Jacob Returns to Bethel
1 God told Jacob, “Return to Bethel, where I appeared to you when you were running from your brother Esau. Make your home there and build an altar for me.”
2 Jacob said to his family and to everyone else who was traveling with him:
Get rid of your foreign gods! Then make yourselves acceptable to worship God and put on clean clothes. 3 Afterwards, we'll go to Bethel. I will build an altar there for God, who answered my prayers when I was in trouble and who has always been at my side.
4 So everyone gave Jacob their idols and their earrings, and he buried them under the oak tree near Shechem.
5 While Jacob and his family were traveling through Canaan, God terrified the people in the towns so much that no one dared bother them. 6 Finally, they reached Bethel, also known as Luz. 7 Jacob built an altar there and called it “God of Bethel,” because that was the place where God had appeared to him when he was running from Esau. 8 While they were there, Rebekah's personal servant Deborah died. They buried her under an oak tree and called it “Weeping Oak.”
God Blesses Jacob at Bethel
9-11 After Jacob came back to the land of Canaan, God appeared to him again. This time he gave Jacob a new name and blessed him by saying:
I am God All-Powerful, and from now on your name will be Israel instead of Jacob. You will have many children. Your descendants will become nations, and some of the men in your family will even be kings. 12 I will give you the land that I promised Abraham and Isaac, and it will belong to your family forever.
13 After God had gone, 14 Jacob set up a large rock, so that he would remember what had happened there. Then he poured wine and olive oil on the rock to show that it was dedicated to God, 15 and he named the place Bethel.
Benjamin Is Born
16 Jacob and his family had left Bethel and were still a long way from Ephrath, when the time came for Rachel's baby to be born. 17 She was having a rough time, but the woman who was helping her said, “Don't worry! It's a boy.” 18 Rachel was at the point of death, and right before dying, she said, “I'll name him Benoni.” But Jacob called him Benjamin.
19 Rachel was buried beside the road to Ephrath, which is also called Bethlehem. 20 Jacob set up a tombstone over her grave, and it is still there. 21 Jacob, also known as Israel, traveled to the south of Eder Tower, where he set up camp.
22 During their time there, Jacob's oldest son Reuben slept with Bilhah, who was one of Jacob's other wives. And Jacob found out about it.
Jacob's Twelve Sons
23-26 Jacob had twelve sons while living in northern Syria. His first-born Reuben was the son of Leah, who later gave birth to Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. Leah's servant Zilpah had two sons: Gad and Asher.
Jacob and his wife Rachel had Joseph and Benjamin. Rachel's servant woman Bilhah had two more sons: Dan and Naphtali.
Isaac Dies
27 Jacob went to his father Isaac at Hebron, also called Mamre or Kiriath-Arba, where Isaac's father Abraham had lived as a foreigner. 28-29 Isaac died at the ripe old age of 180, then his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.
يعقوب في بـيت إيل
1 وقالَ اللهُ لِـيعقوبَ: «قُمِ اصعَدْ إلى بـيتِ إيلَ، وأَقِمْ هُناكَ، وابنِ مذبَحا للهِ الّذي تراءَى لكَ حينَ هَرَبْتَ مِنْ وجهِ عيسو أخيكَ». 2 فقالَ يعقوبُ لأهلِ بَيتِه و لِكُلِّ مَنْ كانَ معَهُ: «أَزيلوا الآلِهةَ الغريـبَةَ الّتي بَينَكُم وتطهَّرُوا وبدِّلوا ثِـيابَكُم، 3 وقُوموا نصعَدْ إلى بَيتِ إيلَ، فأَبنيَ هُناكَ مذبَحا للهِ الّذي أعانَني في يومِ ضيقي، وكانَ معي في الطَّريقِ الّتي سَلَكْتُها». 4 فأعطَوا يعقوبَ كُلَّ الآلهةِ الغريـبةِ الّتي في أَيديهِم والحَلَقَ الّذي في آذانِهِم، فطَمَرَها يعقوبُ تحتَ البُطْمةِ التي عِندَ شكيمَ. 5 ثُمَّ رحَلوا، فحَلَّ ذُعْرٌ مِنَ اللهِ على المُدُنِ الّتي حَولَهُم، فلم يَجرُؤْ أَهلُها على السَّعي ورَاءَ بَني يعقوبَ.
6 وجاءَ يعقوبُ وجميعُ القومِ الّذين معَه إلى لُوزَ الّتي في أرضِ كنعانَ وهيَ بَيتُ إيلَ. 7 وبَنى هُناكَ مذبَحا وسَمَّى المَوضِـعَ إلهَ بَيتِ إيلَ، لأنَّ اللهَ تجَلَّى لَه هُناكَ حِينَ هرَبَ مِنْ وجهِ أخيهِ. 8 وماتَت دبُورةُ مُرضِعَةُ رِفقةَ فدُفِنَت تحتَ البَلُّوطةِ في أَسفلِ بَيتِ إيلَ، وسُمِّيَ المَوضِعُ بلُّوطَةَ البُكاءِ.
9 وتراءَى اللهُ لِـيعقوبَ أَيضا حينَ جاءَ مِنْ سَهلِ أرامَ وبارَكَهُ 10 وقالَ لَه: «إسمُكَ يعقوبُ. لا يُدعَى اسمُكَ بَعدَ الآنَ يعقوبَ، بل إِسرائيلَ». فسمَّاهُ إِسرائيلَ. 11 وقالَ لَه اللهُ: «أنا اللهُ القديرُ. انْمُ واكْثُرْ. أُمَّةٌ ومجموعةُ أُمَمٍ تكونُ مِنكَ، وملوكٌ مِنْ صُلبِكَ يَخرُجونَ، 12 والأرضُ الّتي وهَبْتُها لإِبراهيمَ وإسحَقَ أهبُها لكَ ولِنَسلِكَ مِنْ بَعدِكَ». 13 ثُمَّ ارتفَعَ اللهُ عَنهُ في المَوضِعِ الّذي كلَّمَه فيهِ. 14 فنَصَبَ يعقوبُ هُناكَ عَمودا مِنْ حجَرٍ، وسكبَ علَيه خمرا وصبَّ زَيتا لِـيُكَرِّسَهُ لِلرّبِّ. 15 وسَمَّى ذلِكَ المَوضِعَ الّذي كَلَّمَه اللهُ فيهِ بَيتَ إِيلَ.
مولد بنيامين وموت راحيل
16 ثُمَّ رحَلوا مِنْ بَيتِ إيلَ. وبَينما هُم بَعدُ على مَقرُبَةٍ مِنْ أفراتَةَ بدَأَت راحِيلُ تَلِدُ فتعَسَّرَت علَيها الوِلادةُ. 17 ولمَّا تعَسَّرَت علَيها الوِلادةُ قالت لها القابِلَةُ: «لا تخافي. هذا ابنٌ آخَرُ لكِ». 18 فسَمَّتْهُ راحِيلُ، قَبلَ أنْ تفيضَ رُوحُها، بَنْ أوني. وأمَّا أبوه فَسَمَّاهُ بِنيامينُ. 19 وماتَت راحيلُ ودُفِنت في طريقِ أفراتَةَ، وهيَ بَيتُ لَحمٍ. 20 ونصبَ يعقوبُ عَمودا على قبرِها، وهوَ عَمودُ قبرِ راحيلَ إلى اليومِ. 21 ثُمَّ رحَلَ يعقوبُ مِنْ هُناكَ ونصبَ خَيمتَه على الجانبِ الآخَرِ مِنْ مَجْدَلِ عِدْرٍ. 22 وبَينَما هوَ ساكِنٌ في تِلكَ الأرضِ ذهَبَ رَأوبـينُ فضاجَعَ بِلْهَةَ، مَحظِيَّةَ أبـيهِ، فسَمِعَ بِذلِكَ يعقوبُ.
وكانَ بَنو يعقوبَ اثنَي عشَرَ: « 23 بَنو لَيئةَ: رَأوبـينُ، بِكْرُ يعقوبَ، وشِمعونُ ولاوي ويَهوذا ويسَّاكَرُ وزَبُولُونُ، 24 وابنا راحيلَ: يوسُفُ وبنيامينُ، 25 وابنا بِلْهَةَ، جاريةِ راحيلَ، دانُ ونفتالي، 26 وابنا زِلْفَةَ، جاريةِ لَيئَةَ، جادُ وأَشيرُ، هؤلاءِ بَنو يعقوبَ الذينَ وُلِدوا لَه في سَهلِ أَرامَ.
27 وجاءَ يعقوبُ إلى إسحَقَ أبـيه عِندَ مَمْرا بالقُربِ مِنْ قريةٍ أربَعَ، وهيَ حَبرونُ، حيثُ تغَرَّبَ إبراهيمُ وإِسحَقُ. 28 وكانَ عُمرُ إِسحَقَ مئةً وثمانينَ سنَةً. 29 وفاضَت روحُ إِسحَقَ وماتَ وانْضَمَّ إلى آبائِهِ شيخا شَبِـعَ مِنَ الحياةِ. ودَفَنَهُ عِيسو ويعقوبُ ابناهُ.
