Berĕshith (Genesis) 35
35
1And Elohim said to Ya‛aqoḇ, “Arise, go up to Bĕyth Ěl and dwell there. And make a slaughter-place there to Ěl who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Ěsaw your brother.”
2And Ya‛aqoḇ said to his household and to all who were with him, “Put away the foreign mighty ones that are among you, and cleanse yourselves, and change your garments.
3And let us arise and go up to Bĕyth Ěl, and let me make there a slaughter-place to Ěl, who answered me in the day of my distress, and has been with me in the way which I have gone.
4So they gave Ya‛aqoḇ all the foreign mighty ones which were in their hands, and all their earrings which were in their ears. And Ya‛aqoḇ hid them under the terebinth tree which was near Sheḵem.
5And they departed, and the fear of Elohim was upon the cities that were all around them, and they did not pursue the sons of Ya‛aqoḇ.
6And Ya‛aqoḇ came to Luz, that is Bĕyth Ěl, which is in the land of Kena‛an, he and all the people who were with him.
7And he built there a slaughter-place and called the place El Bĕyth Ěl, because there Elohim appeared to him when he fled from the face of his brother.
8And Deḇorah, Riḇqah’s nurse, died, and she was buried below Bĕyth Ěl under the terebinth tree. So the name of it was called Allon Baḵuth.
9And Elohim appeared to Ya‛aqoḇ again, when he came from Paddan Aram, and blessed him.
10And Elohim said to him, “Your name is Ya‛aqoḇ, your name is no longer called Ya‛aqoḇ, but Yisra’ĕl is your name.” So He called his name Yisra’ĕl.
11And Elohim said to him, “I am Ěl Shaddai. Be fruitful and increase, a nation and a company of nations shall be from you, and sovereigns come from your body.
12And the land which I gave Aḇraham and Yitsḥaq I give to you. And to your seed after you I give this land.
13And Elohim went up from him in the place where He had spoken with him.
14And Ya‛aqoḇ set up a standing column in the place where He had spoken with him, a monument of stone. And he poured a drink offering on it, and he poured oil on it.
15And Ya‛aqoḇ called the name of the place where Elohim spoke with him, Bĕyth Ěl.
16Then they set out from Bĕyth Ěl. And it came to be, when there was but a little distance to go to Ephrath, that Raḥĕl began to give birth, and had great difficulty giving birth.
17And it came to be, as she was having great difficulty giving birth, that the midwife said to her, “Do not fear, for it is another son for you.”
18And it came to be, as her life was going out – for she died – that she called his name Ben-Oni. But his father called him Binyamin.
19So Raḥĕl died and was buried on the way to Ephrath, that is Bĕyth Leḥem.
20And Ya‛aqoḇ set a standing column on her burial-place, which is the monument of Raḥĕl’s burial-place to this day.
21And Yisra’ĕl set out and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Ěḏer.
22And it came to be, when Yisra’ĕl dwelt in that land, that Re’uḇĕn went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine. And Yisra’ĕl heard about it. Now the sons of Ya‛aqoḇ were twelve:
23the sons of Lĕ’ah were Re’uḇĕn, Ya‛aqoḇ’s first-born, and Shim‛on, and Lĕwi, and Yehuḏah, and Yissasḵar, and Zeḇulun;
24the sons of Raḥĕl were Yosĕph and Binyamin;
25the sons of Bilhah, Raḥĕl’s female servant, were Dan and Naphtali;
26and the sons of Zilpah, Lĕ’ah’s female servant, were Gaḏ and Ashĕr. These were the sons of Ya‛aqoḇ who were born to him in Paddan Aram.
27And Ya‛aqoḇ came to his father Yitsḥaq at Mamrĕ, or Qiryath Arba, that is Ḥeḇron, where Aḇraham and Yitsḥaq had dwelt.
28And the days of Yitsḥaq were one hundred and eighty years.
29So Yitsḥaq breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people, aged and satisfied of days. And his sons Ěsaw and Ya‛aqoḇ buried him.
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Genesis 35
35
Jacob’s Return to Bethel
1Then God said to Jacob, “Get ready and move to Bethel and settle there. Build an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother, Esau.”
2So Jacob told everyone in his household, “Get rid of all your pagan idols, purify yourselves, and put on clean clothing. 3We are now going to Bethel, where I will build an altar to the God who answered my prayers when I was in distress. He has been with me wherever I have gone.”
4So they gave Jacob all their pagan idols and earrings, and he buried them under the great tree near Shechem. 5As they set out, a terror from God spread over the people in all the towns of that area, so no one attacked Jacob’s family.
6Eventually, Jacob and his household arrived at Luz (also called Bethel) in Canaan. 7Jacob built an altar there and named the place El-bethel (which means “God of Bethel”), because God had appeared to him there when he was fleeing from his brother, Esau.
8Soon after this, Rebekah’s old nurse, Deborah, died. She was buried beneath the oak tree in the valley below Bethel. Ever since, the tree has been called Allon-bacuth (which means “oak of weeping”).
9Now that Jacob had returned from Paddan-aram, God appeared to him again at Bethel. God blessed him, 10saying, “Your name is Jacob, but you will not be called Jacob any longer. From now on your name will be Israel.”#35:10 Jacob sounds like the Hebrew words for “heel” and “deceiver.” Israel means “God fights.” So God renamed him Israel.
11Then God said, “I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Be fruitful and multiply. You will become a great nation, even many nations. Kings will be among your descendants! 12And I will give you the land I once gave to Abraham and Isaac. Yes, I will give it to you and your descendants after you.” 13Then God went up from the place where he had spoken to Jacob.
14Jacob set up a stone pillar to mark the place where God had spoken to him. Then he poured wine over it as an offering to God and anointed the pillar with olive oil. 15And Jacob named the place Bethel (which means “house of God”), because God had spoken to him there.
The Deaths of Rachel and Isaac
16Leaving Bethel, Jacob and his clan moved on toward Ephrath. But Rachel went into labor while they were still some distance away. Her labor pains were intense. 17After a very hard delivery, the midwife finally exclaimed, “Don’t be afraid—you have another son!” 18Rachel was about to die, but with her last breath she named the baby Ben-oni (which means “son of my sorrow”). The baby’s father, however, called him Benjamin (which means “son of my right hand”). 19So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). 20Jacob set up a stone monument over Rachel’s grave, and it can be seen there to this day.
21Then Jacob#35:21 Hebrew Israel; also in 35:22a. The names “Jacob” and “Israel” are often interchanged throughout the Old Testament, referring sometimes to the individual patriarch and sometimes to the nation. traveled on and camped beyond Migdal-eder. 22While he was living there, Reuben had intercourse with Bilhah, his father’s concubine, and Jacob soon heard about it.
These are the names of the twelve sons of Jacob:
23The sons of Leah were Reuben (Jacob’s oldest son), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.
24The sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin.
25The sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s servant, were Dan and Naphtali.
26The sons of Zilpah, Leah’s servant, were Gad and Asher.
These are the names of the sons who were born to Jacob at Paddan-aram.
27So Jacob returned to his father, Isaac, in Mamre, which is near Kiriath-arba (now called Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had both lived as foreigners. 28Isaac lived for 180 years. 29Then he breathed his last and died at a ripe old age, joining his ancestors in death. And his sons, Esau and Jacob, buried him.
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