6 When the messengers came back to Jacob, they said, "We went to your brother Esau. He is coming to meet you with 400 men."

7 Jacob was terrified and distressed. So he divided the people, the sheep and goats, the cattle, and the camels into two camps. 8 He thought, "If Esau attacks the one camp, then the other camp will be able to escape."

9 Then Jacob prayed, "Elohim of my grandfather Abraham and Elohim of my father Isaac! Yahweh , you said to me, 'Go back to your land and to your relatives, and I will make you prosperous.' 10 I'm not worthy of all the love and faithfulness you have shown me. I only had a shepherd's staff when I crossed the Jordan River, but now I have two camps. 11 Please save me from my brother Esau, because I'm afraid of him. I'm afraid that he'll come and attack me and the mothers and children too. 12 But you did say, 'I will make sure that you are prosperous and that your descendants will be as many as the grains of sand on the seashore. No one will be able to count them because there are so many.'"

13 He stayed there that night. Then he prepared a gift for his brother Esau from what he had brought with him: 14 200 female goats and 20 male goats, 200 female sheep and 20 male sheep, 15 30 female camels with their young, 40 cows and 10 bulls, 20 female donkeys and 10 male donkeys.

16 He placed servants in charge of each herd. Then he said to his servants, "Go ahead of me, and keep a distance between the herds." 17 He commanded the first servant, "When my brother Esau meets you and asks you, 'To whom do you belong, and where are you going, and whose animals are these ahead of you?' 18 then say, 'Sir, they belong to your servant Jacob. This is a gift sent to you. Jacob is right behind us.'" 19 He also commanded the second servant, the third, and all the others who followed the herds. He said, "Say the same thing to Esau when you find him. 20 And be sure to add, 'Jacob is right behind us, sir.'" He thought, "I'll make peace with him by giving him this gift that I'm sending ahead of me. After that I will see him, and he'll welcome me back." 21 So Jacob sent the gift ahead of him while he stayed in the camp that night.

Jacob's Fourth Encounter with God-He Wrestles with God 22 During that night he got up and gathered his two wives, his two slaves and his eleven children and crossed at the shallow part of the Jabbok River. 23 After he sent them across the stream, he sent everything else across. 24 So Jacob was left alone. Then a man wrestled with him until dawn. 25 When the man saw that he could not win against Jacob, he touched the socket of Jacob's hip so that it was dislocated as they wrestled. 26 Then the man said, "Let me go; it's almost dawn."

But Jacob answered, "I won't let you go until you bless me."

27 So the man asked him, "What's your name?"

"Jacob," he answered.

28 The man said, "Your name will no longer be Jacob but Israel [He Struggles With God], because you have struggled with Elohim and with men-and you have won."

29 Jacob said, "Please tell me your name."

The man answered, "Why do you ask for my name?" Then he blessed Jacob there. 30 So Jacob named that place Peniel [Face of God], because he said, "I have seen Elohim face to face, but my life was saved." 31 The sun rose as he passed Penuel.a He was limping because of his hip. 32 (Therefore, even today the people of Israel do not eat the muscle of the thigh attached to the hip socket because Elohim touched the socket of Jacob's hip at the muscle of the thigh.) Jacob Meets Esau 33 1 Jacob saw Esau coming with 400 men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two slaves. 2 He put the slaves and their children in front, Leah and her children after them, and Rachel and Joseph last. 3 He went on ahead of them and bowed seven times with his face touching the ground as he came near his brother.

4 Then Esau ran to meet Jacob. Esau hugged him, threw his arms around him, and kissed him. They both cried. 5 When he saw the women and children, Esau asked, "Who are these people here with you?"

"The children Elohim has graciously given me, sir," Jacob answered.

6 Then the slaves and their children came forward and bowed down. 7 Likewise, Leah and her children came forward and bowed down. Finally, Joseph and Rachel came forward and bowed down.

8 Then Esau asked, "Why did you send this whole group of people and animals I met?"

He answered, "To win your favor, sir."

9 Esau said, "I have enough. Keep what you have, Brother."

10 Jacob said, "No, please take the gift I'm giving you, because I've seen your face as if I were seeing the face of Elohim, and yet you welcomed me so warmly. 11 Please take the present I've brought you, because Elohim has been gracious to me and has given me all that I need." So Esau took it because Jacob insisted.

12 Then Esau said, "Let's get ready to go, and I'll go with you."

13 Jacob said to him, "Sir, you know that the children are frail and that I have to take care of the flocks and cattle that are nursing their young. If they're driven too hard for even one day, all the flocks will die. 14 Go ahead of me, sir. I will slowly and gently guide the herds that are in front of me at their pace and at the children's pace until I come to you in Seir."

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

"Why do that?" Jacob asked. "I only want to win your favor, sir."

16 That day Esau started back to Seir. 17 But Jacob moved onto Succoth, where he built a house for himself and made shelters for his livestock. That is why the place is named Succoth [Shelters].

18 So having come from Paddan Aram, Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem in Canaan. He camped within sight of the city. 19 Then he bought the piece of land on which he had put up his tents. He bought it from the sons of Hamor, father of Shechem, for 100 pieces of silver. 20 He set up an altar there and named it El Is the Elohim of Israel.

Dinah Is Raped 34 1 Dinah, daughter of Leah and Jacob, went out to visit some of the Canaanite women. 2 When Shechem, son of the local ruler Hamor the Hivite, saw her, he took her and raped her. 3 He became very fond of Jacob's daughter Dinah. He loved the girl and spoke tenderly to her.

4 So Shechem said to his father Hamor, "Get me this girl for my wife."

5 Jacob heard that Shechem had dishonored his daughter Dinah. His sons were with his livestock out in the open country, so Jacob kept quiet until they came home.

6 So Shechem's father Hamor came to Jacob to speak with him. 7 Jacob's sons came in from the open country as soon as they heard the news. The men felt outraged and very angry because Shechem had committed such a godless act against Israel's family by raping Jacob's daughter. This shouldn't have happened.

8 Hamor told them. "My son Shechem has his heart set on your daughter. Please let her marry him. 9 Intermarry with us; give your daughters to us, and take ours for yourselves. 10 You can live with us, and the land will be yours. Live here, move about freely in this area, and acquire property here."

11 Then Shechem said to Dinah's father and her brothers, "Do me this favor. I'll give you whatever you ask. 12 Set the price I must pay for the bride and the gift I must give her as high as you want. I'll pay exactly what you tell me. Give me the girl as my wife."

13 Then Jacob's sons gave Shechem and his father Hamor a misleading answer because he had dishonored their sister Dinah. 14 They said, "We can't do this. We can't give our sister to a man who is uncircumcised. That would be a disgrace to us! 15 We will give our consent to you only on one condition: Every male must be circumcised as we are. 16 Then we'll give our daughters to you and take yours for ourselves, and we'll live with you and become one people. 17 If you won't agree to be circumcised, we'll take our daughter and go."

18 Their proposal seemed good to Hamor and his son Shechem. 19 The young man didn't waste any time in doing what they said because he took such pleasure in Jacob's daughter. He was the most honored person in all his father's family.

20 So Hamor and his son Shechem went to their city gate to speak to the men of their city. They said, 21 "These people are friendly toward us, so let them live in our land and move about freely in the area. Look, there's plenty of room in this land for them. We can marry their daughters and let them marry ours. 22 These people will consent to live with us and become one nation on one condition: Every male must be circumcised as they are. 23 Won't their livestock, their personal property, and all their animals be ours? We only need to agree to do this for them. Then they'll live with us."

24 All the men who had come out to the city gate agreed with Hamor and his son Shechem. So they were all circumcised at the city gate.

25 Two days later, while the men were still in pain, two of Jacob's sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, took their swords and boldly attacked the city. They killed every man 26 including Hamor and his son Shechem. They took Dinah from Shechem's home and left. 27 Then Jacob's sons stripped the corpses and looted the city where their sister had been dishonored. 28 They took the sheep and goats, cattle, donkeys, and whatever else was in the city or out in the fields. 29 They carried off all the wealth and all the women and children and looted everything in the houses.

30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, "You have caused me a lot of trouble! You've made the people living in the area, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, hate me. There are only a few of us. If they join forces against me and attack me, my family and I will be wiped out."

31 Simeon and Levi asked, "Should Shechem have been allowed to treat our sister like a prostitute?"

Jacob's Fifth Encounter with God 35 1 Then Elohim said to Jacob, "Go to Bethel and live there. Make an altar there. I am the El who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau."

2 So Jacob said to his family and those who were with him, "Get rid of the foreign gods which you have, wash yourselves until you are ritually clean,a and change your clothes. 3 Then let's go to Bethel. I will make an altar there to El, who answered me when I was troubled and who has been with me wherever I've gone." 4 So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods that they had in their possession as well as the earrings that they had on. Jacob buried these things under the oak tree near Shechem.

5 As they moved on, Elohim made the people of the cities that were all around them terrified so that no one pursued them. 6 Jacob and all the people who were with him came to Luz (that is, Bethel) in the land of Canaan. 7 He built an altar there and called that place El Bethel [God of the House of God]. That's where Elohim had revealed himself to Jacob when he was fleeing from his brother. 8 Rebekah's nurse Deborah died and was buried under the oak tree outside Bethel. So Jacob called it the Tree of Crying.

Jacob's Sixth Encounter with God-His Name Changed to Israel 9 Then Elohim appeared once more to Jacob after he came back from Paddan Aram, and he blessed him. 10 Elohim said to him, "Your name is Jacob. You will no longer be called Jacob, but your name will be Israel." So he named him Israel.

11 Elohim also said to him, "I am El Shadday . Be fertile, and increase in number. A nation and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will come from you. 12 I will give you the land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac. I will also give this land to your descendants." 13 Then Elohim went up from him at the place where he had spoken with him. 14 So Jacob set up a memorial, a stone marker, to mark the place where Elohim had spoken with him. He poured a wine offering and olive oil on it. 15 Jacob named the place where Elohim had spoken with him Bethel [House of God].

Jacob's [Israel's] Sons-1 Chronicles 2:1-2 16 Then they moved on from Bethel. When they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel went into labor and was having severe labor pains. 17 During one of her pains, the midwife said to her, "Don't be afraid! You're having another son!" 18 Rachel was dying. As she took her last breath, she named her son Benoni [Son of My Sorrow], but his father named him Benjamin [Son of My Right Hand].

19 Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). 20 Then Jacob set up a stone as a marker for her grave. The same marker is at Rachel's grave today.

21 Israel moved on again and put up his tent beyond Migdal Eder. 22 While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went to bed with his father's concubinea Bilhah, and Israel heard about it.

Jacob had 12 sons.

23 The sons of Leah were Jacob's firstborn Reuben, then Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.

24 The sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin.

25 The sons of Rachel's slave Bilhah were Dan and Naphtali.

26 The sons of Leah's slave Zilpah were Gad and Asher.

These were Jacob's sons, who were born in Paddan Aram.

27 Jacob came home to his father Isaac to Mamre's city, Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron). Abraham and Isaac had lived there for a while. 28 Isaac was 180 years old 29 when he took his last breath and died. He joined his ancestors in death at a very old age. His sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

The Origin of Edom-1 Chronicles 1:35-54 36 1 This is the account of Esau (that is, Edom) and his descendants. 2 Esau chose his wives from the women of Canaan: Adah, daughter of Elon the Hittite; Oholibamah, daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite; 3 also Basemath, daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth. 4 Adah gave birth to Eliphaz for Esau, and Basemath gave birth to Reuel. 5 Oholibamah gave birth to Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These were the sons of Esau who were born in Canaan.

6 Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, all the members of his household, his possessions, all his cattle, and everything he had accumulated in Canaan and went to another land away from his brother Jacob. 7 He did this because they had too many possessions to live together. There wasn't enough pastureland for all of their livestock. 8 So Esau, who was also known as Edom, lived in the mountains of Seir.

9 This is the account of Esau and his descendants. He was the father of the people of Edom in the mountains of Seir.

10 These were the names of Esau's sons: Eliphaz, son of Esau's wife Adah, and Reuel, son of Esau's wife Basemath.

11 The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz. 12 Timna was a concubinea of Esau's son Eliphaz. She gave birth to Amalek for Eliphaz. These were the grandsons of Esau's wife Adah.

13 These were Reuel's sons: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These were the grandsons of Esau's wife Basemath.

14 These were the sons of Esau's wife Oholibamah, daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon. She gave birth to Jeush, Jalam, and Korah for Esau.

15 These were the tribal leaders among Esau's descendants: The sons of Eliphaz, Esau's firstborn, were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, 16 Korah, Gatam, and Amalek. These were the tribal leaders descended from Eliphaz in Edom. They were the grandsons of Adah.

17 These were the tribal leaders among the descendants of Esau's son Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These were the tribal leaders descended from Reuel in Edom. They were the grandsons of Esau's wife Basemath.

18 These were the tribal leaders among the descendants of Esau's wife Oholibamah: Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These were the tribal leaders descended from Esau's wife Oholibamah, Anah's daughter.

19 These were the descendants of Esau (that is, Edom), who were tribal leaders.

20 These were the sons of Seir the Horite, the people living in that land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 21 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These Horite tribal leaders were the sons of Seir in Edom.

22 The sons of Lotan were Hori and Hemam. Lotan's sister was Timna.

23 These were the sons of Shobal: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam.

24 These were the sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah. (Anah found the hot springsb in the desert while he was taking care of the donkeys that belonged to his father Zibeon.) 25 These were the children of Anah: Dishon and Oholibamah, daughter of Anah.

26 These were the sons of Dishon: Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran.

27 These were the sons of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan.

28 These were the sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran.

29 These were the Horite tribal leaders: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 30 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These were the Horite tribal leaders in the land of Seir.

31 These were the kings who ruled Edom before any king ruled the people of Israel: 32 Bela, son of Beor, ruled Edom. The name of his capital city was Dinhabah.

33 After Bela died, Jobab, son of Zerah from Bozrah, succeeded him as king.

34 After Jobab died, Husham from the land of the Temanites succeeded him as king.

35 After Husham died, Hadad, son of Bedad succeeded him as king. Hadad defeated the Midianites in the country of Moab. The name of his capital city was Avith.

36 After Hadad died, Samlah from Masrekah succeeded him as king.

37 After Samlah died, Shaul from Rehoboth on the river succeeded him as king.

38 After Shaul died, Baal Hanan, son of Achbor, succeeded him as king.

39 After Baal Hanan, son of Achbor, died, Hadar succeeded him as king, and the name of his capital city was Pau. His wife's name was Mehetabel, daughter of Matred and granddaughter of Mezahab.

40 These were the names of the tribal leaders descended from Esau, by family, place, and name: Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, 41 Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, 42 Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, 43 Magdiel, and Iram.

These were the tribal leaders of Edom listed by the places where they lived and the property they owned.

Esau was the father of the people of Edom.

Joseph's Brothers Sell Him into Slavery 37 1 Jacob continued to live in the land of Canaan, where his father had lived. 2 This is the account of Jacob and his descendants.

Joseph was a seventeen-year-old young man. He took care of the flocks with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives. Joseph told his father about the bad things his brothers were doing.

3 Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons because Joseph had been born in Israel's old age. So he made Joseph a special robe with long sleeves. 4 Joseph's brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them. They hated Joseph and couldn't speak to him on friendly terms.

5 Joseph had a dream and when he told his brothers, they hated him even more. 6 He said to them, "Please listen to the dream I had. 7 We were tying grain into bundles out in the field, and suddenly mine stood up. It remained standing while your bundles gathered around my bundle and bowed down to it."

8 Then his brothers asked him, "Are you going to be our king or rule us?" They hated him even more for his dreams and his words.

9 Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. "Listen," he said, "I had another dream: I saw the sun, the moon, and 11 stars bowing down to me."

10 When he told his father and his brothers, his father criticized him by asking, "What's this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers come and bow down in front of you?" 11 So his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept thinking about these things.

12 His brothers had gone to take care of their father's flocks at Shechem. 13 Israel then said to Joseph, "Your brothers are taking care of the flocks at Shechem. I'm going to send you to them."

Joseph responded, "I'll go."

14 So Israel said, "See how your brothers and the flocks are doing, and bring some news back to me." Then he sent Joseph away from the Hebron Valley.

When Joseph came to Shechem, 15 a man found him wandering around in the open country. "What are you looking for?" the man asked.

16 Joseph replied, "I'm looking for my brothers. Please tell me where they're taking care of their flocks."

17 The man said, "They moved on from here. I heard them say, 'Let's go to Dothan.'" So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.

18 They saw him from a distance. Before he reached them, they plotted to kill him. 19 They said to each other, "Look, here comes that master dreamer! 20 Let's kill him, throw him into one of the cisterns, and say that a wild animal has eaten him. Then we'll see what happens to his dreams."

21 When Reuben heard this, he tried to save Joseph from their plot. "Let's not kill him," he said. 22 "Let's not have any bloodshed. Put him into that cistern that's out in the desert, but don't hurt him." Reuben wanted to rescue Joseph from them and bring him back to his father.

23 So when Joseph reached his brothers, they stripped him of his special robe with long sleeves. 24 Then they took him and put him into an empty cistern. It had no water in it.

25 As they sat down to eat, they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were carrying the materials for cosmetics, medicine, and embalming. They were on their way to take them to Egypt.