Jan 8 - Genesis 33-37
Genesis
1Then Jacob, lifting up his eyes, saw Esau arriving, and with him four hundred men. And he divided the sons of Leah and Rachel, and of both the handmaids2And he placed the two handmaids and their children at the beginning. Truly, Leah and her sons were in the second place. Then Rachel and Joseph were last3And advancing, he reverenced prostrate on the ground seven times, until his brother approached4And so Esau ran to meet his brother, and he embraced him. And drawing him by his neck and kissing him, he wept5And lifting up his eyes, he saw the women and their little ones, and he said: "What do these want for themselves?" and "Are they related to you?" He responded, "These are the little ones that God has given as a gift to me, your servant.6Then the handmaids and their sons approached and bowed down7Likewise Leah, with her sons, came near. And when they had reverenced similarly, last of all, Joseph and Rachel reverenced8And Esau said, "What are these companies that I have been meeting?" He responded, "So may I find favor before my lord.9But he said, "I have plenty, my brother; let these be for yourself.10And Jacob said: "I beg you, let it not be so. But if I have found favor in your eyes, receive a small present from my hands. For I have looked upon your face as I would look upon the countenance of God. Be gracious to me11and take the blessing which I have brought to you, and which God, who bestows all things, has given as a gift to me." Accepting it reluctantly, at the insistence of his brother12he said, "Let us go on together, and I will accompany you on your journey.13And Jacob said: "My lord, you know that I have with me tender little ones, and sheep, and cows with young. If I cause these to labor too much in walking, all the flocks will die in one day14May it please my lord to go before his servant. And I will follow gradually in his steps, as much as I see my little ones to be able, until I arrive to my lord in Seir.15Esau responded, "I beg you, that at least some of the people who are with me may remain to accompany you on the way." But he said, "There is no need. I have need of one thing only: to find favor in your sight, my lord.16And so Esau returned that day, by the way that he had arrived, to Seir17And Jacob went to Succoth, where, having built a house and pitched tents, he called the name of that place Succoth, that is, ‘Tents.18And he crossed over to Salem, a city of the Shechemites, which is in the land of Canaan, after he returned from Mesopotamia of Syria. And he lived near the town19And he bought the part of the field in which he had pitched his tents from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for one hundred lambs20And erecting an altar there, he invoked upon it the most strong God of Israel
1Then Dinah, the daughter of Leah, went out to see the women of that region2And when Shechem, the son of Hamor the Hivite, the leader of that land, had seen her, he fell in love with her. And so he seized her and slept with her, overwhelming the virgin by force3And his soul was closely bound to her, and, since she was sorrowful, he soothed her with flattery4And going on to Hamor, his father, he said, "Obtain this girl for me as a mate.5But when Jacob had heard this, since his sons were absent and he was occupied in pasturing the cattle, he remained silent until they came back6Then, when Hamor, the father of Shechem, had gone out to speak to Jacob7behold, his sons arrived from the field. And hearing what had happened, they were very angry, because he had done a filthy thing in Israel and, in violating a daughter of Jacob, had perpetrated an unlawful act8And so Hamor spoke to them: "The soul of my son Shechem has become attached to your daughter. Give her to him as a wife9And let us celebrate marriages with one with another. Give us your daughters, and receive our daughters10And live with us. The land is in your power: cultivate, trade, and possess it.11And Shechem even said to her father and to her brothers: "May I find favor in your sight, and whatever you will appoint, I will give12Increase the dowry, and request gifts, and I will freely bestow what you will ask. Only give me this girl as a wife.13The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and his father with deceit, being enraged at the rape of their sister14"We are not able to do what you ask, nor to give our sister to an uncircumcised man. For us, this is unlawful and abominable15But we may succeed in this, so as to be allied with you, if you are willing to become like us, and if all the male sex among you will be circumcised16Then we will mutually give and receive your daughters as well as ours; and we will live with you, and we will become one people17But if you will not be circumcised, we will take our daughter and withdraw.18Their offer pleased Hamor and his son Shechem19Neither did the young man cause any delay; in fact he immediately fulfilled what was requested. For he loved the girl very much, and he was well-known throughout his father’s house20And entering at the gate of the city, they spoke to the people21"These men are peaceful, and they want to live among us. Let them trade in the land and cultivate it, for, being spacious and broad, it is in need of cultivation. We will receive their daughters as wives, and we will give them ours22There is one thing that prevents so great a good: whether we will circumcise our males, imitating the ritual of their nation23And their substance, and cattle, and all that they possess, will be ours, if only we will acquiesce to this, and so, in living together, will form one people.24And they all agreed to circumcise every one of the males25And behold, on the third day, when the pain of the wound was greatest, two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, the brothers of Dinah, boldly entered the city with swords. And they put to death all of the males26They killed Hamor and Shechem together, taking their sister Dinah from the house of Shechem27And when they had departed, the other sons of Jacob rushed over the slain, and they plundered the city in vengeance for the rape28Taking their sheep, and herds, and donkeys, and laying waste to everything else that was in their houses and in their fields29they also took their little ones and their wives captive30When they had boldly completed these acts, Jacob said to Simeon and Levi: "You have troubled me, and you have made me hateful to the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the inhabitants of this land. We are few. They, gathering themselves together, may strike me down, and then both I and my house will be wiped away.31They responded, "Should they abuse our sister like a prostitute?
1About this time, God said to Jacob, "Arise and go up to Bethel, and live there, and make an altar to God, who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.2In truth, Jacob, having called together all his house, said: "Cast away the foreign gods that are in your midst and be cleansed, and also change your garments3Arise, and let us go up to Bethel, so that we may make an altar there to God, who heeded me in the day of my tribulation, and who accompanied me on my journey.4Therefore, they gave him all the foreign gods which they had, and the earrings which were in their ears. And then he buried them under the terebinth tree, which is beyond the city of Shechem5And when they had set out, the terror of God invaded all the surrounding cities, and they dared not pursue them as they withdrew6And so, Jacob arrived at Luz, which is in the land of Canaan, also named Bethel: he and all the people with him7And he built an altar there, and he called the name of that place, ‘House of God.’ For there God appeared to him when he fled from his brother8About the same time, Deborah, the nurse of Rebekah, died, and she was buried at the base of Bethel, under an oak tree. And the name of that place was called, ‘Oak of Weeping.9Then God appeared again to Jacob, after he returned from Mesopotamia of Syria, and he blessed him10saying: "You will no longer be called Jacob, for your name shall be Israel." And he called him Israel11and he said to him: "I am Almighty God: increase and multiply. Tribes and peoples of nations will be from you, and kings will go forth from your loins12And the land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac, I will give to you, and to your offspring after you.13And he withdrew from him14In truth, he set up a monument of stone, in the place where God had spoken to him, pouring out libations over it, and pouring oil15and he called the name of that place, ‘Bethel.16Then, departing from there, he arrived in springtime at the land that leads to Ephrath. And there, when Rachel was giving birth17because it was a difficult birth, she began to be in danger. And the midwife said to her, "Do not be afraid, for you will have this son also.18Then, when her life was departing because of the pain, and death was now imminent, she called the name of her son Benoni, that is, the son of my pain. Yet truly, his father called him Benjamin, that is, the son of the right hand19And so Rachel died, and she was buried in the way that leads to Ephrath: this place is Bethlehem20And Jacob erected a monument over her sepulcher. This is the monument to Rachel’s tomb, even to the present day21Departing from there, he pitched his tent beyond the Tower of the Flock22And when he was living in that region, Reuben went out, and he slept with Bilhah the concubine of his father, which was not such a small matter as to be hidden from him. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve23The sons of Leah: Reuben the first born, and Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Zebulun24The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin25The sons of Bilhah, handmaid of Rachel: Dan and Naphtali26The sons of Zilpah, handmaid of Leah: Gad and Asher. These are the sons of Jacob, who were born to him in Mesopotamia of Syria27And then he went to his father Isaac in Mamre, the city of Arba: this place is Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac sojourned28And the days of Isaac were completed: one hundred and eighty years29And being consumed by old age, he died. And he was placed with his people, being old and full of days. And his sons, Esau and Jacob, buried him
1Now these are the generations of Esau, who is Edom2Esau took wives from the daughters of Canaan: Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah, the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite3and Basemath, the daughter of Ishmael, sister of Nebaioth4Then Adah bore Eliphaz. Basemath conceived Reuel5Oholibamah conceived Jeush, and Jalam, and Korah. These are the sons of Esau, who were born to him in the land of Canaan6Then Esau took his wives, and sons, and daughters, and every soul of his house, and his substance, and cattle, and whatever he was able to obtain in the land of Canaan, and he went into another region, withdrawing from his brother Jacob7For they were very wealthy and were not able to live together. Neither was the land of their sojourn able to sustain them, because of the multitude of their flocks8And Esau lived at mount Seir: he is Edom9So these are the generations of Esau, the father of Edom, at mount Seir10and these are the names of his sons: Eliphaz the son of Adah, the wife of Esau, likewise Reuel, the son of Basemath, his wife11And Eliphaz had sons: Teman, Omar, Zepho, and Gatam, and Kenez12Now Timna was the concubine of Eliphaz, the son of Esau. And she bore him Amalek. These are the sons of Adah, the wife of Esau13And the sons of Reuel were Nahath and Zerah, Shammah and Mizzah. These are the sons of Basemath, the wife of Esau14Likewise, these were the sons of Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah, the daughter of Zibeon, the wife of Esau, whom she bore to him: Jeush, and Jalam, and Korah15These were leaders of the sons of Esau, the sons of Eliphaz, the firstborn of Esau: leader Teman, leader Omar, leader Zepho, leader Kenez16leader Korah, leader Gatam, leader Amalek. These are the sons of Eliphaz, in the land of Edom, and these the sons of Adah17Likewise, these are the sons of Reuel, the son of Esau: leader Nahath, leader Zerah, leader Shammah, leader Mizzah. And these were the leaders of Reuel, in the land of Edom. These are the sons of Basemath, the wife of Esau18Now these are the sons of Oholibamah, the wife of Esau: leader Jeush, leader Jalam, leader Korah. These were the leaders of Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah and the wife of Esau19These are the sons of Esau, and these were their leaders: this is Edom20These are the sons of Seir, the Horite, the inhabitants of the land: Lotan, and Shobal, and Zibeon, and Anah21and Dishon, and Ezer, and Dishan. These were the leaders of the Horites, the sons of Seir, in the land of Edom22Now Lotan produced sons: Hori and Heman. But the sister of Lotan was Timna23And these are the sons of Shobal: Alvan, and Manahath, and Ebal, and Shepho, and Onam24And these are the sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah. This is the Anah who found the hot springs in the wilderness, when he was pasturing the donkeys of his father Zibeon25And he had a son Dishon, and a daughter Oholibamah26And these are the sons of Dishon: Hemdan, and Esheban, and Ithran, and Cheran27Likewise, these are the sons of Ezer: Bilhan, and Zaavan, and Akan28Then Dishan had sons: Uz and Aran29These were the leaders of the Horites: leader Lotan, leader Shobal, leader Zibeon, leader Anah30leader Dishon, leader Ezer, leader Disan. These were leaders of the Horites who ruled in the land of Seir31Now before the sons of Israel had a king, the kings who ruled in the land of Edom were these32Bela the son of Beor, and the name of his city was Dinhabah33Then Bela died, and Jobab, the son of Zerah from Bozrah, reigned in his place34And when Jobab was dead, Husham of the land of the Temanites reigned in his place35Likewise, this one having died, Hadad the son of Bedad reigned in his place. He struck down Midian in the region of Moab. And the name of his city was Avith36And when Adad was dead, Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his place37Likewise, this one being dead, Shaul of the river Rehoboth, reigned in his place38And when he also had passed away, Baal-hanan, the son of Achbor, succeeded to the kingdom39Likewise, this one being dead, Hadar reigned in his place; and the name of his city was Pau. And his wife was called Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, daughter of Mezahab40Therefore, these were the names of the leaders of Esau, by their families, and places, and in their vocabulary: leader Timna, leader Alvah, leader Jetheth41leader Oholibamah, leader Elah, leader Pinon42leader Kanez, leader Teman, leader Mibzar43leader Magdiel, leader Iram. These were the leaders of Edom living in the land of their rule: this is Esau, the father of Idumea
1Now Jacob lived in the land of Canaan, where his father sojourned2And these are his generations. Joseph, when he was sixteen years old, was pasturing the flock with his brothers, when he was still a boy. And he was with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, the wives of his father. And he accused his brothers to their father of a most sinful crime3Now Israel loved Joseph above all his sons, because he had conceived him in his old age. And he made him a tunic, woven of many colors4Then his brothers, seeing that he was loved by his father more than all his other sons, hated him, and they were not able to say anything peacefully to him5Then it also happened that he recounted the vision of a dream to his brothers, for which reason a greater hatred began to be nurtured6And he said to them, "Listen to my dream that I saw7I thought we were binding sheaves in the field. And my sheaf seemed to rise up and stand, and your sheaves, standing in a circle, reverenced my sheaf.8His brothers responded: "Would you be our king? Or will we be subject to your dominion?" Therefore, this matter of his dreams and words provided kindling to their envy and hatred9Likewise, he saw another dream, which he explained to his brothers, saying, "I saw by a dream, as if the sun, and the moon, and eleven stars were reverencing me.10And when he had related this to his father and brothers, his father rebuked him, and he said: "What does it mean to you, this dream that you have seen? Should I, and your mother, and your brothers reverence you upon the earth?11Therefore, his brothers were envious of him. Yet truly, his father considered the matter silently12And while his brothers were lodging at Shechem, pasturing their father’s flocks13Israel said to him: "Your brothers are pasturing the sheep at Shechem. Come, I will send you to them." And when he answered14"I am ready," he said to him, "Go, and see if everything is prospering with your brothers and the cattle, and report to me what is happening." So, having been sent from the valley of Hebron, he arrived at Shechem15And a man found him wandering in a field, and he asked him what he was seeking16So he responded: "I seek my brothers. Tell me where they pasture the flocks.17And the man said to him: "They have withdrawn from this place. But I heard them saying, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’ " Therefore, Joseph continued on after his brothers, and he found them at Dothan18And, when they had seen him from afar, before he approached them, they decided to kill him19And they said one to another: "Behold, the dreamer approaches20Come, let us kill him and cast him into the old cistern. And let us say: ‘an evil wild beast has devoured him.’ And then it will become apparent what his dreams will do for him.21But Reuben, on hearing this, strove to free him from their hands, and he said22"Do not take away his life, nor shed blood. But throw him into this cistern, which is in the wilderness, and so keep your hands harmless." But he said this, wanting to rescue him from their hands, so as to return him to his father23And so, as soon as he came to his brothers, they very quickly stripped him of his tunic, which was ankle-length and woven of many colors24and they cast him into an old cistern, which held no water25And sitting down to eat bread, they saw some Ishmaelites, travelers coming from Gilead, with their camels, carrying spices, and resin, and oil of myrrh into Egypt26Therefore, Judah said to his brothers: "What will it profit us, if we kill our brother and conceal his blood27It is better that he be sold to the Ishmaelites, and then our hands will not be defiled. For he is our brother and our flesh." His brothers agreed to his words28And when the Midianite merchants were passing by, they drew him from the cistern, and they sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. And these led him into Egypt29And Reuben, returning to the cistern, did not find the boy30And rending his garments, he went to his brothers and said, "The boy is not present, and so where shall I go?31Then they took his tunic, and they dipped it in the blood of a young goat, which they had killed32sending those who carried it to their father, and they said: "We found this. See whether it is the tunic of your son or not.33And when the father acknowledged it, he said: "It is the tunic of my son. An evil wild beast has eaten him; a beast has devoured Joseph.34And tearing his garments, he was clothed in haircloth, mourning his son for a long time35Then, when all of his sons gathered together to ease their father’s sorrow, he was not willing to accept consolation, but he said: "I will descend in mourning to my son in the underworld." And while he persevered in weeping36the Midianites in Egypt sold Joseph to Potiphar, a eunuch of Pharaoh, instructor of the soldiers