Genesis 35-37

New American Standard Bible

Jacob Moves to Bethel

35 Then God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to ^(A)Bethel and live there, and make an altar there to ^(B)God, who appeared to you ^(C)when you fled ^[a]from your brother Esau.” ² So Jacob said to his ^(D)household and to all who were with him, “Remove ^(E)the foreign gods which are among you, and ^(F)purify yourselves and change your garments; ³ and let’s arise and go up to Bethel, and I will make ^(G)an altar there to God, ^(H)who answered me on the day of my distress and ^(I)has been with me ^[b]wherever I have gone.” ⁴ So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods which ^[c]they had and the rings which were in their ears, and Jacob hid them under the ^[d]oak which was near Shechem.

⁵ As they journeyed, there was ^[e](J)a great terror upon the cities which were around them, and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob. ⁶ So Jacob came to ^(K)Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him. ⁷ Then ^(L)he built an altar there, and called the place ^[f]El-bethel, because there God had revealed Himself to him when he fled ^[g]from his brother. ⁸ Now ^(M)Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and she was buried below Bethel under the oak; and it was named ^[h]Allon-bacuth.

Jacob Is Named Israel

⁹ Then God appeared to Jacob again when he came from Paddan-aram, and He ^(N)blessed him. ^10 (O)God said to him,

So He called ^[j]him Israel. ¹¹ God also said to him,

¹³ Then ^(U)God went up from him at the place where He had spoken with him. ¹⁴ So Jacob set up ^(V)a memorial stone in the place where He had spoken with him, a memorial of stone, and he poured out a drink offering on it; he also poured oil on it. ¹⁵ And Jacob named the place where God had spoken with him, ^[p](W)Bethel.

¹⁶ Then they journeyed on from Bethel; but when there was still some distance to go to ^(X)Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth and she suffered severe difficulties in her labor. ¹⁷ And when she was suffering severe difficulties in her labor, the midwife said to her, “Do not fear, for ^(Y)you have another son!” ¹⁸ And it came about, as her soul was departing (for she died), that she named him ^[q]Ben-oni; but his father called him ^[r]Benjamin. ¹⁹ So ^(Z)Rachel died and was buried on the way to ^(AA)Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). ²⁰ And Jacob set up a memorial stone over her grave; that is the ^(AB)memorial stone of Rachel’s grave to this day. ²¹ Then Israel journeyed on and pitched his tent beyond the ^[s](AC)tower of ^[t]Eder.

The Sons of Israel

²² And it came about, while Israel was living in that land, that ^(AD)Reuben went and slept with his father’s concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard about it.

Now there were twelve sons of Jacob— ^23 (AE)the sons of Leah were Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, then Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun; ^24 (AF)the sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin; ²⁵ and ^(AG)the sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s female slave, were Dan and Naphtali; ²⁶ and ^(AH)the sons of Zilpah, Leah’s female slave, were Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan-aram.

²⁷ Jacob came to his father Isaac at ^(AI)Mamre of ^(AJ)Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had resided.

²⁸ Now the days of Isaac were ^(AK)180 years. ²⁹ Then Isaac breathed his last and died, and was ^(AL)gathered to his people, an ^(AM)old man ^[u]of ripe age; and ^(AN)his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

Esau Moves

36 Now these are the records of the generations of ^(AO)Esau (that is, Edom).

² Esau ^(AP)took his wives from the daughters of Canaan: Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and ^(AQ)Oholibamah the daughter of Anah, the ^[v](AR)granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite; ³ also Basemath, Ishmael’s daughter, the sister of Nebaioth. ⁴ Adah bore ^(AS)Eliphaz to Esau, and Basemath gave birth to Reuel, ⁵ and Oholibamah gave birth to Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These are the sons of Esau who were born to him in the land of Canaan.

^6 (AT)Then Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all ^[w]his household, and his livestock and all his cattle, and all his property which he had acquired in the land of Canaan, and went to another land away from his brother Jacob. ^7 (AU)For their possessions had become too great for them to live together, and the ^(AV)land where they ^(AW)resided could not support them because of their livestock. ⁸ So Esau lived in the hill country of ^(AX)Seir; Esau is ^(AY)Edom.

Descendants of Esau

⁹ These then are the records of the generations of Esau the father of ^[x]the Edomites in the hill country of Seir. ¹⁰ These are the names of Esau’s sons: Eliphaz the son of Esau’s wife Adah, and Reuel the son of Esau’s wife Basemath. ¹¹ The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, ^[y]Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz. ¹² Timna was a concubine of Esau’s son Eliphaz, and she bore ^(AZ)Amalek to Eliphaz. These are the sons of Esau’s wife Adah. ¹³ And these are the sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These were the sons of Esau’s wife Basemath. ¹⁴ And these were the sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah, the ^[z]granddaughter of Zibeon: ^[aa]she bore to Esau Jeush, Jalam, and Korah.

¹⁵ These are the chiefs of the sons of Esau. The sons of Eliphaz, the firstborn of Esau, are chief Teman, chief Omar, chief Zepho, chief Kenaz, ¹⁶ chief Korah, chief Gatam, and chief Amalek. These are the chiefs ^[ab]descended from Eliphaz in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Adah. ¹⁷ And these are the sons of Reuel, Esau’s son: chief Nahath, chief Zerah, chief Shammah, and chief Mizzah. These are the chiefs ^[ac]descended from Reuel in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Esau’s wife Basemath. ¹⁸ And these are the sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah: chief Jeush, chief Jalam, and chief Korah. These are the chiefs ^[ad]descended from Esau’s wife Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah. ¹⁹ These are the sons of Esau (that is, Edom), and these are their chiefs.

²⁰ These are the sons of Seir ^(BA)the Horite, the inhabitants of the land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, ²¹ Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These are the chiefs ^[ae]descended from the Horites, the sons of Seir in the land of Edom. ²² And the sons of Lotan were Hori and ^[af]Hemam; and Lotan’s sister was Timna. ²³ And these are the sons of Shobal: ^[ag]Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, ^[ah]Shepho, and Onam. ²⁴ And these are the sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah—he is the Anah who found the hot springs in the wilderness when he was pasturing the donkeys of his father Zibeon. ²⁵ And these are the children of Anah: Dishon, and Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah. ²⁶ And these are the sons of ^[ai](BB)Dishon: ^[aj]Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran. ²⁷ These are the sons of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan, and ^[ak]Akan. ²⁸ These are the sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran. ²⁹ These are the chiefs ^[al]descended from the Horites: chief Lotan, chief Shobal, chief Zibeon, chief Anah, ³⁰ chief Dishon, chief Ezer, and chief Dishan. These are the chiefs ^[am]descended from the Horites, according to their various chiefs in the land of Seir.

³¹ Now these are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any ^(BC)king reigned over the sons of Israel. ^32 [an](BD)Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom, and the name of his city was Dinhabah. ³³ Then Bela died, and Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah became king in his place. ³⁴ Then Jobab died, and Husham of the land of the Temanites became king in his place. ³⁵ Then Husham died, and Hadad the son of Bedad, who ^[ao]defeated Midian in the field of Moab, became king in his place; and the name of his city was Avith. ³⁶ Then Hadad died, and Samlah of Masrekah became king in his place. ³⁷ Then Samlah died, and Shaul of Rehoboth on the Euphrates River became king in his place. ³⁸ Then Shaul died, and Baal-hanan the son of Achbor became king in his place. ³⁹ Then Baal-hanan the son of Achbor died, and ^[ap]Hadar became king in his place; and the name of his city was ^[aq]Pau; and his wife’s name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, daughter of Mezahab.

⁴⁰ Now these are the names of the chiefs ^[ar]descended from Esau, according to their families and their localities, by their names: chief Timna, chief ^[as]Alvah, chief Jetheth, ⁴¹ chief Oholibamah, chief Elah, chief Pinon, ⁴² chief Kenaz, chief Teman, chief Mibzar, ⁴³ chief Magdiel, and chief Iram. These are the chiefs of Edom (that is, Esau, the father of ^[at]the Edomites), according to their settlements in the land of their possession.

Joseph’s Dreams

37 Now Jacob lived in ^(BE)the land where his father had lived as a stranger, in the land of Canaan. ² These are the records of the generations of Jacob.

Joseph, when he was ^(BF)seventeen years of age, was pasturing the flock with his brothers, while he was still a youth, along with ^(BG)the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives. And Joseph brought back a ^(BH)bad report about them to their father. ³ Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his other sons, because he was ^(BI)the son of his old age; and he made him a ^[au](BJ)multicolored tunic. ⁴ And his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers; and so they ^(BK)hated him and could not speak to him ^[av]on friendly terms.

⁵ Then Joseph ^[aw](BL)had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more. ⁶ He said to them, “Please listen to this dream which I have ^[ax]had; ⁷ for behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf stood up and also remained standing; and behold, your sheaves gathered around and ^(BM)bowed down to my sheaf.” ⁸ Then his brothers said to him, “^(BN)Are you actually going to reign over us? Or are you really going to rule over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.

⁹ Then he ^[ay]had yet another dream, and informed his brothers of it, and said, “Behold, I have ^[az]had yet another dream; and behold, the sun and the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” ¹⁰ He also told it to his father as well as to his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have ^[ba]had? Am I and your mother and ^(BO)your brothers actually going to come to bow down to the ground before you?” ¹¹ And ^(BP)his brothers were jealous of him, but his father ^(BQ)kept the matter in mind.

¹² Then his brothers went to pasture their father’s flock in Shechem. ¹³ And Israel said to Joseph, “Are your brothers not pasturing the flock in ^(BR)Shechem? Come, and I will send you to them.” And he said to him, “^[bb]I will go.” ¹⁴ Then he said to him, “Go now and see about the welfare of your brothers and the welfare of the flock, and bring word back to me.” So he sent him from the Valley of ^(BS)Hebron, and he came to Shechem.

¹⁵ A man found him, and behold, he was wandering in the field; and the man asked him, “^[bc]What are you looking for?” ¹⁶ He said, “I am looking for my brothers; please tell me where they are pasturing the flock.” ¹⁷ Then the man said, “They have moved from here; for I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to ^(BT)Dothan.’” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.

The Plot against Joseph

^18 [bd]When they saw him from a distance, and before he came closer to them, they ^(BU)plotted against him to put him to death. ¹⁹ They said to one another, “^[be]Here comes this dreamer! ²⁰ Now then, come and let’s kill him, and throw him into one of the pits; and ^(BV)we will say, ‘A vicious animal devoured him.’ Then we will see what will become of his dreams!” ²¹ But ^(BW)Reuben heard this and rescued him out of their hands ^[bf]by saying, “Let’s not ^[bg]take his life.” ²² Then Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood. Throw him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him”—so that later he might rescue him out of their hands, to return him to his father. ²³ So it came about, when Joseph ^[bh]reached his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the ^[bi]multicolored tunic that was on him; ²⁴ and they took him and threw him into the pit. Now the pit was empty, without any water in it.

²⁵ Then they sat down to eat ^[bj]a meal. But as they raised their eyes and looked, behold, a caravan of ^(BX)Ishmaelites was coming from Gilead, with their camels carrying ^(BY)labdanum resin, ^(BZ)balsam, and ^[bk]myrrh, ^[bl]on their way to bring them down to Egypt. ²⁶ And Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it for us to kill our brother and ^(CA)cover up his blood? ^27 (CB)Come, and let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers listened to him. ²⁸ Then some ^(CC)Midianite traders passed by, so they pulled him out and lifted Joseph out of the pit, and ^(CD)sold ^[bm]him to the Ishmaelites for ^[bn]twenty shekels of silver. So ^(CE)they brought Joseph into Egypt.

²⁹ Now Reuben returned to the pit, and behold, Joseph was not in the pit; so he ^(CF)tore his garments. ³⁰ He returned to his brothers and said, “^(CG)The boy is not there; as for me, where am I to go?” ³¹ So ^(CH)they took Joseph’s tunic, and slaughtered a male goat, and dipped the tunic in the blood; ³² and they sent the ^[bo]multicolored tunic and brought it to their father and said, “We found this; please ^[bp]examine it to see whether it is your son’s tunic or not.” ³³ Then he ^[bq]examined it and said, “It is my son’s tunic. ^(CI)A vicious animal has devoured him; ^(CJ)Joseph has surely been torn to pieces!” ³⁴ So Jacob ^(CK)tore his clothes, and put on a sackcloth undergarment over his waist, and mourned for his son many days. ³⁵ Then all his sons and all his daughters got up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. And he said, “Surely I will ^(CL)go down to Sheol in mourning for my son.” So his father wept for him. ³⁶ Meanwhile, the ^[br]Midianites ^(CM)sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, Pharaoh’s officer, the captain of the bodyguard.