Genesis 33

1 Jacob looked up and saw Esau coming with his four hundred men. He divided the children between Leah and Rachel and the two maidservants.2 He put the maidservants out in front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph last.3 He led the way and, as he approached his brother, bowed seven times, honoring his brother.4 But Esau ran up and embraced him, held him tight and kissed him. And they both wept.

5 Then Esau looked around and saw the women and children: "And who are these with you?" Jacob said, "The children that God saw fit to bless me with."

6 Then the maidservants came up with their children and bowed;7 then Leah and her children, also bowing; and finally, Joseph and Rachel came up and bowed to Esau.

8 Esau then asked, "And what was the meaning of all those herds that I met?" "I was hoping that they would pave the way for my master to welcome me."

9 Esau said, "Oh, brother. I have plenty of everything-keep what is yours for yourself."

10 Jacob said, "Please. If you can find it in your heart to welcome me, accept these gifts. When I saw your face, it was as the face of God smiling on me.11 Accept the gifts I have brought for you. God has been good to me and I have more than enough." Jacob urged the gifts on him and Esau accepted.

12 Then Esau said, "Let's start out on our way; I'll take the lead."

13 But Jacob said, "My master can see that the children are frail. And the flocks and herds are nursing, making for slow going. If I push them too hard, even for a day, I'd lose them all.14 So, master, you go on ahead of your servant, while I take it easy at the pace of my flocks and children. I'll catch up with you in Seir."

15 Esau said, "Let me at least lend you some of my men." "There's no need," said Jacob. "Your generous welcome is all I need or want."

16 So Esau set out that day and made his way back to Seir.

17 And Jacob left for Succoth. He built a shelter for himself and sheds for his livestock. That's how the place came to be called Succoth (Sheds).

18 And that's how it happened that Jacob arrived all in one piece in Shechem in the land of Canaan-all the way from Paddan Aram. He camped near the city.19 He bought the land where he pitched his tent from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem. He paid a hundred silver coins for it.20 Then he built an altar there and named it El-Elohe-Israel (Mighty Is the God of Israel).

Genesis 34

1 One day Dinah, the daughter Leah had given Jacob, went to visit some of the women in that country.2 Shechem, the son of Hamor the Hivite who was chieftain there, saw her and raped her.3 Then he felt a strong attraction to Dinah, Jacob's daughter, fell in love with her and wooed her.4 Shechem went to his father Hamor, "Get me this girl for my wife."

5 Jacob heard that Shechem had raped his daughter Dinah, but his sons were out in the fields with the livestock so he didn't say anything until they got home.6 Hamor, Shechem's father, went to Jacob to work out marriage arrangements.7 Meanwhile Jacob's sons on their way back from the fields heard what had happened. They were outraged, explosive with anger. Shechem's rape of Jacob's daughter was intolerable in Israel and not to be put up with.

8 Hamor spoke with Jacob and his sons, "My son Shechem is head over heels in love with your daughter-give her to him as his wife.9 Intermarry with us. Give your daughters to us and we'll give our daughters to you.10 Live together with us as one family. Settle down among us and make yourselves at home. Prosper among us."

11 Shechem then spoke for himself, addressing Dinah's father and brothers: "Please, say yes. I'll pay anything.12 Set the bridal price as high as you will-the sky's the limit! Only give me this girl for my wife."

13 Jacob's sons answered Shechem and his father with cunning. Their sister, after all, had been raped.14 They said, "This is impossible. We could never give our sister to a man who was uncircumcised. Why, we'd be disgraced.15 The only condition on which we can talk business is if all your men become circumcised like us.16 Then we will freely exchange daughters in marriage and make ourselves at home among you and become one big, happy family.17 But if this is not an acceptable condition, we will take our sister and leave."

18 That seemed fair enough to Hamor and his son Shechem.

19 The young man was so smitten with Jacob's daughter that he proceeded to do what had been asked. He was also the most admired son in his father's family.

20 So Hamor and his son Shechem went to the public square and spoke to the town council:21 "These men like us; they are our friends. Let them settle down here and make themselves at home; there's plenty of room in the country for them. And, just think, we can even exchange our daughters in marriage.22 But these men will only accept our invitation to live with us and become one big family on one condition, that all our males become circumcised just as they themselves are.23 This is a very good deal for us-these people are very wealthy with great herds of livestock and we're going to get our hands on it. So let's do what they ask and have them settle down with us."

24 Everyone who was anyone in the city agreed with Hamor and his son, Shechem; every male was circumcised.

25 Three days after the circumcision, while all the men were still very sore, two of Jacob's sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, each with his sword in hand, walked into the city as if they owned the place and murdered every man there.26 They also killed Hamor and his son Shechem, rescued Dinah from Shechem's house, and left.27 When the rest of Jacob's sons came on the scene of slaughter, they looted the entire city in retaliation for Dinah's rape.28 Flocks, herds, donkeys, belongings-everything, whether in the city or the fields-they took.29 And then they took all the wives and children captive and ransacked their homes for anything valuable.

30 Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, "You've made my name stink to high heaven among the people here, these Canaanites and Perizzites. If they decided to gang up on us and attack, as few as we are we wouldn't stand a chance; they'd wipe me and my people right off the map."

31 They said, "Nobody is going to treat our sister like a whore and get by with it."

Genesis 35

1 God spoke to Jacob: "Go back to Bethel. Stay there and build an altar to the God who revealed himself to you when you were running for your life from your brother Esau."

2 Jacob told his family and all those who lived with him, "Throw out all the alien gods which you have, take a good bath and put on clean clothes,3 we're going to Bethel. I'm going to build an altar there to the God who answered me when I was in trouble and has stuck with me everywhere I've gone since."

4 They turned over to Jacob all the alien gods they'd been holding on to, along with their lucky-charm earrings. Jacob buried them under the oak tree in Shechem.5 Then they set out. A paralyzing fear descended on all the surrounding villages so that they were unable to pursue the sons of Jacob.

6 Jacob and his company arrived at Luz, that is, Bethel, in the land of Canaan.7 He built an altar there and named it El-Bethel (God-of-Bethel) because that's where God revealed himself to him when he was running from his brother.

8 And that's when Rebekah's nurse, Deborah, died. She was buried just below Bethel under the oak tree. It was named Allon-Bacuth (Weeping-Oak).

9 God revealed himself once again to Jacob, after he had come back from Paddan Aram and blessed him:10 "Your name is Jacob (Heel); but that's your name no longer. From now on your name is Israel (God-Wrestler)."

11 God continued, I am The Strong God. Have children! Flourish! A nation-a whole company of nations!-will come from you. Kings will come from your loins;12 the land I gave Abraham and Isaac I now give to you, and pass it on to your descendants.

13 And then God was gone, ascended from the place where he had spoken with him.

14 Jacob set up a stone pillar on the spot where God had spoken with him. He poured a drink offering on it and anointed it with oil.15 Jacob dedicated the place where God had spoken with him, Bethel (God's-House).

16 They left Bethel. They were still quite a ways from Ephrath when Rachel went into labor-hard, hard labor.17 When her labor pains were at their worst, the midwife said to her, "Don't be afraid-you have another boy."

18 With her last breath, for she was now dying, she named him Ben-oni (Son-of-My-Pain), but his father named him Ben-jamin (Son-of-Good-Fortune).

19 Rachel died and was buried on the road to Ephrath, that is, Bethlehem.20 Jacob set up a pillar to mark her grave. It is still there today, "Rachel's Grave Stone."

21 Israel kept on his way and set up camp at Migdal Eder.

22 While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went and slept with his father's concubine, Bilhah. And Israel heard of what he did. There were twelve sons of Jacob.23 The sons by Leah: Reuben, Jacob's firstborn Simeon Levi Judah Issachar Zebulun.24 The sons by Rachel: Joseph Benjamin.25 The sons by Bilhah, Rachel's maid: Dan Naphtali.26 The sons by Zilpah, Leah's maid: Gad Asher. These were Jacob's sons, born to him in Paddan Aram.

27 Finally, Jacob made it back home to his father Isaac at Mamre in Kiriath Arba, present-day Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac had lived.28 Isaac was now 180 years old.29 Isaac breathed his last and died-an old man full of years. He was buried with his family by his sons Esau and Jacob.