Genesis 32:1-35:27

New International Version

Jacob Prepares to Meet Esau

32 ^[a]Jacob also went on his way, and the angels of God^(A) met him. ² When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is the camp of God!”^(B) So he named that place Mahanaim.^[b](C)

³ Jacob sent messengers^(D) ahead of him to his brother Esau^(E) in the land of Seir,^(F) the country of Edom.^{(G) 4} He instructed them: “This is what you are to say to my lord^(H) Esau: ‘Your servant^(I) Jacob says, I have been staying with Laban^(J) and have remained there till now. ⁵ I have cattle and donkeys, sheep and goats, male and female servants.^(K) Now I am sending this message to my lord,^(L) that I may find favor in your eyes.^(M)’”

⁶ When the messengers returned to Jacob, they said, “We went to your brother Esau, and now he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.”^(N)

⁷ In great fear^(O) and distress^(P) Jacob divided the people who were with him into two groups,^[c](Q) and the flocks and herds and camels as well. ⁸ He thought, “If Esau comes and attacks one group,^[d] the group^[e] that is left may escape.”

⁹ Then Jacob prayed, “O God of my father Abraham,^(R) God of my father Isaac,^(S) Lord, you who said to me, ‘Go back to your country and your relatives, and I will make you prosper,’^{(T) 10} I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness^(U) you have shown your servant. I had only my staff^(V) when I crossed this Jordan, but now I have become two camps.^{(W) 11} Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid^(X) he will come and attack me,^(Y) and also the mothers with their children.^{(Z) 12} But you have said, ‘I will surely make you prosper and will make your descendants like the sand^(AA) of the sea, which cannot be counted.^(AB)’”

¹³ He spent the night there, and from what he had with him he selected a gift^(AC) for his brother Esau: ¹⁴ two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams,^{(AD) 15} thirty female camels with their young, forty cows and ten bulls, and twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys.^{(AE) 16} He put them in the care of his servants, each herd by itself, and said to his servants, “Go ahead of me, and keep some space between the herds.”^(AF)

¹⁷ He instructed the one in the lead: “When my brother Esau meets you and asks, ‘Who do you belong to, and where are you going, and who owns all these animals in front of you?’ ¹⁸ then you are to say, ‘They belong to your servant^(AG) Jacob. They are a gift^(AH) sent to my lord Esau, and he is coming behind us.’”

¹⁹ He also instructed the second, the third and all the others who followed the herds: “You are to say the same thing to Esau when you meet him. ²⁰ And be sure to say, ‘Your servant^(AI) Jacob is coming behind us.’” For he thought, “I will pacify him with these gifts^(AJ) I am sending on ahead;^(AK) later, when I see him, perhaps he will receive me.”^{(AL) 21} So Jacob’s gifts^(AM) went on ahead of him, but he himself spent the night in the camp.

Jacob Wrestles With God

²² That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants and his eleven sons^(AN) and crossed the ford of the Jabbok.^{(AO) 23} After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions.^{(AP) 24} So Jacob was left alone,^(AQ) and a man^(AR) wrestled with him till daybreak. ²⁵ When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip^(AS) so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. ²⁶ Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”

But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”^(AT)

²⁷ The man asked him, “What is your name?”

“Jacob,”^(AU) he answered.

²⁸ Then the man said, “Your name^(AV) will no longer be Jacob, but Israel,^[f](AW) because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”^(AX)

²⁹ Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.”^(AY)

But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?”^(AZ) Then he blessed^(BA) him there.

³⁰ So Jacob called the place Peniel,^[g] saying, “It is because I saw God face to face,^(BB) and yet my life was spared.”

³¹ The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel,^[h](BC) and he was limping because of his hip. ³² Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip,^(BD) because the socket of Jacob’s hip was touched near the tendon.

Jacob Meets Esau

33 Jacob looked up and there was Esau, coming with his four hundred men;^(BE) so he divided the children among Leah, Rachel and the two female servants.^{(BF) 2} He put the female servants and their children^(BG) in front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph^(BH) in the rear. ³ He himself went on ahead and bowed down to the ground^(BI) seven times^(BJ) as he approached his brother.

⁴ But Esau^(BK) ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him.^(BL) And they wept.^{(BM) 5} Then Esau looked up and saw the women and children. “Who are these with you?” he asked.

Jacob answered, “They are the children God has graciously given your servant.^(BN)”

⁶ Then the female servants and their children^(BO) approached and bowed down.^{(BP) 7} Next, Leah and her children^(BQ) came and bowed down.^(BR) Last of all came Joseph and Rachel,^(BS) and they too bowed down.

⁸ Esau asked, “What’s the meaning of all these flocks and herds I met?”^(BT)

“To find favor in your eyes, my lord,”^(BU) he said.

⁹ But Esau said, “I already have plenty,^(BV) my brother. Keep what you have for yourself.”

¹⁰ “No, please!” said Jacob. “If I have found favor in your eyes,^(BW) accept this gift^(BX) from me. For to see your face is like seeing the face of God,^(BY) now that you have received me favorably.^{(BZ) 11} Please accept the present^(CA) that was brought to you, for God has been gracious to me^(CB) and I have all I need.”^(CC) And because Jacob insisted,^(CD) Esau accepted it.

¹² Then Esau said, “Let us be on our way; I’ll accompany you.”

¹³ But Jacob said to him, “My lord^(CE) knows that the children are tender and that I must care for the ewes and cows that are nursing their young.^(CF) If they are driven hard just one day, all the animals will die. ¹⁴ So let my lord go on ahead of his servant, while I move along slowly at the pace of the flocks and herds^(CG) before me and the pace of the children, until I come to my lord in Seir.^(CH)”

¹⁵ Esau said, “Then let me leave some of my men with you.”

“But why do that?” Jacob asked. “Just let me find favor in the eyes of my lord.”^(CI)

¹⁶ So that day Esau started on his way back to Seir.^{(CJ) 17} Jacob, however, went to Sukkoth,^(CK) where he built a place for himself and made shelters for his livestock. That is why the place is called Sukkoth.^[i]

¹⁸ After Jacob came from Paddan Aram,^[j](CL) he arrived safely at the city of Shechem^(CM) in Canaan and camped within sight of the city. ¹⁹ For a hundred pieces of silver,^[k] he bought from the sons of Hamor,^(CN) the father of Shechem,^(CO) the plot of ground^(CP) where he pitched his tent.^{(CQ) 20} There he set up an altar^(CR) and called it El Elohe Israel.^[l]

Dinah and the Shechemites

34 Now Dinah,^(CS) the daughter Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the women of the land. ² When Shechem^(CT) son of Hamor^(CU) the Hivite,^(CV) the ruler of that area, saw her, he took her and raped her.^{(CW) 3} His heart was drawn to Dinah^(CX) daughter of Jacob;^(CY) he loved^(CZ) the young woman and spoke tenderly^(DA) to her. ⁴ And Shechem said to his father Hamor, “Get me this girl as my wife.”^(DB)

⁵ When Jacob heard that his daughter Dinah had been defiled,^(DC) his sons were in the fields with his livestock; so he did nothing about it until they came home.

⁶ Then Shechem’s father Hamor went out to talk with Jacob.^{(DD) 7} Meanwhile, Jacob’s sons had come in from the fields as soon as they heard what had happened. They were shocked^(DE) and furious,^(DF) because Shechem had done an outrageous thing in^[m] Israel^(DG) by sleeping with Jacob’s daughter—a thing that should not be done.^(DH)

⁸ But Hamor said to them, “My son Shechem has his heart set on your daughter. Please give her to him as his wife.^{(DI) 9} Intermarry with us; give us your daughters and take our daughters for yourselves.^{(DJ) 10} You can settle among us;^(DK) the land is open to you.^(DL) Live in it, trade^[n] in it,^(DM) and acquire property in it.^(DN)”

¹¹ Then Shechem said to Dinah’s father and brothers, “Let me find favor in your eyes,^(DO) and I will give you whatever you ask. ¹² Make the price for the bride^(DP) and the gift I am to bring as great as you like, and I’ll pay whatever you ask me. Only give me the young woman as my wife.”

¹³ Because their sister Dinah had been defiled,^(DQ) Jacob’s sons replied deceitfully^(DR) as they spoke to Shechem and his father Hamor. ¹⁴ They said to them, “We can’t do such a thing; we can’t give our sister to a man who is not circumcised.^(DS) That would be a disgrace to us. ¹⁵ We will enter into an agreement with you on one condition^(DT) only: that you become like us by circumcising all your males.^{(DU) 16} Then we will give you our daughters and take your daughters for ourselves.^(DV) We’ll settle among you and become one people with you.^{(DW) 17} But if you will not agree to be circumcised, we’ll take our sister and go.”

¹⁸ Their proposal seemed good to Hamor and his son Shechem. ¹⁹ The young man, who was the most honored^(DX) of all his father’s family, lost no time in doing what they said, because he was delighted with Jacob’s daughter.^{(DY) 20} So Hamor and his son Shechem went to the gate of their city^(DZ) to speak to the men of their city. ²¹ “These men are friendly toward us,” they said. “Let them live in our land and trade in it;^(EA) the land has plenty of room for them. We can marry their daughters and they can marry ours.^{(EB) 22} But the men will agree to live with us as one people only on the condition that our males be circumcised,^(EC) as they themselves are. ²³ Won’t their livestock, their property and all their other animals become ours?^(ED) So let us agree to their terms, and they will settle among us.^(EE)”

²⁴ All the men who went out of the city gate^(EF) agreed with Hamor and his son Shechem, and every male in the city was circumcised.

²⁵ Three days later, while all of them were still in pain,^(EG) two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon^(EH) and Levi,^(EI) Dinah’s brothers, took their swords^(EJ) and attacked the unsuspecting city,^(EK) killing every male.^{(EL) 26} They put Hamor and his son Shechem to the sword^(EM) and took Dinah^(EN) from Shechem’s house and left. ²⁷ The sons of Jacob came upon the dead bodies and looted the city^(EO) where^[o] their sister had been defiled.^{(EP) 28} They seized their flocks and herds and donkeys^(EQ) and everything else of theirs in the city and out in the fields.^{(ER) 29} They carried off all their wealth and all their women and children,^(ES) taking as plunder^(ET) everything in the houses.^(EU)

³⁰ Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble^(EV) on me by making me obnoxious^(EW) to the Canaanites and Perizzites, the people living in this land.^(EX) We are few in number,^(EY) and if they join forces against me and attack me, I and my household will be destroyed.”

³¹ But they replied, “Should he have treated our sister like a prostitute?^(EZ)”

Jacob Returns to Bethel

35 Then God said to Jacob, “Go up to Bethel^(FA) and settle there, and build an altar^(FB) there to God,^(FC) who appeared to you^(FD) when you were fleeing from your brother Esau.”^(FE)

² So Jacob said to his household^(FF) and to all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods^(FG) you have with you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes.^{(FH) 3} Then come, let us go up to Bethel, where I will build an altar to God,^(FI) who answered me in the day of my distress^(FJ) and who has been with me wherever I have gone.^(FK)” ⁴ So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods they had and the rings in their ears,^(FL) and Jacob buried them under the oak^(FM) at Shechem.^{(FN) 5} Then they set out, and the terror of God^(FO) fell on the towns all around them so that no one pursued them.^(FP)

⁶ Jacob and all the people with him came to Luz^(FQ) (that is, Bethel) in the land of Canaan.^{(FR) 7} There he built an altar,^(FS) and he called the place El Bethel,^[p](FT) because it was there that God revealed himself to him^(FU) when he was fleeing from his brother.^(FV)

⁸ Now Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse,^(FW) died and was buried under the oak^(FX) outside Bethel.^(FY) So it was named Allon Bakuth.^[q]

⁹ After Jacob returned from Paddan Aram,^[r](FZ) God appeared to him again and blessed him.^{(GA) 10} God said to him, “Your name is Jacob,^[s] but you will no longer be called Jacob; your name will be Israel.^[t]”^(GB) So he named him Israel.

¹¹ And God said to him, “I am God Almighty^[u];^(GC) be fruitful and increase in number.^(GD) A nation^(GE) and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will be among your descendants.^{(GF) 12} The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you.^(GG)”^{(GH) 13} Then God went up from him^(GI) at the place where he had talked with him.

¹⁴ Jacob set up a stone pillar^(GJ) at the place where God had talked with him, and he poured out a drink offering^(GK) on it; he also poured oil on it.^{(GL) 15} Jacob called the place where God had talked with him Bethel.^[v](GM)

The Deaths of Rachel and Isaac^(GN)

¹⁶ Then they moved on from Bethel. While they were still some distance from Ephrath,^(GO) Rachel^(GP) began to give birth and had great difficulty. ¹⁷ And as she was having great difficulty in childbirth, the midwife^(GQ) said to her, “Don’t despair, for you have another son.”^{(GR) 18} As she breathed her last—for she was dying—she named her son Ben-Oni.^[w](GS) But his father named him Benjamin.^[x](GT)

¹⁹ So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath^(GU) (that is, Bethlehem^(GV)). ²⁰ Over her tomb Jacob set up a pillar, and to this day^(GW) that pillar marks Rachel’s tomb.^(GX)

²¹ Israel moved on again and pitched his tent beyond Migdal Eder.^{(GY) 22} While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went in and slept with his father’s concubine^(GZ) Bilhah,^(HA) and Israel heard of it.

Jacob had twelve sons:

These were the sons of Jacob,^(HM) who were born to him in Paddan Aram.^(HN)

²⁷ Jacob came home to his father Isaac^(HO) in Mamre,^(HP) near Kiriath Arba^(HQ) (that is, Hebron),^(HR) where Abraham and Isaac had stayed.^(HS)