Jacob in Bethel

35 God said to Jacob, “Go to the town of Bethel.* Live there and make an altar* for worship. Remember El,* the God who appeared* to you there when you were running away from your brother Esau. Make your altar to worship that God there.” ²So Jacob said to his family and to all his servants, “Destroy all those foreign gods made of wood and metal that you have. Make yourselves pure. Put on clean clothes. ³We will leave here and go to Bethel. In that place, I will build an altar to the God who helped me during my time of trouble. And that God has been with me everywhere I went.” ⁴So the people gave Jacob all the foreign gods that they had. And they gave Jacob all the rings they were wearing in their ears. Jacob buried all these things under an oak tree near the town called Shechem. ⁵Jacob and his sons left that place. The people in that area wanted to follow and kill them. But they became very afraid and did not follow Jacob. ⁶So Jacob and his people went to Luz. Luz is now called Bethel.* It is in the land of Canaan. ⁷Jacob built an altar* there. Jacob named the place “El Bethel.” Jacob chose this name because that is the place God first appeared to him when he was running from his brother. ⁸Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died there. They buried her under the oak tree at Bethel. They named that place Allon Bacuth.*

Jacob’s New Name

⁹When Jacob came back from Paddan Aram, God appeared to him again. And God blessed Jacob. ¹⁰God said to Jacob, “Your name is Jacob. But I will change that name. You will not be called Jacob now. Your new name will be Israel.*” So God named him Israel. ¹¹God said to him, “I am God All- Powerful.* {And I give you this blessing:} Have many children and grow into a great nation. Other nations and other kings will come out of you. ¹²I gave Abraham and Isaac some special land. Now I give that land to you. And I also give that land to all your people who live after you.” ¹³Then God left that place. ^14–15Jacob set up a memorial stone* in this place. Jacob made the rock holy by pouring wine and oil on it. This was a special place because God spoke to Jacob there. And Jacob named the place Bethel.*

Rachel Dies Giving Birth

¹⁶Jacob and his group left Bethel. Just before they came to Ephrath (Bethlehem), Rachel began giving birth to her baby. ¹⁷But Rachel was having much trouble with this birth. She was having great pain. Rachel’s nurse saw this and said, “Don’t be afraid Rachel. You are giving birth to another son.” ¹⁸Rachel died while giving birth to the son. Before dying, Rachel named the boy Benoni.* But Jacob called him Benjamin.* ¹⁹Rachel was buried on the road to Ephrath. (Ephrath is Bethlehem.) ²⁰And Jacob put a special rock on her grave to honor Rachel. That special rock is still there today. ²¹Then Israel (Jacob) continued his journey. He camped just south of Eder tower.* ²²Israel stayed there for a short time. While he was there, Reuben slept with Israel’s woman servant* Bilhah. Israel heard about this and was very angry.

The Family of Israel

Jacob (Israel) had twelve sons. ²³Jacob and Leah’s sons were: Jacob’s firstborn son Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. ²⁴Jacob and Rachel’s sons were Joseph and Benjamin. ²⁵Bilhah was Rachel’s maid. Jacob and Bilhah’s sons were Dan and Naphtali. ²⁶Zilpah was Leah’s maid. Jacob and Zilpah’s sons were Gad and Asher. Those are Jacob’s (Israel’s) sons who were born in Paddan Aram. ²⁷Jacob went to his father Isaac at Mamre in Kiriath Arba (Hebron). This is where Abraham and Isaac had lived. ²⁸Isaac lived 180 years. ²⁹Then Isaac became weak and died. Isaac had lived a long and full life. His sons Esau and Jacob buried him in the same place as his father.

Bethel This name means “God’s house.” altar(s) A stone table used for burning sacrifices that were offered as gifts to God. El A Hebrew name for God. God who appeared God often used special shapes so people could see him. Sometimes he was like a man, an angel, a fire, or a bright light. Bethel A town in Israel. This name means “God’s house.” Allon Bacuth This name means “the oak tree of sadness.” Israel This name might mean “he fights for God” or “he fights with God.” God All-Powerful Literally, “El Shaddai.” memorial stone A stone that was set up to help people remember something special. In ancient Israel people often set up stones as special places to worship false gods. Benoni This name means “son of my suffering.” Benjamin This name means “right-hand (favorite) son.” Eder tower Or, “Migdal Eder.” woman servant Or, “concubine,” a slave woman who was like a wife to a man.

Esau’s Family

36 The family history of Esau (Edom). ²Esau married women from the land of Canaan. Esau’s wives were: Adah, the daughter of Elon the Hittite, Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah, the son of Zibeon the Hivite, and ³Basemath, Ishmael’s daughter, the sister of Nebaioth. ⁴Esau and Adah had a son named Eliphaz. Basemath had a son named Reuel. ⁵And Oholibamah had three sons: Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. Those were Esau’s sons that were born in the land of Canaan. ^6–8Jacob and Esau’s families became too big for the land in Canaan to support them all. So Esau moved away from his brother Jacob. Esau took his wives, sons, daughters, all his slaves, cows and other animals, and everything else that he got in Canaan and moved to the hill country of Seir.* (Esau is also named Edom—{and this is another name for the country Seir}.) ⁹Esau is the father of the people of Edom.* These are the names of Esau’s family living in the hill country of Seir (Edom): ¹⁰Esau and Adah’s son was Eliphaz. Esau and Basemath’s son was Reuel. ¹¹Eliphaz had five sons: Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz. ¹²Eliphaz also had a woman servant* named Timna. Timna and Eliphaz had a son named Amalek. ¹³Reuel had four sons: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. Those were Esau’s grandsons from his wife Basemath. ¹⁴Esau’s third wife was Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah. (Anah was the son of Zibeon.) Esau and Oholibamah’s children were: Jeush, Jalam, Korah. ¹⁵These are the family groups* that came from Esau (Edom): Esau’s first son was Eliphaz. From Eliphaz came: Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, ¹⁶Korah, Gatam, and Amalek. All those family groups* came from Esau’s wife Adah. ¹⁷Esau’s son Reuel was the father of these families: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. All those families came from Esau’s wife Basemath. ¹⁸Esau’s wife Oholibamah, daughter of Anah, gave birth to Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. Those three men were the fathers of their families. ¹⁹Those men were all family leaders from Esau (Edom). ²⁰Seir, a Horite man, lived in Edom* before Esau. These are the sons of Seir: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, ²¹Dishon, Ezer, Dishan. Those sons were all Horite family leaders from Seir in Edom. ²²Lotan was the father of Hori and Heman.* (Timna was Lotan’s sister.) ²³Shobal was the father of Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam. ²⁴Zibeon had two sons Aiah and Anah. (Anah is the man who found the hot springs in the mountains while he was caring for his father’s donkeys.) ²⁵Anah was the father of Dishon and Oholibamah. ²⁶Dishon had four sons. They were Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Keran. ²⁷Ezer had three sons. They were Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan. ²⁸Dishan had two sons. They were Uz and Aran. ²⁹These are the names of the leaders of the Horite families: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, ³⁰Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. Those men were the leaders of the families that lived in the country of Seir (Edom*). ³¹At that time, there were kings in Edom. Edom had kings a long time before Israel did. ³²Bela son of Beor was a king who ruled in Edom.* He ruled over the city of Dinhabah. ³³When Bela died, Jobab became king. Jobab was the son of Zerah from Bozrah. ³⁴When Jobab died, Husham ruled. Husham was from the land of the Temanite people. ³⁵When Husham died, Hadad ruled that area. Hadad was the son of Bedad. (Hadad was the man who defeated Midian in the country of Moab.) Hadad was from the city of Avith. ³⁶When Hadad died, Samlah ruled that country. Samlah was from Masrekah. ³⁷When Samlah died, Shaul ruled that area. Shaul was from Rehoboth on the Euphrates River. ³⁸When Shaul died, Baal Hanan ruled that country. Baal Hanan was the son of Acbor. ³⁹When Baal Hanan died, Hadad* ruled that country. Hadad was from the city of Pau. Hadad’s wife’s name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred. (Mezahab was Matred’s father.) ^40–43Esau was the father of the Edomite families: Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, Magdiel, and Iram. Each of these families lived in an area that was called by the same name as their family.

Seir A mountain range in Edom. Edom A country east of Judah. woman servant Or, “concubine,” a woman who was like a wife to a man. family groups Or, “family leaders.” These families became large tribes and nations. Heman Or “Homam.” Hadad Or, “Hadar.”