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of his father, he cried with an exceeding great and bitter cry, and said unto his father, "Bless me, even me also, O my father." And he said, "Thy brother came with guile, and hath taken away thy blessing." And he said, Is not he rightly named Jacob? for he hath supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing." And he said, "Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me?" And Isaac answered and said unto Esau, "Behold, I have made him thy lord, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants; and with grain and new wine have I sustained him: and what then shall I do for thee, my son? And Esau said unto his father, "Hast thou but one blessing, my father? bless me, even me also, O my father." And Esau lifted up his voice, and wept. And Isaac his father answered and said unto him,

"Behold, of the fatness of the earth shall be thy dwelling, And of the dew of heaven from above;

And by thy sword shalt thou live, and thou shalt serve thy brother;

And it shall come to pass, when thou shalt break loose, That thou shalt shake his yoke from off thy neck.”

And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, "The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob." And the words of Esau her elder son were told to Rebekah; and she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said unto him, "Behold, thy brother Esau, as touching thee, doth comfort himself, purposing to kill thee. Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; and arise, flee thou to Laban my brother to Haran; and tarry with him a few days, until

thy brother's fury turn away; until thy brother's anger turn away from thee, and he forget that which thou hast done to him: then I will send, and fetch thee from thence why should I be bereaved of you both in one day?"

And Rebekah said to Isaac, "I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth:1 if Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these, of the daughters of the land, what good shall my life do me?" And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, "Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan. Arise, go to Paddan-aram, to the house of Bethuel thy mother's father; and take thee a wife from thence of the daughters of Laban thy mother's brother. And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a company of peoples; and give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the land of thy sojournings, which God gave unto Abraham.” And Isaac sent away Jacob: and he went to Paddanaram unto Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob's and Esau's mother.

Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan-aram, to take him a wife from thence; and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge, saying, "Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan;" and that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother, and was gone to Paddan-aram: and Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan pleased not Isaac his father; and Esau went unto Ishmael, and took, besides the wives that he had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Abraham's son, the sister of Nebaioth, to be his wife.

1. The Canaanites. Heth was the son of Canaan. (See note on page 35.) The descendants of Heth were known as Hittites.

XIII

JACOB'S DREAM

(Genesis xxviii: 10-22)

And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba, and went toward Haran. And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took one of the stones of the place, and put it under his head, and lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed; and, behold, a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven; and, behold, the angels of God ascending and descending on it. And, behold, Jehovah stood above it, and said, "I am Jehovah, the God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; and thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee whithersoever thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of." And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, "Surely Jehovah is in this place; and I knew it not." And he was afraid, and said, "How dreadful is this place! this is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven."

And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put under his head, and set it up for a And he called

pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it.1

1. The act of pouring oil over anything denoted its dedication to God and to Divine purposes.

the name of that place Beth-el: but the name of the city was Luz at the first. And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, "If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, so that I come again to my father's house in peace, and Jehovah will be my God, then this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth1 unto thee."

XIV

JACOB'S PATIENT SERVING FOR THE HAND OF RACHEL

(Genesis xxix: 1-20)

Then Jacob went on his journey, and came to the land of the children of the east. And he looked, and, behold, a well in the field, and, lo, three flocks of sheep lying there by it; for out of that well they watered the flocks: and the stone upon the well's mouth was great. And thither were all the flocks gathered: and they rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the sheep, and put the stone again upon the well's mouth in its place. And Jacob said unto them, "My brethren, whence are ye?" And they said, “Of Haran are we." And he said unto them, “Know ye Laban the son of Nahor?" And they said, "We know him." And he said unto them, "Is it well with him?" And they said, "It is well: and, behold, Rachel his daughter cometh with the sheep." And he said, "Lo, it is yet high day, neither is it time that the cattle should be gathered together: water ye the

1. The first mention in the Bible of the custom of devoting a tenth (tithe) of one's income to religious purposes.

sheep, and go and feed them." And they said, "We cannot, until all the flocks be gathered together, and they roll the stone from the well's mouth; then we water the sheep." While he was yet speaking with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep; for she kept them. And it came to pass, when Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of Laban his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother's brother, that Jacob went near, and rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the flock of Laban his mother's brother. And Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice, and wept. And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father's brother,1 and that he was Rebekah's son and she ran and told her father.

And it came to pass, when Laban heard the tidings of Jacob his sister's son, that he ran to meet him, and embraced him, and kissed him, and brought him to his house. And he told Laban all these things. And Laban said to him, "Surely thou art my bone and my flesh." And he abode with him the space of a month. And Laban said unto Jacob, "Because thou art my brother,1 shouldest thou therefore serve me for nought? tell me, what shall thy wages be?" And Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah,2 and the name of the younger was Rachel. And Leah's eyes were tender; but Rachel was beautiful and well-favored. And Jacob loved Rachel; and he said, “I will serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter." And Laban said, "It is better that I give her to thee, than that I should give her to another man: abide with me." And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days for the love he had to her.

3

1. Kinsman.

3. "Ewe."

2. "Gazelle."