:B:1 God said to Jacob, Go up to Beth el and settle there. Build an altar there to God who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau. 2 Jacob said to his family and to all those who were with him, Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you, purify yourselves and change your clothes. 3 We will then go up to Bethel. There I will make an altar to God who helped me when I was in trouble and who was with me during my journey.
4 So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods they had as well as their earrings and Jacob hid them under the oak that was near Shechem. 5 They then left and a terror fell on all the surrounding towns with the result that no one followed in pursuit of them.
6 When Jacob and all those with him came to Luz in Canaanwhich is Bethel 7 he built an altar there and called the place El-Bethel because it was there that God had shown himself to him when he was fleeing from his brother. 8 At that time Rebekahs nurse, Deborah, died and was buried below Bethel near the oak. That is why it was called the Oak of Tears.
9God appeared again to Jacob when he arrived from Paddan-aram and blessed him 10and said to him, Your name is Jacob, but no longer will you be called Jacob, for Israel will be your name. So he was called Israel.11Then God said to him, Be fruitful and grow in number! A nation or rather a group of na tions will come from you.12The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you and to your descendants after you.13Then God left him.
14 Jacob set up a stone in the place where God had spoken to him and offered a libation on it and poured oil on it.
15Jacob called the place where God had spoken to him, Bethel.
16 They moved on from Bethel and were still some distance from Ephrath when Rachel gave birth and the delivery was very difficult. 17 When she was in great pain the midwife said to her, Courage! For now you will have another son. 18 And as she breathed her lastfor she was dyingshe called him Benoni (which means: son of my pain), but his father named him Benjamin. 19 So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephraththat is Bethlehem 20 and Ja cob placed a pillar over her tomb which marks the place of the tomb to this day.
21 Israel journeyed on and pitched his tent beyond Migdal-eder. 22 While Israel was living in that region, it happened that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah, his fathers concubine, and Israel heard of it.
The twelve sons of Jacob
:B:22Jacob had twelve sons.23By Leah: Reuben, Jacobs eldest son, then Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun. 24The sons by Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin.25The sons by Bilhah, Rachels slave girl: Dan and Naphtali.
26The sons by Zilpah, Leahs slave girl: Gad and Asher. These were the sons born to Jacob in Paddan-aram. 27Jacob came home to his father Isaac at Mamre or Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) where Abraham and Isa ac had lived.28After living a hundred and eighty years 29Isaac breathed his last and was gathered to his people at a good old age. His sons Esau and Jacob buried him.
