Gen 28:10-32:3 | NASB2020 | STEP | Then Jacob departed from Beersheba and went toward Haran .

Genesis 28:10-22

Jacob’s Dream

10 Then Jacob departed from ^aBeersheba and went toward ^bHaran. 11 And he ^{▼▼Lit lighted on}happened upon a ^{▼▼Lit the place
,} ^eparticular place and spent the night there, because the sun had set; and he took one of the stones of the place and made it a support for his head, and lay down in that place. 12 And ^fhe had a dream, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth with its top reaching to heaven; and behold, ^gthe angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 Then behold, ^hthe Lord was standing ^{▼▼Or beside him}above it and said, “I am the Lord, ^jthe God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give ^kto you and to ^lyour ^{▼▼Lit seed}descendants. 14 Your ^{▼▼Lit seed}descendants will also be like ^othe dust of the earth, and you will ^{▼▼Lit break through}spread out ^qto the west and to the east, and to the north and to the south; and ^rin you and in your ^{▼▼Lit seed}descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15 Behold, ^tI am with you and ^uwill keep you wherever you go, and ^vwill bring you back to this land; for ^wI will not leave you until I have done what I have ^{▼▼Lit spoken to}promised you.” 16 Then Jacob ^yawoke from his sleep and said, “ ^zThe Lord is certainly in this place, and I did not know it!” 17 And he was afraid and said, “ ^aaHow awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!”

18 So Jacob got up early in the morning, and took ^abthe stone that he had placed as a support for his head, and set it up as a memorial stone, and poured oil on its top. 19 Then he named that place ^{▼▼I.e., the house of God
,} ^adBethel; but ^{▼▼Lit at the first}previously the name of the city had been ^afLuz. 20 Jacob also ^agmade a vow, saying, “ ^ahIf God will be with me and will keep me on this journey that I ^{▼▼Lit go}take, and give me ^{▼▼Lit bread
,} ^akfood to eat and garments to wear, 21 and ^alI return to my father’s house in ^{▼▼Lit peace}safety, ^anthen the Lord will be my God. 22 And this stone, which I have set up as a memorial stone, ^aowill be God’s house, and ^apof everything that You give me I will assuredly give a tenth to You.”

Genesis 29

Jacob Meets Rachel

1 Then Jacob ^{▼▼Lit lifted up his feet}set out on his journey, and went to the land of ^arthe ^{▼▼Lit sons}people of the east. 2 He looked, and ^{▼▼Lit behold}saw ^aua well in the field, and behold, three flocks of sheep were lying there beside it, because they watered the flocks from that well. Now the stone on the mouth of the well was large. 3 When all the flocks were gathered there, they would roll the stone from the mouth of the well and water the sheep. Then they would put the stone back in its place on the mouth of the well.

4 Jacob said to them, “My brothers, where are you from?” And they said, “We are from ^avHaran.” 5 So he said to them, “Do you know Laban the ^awson of Nahor?” And they said, “We know him.” 6 And he said to them, “Is it well with him?” And they said, “It is well, and here is his daughter ^axRachel coming with the sheep.” 7 Then he said, “Look, it is still high day; it is not time for the livestock to be gathered. Water the sheep, and go, pasture them.” 8 But they said, “We cannot, until all the flocks are gathered, and they roll the stone from the mouth of the well; then we water the sheep.”

9 While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess. 10 When Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of his mother’s brother Laban, and the sheep of his mother’s brother Laban, Jacob went up and rolled the stone from the mouth of the well, and watered the flock of his mother’s brother Laban. 11 Then Jacob ^aykissed Rachel, and raised his voice and wept. 12 Jacob told Rachel that he was a ^azrelative of her father and that he was Rebekah’s son, and ^bashe ran and told her father.

13 So when ^bbLaban heard the news about Jacob, his sister’s son, he ran to meet him, and ^bcembraced him and kissed him, and brought him to his house. Then he told Laban all these things. 14 And Laban said to him, “You certainly are ^bdmy bone and my flesh.” And he stayed with him a month.

15 Then Laban said to Jacob, “Because you are my relative, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall ^beyour wages be?” 16 Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. 17 And Leah’s eyes were weak, but Rachel was ^bfbeautiful in figure and appearance. 18 Now Jacob ^bgloved Rachel, so he said, “ ^bhI will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.” 19 Laban said, “It is better that I give her to you than to give her to another man; stay with me.” 20 So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him like only a few days ^bibecause of his love for her.

Laban’s Treachery

21 Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my ^{▼▼Lit days are}time is completed, that I may ^bkhave relations with her.” 22 So Laban gathered all the people of the place and held a feast. 23 Now in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to him; and Jacob had relations with her. 24 Laban also gave his female slave Zilpah to his daughter Leah as a slave. 25 So it came about in the morning that, behold, it was Leah! And he said to Laban, “ ^blWhat is this that you have done to me? Was it not for Rachel that I served with you? Why then have you ^bmdeceived me?” 26 But Laban said, “It is not ^{▼▼Lit done thus in}the practice in our place to ^{▼▼Lit give}marry off the younger before the firstborn. 27 Complete the week of this one, and we will give you the other also for the service which ^bpyou shall serve with me, for another seven years.” 28 Jacob did so and completed her week, and he gave him his daughter Rachel as his wife. 29 Laban also gave his female slave Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her slave. 30 So Jacob had relations with Rachel also, and indeed ^bqhe loved Rachel more than Leah, and he served with ^{▼▼Lit him}Laban for ^bsanother seven years.

31 Now the Lord saw that Leah was ^{▼▼Lit hated}unloved, and He opened her womb, but Rachel was unable to have children. 32 Leah conceived and gave birth to a son, and named him ^{▼▼I.e., see, a son}Reuben, for she said, “Because the Lord has ^{▼▼Lit looked at
,} ^bwseen my affliction; surely now my husband will love me.” 33 Then she conceived again and gave birth to a son, and said, “ ^bxBecause the Lord has ^{▼▼Heb shama, related to Simeon}heard that I am ^{▼▼Lit hated}unloved, He has therefore given me this son also.” So she named him Simeon. 34 And she conceived again and gave birth to a son, and said, “Now this time my husband will become ^{▼▼Heb lavah, related to Levi}attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore he was named ^cbLevi. 35 And she conceived again and gave birth to a son, and said, “This time I will ^{▼▼Heb Jadah, related to Judah}praise the Lord.” Therefore she named him ^{▼▼Heb Jehudah
,} ^ceJudah. Then she stopped having children.

Genesis 30

The Sons of Jacob

1 Now when Rachel saw that ^cfshe had not borne Jacob any children, ^{▼▼Lit Rachel}she became jealous of her sister; and she said to Jacob, “ ^chGive me children, or else I am going to die.” 2 Then Jacob’s anger burned against Rachel, and he said, “Am I in the place of God, who has ^ciwithheld from you the fruit of the womb?” 3 Then she said, “ ^cjHere is my female slave Bilhah: have relations with her that she may ^ckgive birth ^{▼▼I.e., Prob. referring to a ritual of adoption}on my knees, so that ^{▼▼Lit from her I too may be built
,} ^cnby her I too may obtain a child.” 4 So ^coshe gave him her slave Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob had relations with her. 5 Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. 6 Then Rachel said, “God has ^{▼▼Lit judged
,} ^cqvindicated me, and has indeed heard my voice and has given me a son.” Therefore she named him ^{▼▼I.e., He judged}Dan. 7 And Rachel’s slave Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. 8 So Rachel said, “With ^{▼▼Lit wrestlings of God}mighty wrestling I have ^{▼▼Heb niphtal, related to Naphtali}wrestled with my sister, and I have indeed prevailed.” And she named him Naphtali.

9 When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took her slave Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. 10 And Leah’s slave Zilpah bore Jacob a son. 11 Then Leah said, “ ^{▼▼Lit With fortune! Some ancient versions Fortune has come}How fortunate!” So she named him ^{▼▼I.e., Fortune}Gad. 12 And Leah’s slave Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. 13 Then Leah said, “ ^{▼▼Lit With my happiness!}Happy am I! For women ^cxwill call me happy.” So she named him ^{▼▼I.e., happy}Asher.

14 Now in the days of wheat harvest Reuben went and found ^czmandrake fruits in the field, and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.” 15 But she said to her, “Is it a small matter for you to take my husband? And would you take my son’s mandrakes also?” So Rachel said, “Therefore he may sleep with you tonight in return for your son’s mandrakes.” 16 When Jacob came in from the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must have relations with me, for I have indeed hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So he slept with her that night. 17 God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. 18 Then Leah said, “God has given me my ^{▼▼Heb sachar, related to Issachar}reward, because I gave my slave to my husband.” So she named him Issachar. 19 And Leah conceived again and bore a sixth son to Jacob. 20 Then Leah said, “God has endowed me with a good gift; finally my husband ^{▼▼Heb zabal, related to Zebulun}will acknowledge me as his wife, because I have borne him six sons.” So she named him Zebulun. 21 Afterward she gave birth to a daughter, and named her Dinah.

22 Then ^dcGod remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and ^ddopened her womb. 23 So she conceived and gave birth to a son, and said, “God has ^detaken away my disgrace.” 24 And she named him Joseph, saying, “ ^dfMay the Lord ^{▼▼Lit add to me; Heb Joseph}give me another son.”

Jacob Prospers

25 Now it came about, when Rachel had given birth to Joseph, that Jacob said to Laban, “ ^dhSend me away, so that I may go to my own place and to my own country. 26 Give me my wives and my children ^difor whom I have served you, and let me go; for you yourself know my service which I have ^{▼▼Lit served}rendered you.” 27 But Laban said to him, “If ^{▼▼Lit I have found favor in your eyes}it pleases you at all, stay with me; I have determined by divination ^dlthat the Lord has blessed me on your account.” 28 He ^{▼▼Lit said}continued, “ ^dnName me your wages, and I will give them.” 29 But Jacob said to him, “ ^doYou yourself know how I have served you and how your livestock have ^{▼▼Lit been}fared with me. 30 For you had little before ^{▼▼Lit me}I came, and it has ^{▼▼Lit broken forth}increased to a multitude, and the Lord has blessed you ^{▼▼Lit at my foot}wherever I turned. But now, when shall I provide for my own household also?” 31 So he said, “What shall I give you?” And Jacob said, “You shall not give me anything. If you will do this one thing for me, I will again pasture and keep your flock: 32 let me pass through your entire flock today, removing from there every ^dtspeckled or spotted sheep and every black sheep among the lambs, and the spotted or speckled among the goats; and those shall be my wages. 33 So my ^{▼▼Lit righteousness}honesty will answer for me later, when you come concerning my ^{▼▼Lit wages which are before you}wages. Every one that is not speckled or spotted among the goats, or black among the lambs, if found with me, will be considered stolen.” 34 Laban said, “ ^{▼▼Lit Behold, would that it might be}Good, let it be according to your word.” 35 So he removed on that day the striped or spotted male goats, and all the speckled or spotted female goats, every one with white on it, and all the black ones among the sheep, and put them in the ^{▼▼Lit hand}care of his sons. 36 And he put a distance of three days’ journey between himself and Jacob, and Jacob fed the rest of Laban’s flocks.

37 Then Jacob ^{▼▼Lit took to himself}took fresh rods of poplar, almond, and plane trees, and peeled white stripes in them, exposing the white that was ^{▼▼Lit on}in the rods. 38 He set the rods which he had peeled in front of the flocks in the drinking troughs, that is, in the watering channels where the flocks came to drink; and they mated when they came to drink. 39 So the flocks mated by the rods, and the flocks delivered striped, speckled, and spotted offspring. 40 Then Jacob separated the lambs, and ^{▼▼Lit set the faces}made the flocks face toward the striped and all the black in the flock of Laban; and he put his own herds apart, and did not put them with Laban’s flock. 41 Moreover, whenever the stronger of the flock were mating, Jacob would place the rods in the sight of the flock in the drinking troughs, so that they would mate by the rods; 42 but when the flock was sickly, he did not put them in; so the sickly were Laban’s, and the stronger were Jacob’s. 43 So ^ebthe man ^{▼▼Lit broke forth}became exceedingly prosperous, and had large flocks, and female and male servants, and camels and donkeys.

Genesis 31

Jacob Leaves Secretly for Canaan

1 Now ^{▼▼Lit he}Jacob heard the words of Laban’s sons, saying, “Jacob has taken away all that was our father’s, and from what belonged to our father he has made all this ^{▼▼Lit glory}wealth.” 2 And Jacob saw the ^{▼▼Lit face}attitude of Laban, and behold, it was not friendly toward him as it had been before. 3 Then the Lord said to Jacob, “ ^egReturn to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and ^ehI will be with you.” 4 So Jacob sent word and called Rachel and Leah to his flock in the field, 5 and said to them, “ ^eiI see your father’s ^{▼▼Lit face}attitude, that it is not friendly toward me as it was before, but ^ekthe God of my father has been with me. 6 ^elYou know that I have served your father with all my strength. 7 Yet your father has ^emcheated me and ^enchanged my wages ten times; however, ^eoGod did not allow him to do me harm. 8 If ^ephe said this: ‘The speckled shall be your wages,’ then all the flock delivered speckled; and if he said this: ‘The striped shall be your wages,’ then all the flock delivered striped. 9 So God has ^eqtaken away your father’s livestock and given them to me. 10 And it came about at the time when the flock was breeding that I raised my eyes and saw in a dream--and behold--the male goats that were ^{▼▼Lit leaping upon the flock}mating were striped, speckled, or mottled. 11 Then ^esthe angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob’; and I said, ‘Here I am.’ 12 He said, ‘Now raise your eyes and see that all the male goats that are ^{▼▼Lit leaping upon the flock}mating are striped, speckled, or mottled; for ^euI have seen everything that Laban has been doing to you. 13 I am ^evthe God of Bethel, where you ^ewanointed a memorial stone, where you made a vow to Me; now arise, ^{▼▼Lit Go out from}leave this land, and ^eyreturn to the land of your birth.’” 14 Rachel and Leah said to him, “Do we still have any share or inheritance in our father’s house? 15 Are we not regarded by him as foreigners? For ^ezhe has sold us, and has also ^{▼▼I.e., enjoyed the benefit of}entirely consumed our ^{▼▼Lit money}purchase price. 16 Surely all the wealth which God has taken away from our father belongs to us and our children; now then, do whatever God has told you.”

17 Then Jacob stood up and put his children and his wives on camels; 18 and he drove away all his livestock and all his property which he had acquired, the livestock he possessed which he had acquired in Paddan-aram, ^fcto go to the land of Canaan to his father Isaac. 19 Laban had gone to shear his flock, and Rachel stole the ^{▼▼Heb teraphim
,} ^fehousehold idols that were her father’s. 20 And Jacob ^{▼▼Lit stole the heart of}deceived Laban the Aramean by not telling him that he was fleeing. 21 So he fled with all that he had; and he got up and crossed the Euphrates River, and set ^{▼▼Lit his face}out for the hill country of ^fhGilead.

Laban Pursues Jacob

22 When Laban was informed on the third day that Jacob had fled, 23 he took his kinsmen with him and pursued him a distance of seven days’ journey, and he overtook him in the hill country of Gilead. 24 However, ^fiGod came to Laban the Aramean in a ^fjdream of the night and said to him, “ ^{▼▼Lit Take heed to yourself
,} ^flBe careful that you do not speak to Jacob either good or bad.”

25 And Laban caught up with Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country, and Laban with his kinsmen camped in the hill country of Gilead. 26 Then Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done ^{▼▼Lit and you have stolen my heart}by deceiving me and carrying away my daughters like captives of the sword? 27 Why did you flee secretly and ^{▼▼Lit steal me}deceive me, and did not tell me, so that I might have sent you away with joy and with songs, with ^fotambourine and with ^fplyre; 28 and did not allow me ^fqto kiss my ^{▼▼Lit sons}grandchildren and my daughters? Now you have done foolishly. 29 It is in ^{▼▼Lit the power of my hand}my power to do you harm, but ^ftthe God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, ‘ ^{▼▼Lit Take heed to yourself
,} ^fvBe careful not to speak either good or bad to Jacob.’ 30 Now you have indeed gone away because you longed greatly for your father’s house; but why did you steal ^fwmy gods?” 31 Then Jacob replied to Laban, “Because I was afraid, for I thought that you would take your daughters from me by force. 32 ^fxThe one with whom you find your gods shall not live; in the presence of our relatives ^{▼▼Lit recognize}point out what is yours ^{▼▼Lit with me}among my belongings and take it for yourself.” Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.

33 So Laban went into Jacob’s tent, and into Leah’s tent, and into the tent of the two slave women, but he did not find them. Then he went out of Leah’s tent and entered Rachel’s tent. 34 Now Rachel had taken the ^{▼▼Heb teraphim}household idols and put them in the camel’s saddlebag, and she sat on them. So Laban searched through all the tent, but did not find them. 35 And she said to her father, “May my lord not be angry that I cannot ^gbstand in your presence, because the ^{▼▼I.e., menstruation}way of women is upon me.” So he searched but did not find the ^{▼▼Heb teraphim
,} ^gehousehold idols.

36 Then Jacob became angry and argued with Laban; and Jacob said to Laban, “What is my offense? What is my sin that you have hotly pursued me? 37 Though you have searched through all my property, what have you found of all your household property? Set it here in front of my relatives and your relatives, so that they may decide between the two of us. 38 For these twenty years I have been with you; your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried, nor have I eaten the rams of your flocks. 39 I did not even bring to you that which was torn by wild animals; I took the loss myself. You demanded it of my hand whether stolen by day or stolen by night. 40 This is how I was: by day the ^{▼▼Or drought}heat consumed me and the frost by night, and my sleep fled from my eyes. 41 For these twenty years I have been in your house; ^ggI served you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your flock, and you ^ghchanged my wages ten times. 42 If ^githe God of my father, the God of Abraham and the fear of Isaac, had not been for me, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. ^gjGod has seen my affliction and the labor of my hands, so He ^gkrendered judgment last night.”

The Covenant of Mizpah

43 Then Laban replied to Jacob, “The daughters are my daughters, the ^{▼▼Lit sons}children are my ^{▼▼Lit sons}grandchildren, ^gnthe flocks are my flocks, and everything that you see is mine. But what can I do this day to these daughters of mine or to their children to whom they have given birth? 44 So now come, let’s ^gomake a covenant, ^{▼▼Lit I and you}you and I, and ^gqit shall be a witness between ^{▼▼Lit me and you}you and me.” 45 Then Jacob took ^gsa stone and set it up as a memorial stone. 46 Jacob said to his relatives, “Gather stones.” So they took stones and made a heap, and they ate there by the heap. 47 Now Laban ^gtcalled it ^{▼▼I.e., the heap of witness, in Aram}Jegar-sahadutha, but Jacob called it ^{▼▼I.e., the heap of witness, in Heb}Galeed. 48 Laban said, “ ^gwThis heap is a witness between ^{▼▼Lit me and you}you and me this day.” Therefore it was named Galeed, 49 and ^{▼▼Lit the Mizpah; i.e., the watchtower
,} ^gzMizpah, for he said, “May the Lord keep watch between ^{▼▼Lit me and you}you and me when we are ^{▼▼Lit hidden}absent one from the other. 50 If you mistreat my daughters, or if you take wives besides my daughters, although no one is with us, see, ^hcGod is witness between ^{▼▼Lit me and you}you and me.” 51 Laban also said to Jacob, “Behold this heap and behold the memorial stone which I have set between ^{▼▼Lit me and you}you and me. 52 This heap is a witness, and the memorial stone is a witness, that I will not pass by this heap to you for harm, and you will not pass by this heap and this memorial stone to me, for harm. 53 ^hfThe God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, ^hgjudge between us.” So Jacob swore by ^hhthe fear of his father Isaac. 54 Then Jacob ^hioffered a sacrifice on the mountain, and called his relatives to ^{▼▼Lit eat bread}the meal; and they ate ^{▼▼Lit bread}the meal and spent the night on the mountain. 55 ^{▼▼Ch 32:1 in Heb}Then early in the morning Laban got up, and ^hmkissed his ^{▼▼Lit sons}grandchildren and his daughters and blessed them. Then Laban departed and returned to his place.

Genesis 32:1-3

Jacob’s Fear of Esau

1 Now as Jacob went on his way, ^hothe angels of God met him. 2 And when he saw them, Jacob said, “This is God’s ^{▼▼Or company}camp.” So he named that place ^{▼▼I.e., Two Camps, or Two Companies
,} ^hrMahanaim.

3 Then Jacob ^hssent messengers ahead of himself to his brother Esau in the land of ^htSeir, the ^{▼▼Lit field}country of ^hvEdom.