Thematic Bible




Thematic Bible



So to this day they go on in their old ways. They do not worship Jehovah. They do not keep his orders, his ways, or the law Jehovah gave to the children of Jacob. They are the ones he gave the name Israel.

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.

Their ancestor Jacob held on to his brother's heel while the two of them were in their mother's womb. When Jacob became a man, he struggled with God. He struggled with the angel and won. Jacob cried and pleaded with him. Jacob found him at Bethel, and he talked with him there.


King Jeroboam of Israel fortified the town of Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there for a while. Then he left and fortified the town of Penuel.

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

He went up to Penuel and made the same request of them. The men of Penuel gave the same answer as the men of Succoth. He spoke to the men of Penuel: When I come again in peace, I will break down this tower.

He tore down the tower at Penuel. He also killed the men of that city.


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 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. 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. 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.

Jacob saw Esau coming with his four hundred men. Therefore he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two concubines. He put the concubines and their children first, then Leah and her children, and finally Rachel and Joseph at the rear. Jacob went ahead of them. He bowed down to the ground seven times as he approached his brother. read more.
Esau ran to meet him. He threw his arms around him, and kissed him. They both cried. Esau looked around and saw the women and the children. He asked: Who are these people with you? Jacob answered: These are the children whom God has been good enough to give me. Then the concubines came up with their children and bowed down. Leah and her children came next, and last of all Joseph and Rachel came and bowed down. Esau asked: What about that other group I met? What do you mean by all this company? Jacob answered: It was to gain your favor. But, brother, I already have plenty, Esau replied. Keep them for yourself. Jacob said: Please accept these gifts as a sign of your friendship for me. When you welcomed me and I saw your face, it was like seeing the face of God. Take my offering then, with my blessing. God has been very good to me and I have enough. So at his strong request, he took it. Esau said: Let us go on our journey together. I will go in front. Jacob responded: My lord knows that the children are frail and that the flocks and herds that are nursing are a care to me. If they are driven hard one day, all the flocks will die. Please let my lord pass on before his servant. I will proceed at my leisure, according to the pace of the cattle that are before me and according to the pace of the children, until I come to my lord at Seir. Esau said: Please let me leave with you some of the people who are with me. But he said: What need is there? Let me find favor in the sight of my lord. So Esau returned that day on his way to Seir. 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.


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.


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.