Genesis 35:2-29 ▼

2 So Jacob (he grasps the heel) told his household and all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods that are among you⁺. Purify yourselves and change your⁺ garments.

3 Then let us arise and go to Bethel (house of God). I will build an altar there to God, who answered me in my day of distress. He has been with me wherever I have gone.”

4 So they gave Jacob (he grasps the heel) all their foreign gods and all their earrings, and Jacob buried them under the oak (terebinth) near Shechem (shoulder).

5 As they set out, a terror from God {Elohim} fell over the surrounding cities, so that they did not pursue Jacob’s (he grasps the heel) sons.

6 So Jacob (he grasps the heel) and everyone with him arrived in Luz (almond tree) (that is, Bethel (house of God)) in the land of Canaan (lowland).

7 There Jacob built an altar, and he called that place El-bethel (God of Bethel), because it was there that God {Elohim} had revealed Himself to Jacob as he fled from his brother.

8 Now Deborah (bee), Rebekah’s (ensnarer) nurse, died and was buried under the oak (great tree) below Bethel (house of God). So Jacob named it Allon-bacuth (oak of weeping).

9 After Jacob had returned from Paddan-aram (northwest Mesopotamia), God {Elohim} appeared to him (he grasps the heel) again and blessed him.

10 And God {Elohim} said to him, “Though your name is Jacob (he grasps the heel), you will no longer be called Jacob. Instead, your name will be Israel (he wrestles with God). So God named him Israel.

11 And God {Elohim} told him, “I am God Almighty {El-Shaddai}. Be fruitful and multiply. A nation—even a company of nations—shall come from you, and kings shall descend from you.

12 The land that I gave to Abraham (father of many) and Isaac (he laughs) I will give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you.”

13 Then God {Elohim} went up from the place where He had spoken with him.

14 So Jacob (he grasps the heel) set up a pillar in the place where God had spoken with him—a stone marker—and he poured out a drink offering on it and anointed it with oil.

15 Jacob (he grasps the heel) called the place where God {Elohim} had spoken with him Bethel (house of God).

16 Later, they set out from Bethel (house of God), and while they were still some distance from Ephrath (place of fruitfulness), Rachel (little lamb) began to give birth, and her labor was difficult.

17 During her severe labor, the midwife said to her, “Do not be afraid, for you are having another son.”

18 And with her last breath—for she was dying—she named him Ben-oni (son of my sorrow). But his father called him Benjamin (son of my right hand).

19 So Rachel (little lamb) died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (place of fruitfulness) (that is, Bethlehem (house of bread)).

20 Jacob (he grasps the heel) set up a pillar on her grave; it marks Rachel’s (little lamb) tomb to this day.

21 Israel again (he wrestles with God) set out and pitched his tent beyond (tower of the flock) the Tower of Eder.

22 While Israel (he wrestles with God) was living in that region, Reuben (behold a son) went in and slept with his father’s concubine Bilhah (troubled), and Israel heard about it. Jacob had (he grasps the heel) twelve sons:

23 The sons of Leah (weary) were Reuben (behold a son) the firstborn of Jacob (he grasps the heel), Simeon (heard), Levi (joined to), Judah (praised), Issachar (there is recompense), and Zebulun (exalted).

24 The sons of Rachel were (little lamb) Joseph (YHWH has added) and Benjamin (son of the right hand).

25 The sons of Rachel’s (little lamb) maidservant Bilhah were (troubled) Dan (He has judged) and Naphtali (wrestling).

26 And the sons of Leah’s (weary) maidservant Zilpah (a trickling) were Gad (troop) and Asher (happy). These are the sons of Jacob (he grasps the heel), who were born to him in Paddan-aram (exalted).

27 Jacob (he grasps the heel) returned to his father Isaac (he laughs) at Mamre (strength / fatness), near Kiriath-arba (city of Arba) (that is, Hebron (association)), where Abraham (father of many) and Isaac had stayed.

28 And Isaac (he laughs) lived 180 years.

29 Then he (he laughs) breathed his last and died and was gathered to his people, old and full of years. And his sons Esau (hairy) and Jacob (he grasps the heel) buried him.