1 God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to
Bethel, and live there. Make there an altar
to God, who appeared to you when you fled
from the face of Esau your brother.”
2 Then Jacob said to his household, and
to all who were with him, “Put away the
foreign gods that are among you, purify
yourselves, and change your garments.
3 Let’s arise, and go up to Bethel. I will
make there an altar to God, who answered
me in the day of my distress, and was with
me on the way which I went.”
4 They gave to Jacob all the foreign
gods which were in their hands, and the
rings which were in their ears; and Jacob
hid them under the oak which was by
Shechem.
5 They traveled, and a terror of God was
on the cities that were around them, and
they didn’t pursue the sons of Jacob.
6 So Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel),
which is in the land of Canaan, he and all
the people who were with him.
7 He built an altar there, and called the
place El Beth El; because there God was
revealed to him, when he fled from the
face of his brother.
8 Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and
she was buried below Bethel under the
oak; and its name was called Allon Bacuth.
9 God appeared to Jacob again, when he
came from Paddan Aram, and blessed him.
10 God said to him, “Your name is Jacob.
Your name shall not be Jacob any more, but
your name will be Israel.” He named him
Israel.
11 God said to him, “I am God Almighty.
Be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a
company of nations will be from you, and
kings will come out of your body.
12 The land which I gave to Abraham
and Isaac, I will give it to you, and to your
offspring after you I will give the land.”
13 God went up from him in the place
where he spoke with him.
14 Jacob set up a pillar in the place where
he spoke with him, a pillar of stone. He
poured out a drink offering on it, and
poured oil on it.
15 Jacob called the name of the place
where God spoke with him “Bethel”.
16 They traveled from Bethel. There was
still some distance to come to Ephrath, and
Rachel travailed. She had hard labor.
17 When she was in hard labor, the midwife
said to her, “Don’t be afraid, for now
you will have another son.”
18 As her soul was departing (for she
died), she named him Benoni,† but his father
named him Benjamin.‡
19 Rachel died, and was buried on the
way to Ephrath (also called Bethlehem).
20 Jacob set up a pillar on her grave. The
same is the Pillar of Rachel’s grave to this
day.
21 Israel traveled, and spread his tent
beyond the tower of Eder.
22 While Israel lived in that land, Reuben
went and lay with Bilhah, his father’s concubine,
and Israel heard of it.
Now the sons of Jacob were twelve.
23 The sons of Leah: Reuben (Jacob’s
firstborn), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar,
and Zebulun.
24 The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin.
25 The sons of Bilhah (Rachel’s servant):
Dan and Naphtali.
26 The sons of Zilpah (Leah’s servant):
Gad and Asher. These are the sons of Jacob,
who were born to him in Paddan Aram.
27 Jacob came to Isaac his father, to
Mamre, to Kiriath Arba (which is Hebron),
where Abraham and Isaac lived as foreigners.
28 The days of Isaac were one hundred
eighty years.
29 Isaac gave up the spirit and died, and
was gathered to his people, old and full of
days. Esau and Jacob, his sons, buried him.
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