Genesis 26

Isaac and Abimelech

1 There was a famine in the land, subsequent to the earlier famine that occurredt in the days of Abraham.s Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines at Gerar.2 The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt;s settle down in the land that I will point out to you.t3 Stayt in this land. Then I will be with you and will bless you,ts for I will give all these lands to you and to your descendants,ts and I will fulfillt the solemn promise I madets to your father Abraham.4 I will multiply your descendants so they will be as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give themt all these lands. All the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another using the name of your descendants.t5 All this will come to passt because Abraham obeyed met and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.”s

6 So Isaac settled in Gerar.

7 When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he replied, “She is my sister.”s He was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” for he thought to himself,t “The men of this place will kill me to gett Rebekah because she is very beautiful.”
8 After Isaact had been there a long time,t Abimelech king of the Philistines happened to look out a window and observedt Isaac caressingts his wife Rebekah.

9 So Abimelech summoned Isaac and said, “She is reallyt your wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac replied, “Because I thought someone might kill me to get her.”t
10 Then Abimelech exclaimed, “What in the world have you done to us?t One of the ment might easily have had sexual relations witht your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us!”

11 So Abimelech commanded all the people, “Whoever touchest this man or his wife will surely be put to death.”t
12 When Isaac planted in that land, he reaped in the same year a hundred times what he had sown,t because the Lord blessed him.t13 The man became wealthy.t His influence continued to growt until he became very prominent.14 He hadt so many sheept and cattlet and such a great household of servants that the Philistines became jealoust of him.

15 So the Philistines took dirt and filled upt all the wells that his father’s servants had dug back in the days of his father Abraham.
16 Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “Leave us and go elsewhere,t for you have become much more powerfuls than we are.”17 So Isaac left there and settled in the Gerar Valley.ts

18 Isaac reopenedt the wells that had been dugt back in the days of his father Abraham, for the Philistines had stopped them upt after Abraham died. Isaact gave these wellst the same names his father had given them.t
19 When Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well with fresh flowingt water there,20 the herdsmen of Gerar quarreledt with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water belongs to us!” So Isaact named the wellt Eseks because they argued with him about it.t21 His servantst dug another well, but they quarreled over it too, so Isaac named itt Sitnah.s

22 Then he moved away from there and dug another well. They did not quarrel over it, so Isaact named itt Rehoboth,s saying, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we will prosper in the land.”
23 From there Isaact went up to Beer Sheba.24 The Lord appeared to him that night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.”

25 Then Isaac built an altar there and worshipedt the Lord. He pitched his tent there, and his servants dug a well.t
26 Now Abimelech had comet to him from Gerar along witht Ahuzzah his friendt and Phicol the commander of his army.27 Isaac asked them, “Why have you come to me? You hate met and sent me away from you.”28 They replied, “We could plainly seet that the Lord is with you. So we decided there should bet a pact between ust – between ust and you. Allow us to maket a treaty with you

29 so thatt you will not do us any harm, just as we have not harmedt you, but have always treated you wellt before sending you awayt in peace. Now you are blessed by the Lord.”t
30 So Isaact held a feast for them and they celebrated.t

31 Early in the morning the men made a treaty with each other.t Isaac sent them off; they separated on good terms.t
32 That day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. “We’ve found water,” they reported.t

33 So he named it Shibah;s that is why the name of the city has been Beer Shebas to this day.
34 Whent Esau was forty years old,t he marriedt Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, as well as Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite.

35 They caused Isaac and Rebekah great anxiety.t

Genesis 27

Jacob Cheats Esau out of the Blessing

1 Whent Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he was almost blind,t he called his oldert son Esau and said to him, “My son!” “Here I am!” Esaut replied.2 Isaact said, “Sincet I am so old, I could die at any time.t3 Therefore, take your weapons – your quiver and your bow – and go out into the open fields and hunt down some wild gamet for me.

4 Then prepare for me some tasty food, the kind I love, and bring it to me. Thent I will eat it so that I may bless yout before I die.”
5 Now Rebekah had been listening while Isaac spoke to his son Esau.t When Esau went out to the open fields to hunt down some wild game and bring it back,s6 Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “Look, I overheard your father tell your brother Esau,7 ‘Bring me some wild game and prepare for me some tasty food. Then I will eatt it and bless yout in the presence of the Lordt before I die.’8 Now then, my son, dot exactly what I tell you!t9 Go to the flock and get me two of the best young goats. I’ll preparet them in a tasty way for your father, just the way he loves them.

10 Then you will taket it to your father. Thus he will eat itt andt bless you before he dies.”
11 “But Esau my brother is a hairy man,” Jacob protested to his mother Rebekah, “and I have smooth skin!t12 My father may touch me! Then he’ll think I’m mocking himt and I’ll bring a curse on myself instead of a blessing.”

13 So his mother told him, “Any curse against you will fall on me,t my son! Just obey me!t Go and get them for me!”
14 So he went and got the goatst and brought them to his mother. Shet prepared some tasty food, just the way his father loved it.15 Then Rebekah took her older son Esau’s best clothes, which she had with her in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob.16 She put the skins of the young goatst on his handst and the smooth part of his neck.

17 Then she handedt the tasty food and the bread she had made to her son Jacob.
18 He went to his father and said, “My father!” Isaact replied, “Here I am. Which are you, my son?”s19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau, your firstborn. I’ve done as you told me. Now sit upt and eat some of my wild game so that you can bless me.”t20 But Isaac asked his son, “How in the worldt did you find it so quickly,t my son?” “Because the Lord your God brought it to me,”t he replied.t21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come closer so I can touch you,t my son, and know for certain if you really are my son Esau.”t22 So Jacob went over to his father Isaac, who felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob’s, but the hands are Esau’s.”23 He did not recognize him because his hands were hairy, like his brother Esau’s hands. So Isaac blessed Jacob.t24 Then he asked, “Are you really my son Esau?” “I am,” Jacobt replied.25 Isaact said, “Bring some of the wild game for me to eat, my son.t Then I will bless you.”t So Jacobt brought it to him, and he ate it. He also brought him wine, and Isaact drank.26 Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come here and kiss me, my son.”

27 So Jacobt went over and kissed him. When Isaac caught the scentt of his clothing, he blessed him, saying,
“Yes,t my son smells
like the scent of an open field
which the Lord has blessed.

28 May God give you
the dew of the skyt
and the richnesst of the earth,
and plenty of grain and new wine.

29 May peoples serve you
and nations bow down to you.
You will bet lordt over your brothers,
and the sons of your mother will bow down to you.t
May those who curse you be cursed,
and those who bless you be blessed.”
30 Isaac had just finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had scarcely leftt his father’st presence, when his brother Esau returned from the hunt.t31 He also prepared some tasty food and brought it to his father. Esaut said to him, “My father, get upt and eat some of your son’s wild game. Then you can bless me.”t32 His father Isaac asked,t “Who are you?” “I am your firstborn son,”t he replied, “Esau!”

33 Isaac began to shake violentlyt and asked, “Then who else hunted game and brought it to me? I ate all of it just before you arrived, and I blessed him.t He will indeed be blessed!”
34 When Esau heardt his father’s words, he wailed loudly and bitterly.t He said to his father, “Bless me too, my father!”35 But Isaact replied, “Your brother came in here deceitfully and took awayt your blessing.”

36 Esau exclaimed, “‘Jacob’ is the right name for him!t He has tripped me ups two times! He took away my birthright, and now, look, he has taken away my blessing!” Then he asked, “Have you not kept back a blessing for me?”
37 Isaac replied to Esau, “Look! I have made him lord over you. I have made all his relatives his servants and provided him with grain and new wine. What is left that I can do for you, my son?”

38 Esau said to his father, “Do you have only that one blessing, my father? Bless me too!”t Then Esau wept loudly.t

39 So his father Isaac said to him,
“Indeed,t your home will be
away from the richnesst of the earth,
and away from the dew of the sky above.

40 You will live by your sword
but you will serve your brother.
When you grow restless,
you will tear off his yoke
from your neck.”s

41 So Esau hatedt Jacob because of the blessing his father had given to his brother.t Esau said privately,t “The timet of mourning for my father is near; then I will killt my brother Jacob!”
42 When Rebekah heard what her older son Esau had said,t she quickly summonedt her younger son Jacob and told him, “Look, your brother Esau is planning to get revenge by killing you.t43 Now then, my son, do what I say.t Run away immediatelyt to my brother Laban in Haran.44 Live with him for a little whilet until your brother’s rage subsides.

45 Stay theret until your brother’s anger against you subsides and he forgets what you did to him. Then I’ll send someone to bring you back from there.t Why should I lose both of you in one day?”t

46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am deeply depressedt because of these daughters of Heth.t If Jacob were to marry one of these daughters of Heth who live in this land, I would want to die!”t

Genesis 28

1 So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. Then he commanded him, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman!t2 Leave immediatelyt for Paddan Aram! Go to the house of Bethuel, your mother’s father, and find yourself a wife there, among the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother.3 May the sovereign Godt bless you! May he make you fruitful and give you a multitude of descendants!t Then you will becomet a large nation.t4 May he give you and your descendants the blessing he gave to Abrahamt so that you may possess the landt God gave to Abraham, the land where you have been living as a temporary resident.”t

5 So Isaac sent Jacob on his way, and he went to Paddan Aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean and brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.
6 Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him off to Paddan Aram to find a wife there.t As he blessed him,t Isaac commanded him, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman.”t7 Jacob obeyed his father and mother and left for Paddan Aram.8 Then Esau realizedt that the Canaanite woment were displeasing tot his father Isaac.

9 So Esau went to Ishmael and marriedt Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Abraham’s son Ishmael, along with the wives he already had.

Jacob’s Dream at Bethel

10 Meanwhile Jacob left Beer Sheba and set out for Haran.11 He reached a certain placet where he decided to camp because the sun had gone down.t He took one of the stonest and placed it near his head.t Then he fell asleept in that place12 and had a dream.t He sawt a stairwayt erected on the earth with its top reaching to the heavens. The angels of God were going up and coming down it13 and the Lord stood at its top. He said, “I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of your father Isaac.t I will give you and your descendants the groundt you are lying on.14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth,t and you will spread outt to the west, east, north, and south. All the families of the earth will pronounce blessings on one anothert using your name and that of your descendants.t

15 I am with you!t I will protect you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I promised you!”
16 Then Jacob woke upt and thought,t “Surely the Lord is in this place, but I did not realize it!”

17 He was afraid and said, “What an awesome place this is! This is nothing else than the house of God! This is the gate of heaven!”
18 Earlyt in the morning Jacobt took the stone he had placed near his headt and set it up as a sacred stone.ts Then he poured oil on top of it.19 He called that place Bethel,ts although the former name of the town was Luz.20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God is with me and protects me on this journey I am taking and gives me foodt to eat and clothing to wear,21 and I return safely to my father’s home,t then the Lord will become my God.

22 Then this stonet that I have set up as a sacred stone will be the house of God, and I will surelyt give you back a tenth of everything you give me.”t