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.

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Genesis 35

Jacob in Bethel

1God said to Jacob, “Go to the city of Bethel and live there. Make an altar to the God who appeared to you there. This was when you were running away from your brother Esau.”

2So Jacob said to his family and to all who were with him, “Put away the foreign gods you have. Make yourselves clean, and change your clothes. 3We will leave here and go to Bethel. There I will build an altar to God. He has helped me during my time of trouble. He has been with me everywhere I have gone.” 4So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods they had. And they gave him the earrings they were wearing. He hid them under the great tree near the town of Shechem. 5Then Jacob and his sons left there. But God caused the people in the nearby cities to be afraid. So they did not follow the sons of Jacob. 6And Jacob and all the people who were with him went to Luz. It is now called Bethel. It is in the land of Canaan. 7There Jacob built an altar. He named the place Bethel, after God, because God had appeared to him there. That was when he was running from his brother.

8Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died and was buried under the oak tree at Bethel. They named that place Oak of Crying.

Jacob’s New Name

9When Jacob came back from Northwest Mesopotamia, God appeared to him again. And God blessed him. 10God said to him, “Your name is Jacob. But you will not be called Jacob any longer. Your new name will be Israel.” So he called him Israel. 11God said to him, “I am God All-Powerful. Have many children and grow in number as a nation. You will be the ancestor of many nations and kings. 12I gave Abraham and Isaac land. I will give that same land to you and your descendants.” 13Then God left him. 14Jacob set up a stone on edge in that place where God had talked to him. And he poured a drink offering and olive oil on it to make it special for God. 15And 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. 17But she was having much trouble with this birth. When Rachel’s nurse saw this, she said, “Don’t be afraid, Rachel. You are giving birth to another son.” 18Rachel gave birth to the son, but she died. As she lay dying, she named the boy Son of My Suffering. But Jacob called him Benjamin.# This name means “right-hand son” or “favorite son.”

19Rachel was buried on the road to Ephrath, a district of Bethlehem. 20And Jacob set up a rock on her grave to honor her. That rock is still there today. 21Then Israel, also called Jacob, continued his journey. He camped just south of Migdal Eder.

22While Israel was in that land Reuben had physical relations with Israel’s slave woman Bilhah. And Israel heard about it.

The Family of Israel

Jacob had 12 sons. 23He had 6 sons by his wife Leah. Reuben was his first son. Then Leah had Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun.

24He had 2 sons by his wife Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin.

25He had 2 sons by Rachel’s slave girl Bilhah: Dan and Naphtali.

26And he had 2 sons by Leah’s slave girl Zilpah: Gad and Asher.

These are Jacob’s sons who were born in Northwest Mesopotamia.

27Jacob went to his father Isaac at Mamre near Hebron. This is where Abraham and Isaac had lived. 28Isaac lived 180 years. 29So Isaac breathed his last breath and died when he was very old. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

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