Genesis 35

Jacobs Return to Bethel

1 Then God said to Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there; and make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau your brother. Then God said to Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there; and make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau your brother.2 And 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 Then let us arise and go up to Bethel; and I will make an altar there to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me in the way which I have gone.4 So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods which were in their hands, and the earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the terebinth tree which was by Shechem.5 And they journeyed, and the terror of God was upon the cities that were all around them, and they did not 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 And he built an altar there and called the place El Bethel, because there God appeared to him when he fled from the face of his brother.8 Now Deborah, Rebekahs nurse, died, and she was buried below Bethel under the terebinth tree. So the name of it was called Allon Bachuth.9 Then God appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Padan Aram, and blessed him.10 And God said to him, Your name is Jacob; your name shall not be called Jacob anymore, but Israel shall be your name. So He called his name Israel.11 Also God said to him: I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you, and kings shall come from your body.12 The land which I gave Abraham and Isaac I give to you; and to your descendants after you I give this land.13 Then God went up from him in the place where He talked with him.14 So Jacob set up a pillar in the place where He talked with him, a pillar of stone; and he poured a drink offering on it, and he poured oil on it.15 And Jacob called the name of the place where God spoke with him, Bethel.

Death of Rachel

16 Then they journeyed from Bethel. And when there was but a little distance to go to Ephrath, Rachel labored in childbirth, and she had hard labor.17 Now it came to pass, when she was in hard labor, that the midwife said to her, Do not fear; you will have this son also.18 And so it was, as her soul was departing (for she died), that she called his name Ben-Oni; but his father called him Benjamin.19 So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).20 And Jacob set a pillar on her grave, which is the pillar of Rachels grave to this day.21 Then Israel journeyed and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eder.22 And it happened, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his fathers concubine; and Israel heard about it.

Jacobs Twelve Sons

23 the sons of Leah were Reuben, Jacobs firstborn, and Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun;24 the sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin;25 the sons of Bilhah, Rachels maidservant, were Dan and Naphtali;26 and the sons of Zilpah, Leahs maidservant, were Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Padan Aram.

Death of Isaac

27 Then Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre, or Kirjath Arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had dwelt.28 Now the days of Isaac were one hundred and eighty years.29 So Isaac breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people, being old and full of days. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

GENESIS 35

Jacob Returns to Bethel

1  t God told Jacob, “Return to Bethel, where I appeared to you when you were running from your brother Esau. Make your home there and build an altar for me.”

2 Jacob said to his family and to everyone else who was traveling with him:
Get rid of your foreign gods! Then make yourselves acceptable to worship God and put on clean clothes.

3 Afterwards, we'll go to Bethel. I will build an altar there for God, who answered my prayers when I was in trouble and who has always been at my side.

4 So everyone gave Jacob their idols and their earrings, t and he buried them under the oak tree near Shechem.
5 While Jacob and his family were traveling through Canaan, God terrified the people in the towns so much that no one dared bother them. 6 Finally, they reached Bethel, also known as Luz. 7 Jacob built an altar there and called it “God of Bethel,” because that was the place where God had appeared to him when he was running from Esau.

8 While they were there, Rebekah's personal servant Deboraht died. They buried her under an oak tree and called it “Weeping Oak.”

God Blesses Jacob //at Bethel

9-11  t t After Jacob came back to the land of Canaan, God appeared to him again. This time he gave Jacob a new name and blessed him by saying:
I am God All-Powerful, and from now on your name will be Israelt instead of Jacob. You will have many children. Your descendants will become nations, and some of the men in your family will even be kings.

12 I will give you the land that I promised Abraham and Isaac, and it will belong to your family forever.
13 After God had gone, 14 t Jacob set up a large rock, so that he would remember what had happened there. Then he poured wine and olive oil on the rock to show that it was dedicated to God,

15 and he named the place Bethel.t

Benjamin Is Born

18 Rachel was at the point of death, and right before dying, she said, “I'll name him Benoni.”t But Jacob called him Benjamin.t
19 Rachel was buried beside the road to Ephrath, which is also called Bethlehem. 20 Jacob set up a tombstone over her grave, and it is still there.

21 Jacob, also known as Israel, traveled to the south of Eder Tower, where he set up camp.

22  t During their time there, Jacob's oldest son Reuben slept with Bilhah, who was one of Jacob's other wives.t And Jacob found out about it.

Jacob's Twelve Sons

23-26 Jacob had twelve sons while living in northern Syria.t His first-born Reuben was the son of Leah, who later gave birth to Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. Leah's servant Zilpah had two sons: Gad and Asher.
Jacob and his wife Rachel had Joseph and Benjamin. Rachel's servant woman Bilhah had two more sons: Dan and Naphtali.

Isaac Dies