33:1 Jacob looked up 1 and saw that Esau was coming 2 along with four hundred men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two female servants. 33:2 He put the servants and their children in front, with Leah and her children behind them, and Rachel and Joseph behind them. 3 33:3 But Jacob 4 himself went on ahead of them, and he bowed toward the ground seven times as he approached 5 his brother. 33:4 But Esau ran to meet him, embraced him, hugged his neck, and kissed him. Then they both wept. 33:5 When Esau 6 looked up 7 and saw the women and the children, he asked, “Who are these people with you?” Jacob 8 replied, “The children whom God has graciously given 9 your servant.” 33:6 The female servants came forward with their children and bowed down. 10 33:7 Then Leah came forward with her children and they bowed down. Finally Joseph and Rachel came forward and bowed down.
33:8 Esau 11 then asked, “What did you intend 12 by sending all these herds to meet me?” 13 Jacob 14 replied, “To find favor in your sight, my lord.” 33:9 But Esau said, “I have plenty, my brother. Keep what belongs to you.” 33:10 “No, please take them,” Jacob said. 15 “If I have found favor in your sight, accept 16 my gift from my hand. Now that I have seen your face and you have accepted me, 17 it is as if I have seen the face of God. 18 33:11 Please take my present 19 that was brought to you, for God has been generous 20 to me and I have all I need.” 21 When Jacob urged him, he took it. 22
33:12 Then Esau 23 said, “Let’s be on our way! 24 I will go in front of you.” 33:13 But Jacob 25 said to him, “My lord knows that the children are young, 26 and that I have to look after the sheep and cattle that are nursing their young. 27 If they are driven too hard for even a single day, all the animals will die. 33:14 Let my lord go on ahead of his servant. I will travel more slowly, at the pace of the herds and the children, 28 until I come to my lord at Seir.”
33:15 So Esau said, “Let me leave some of my men with you.” 29 “Why do that?” Jacob replied. 30 “My lord has already been kind enough to me.” 31
33:16 So that same day Esau made his way back 32 to Seir. 33:17 But 33 Jacob traveled to Succoth 34 where he built himself a house and made shelters for his livestock. That is why the place was called 35 Succoth. 36
33:18 After he left Paddan Aram, Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem in the land of Canaan, and he camped near 37 the city. 33:19 Then he purchased the portion of the field where he had pitched his tent; he bought it 38 from the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for a hundred pieces of money. 39 33:20 There he set up an altar and called it “The God of Israel is God.” 40
34:1 Now Dinah, Leah’s daughter whom she bore to Jacob, went to meet 41 the young women 42 of the land. 34:2 When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, who ruled that area, saw her, he grabbed her, forced himself on her, 43 and sexually assaulted her. 44 34:3 Then he became very attached 45 to Dinah, Jacob’s daughter. He fell in love with the young woman and spoke romantically to her. 46 34:4 Shechem said to his father Hamor, “Acquire this young girl as my wife.” 47 34:5 When 48 Jacob heard that Shechem 49 had violated his daughter Dinah, his sons were with the livestock in the field. So Jacob remained silent 50 until they came in.
34:6 Then Shechem’s father Hamor went to speak with Jacob about Dinah. 51 34:7 Now Jacob’s sons had come in from the field when they heard the news. 52 They 53 were offended 54 and very angry because Shechem 55 had disgraced Israel 56 by sexually assaulting 57 Jacob’s daughter, a crime that should not be committed. 58
34:8 But Hamor made this appeal to them: “My son Shechem is in love with your daughter. 59 Please give her to him as his wife. 34:9 Intermarry with us. 60 Let us marry your daughters, and take our daughters as wives for yourselves. 61 34:10 You may live 62 among us, and the land will be open to you. 63 Live in it, travel freely in it, 64 and acquire property in it.”
34:11 Then Shechem said to Dinah’s 65 father and brothers, “Let me find favor in your sight, and whatever you require of me 66 I’ll give. 67 34:12 You can make the bride price and the gift I must bring very expensive, 68 and I’ll give 69 whatever you ask 70 of me. Just give me the young woman as my wife!”
34:13 Jacob’s sons answered Shechem and his father Hamor deceitfully when they spoke because Shechem 71 had violated their sister Dinah. 34:14 They said to them, “We cannot give 72 our sister to a man who is not circumcised, for it would be a disgrace 73 to us. 34:15 We will give you our consent on this one condition: You must become 74 like us by circumcising 75 all your males. 34:16 Then we will give 76 you our daughters to marry, 77 and we will take your daughters as wives for ourselves, and we will live among you and become one people. 34:17 But if you do not agree to our terms 78 by being circumcised, then we will take 79 our sister 80 and depart.”
34:18 Their offer pleased Hamor and his son Shechem. 81 34:19 The young man did not delay in doing what they asked 82 because he wanted Jacob’s daughter Dinah 83 badly. (Now he was more important 84 than anyone in his father’s household.) 85 34:20 So Hamor and his son Shechem went to the gate 86 of their city and spoke to the men of their city, 34:21 “These men are at peace with us. So let them live in the land and travel freely in it, for the land is wide enough 87 for them. We will take their daughters for wives, and we will give them our daughters to marry. 88 34:22 Only on this one condition will these men consent to live with us and become one people: They demand 89 that every male among us be circumcised just as they are circumcised. 34:23 If we do so, 90 won’t their livestock, their property, and all their animals become ours? So let’s consent to their demand, so they will live among us.”
34:24 All the men who assembled at the city gate 91 agreed with 92 Hamor and his son Shechem. Every male who assembled at the city gate 93 was circumcised. 34:25 In three days, when they were still in pain, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, each took his sword 94 and went to the unsuspecting city 95 and slaughtered every male. 34:26 They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the sword, took Dinah from Shechem’s house, and left. 34:27 Jacob’s sons killed them 96 and looted the city because their sister had been violated. 97 34:28 They took their flocks, herds, and donkeys, as well as everything in the city and in the surrounding fields. 98 34:29 They captured as plunder 99 all their wealth, all their little ones, and their wives, including everything in the houses.
34:30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought ruin 100 on me by making me a foul odor 101 among the inhabitants of the land – among the Canaanites and the Perizzites. I 102 am few in number; they will join forces against me and attack me, and both I and my family will be destroyed!” 34:31 But Simeon and Levi replied, 103 “Should he treat our sister like a common prostitute?”
35:1 Then God said to Jacob, “Go up at once 104 to Bethel 105 and live there. Make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.” 106 35:2 So Jacob told his household and all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods you have among you. 107 Purify yourselves and change your clothes. 108 35:3 Let us go up at once 109 to Bethel. Then I will make 110 an altar there to God, who responded to me in my time of distress 111 and has been with me wherever I went.” 112
35:4 So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods that were in their possession 113 and the rings that were in their ears. 114 Jacob buried them 115 under the oak 116 near Shechem 35:5 and they started on their journey. 117 The surrounding cities were afraid of God, 118 and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob.
35:6 Jacob and all those who were with him arrived at Luz (that is, Bethel) 119 in the land of Canaan. 120 35:7 He built an altar there and named the place El Bethel 121 because there God had revealed himself 122 to him when he was fleeing from his brother. 35:8 (Deborah, 123 Rebekah’s nurse, died and was buried under the oak below Bethel; thus it was named 124 Oak of Weeping.) 125
35:9 God appeared to Jacob again after he returned from Paddan Aram and blessed him. 35:10 God said to him, “Your name is Jacob, but your name will no longer be called Jacob; Israel will be your name.” So God named him Israel. 126 35:11 Then God said to him, “I am the sovereign God. 127 Be fruitful and multiply! A nation – even a company of nations – will descend from you; kings will be among your descendants! 128 35:12 The land I gave 129 to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you. To your descendants 130 I will also give this land.” 35:13 Then God went up from the place 131 where he spoke with him. 35:14 So Jacob set up a sacred stone pillar in the place where God spoke with him. 132 He poured out a drink offering on it, and then he poured oil on it. 133 35:15 Jacob named the place 134 where God spoke with him Bethel. 135
35:16 They traveled on from Bethel, and when Ephrath was still some distance away, 136 Rachel went into labor 137 – and her labor was hard. 35:17 When her labor was at its hardest, 138 the midwife said to her, “Don’t be afraid, for you are having another son.” 139 35:18 With her dying breath, 140 she named him Ben-Oni. 141 But his father called him Benjamin instead. 142 35:19 So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). 143 35:20 Jacob set up a marker 144 over her grave; it is 145 the Marker of Rachel’s Grave to this day.
35:21 Then Israel traveled on and pitched his tent beyond Migdal Eder. 146 35:22 While Israel was living in that land, Reuben had sexual relations with 147 Bilhah, his father’s concubine, and Israel heard about it.
Jacob had twelve sons:
35:23 The sons of Leah were Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, as well as Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.
35:24 The sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin.
35:25 The sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s servant, were Dan and Naphtali.
35:26 The sons of Zilpah, Leah’s servant, were Gad and Asher.
These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan Aram.
35:27 So Jacob came back to his father Isaac in Mamre, 148 to Kiriath Arba 149 (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had stayed. 150 35:28 Isaac lived to be 180 years old. 151 35:29 Then Isaac breathed his last and joined his ancestors. 152 He died an old man who had lived a full life. 153 His sons Esau and Jacob buried him.
36:1 What follows is the account of Esau (also known as Edom). 154
36:2 Esau took his wives from the Canaanites: 155 Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah and granddaughter 156 of Zibeon the Hivite, 36:3 in addition to Basemath the daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth.
36:4 Adah bore Eliphaz to Esau, Basemath bore Reuel, 36:5 and Oholibamah bore Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These were the sons of Esau who were born to him in the land of Canaan.
36:6 Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, all the people in his household, his livestock, his animals, and all his possessions which he had acquired in the land of Canaan and went to a land some distance away from 157 Jacob his brother 36:7 because they had too many possessions to be able to stay together and the land where they had settled 158 was not able to support them because of their livestock. 36:8 So Esau (also known as Edom) lived in the hill country of Seir. 159
36:9 This is the account of Esau, the father 160 of the Edomites, in the hill country of Seir.
36:10 These were the names of Esau’s sons:
Eliphaz, the son of Esau’s wife Adah, and Reuel, the son of Esau’s wife Basemath.
36:11 The sons of Eliphaz were:
Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz.
36:12 Timna, a concubine of Esau’s son Eliphaz, bore Amalek to Eliphaz. These were the sons 161 of Esau’s wife Adah.
36:13 These were the sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These were the sons 162 of Esau’s wife Basemath.
36:14 These were the sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah the daughter of Anah and granddaughter 163 of Zibeon: She bore Jeush, Jalam, and Korah to Esau.
36:15 These were the chiefs 164 among the descendants 165 of Esau, the sons of Eliphaz, Esau’s firstborn: chief Teman, chief Omar, chief Zepho, chief Kenaz, 36:16 chief Korah, 166 chief Gatam, chief Amalek. These were the chiefs descended from Eliphaz in the land of Edom; these were the sons 167 of Adah.
36:17 These were the sons of Esau’s son Reuel: chief Nahath, chief Zerah, chief Shammah, chief Mizzah. These were the chiefs descended from Reuel in the land of Edom; these were the sons 168 of Esau’s wife Basemath.
36:18 These were the sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah: chief Jeush, chief Jalam, chief Korah. These were the chiefs descended from Esau’s wife Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah.
36:19 These were the sons of Esau (also known as Edom), and these were their chiefs.
36:20 These were the sons of Seir the Horite, 169 who were living in the land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 36:21 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These were the chiefs of the Horites, the descendants 170 of Seir in the land of Edom.
36:22 The sons of Lotan were Hori and Homam; 171 Lotan’s sister was Timna.
36:23 These were the sons of Shobal: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, 172 and Onam.
36:24 These were the sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah (who discovered the hot springs 173 in the wilderness as he pastured the donkeys of his father Zibeon).
36:25 These were the children 174 of Anah: Dishon and Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah.
36:26 These were the sons of Dishon: 175 Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Keran.
36:27 These were the sons of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan.
36:28 These were the sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran.
36:29 These were the chiefs of the Horites: chief Lotan, chief Shobal, chief Zibeon, chief Anah, 36:30 chief Dishon, chief Ezer, chief Dishan. These were the chiefs of the Horites, according to their chief lists in the land of Seir.
36:31 These were the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king ruled over the Israelites: 176
36:32 Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom; the name of his city was Dinhabah.
36:33 When Bela died, Jobab the son of Zerah from Bozrah reigned in his place.
36:34 When Jobab died, Husham from the land of the Temanites reigned in his place.
36:35 When Husham died, Hadad the son of Bedad, who defeated the Midianites in the land of Moab, reigned in his place; the name of his city was Avith.
36:36 When Hadad died, Samlah from Masrekah reigned in his place.
36:37 When Samlah died, Shaul from Rehoboth by the River 177 reigned in his place.
36:38 When Shaul died, Baal-Hanan the son of Achbor reigned in his place.
36:39 When Baal-Hanan the son of Achbor died, Hadad 178 reigned in his place; the name of his city was Pau. 179 His wife’s name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Me-Zahab.
36:40 These were the names of the chiefs of Esau, according to their families, according to their places, by their names: chief Timna, chief Alvah, chief Jetheth, 36:41 chief Oholibamah, chief Elah, chief Pinon, 36:42 chief Kenaz, chief Teman, chief Mibzar, 36:43 chief Magdiel, chief Iram. These were the chiefs of Edom, according to their settlements 180 in the land they possessed. This was Esau, the father of the Edomites.
37:1 But Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, 181 in the land of Canaan. 182
37:2 This is the account of Jacob.
Joseph, his seventeen-year-old son, 183 was taking care of 184 the flocks with his brothers. Now he was a youngster 185 working with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives. 186 Joseph brought back a bad report about them 187 to their father.
37:3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons 188 because he was a son born to him late in life, 189 and he made a special 190 tunic for him. 37:4 When Joseph’s 191 brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, 192 they hated Joseph 193 and were not able to speak to him kindly. 194
37:5 Joseph 195 had a dream, 196 and when he told his brothers about it, 197 they hated him even more. 198 37:6 He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: 199 37:7 There we were, 200 binding sheaves of grain in the middle of the field. Suddenly my sheaf rose up and stood upright and your sheaves surrounded my sheaf and bowed down 201 to it!” 37:8 Then his brothers asked him, “Do you really think you will rule over us or have dominion over us?” 202 They hated him even more 203 because of his dream and because of what he said. 204
37:9 Then he had another dream, 205 and told it to his brothers. “Look,” 206 he said. “I had another dream. The sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” 37:10 When he told his father and his brothers, his father rebuked him, saying, “What is this dream that you had? 207 Will I, your mother, and your brothers really come and bow down to you?” 208 37:11 His brothers were jealous 209 of him, but his father kept in mind what Joseph said. 210
37:12 When his brothers had gone to graze their father’s flocks near Shechem, 37:13 Israel said to Joseph, “Your brothers 211 are grazing the flocks near Shechem. Come, I will send you to them.” “I’m ready,” 212 Joseph replied. 213 37:14 So Jacob 214 said to him, “Go now and check on 215 the welfare 216 of your brothers and of the flocks, and bring me word.” So Jacob 217 sent him from the valley of Hebron.
37:15 When Joseph reached Shechem, 218 a man found him wandering 219 in the field, so the man asked him, “What are you looking for?” 37:16 He replied, “I’m looking for my brothers. Please tell 220 me where they are grazing their flocks.” 37:17 The man said, “They left this area, 221 for I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.’” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.
37:18 Now Joseph’s brothers 222 saw him from a distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him. 37:19 They said to one another, “Here comes this master of dreams! 223 37:20 Come now, let’s kill him, throw him into one of the cisterns, and then say that a wild 224 animal ate him. Then we’ll see how his dreams turn out!” 225
37:21 When Reuben heard this, he rescued Joseph 226 from their hands, 227 saying, 228 “Let’s not take his life!” 229 37:22 Reuben continued, 230 “Don’t shed blood! Throw him into this cistern that is here in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him.” 231 (Reuben said this 232 so he could rescue Joseph 233 from them 234 and take him back to his father.)
37:23 When Joseph reached his brothers, they stripped him 235 of his tunic, the special tunic that he wore. 37:24 Then they took him and threw him into the cistern. (Now the cistern was empty; 236 there was no water in it.)
37:25 When they sat down to eat their food, they looked up 237 and saw 238 a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were carrying spices, balm, and myrrh down to Egypt. 239 37:26 Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is there if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? 37:27 Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites, but let’s not lay a hand on him, 240 for after all, he is our brother, our own flesh.” His brothers agreed. 241 37:28 So when the Midianite 242 merchants passed by, Joseph’s brothers pulled 243 him 244 out of the cistern and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. The Ishmaelites 245 then took Joseph to Egypt.
37:29 Later Reuben returned to the cistern to find that Joseph was not in it! 246 He tore his clothes, 37:30 returned to his brothers, and said, “The boy isn’t there! And I, where can I go?” 37:31 So they took Joseph’s tunic, killed a young goat, 247 and dipped the tunic in the blood. 37:32 Then they brought the special tunic to their father 248 and said, “We found this. Determine now whether it is your son’s tunic or not.”
37:33 He recognized it and exclaimed, “It is my son’s tunic! A wild animal has eaten him! 249 Joseph has surely been torn to pieces!” 37:34 Then Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, 250 and mourned for his son many days. 37:35 All his sons and daughters stood by 251 him to console him, but he refused to be consoled. “No,” he said, “I will go to the grave mourning my son.” 252 So Joseph’s 253 father wept for him.
37:36 Now 254 in Egypt the Midianites 255 sold Joseph 256 to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard. 257
38:1 At that time Judah left 258 his brothers and stayed 259 with an Adullamite man 260 named Hirah.
38:2 There Judah saw the daughter of a Canaanite man 261 named Shua. 262 Judah acquired her as a wife 263 and had marital relations with her. 264 38:3 She became pregnant 265 and had a son. Judah named 266 him Er. 38:4 She became pregnant again and had another son, whom she named Onan. 38:5 Then she had 267 yet another son, whom she named Shelah. She gave birth to him in Kezib. 268
38:6 Judah acquired 269 a wife for Er his firstborn; her name was Tamar. 38:7 But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was evil in the Lord’s sight, so the Lord killed him.
38:8 Then Judah said to Onan, “Have sexual relations with 270 your brother’s wife and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her so that you may raise 271 up a descendant for your brother.” 272 38:9 But Onan knew that the child 273 would not be considered his. 274 So whenever 275 he had sexual relations with 276 his brother’s wife, he withdrew prematurely 277 so as not to give his brother a descendant. 38:10 What he did was evil in the Lord’s sight, so the Lord 278 killed him too.
38:11 Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Live as a widow in your father’s house until Shelah my son grows up.” For he thought, 279 “I don’t want him to die like his brothers.” 280 So Tamar went and lived in her father’s house.
38:12 After some time 281 Judah’s wife, the daughter of Shua, died. After Judah was consoled, he left for Timnah to visit his sheepshearers, along with 282 his friend Hirah the Adullamite. 38:13 Tamar was told, 283 “Look, your father-in-law is going up 284 to Timnah to shear his sheep.” 38:14 So she removed her widow’s clothes and covered herself with a veil. She wrapped herself and sat at the entrance to Enaim which is on the way to Timnah. (She did this because 285 she saw that she had not been given to Shelah as a wife, even though he had now grown up.) 286
38:15 When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute 287 because she had covered her face. 38:16 He turned aside to her along the road and said, “Come on! I want to have sex with you.” 288 (He did not realize 289 it was his daughter-in-law.) She asked, “What will you give me in exchange for having sex with you?” 290 38:17 He replied, “I’ll send you a young goat from the flock.” She asked, “Will you give me a pledge until you send it?” 291 38:18 He said, “What pledge should I give you?” She replied, “Your seal, your cord, and the staff that’s in your hand.” So he gave them to her and had sex with her. 292 She became pregnant by him. 38:19 She left immediately, 293 removed her veil, and put on her widow’s clothes.
38:20 Then Judah had his friend Hirah 294 the Adullamite take a young goat to get back from the woman the items he had given in pledge, 295 but Hirah 296 could not find her. 38:21 He asked the men who were there, 297 “Where is the cult prostitute 298 who was at Enaim by the road?” But they replied, “There has been no cult prostitute here.” 38:22 So he returned to Judah and said, “I couldn’t find her. Moreover, the men of the place said, ‘There has been no cult prostitute here.’” 38:23 Judah said, “Let her keep the things 299 for herself. Otherwise we will appear to be dishonest. 300 I did indeed send this young goat, but you couldn’t find her.”
38:24 After three months Judah was told, 301 “Your daughter-in-law Tamar has turned to prostitution, 302 and as a result she has become pregnant.” 303 Judah said, “Bring her out and let her be burned!” 38:25 While they were bringing her out, she sent word 304 to her father-in-law: “I am pregnant by the man to whom these belong.” 305 Then she said, “Identify 306 the one to whom the seal, cord, and staff belong.” 38:26 Judah recognized them and said, “She is more upright 307 than I am, because I wouldn’t give her to Shelah my son.” He did not have sexual relations with her 308 again.
38:27 When it was time for her to give birth, there were twins in her womb. 38:28 While she was giving birth, one child 309 put out his hand, and the midwife took a scarlet thread and tied it on his hand, saying, “This one came out first.” 38:29 But then he drew back his hand, and his brother came out before him. 310 She said, “How you have broken out of the womb!” 311 So he was named Perez. 312 38:30 Afterward his brother came out – the one who had the scarlet thread on his hand – and he was named Zerah. 313