Genesis 26-29

Genesis 26

¹And there is a famine in the land, besides the first famine which was in the days of Abraham, and Isaac goeth unto Abimelech king of the Philistines, to Gerar.

²And Jehovah appeareth unto him, and saith, ‘Go not down towards Egypt, tabernacle in the land concerning which I speak unto thee,

³sojourn in this land, and I am with thee, and bless thee, for to thee and to thy seed I give all these lands, and I have established the oath which I have sworn to Abraham thy father;

⁴and I have multiplied thy seed as stars of the heavens, and I have given to thy seed all these lands; and blessed themselves in thy seed have all nations of the earth;

⁵because that Abraham hath hearkened to My voice, and keepeth My charge, My commands, My statutes, and My laws.'

⁶And Isaac dwelleth in Gerar;

⁷and men of the place ask him of his wife, and he saith, ‘She is my sister:' for he hath been afraid to say, ‘My wife -- lest the men of the place kill me for Rebekah, for she is of good appearance.'

⁸And it cometh to pass, when the days have been prolonged to him there, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looketh through the window, and seeth, and lo, Isaac is playing with Rebekah his wife.

⁹And Abimelech calleth for Isaac, and saith, ‘Lo, she is surely thy wife; and how hast thou said, She is my sister?' and Isaac saith unto him, ‘Because I said, Lest I die for her.'

¹⁰And Abimelech saith, ‘What is this thou hast done to us? as a little thing one of the people had lain with thy wife, and thou hadst brought upon us guilt;'

¹¹and Abimelech commandeth all the people, saying, ‘He who cometh against this man or against his wife, dying doth die.'

¹²And Isaac soweth in that land, and findeth in that year a hundredfold, and Jehovah blesseth him;

¹³and the man is great, and goeth on, going on and becoming great, till that he hath been very great,

¹⁴and he hath possession of a flock, and possession of a herd, and an abundant service; and the Philistines envy him,

¹⁵and all the wells which his father's servants digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines have stopped them, and fill them with dust.

¹⁶And Abimelech saith unto Isaac, ‘Go from us; for thou hast become much mightier than we;'

¹⁷and Isaac goeth from thence, and encampeth in the valley of Gerar, and dwelleth there;

¹⁸and Isaac turneth back, and diggeth the wells of water which they digged in the days of Abraham his father, which the Philistines do stop after the death of Abraham, and he calleth to them names according to the names which his father called them.

¹⁹And Isaac's servants dig in the valley, and find there a well of living water,

²⁰and shepherds of Gerar strive with shepherds of Isaac, saying, ‘The water is ours;' and he calleth the name of the well ‘Strife,' because they have striven habitually with him;

²¹and they dig another well, and they strive also for it, and he calleth its name ‘Hatred.'

²²And he removeth from thence, and diggeth another well, and they have not striven for it, and he calleth its name Enlargements, and saith, ‘For -- now hath Jehovah given enlargement to us, and we have been fruitful in the land.'

²³And he goeth up from thence to Beer-Sheba,

²⁴and Jehovah appeareth unto him during that night, and saith, ‘I am the God of Abraham thy father, fear not, for I am with thee, and have blessed thee, and have multiplied thy seed, because of Abraham My servant;'

²⁵and he buildeth there an altar, and preacheth in the name of Jehovah, and stretcheth out there his tent, and there Isaac's servants dig a well.

²⁶And Abimelech hath gone unto him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath his friend, and Phichol head of his host;

²⁷and Isaac saith unto them, ‘Wherefore have ye come unto me, and ye have hated me, and ye send me away from you?'

²⁸And they say, ‘We have certainly seen that Jehovah hath been with thee, and we say, ‘Let there be, we pray thee, an oath between us, between us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee;

²⁹do not evil with us, as we have not touched thee, and as we have only done good with thee, and send thee away in peace; thou art now blessed of Jehovah.'

³⁰And he maketh for them a banquet, and they eat and drink,

³¹and rise early in the morning, and swear one to another, and Isaac sendeth them away, and they go from him in peace.

³²And it cometh to pass during that day that Isaac's servants come and declare to him concerning the circumstances of the well which they have digged, and say to him, ‘We have found water;'

³³and he calleth it Shebah, oath, therefore the name of the city is Beer-Sheba, well of the oath, unto this day.

³⁴And Esau is a son of forty years, and he taketh a wife, Judith, daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath, daughter of Elon the Hittite,

³⁵and they are a bitterness of spirit to Isaac and to Rebekah.

Genesis 27

¹And it cometh to pass that Isaac is aged, and his eyes are too dim for seeing, and he calleth Esau his elder son, and saith unto him, ‘My son;' and he saith unto him, ‘Here am I.'

²And he saith, ‘Lo, I pray thee, I have become aged, I have not known the day of my death;

³and now, take up, I pray thee, thy instruments, thy quiver, and thy bow, and go out to the field, and hunt for me provision,

⁴and make for me tasteful things, such as I have loved, and bring in to me, and I do eat, so that my soul doth bless thee before I die.'

⁵And Rebekah is hearkening while Isaac is speaking unto Esau his son; and Esau goeth to the field to hunt provision -- to bring in;

⁶and Rebekah hath spoken unto Jacob her son, saying, ‘Lo, I have heard thy father speaking unto Esau thy brother, saying,

⁷Bring for me provision, and make for me tasteful things, and I do eat, and bless thee before Jehovah before my death.

⁸‘And now, my son, hearken to my voice, to that which I am commanding thee:

⁹Go, I pray thee, unto the flock, and take for me from thence two good kids of the goats, and I make them tasteful things for thy father, such as he hath loved;

¹⁰and thou hast taken in to thy father, and he hath eaten, so that his soul doth bless thee before his death.

¹¹And Jacob saith unto Rebekah his mother, ‘Lo, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I a smooth man,

¹²it may be my father doth feel me, and I have been in his eyes as a deceiver, and have brought upon me disesteem, and not a blessing;'

¹³and his mother saith to him, ‘On me thy disesteem, my son; only hearken to my voice, and go, take for me.'

¹⁴And he goeth, and taketh, and bringeth to his mother, and his mother maketh tasteful things, such as his father hath loved;

¹⁵and Rebekah taketh the desirable garments of Esau her elder son, which are with her in the house, and doth put on Jacob her younger son;

¹⁶and the skins of the kids of the goats she hath put on his hands, and on the smooth of his neck,

¹⁷and she giveth the tasteful things, and the bread which she hath made, into the hand of Jacob her son.

¹⁸And he cometh in unto his father, and saith, ‘My father;' and he saith, ‘Here am I; who art thou, my son?'

¹⁹And Jacob saith unto his father, ‘I am Esau thy first-born; I have done as thou hast spoken unto me; rise, I pray thee, sit, and eat of my provision, so that thy soul doth bless me.'

²⁰And Isaac saith unto his son, ‘What is this thou hast hasted to find, my son?' and he saith, ‘That which Jehovah thy God hath caused to come before me.'

²¹And Isaac saith unto Jacob, ‘Come nigh, I pray thee, and I feel thee, my son, whether thou art he, my son Esau, or not.'

²²And Jacob cometh nigh unto Isaac his father, and he feeleth him, and saith, ‘The voice is the voice of Jacob, and the hands hands of Esau.'

²³And he hath not discerned him, for his hands have been hairy, as the hands of Esau his brother, and he blesseth him,

²⁴and saith, ‘Thou art he -- my son Esau?' and he saith, ‘I am.'

²⁵And he saith, ‘Bring nigh to me, and I do eat of my son's provision, so that my soul doth bless thee;' and he bringeth nigh to him, and he eateth; and he bringeth to him wine, and he drinketh.

²⁶And Isaac his father saith to him, ‘Come nigh, I pray thee, and kiss me, my son;'

²⁷and he cometh nigh, and kisseth him, and he smelleth the fragrance of his garments, and blesseth him, and saith, ‘See, the fragrance of my son is as the fragrance of a field which Jehovah hath blessed;

²⁸and God doth give to thee of the dew of heaven, and of the fatness of the earth, and abundance of corn and wine;

²⁹peoples serve thee, and nations bow themselves to thee, be thou mighty over thy brethren, and the sons of thy mother bow themselves to thee; those who curse thee are cursed, and those who bless thee are blessed.'

³⁰And it cometh to pass, as Isaac hath finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob is only just going out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother hath come in from his hunting;

³¹and he also maketh tasteful things, and bringeth to his father, and saith to his father, ‘Let my father arise, and eat of his son's provision, so that thy soul doth bless me.'

³²And Isaac his father saith to him, ‘Who art thou?' and he saith, ‘I am thy son, thy first-born, Esau;'

³³and Isaac trembleth a very great trembling, and saith, ‘Who, now, is he who hath provided provision, and bringeth in to me, and I eat of all before thou comest in, and I bless him? -- yea, blessed is he.'

³⁴When Esau heareth the words of his father, then he crieth a very great and bitter cry, and saith to his father, ‘Bless me, me also, O my father;'

³⁵and he saith, ‘Thy brother hath come with subtilty, and taketh thy blessing.'

³⁶And he saith, ‘Is it because one called his name Jacob that he doth take me by the heel these two times? my birthright he hath taken; and lo, now, he hath taken my blessing;' he saith also, ‘Hast thou not kept back a blessing for me?'

³⁷And Isaac answereth and saith to Esau, ‘Lo, a mighty one have I set him over thee, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants, and with corn and wine have I sustained him; and for thee now, what shall I do, my son?'

³⁸And Esau saith unto his father, ‘One blessing hast thou my father? bless me, me also, O my father;' and Esau lifteth up his voice, and weepeth.

³⁹And Isaac his father answereth and saith unto him, ‘Lo, of the fatness of the earth is thy dwelling, and of the dew of the heavens from above;

⁴⁰and by thy sword dost thou live, and thy brother dost thou serve; and it hath come to pass when thou rulest, that thou hast broken his yoke from off thy neck.'

⁴¹And Esau hateth Jacob, because of the blessing with which his father blessed him, and Esau saith in his heart, ‘The days of mourning for my father draw near, and I slay Jacob my brother.'

⁴²And the words of Esau her elder son are declared to Rebekah, and she sendeth and calleth for Jacob her younger son, and saith unto him, ‘Lo, Esau thy brother is comforting himself in regard to thee -- to slay thee;

⁴³and now, my son, hearken to my voice, and rise, flee for thyself unto Laban my brother, to Haran,

⁴⁴and thou hast dwelt with him some days, till thy brother's fury turn back,

⁴⁵till thy brother's anger turn back from thee, and he hath forgotten that which thou hast done to him, and I have sent and taken thee from thence; why am I bereaved even of you both the same day?'

⁴⁶And Rebekah saith unto Isaac, ‘I have been disgusted with my life because of the presence of the daughters of Heth; if Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, like these -- from the daughters of the land -- why do I live?'

Genesis 28

¹And Isaac calleth unto Jacob, and blesseth him, and commandeth him, and saith to him, ‘Thou dost not take a wife of the daughters of Caanan;

²rise, go to Padan-Aram, to the house of Bethuel, thy mother's father, and take for thyself from thence a wife, of the daughters of Laban, thy mother's brother;

³and God Almighty doth bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and thou hast become an assembly of peoples;

⁴and He doth give to thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee and to thy seed with thee, to cause thee to possess the land of thy sojournings, which God gave to Abraham.'

⁵And Isaac sendeth away Jacob, and he goeth to Padan-Aram, unto Laban, son of Bethuel the Aramaean, brother of Rebekah, mother of Jacob and Esau.

⁶And Esau seeth that Isaac hath blessed Jacob, and hath sent him to Padan-Aram to take to himself from thence a wife -- in his blessing him that he layeth a charge upon him, saying, Thou dost not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan --

⁷that Jacob hearkeneth unto his father and unto his mother, and goeth to Padan-Aram --

⁸and Esau seeth that the daughters of Canaan are evil in the eyes of Isaac his father,

⁹and Esau goeth unto Ishmael, and taketh Mahalath, daughter of Ishmael, Abraham's son, sister of Nebajoth, unto his wives, to himself, for a wife.

¹⁰And Jacob goeth out from Beer-Sheba, and goeth toward Haran,

¹¹and he toucheth at a certain place, and lodgeth there, for the sun hath gone in, and he taketh of the stones of the place, and maketh them his pillows, and lieth down in that place.

¹²And he dreameth, and lo, a ladder set up on the earth, and its head is touching the heavens; and lo, messengers of God are going up and coming down by it;

¹³and lo, Jehovah is standing upon it, and He saith, ‘I am Jehovah, God of Abraham thy father, and God of Isaac; the land on which thou art lying, to thee I give it, and to thy seed;

¹⁴and thy seed hath been as the dust of the land, and thou hast broken forth westward, and eastward, and northward, and southward, and all families of the ground have been blessed in thee and in thy seed.

¹⁵‘And lo, I am with thee, and have kept thee whithersoever thou goest, and have caused thee to turn back unto this ground; for I leave thee not till that I have surely done that which I have spoken to thee.'

¹⁶And Jacob awaketh out of his sleep, and saith, ‘Surely Jehovah is in this place, and I knew not;'

¹⁷and he feareth, and saith, ‘How fearful is this place; this is nothing but a house of God, and this a gate of the heavens.'

¹⁸And Jacob riseth early in the morning, and taketh the stone which he hath made his pillows, and maketh it a standing pillar, and poureth oil upon its top,

¹⁹and he calleth the name of that place Bethel, house of God, and yet, Luz is the name of the city at the first.

²⁰And Jacob voweth a vow, saying, ‘Seeing God is with me, and hath kept me in this way which I am going, and hath given to me bread to eat, and a garment to put on --

²¹when I have turned back in peace unto the house of my father, and Jehovah hath become my God,

²²then this stone which I have made a standing pillar is a house of God, and all that Thou dost give to me -- tithing I tithe to Thee.'

Genesis 29

¹And Jacob lifteth up his feet, and goeth towards the land of the sons of the east;

²and he looketh, and lo, a well in the field, and lo, there three droves of a flock crouching by it, for from that well they water the droves, and the great stone is on the mouth of the well.

³(When thither have all the droves been gathered, and they have rolled the stone from off the mouth of the well, and have watered the flock, then they have turned back the stone on the mouth of the well to its place.)

⁴And Jacob saith to them, ‘My brethren, from whence are ye?' and they say, ‘We are from Haran.'

⁵And he saith to them, ‘Have ye known Laban, son of Nahor?' and they say, ‘We have known.'

⁶And he saith to them, ‘Hath he peace?' and they say, ‘Peace; and lo, Rachel his daughter is coming with the flock.'

⁷And he saith, ‘Lo, the day is still great, it is not time for the cattle to be gathered; water ye the flock, and go, delight yourselves.'

⁸And they say, ‘We are not able, till that all the droves be gathered together, and they have rolled away the stone from the mouth of the well, and we have watered the flock.'

⁹He is yet speaking with them, and Rachel hath come with the flock which her father hath, for she is shepherdess;

¹⁰and it cometh to pass when Jacob hath seen Rachel, daughter of Laban his mother's brother, and the flock of Laban his mother's brother, that Jacob cometh nigh and rolleth the stone from off the mouth of the well, and watereth the flock of Laban his mother's brother.

¹¹And Jacob kisseth Rachel, and lifteth up his voice, and weepeth,

¹²and Jacob declareth to Rachel that he is her father's brother, and that he is Rebekah's son, and she runneth and declareth to her father.

¹³And it cometh to pass, when Laban heareth the report of Jacob his sister's son, that he runneth to meet him, and embraceth him, and kisseth him, and bringeth him in unto his house; and he recounteth to Laban all these things,

¹⁴and Laban saith to him, ‘Only my bone and my flesh art thou;' and he dwelleth with him a month of days.

¹⁵And Laban saith to Jacob, ‘Is it because thou art my brother that thou hast served me for nought? declare to me what is thy hire.'

¹⁶And Laban hath two daughters, the name of the elder is Leah, and the name of the younger Rachel,

¹⁷and the eyes of Leah are tender, and Rachel hath been fair of form and fair of appearance.

¹⁸And Jacob loveth Rachel, and saith, ‘I serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter:'

¹⁹and Laban saith, ‘It is better for me to give her to thee than to give her to another man; dwell with me;'

²⁰and Jacob serveth for Rachel seven years; and they are in his eyes as some days, because of his loving her.

²¹And Jacob saith unto Laban, ‘Give up my wife, for my days have been fulfilled, and I go in unto her;'

²²and Laban gathereth all the men of the place, and maketh a banquet.

²³And it cometh to pass in the evening, that he taketh Leah, his daughter, and bringeth her in unto him, and he goeth in unto her;

²⁴and Laban giveth to her Zilpah, his maid-servant, to Leah his daughter, a maid-servant.

²⁵And it cometh to pass in the morning, that lo, it is Leah; and he saith unto Laban, ‘What is this thou hast done to me? for Rachel have I not served with thee? and why hast thou deceived me?'

²⁶And Laban saith, ‘It is not done so in our place, to give the younger before the first-born;

²⁷fulfil the week of this one, and we give to thee also this one, for the service which thou dost serve with me yet seven other years.'

²⁸And Jacob doth so, and fulfilleth the week of this one, and he giveth to him Rachel his daughter, to him for a wife;

²⁹and Laban giveth to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his maid-servant, for a maid-servant to her.

³⁰And he goeth in also unto Rachel, and he also loveth Rachel more than Leah; and he serveth with him yet seven other years.

³¹And Jehovah seeth that Leah is the hated one, and He openeth her womb, and Rachel is barren;

³²and Leah conceiveth, and beareth a son, and calleth his name Reuben, for she said, ‘Because Jehovah hath looked on mine affliction; because now doth my husband love me.'

³³And she conceiveth again, and beareth a son, and saith, ‘Because Jehovah hath heard that I am the hated one, He also giveth to me even this one;' and she calleth his name Simeon.

³⁴And she conceiveth again, and beareth a son, and saith, ‘Now is the time, my husband is joined unto me, because I have born to him three sons,' therefore hath one called his name Levi.

³⁵And she conceiveth again, and beareth a son, and saith this time, ‘I praise Jehovah;' therefore hath she called his name Judah; and she ceaseth from bearing.