Genesis 35
35
1And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Beth-el, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, who appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother. 2Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and purify yourselves, and change your garments: 3and let us arise, and go up to Beth-el; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went. 4And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and the rings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem. 5And they journeyed: and a great terror was upon the cities that were round about them, and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob.
6So Jacob came to Luz, which is in the land of Canaan (the same is Beth-el), he and all the people that were with him. 7And he built there an altar, and called the place El-beth-el: because there God was revealed unto him, when he fled from the face of his brother. 8And Deborah Rebekah's nurse died, and she was buried below Beth-el under the oak: and the name of it was called Allon-bacuth. 9And God appeared unto Jacob again, when he came from Paddan-aram, and blessed him. 10And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and he called his name Israel. 11And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins; 12and the land which I gave unto Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land. 13And God went up from him in the place where he spake with him. 14And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he spake with him, a pillar of stone: and he poured out a drink offering thereon, and poured oil thereon. 15And Jacob called the name of the place where God spake with him, Beth-el.
16And they journeyed from Beth-el; and there was still some way to come to Ephrath: and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labour. 17And it came to pass, when she was in hard labour, that the midwife said unto her, Fear not; for now thou shalt have another son. 18And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing (for she died), that she called his name Ben-oni: but his father called him Benjamin. 19And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath (the same is Beth-lehem). 20And Jacob set up a pillar upon her grave: the same is the Pillar of Rachel's grave unto this day.
21And Israel journeyed, and spread his tent beyond the tower of Eder. 22And it came to pass, while Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine: and Israel heard of it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve: 23the sons of Leah; Reuben, Jacob's firstborn, and Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Zebulun: 24the sons of Rachel; Joseph and Benjamin: 25and the sons of Bilhah, Rachel's handmaid; Dan and Naphtali: 26and the sons of Zilpah, Leah's handmaid; Gad and Asher: these are the sons of Jacob, which were born to him in Paddan-aram. 27And Jacob came unto Isaac his father to Mamre, to Kiriath-arba (the same is Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac sojourned. 28And the days of Isaac were an hundred and fourscore years. 29And Isaac gave up the ghost, and died, and was gathered unto his people, old and full of days: and Esau and Jacob his sons buried him.
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Genesis 35
35
Jacob establishes worship at Bethel
1God said to Jacob, “Get up, go to Bethel, and live there. Build an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you ran away from your brother Esau.”
2Jacob said to his household and to everyone who was with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you. Clean yourselves and change your clothes. 3Then let’s rise and go up to Bethel so that I can build an altar there to the God who answered me when I was in trouble and who has been with me wherever I’ve gone.” 4So they gave Jacob all of the foreign gods they had, as well as the rings in their ears, and Jacob buried them under the terebinth at Shechem. 5When they set out, God made all of the surrounding cities fearful so that they didn’t pursue Jacob’s sons. 6Jacob and all of the people with him arrived in Luz, otherwise known as Bethel, in the land of Canaan. 7He built an altar there and named the place El-bethel,#35.7 Or God of Bethel because God had revealed himself to him there when he ran away from his brother. 8Rebekah’s nurse Deborah died and was buried at Bethel under the oak, and Jacob named it Allon-bacuth.#35.8 Or oak of weeping
9God appeared to Jacob again, while he was on his way back from Paddan-aram, and blessed him. 10God said to him, “Your name is Jacob, but your name will be Jacob no longer. No, your name will be Israel.” And he named him Israel. 11God said to him, “I am El Shaddai.#35.11 Or God Almighty or God of the Mountain Be fertile and multiply. A nation, even a large group of nations, will come from you; kings will descend from your own children. 12The land I gave to Abraham and to Isaac, I give to you; and I will give the land to your descendants after you.” 13Then God ascended, leaving him alone in the place where he spoke to him. 14So Jacob set up a sacred pillar, a stone pillar, at the place God spoke to him. He poured an offering of wine on it and then poured oil over it. 15Jacob named the place Bethel where God spoke to him.
Benjamin’s birth and Rachel’s death
16They left Bethel, and when they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel went into hard labor. 17During her difficult labor, the midwife said to her, “Don’t be afraid. You have another son.” 18As her life faded away, just before she died, she named him Ben-oni,#35.18 Or my suffering son but his father named him Benjamin.#35.18 Or right-hand son or strong son 19Rachel died and was buried near the road to Ephrath, that is, Bethlehem. 20Jacob set up a pillar on her grave. It’s the pillar on Rachel’s tomb that’s still there today. 21Israel continued his trip and pitched his tent farther on near the tower of Eder.
Jacob’s family
22While Israel stayed in that place, Reuben went and slept with Bilhah his father’s secondary wife, and Israel heard about it.
Jacob had twelve sons. 23The sons of Leah were Reuben, Jacob’s oldest son, and 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 were Jacob’s sons born to him in Paddan-aram.
Isaac’s death
27Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre, that is, Kiriath-arba. This is Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac lived as immigrants. 28At the age of 180 years, 29Isaac took his last breath and died. He was buried with his ancestors after a long, satisfying life. His sons Esau and Jacob buried him.
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