Thematic Bible


Thematic Bible



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. 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). 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. 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).

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).

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.