Jacob Moves to Bethel

1Then God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel and live there, and make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled [a]from your brother Esau.” 2So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Remove the foreign gods which are among you, and purify yourselves and change your garments; 3and let’s arise and go up to Bethel, and I will make an altar there to God, who answered me on the day of my distress and has been with me [b]wherever I have gone.” 4So 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.

5As they journeyed, there was [e]a great terror upon the cities which were around them, and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob. 6So Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him. 7Then 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. 8Now 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

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

“Your name is Jacob;

[i]You shall no longer be called Jacob,

But Israel shall be your name.”

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

“I am [k]God Almighty;

Be fruitful and multiply;

A nation and a multitude of nations shall [l]come from you,

And kings shall [m]come from [n]you.

12“And the land which I gave to Abraham and Isaac,

I will give to you,

And I will give the land to your [o]descendants after you.” 13Then God went up from him at the place where He had spoken with him. 14So Jacob set up 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. 15And Jacob named the place where God had spoken with him, [p]Bethel.

16Then they journeyed on from Bethel; but when there was still some distance to go to Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth and she suffered severe difficulties in her labor. 17And when she was suffering severe difficulties in her labor, the midwife said to her, “Do not fear, for you have another son!” 18And 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. 19So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). 20And Jacob set up a memorial stone over her grave; that is the memorial stone of Rachel’s grave to this day. 21Then Israel journeyed on and pitched his tent beyond the [s]tower of [t]Eder.

The Sons of Israel

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

Now there were twelve sons of Jacob— 23the sons of Leah were Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, then Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun; 24the sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin; 25and the sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s female slave, were Dan and Naphtali; 26and 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.

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

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

[a] 1 Lit from the face of
[b] 3 Lit in the way which
[c] 4 Lit were in their hand
[d] 4 Or terebinth
[e] 5 Or a terror of God
[f] 7 I.e., the God of Bethel
[g] 7 Lit from the face of
[h] 8 I.e., oak of weeping
[i] 10 Lit Your name
[j] 10 Lit his name
[k] 11 Heb El Shaddai
[l] 11 Or come into being
[m] 11 Or come into being
[n] 11 Lit your loins
[o] 12 Lit seed
[p] 15 I.e., house of God
[q] 18 I.e., the son of my sorrow
[r] 18 I.e., the son of the right hand
[s] 21 Heb Migdal-eder
[t] 21 Or flock
[u] 29 Lit and satisfied with days