Genesis 35-36

God Blesses and Renames Jacob

35 God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there. Make an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.” ² So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Put away the foreign gods that are among you and purify yourselves and change your garments. ³ Then let us arise and go up to Bethel, so that I may make there an altar to the God who answers me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone.” ⁴ So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that they had, and the rings that were in their ears. Jacob hid them under the terebinth tree that was near Shechem.

⁵ And as they journeyed, a terror from God fell upon the cities that were around them, so that they did not pursue the sons of Jacob. ⁶ And Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him, ⁷ and there he built an altar and called the place El-bethel,^[a] because there God had revealed himself to him when he fled from his brother. ⁸ And Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and she was buried under an oak below Bethel. So he called its name Allon-bacuth.^[b]

⁹ God appeared^[c] to Jacob again, when he came from Paddan-aram, and blessed him. ¹⁰ And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; no longer shall your name be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name.” So he called his name Israel. ¹¹ And God said to him, “I am God Almighty:^[d] be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come from your own body.^[e] 12 The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give the land to your offspring after you.” ¹³ Then God went up from him in the place where he had spoken with him. ¹⁴ And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he had spoken with him, a pillar of stone. He poured out a drink offering on it and poured oil on it. ¹⁵ So Jacob called the name of the place where God had spoken with him Bethel.

The Deaths of Rachel and Isaac

¹⁶ Then they journeyed from Bethel. When they were still some distance^[f] from Ephrath, Rachel went into labor, and she had hard labor. ¹⁷ And when her labor was at its hardest, the midwife said to her, “Do not fear, for you have another son.” ¹⁸ And as her soul was departing (for she was dying), she called his name Ben-oni;^[g] but his father called him Benjamin.^[h] 19 So Rachel died, and she was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem), ²⁰ and Jacob set up a pillar over her tomb. It is the pillar of Rachel’s tomb, which is there to this day. ²¹ Israel journeyed on and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eder.

²² While Israel lived in that land, Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine. And Israel heard of it.

Now the sons of Jacob were twelve. ²³ The sons of Leah: Reuben (Jacob’s firstborn), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. ²⁴ The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin. ²⁵ The sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s servant: Dan and Naphtali. ²⁶ The sons of Zilpah, Leah’s servant: Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan-aram.

²⁷ And Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre, or Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had sojourned. ²⁸ Now the days of Isaac were 180 years. ²⁹ And Isaac breathed his last, and he died and was gathered to his people, old and full of days. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

Esau’s Descendants

36 These are the generations of Esau (that is, Edom). ² Esau took his wives from the Canaanites: Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, Oholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter^[i] of Zibeon the Hivite, ³ and Basemath, Ishmael’s daughter, the sister of Nebaioth. ⁴ And Adah bore to Esau, Eliphaz; Basemath bore Reuel; ⁵ and Oholibamah bore Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These are the sons of Esau who were born to him in the land of Canaan.

⁶ Then Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the members of his household, his livestock, all his beasts, and all his property that he had acquired in the land of Canaan. He went into a land away from his brother Jacob. ⁷ For their possessions were too great for them to dwell together. The land of their sojournings could not support them because of their livestock. ⁸ So Esau settled in the hill country of Seir. (Esau is Edom.)

⁹ These are the generations of Esau the father of the Edomites in the hill country of Seir. ¹⁰ These are the names of Esau’s sons: Eliphaz the son of Adah the wife of Esau, Reuel the son of Basemath the wife of Esau. ¹¹ The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz. ¹² (Timna was a concubine of Eliphaz, Esau’s son; she bore Amalek to Eliphaz.) These are the sons of Adah, Esau’s wife. ¹³ These are the sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These are the sons of Basemath, Esau’s wife. ¹⁴ These are the sons of Oholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon, Esau’s wife: 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: the chiefs Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, ¹⁶ Korah, Gatam, and Amalek; these are the chiefs of Eliphaz in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Adah. ¹⁷ These are the sons of Reuel, Esau’s son: the chiefs Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah; these are the chiefs of Reuel in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Basemath, Esau’s wife. ¹⁸ These are the sons of Oholibamah, Esau’s wife: the chiefs Jeush, Jalam, and Korah; these are the chiefs born of Oholibamah the daughter of Anah, Esau’s wife. ¹⁹ These are the sons of Esau (that is, Edom), and these are their chiefs.

²⁰ These are the sons of Seir the Horite, the inhabitants of the land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, ²¹ Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan; these are the chiefs of the Horites, the sons of Seir in the land of Edom. ²² The sons of Lotan were Hori and Hemam; and Lotan’s sister was Timna. ²³ These are the sons of Shobal: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam. ²⁴ These are the sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah; he is the Anah who found the hot springs in the wilderness, as he pastured the donkeys of Zibeon his father. ²⁵ These are the children of Anah: Dishon and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah. ²⁶ These are the sons of Dishon: Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran. ²⁷ These are the sons of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan. ²⁸ These are the sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran. ²⁹ These are the chiefs of the Horites: the chiefs Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, ³⁰ Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan; these are the chiefs of the Horites, chief by chief in the land of Seir.

³¹ These are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom, before any king reigned over the Israelites. ³² Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom, the name of his city being Dinhabah. ³³ Bela died, and Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his place. ³⁴ Jobab died, and Husham of the land of the Temanites reigned in his place. ³⁵ Husham died, and Hadad the son of Bedad, who defeated Midian in the country of Moab, reigned in his place, the name of his city being Avith. ³⁶ Hadad died, and Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his place. ³⁷ Samlah died, and Shaul of Rehoboth on the Euphrates^[j] reigned in his place. ³⁸ Shaul died, and Baal-hanan the son of Achbor reigned in his place. ³⁹ Baal-hanan the son of Achbor died, and Hadar reigned in his place, the name of his city being Pau; his wife’s name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, daughter of Mezahab.

⁴⁰ These are the names of the chiefs of Esau, according to their clans and their dwelling places, by their names: the chiefs Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, ⁴¹ Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, ⁴² Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, ⁴³ Magdiel, and Iram; these are the chiefs of Edom (that is, Esau, the father of Edom), according to their dwelling places in the land of their possession.

Footnotes

1. Genesis 35:7 El-bethel means God of Bethel
2. Genesis 35:8 Allon-bacuth means oak of weeping
3. Genesis 35:9 Or had appeared
4. Genesis 35:11 Hebrew El Shaddai
5. Genesis 35:11 Hebrew from your loins
6. Genesis 35:16 Or about two hours’ distance
7. Genesis 35:18 Ben-oni could mean son of my sorrow, or son of my strength
8. Genesis 35:18 Benjamin means son of the right hand
9. Genesis 36:2 Hebrew; Samaritan, Septuagint, Syriac son; also verse 14
10. Genesis 36:37 Hebrew the River

Jacob’s Return to Bethel

35 Then God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there; and make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau your brother.”

² And Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Put away the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves, and change your garments. ³ Then let us arise and go up to Bethel; and I will make an altar there to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me in the way which I have gone.” ⁴ So they gave Jacob all the foreign ^[a]gods which were in their hands, and the earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the terebinth tree which was by Shechem.

⁵ And they journeyed, and the terror of God was upon the cities that were all around them, and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob. ⁶ So Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him. ⁷ And he built an altar there and called the place ^[b]El Bethel, because there God appeared to him when he fled from the face of his brother.

⁸ Now Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and she was buried below Bethel under the terebinth tree. So the name of it was called ^[c]Allon Bachuth.

⁹ Then God appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Padan Aram, and blessed him. ¹⁰ And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; your name shall not be called Jacob anymore, but Israel shall be your name.” So He called his name Israel. ¹¹ Also God said to him: “I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you, and kings shall come from your body. ¹² The land which I gave Abraham and Isaac I give to you; and to your descendants after you I give this land.” ¹³ Then God went^[d] up from him in the place where He talked with him. ¹⁴ So Jacob set up a pillar in the place where He talked with him, a pillar of stone; and he poured a drink offering on it, and he poured oil on it. ¹⁵ And Jacob called the name of the place where God spoke with him, Bethel.

Death of Rachel

¹⁶ Then they journeyed from Bethel. And when there was but a little distance to go to Ephrath, Rachel labored in childbirth, and she had hard labor. ¹⁷ Now it came to pass, when she was in hard labor, that the midwife said to her, “Do not fear; you will have this son also.” ¹⁸ And so it was, as her soul was departing (for she died), that she called his name ^[e]Ben-Oni; but his father called him ^[f]Benjamin. ¹⁹ So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). ²⁰ And Jacob set a pillar on her grave, which is the pillar of Rachel’s grave to this day.

²¹ Then Israel journeyed and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eder. ²² And it happened, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine; and Israel heard about it.

Jacob’s Twelve Sons

Now the sons of Jacob were twelve: ²³ the sons of Leah were Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, and Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun; ²⁴ the sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin; ²⁵ the sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s maidservant, were Dan and Naphtali; ²⁶ and the sons of Zilpah, Leah’s maidservant, were Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Padan Aram.

Death of Isaac

²⁷ Then Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre, or Kirjath Arba^[g] (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had dwelt. ²⁸ Now the days of Isaac were one hundred and eighty years. ²⁹ So Isaac breathed his last and died, and was ^[h]gathered to his people, being old and full of days. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

The Family of Esau

36 Now this is the genealogy of Esau, who is Edom. ² Esau took his wives from the daughters of Canaan: Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite; Aholibamah^[i] the daughter of Anah, the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite; ³ and Basemath, Ishmael’s daughter, sister of Nebajoth. ⁴ Now Adah bore Eliphaz to Esau, and Basemath bore Reuel. ⁵ And ^[j]Aholibamah bore Jeush, Jaalam, and Korah. These were the sons of Esau who were born to him in the land of Canaan.

⁶ Then Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the persons of his household, his cattle and all his animals, and all his goods which he had gained in the land of Canaan, and went to a country away from the presence of his brother Jacob. ⁷ For their possessions were too great for them to dwell together, and the land where they were strangers could not support them because of their livestock. ⁸ So Esau dwelt in Mount Seir. Esau is Edom.

⁹ And this is the genealogy of Esau the father of the Edomites in Mount Seir. ¹⁰ These were the names of Esau’s sons: Eliphaz the son of Adah the wife of Esau, and Reuel the son of Basemath the wife of Esau. ¹¹ And the sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, ^[k]Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz.

¹² Now Timna was the concubine of Eliphaz, Esau’s son, and she bore Amalek to Eliphaz. These were the sons of Adah, Esau’s wife.

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

¹⁴ These were the sons of ^[l]Aholibamah, Esau’s wife, the daughter of Anah, the daughter of Zibeon. And she bore to Esau: Jeush, Jaalam, and Korah.

The Chiefs of Edom

¹⁵ These were the chiefs of the sons of Esau. The sons of Eliphaz, the firstborn son of Esau, were Chief Teman, Chief Omar, Chief Zepho, Chief Kenaz, ^16 [m]Chief Korah, Chief Gatam, and Chief Amalek. These were the chiefs of Eliphaz in the land of Edom. They were the sons of Adah.

¹⁷ These were the sons of Reuel, Esau’s son: Chief Nahath, Chief Zerah, Chief Shammah, and Chief Mizzah. These were the chiefs of Reuel in the land of Edom. These were the sons of Basemath, Esau’s wife.

¹⁸ And these were the sons of ^[n]Aholibamah, Esau’s wife: Chief Jeush, Chief Jaalam, and Chief Korah. These were the chiefs who descended from Aholibamah, Esau’s wife, the daughter of Anah. ¹⁹ These were the sons of Esau, who is Edom, and these were their chiefs.

The Sons of Seir

²⁰ These were the sons of Seir the Horite who inhabited the land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, ²¹ Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These were the chiefs of the Horites, the sons of Seir, in the land of Edom.

²² And the sons of Lotan were Hori and ^[o]Hemam. Lotan’s sister was Timna.

²³ These were the sons of Shobal: ^[p]Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, ^[q]Shepho, and Onam.

²⁴ These were the sons of Zibeon: both Ajah and Anah. This was the Anah who found the ^[r]water in the wilderness as he pastured the donkeys of his father Zibeon. ²⁵ These were the children of Anah: Dishon and ^[s]Aholibamah the daughter of Anah.

²⁶ These were the sons of ^[t]Dishon: ^[u]Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran. ²⁷ These were the sons of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan, and ^[v]Akan. ²⁸ These were the sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran.

²⁹ These were the chiefs of the Horites: Chief Lotan, Chief Shobal, Chief Zibeon, Chief Anah, ³⁰ Chief Dishon, Chief Ezer, and Chief Dishan. These were the chiefs of the Horites, according to their chiefs in the land of Seir.

The Kings of Edom

#x³¹ Now these were the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned over the children of Israel: ³² Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom, and the name of his city was Dinhabah. ³³ And when Bela died, Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his place. ³⁴ When Jobab died, Husham of the land of the Temanites reigned in his place. ³⁵ And when Husham died, Hadad the son of Bedad, who attacked Midian in the field of Moab, reigned in his place. And the name of his city was Avith. ³⁶ When Hadad died, Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his place. ³⁷ And when Samlah died, Saul of Rehoboth-by-the-River reigned in his place. ³⁸ When Saul died, Baal-Hanan the son of Achbor reigned in his place. ³⁹ And when Baal-Hanan the son of Achbor died, ^[w]Hadar reigned in his place; and the name of his city was ^[x]Pau. His wife’s name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Mezahab.

The Chiefs of Esau

⁴⁰ And these were the names of the chiefs of Esau, according to their families and their places, by their names: Chief Timnah, Chief ^[y]Alvah, Chief Jetheth, ⁴¹ Chief ^[z]Aholibamah, Chief Elah, Chief Pinon, ⁴² Chief Kenaz, Chief Teman, Chief Mibzar, ⁴³ Chief Magdiel, and Chief Iram. These were the chiefs of Edom, according to their dwelling places in the land of their possession. Esau was the father of ^[aa]the Edomites.

Footnotes

1. Genesis 35:4 idols
2. Genesis 35:7 Lit. God of the House of God
3. Genesis 35:8 Lit. Terebinth of Weeping
4. Genesis 35:13 departed
5. Genesis 35:18 Lit. Son of My Sorrow
6. Genesis 35:18 Lit. Son of the Right Hand
7. Genesis 35:27 Lit. Town or City of Arba
8. Genesis 35:29 Joined his ancestors
9. Genesis 36:2 Or Oholibamah
10. Genesis 36:5 Or Oholibamah
11. Genesis 36:11 Zephi, 1 Chr. 1:36
12. Genesis 36:14 Or Oholibamah
13. Genesis 36:16 Sam. omits Chief Korah
14. Genesis 36:18 Or Oholibamah
15. Genesis 36:22 Homam, 1 Chr. 1:39
16. Genesis 36:23 Alian, 1 Chr. 1:40
17. Genesis 36:23 Shephi, 1 Chr. 1:40
18. Genesis 36:24 So with MT, Vg. (hot springs); LXX Jamin; Tg. mighty men; Talmud mules
19. Genesis 36:25 Or Oholibamah
20. Genesis 36:26 Heb. Dishan
21. Genesis 36:26 Hamran, 1 Chr. 1:41
22. Genesis 36:27 Jaakan, 1 Chr. 1:42
23. Genesis 36:39 Sam., Syr. Hadad and 1 Chr. 1:50
24. Genesis 36:39 Pai, 1 Chr. 1:50
25. Genesis 36:40 Aliah, 1 Chr. 1:51
26. Genesis 36:41 Or Oholibamah
27. Genesis 36:43 Heb. Edom