Jacob in the Bible

Meaning: that supplants, undermines; the heelpar

Exact Match

And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau's heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them.

And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom.

And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob.

Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.

And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying,

And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man:

So Jacob went and got the two young goats, and brought them to his mother; and his mother prepared a delicious dish of food [with a delightful aroma], the kind his father loved [to eat].

And Rebekah took goodly raiment of her eldest son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob her younger son:

And she gave the savoury meat and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.

And Jacob said unto his father, I am Esau thy firstborn; I have done according as thou badest me: arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me.

"How did you get it so quickly, my son?" Isaac asked. Jacob responded, ""because the LORD your God made me successful."

And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou be my very son Esau or not.

And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said, The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.

He didn't recognize Jacob, because his hands were hairy like those of his brother Esau, so Isaac blessed him.

He asked, "Are you really my son Esau?" "I am," Jacob replied.

Then he said, “Serve me, and let me eat some of my son’s game so that I can bless you.” Jacob brought it to him, and he ate; he brought him wine, and he drank.

After this, Jacob's father Isaac told him, "Come closer and kiss me, my son."

So Jacob drew closer to kiss him. When Isaac smelled the scent of his son's clothes, he blessed him and said, "How my son's scent is the fragrance of the field that the LORD has blessed.

And it came to pass, as soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing Jacob, and Jacob was yet scarce gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting.

And he said, Is not he rightly named Jacob? for he hath supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing. And he said, Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me?

But Isaac replied to Esau, “Listen carefully: I have made Jacob your lord and master; I have given him all his brothers and relatives as servants; and I have sustained him with grain and new wine. What then, can I do for you, my son?”

And these words of Esau her elder son were told to Rebekah: and she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said unto him, Behold, thy brother Esau, as touching thee, doth comfort himself, purposing to kill thee.

And Rebekah said to Isaac, I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth: if Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these which are of the daughters of the land, what good shall my life do me?

And Isaac sent away Jacob: and he went to Padanaram unto Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob's and Esau's mother.

When Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob, and sent him away to Padanaram, to take him a wife from thence; and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan;

And there was the LORD, standing above it and telling Jacob, "I am the LORD God of your grandfather Abraham. I'm Isaac's God, too. I'm giving you and your descendants the ground on which you're sleeping.

And Jacob said unto them, My brethren, whence be ye? And they said, Of Haran are we.

“Do you know Laban grandson of Nahor?” Jacob asked them.

They answered, “We know him.”

“Is he well?” Jacob asked.

“Yes,” they said, “and here is his daughter Rachel, coming with his sheep.”

Then Jacob said, “Look, it is still broad daylight. It’s not time for the animals to be gathered. Water the flock, then go out and let them graze.”

And it came to pass, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother's brother, that Jacob went near, and rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the flock of Laban his mother's brother.

And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father's brother, and that he was Rebekah's son: and she ran and told her father.

And it came to pass, when Laban heard the tidings of Jacob his sister's son, that he ran to meet him, and embraced him, and kissed him, and brought him to his house. And he told Laban all these things.

Then Laban said to him, “You are my bone and my flesh.” And Jacob stayed with him a month.

And Laban said unto Jacob, Because thou art my brother, shouldest thou therefore serve me for nought? tell me, what shall thy wages be?

But in the evening he took Leah his daughter and brought her to Jacob, and Jacob went in to [consummate the marriage with] her.

But in the morning [when Jacob awoke], it was Leah [who was with him]! And he said to Laban, “What is this that you have done to me? Did I not work for you [for seven years] for Rachel? Why have you deceived and betrayed me [like this]?”

So Jacob consummated his marriage and lived with Rachel [as his wife], and he loved Rachel more than Leah, and he served with Laban for another seven years.

And Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, Am I in God's stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb?

And Bilhah Rachel's maid conceived again, and bare Jacob a second son.

When Leah saw that she had left bearing, she took Zilpah her maid, and gave her Jacob to wife.

But Leah answered, “Is it a small thing that you have taken my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes also?” So Rachel said, “Jacob shall sleep with you tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.”

And Jacob came out of the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said, Thou must come in unto me; for surely I have hired thee with my son's mandrakes. And he lay with her that night.

And it came to pass, when Rachel had born Joseph, that Jacob said unto Laban, Send me away, that I may go unto mine own place, and to my country.

Jacob answered him, “You know how I have served you and how your possessions, your cattle and sheep and goats, have fared with me.

And he said, What shall I give thee? And Jacob said, Thou shalt not give me any thing: if thou wilt do this thing for me, I will again feed and keep thy flock:

Jacob responded, "You don't have to give me anything. Just do this for me: Let me tend your flock again and watch over it. Let me walk among your flocks today and remove every speckled or spotted sheep, along with every black lamb, and let me do the same with the speckled and spotted goats. These will be my wages.

And Jacob took him rods of green poplar, and of the hazel and chesnut tree; and pilled white strakes in them, and made the white appear which was in the rods.

And Jacob did separate the lambs, and set the faces of the flocks toward the ringstraked, and all the brown in the flock of Laban; and he put his own flocks by themselves, and put them not unto Laban's cattle.

And it came to pass, whensoever the stronger cattle did conceive, that Jacob laid the rods before the eyes of the cattle in the gutters, that they might conceive among the rods.

But when the cattle were feeble, he put them not in: so the feebler were Laban's, and the stronger Jacob's.

And he heard the words of Laban's sons, saying, Jacob hath taken away all that was our father's; and of that which was our father's hath he gotten all this glory.

And Jacob beheld the countenance of Laban, and, behold, it was not toward him as before.

Then Jacob rose up, and set his sons and his wives upon camels;

Jacob fled, taking everything that he owned. He got up, crossed the river, and headed to the hill country of Gilead.

So he took his relatives with him, pursued Jacob for seven days, and overtook him at Mount Gilead.

Then Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mount: and Laban with his brethren pitched in the mount of Gilead.

And Laban said to Jacob, What hast thou done, that thou hast stolen away unawares to me, and carried away my daughters, as captives taken with the sword?

It is in the power of my hand to do you hurt: but the God of your father spake unto me yesternight, saying, Take thou heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad.

And Jacob answered and said to Laban, Because I was afraid: for I said, Peradventure thou wouldest take by force thy daughters from me.

With whomsoever thou findest thy gods, let him not live: before our brethren discern thou what is thine with me, and take it to thee. For Jacob knew not that Rachel had stolen them.

And Laban went into Jacob's tent, and into Leah's tent, and into the two maidservants' tents; but he found them not. Then went he out of Leah's tent, and entered into Rachel's tent.

Now Rachel had taken the idols and put them in the saddle bag of the camel and sat on them. And Jacob searched the whole tent thoroughly but did not find them.

And Jacob was wroth, and chode with Laban: and Jacob answered and said to Laban, What is my trespass? what is my sin, that thou hast so hotly pursued after me?

And Laban answered and said unto Jacob, These daughters are my daughters, and these children are my children, and these cattle are my cattle, and all that thou seest is mine: and what can I do this day unto these my daughters, or unto their children which they have born?

And Jacob said unto his brethren, Gather stones; and they took stones, and made an heap: and they did eat there upon the heap.

And Laban called it Jegarsahadutha: but Jacob called it Galeed.

Thematic Bible



The citizens of Canaan saw those people mourning at Atad. They said: What a solemn ceremony of mourning the Egyptians are holding! That is why the place was named Abel-mizraim.


He set up an altar there and named it God, the God of Israel.

God said to Jacob: Go to Bethel and dwell there. Make an altar to God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau. Jacob said to his family and those who were with him: Get rid of the foreign gods that you have. Wash yourselves until you are ritually clean. Change your clothes. After that let us go to Bethel. I will make an altar there to God, who answered me when I was troubled and who has been with me wherever I have gone. read more.
So everyone gave Jacob their idols and their earrings. He buried them under the oak (big) tree near Shechem. Jacob and his family traveled through Canaan. God terrified the people in the towns so much that no one dared bother them. Finally, they reached Bethel, also known as Luz. Jacob built an altar there and called it God of Bethel. That was the place where God appeared to him when he was running from Esau.


Jacob lost his temper. What crime have I committed? he asked angrily. What law have I broken that gives you the right to hunt me down?


Israel's eyesight was failing because of old age. He could hardly see. So Joseph brought his sons close to his father. Israel hugged them and kissed them.


Then Jacob was by himself. A man was fighting with him till dawn. The man saw that he was not able to overcome Jacob. He gave him a blow in the hollow part of his thigh, so that his leg was damaged. He said to him: Let me go now, for the dawn is near. But Jacob said: I will not let you go till you have given me your blessing. read more.
Then he asked: What is your name? And he said, Jacob. The man said: Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel (He Struggles With God), because you have struggled with God and with men and you have won. Jacob said: Please tell me your name. The man answered: Why do you ask for my name? Then he blessed Jacob there.


When my father was about to die, he made me promise him that I would bury him in the tomb that he had prepared in the land of Canaan. Please, let me go and bury my father. Then I will come back.


Then Jacob was by himself. A man was fighting with him till dawn. The man saw that he was not able to overcome Jacob. He gave him a blow in the hollow part of his thigh, so that his leg was damaged. He said to him: Let me go now, for the dawn is near. But Jacob said: I will not let you go till you have given me your blessing. read more.
Then he asked: What is your name? And he said, Jacob. The man said: Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel (He Struggles With God), because you have struggled with God and with men and you have won. Jacob said: Please tell me your name. The man answered: Why do you ask for my name? Then he blessed Jacob there.


Then Rachel let Jacob marry Bilhah. Jacob slept with Bilhah.


Jacob made a vow. He said: If God will be with me and will watch over me on my trip and give me food to eat and clothes to wear, and if I return safely to my father's home, then Jehovah will be my God. This stone I placed as a marker will be the house of God. I will certainly give you a tenth of everything you give me.


Jehovah was standing above the stairway. He proclaimed: I am Jehovah, the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give the land on which you are lying to you and your descendants. Your descendants will be like the dust on the earth. You will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. Every family on earth will be blessed through you and through your descendants. Remember, I am with you. I will watch over you wherever you go. I will also bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I do what I have promised you.


Jehovah was standing above the stairway. He proclaimed: I am Jehovah, the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give the land on which you are lying to you and your descendants. Your descendants will be like the dust on the earth. You will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. Every family on earth will be blessed through you and through your descendants.

Remember the covenant that he made to Abraham, and his sworn promise to Isaac. He confirmed it as a law for Jacob, as a long lasting covenant to Israel.


Laban said to Jacob: You should not work for me for nothing just because you are my relative. How much pay do you want? Laban had two daughters. The older was named Leah and the younger Rachel. Leah had soft eyes and Rachel was shapely and very beautiful. read more.
Jacob was in love with Rachel, so he said: I will work seven years for you, if you will let me marry Rachel. Laban answered: It is better that I give her to you than to anyone else. Stay here with me. Jacob worked seven years for Laban. The time seemed like only a few days, because he loved Rachel so much. Jacob said to Laban: Give me my wife for the time is completed. I want to marry Rachel now! Laban gathered all the men of the place and gave a feast. In the evening when it was dark, he took Leah, his daughter, and gave her to him. Jacob slept with her. Laban gave Zilpah, his servant-girl, to Leah, to be her maid. What have you done to me? Jacob asked Laban: Did I work for you in return for Rachel? Why did you cheat me? Laban answered: It is not our custom to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older one. Finish the week of wedding festivities with this daughter. Then we will give you the other one too. But you will have to work for me another seven years. Jacob did that. He finished the week with Leah. Then Laban gave his daughter Rachel to him as his wife. Laban gave his slave Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her slave. Jacob slept with Rachel too. He loved Rachel more than Leah. So he worked for Laban another seven years.


Laban took out the striped and spotted male goats, all the speckled and spotted female goats (every one with white on it), and every black lamb. He had his sons take charge of them that same day. They moved away from Jacob with this flock as far as he could travel in three days. Jacob took care of the rest of Laban's flocks. Jacob took green branches of poplar (storax), almond, and plane trees and stripped off some of the bark so that the branches had white stripes on them. read more.
He placed these branches in front of the flocks at their drinking troughs. He put them there, because the animals mated when they came to drink. So when the goats bred in front of the branches, they produced young that were streaked, speckled, and spotted. Jacob kept the sheep separate from the goats and made them face in the direction of the streaked and black animals of Laban's flock. In this way he built up his own flock and kept it apart from Laban's. When the strongest of the flock were mating, Jacob would place the rods in the sight of the flock in the gutters, so that they might mate by the rods. When the flock was feeble, he did not put them in. That way the feebler were Laban's and the stronger Jacob's. He became exceedingly prosperous, and had large flocks and female and male servants and camels and donkeys.


Rebekah said to her son Jacob: I have just heard your father speak to your brother Esau. He said: 'Bring me some wild game, and prepare a good-tasting meal for me to eat. Then I will bless you in the presence of Jehovah before I die.' Now listen to me, Son, and do what I tell you. read more.
Go to the flock and pick out two fat young goats. I will cook them and make some of that food your father likes so much. You take it to him to eat. Then he will give you his blessing before he dies. Jacob said to his mother: You know that Esau is a hairy man. I have smooth skin. Perhaps my father will touch me and find out that I am deceiving him. That way, I will bring a curse on myself instead of a blessing. His mother replied: Let any curse against you fall on me, my son. Just do as I say, and go and get the goats for me. So Jacob brought the meat to his mother. And she cooked the tasty food that his father liked. Then she took Esau's best clothes and dressed Jacob in them. She also covered the smooth part of his hands and neck with goatskins. She gave her son Jacob the good-tasting meal and the bread she had prepared. He went to his father and said: Father? Yes, he answered. Who are you, Son? Jacob answered: I am your older son Esau. I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of the meat that I brought you. Then you can give me your blessing. Isaac said: How did you find it so quickly, son? Jacob answered: Jehovah your God helped me find it. Isaac said to Jacob: Please come closer. Let me touch you. Are you really Esau? Jacob went closer. His father touched him. He said: You sound like Jacob, but your hands feel hairy like Esau's. So Isaac blessed Jacob, thinking he was Esau. Isaac asked: Are you really my son Esau? Yes, I am, Jacob answered. So Isaac told him: Serve me the wild meat. I can give you my blessing. Jacob gave him some meat, and he ate it. He also gave him some wine, and he drank it. Then his father Isaac said to him: Come close, my son, and kiss me. He came close and kissed him. He smelled the smell of his garments. Then he blessed him and said: See, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field Jehovah has blessed. May God give you of the dew of heaven, the fatness of the earth, and an abundance of grain and new wine. May peoples serve you. And nations bow down to you. Be master of your brothers. And may your mother's sons bow down to you. Cursed be those who curse you. Blessed be those who bless you.


Jacob answered: I will give it to you if you give me your birthright as the firstborn son.


Jacob finished giving these instructions to his sons. He pulled his feet into his bed. He took his last breath and joined his ancestors in death.


Jacob made a vow. He said: If God will be with me and will watch over me on my trip and give me food to eat and clothes to wear, and if I return safely to my father's home, then Jehovah will be my God.


Then Jacob was by himself. A man was fighting with him till dawn.


Many times I suffered from the heat during the day and from the cold at night. I was not able to sleep.


He had a dream in which he saw a stairway set up on the earth with its top reaching up to heaven. He saw the angels of God going up and coming down on it.

Once, when the flocks were mating, I dreamed that all the rams were either spotted or speckled.


Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had under his head. He set it up as a marker and poured oil on top of it.


She was told: The older will serve the younger. It is written: I loved Jacob, and I hated Esau.


By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph. He worshipped while leaning upon the top of his staff.


Jacob said to his family and those who were with him: Get rid of the foreign gods that you have. Wash yourselves until you are ritually clean. Change your clothes.


All his sons and daughters came to comfort him. However, he refused to be comforted. He said: I will go down to the grave still mourning for my son. So he continued to mourn for his son Joseph.

Jacob replied: My son will not go with you. His brother is dead, and he is the only one left. If any harm comes to him on the trip you are taking, the grief would drive this gray-haired old man to his grave!

Jacob said to Joseph: Now I am ready to die. Now that I have seen you and know that you are still alive.


Jacob said to his family and those who were with him: Get rid of the foreign gods that you have. Wash yourselves until you are ritually clean. Change your clothes.


All his sons and daughters came to comfort him. However, he refused to be comforted. He said: I will go down to the grave still mourning for my son. So he continued to mourn for his son Joseph.

Jacob replied: My son will not go with you. His brother is dead, and he is the only one left. If any harm comes to him on the trip you are taking, the grief would drive this gray-haired old man to his grave!

Jacob said to Joseph: Now I am ready to die. Now that I have seen you and know that you are still alive.


Jehovah was standing above the stairway. He proclaimed: I am Jehovah, the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give the land on which you are lying to you and your descendants.

The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you. I will give the land to your descendants after you.


All his sons and daughters came to comfort him. However, he refused to be comforted. He said: I will go down to the grave still mourning for my son. So he continued to mourn for his son Joseph.

Jacob replied: My son will not go with you. His brother is dead, and he is the only one left. If any harm comes to him on the trip you are taking, the grief would drive this gray-haired old man to his grave!

Jacob said to Joseph: Now I am ready to die. Now that I have seen you and know that you are still alive.


It appears that you are going because your heart's desire is for your father's house. But why have you taken my gods?


It appears that you are going because your heart's desire is for your father's house. But why have you taken my gods?


I am less than nothing in comparison with all your love and your faithfulness to me your servant. I only had a stick in my hand when I traveled across Jordan. Now I have become two armies.


I am less than nothing in comparison with all your love and your faithfulness to me your servant. I only had a stick in my hand when I traveled across Jordan. Now I have become two armies.


Jacob said to his family and those who were with him: Get rid of the foreign gods that you have. Wash yourselves until you are ritually clean. Change your clothes. After that let us go to Bethel. I will make an altar there to God, who answered me when I was troubled and who has been with me wherever I have gone. So everyone gave Jacob their idols and their earrings. He buried them under the oak (big) tree near Shechem.


He said to him: Let me go now, for the dawn is near. But Jacob said: I will not let you go till you have given me your blessing.


You both know that I have worked for your father with all my strength.


Jehovah said to Jacob: Go back to the land of your ancestors and to your relatives. I will be with you.

Jehovah said: Two nations are within you. You will give birth to two rival peoples. One will be stronger than the other. The older will serve the younger.

May God give you of the dew of heaven, the fatness of the earth, and an abundance of grain and new wine. May peoples serve you. And nations bow down to you. Be master of your brothers. And may your mother's sons bow down to you. Cursed be those who curse you. Blessed be those who bless you.

Jacob left Beer-sheba and traveled toward Haran. As soon as the sun went down he stopped for the night. He took one of the stones from that place, put it under his head, and lay down there. He had a dream in which he saw a stairway set up on the earth with its top reaching up to heaven. He saw the angels of God going up and coming down on it. read more.
Jehovah was standing above the stairway. He proclaimed: I am Jehovah, the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give the land on which you are lying to you and your descendants. Your descendants will be like the dust on the earth. You will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. Every family on earth will be blessed through you and through your descendants. Remember, I am with you. I will watch over you wherever you go. I will also bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I do what I have promised you.

God appeared to Jacob again when he came from Paddan-aram. He blessed him. God said to him: Your name is Jacob. You shall no longer be called Jacob. Israel shall be your name. Thus He called him Israel. God also said: I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and increase in number. A nation and an assembly of nations will come from you. Kings shall come forth from you. read more.
The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you. I will give the land to your descendants after you. Then God went up from him at the place where he had spoken with him.

God said: I am God! I am the same God your father worshiped. Do not be afraid to go to Egypt. I will give you so many descendants that one day they will become a nation.

I have given you this land. Go in and possess the land Jehovah pledged to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and to their descendants (offspring) after them.'

He confirmed the same to Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant. He said: I will give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance to you.


Rachel was dying! With her last breath she named her son Ben-oni (Son of My Sorrow), but his father named him Benjamin (Son of My Right Hand).

The sons born to Hezron were: Jerahmeel, Ram and Caleb.

Rachel had not borne Jacob any children. As a result, she became jealous of her sister and said to Jacob: Give me children, or I will die. Jacob became angry with Rachel. He said: I cannot take the place of God. He is the one who keeps you from having children. She said: Here is my maid Bilhah. Sleep with her, so that she can have a child for me. This way I can become a mother through her. read more.
Then Rachel let Jacob marry Bilhah. Jacob slept with Bilhah. They had a son. Rachel named him Dan, because she said: God has answered my prayers. He has vindicated me and given me a son. Bilhah and Jacob had a second son. Rachel said: I have struggled hard with my sister, and I have won! So she named the boy Naphtali. When Leah realized she could not have any more children, she let Jacob marry her servant Zilpah. They had a son. Leah said: How fortunate. She called him Gad. Leah's slave Zilpah gave birth to her second son for Jacob. Leah said: I am happy, for women will call me blessed. So she named him Asher. During the wheat harvest Reuben went out into the fields. He found some mandrake plants. He brought them to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah: Please, give me some of your son's mandrake plants. Leah replied: Is it not enough that you took my husband? Are you also going to take my son's mandrake plants? Rachel responded: Very well, Jacob can go to bed with you tonight in return for your son's mandrake plants. Jacob came in from the fields that evening. Leah went out to meet him. You are to sleep with me, she said. You are my reward for my son's mandrake plants. So he went to bed with her that night. God answered Leah's prayer. She became pregnant and gave birth to her fifth son for Jacob. Leah said: God has given me my reward, because I gave my slave to my husband. So she named him Issachar. She became pregnant again and gave birth to her sixth son for Jacob. Leah said: God has presented me with a wonderful gift. This time my husband will honor me, because I have given him six sons. So she named him Zebulun. Later she bore a daughter and named her Dinah. Then God remembered Rachel. God listened to her and opened her womb. So she conceived and gave birth to a son. She said: God has taken away my reproach. She named him Joseph. She said: May Jehovah give me another son.

These are the names of Israel's descendants (Jacob and his descendants) who arrived in Egypt. Reuben was Jacob's firstborn. The sons of Reuben were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. The sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman. read more.
The sons of Levi were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. The sons of Judah were Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah. (Er and Onan died in Canaan.) The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul. The sons of Issachar were Tola, Puvah, Iob, and Shimron. The sons of Zebulun were Sered, Elon, and Jahleel. These were the sons Leah gave to Jacob in Paddan-aram, in addition to his daughter Dinah. The total number of these sons and daughters was thirty-three. The sons of Gad were Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli. The sons of Asher were Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, and Beriah. Their sister was Serah. The sons of Beriah were Heber and Malchiel. These were the descendants of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah. She gave birth to these children for Jacob. The total was sixteen. The sons of Jacob's wife Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin. In Egypt, Manasseh and Ephraim were born to Joseph by Asenath, daughter of Potiphera, priest from the city of On. The sons of Benjamin were Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard. These were the sons of Rachel who were born to Jacob. The total was fourteen. The son of Dan was Hushim. The sons of Naphtali were Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem. These were the descendants of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Rachel. She gave birth to these sons for Jacob. The total was seven. The total number of Jacob's direct descendants who went with him to Egypt was sixty-six. This did not include the wives of Jacob's sons. Joseph had two sons who were born in Egypt. There were a total of seventy people in Jacob's household who went to Egypt.

Jehovah saw that Leah was loved less, so he made it possible for her to have children. But Rachel had none. Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, because she said: Certainly, Jehovah has seen my misery. Now my husband will love me! She became pregnant again and gave birth to another son. She said: Certainly, Jehovah has heard that I am unloved. He has also given me this son. She named him Simeon. read more.
She became pregnant again and gave birth to another son. She said: Now at last my husband will become attached to me because I have given him three sons. She named him Levi. Leah became pregnant again and gave birth to another son. She said: This time I will praise Jehovah. So she named him Judah (Praise). Then she stopped having children.

While Israel lived in that region, Reuben went to bed with his father's concubine Bilhah. Israel heard about it. Jacob had twelve sons. The sons of Leah were Jacob's firstborn Reuben, then Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. The sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin. read more.
The sons of Rachel's slave Bilhah were Dan and Naphtali. The sons of Leah's slave Zilpah were Gad and Asher. These were Jacob's sons, who were born in Paddan-aram.

These are the names of the sons of Israel who came with their families and with Jacob to Egypt: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah; Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin; read more.
Dan and Naphtali and Gad and Asher. Joseph was already in Egypt. The total number of Jacob's descendants was seventy.


When Jacob and his family went to Egypt the Egyptians oppressed them. Your ancestors cried to Jehovah for help. He sent Moses and Aaron, who brought them out of Egypt and settled them in this land.

Then Israel came to Egypt. Jacob lived as a foreigner in the land of Ham.

Jacob (Israel) packed up everything he owned and left for Egypt. On the way he stopped near the town of Beer-sheba and offered sacrifices to the God his father Isaac had worshiped. That night, God spoke to him and said: Jacob! Jacob! Here I am, Jacob answered. God said: I am God! I am the same God your father worshiped. Do not be afraid to go to Egypt. I will give you so many descendants that one day they will become a nation. read more.
I will go to Egypt with you. I will make sure you come back again. Joseph will close your eyes when you die. Jacob left Beer-sheba. Israel's sons put their father Jacob, their children, and their wives in the wagons Pharaoh had sent to bring him back. They took their livestock and the possessions they had acquired in Canaan. Jacob and all his family arrived in Egypt. He brought his sons, his grandsons, his daughters, and his granddaughters, his entire family.

Then Joseph sent for his father Jacob and all his family, seventy-five people. Jacob went down into Egypt and died, he and our fathers.


He gave him the covenant of circumcision. Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him the eighth day. Isaac became father to Jacob and Jacob fathered the twelve family heads.

Abraham was the father of Isaac. The sons of Isaac: Esau and Israel.

and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I gave Esau the hill country of Edom as his possession, but your ancestor Jacob and his children went down to Egypt.

The time came for her to give birth. She gave birth to twin sons. The first one was reddish. His skin was like a hairy robe, so he was named Esau. The second one was born holding on tightly to the heel of Esau. He was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when they were born.


God appeared to Jacob again when he came from Paddan-aram. He blessed him. God said to him: Your name is Jacob. You shall no longer be called Jacob. Israel shall be your name. Thus He called him Israel. God also said: I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and increase in number. A nation and an assembly of nations will come from you. Kings shall come forth from you. read more.
The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you. I will give the land to your descendants after you. Then God went up from him at the place where he had spoken with him. So Jacob set up a memorial, a stone marker, to mark the place where God had spoken with him. He poured a wine offering and olive oil on it. Jacob named the place where God had spoken with him Bethel (House of God).

Jehovah was standing above the stairway. He proclaimed: I am Jehovah, the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give the land on which you are lying to you and your descendants. Your descendants will be like the dust on the earth. You will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. Every family on earth will be blessed through you and through your descendants. Remember, I am with you. I will watch over you wherever you go. I will also bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I do what I have promised you. read more.
Jacob woke up from his sleep and said: Truly, Jehovah is in this place, and I did not know it! He was filled with reverence. He said: This is an awesome place! Certainly, this is the house of God and the gateway to the heavens! Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had under his head. He set it up as a marker and poured oil on top of it. He named that place Bethel (House of God). Previously, the name of the city was Luz. Jacob made a vow. He said: If God will be with me and will watch over me on my trip and give me food to eat and clothes to wear, and if I return safely to my father's home, then Jehovah will be my God. This stone I placed as a marker will be the house of God. I will certainly give you a tenth of everything you give me.

You are descendants of Israel, his servant. You are descendants of Jacob, his chosen ones. HE IS JEHOVAH OUR GOD. His judgments are pronounced throughout the earth. Remember his promise for a very long time, the word that he commanded for a thousand generations! read more.
Remember the covenant that he made to Abraham, and his sworn promise to Isaac. He confirmed it as a law for Jacob, as a long lasting covenant to Israel. He said: I will give you Canaan. It is your share of the inheritance.


Then Jacob was by himself. A man was fighting with him till dawn. The man saw that he was not able to overcome Jacob. He gave him a blow in the hollow part of his thigh, so that his leg was damaged. He said to him: Let me go now, for the dawn is near. But Jacob said: I will not let you go till you have given me your blessing. read more.
Then he asked: What is your name? And he said, Jacob. The man said: Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel (He Struggles With God), because you have struggled with God and with men and you have won. Jacob said: Please tell me your name. The man answered: Why do you ask for my name? Then he blessed Jacob there. Jacob named that place Peniel (Face of God), because he said: I have seen God face to face, yet my life was saved.

Then Jacob prayed: O God of my father Abraham, the God of my father Isaac, O Jehovah, you said to me: 'Go back to your country and your family and I will be good to you.' I am less than nothing in comparison with all your love and your faithfulness to me your servant. I only had a stick in my hand when I traveled across Jordan. Now I have become two armies. Save me from the hand of Esau, my brother. I fear that he will attack me and kill both mothers and children. read more.
You said, 'I will make sure that you are prosperous and that your descendants will be as many as the grains of sand on the seashore. No one will be able to count them because there are so many.'


Jacob left Beer-sheba and traveled toward Haran.

Jacob made a vow. He said: If God will be with me and will watch over me on my trip and give me food to eat and clothes to wear, and if I return safely to my father's home, then Jehovah will be my God.


So Esau bore a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him. Esau said to himself: The days of mourning for my father are near. Then I will kill my brother Jacob. When Rebekah heard about Esau's plans to kill Jacob, she called her younger son, Jacob. She said: Your brother Esau is comforting himself by planning to kill you. Go quickly, my son. Run away to my brother Laban in Haran. read more.
Stay with him until your brother's anger cools down. When your brother's anger is gone and he has forgotten what you did to him, I will let you know. Then you may come back. Why should I lose both of you in one day? Rebekah said to Isaac: I cannot stand Hittite women! I would rather die than see Jacob marry one of them.

Isaac called Jacob, blessed him, and told him: Do not marry a Canaanite. Go to Mesopotamia instead, to the home of your grandfather Bethuel. Marry one of the young women there, one of your uncle Laban's daughters. Almighty God will bless your marriage and give you many children. You will become the father of many nations! read more.
He will bless you and your descendants as he blessed Abraham. You may take possession of this land, in which you have lived and which God gave to Abraham! Isaac then sent Jacob to stay with Rebekah's brother Laban, the son of Bethuel the Aramean.

Jacob fled to the country of Syria. Israel worked to get a wife. He took care of sheep to pay for her.


Some of the Midianite traders approached. The brothers pulled Joseph out of the well and sold him for twenty pieces of silver to the Ishmaelites. They took him to Egypt.

Their father Jacob said to them: You are going to make me lose all my children! Joseph is no longer with us. Simeon is no longer with us. Now you want to take Benjamin. Everything is against me!


One day while Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from hunting. He was hungry. He said to Jacob: I am starving! Give me some of that red stuff. (That is why he was named Edom.) Jacob answered: I will give it to you if you give me your birthright as the firstborn son. read more.
Esau said: All right! I am about to die. What good are rights as firstborn to me? Jacob answered: First make a vow that you will give me your birthright. Esau made the vow and gave his rights as firstborn to Jacob. Jacob gave him some bread and some of the soup. He ate and drank and then got up and left. Esau did not care about his birthright.

Let no one become immoral or unspiritual like Esau. He sold his birthright for a single meal!


By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even concerning things to come.

Isaac was old and going blind. He called his older son Esau and said to him: Son! Esau answered: Here I am. Isaac said: I am old. I do not know when I will die. Please take your hunting equipment, your quiver and bow, and go out into the open country and hunt some wild game for me. read more.
Prepare a good-tasting meal for me. Prepare it the way I like it. Bring it to me to eat so that I will bless you before I die. Rebekah listened while Isaac was speaking to his son Esau. Esau went into the open country to hunt for some wild game to bring back. Rebekah said to her son Jacob: I have just heard your father speak to your brother Esau. He said: 'Bring me some wild game, and prepare a good-tasting meal for me to eat. Then I will bless you in the presence of Jehovah before I die.' Now listen to me, Son, and do what I tell you. Go to the flock and pick out two fat young goats. I will cook them and make some of that food your father likes so much. You take it to him to eat. Then he will give you his blessing before he dies. Jacob said to his mother: You know that Esau is a hairy man. I have smooth skin. Perhaps my father will touch me and find out that I am deceiving him. That way, I will bring a curse on myself instead of a blessing. His mother replied: Let any curse against you fall on me, my son. Just do as I say, and go and get the goats for me. So Jacob brought the meat to his mother. And she cooked the tasty food that his father liked. Then she took Esau's best clothes and dressed Jacob in them. She also covered the smooth part of his hands and neck with goatskins. She gave her son Jacob the good-tasting meal and the bread she had prepared. He went to his father and said: Father? Yes, he answered. Who are you, Son? Jacob answered: I am your older son Esau. I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of the meat that I brought you. Then you can give me your blessing. Isaac said: How did you find it so quickly, son? Jacob answered: Jehovah your God helped me find it. Isaac said to Jacob: Please come closer. Let me touch you. Are you really Esau? Jacob went closer. His father touched him. He said: You sound like Jacob, but your hands feel hairy like Esau's. So Isaac blessed Jacob, thinking he was Esau. Isaac asked: Are you really my son Esau? Yes, I am, Jacob answered. So Isaac told him: Serve me the wild meat. I can give you my blessing. Jacob gave him some meat, and he ate it. He also gave him some wine, and he drank it. Then his father Isaac said to him: Come close, my son, and kiss me. He came close and kissed him. He smelled the smell of his garments. Then he blessed him and said: See, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field Jehovah has blessed. May God give you of the dew of heaven, the fatness of the earth, and an abundance of grain and new wine. May peoples serve you. And nations bow down to you. Be master of your brothers. And may your mother's sons bow down to you. Cursed be those who curse you. Blessed be those who bless you.


Laban said to Jacob: You should not work for me for nothing just because you are my relative. How much pay do you want? Laban had two daughters. The older was named Leah and the younger Rachel. Leah had soft eyes and Rachel was shapely and very beautiful. read more.
Jacob was in love with Rachel, so he said: I will work seven years for you, if you will let me marry Rachel. Laban answered: It is better that I give her to you than to anyone else. Stay here with me. Jacob worked seven years for Laban. The time seemed like only a few days, because he loved Rachel so much. Jacob said to Laban: Give me my wife for the time is completed. I want to marry Rachel now! Laban gathered all the men of the place and gave a feast. In the evening when it was dark, he took Leah, his daughter, and gave her to him. Jacob slept with her. Laban gave Zilpah, his servant-girl, to Leah, to be her maid. What have you done to me? Jacob asked Laban: Did I work for you in return for Rachel? Why did you cheat me? Laban answered: It is not our custom to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older one. Finish the week of wedding festivities with this daughter. Then we will give you the other one too. But you will have to work for me another seven years. Jacob did that. He finished the week with Leah. Then Laban gave his daughter Rachel to him as his wife. Laban gave his slave Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her slave. Jacob slept with Rachel too. He loved Rachel more than Leah. So he worked for Laban another seven years.

Jacob fled to the country of Syria. Israel worked to get a wife. He took care of sheep to pay for her.


Jacob slept with Rachel too. He loved Rachel more than Leah. So he worked for Laban another seven years.

Jacob fled to the country of Syria. Israel worked to get a wife. He took care of sheep to pay for her.


When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons: Why are you doing nothing? He said: I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us from that place, so that we may live and not die.

The famine was extremely bad in the land. When they finished eating the grain they brought from Egypt, Israel said to his sons: Go back and buy us a little more food. Judah said to him: The man gave us strict warning! He said: 'You will not be allowed to see me again unless your brother is with you.' read more.
If you let our brother go with us, we will go and buy food for you. If you will not let him go, we will not go. The man said to us: 'You will not be allowed to see me again unless your brother is with you.' Israel asked: Why have you made trouble for me by telling the man you had another brother? They answered: The man kept asking about our family and us. He asked, 'Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?' We simply answered his questions. How could we possibly know he would say, 'Bring your brother here'? Then Judah said to his father Israel: Send the boy along with me. Let us get going so that we will not starve to death. I guarantee that he will come back. You can hold me responsible for him. If I do not bring him back to you and place him here in front of you, you can blame me the rest of my life. If we had not waited so long, we could have made this trip twice by now. Their father Israel said: If that is the way it has to be, then take the man a gift. Put some of the best products of the land in your bags. Take a little balm, a little honey, gum, myrrh, pistachio nuts, and almonds. Take twice as much money with you, because you must take back the money that was returned in the top of your sacks. Maybe it was a mistake. Take your brother and return at once. May God Almighty cause the man to have pity on you, so that he will give Benjamin and your other brother back to you. As for me, if I must lose my children, I must lose them.


Your mother Rachel died in Canaan after we left northern Syria and before we reached Bethlehem. I had to bury her along the way.

After that they moved from Bethel. When there was still some distance to go to Ephrath, Rachel went into labor. She had severe labor pains. When one of her pains hit, the midwife said: Do not be afraid. You have another son! Rachel was dying! With her last breath she named her son Ben-oni (Son of My Sorrow), but his father named him Benjamin (Son of My Right Hand). read more.
Rachel died and was buried on the way to Bethlehem (Ephrath).


I am giving you one more mountain ridge than your brothers. I took it from the Amorites with my own sword and bow.

He arrived at a city of Samaria called Sychar. It is near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.


When Rebekah heard about Esau's plans to kill Jacob, she called her younger son, Jacob. She said: Your brother Esau is comforting himself by planning to kill you. Go quickly, my son. Run away to my brother Laban in Haran.


Jacob answered: I will give it to you if you give me your birthright as the firstborn son. Esau said: All right! I am about to die. What good are rights as firstborn to me? Jacob answered: First make a vow that you will give me your birthright. Esau made the vow and gave his rights as firstborn to Jacob.


He went to his father and said: Father? Yes, he answered. Who are you, Son? Jacob answered: I am your older son Esau. I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of the meat that I brought you. Then you can give me your blessing. Isaac said: How did you find it so quickly, son? Jacob answered: Jehovah your God helped me find it. read more.
Isaac said to Jacob: Please come closer. Let me touch you. Are you really Esau? Jacob went closer. His father touched him. He said: You sound like Jacob, but your hands feel hairy like Esau's. So Isaac blessed Jacob, thinking he was Esau. Isaac asked: Are you really my son Esau? Yes, I am, Jacob answered. So Isaac told him: Serve me the wild meat. I can give you my blessing. Jacob gave him some meat, and he ate it. He also gave him some wine, and he drank it. Then his father Isaac said to him: Come close, my son, and kiss me. He came close and kissed him. He smelled the smell of his garments. Then he blessed him and said: See, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field Jehovah has blessed. May God give you of the dew of heaven, the fatness of the earth, and an abundance of grain and new wine. May peoples serve you. And nations bow down to you. Be master of your brothers. And may your mother's sons bow down to you. Cursed be those who curse you. Blessed be those who bless you.


The man said: Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel (He Struggles With God), because you have struggled with God and with men and you have won.

God said to him: Your name is Jacob. You shall no longer be called Jacob. Israel shall be your name. Thus He called him Israel.


May God Almighty cause the man to have pity on you, so that he will give Benjamin and your other brother back to you. As for me, if I must lose my children, I must lose them.

If you take this one from me now and something happens to him, the sorrow you would cause me would kill me, as old as I am.'


Joseph settled his father and his brothers in Egypt. He gave them property in the best of the land near the city of Rameses. This was as the king had commanded. Joseph provided food for his father, his brothers, and all the rest of his father's family, including the very youngest.

The Israelites lived in Egypt in the region of Goshen. They became rich and had many children.


Jacob was in love with Rachel, so he said: I will work seven years for you, if you will let me marry Rachel.


By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph. He worshipped while leaning upon the top of his staff.


Many times I suffered from the heat during the day and from the cold at night. I was not able to sleep.


Issachar is a strong donkey, lying down between the saddlebags. When he sees that his resting place is good and that the land is pleasant, he will bend his back to the burden and will become a slave laborer.


Joseph is a fruitful tree, a fruitful tree by a spring, with branches climbing over a wall. Archers provoked him, shot at him, and harassed him. His bow stayed steady! His arms remained limber because of the help of the Mighty One of Jacob, because of the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, read more.
because of the God of your father who helps you, because of the Almighty who blesses you from the heavens above, blessings from the deep springs below the ground, blessings from breasts and womb. The blessings of your father are greater than the blessings of the oldest mountains and the riches of the ancient hills. May these blessings rest on the head of Joseph, on the crown of the prince among his brothers.


Dan will judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel. Dan will be a snake on a road, a viper on a path that bites a horse's heels so that its rider falls backwards. I wait with hope for your salvation, O Jehovah.


Jacob traveled safely from Paddan-aram to the city of Shechem in Canaan. He camped within sight of the city. He bought the piece of land on which he pitched his tents. He bought it from the sons of Hamor, father of Shechem, for one hundred pieces of silver. He set up an altar there and named it God, the God of Israel.


When the time drew near for him to die, he called for his son Joseph and said to him: Place your hand under my thighs and make a solemn vow that you will not bury me in Egypt. I want to be buried where my fathers are. Carry me out of Egypt and bury me where they are buried. Joseph answered: I will do as you say. Jacob said: Make a vow that you will. Joseph made the vow. Jacob gave thanks there on his bed.


Jacob told his sons: Soon I will die. I want you to bury me in Machpelah Cave. Abraham bought the cave from Ephron the Hittite to use as a burial place. It is near the field of Machpelah. It is also near the town of Mamre in Canaan.


Let me go through all of your flocks today and take every speckled and spotted sheep, every black lamb, and every spotted and speckled goat. They will be my wages. My honesty will speak for itself whenever you come to check on my wages. Any goat I have that is not speckled or spotted or any lamb that is not black will be considered stolen. Laban answered: I agree; we will do as you have said. read more.
Laban took out the striped and spotted male goats, all the speckled and spotted female goats (every one with white on it), and every black lamb. He had his sons take charge of them that same day. They moved away from Jacob with this flock as far as he could travel in three days. Jacob took care of the rest of Laban's flocks. Jacob took green branches of poplar (storax), almond, and plane trees and stripped off some of the bark so that the branches had white stripes on them. He placed these branches in front of the flocks at their drinking troughs. He put them there, because the animals mated when they came to drink. So when the goats bred in front of the branches, they produced young that were streaked, speckled, and spotted. Jacob kept the sheep separate from the goats and made them face in the direction of the streaked and black animals of Laban's flock. In this way he built up his own flock and kept it apart from Laban's. When the strongest of the flock were mating, Jacob would place the rods in the sight of the flock in the gutters, so that they might mate by the rods. When the flock was feeble, he did not put them in. That way the feebler were Laban's and the stronger Jacob's. He became exceedingly prosperous, and had large flocks and female and male servants and camels and donkeys.


Jacob blessed Joseph. He said: May God, in whose presence my grandfather Abraham and my father Isaac walked, may this God who has been my shepherd all my life to this very day, May the being who rescued me from all evil bless these boys! May they be called by my name and by the names of my grandfather Abraham and my father Isaac. May they have many children on the earth. Joseph saw that his father had put his right hand on Ephraim's head. Joseph did not like it. So he took his father's hand in order to move it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's. read more.
He said to his father: That is not right, Father! This is the firstborn. Put your right hand on his head. His father refused and said: I know, Son, I know! Manasseh, too, will become a nation. He, too, will be important. Nevertheless, his younger brother will be more important than he. His descendants will become many nations. That day he blessed them. He said: Because of you, Israel will speak this blessing: 'May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh!' In this way Israel put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh. Then Israel said to Joseph: I am about to die. God will be with you. He will bring you back to the land of your fathers. I am giving you one more mountain ridge than your brothers. I took it from the Amorites with my own sword and bow.


The sons of Leah were Jacob's firstborn Reuben, then Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. The sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin. The sons of Rachel's slave Bilhah were Dan and Naphtali. read more.
The sons of Leah's slave Zilpah were Gad and Asher. These were Jacob's sons, who were born in Paddan-aram.


Jacob tore his clothes in sorrow and put on sackcloth. He mourned for his son a long time. All his sons and daughters came to comfort him. However, he refused to be comforted. He said: I will go down to the grave still mourning for my son. So he continued to mourn for his son Joseph.


they told their father that Joseph was still alive and was the ruler of Egypt. But their father was so surprised that he could not believe them. Then they told him everything Joseph said. When he saw the wagons Joseph had sent, he felt much better. He said: Now I can believe you! My son Joseph must really be alive. I will get to see him before I die.


Jacob left Beer-sheba and traveled toward Haran. As soon as the sun went down he stopped for the night. He took one of the stones from that place, put it under his head, and lay down there. He had a dream in which he saw a stairway set up on the earth with its top reaching up to heaven. He saw the angels of God going up and coming down on it. read more.
Jehovah was standing above the stairway. He proclaimed: I am Jehovah, the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give the land on which you are lying to you and your descendants. Your descendants will be like the dust on the earth. You will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. Every family on earth will be blessed through you and through your descendants. Remember, I am with you. I will watch over you wherever you go. I will also bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I do what I have promised you. Jacob woke up from his sleep and said: Truly, Jehovah is in this place, and I did not know it! He was filled with reverence. He said: This is an awesome place! Certainly, this is the house of God and the gateway to the heavens! Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had under his head. He set it up as a marker and poured oil on top of it. He named that place Bethel (House of God). Previously, the name of the city was Luz. Jacob made a vow. He said: If God will be with me and will watch over me on my trip and give me food to eat and clothes to wear, and if I return safely to my father's home, then Jehovah will be my God. This stone I placed as a marker will be the house of God. I will certainly give you a tenth of everything you give me.


Jacob sent Judah ahead to ask Joseph to meet them in Goshen. When they arrived, Joseph got in his chariot and went to Goshen to meet his father. When they met, Joseph threw his arms around his father's neck and cried for a long time. Jacob said to Joseph: Now I am ready to die. Now that I have seen you and know that you are still alive. read more.
Joseph said to his brothers and the rest of his father's family: I must go and tell the king that my brothers and all my father's family, who were living in Canaan, have come to me. I will tell him that you are shepherds and take care of livestock. And that you have brought your flocks and herds and everything else that belongs to you. The king will call for you. He will ask what your occupation is. Be sure to tell him that you have taken care of livestock all your lives, just as your ancestors did. In this way he will let you live in the region of Goshen. Joseph said this because Egyptians will have nothing to do with shepherds (consider shepherds loathsome).


Judah, your brothers will praise you. You hold your enemies by the neck. Your brothers will bow down before you. Judah is like a lion, killing his victim and returning to his den. He is like a lion stretching out and lying down. No one dares disturb him. The royal scepter shall not depart from Judah. His descendants will always rule. Nations will bring him tribute and bow in obedience before him. This, until Shiloh comes and all will obey him. read more.
He will tie his donkey to a grapevine, his colt to the best vine. He will wash his clothes in wine, his garments in the blood of grapes. His eyes are darker than wine. His teeth are whiter than milk.


These are the names of Israel's descendants (Jacob and his descendants) who arrived in Egypt. Reuben was Jacob's firstborn. The sons of Reuben were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. The sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman. read more.
The sons of Levi were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. The sons of Judah were Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah. (Er and Onan died in Canaan.) The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul. The sons of Issachar were Tola, Puvah, Iob, and Shimron. The sons of Zebulun were Sered, Elon, and Jahleel. These were the sons Leah gave to Jacob in Paddan-aram, in addition to his daughter Dinah. The total number of these sons and daughters was thirty-three. The sons of Gad were Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli. The sons of Asher were Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, and Beriah. Their sister was Serah. The sons of Beriah were Heber and Malchiel. These were the descendants of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah. She gave birth to these children for Jacob. The total was sixteen. The sons of Jacob's wife Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin. In Egypt, Manasseh and Ephraim were born to Joseph by Asenath, daughter of Potiphera, priest from the city of On. The sons of Benjamin were Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard. These were the sons of Rachel who were born to Jacob. The total was fourteen. The son of Dan was Hushim. The sons of Naphtali were Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem. These were the descendants of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Rachel. She gave birth to these sons for Jacob. The total was seven. The total number of Jacob's direct descendants who went with him to Egypt was sixty-six. This did not include the wives of Jacob's sons. Joseph had two sons who were born in Egypt. There were a total of seventy people in Jacob's household who went to Egypt.


Joseph took five of his brothers and went to the king. He told him: My father and my brothers have come from Canaan with their flocks, their herds, and all that they own. They are now in the region of Goshen. Then he presented his brothers to the king. The king asked: What is your occupation? We are shepherds, Sir, just as our ancestors were, they answered. read more.
We have come to live in this country. The famine is so severe in the land of Canaan that there is no pasture for our flocks. Please give us permission to live in the region of Goshen. The king said to Joseph: Now that your father and your brothers have arrived, the land of Egypt is theirs. Let them settle in the region of Goshen, the best part of the land. If there are any capable men among them, put them in charge of my own livestock. Joseph brought his father Jacob and presented him to the king. Jacob gave the king his blessing. The king asked him: How old are you? Jacob answered: My life of wandering has lasted a hundred and thirty years. Those years have been few and difficult, unlike the long years of my ancestors in their wanderings. Jacob gave the king a farewell blessing and left.


Joseph had another dream and told his brothers: I had another dream, in which I saw the sun, the moon, and eleven stars bowing down to me. He also told the dream to his father. His father scolded him. What kind of a dream is that? Do you think that your mother, your brothers, and I are going to come and bow down to you? Joseph's brothers were jealous of him. His father kept thinking about the whole matter.


He arrived at a city of Samaria called Sychar. It is near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there. It was about the sixth hour when Jesus arrived. Being weary from the journey he sat down by the well. A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her: Please give me a drink. read more.
His disciples went away to the city to buy meat. The woman of Samaria asked: How is it that you being a Jew ask for a drink from me? I am a woman of Samaria. [The Jews did not associate with Samaritans.] (Not in early manuscripts.) Jesus answered: If you know the gift of God and who asked you for a drink, you would have asked him to give you living water. The woman said to him: Sir, you do not have anything with which to draw water and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well. He and his children and cattle drank from it. Jesus answered: Whoever drinks from this water will thirst again. But whoever drinks from the water that I give him will never thirst. The water that I will give him will be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. The woman said to him: Sir, give me this water! That way I will not thirst and not come here to draw. Jesus said to her: Go call your husband and come here. The woman answered: I have no husband. Jesus replied to her: You said well, I have no husband. For you have had five husbands. The one you have now is not your husband, this is true. The woman said to him: Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain. But you say Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. Jesus replied: Woman believe me. The hour comes when you will worship the Father neither in the mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know. We worship what we know. Salvation is from the Jews. But the hour comes and now is when the true worshippers shall worship the Father with spirit and truth. The Father seeks such people to worship him. God is a Spirit. They who worship him must worship him with spirit and truth. The woman responded: I know that Christ the Messiah is coming. When he comes he will tell us all things. Jesus said: I that speak to you am he. His disciples came and wondered why he talked with the woman. Yet no one asked: What are you looking for? Why did you talk to her? The woman left her water pot and went to the city. She spoke to the men. Come see a man who told me everything I have ever done. Could this be the Christ? They left the city to see him.


When the time of mourning was over, Joseph said to the king's officials: Please take this message to the king: When my father was about to die, he made me promise him that I would bury him in the tomb that he had prepared in the land of Canaan. Please, let me go and bury my father. Then I will come back. The king replied: By all means go and bury your father, as you promised you would. read more.
So Joseph went to bury his father. All the king's officials, the senior men of his court, and all the leading men of Egypt went with Joseph. His family, including his brothers, and the rest of his father's family all went with him. Only their small children and their sheep, goats, and cattle stayed in the region of Goshen. Men in chariots and men on horseback also went with him. It was a very large group. They mourned loudly for a long time at the threshing place at Atad east of the Jordan. Joseph performed mourning ceremonies for seven days. The citizens of Canaan saw those people mourning at Atad. They said: What a solemn ceremony of mourning the Egyptians are holding! That is why the place was named Abel-mizraim. Jacob's sons did as he had commanded them. They carried his body to Canaan and buried it in the cave at Machpelah east of Mamre. He was buried in the field Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite for a burial ground.


Reuben, you are my firstborn; you are my strength and the first child of my manhood. You are the proudest and strongest of all my sons. You are like a raging flood. But you will not be the most important, for you slept with my concubine. You dishonored your father's bed.


Simeon and Levi are brothers. They use their weapons to commit violence. I will not join in their secret talks. I will not take part in their meetings. They killed people in anger. They crippled bulls for sport. A curse is on their anger, because it is so fierce. And a curse is on their fury, because it is so cruel. I will scatter them throughout the land of Israel. I will disperse them among its people.


Jacob (Israel) loved Joseph more than all his sons because Joseph had been born in Israel's old age. So he made Joseph a special multicolored robe with long sleeves. Joseph's brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them. They hated Joseph and could not speak to him in a friendly way.


God said to Jacob: Go to Bethel and dwell there. Make an altar to God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau. Jacob said to his family and those who were with him: Get rid of the foreign gods that you have. Wash yourselves until you are ritually clean. Change your clothes. After that let us go to Bethel. I will make an altar there to God, who answered me when I was troubled and who has been with me wherever I have gone. read more.
So everyone gave Jacob their idols and their earrings. He buried them under the oak (big) tree near Shechem. Jacob and his family traveled through Canaan. God terrified the people in the towns so much that no one dared bother them. Finally, they reached Bethel, also known as Luz. Jacob built an altar there and called it God of Bethel. That was the place where God appeared to him when he was running from Esau.


Along the way God's angels met Jacob. When he saw them, Jacob said: This is God's camp! He named that place Mahanaim.


Then Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the persons of his household, his cattle and all his animals, and all his goods which he had gained in the land of Canaan, and went to a country away from the presence of his brother Jacob. For their possessions were too great for them to dwell together, and the land where they were strangers could not support them because of their livestock.


Naphtali is a deer set free with beautiful fawns (words).


Benjamin is a ravenous wolf. In the morning and evening he destroys his enemies.


Zebulun will live by the coast. He will have ships by the coast. His border will go as far as Sidon.


Asher's food will be rich. He will provide delicacies fit for a king.


Gad will be attacked by a band of raiders. He will strike back at their heels.


Their father Jacob said to them: You are going to make me lose all my children! Joseph is no longer with us. Simeon is no longer with us. Now you want to take Benjamin. Everything is against me!


While Israel lived in that region, Reuben went to bed with his father's concubine Bilhah. Israel heard about it. Jacob had twelve sons.


Jacob came home to his father Isaac, to Mamre's city, Kiriath-arba (Hebron). Abraham and Isaac had lived there for a while.


Jacob set up a stone as a marker for her grave. The same marker is at Rachel's grave today.


Jacob lived in Egypt seventeen years, until he was a hundred and forty-seven years old.


Jacob moved on to Succoth. He built a house there for himself and made shelters for his livestock. That is why the place is named Succoth.


Isaac prayed to Jehovah for his wife because she was childless. Jehovah answered his prayer. His wife Rebekah became pregnant.


Jacob finished giving these instructions to his sons. He pulled his feet into his bed. He took his last breath and joined his ancestors in death.


It took forty days, which is the normal time for embalming. The Egyptians mourned for him seventy days.


Deborah died. She was the servant who cared for Rebekah from childhood. She was buried near Bethel, under the holy tree. They named it Allon-bacuth (weeping tree).


Esau ran to meet him. He threw his arms around him, and kissed him. They both cried.


Jacob continued to live in the land of Canaan, where his father had lived.


Then Joseph gave orders to embalm his father's body.


Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.





He had a dream in which he saw a stairway set up on the earth with its top reaching up to heaven. He saw the angels of God going up and coming down on it. Jehovah was standing above the stairway. He proclaimed: I am Jehovah, the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give the land on which you are lying to you and your descendants. Your descendants will be like the dust on the earth. You will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. Every family on earth will be blessed through you and through your descendants. read more.
Remember, I am with you. I will watch over you wherever you go. I will also bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I do what I have promised you.

God appeared to Jacob again when he came from Paddan-aram. He blessed him. God said to him: Your name is Jacob. You shall no longer be called Jacob. Israel shall be your name. Thus He called him Israel. God also said: I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and increase in number. A nation and an assembly of nations will come from you. Kings shall come forth from you. read more.
The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you. I will give the land to your descendants after you.


This stone I placed as a marker will be the house of God. I will certainly give you a tenth of everything you give me.


All his sons and daughters came to comfort him. However, he refused to be comforted. He said: I will go down to the grave still mourning for my son. So he continued to mourn for his son Joseph.

Jacob replied: My son will not go with you. His brother is dead, and he is the only one left. If any harm comes to him on the trip you are taking, the grief would drive this gray-haired old man to his grave!

Jacob said to Joseph: Now I am ready to die. Now that I have seen you and know that you are still alive.


All his sons and daughters came to comfort him. However, he refused to be comforted. He said: I will go down to the grave still mourning for my son. So he continued to mourn for his son Joseph.

Jacob replied: My son will not go with you. His brother is dead, and he is the only one left. If any harm comes to him on the trip you are taking, the grief would drive this gray-haired old man to his grave!

Jacob said to Joseph: Now I am ready to die. Now that I have seen you and know that you are still alive.


All his sons and daughters came to comfort him. However, he refused to be comforted. He said: I will go down to the grave still mourning for my son. So he continued to mourn for his son Joseph.

Jacob replied: My son will not go with you. His brother is dead, and he is the only one left. If any harm comes to him on the trip you are taking, the grief would drive this gray-haired old man to his grave!

Jacob said to Joseph: Now I am ready to die. Now that I have seen you and know that you are still alive.


It appears that you are going because your heart's desire is for your father's house. But why have you taken my gods?


Jacob answered: I am your older son Esau. I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of the meat that I brought you. Then you can give me your blessing.


Jacob said to his family and those who were with him: Get rid of the foreign gods that you have. Wash yourselves until you are ritually clean. Change your clothes.


Isaac called Jacob, blessed him, and told him: Do not marry a Canaanite.


The man said: Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel (He Struggles With God), because you have struggled with God and with men and you have won.


God said to Jacob: Go to Bethel and dwell there. Make an altar to God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.

Jacob built an altar there and called it God of Bethel. That was the place where God appeared to him when he was running from Esau.


Jacob would not send Joseph's brother Benjamin with the other brothers. He was afraid that something would happen to him.

Jacob (Israel) loved Joseph more than all his sons because Joseph had been born in Israel's old age. So he made Joseph a special multicolored robe with long sleeves. Joseph's brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them. They hated Joseph and could not speak to him in a friendly way.

Jacob replied: My son will not go with you. His brother is dead, and he is the only one left. If any harm comes to him on the trip you are taking, the grief would drive this gray-haired old man to his grave!

they told their father that Joseph was still alive and was the ruler of Egypt. But their father was so surprised that he could not believe them. Then they told him everything Joseph said. When he saw the wagons Joseph had sent, he felt much better. He said: Now I can believe you! My son Joseph must really be alive. I will get to see him before I die.

Take your brother and return at once. May God Almighty cause the man to have pity on you, so that he will give Benjamin and your other brother back to you. As for me, if I must lose my children, I must lose them.

Israel's eyesight was failing because of old age. He could hardly see. So Joseph brought his sons close to his father. Israel hugged them and kissed them. Israel said to Joseph: I never expected to see you again. Now God has even let me see your sons.


All his sons and daughters came to comfort him. However, he refused to be comforted. He said: I will go down to the grave still mourning for my son. So he continued to mourn for his son Joseph.

Jacob replied: My son will not go with you. His brother is dead, and he is the only one left. If any harm comes to him on the trip you are taking, the grief would drive this gray-haired old man to his grave!

Jacob said to Joseph: Now I am ready to die. Now that I have seen you and know that you are still alive.


We answered, 'We have a father who is old and a younger brother born to him when he was already old. The boy's brother is dead. He is the only one of his mother's sons left, and his father loves him.'

That is why Benjamin must be with us when I go back to my father. He loves him so much


Jacob blessed Joseph. He said: May God, in whose presence my grandfather Abraham and my father Isaac walked, may this God who has been my shepherd all my life to this very day, May the being who rescued me from all evil bless these boys! May they be called by my name and by the names of my grandfather Abraham and my father Isaac. May they have many children on the earth. Joseph saw that his father had put his right hand on Ephraim's head. Joseph did not like it. So he took his father's hand in order to move it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's. read more.
He said to his father: That is not right, Father! This is the firstborn. Put your right hand on his head. His father refused and said: I know, Son, I know! Manasseh, too, will become a nation. He, too, will be important. Nevertheless, his younger brother will be more important than he. His descendants will become many nations. That day he blessed them. He said: Because of you, Israel will speak this blessing: 'May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh!' In this way Israel put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.

Jacob called for his sons. He said: Gather around, and I will tell you what will happen to you in the future. Come together and listen, sons of Jacob. Listen to your father Israel. Reuben, you are my firstborn; you are my strength and the first child of my manhood. You are the proudest and strongest of all my sons. read more.
You are like a raging flood. But you will not be the most important, for you slept with my concubine. You dishonored your father's bed. Simeon and Levi are brothers. They use their weapons to commit violence. I will not join in their secret talks. I will not take part in their meetings. They killed people in anger. They crippled bulls for sport. A curse is on their anger, because it is so fierce. And a curse is on their fury, because it is so cruel. I will scatter them throughout the land of Israel. I will disperse them among its people. Judah, your brothers will praise you. You hold your enemies by the neck. Your brothers will bow down before you. Judah is like a lion, killing his victim and returning to his den. He is like a lion stretching out and lying down. No one dares disturb him. The royal scepter shall not depart from Judah. His descendants will always rule. Nations will bring him tribute and bow in obedience before him. This, until Shiloh comes and all will obey him. He will tie his donkey to a grapevine, his colt to the best vine. He will wash his clothes in wine, his garments in the blood of grapes. His eyes are darker than wine. His teeth are whiter than milk. Zebulun will live by the coast. He will have ships by the coast. His border will go as far as Sidon. Issachar is a strong donkey, lying down between the saddlebags. When he sees that his resting place is good and that the land is pleasant, he will bend his back to the burden and will become a slave laborer. Dan will judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel. Dan will be a snake on a road, a viper on a path that bites a horse's heels so that its rider falls backwards. I wait with hope for your salvation, O Jehovah. Gad will be attacked by a band of raiders. He will strike back at their heels. Asher's food will be rich. He will provide delicacies fit for a king. Naphtali is a deer set free with beautiful fawns (words). Joseph is a fruitful tree, a fruitful tree by a spring, with branches climbing over a wall. Archers provoked him, shot at him, and harassed him. His bow stayed steady! His arms remained limber because of the help of the Mighty One of Jacob, because of the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, because of the God of your father who helps you, because of the Almighty who blesses you from the heavens above, blessings from the deep springs below the ground, blessings from breasts and womb. The blessings of your father are greater than the blessings of the oldest mountains and the riches of the ancient hills. May these blessings rest on the head of Joseph, on the crown of the prince among his brothers. Benjamin is a ravenous wolf. In the morning and evening he destroys his enemies. These are the twelve tribes of Israel. This is how Jacob blessed each of them.


All his sons and daughters came to comfort him. However, he refused to be comforted. He said: I will go down to the grave still mourning for my son. So he continued to mourn for his son Joseph.

Jacob replied: My son will not go with you. His brother is dead, and he is the only one left. If any harm comes to him on the trip you are taking, the grief would drive this gray-haired old man to his grave!

Jacob said to Joseph: Now I am ready to die. Now that I have seen you and know that you are still alive.


He has not observed wickedness in Jacob. Nor has he seen trouble in Israel! Jehovah his God is with him and the shout of a king is among them.


Jacob answered: My life of wandering has lasted a hundred and thirty years. Those years have been few and difficult, unlike the long years of my ancestors in their wanderings.


Jacob slept with Rachel too. He loved Rachel more than Leah. So he worked for Laban another seven years.


He said to him: Let me go now, for the dawn is near. But Jacob said: I will not let you go till you have given me your blessing. Then he asked: What is your name? And he said, Jacob. The man said: Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel (He Struggles With God), because you have struggled with God and with men and you have won.


He said to him: Let me go now, for the dawn is near. But Jacob said: I will not let you go till you have given me your blessing. Then he asked: What is your name? And he said, Jacob. The man said: Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel (He Struggles With God), because you have struggled with God and with men and you have won.


Then Jacob was by himself. A man was fighting with him till dawn.


Then Jacob was by himself. A man was fighting with him till dawn.


He said to him: Let me go now, for the dawn is near. But Jacob said: I will not let you go till you have given me your blessing.


Then Jacob was by himself. A man was fighting with him till dawn. The man saw that he was not able to overcome Jacob. He gave him a blow in the hollow part of his thigh, so that his leg was damaged. He said to him: Let me go now, for the dawn is near. But Jacob said: I will not let you go till you have given me your blessing. read more.
Then he asked: What is your name? And he said, Jacob. The man said: Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel (He Struggles With God), because you have struggled with God and with men and you have won. Jacob said: Please tell me your name. The man answered: Why do you ask for my name? Then he blessed Jacob there. Jacob named that place Peniel (Face of God), because he said: I have seen God face to face, yet my life was saved.


Then Jacob prayed: O God of my father Abraham, the God of my father Isaac, O Jehovah, you said to me: 'Go back to your country and your family and I will be good to you.' I am less than nothing in comparison with all your love and your faithfulness to me your servant. I only had a stick in my hand when I traveled across Jordan. Now I have become two armies. Save me from the hand of Esau, my brother. I fear that he will attack me and kill both mothers and children. read more.
You said, 'I will make sure that you are prosperous and that your descendants will be as many as the grains of sand on the seashore. No one will be able to count them because there are so many.'


Then Jacob was by himself. A man was fighting with him till dawn. The man saw that he was not able to overcome Jacob. He gave him a blow in the hollow part of his thigh, so that his leg was damaged. He said to him: Let me go now, for the dawn is near. But Jacob said: I will not let you go till you have given me your blessing. read more.
Then he asked: What is your name? And he said, Jacob. The man said: Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel (He Struggles With God), because you have struggled with God and with men and you have won. Jacob said: Please tell me your name. The man answered: Why do you ask for my name? Then he blessed Jacob there. Jacob named that place Peniel (Face of God), because he said: I have seen God face to face, yet my life was saved.


Then Jacob prayed: O God of my father Abraham, the God of my father Isaac, O Jehovah, you said to me: 'Go back to your country and your family and I will be good to you.' I am less than nothing in comparison with all your love and your faithfulness to me your servant. I only had a stick in my hand when I traveled across Jordan. Now I have become two armies. Save me from the hand of Esau, my brother. I fear that he will attack me and kill both mothers and children. read more.
You said, 'I will make sure that you are prosperous and that your descendants will be as many as the grains of sand on the seashore. No one will be able to count them because there are so many.'


Jacob built an altar there and called it God of Bethel. That was the place where God appeared to him when he was running from Esau.

Jacob said to his family and those who were with him: Get rid of the foreign gods that you have. Wash yourselves until you are ritually clean. Change your clothes. After that let us go to Bethel. I will make an altar there to God, who answered me when I was troubled and who has been with me wherever I have gone.


She was told: The older will serve the younger. It is written: I loved Jacob, and I hated Esau.


Your descendants will be like the dust on the earth. You will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. Every family on earth will be blessed through you and through your descendants.


Jacob called for his sons. He said: Gather around, and I will tell you what will happen to you in the future.


May the being who rescued me from all evil bless these boys! May they be called by my name and by the names of my grandfather Abraham and my father Isaac. May they have many children on the earth.


Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in Seir, the country of Edom. He informed them to say: Your obedient servant, Jacob, reports to my master Esau that I have been staying with Laban and that I have delayed my return until now. I own cattle, donkeys, sheep, goats, and slaves. I am sending you word in the hope of gaining your favor. read more.
When the messengers returned to Jacob, they said: We went to your brother Esau. He is already on his way to meet you. He has four hundred men with him. Jacob was frightened and worried. He divided the people who were with him into two groups. He also divided his sheep, goats, cattle, and camels. He thought: If Esau comes and attacks the first group, the other may be able to escape. Then Jacob prayed: O God of my father Abraham, the God of my father Isaac, O Jehovah, you said to me: 'Go back to your country and your family and I will be good to you.' I am less than nothing in comparison with all your love and your faithfulness to me your servant. I only had a stick in my hand when I traveled across Jordan. Now I have become two armies. Save me from the hand of Esau, my brother. I fear that he will attack me and kill both mothers and children. You said, 'I will make sure that you are prosperous and that your descendants will be as many as the grains of sand on the seashore. No one will be able to count them because there are so many.' Jacob stayed there that night. Then he prepared a gift for his brother Esau from what he had brought with him: There were two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred female sheep and twenty male sheep, also thirty female camels with their young, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. He placed servants in charge of each herd. He said to his servants: Go ahead of me, and maintain a distance between the herds. He commanded the first servant: When my brother Esau meets you and asks you, 'To whom do you belong, and where are you going, and whose animals are these ahead of you?' Say, 'They belong to your servant Jacob. This is a gift sent to you. Jacob is directly behind us.' He also commanded the second servant, the third, and all the others who followed the herds. He said: Say the same thing to Esau when you find him. Be sure to say, 'Jacob is right behind us.' He thought: I will make peace with him by giving him this gift that I am sending ahead of me. After that, I will see him, and he will welcome me back. Jacob sent the gift ahead of him, while he stayed in the camp that night. That same night Jacob got up, took his two wives, his two concubines, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok River. After he sent them across, he also sent across all that he owned.


Jacob said: Please tell me your name. The man answered: Why do you ask for my name? Then he blessed Jacob there.


Jacob left Beer-sheba and traveled toward Haran. As soon as the sun went down he stopped for the night. He took one of the stones from that place, put it under his head, and lay down there. He had a dream in which he saw a stairway set up on the earth with its top reaching up to heaven. He saw the angels of God going up and coming down on it. read more.
Jehovah was standing above the stairway. He proclaimed: I am Jehovah, the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give the land on which you are lying to you and your descendants. Your descendants will be like the dust on the earth. You will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. Every family on earth will be blessed through you and through your descendants. Remember, I am with you. I will watch over you wherever you go. I will also bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I do what I have promised you. Jacob woke up from his sleep and said: Truly, Jehovah is in this place, and I did not know it! He was filled with reverence. He said: This is an awesome place! Certainly, this is the house of God and the gateway to the heavens! Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had under his head. He set it up as a marker and poured oil on top of it. He named that place Bethel (House of God). Previously, the name of the city was Luz. Jacob made a vow. He said: If God will be with me and will watch over me on my trip and give me food to eat and clothes to wear, and if I return safely to my father's home, then Jehovah will be my God. This stone I placed as a marker will be the house of God. I will certainly give you a tenth of everything you give me.

Then Jacob was by himself. A man was fighting with him till dawn. The man saw that he was not able to overcome Jacob. He gave him a blow in the hollow part of his thigh, so that his leg was damaged. He said to him: Let me go now, for the dawn is near. But Jacob said: I will not let you go till you have given me your blessing. read more.
Then he asked: What is your name? And he said, Jacob. The man said: Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel (He Struggles With God), because you have struggled with God and with men and you have won. Jacob said: Please tell me your name. The man answered: Why do you ask for my name? Then he blessed Jacob there. Jacob named that place Peniel (Face of God), because he said: I have seen God face to face, yet my life was saved. The sun rose as he passed Penuel. He was limping because of his thigh. Therefore, even today the people of Israel do not eat the muscle of the thigh (the sinew) attached to the hip socket. This is because God touched the socket of Jacob's thigh at the muscle.


May God Almighty cause the man to have pity on you, so that he will give Benjamin and your other brother back to you. As for me, if I must lose my children, I must lose them.


I own cattle, donkeys, sheep, goats, and slaves. I am sending you word in the hope of gaining your favor.

I am less than nothing in comparison with all your love and your faithfulness to me your servant. I only had a stick in my hand when I traveled across Jordan. Now I have become two armies.


My honesty will speak for itself whenever you come to check on my wages. Any goat I have that is not speckled or spotted or any lamb that is not black will be considered stolen.


Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had under his head. He set it up as a marker and poured oil on top of it.

The sun rose as he passed Penuel. He was limping because of his thigh.


Laban said to Jacob: You should not work for me for nothing just because you are my relative. How much pay do you want?

Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served you. Let me depart. For you know how much service I have done for you.


Jacob lost his temper. What crime have I committed? he asked angrily. What law have I broken that gives you the right to hunt me down? Now that you have searched through all my belongings, what household article have you found that belongs to you? Put it out here where your men and mine can see it. Let them decide which one of us is right. I have been with you now for twenty years. Your sheep and your goats have not failed to reproduce. I have not even eaten any rams from your flocks. read more.
I always absorbed the loss when wild animals killed a sheep. I did not take it to you to show that it was not my fault. You demanded that I make good anything that was stolen during the day or during the night. Many times I suffered from the heat during the day and from the cold at night. I was not able to sleep.


Rebekah said to her son Jacob: I have just heard your father speak to your brother Esau. He said: 'Bring me some wild game, and prepare a good-tasting meal for me to eat. Then I will bless you in the presence of Jehovah before I die.' Now listen to me, Son, and do what I tell you. read more.
Go to the flock and pick out two fat young goats. I will cook them and make some of that food your father likes so much. You take it to him to eat. Then he will give you his blessing before he dies. Jacob said to his mother: You know that Esau is a hairy man. I have smooth skin. Perhaps my father will touch me and find out that I am deceiving him. That way, I will bring a curse on myself instead of a blessing. His mother replied: Let any curse against you fall on me, my son. Just do as I say, and go and get the goats for me.


I am less than nothing in comparison with all your love and your faithfulness to me your servant. I only had a stick in my hand when I traveled across Jordan. Now I have become two armies.


He is able to save completely those who approach God through him, because he is always alive to intercede for them.

I knew that you always hear me. But because of the crowd that stands here I said it, that they may believe that you did send me.

The man said: Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel (He Struggles With God), because you have struggled with God and with men and you have won.


I wait with hope for your salvation, O Jehovah.


I wait with hope for your salvation, O Jehovah.


Jacob's well was there. It was about the sixth hour when Jesus arrived. Being weary from the journey he sat down by the well.


Esau said: This is the second time that he has cheated me. No wonder his name is Jacob. He took my rights as the firstborn son. Now he has taken my blessing. Have you saved a blessing for me?

Jacob took green branches of poplar (storax), almond, and plane trees and stripped off some of the bark so that the branches had white stripes on them. He placed these branches in front of the flocks at their drinking troughs. He put them there, because the animals mated when they came to drink. So when the goats bred in front of the branches, they produced young that were streaked, speckled, and spotted. read more.
Jacob kept the sheep separate from the goats and made them face in the direction of the streaked and black animals of Laban's flock. In this way he built up his own flock and kept it apart from Laban's. When the strongest of the flock were mating, Jacob would place the rods in the sight of the flock in the gutters, so that they might mate by the rods. When the flock was feeble, he did not put them in. That way the feebler were Laban's and the stronger Jacob's. He became exceedingly prosperous, and had large flocks and female and male servants and camels and donkeys.

Jacob answered: I will give it to you if you give me your birthright as the firstborn son. Esau said: All right! I am about to die. What good are rights as firstborn to me? Jacob answered: First make a vow that you will give me your birthright. Esau made the vow and gave his rights as firstborn to Jacob. read more.
Jacob gave him some bread and some of the soup. He ate and drank and then got up and left. Esau did not care about his birthright.


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