Genesis 35

Jacob Goes Back to Bethel

1And God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there, and make an altar to the God who appeared to you when you fled from before Esau your brother.” 2Then Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods that are in your midst and purify yourselves and change your garments. 3Then let us make ready and let us go up to Bethel, so that I can make an altar there to the God who answered me in the day of my trouble, and who has been with me on the way that I have gone.” 4So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that were in their hands, and the ornamental rings that were in their ears. And Jacob buried them under the oak which was near Shechem. 5Then they set out on their journey, and the terror of God was upon the cities that were all around them, so that they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob. 6And Jacob came to Luz which was in the land of Canaan (that is Bethel), he and all the people that were with him. 7And he built an altar there and called the place El-Bethel, for there God had appeared to him when he fled before his brother. 8And Deborah, the nurse of Rebekah, died. And she was buried below Bethel, under the oak. And its name was called Allon-Bacuth.#“The Oak of Weeping” 9And God appeared to Jacob again when he came from Paddan-Aram, and he blessed him. 10And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob. Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name.” Then his name was called Israel. 11And God said to him, “I am El-Shaddai.#Possibly “God Almighty,” but more likely “God of the Wilderness” Be fruitful and multiply. A nation and an assemblage of nations shall be from you, and kings shall go out from your loins. 12And as for the land that I gave to Abraham and to Isaac, I will give it to you. And to your descendants after you I will give the land. 13And God went up from him at the place where he spoke with him. 14And Jacob set up a pillar at the place where God had spoken with him, a pillar of stone. And he poured out a drink offering upon it, and poured oil on it. 15And Jacob called the name of the place where God had spoken with him Bethel.

The Death of Rachel

16Then they journeyed from Bethel. And when they were still some distance#Literally “there was still the stretch of land” from Ephrath, Rachel went into labor. And she had hard labor. 17And when her labor was the most difficult#Literally “at her distress at giving birth” the midwife said to her, “Do not be afraid for you have another son.”#Literally “for this one also to you is a son” 18And it happened that when her life was departing (for she was dying), she called his name Ben-Oni.#“Son of my sorrow” But his father called him Benjamin.#“Son of the right hand” 19And Rachel died and she was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). 20And Jacob erected a pillar at her burial site. That is the pillar of the burial site of Rachel unto this day. 21And Israel journeyed on and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eder.#Or “Migdal-Eder” 22And while Israel was living in that land Reuben went and had sexual relations with Bilhah, his father’s concubine. And Israel heard about it.

The Twelve Sons of Jacob

Now the sons of Jacob were twelve. 23The sons of Leah: The firstborn of Jacob was Reuben. Then Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. 24The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin. 25The sons of Bilhah, the female servant of Rachel: Dan and Naphtali. 26The sons of Zilpah, the female servant of Leah: Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan-Aram.

The Death of Isaac

27And Jacob came to Isaac his father at Mamre, or Kiriath-Arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac dwelled as aliens. 28Now the days of Isaac were one hundred and eighty years. 29And Isaac passed away and died, and was gathered to his people, old and full of days. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

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Genesis 35

Jacob went back to Bethel

1Then God said to Jacob, “Leave this place, and go to that special place called Bethel. Remember, a long time ago, you ran away from your brother Esau, and you went to that place, and I came to you there. Now I want you to go and live in that place, and I want you to pile up stones there, to make a special table. Then I want you to burn animals on that special table, to show respect to me, because I am God.”

2-3So Jacob talked to his family, and to all the other people that were in his camp. He said, “We are going to leave this place and go to the place called Bethel. I’m going to make a special table there, so that I can burn animals to show respect to God. You know, God is the one that helped me every time I got trouble, and he stayed with me wherever I went.”

Jacob kept on talking to his mob. He said, “Some of you mob have little statues with you, that came from other countries. Some people think that those statues are gods that have power. You mob have to get rid of those statues. Then you all have to wash your bodies and put on clean clothes, because we are going to a special place to show respect to God.”

4So Jacob’s family, and everybody else in Jacob’s camp, they went and got all their little statues, and they gave them to Jacob. They also took out the rings that were in their ears, and they gave those rings to Jacob too. And Jacob buried those statues and those rings under a big tree in the place called Shekem.

5Then Jacob and his mob left Shekem, and they started to go towards Bethel. Jacob thought that the people in the towns nearby might attack them. But God looked after Jacob’s mob. God made the people in those towns really frightened, so none of them attacked Jacob’s mob.

6Later on, Jacob and his mob got to the place called Bethel, in Canaan country. That place used to be called Luz.

7Then Jacob piled up stones to make a table with a flat top, so that he could burn animals to show respect to God. And Jacob gave that place a new name. He called it El Bethel. That name means God is in Bethel. A long time before this, when Jacob ran away from his brother Esau, God came and talked to Jacob in that place. That’s the reason why Jacob gave it that name.

8At that time, there was a woman called Deborah in Jacob’s camp. She used to look after Jacob’s mother Rebekah, at the time when Rebekah was a little girl. Now Deborah was very old, and she died. So Jacob’s mob buried Deborah’s body under a big tree, near Bethel. And they called it Allon Bakuth. That name means big tree where they cried.

God talked to Jacob again

9This is the story about how God talked to Jacob after he got back from Paddan Aram country.

God came to Jacob, and he promised to be good to him. 10God said, “Before this, your name was Jacob, but your name will not be Jacob any more. I’m giving you another name. That name is Israel.”#Genesis 32:28

In that way, God gave Jacob the name Israel.

11And God said to Jacob, “I am God. I have power over everything. Your mob will have lots of kids, so that your family will get really big. Later on, your family will be so big that they will become a nation, and that nation will split up into lots of nations, and some of your people will be the big bosses of those nations.”

12Then God said, “A long time ago, I made promises to your grand-father Abraham and your father Isaac. I promised to give all this country to the people that will be born into their family. Well, now I’m making that same promise to you. I will give all this country to you and to the people that will be born into your family later on.”#Genesis 12:7; 26:3

13God said all those things to Jacob, and then God left that place.

14Jacob knew that God talked to him there, and he wanted to show that it was a special place. So he got a stone, and he stood it up. He poured out some wine on top of that stone, and he poured some olive oil on it too. 15And Jacob gave a name to that place where God talked to him. He called that place Bethel. That name means God’s house.

Jacob’s wife Rachel died

16-17Jacob and his family left Bethel, and they started going towards the town called Efrath. At that time, Jacob’s wife Rachel had a baby growing inside her. And while they were still a long way from Efrath, the time came for Rachel to have her baby. A woman came to help Rachel have her baby, but Rachel had a lot of pain, and she had trouble having that baby.

Then Rachel had her baby, but that pain was really bad. That woman said to her, “Don’t be frightened. You have another son.”

18But Rachel was dying. She said, “I want to name my son Ben-Oni.” That name means the son that I had when I was sad. Then Rachel died.

But Jacob gave that baby a different name. He named him Benjamin. That name means the son that is like my strong right hand.

19That’s how Rachel died. Then Jacob’s mob buried her near the road that goes to the town called Efrath. Another name for Efrath is Bethlehem. 20And Jacob stood up a big stone at that place, so that people will know that Rachel was buried there. That stone is still there today.

Jacob’s son Reuben did a bad thing

21Then Jacob’s mob left that place. They went past a place called Migdal-Eder, and then they set up their camp.

22While they were living there, Jacob’s son Reuben went to the woman called Bilhah. Bilhah worked for Jacob’s family, and she was like another wife for Jacob. And Reuben slept with Bilhah, like a man sleeps with his wife. Then somebody told Jacob that Reuben did that bad thing.#Genesis 49:4

The names of Jacob’s sons

These are the names of Jacob’s 12 sons.

23Jacob’s wife Leah had 6 sons,

– Reuben. He was Jacob’s oldest son.

– Simeon

– Levi

– Judah

– Issachar

– Zebulun

24Jacob’s wife Rachel had 2 sons,

– Joseph

– Benjamin

25Rachel’s working woman Bilhah, she had 2 sons,

– Dan

– Naphtali

26Leah’s working woman Zilpah, she had 2 sons,

– Gad

– Asher

All those men were Jacob’s sons. Jacob’s sons were born at the time when Jacob lived in Paddan Aram country. Jacob’s other name was Israel.

Jacob’s father Isaac died

27Jacob went back home, to the place where his father Isaac lived. That place was called Mamreh, and it was near the town called Kiriath Arba. Another name for that town is Hebron. A long time before this, Jacob’s grand-father Abraham lived in Mamreh too.#Genesis 13:18

28Isaac lived until he was 180 years old. 29Isaac had a good long life, and then he breathed for the last time, and he died. Then his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

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