Genesis 1:1-50:26
View Full Chapter2Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 3And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
10God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good. 16God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth,
23And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day. 24And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so.
25God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
26Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,
Adam and Eve
4This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the LORD God made the earth and the heavens.
5Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth
23The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” 2The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,
3but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’ ” 4“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 6When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 8Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden.
11And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”
15And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring
16To the woman he said, “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”
17To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life.
21The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.
22And the LORD God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.”
24After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side
12When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.” 13Cain said to the LORD, “My punishment is more than I can bear.
14Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”
15But the LORD said to him, “Not so
24If Cain is avenged seven times, then Lamech seventy-seven times.”
25Adam made love to his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth,
2He created them male and female and blessed them. And he named them “Mankind”
14Altogether, Kenan lived a total of 910 years, and then he died. 15When Mahalalel had lived 65 years, he became the father of Jared. 2the sons of God saw that the daughters of humans were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. 7So the LORD said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.”
8But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD .
21You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them.”
1The LORD then said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation. 6Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters came on the earth. 8Pairs of clean and unclean animals, of birds and of all creatures that move along the ground, 9male and female, came to Noah and entered the ark, as God had commanded Noah. 11In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month—on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. 15Pairs of all creatures that have the breath of life in them came to Noah and entered the ark.
16The animals going in were male and female of every living thing, as God had commanded Noah. Then the LORD shut him in. 18The waters rose and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the water. 19They rose greatly on the earth, and all the high mountains under the entire heavens were covered. 21Every living thing that moved on land perished—birds, livestock, wild animals, all the creatures that swarm over the earth, and all mankind. 22Everything on dry land that had the breath of life in its nostrils died.
23Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out; people and animals and the creatures that move along the ground and the birds were wiped from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark.
1But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and he sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded. 8Then he sent out a dove to see if the water had receded from the surface of the ground. 16“Come out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and their wives.
17Bring out every kind of living creature that is with you—the birds, the animals, and all the creatures that move along the ground—so they can multiply on the earth and be fruitful and increase in number on it.” 9“I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you 14Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, 15I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life.
The Sons of Noah
18The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.)
22Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father naked and told his two brothers outside.
10The first centers of his kingdom were Babylon, Uruk, Akkad and Kalneh, in
13Egypt was the father of the Ludites, Anamites, Lehabites, Naphtuhites,
14Pathrusites, Kasluhites (from whom the Philistines came) and Caphtorites.
18Arvadites, Zemarites and Hamathites. Later the Canaanite clans scattered
22The sons of Shem: Elam, Ashur, Arphaxad, Lud and Aram.
25Two sons were born to Eber: One was named Peleg,
30The region where they lived stretched from Mesha toward Sephar, in the eastern hill country.
4Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.” 8So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city.
9That is why it was called Babel
11And after he became the father of Arphaxad, Shem lived 500 years and had other sons and daughters. 12When Arphaxad had lived 35 years, he became the father of Shelah.
17And after he became the father of Peleg, Eber lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters. 18When Peleg had lived 30 years, he became the father of Reu.
21And after he became the father of Serug, Reu lived 207 years and had other sons and daughters. 22When Serug had lived 30 years, he became the father of Nahor.
23And after he became the father of Nahor, Serug lived 200 years and had other sons and daughters.
Abram’s Family 27This is the account of Terah’s family line. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot.
The Call of Abram 1The LORD had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.
2“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.
3I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
8From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD . 12When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live. 17But the LORD inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram’s wife Sarai. 19Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!” 20Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and everything he had.
2Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold.
8So Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herders and mine, for we are close relatives.
12Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom.
15All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring
12They also carried off Abram’s nephew Lot and his possessions, since he was living in Sodom.
13A man who had escaped came and reported this to Abram the Hebrew. Now Abram was living near the great trees of Mamre the Amorite, a brother
19and he blessed Abram, saying, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth.
22But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “With raised hand I have sworn an oath to the LORD, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth,
2But Abram said, “Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit
7He also said to him, “I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it.”
8But Abram said, “Sovereign LORD, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?” 17When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. 19the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 21Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.”
2so she said to Abram, “The LORD has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.” Abram agreed to what Sarai said.
6“Your slave is in your hands,” Abram said. “Do with her whatever you think best.” Then Sarai mistreated Hagar; so she fled from her.
11The angel of the LORD also said to her: “You are now pregnant and you will give birth to a son. You shall name him Ishmael,
8The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.” 10This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 15God also said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. 21But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year.” 24Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised, 25and his son Ishmael was thirteen;
The Three Visitors 1The LORD appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. 11Abraham and Sarah were already very old, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. 13Then the LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’
Abraham Pleads for Sodom 16When the men got up to leave, they looked down toward Sodom, and Abraham walked along with them to see them on their way. 17Then the LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?
19For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, so that the LORD will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.” 23Then Abraham approached him and said: “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?
25Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?”
32Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?” He answered, “For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it.” 33When the LORD had finished speaking with Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home.
2“My lords,” he said, “please turn aside to your servant’s house. You can wash your feet and spend the night and then go on your way early in the morning.” “No,” they answered, “we will spend the night in the square.” 4Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom—both young and old—surrounded the house.
8Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them. But don’t do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof.”
9“Get out of our way,” they replied. “This fellow came here as a foreigner, and now he wants to play the judge! We’ll treat you worse than them.” They kept bringing pressure on Lot and moved forward to break down the door. 12The two men said to Lot, “Do you have anyone else here—sons-in-law, sons or daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you? Get them out of here,
13because we are going to destroy this place. The outcry to the LORD against its people is so great that he has sent us to destroy it.”
14So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were pledged to marry
15With the coming of dawn, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away when the city is punished.”
17As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, “Flee for your lives! Don’t look back, and don’t stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!”
18But Lot said to them, “No, my lords,
28He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, toward all the land of the plain, and he saw dense smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a furnace.
29So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Abraham, and he brought Lot out of the catastrophe that overthrew the cities where Lot had lived.
32Let’s get our father to drink wine and then sleep with him and preserve our family line through our father.” 34The next day the older daughter said to the younger, “Last night I slept with my father. Let’s get him to drink wine again tonight, and you go in and sleep with him so we can preserve our family line through our father.” 4Now Abimelek had not gone near her, so he said, “Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation?
5Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister,’ and didn’t she also say, ‘He is my brother’? I have done this with a clear conscience and clean hands.” 9Then Abimelek called Abraham in and said, “What have you done to us? How have I wronged you that you have brought such great guilt upon me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should never be done.”
10And Abimelek asked Abraham, “What was your reason for doing this?”
13And when God had me wander from my father’s household, I said to her, ‘This is how you can show your love to me: Everywhere we go, say of me, “He is my brother.” ’ ”
3Abraham gave the name Isaac
26But Abimelek said, “I don’t know who has done this. You did not tell me, and I heard about it only today.”
31So that place was called Beersheba,
5He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.”
7Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?” “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. “The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”
15The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time
3Then Abraham rose from beside his dead wife and spoke to the Hittites.
9so he will sell me the cave of Machpelah, which belongs to him and is at the end of his field. Ask him to sell it to me for the full price as a burial site among you.” 12Again Abraham bowed down before the people of the land
13and he said to Ephron in their hearing, “Listen to me, if you will. I will pay the price of the field. Accept it from me so I can bury my dead there.”
16Abraham agreed to Ephron’s terms and weighed out for him the price he had named in the hearing of the Hittites: four hundred shekels of silver, according to the weight current among the merchants.
Isaac and Rebekah 1Abraham was now very old, and the LORD had blessed him in every way. 2He said to the senior servant in his household, the one in charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh.
5The servant asked him, “What if the woman is unwilling to come back with me to this land? Shall I then take your son back to the country you came from?”
7“The LORD, the God of heaven, who brought me out of my father’s household and my native land and who spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, ‘To your offspring
23Then he asked, “Whose daughter are you? Please tell me, is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?” 24She answered him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son that Milkah bore to Nahor.” 26Then the man bowed down and worshiped the LORD, 29Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban, and he hurried out to the man at the spring. 30As soon as he had seen the nose ring, and the bracelets on his sister’s arms, and had heard Rebekah tell what the man said to her, he went out to the man and found him standing by the camels near the spring.
31“Come, you who are blessed by the LORD,” he said. “Why are you standing out here? I have prepared the house and a place for the camels.” 32So the man went to the house, and the camels were unloaded. Straw and fodder were brought for the camels, and water for him and his men to wash their feet.
33Then food was set before him, but he said, “I will not eat until I have told you what I have to say.” “Then tell us,” Laban said. 35The LORD has blessed my master abundantly, and he has become wealthy. He has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys. 37And my master made me swear an oath, and said, ‘You must not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I live, 40“He replied, ‘The LORD, before whom I have walked faithfully, will send his angel with you and make your journey a success, so that you can get a wife for my son from my own clan and from my father’s family.
41You will be released from my oath if, when you go to my clan, they refuse to give her to you—then you will be released from my oath.’ 42“When I came to the spring today, I said, ‘ LORD, God of my master Abraham, if you will, please grant success to the journey on which I have come.
44and if she says to me, “Drink, and I’ll draw water for your camels too,” let her be the one the LORD has chosen for my master’s son.’
46“She quickly lowered her jar from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I’ll water your camels too.’ So I drank, and she watered the camels also.
49Now if you will show kindness and faithfulness to my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, so I may know which way to turn.” 59So they sent their sister Rebekah on her way, along with her nurse and Abraham’s servant and his men.
61Then Rebekah and her attendants got ready and mounted the camels and went back with the man. So the servant took Rebekah and left.
62Now Isaac had come from Beer Lahai Roi, for he was living in the Negev.
63He went out to the field one evening to meditate,
65and asked the servant, “Who is that man in the field coming to meet us?” “He is my master,” the servant answered. So she took her veil and covered herself. 66Then the servant told Isaac all he had done. 67Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah, and he married Rebekah. So she became his wife, and he loved her; and Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.
The Death of Abraham
1Abraham had taken another wife, whose name was Keturah.
7Abraham lived a hundred and seventy-five years.
10the field Abraham had bought from the Hittites.
Jacob and Esau 19This is the account of the family line of Abraham’s son Isaac. Abraham became the father of Isaac,
23The LORD said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.” 27The boys grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open country, while Jacob was content to stay at home among the tents.
30He said to Jacob, “Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I’m famished!” (That is why he was also called Edom.
Isaac and Abimelek 1Now there was a famine in the land—besides the previous famine in Abraham’s time—and Isaac went to Abimelek king of the Philistines in Gerar. 2The LORD appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live. 3Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham. 5because Abraham obeyed me and did everything I required of him, keeping my commands, my decrees and my instructions.”
6So Isaac stayed in Gerar.
15So all the wells that his father’s servants had dug in the time of his father Abraham, the Philistines stopped up, filling them with earth. 17So Isaac moved away from there and encamped in the Valley of Gerar, where he settled.
22He moved on from there and dug another well, and no one quarreled over it. He named it Rehoboth,
24That night the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.”
27Isaac asked them, “Why have you come to me, since you were hostile to me and sent me away?”
Jacob Takes Esau’s Blessing 34When Esau was forty years old, he married Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and also Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite. 35They were a source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah.
1When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could no longer see, he called for Esau his older son and said to him, “My son.” “Here I am,” he answered.
4Prepare me the kind of tasty food I like and bring it to me to eat, so that I may give you my blessing before I die.” 7‘Bring me some game and prepare me some tasty food to eat, so that I may give you my blessing in the presence of the LORD before I die.’ 11Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “But my brother Esau is a hairy man while I have smooth skin. 16She also covered his hands and the smooth part of his neck with the goatskins.
17Then she handed to her son Jacob the tasty food and the bread she had made.
19Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may give me your blessing.”
24“Are you really my son Esau?” he asked. “I am,” he replied.
28May God give you heaven’s dew and earth’s richness— an abundance of grain and new wine.
32His father Isaac asked him, “Who are you?” “I am your son,” he answered, “your firstborn, Esau.”
45When your brother is no longer angry with you and forgets what you did to him, I’ll send word for you to come back from there. Why should I lose both of you in one day?”
3May God Almighty
9so he went to Ishmael and married Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Ishmael son of Abraham, in addition to the wives he already had.
12He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.
14Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.
Jacob Arrives in Paddan Aram 1Then Jacob continued on his journey and came to the land of the eastern peoples. 2There he saw a well in the open country, with three flocks of sheep lying near it because the flocks were watered from that well. The stone over the mouth of the well was large.
4Jacob asked the shepherds, “My brothers, where are you from?” “We’re from Harran,” they replied.
7“Look,” he said, “the sun is still high; it is not time for the flocks to be gathered. Water the sheep and take them back to pasture.”
8“We can’t,” they replied, “until all the flocks are gathered and the stone has been rolled away from the mouth of the well. Then we will water the sheep.” 10When Jacob saw Rachel daughter of his uncle Laban, and Laban’s sheep, he went over and rolled the stone away from the mouth of the well and watered his uncle’s sheep. 11Then Jacob kissed Rachel and began to weep aloud.
12He had told Rachel that he was a relative of her father and a son of Rebekah. So she ran and told her father.
14Then Laban said to him, “You are my own flesh and blood.”
15Laban said to him, “Just because you are a relative of mine, should you work for me for nothing? Tell me what your wages should be.” 16Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel.
20So Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her. 22So Laban brought together all the people of the place and gave a feast. 23But when evening came, he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob, and Jacob made love to her. 29Laban gave his servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her attendant.
30Jacob made love to Rachel also, and his love for Rachel was greater than his love for Leah. And he worked for Laban another seven years.
32Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben,
1When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she became jealous of her sister. So she said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I’ll die!”
2Jacob became angry with her and said, “Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?” 5and she became pregnant and bore him a son. 10Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son. 12Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son.
13Then Leah said, “How happy I am! The women will call me happy.” So she named him Asher.
16So when Jacob came in from the fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him. “You must sleep with me,” she said. “I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So he slept with her that night.
18Then Leah said, “God has rewarded me for giving my servant to my husband.” So she named him Issachar.
21Some time later she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.
24She named him Joseph,
Jacob’s Flocks Increase 25After Rachel gave birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me on my way so I can go back to my own homeland.
26Give me my wives and children, for whom I have served you, and I will be on my way. You know how much work I’ve done for you.”
30The little you had before I came has increased greatly, and the LORD has blessed you wherever I have been. But now, when may I do something for my own household?”
33And my honesty will testify for me in the future, whenever you check on the wages you have paid me. Any goat in my possession that is not speckled or spotted, or any lamb that is not dark-colored, will be considered stolen.” 35That same day he removed all the male goats that were streaked or spotted, and all the speckled or spotted female goats (all that had white on them) and all the dark-colored lambs, and he placed them in the care of his sons.
36Then he put a three-day journey between himself and Jacob, while Jacob continued to tend the rest of Laban’s flocks. 39they mated in front of the branches. And they bore young that were streaked or speckled or spotted.
2And Jacob noticed that Laban’s attitude toward him was not what it had been. 6You know that I’ve worked for your father with all my strength, 10“In breeding season I once had a dream in which I looked up and saw that the male goats mating with the flock were streaked, speckled or spotted. 11The angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob.’ I answered, ‘Here I am.’ 15Does he not regard us as foreigners? Not only has he sold us, but he has used up what was paid for us.
16Surely all the wealth that God took away from our father belongs to us and our children. So do whatever God has told you.”
21So he fled with all he had, crossed the Euphrates River, and headed for the hill country of Gilead. 23Taking his relatives with him, he pursued Jacob for seven days and caught up with him in the hill country of Gilead. 26Then Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done? You’ve deceived me, and you’ve carried off my daughters like captives in war. 31Jacob answered Laban, “I was afraid, because I thought you would take your daughters away from me by force. 36Jacob was angry and took Laban to task. “What is my crime?” he asked Laban. “How have I wronged you that you hunt me down? 39I did not bring you animals torn by wild beasts; I bore the loss myself. And you demanded payment from me for whatever was stolen by day or night. 41It was like this for the twenty years I was in your household. I worked for you fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flocks, and you changed my wages ten times.
42If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been with me, you would surely have sent me away empty-handed. But God has seen my hardship and the toil of my hands, and last night he rebuked you.”
45So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar.
46He said to his relatives, “Gather some stones.” So they took stones and piled them in a heap, and they ate there by the heap.
49It was also called Mizpah,
Jacob Prepares to Meet Esau
1
12But you have said, ‘I will surely make you prosper and will make your descendants like the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted.’ ” 14two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, 15thirty female camels with their young, forty cows and ten bulls, and twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys.
21So Jacob’s gifts went on ahead of him, but he himself spent the night in the camp. 25When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man.
28Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel,
29Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.” But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there.
31The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel,
Jacob Meets Esau 1Jacob looked up and there was Esau, coming with his four hundred men; so he divided the children among Leah, Rachel and the two female servants. 4But Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept.
8Esau asked, “What’s the meaning of all these flocks and herds I met?” “To find favor in your eyes, my lord,” he said.
11Please accept the present that was brought to you, for God has been gracious to me and I have all I need.” And because Jacob insisted, Esau accepted it. 13But Jacob said to him, “My lord knows that the children are tender and that I must care for the ewes and cows that are nursing their young. If they are driven hard just one day, all the animals will die.
14So let my lord go on ahead of his servant, while I move along slowly at the pace of the flocks and herds before me and the pace of the children, until I come to my lord in Seir.” 16So that day Esau started on his way back to Seir.
17Jacob, however, went to Sukkoth, where he built a place for himself and made shelters for his livestock. That is why the place is called Sukkoth.
4And Shechem said to his father Hamor, “Get me this girl as my wife.” 6Then Shechem’s father Hamor went out to talk with Jacob. 9Intermarry with us; give us your daughters and take our daughters for yourselves.
10You can settle among us; the land is open to you. Live in it, trade
30Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me by making me obnoxious to the Canaanites and Perizzites, the people living in this land. We are few in number, and if they join forces against me and attack me, I and my household will be destroyed.” 31But they replied, “Should he have treated our sister like a prostitute?” 4So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods they had and the rings in their ears, and Jacob buried them under the oak at Shechem.
5Then they set out, and the terror of God fell on the towns all around them so that no one pursued them. 6Jacob and all the people with him came to Luz (that is, Bethel) in the land of Canaan.
7There he built an altar, and he called the place El Bethel,
8Now Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died and was buried under the oak outside Bethel. So it was named Allon Bakuth.
13Then God went up from him at the place where he had talked with him.
15Jacob called the place where God had talked with him Bethel.
18As she breathed her last—for she was dying—she named her son Ben-Oni.
22While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went in and slept with his father’s concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard of it. Jacob had twelve sons:
24The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin. 27Jacob came home to his father Isaac in Mamre, near Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had stayed.
Esau’s Descendants 1This is the account of the family line of Esau (that is, Edom).
8So Esau (that is, Edom) settled in the hill country of Seir.
11The sons of Eliphaz: Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam and Kenaz.
12Esau’s son Eliphaz also had a concubine named Timna, who bore him Amalek. These were grandsons of Esau’s wife Adah.
16Korah,
19These were the sons of Esau (that is, Edom), and these were their chiefs.
23The sons of Shobal: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho and Onam.
27The sons of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan and Akan.
28The sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran.
30Dishon, Ezer and Dishan. These were the Horite chiefs, according to their divisions, in the land of Seir.
The Rulers of Edom 31These were the kings who reigned in Edom before any Israelite king reigned:
33When Bela died, Jobab son of Zerah from Bozrah succeeded him as king.
34When Jobab died, Husham from the land of the Temanites succeeded him as king.
38When Shaul died, Baal-Hanan son of Akbor succeeded him as king.
39When Baal-Hanan son of Akbor died, Hadad
2This is the account of Jacob’s family line. Joseph, a young man of seventeen, was tending the flocks with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives, and he brought their father a bad report about them.
Joseph Sold by His Brothers 12Now his brothers had gone to graze their father’s flocks near Shechem,
13and Israel said to Joseph, “As you know, your brothers are grazing the flocks near Shechem. Come, I am going to send you to them.” “Very well,” he replied.
14So he said to him, “Go and see if all is well with your brothers and with the flocks, and bring word back to me.” Then he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron. When Joseph arrived at Shechem,
25As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were loaded with spices, balm and myrrh, and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt.
27Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood.” His brothers agreed. 31Then they got Joseph’s robe, slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood.
32They took the ornate robe back to their father and said, “We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son’s robe.”
34Then Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and mourned for his son many days.
36Meanwhile, the Midianites
5She gave birth to still another son and named him Shelah. It was at Kezib that she gave birth to him. 6Judah got a wife for Er, his firstborn, and her name was Tamar.
10What he did was wicked in the LORD ’s sight; so the LORD put him to death also. 15When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face.
17“I’ll send you a young goat from my flock,” he said. “Will you give me something as a pledge until you send it?” she asked.
21He asked the men who lived there, “Where is the shrine prostitute who was beside the road at Enaim?” “There hasn’t been any shrine prostitute here,” they said.
26Judah recognized them and said, “She is more righteous than I, since I wouldn’t give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not sleep with her again.
27When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb.
29But when he drew back his hand, his brother came out, and she said, “So this is how you have broken out!” And he was named Perez.
7and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me!” 8But he refused. “With me in charge,” he told her, “my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. 13When she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand and had run out of the house,
15When he heard me scream for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.” 21the LORD was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. 22So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. 3and put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the same prison where Joseph was confined.
4The captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, and he attended them. After they had been in custody for some time, 13Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your position, and you will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand, just as you used to do when you were his cupbearer.
15I was forcibly carried off from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing to deserve being put in a dungeon.”
16When the chief baker saw that Joseph had given a favorable interpretation, he said to Joseph, “I too had a dream: On my head were three baskets of bread.
Pharaoh’s Dreams 1When two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream: He was standing by the Nile,
7The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven healthy, full heads. Then Pharaoh woke up; it had been a dream.
14So Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was quickly brought from the dungeon. When he had shaved and changed his clothes, he came before Pharaoh. 17Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “In my dream I was standing on the bank of the Nile, 19After them, seven other cows came up—scrawny and very ugly and lean. I had never seen such ugly cows in all the land of Egypt. 20The lean, ugly cows ate up the seven fat cows that came up first.
21But even after they ate them, no one could tell that they had done so; they looked just as ugly as before. Then I woke up.
24The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven good heads. I told this to the magicians, but none of them could explain it to me.” 31The abundance in the land will not be remembered, because the famine that follows it will be so severe. 34Let Pharaoh appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. 35They should collect all the food of these good years that are coming and store up the grain under the authority of Pharaoh, to be kept in the cities for food.
36This food should be held in reserve for the country, to be used during the seven years of famine that will come upon Egypt, so that the country may not be ruined by the famine.”
40You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you.” 42Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his finger and put it on Joseph’s finger. He dressed him in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck.
43He had him ride in a chariot as his second-in-command,
45Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-Paneah and gave him Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On,
49Joseph stored up huge quantities of grain, like the sand of the sea; it was so much that he stopped keeping records because it was beyond measure. 50Before the years of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph by Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On.
52The second son he named Ephraim
Joseph’s Brothers Go to Egypt 1When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why do you just keep looking at each other?”
5So Israel’s sons were among those who went to buy grain, for there was famine in the land of Canaan also.
13But they replied, “Your servants were twelve brothers, the sons of one man, who lives in the land of Canaan. The youngest is now with our father, and one is no more.” 14Joseph said to them, “It is just as I told you: You are spies!
17And he put them all in custody for three days. 18On the third day, Joseph said to them, “Do this and you will live, for I fear God:
21They said to one another, “Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we would not listen; that’s why this distress has come on us.”
23They did not realize that Joseph could understand them, since he was using an interpreter.
24He turned away from them and began to weep, but then came back and spoke to them again. He had Simeon taken from them and bound before their eyes.
26they loaded their grain on their donkeys and left. 29When they came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan, they told him all that had happened to them. They said, 30“The man who is lord over the land spoke harshly to us and treated us as though we were spying on the land. 38But Jacob said, “My son will not go down there with you; his brother is dead and he is the only one left. If harm comes to him on the journey you are taking, you will bring my gray head down to the grave in sorrow.”
2So when they had eaten all the grain they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, “Go back and buy us a little more food.”
7They replied, “The man questioned us closely about ourselves and our family. ‘Is your father still living?’ he asked us. ‘Do you have another brother?’ We simply answered his questions. How were we to know he would say, ‘Bring your brother down here’?” 15So the men took the gifts and double the amount of silver, and Benjamin also. They hurried down to Egypt and presented themselves to Joseph. 21But at the place where we stopped for the night we opened our sacks and each of us found his silver—the exact weight—in the mouth of his sack. So we have brought it back with us.
23“It’s all right,” he said. “Don’t be afraid. Your God, the God of your father, has given you treasure in your sacks; I received your silver.” Then he brought Simeon out to them.
27He asked them how they were, and then he said, “How is your aged father you told me about? Is he still living?” 29As he looked about and saw his brother Benjamin, his own mother’s son, he asked, “Is this your youngest brother, the one you told me about?” And he said, “God be gracious to you, my son.”
30Deeply moved at the sight of his brother, Joseph hurried out and looked for a place to weep. He went into his private room and wept there.
31After he had washed his face, he came out and, controlling himself, said, “Serve the food.” 34When portions were served to them from Joseph’s table, Benjamin’s portion was five times as much as anyone else’s. So they feasted and drank freely with him. 3As morning dawned, the men were sent on their way with their donkeys.
9If any of your servants is found to have it, he will die; and the rest of us will become my lord’s slaves.”
13At this, they tore their clothes. Then they all loaded their donkeys and returned to the city. 14Joseph was still in the house when Judah and his brothers came in, and they threw themselves to the ground before him. 19My lord asked his servants, ‘Do you have a father or a brother?’
20And we answered, ‘We have an aged father, and there is a young son born to him in his old age. His brother is dead, and he is the only one of his mother’s sons left, and his father loves him.’ 21“Then you said to your servants, ‘Bring him down to me so I can see him for myself.’ 28One of them went away from me, and I said, “He has surely been torn to pieces.” And I have not seen him since.
32Your servant guaranteed the boy’s safety to my father. I said, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, I will bear the blame before you, my father, all my life!’ 33“Now then, please let your servant remain here as my lord’s slave in place of the boy, and let the boy return with his brothers.
Joseph Makes Himself Known 1Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all his attendants, and he cried out, “Have everyone leave my presence!” So there was no one with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers. 4Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt!
7But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
20Never mind about your belongings, because the best of all Egypt will be yours.’ ” 21So the sons of Israel did this. Joseph gave them carts, as Pharaoh had commanded, and he also gave them provisions for their journey.
24Then he sent his brothers away, and as they were leaving he said to them, “Don’t quarrel on the way!” 25So they went up out of Egypt and came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan. 26They told him, “Joseph is still alive! In fact, he is ruler of all Egypt.” Jacob was stunned; he did not believe them.
2And God spoke to Israel in a vision at night and said, “Jacob! Jacob!” “Here I am,” he replied. 6So Jacob and all his offspring went to Egypt, taking with them their livestock and the possessions they had acquired in Canaan.
7Jacob brought with him to Egypt his sons and grandsons and his daughters and granddaughters—all his offspring.
9The sons of Reuben: Hanok, Pallu, Hezron and Karmi.
15These were the sons Leah bore to Jacob in Paddan Aram,
16The sons of Gad: Zephon,
18These were the children born to Jacob by Zilpah, whom Laban had given to his daughter Leah—sixteen in all.
24The sons of Naphtali: Jahziel, Guni, Jezer and Shillem. 26All those who went to Egypt with Jacob—those who were his direct descendants, not counting his sons’ wives—numbered sixty-six persons.
6and the land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and your brothers in the best part of the land. Let them live in Goshen. And if you know of any among them with special ability, put them in charge of my own livestock.”
10Then Jacob blessed
12Joseph also provided his father and his brothers and all his father’s household with food, according to the number of their children. 16“Then bring your livestock,” said Joseph. “I will sell you food in exchange for your livestock, since your money is gone.” 23Joseph said to the people, “Now that I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh, here is seed for you so you can plant the ground.
24But when the crop comes in, give a fifth of it to Pharaoh. The other four-fifths you may keep as seed for the fields and as food for yourselves and your households and your children.”
25“You have saved our lives,” they said. “May we find favor in the eyes of our lord; we will be in bondage to Pharaoh.”
26So Joseph established it as a law concerning land in Egypt—still in force today—that a fifth of the produce belongs to Pharaoh. It was only the land of the priests that did not become Pharaoh’s.
27Now the Israelites settled in Egypt in the region of Goshen. They acquired property there and were fruitful and increased greatly in number.
30but when I rest with my fathers, carry me out of Egypt and bury me where they are buried.” “I will do as you say,” he said. 5“Now then, your two sons born to you in Egypt before I came to you here will be reckoned as mine; Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine, just as Reuben and Simeon are mine. 6Any children born to you after them will be yours; in the territory they inherit they will be reckoned under the names of their brothers.
7As I was returning from Paddan,
8When Israel saw the sons of Joseph, he asked, “Who are these?”
9“They are the sons God has given me here,” Joseph said to his father. Then Israel said, “Bring them to me so I may bless them.” 13And Joseph took both of them, Ephraim on his right toward Israel’s left hand and Manasseh on his left toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them close to him.
20He blessed them that day and said, “In your
Jacob Blesses His Sons 1Then Jacob called for his sons and said: “Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come.
2“Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob; listen to your father Israel.
9You are a lion’s cub, Judah; you return from the prey, my son. Like a lion he crouches and lies down, like a lioness—who dares to rouse him?
13“Zebulun will live by the seashore and become a haven for ships; his border will extend toward Sidon.
15When he sees how good is his resting place and how pleasant is his land, he will bend his shoulder to the burden and submit to forced labor.
17Dan will be a snake by the roadside, a viper along the path, that bites the horse’s heels so that its rider tumbles backward.
22“Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine near a spring, whose branches climb over a wall.
24But his bow remained steady, his strong arms stayed
25because of your father’s God, who helps you, because of the Almighty,
26Your father’s blessings are greater than the blessings of the ancient mountains, than
27“Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he devours the prey, in the evening he divides the plunder.”
The Death of Jacob 29Then he gave them these instructions: “I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite, 31There Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried, and there I buried Leah. 33When Jacob had finished giving instructions to his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed, breathed his last and was gathered to his people. 2Then Joseph directed the physicians in his service to embalm his father Israel. So the physicians embalmed him,
3taking a full forty days, for that was the time required for embalming. And the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days.
11When the Canaanites who lived there saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “The Egyptians are holding a solemn ceremony of mourning.” That is why that place near the Jordan is called Abel Mizraim.
18His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. “We are your slaves,” they said. 20You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.
21So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.
23and saw the third generation of Ephraim’s children. Also the children of Makir son of Manasseh were placed at birth on Joseph’s knees.
25And Joseph made the Israelites swear an oath and said, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up from this place.” 26So Joseph died at the age of a hundred and ten. And after they embalmed him, he was placed in a coffin in Egypt.