Genesis 35–36

RETURN TO BETHEL

35God said to Jacob, “Get up! Go to Bethel and settle there.^h Build an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.”ⁱ

²So Jacob said to his family and all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods that are among you.^j Purify yourselves and change your clothes.^{k 3}We must get up and go to Bethel. I will build an altar there to the God who answered me in my day of distress.^l He has been with me everywhere I have gone.”^m

⁴Then they gave Jacob all their foreign gods and their earrings, and Jacob hid them under the oak near Shechem. ⁵When they set out, a terror from God came over the cities around them, and they did not pursue Jacob’s sons.^{n 6}So Jacob and all who were with him came to Luz (that is, Bethel^o) in the land of Canaan. ⁷Jacob built an altar there and called the place El-bethel^A because it was there that God had revealed himself to him when he was fleeing from his brother.

⁸Deborah, the one who had nursed and raised Rebekah,^p died and was buried under the oak south of Bethel. So Jacob named it Allon-bacuth.^C

⁹God appeared to Jacob again after he returned from Paddan-aram, and he blessed him. ¹⁰God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; you will no longer be named Jacob, but your name will be Israel.”^q So he named him Israel. ¹¹God also said to him, “I am God Almighty.^r Be fruitful and multiply.^s A nation, indeed an assembly of nations, will come from you,^t and kings will descend from you.^{Du 12}I will give to you the land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac.^v And I will give the land to your future descendants.” ¹³Then God withdrew^Ew from him at the place where he had spoken to him.

¹⁴Jacob set up a marker at the place where he had spoken to him—a stone marker. He poured a drink offering on it and poured oil on it.^{x 15}Jacob named the place where God had spoken with him Bethel.

RACHEL’S DEATH

¹⁶They set out from Bethel. When they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth, and her labor was difficult. ¹⁷During her difficult labor, the midwife said to her, “Don’t be afraid, for you have another son.”^{y 18}With her last breath—for she was dying—she named him Ben-oni,^F but his father called him Benjamin.^{G 19}So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem^z). ²⁰Jacob set up a marker on her grave; it is the marker at Rachel’s grave still today.

ISRAEL’S SONS

²¹Israel set out again and pitched his tent beyond the Tower of Eder.^{A 22}While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went in and slept with his father’s concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard about it.^a

Jacob had twelve sons:^b

²³Leah’s sons were Reuben (Jacob’s firstborn),

Simeon, Levi, Judah,

Issachar, and Zebulun.

²⁴Rachel’s sons were

Joseph and Benjamin.

²⁵The sons of Rachel’s slave Bilhah

were Dan and Naphtali.

²⁶The sons of Leah’s slave Zilpah

were Gad and Asher.

These are the sons of Jacob, who were born to him in Paddan-aram.

ISAAC’S DEATH

²⁷Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre^c in Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron^d), where Abraham and Isaac had stayed. ²⁸Isaac lived 180 years. ²⁹He took his last breath and died, and was gathered to his people,^e old and full of days. His sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

ESAU’S FAMILY

36These are the family records^f of Esau (that is, Edom^g). ²Esau took his wives from the Canaanite women: Adah daughter of Elon the Hethite,^h Oholibamah daughter of Anah and granddaughter^B of Zibeon the Hivite, ³and Basemath daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth.^{i 4}Adah bore Eliphaz to Esau, Basemath bore Reuel, ⁵and Oholibamah bore Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These were Esau’s sons, who were born to him in the land of Canaan.

⁶Esau took his wives, sons, daughters, and all the people of his household, as well as his herds, all his livestock, and all the property he had acquired in Canaan; he went to a land away from his brother Jacob. ⁷For their possessions were too many for them to live together,^j and because of their herds, the land where they stayed could not support them.^{k 8}So Esau (that is, Edom) lived in the mountains of Seir.^l

⁹These are the family records of Esau, father of the Edomites in the mountains of Seir.

¹⁰These are the names of Esau’s sons:^m

Eliphaz son of Esau’s wife Adah,

and Reuel son of Esau’s wife Basemath.

¹¹The sons of Eliphaz were

Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz.

¹²Timna, a concubine of Esau’s son Eliphaz,

bore Amalek to Eliphaz.

These are the sons of Esau’s wife Adah.

¹³These are Reuel’s sons:

Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah.

These are the sons of Esau’s wife Basemath.

¹⁴These are the sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah

daughter of Anah and granddaughter^B of Zibeon:

She bore Jeush, Jalam, and Korah to Edom.

¹⁵These are the chiefs among Esau’s sons:

the sons of Eliphaz, Esau’s firstborn:

chief Teman, chief Omar, chief Zepho, chief Kenaz,

¹⁶chief Korah,^A chief Gatam, and chief Amalek.

These are the chiefs descended from Eliphaz

in the land of Edom.

These are the sons of Adah.

¹⁷These are the sons of Reuel, Esau’s son:

chief Nahath, chief Zerah, chief Shammah, and chief Mizzah.

These are the chiefs descended from Reuel

in the land of Edom.

These are the sons of Esau’s wife Basemath.

¹⁸These are the sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah:

chief Jeush, chief Jalam, and chief Korah.

These are the chiefs descended from Esau’s wife Oholibamah

daughter of Anah.

¹⁹These are the sons of Esau (that is, Edom),

and these are their chiefs.

SEIR’S FAMILY

²⁰These are the sons of Seir the Horite,^a

the inhabitants of the land:

Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah,

²¹Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan.

These are the chiefs among the Horites,

the sons of Seir, in the land of Edom.

²²The sons of Lotan were Hori and Heman.

Timna was Lotan’s sister.

²³These are Shobal’s sons:

Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam.

²⁴These are Zibeon’s sons: Aiah and Anah.

This was the Anah who found the hot springs^B in the wilderness

while he was pasturing the donkeys of his father Zibeon.

²⁵These are the children of Anah:

Dishon and Oholibamah daughter of Anah.

²⁶These are Dishon’s sons:

Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran.

²⁷These are Ezer’s sons:

Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan.

²⁸These are Dishan’s sons: Uz and Aran.

²⁹These are the chiefs among the Horites:

chief Lotan, chief Shobal, chief Zibeon, chief Anah,

³⁰chief Dishon, chief Ezer, and chief Dishan.

These are the chiefs among the Horites,

clan by clan,^C in the land of Seir.

RULERS OF EDOM

³¹These are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom^b

before any king reigned over the Israelites:

³²Bela son of Beor reigned in Edom;

the name of his city was Dinhabah.

³³When Bela died, Jobab son of Zerah from Bozrah reigned in his place.

³⁴When Jobab died, Husham from the land of the Temanites reigned in his place.

³⁵When Husham died, Hadad son of Bedad reigned in his place.

He defeated Midian in the field of Moab;

the name of his city was Avith.

³⁶When Hadad died, Samlah from Masrekah reigned in his place.

³⁷When Samlah died, Shaul from Rehoboth on the Euphrates River reigned in his place.

³⁸When Shaul died, Baal-hanan son of Achbor reigned in his place.

³⁹When Baal-hanan son of Achbor died, Hadar^A reigned in his place.

His city was Pau, and his wife’s name was Mehetabel

daughter of Matred daughter of Me-zahab.

⁴⁰These are the names of Esau’s chiefs,

according to their families and their localities,

by their names:

chief Timna, chief Alvah, chief Jetheth,

⁴¹chief Oholibamah, chief Elah, chief Pinon,

⁴²chief Kenaz, chief Teman, chief Mibzar,

⁴³chief Magdiel, and chief Iram.

These are Edom’s chiefs,

according to their settlements in the land they possessed.

Esau^B was father of the Edomites.