Genesis 35 :: New Living Translation (NLT)

Jacob’s Return to Bethel

Gen 35:1Then God said to Jacob, “Get ready and move to Bethel and settle there. Build an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother, Esau.”

Gen 35:2

Gen 35:2So Jacob told everyone in his household, “Get rid of all your pagan idols, purify yourselves, and put on clean clothing.

Gen 35:3

Gen 35:3We are now going to Bethel, where I will build an altar to the God who answered my prayers when I was in distress. He has been with me wherever I have gone.”

Gen 35:4

Gen 35:4So they gave Jacob all their pagan idols and earrings, and he buried them under the great tree near Shechem.

Gen 35:5

Gen 35:5As they set out, a terror from God spread over the people in all the towns of that area, so no one attacked Jacob’s family.

Gen 35:6

Gen 35:6Eventually, Jacob and his household arrived at Luz (also called Bethel) in Canaan.

Gen 35:7

Gen 35:7Jacob built an altar there and named the place El-bethel (which means “God of Bethel”), because God had appeared to him there when he was fleeing from his brother, Esau.

Gen 35:8

Gen 35:8Soon after this, Rebekah’s old nurse, Deborah, died. She was buried beneath the oak tree in the valley below Bethel. Ever since, the tree has been called Allon-bacuth (which means “oak of weeping”).

Gen 35:9

Gen 35:9Now that Jacob had returned from Paddan-aram, God appeared to him again at Bethel. God blessed him,

Gen 35:10

Gen 35:10saying, “Your name is Jacob, but you will not be called Jacob any longer. From now on your name will be Israel.”[fn] So God renamed him Israel.

Gen 35:11

Gen 35:11Then God said, “I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Be fruitful and multiply. You will become a great nation, even many nations. Kings will be among your descendants!

Gen 35:12

Gen 35:12And I will give you the land I once gave to Abraham and Isaac. Yes, I will give it to you and your descendants after you.”

Gen 35:13

Gen 35:13Then God went up from the place where he had spoken to Jacob.

Gen 35:14

Gen 35:14Jacob set up a stone pillar to mark the place where God had spoken to him. Then he poured wine over it as an offering to God and anointed the pillar with olive oil.

Gen 35:15

Gen 35:15And Jacob named the place Bethel (which means “house of God”), because God had spoken to him there.

The Deaths of Rachel and Isaac

Gen 35:16

Gen 35:16Leaving Bethel, Jacob and his clan moved on toward Ephrath. But Rachel went into labor while they were still some distance away. Her labor pains were intense.

Gen 35:17

Gen 35:17After a very hard delivery, the midwife finally exclaimed, “Don’t be afraid—you have another son!”

Gen 35:18

Gen 35:18Rachel was about to die, but with her last breath she named the baby Ben-oni (which means “son of my sorrow”). The baby’s father, however, called him Benjamin (which means “son of my right hand”).

Gen 35:19

Gen 35:19So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).

Gen 35:20

Gen 35:20Jacob set up a stone monument over Rachel’s grave, and it can be seen there to this day.

Gen 35:21

Gen 35:21Then Jacob[fn] traveled on and camped beyond Migdal-eder.

Gen 35:22

Gen 35:22While he was living there, Reuben had intercourse with Bilhah, his father’s concubine, and Jacob soon heard about it.
These are the names of the twelve sons of Jacob:

Gen 35:23

Gen 35:23The sons of Leah were Reuben (Jacob’s oldest son), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.

Gen 35:24

Gen 35:24The sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin.

Gen 35:25

Gen 35:25The sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s servant, were Dan and Naphtali.

Gen 35:26

Gen 35:26The sons of Zilpah, Leah’s servant, were Gad and Asher. These are the names of the sons who were born to Jacob at Paddan-aram.

Gen 35:27

Gen 35:27So Jacob returned to his father, Isaac, in Mamre, which is near Kiriath-arba (now called Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had both lived as foreigners.

Gen 35:28

Gen 35:28Isaac lived for 180 years.

Gen 35:29

Gen 35:29Then he breathed his last and died at a ripe old age, joining his ancestors in death. And his sons, Esau and Jacob, buried him.

See the NLT Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).

NLT Footnotes

(35:10)

Jacob sounds like the Hebrew words for “heel” and “deceiver.” Israel means “God fights.”

(35:21)

Hebrew Israel; also in 35:22a. The names “Jacob” and “Israel” are often interchanged throughout the Old Testament, referring sometimes to the individual patriarch and sometimes to the nation.

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For more information on this translation, see the NLT Preface.

Genesis Chapter 35 — Additional Translations:

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Genesis 35 :: New Living Translation (NLT)

NLT Footnotes

Genesis Chapter 35 — Additional Translations:

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