Genesis 35

CHAPTER 35

1In the meantime the Lord spake to Jacob, Rise thou, and go up to Bethel, and dwell there; and make thou an altar to the Lord, that appeared to thee when thou fleddest Esau, thy brother.

2Soothly Jacob said, when all his house was called together, Cast ye away alien gods, that be in the midst of you, and be ye cleansed, and change ye your clothes;

3rise ye, and go we up into Bethel, that we make there an altar to the Lord, which heard me in the day of my tribulation, and was fellow of my way.

4Therefore they gave to Jacob all the alien gods which they had, and [the] earrings, that were in their ears; and Jacob delved them under a terebinth tree, which is behind the city of Shechem.

5And when they went forth, dread assailed all men by compass of the city, and they were not hardy to pursue them going away.

6Therefore Jacob came to Luz, which is in the land of Canaan, by the sire-name Bethel, he and all his people with him.

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

8Deborah, the nurse of Rebecca, died in the same time, and she was buried at the root[s] of Bethel, under an oak, and the name of the place was called The Oak of Weeping.

9Forsooth God appeared again to Jacob, after that he turned again from Mesopotamia of Syria, and came into Bethel, and blessed him,

10and said, Thou shalt no more be called Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name. And God called him Israel,

11and said to him, I am God Almighty; increase thou, and be thou multiplied, folks and peoples of nations shall be of thee, kings shall go out of thy loins;

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

13And God departed from him.

14Forsooth Jacob raised a title, or a memorial, of stones, in the place wherein God spake to him, and he sacrificed thereon flowing sacrifices, and shedded out oil,

15and he called the name of that place Bethel.

16Soothly Jacob went out from thence, and he came in the beginning of summer to the land that leadeth to Ephratah; in which land when Rachel travailed in child bearing,

17she began to be in peril for the hardness of childbearing; and the mid-wife said to her, Do not thou dread, for thou shalt have also this son.

18Forsooth while the soul passed from her for sorrow, and death nighed then, she called the name of her son Benoni, that is, the son of my sorrow; forsooth his father called him Benjamin, that is, the son of the right side.

19Therefore Rachel died, and was buried in the way that leadeth to Ephratah, that is Bethlehem.

20And Jacob builded a memorial upon the sepulchre of her; this is the memorial of the burial of Rachel unto this present day.

21Jacob went from thence, and setted a tabernacle over the tower of the flock.

22And while he dwelled in that country, Reuben went, and slept with Bilhah, the secondary wife of his father, which thing was not hid from him. Forsooth the sons of Jacob were twelve;

23the sons of Leah were, the first begotten Reuben, and Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Zebulun;

24the sons of Rachel were Joseph, and Benjamin;

25the sons of Bilhah, the handmaid of Rachel, were Dan, and Naphtali;

26and the sons of Zilpah, [the] handmaid of Leah, were Gad, and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob, that were born to him in Mesopotamia of Syria.

27Also Jacob came to Isaac, his father, into Mamre, the city of Arbah, this is Hebron, in which Mamre Abraham and Isaac was a pilgrim.

28And the days of Isaac were filled an hundred and fourscore of years;

29and he was wasted in age, and died, and he was put to his people, and was eld [or old], and full of days; and Esau and Jacob his sons buried him.

Learn More About Wycliffe's Bible with Modern Spelling

Genesis 35

Jacob in Bethel

1God said to Jacob, “Go to the town of Bethel.#35:1 Bethel A town in Israel. This name means “God’s house.” That is where I appeared to you when you were running away from your brother Esau. Live there and make an altar to honor me as El,#35:1 El A Hebrew name for God. the God who appeared to you.”

2So Jacob told his family and all the other people with him, “Destroy all these foreign gods that you have. Make yourselves pure. Put on clean clothes. 3We will leave here and go to Bethel. There I will build an altar to the God who has always helped me during times of trouble. He has been with me wherever I have gone.”

4So the people gave Jacob all the foreign gods they had, and they gave him all the rings they were wearing in their ears. He buried everything under an oak tree near the town called Shechem.

5Then Jacob and his sons left that place. The people in the surrounding cities wanted to follow and kill them, but God filled them with such great fear that they did not go after them. 6So Jacob and his people went to Luz, which is now called Bethel. It is in the land of Canaan. 7Jacob built an altar there. He named the place “El Bethel.”#35:7 El Bethel A name that means “the God of Bethel.” Jacob chose this name because that is the place where God first appeared to him when he was running from his brother.

8Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died there. They buried her under the oak tree at Bethel. They named that place Allon Bacuth.#35:8 Allon Bacuth This name means “the oak tree of sadness.”

Jacob’s New Name

9When Jacob came back from Paddan Aram, God appeared to him again. God blessed Jacob 10and said to him, “Your name is Jacob, but I will change that name. You will no longer be called Jacob. Your new name will be Israel.#35:10 Israel This name might mean “he fights for God,” “he fights with God,” or “God fights.”” So God named him Israel.

11God said to him, “I am God All-Powerful,#35:11 God All-Powerful Literally, “El Shaddai.” and I give you this blessing: Have many children and grow into a great nation. Other nations and other kings will come out of you. 12I gave Abraham and Isaac some special land. Now I give the land to you and to all your people who will live after you.” 13Then God left that place. 14-15Jacob set up a memorial stone there. He made the rock holy by pouring wine and oil on it. This was a special place because God spoke to Jacob there, and Jacob named the place Bethel.

Rachel Dies Giving Birth

16Jacob and his group left Bethel. Before they came to Ephrath, Rachel began giving birth to her baby. 17She was having a lot of trouble with this birth. She was in great pain. When her nurse saw this, she said, “Don’t be afraid, Rachel. You are giving birth to another son.”

18Rachel died while giving birth to the son. Before dying, she named the boy Benoni.#35:18 Benoni This name means “son of my suffering.” But Jacob called him Benjamin.#35:18 Benjamin This name means “right-hand” or “favorite son.”

19Rachel was buried on the road to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). 20Jacob put a special rock on Rachel’s grave to honor her. That special rock is still there today. 21Then Israel continued his journey. He camped just south of Eder tower.#35:21 Eder tower Or “Migdal Eder.”

22Israel stayed there for a short time. While he was there, Reuben slept with Israel’s slave woman Bilhah. Israel heard about this, and he was very angry.#35:22 and he was very angry These words are from the ancient Greek translation. They are not in the standard Hebrew text. See Gen. 49:4.

The Family of Israel (Jacob)

These are the names of Jacob’s twelve sons:

23His firstborn son was Reuben, whose mother was Leah. Jacob’s other sons by Leah were Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.

24His sons by Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin.

25His sons by Bilhah, Rachel’s maid, were Dan and Naphtali.

26His sons by Zilpah, Leah’s maid, were Gad and Asher.

These were Jacob’s sons who were born in Paddan Aram.

27Jacob went to his father Isaac at Mamre in Kiriath Arba (Hebron). This is where Abraham and Isaac had lived. 28Isaac lived 180 years. 29Then Isaac became weak and died and went to be with his people. He had lived a long and full life. His sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

Learn More About Holy Bible: Easy-to-Read Version