Thematic Bible




Thematic Bible



They are still practicing the former customs to this day. None of them fear the Lord or observe their statutes and ordinances, the law and commandments the Lord commanded the descendants of Jacob. He had renamed him Israel.

Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When the man saw that He could not defeat him, He struck Jacob's hip as they wrestled and dislocated his hip socket. Then He said to Jacob, "Let Me go, for it is daybreak." But Jacob said, "I will not let You go unless You bless me." read more.
"What is your name?" the man asked. "Jacob!" he replied. "Your name will no longer be Jacob," He said. "It will be Israel because you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed." Then Jacob asked Him, "Please tell me Your name." But He answered, "Why do you ask My name?" And He blessed him there. Jacob then named the place Peniel, "For," [he said,] "I have seen God face to face, and I have been delivered." The sun shone on him as he passed by Penuel-limping on his hip. That is why, to this day, the Israelites don't eat the thigh muscle that is at the hip socket: because He struck Jacob's hip socket at the thigh muscle.

In the womb he grasped his brother's heel, and as an adult he wrestled with God. Jacob struggled with the Angel and prevailed; he wept and sought His favor. He found him at Bethel, and there He spoke with him.


Then Jacob said, "God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, the Lord who said to me, 'Go back to your land and to your family, and I will cause you to prosper,' I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness You have shown Your servant. Indeed, I crossed over this Jordan with my staff, and now I have become two camps. Please rescue me from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid of him; otherwise, he may come and attack me, the mothers, and their children. read more.
You have said, 'I will cause you to prosper, and I will make your offspring like the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted.' " He spent the night there and took part of what he had brought with him as a gift for his brother Esau: 200 female goats, 20 male goats, 200 ewes, 20 rams, 30 milk camels with their young, 40 cows, 10 bulls, 20 female donkeys, and 10 male donkeys. He entrusted them to his slaves as separate herds and said to them, "Go on ahead of me, and leave some distance between the herds." And he told the first one: "When my brother Esau meets you and asks, 'Who do you belong to? Where are you going? And whose [animals] are these ahead of you?' then tell him, 'They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a gift sent to my lord Esau. And look, he is behind us.' " He also told the second one, the third, and everyone who was walking behind the animals, "Say the same thing to Esau when you find him. You are to also say, 'Look, your servant Jacob is right behind us.' " For he thought, "I want to appease Esau with the gift that is going ahead of me. After that, I can face him, and perhaps he will forgive me." So the gift was sent on ahead of him while he remained in the camp that night. During the night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female slaves, and his 11 sons, and crossed the ford of Jabbok. He took them and brought them across the stream, along with all his possessions. Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When the man saw that He could not defeat him, He struck Jacob's hip as they wrestled and dislocated his hip socket. Then He said to Jacob, "Let Me go, for it is daybreak." But Jacob said, "I will not let You go unless You bless me." "What is your name?" the man asked. "Jacob!" he replied. "Your name will no longer be Jacob," He said. "It will be Israel because you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed." Then Jacob asked Him, "Please tell me Your name." But He answered, "Why do you ask My name?" And He blessed him there. Jacob then named the place Peniel, "For," [he said,] "I have seen God face to face, and I have been delivered." The sun shone on him as he passed by Penuel-limping on his hip. That is why, to this day, the Israelites don't eat the thigh muscle that is at the hip socket: because He struck Jacob's hip socket at the thigh muscle.

Now Jacob looked up and saw Esau coming toward him with 400 men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two female slaves. He put the female slaves first, Leah and her sons next, and Rachel and Joseph last. He himself went on ahead and bowed to the ground seven times until he approached his brother. read more.
But Esau ran to meet him, hugged him, threw his arms around him, and kissed him. Then they wept. When Esau looked up and saw the women and children, he asked, "Who are these with you?" He answered, "The children God has graciously given your servant." Then the female slaves and their children approached [him] and bowed down. Leah and her children also approached and bowed down, and then Joseph and Rachel approached and bowed down. So Esau said, "What do you mean by this whole procession I met?" "To find favor with you, my lord," he answered. "I have enough, my brother," Esau replied. "Keep what you have." But Jacob said, "No, please! If I have found favor with you, take this gift from my hand. For indeed, I have seen your face, [and it is] like seeing God's face, since you have accepted me. Please take my present that was brought to you, because God has been gracious to me and I have everything I need." So Jacob urged him until he accepted. Then Esau said, "Let's move on, and I'll go ahead of you." Jacob replied, "My lord knows that the children are weak, and I have nursing sheep and cattle. If they are driven hard for one day, the whole herd will die. Let my lord go ahead of his servant. I will continue on slowly, at a pace suited to the livestock and the children, until I come to my lord at Seir." Esau said, "Let me leave some of my people with you." But he replied, "Why do that? Please indulge me, my lord." On that day Esau started on his way back to Seir, but Jacob went on to Succoth. He built a house for himself and stalls for his cattle; that is why the place was called Succoth.


Jacob left Beer-sheba and went toward Haran. He reached a certain place and spent the night there because the sun had set. He took one of the stones from the place, put it there at his head, and lay down in that place. And he dreamed: A stairway was set on the ground with its top reaching heaven, and God's angels were going up and down on it. read more.
The Lord was standing there beside him, saying, "I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your offspring the land that you are now sleeping on. Your offspring will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out toward the west, the east, the north, and the south. All the peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. Look, I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go. I will bring you back to this land, for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he said, "Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it." He was afraid and said, "What an awesome place this is! This is none other than the house of God. This is the gate of heaven." Early in the morning Jacob took the stone that was near his head and set it up as a marker. He poured oil on top of it and named the place Bethel, though previously the city was named Luz. Then Jacob made a vow: "If God will be with me and watch over me on this journey, if He provides me with food to eat and clothing to wear, and if I return safely to my father's house, then the Lord will be my God. This stone that I have set up as a marker will be God's house, and I will give to You a tenth of all that You give me."

Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When the man saw that He could not defeat him, He struck Jacob's hip as they wrestled and dislocated his hip socket. Then He said to Jacob, "Let Me go, for it is daybreak." But Jacob said, "I will not let You go unless You bless me." read more.
"What is your name?" the man asked. "Jacob!" he replied. "Your name will no longer be Jacob," He said. "It will be Israel because you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed." Then Jacob asked Him, "Please tell me Your name." But He answered, "Why do you ask My name?" And He blessed him there. Jacob then named the place Peniel, "For," [he said,] "I have seen God face to face, and I have been delivered." The sun shone on him as he passed by Penuel-limping on his hip. That is why, to this day, the Israelites don't eat the thigh muscle that is at the hip socket: because He struck Jacob's hip socket at the thigh muscle.