mother and gone to Paddan-Aram. 8‘Esav also saw that the Kena‘ani women did not please Yitz’chak his father. 9So ‘Esav went to Yishma‘el and took, in addition to the wives he already had, Machalat the daughter of Yishma‘el Avraham’s son, the sister of N’vayot, to be his wife.
Haftarah Tol’dot: Mal’akhi (Malachi) 1:1–2:7
B’rit Hadashah suggested readings for Parashah Tol’dot: Romans 9:6–16; Messianic Jews (Hebrews) 11:20; 12:14–17
Parashah 7: Vayetze (He went out) 28:10 –32:3(2)
10Ya‘akov went out from Be’er-Sheva and traveled toward Haran. 11He came to a certain place and stayed the night there, because the sun had set. He took a stone from the place, put it under his head and lay down there to sleep. 12He dreamt that there before him was a ladder resting on the ground with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of Adonai were going up and down on it. 13Then suddenly Adonai was standing there next to him; and he said, “I am Adonai, the God of Avraham your [grand]father and the God of Yitz’chak. The land on which you are lying I will give to you and to your descendants. 14Your descendants will be as numerous as the grains of dust on the earth. You will expand to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. By you and your descendants all the families of the earth will be blessed. 15Look, I am with you. I will guard you wherever you go, and I will bring you back into this land, because I won’t leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
16Ya‘akov awoke from his sleep and said, “Truly, Adonai is in this place — and I didn’t know it!” 17Then he became afraid and said, “This place is fearsome! This has to be the house of God! This is the gate of heaven!” 18Ya‘akov got up early in the morning, took the stone he had put under his head, set it up as a standing-stone, poured olive oil on its top 19and named the place Beit-El [house of God]; but the town had originally been called Luz.
20Ya‘akov took this vow: “If God will be with me and will guard me on this road that I am traveling, giving me bread to eat and clothes to wear, 21so that I return to my father’s house in peace, then Adonai will be my God; 22and this stone, which I have set up as a standing-stone, will be God’s house; and of everything you give me, I will faithfully return one-tenth to you.”
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Learn More About Complete Jewish BibleGenesis 28
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1Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him, and charged him, “You shall not marry one of the Canaanite women. 2Go at once to Paddan-aram to the house of Bethuel, your mother's father; and take as wife from there one of the daughters of Laban, your mother's brother. 3May God Almighty#28.3 Traditional rendering of Heb El Shaddai bless you and make you fruitful and numerous, that you may become a company of peoples. 4May he give to you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your offspring with you, so that you may take possession of the land where you now live as an alien—land that God gave to Abraham.” 5Thus Isaac sent Jacob away; and he went to Paddan-aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob's and Esau's mother.
Esau Marries Ishmael's Daughter
6Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan-aram to take a wife from there, and that as he blessed him he charged him, “You shall not marry one of the Canaanite women,” 7and that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and gone to Paddan-aram. 8So when Esau saw that the Canaanite women did not please his father Isaac, 9Esau went to Ishmael and took Mahalath daughter of Abraham's son Ishmael, and sister of Nebaioth, to be his wife in addition to the wives he had.
Jacob's Dream at Bethel
10Jacob left Beer-sheba and went toward Haran. 11He came to a certain place and stayed there for the night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place. 12And he dreamed that there was a ladder#28.12 Or stairway or ramp set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13And the Lord stood beside him#28.13 Or stood above it and said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring; 14and your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and all the families of the earth shall be blessed#28.14 Or shall bless themselves in you and in your offspring. 15Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” 16Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place—and I did not know it!” 17And he was afraid, and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”
18So Jacob rose early in the morning, and he took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. 19He called that place Bethel;#28.19 That is House of God but the name of the city was Luz at the first. 20Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, 21so that I come again to my father's house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God, 22and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God's house; and of all that you give me I will surely give one tenth to you.”
New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989 Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.