27(1 And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, he called Esau his elder son, and said unto him, My son and he said unto him, 2 Here am I. And he said, Behold now, I am old, I know not the day of (3 my death. Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, 4 and take me venison; and make me savoury meat, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul may bless thee before I die. 5 And Rebekah heard when Isaac spake to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, 6 and to bring it. And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy 7 brother, saying, Bring me venison, and make me savoury meat, that I may eat, and bless thee before the 8 LORD before my death. Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according 9 to that which I command thee. Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats; and I will make them savoury meat for thy father, such as he loveth : 10 and thou shalt bring it to thy father,

that he may eat, so that he may bless 11 thee before his death. And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and 12 I am a smooth man. My father peradventure will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not 13 a blessing. And his mother said unto him, Upon me be thy curse, my son only obey my voice, and go fetch 14 me them. And he went, and fetched,

and brought them to his mother and his mother made savoury meat, such *15) as his father loved. And Rebekah took the goodly raiment of Esau her elder son, which were with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob 16 her younger son: and she put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his 17 neck and she gave the savoury meat

and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob. 18 And he came unto his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here 19 am I; who art thou, my son?

And

Jacob said unto his father, I am Esau thy firstborn; I have done according as thou badest me: arise, I pray thee,

sit and eat of my venison, that thy 20 soul may bless me. And Isaac said unto his son, How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son? And he said, Because the LORD thy God 21 Isent me good speed'. And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou be my very son Esau 22 or not. And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said, The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau. 23 And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau's hands: so he blessed him. 24 And he said, Art thou my very son 25 Esau? And he said, I am. And he

said, Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son's venison, that my soul may bless thee. And he brought it near to him, and he did eat and he brought him wine, and he drank. 26 And his father Isaac said unto him,

Come near now, and kiss me, my 27 son. And he came near, and kissed him and he smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said, See, the smell of my son

Cursed be every one that curseth thee,

And blessed be levery one that blesseth thee.

30 °And it came to pass, as soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing Jacob, and Jacob was yet scarce gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from (31 his hunting. And he also made savoury meat, and brought it unto his father; and he said unto his father, Let my father arise, and eat of his son's venison, that thy soul may bless me. 32 And Isaac his father said unto him,

Who art thou? And he said, I am thy 33 son, thy firstborn, Esau. And Isaac trembled very exceedingly, and said, Who 'then is he that hath taken venison, and brought it me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest, and have

blessed him? yea, and he shall be (34) blessed. When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with an exceeding great and bitter cry, and said unto his father, Bless me, even me 35 also, O my father. And he said, Thy brother came with guile', and hath 36 taken away thy blessing. And he

said, Is not he rightly named 1Jacob? 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 37 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 corn and wine have I sustained him: and what 'then' 38 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 39) lifted up his voice, and wept. And Isaac his father answered and said unto him,

40

Behold, 2 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.

41 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 42 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, 43 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 45 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?

1 See ch. xxv. 26.

2 Or, laway from

(46

And Rebekah said to Isaac, I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth: 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 281 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. 2 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 3 brother. And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a 'com4 pany 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, 5 which God gave unto Abraham. And Isaac sent away Jacob: and he went to Paddan1-aram unto Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob's and Esau's mother. 6 Now! Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan1-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 7 daughters of Canaan; and that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother, and 8 was gone to 'Paddan'-aram: and Esau Isaw that the daughters of Canaan 9) pleased not Isaac his father; and

Esau went unto Ishmael, and took unto the wives which he had Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Abraham's son, the sister of 'Nebaioth', to be his wife.

10 And Jacob went out from Beer11 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 underl his 'head', and lay down in that place 12 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 13 and descending on it. And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD, the God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will

14 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 15 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 16 I have spoken to thee of. And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the LORD is in this place; and 17 I knew it not. And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, 18 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 pillar, and poured oil upon the top of (19 it. "And he called the name of that place 2Beth-el: but the name of the 20 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 21 eat, and raiment to put on, oso that I come again to my father's house in peace, then shall the LORD be my 22 God, and 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 tenth unto thee. 291

Then Jacob went on his journey, and came to the land of the children' (2) 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 3 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 4 lits place. And Jacob said unto them, My brethren, whence be ye? 5 And they said, Of Haran are we. And he said unto them, Know ye Laban the son of Nahor? And they said, We 6 know him. And he said unto them, Is it well with him? And they said, It is well: and, behold, Rachel his 7 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 sheep,

1 Heb. break forth.

2 That is, The house of God.

(8 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 (9 we water the sheep. While he yet spake with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep; for she kept them. 10 °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 11 brother. And Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice, and wept. 12 And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father's brother, and that he was Rebekah's son: and she ran and told 13 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 14 things. And Laban said to him, Surely thou art my bone and my flesh. And he abode with him the space of 15 a month. "And Laban said unto Jacob, Because thou art my brother, shouldest thou therefore serve me for nought? tell me, what shall thy wages 16 be? And Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel.

17

And Leah's eyes were tender; but Rachel was beautiful and well fa18 voured. And Jacob loved Rachel; and he said, I will serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daugh19 ter. And Laban said, It is better that I give her to thee, than that I should give her to another man: 20 abide with me. And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for 21 the love he had to her. And Jacob said unto Laban, Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go 22 in unto her. And Laban gathered

together all the men of the place, and 23 made a feast. And it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter, and brought her to him; 24) and he went in unto her. And Laban gave Zilpah his 'handmaid unto his daughter Leah for an handmaid. 25) And it came to pass in the morning that, behold, it was Leah: and he said

eyed;

to Laban, What is this thou hast done unto me? did not I serve with thee for Rachel? wherefore then hast thou 26 beguiled me? And Laban said, It

is not so done in our 'place', to give 27 the younger before the firstborn. °Fulfill the week of this one', and we will give thee the other also for the service which thou shalt serve with me (28 yet seven other years. And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week and he

gave him Rachel his daughter to wife. 29 And Laban gave to Rachel his daugh

ter Bilhah his handmaid to be her 30 handmaid'. And he went in also unto Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more than Leah, and served with him yet seven other years.

31

And the LORD saw that Leah was hated, and he opened her womb: but 32 Rachel was barren. And Leah conceived, and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben: for she said, 'Because the LORD hath looked upon my affliction; 'for now my husband 33 will love me. "And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Because the LORD hath heard that I lam hated, he hath therefore given me this son also: and she called his 34 name Simeon. And she conceived

again, and bare a son; and said, Now this time will my husband be joined unto me, because I have borne' him three sons: therefore was his name 35 called Levi. And she conceived again, and bare a son: and she said, 'This time will I praise the LORD: therefore she called his name ‘Judah; and Ishe left bearing.

301 And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and she said unto Jacob, 2 Give me children, or else I die. And Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel and he said, Am F in God's stead, who hath withheld from thee 3) the fruit of the womb? And she said, Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; that she may bear upon my knees, and I also may obtain 4 children by her. And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid to wife: and 5 Jacob went in unto her. "And Bilhah conceived, and bare Jacob a son. 6 And Rachel said, God hath judged

1 Heb. raah beonyi.

2 Heb. shama.

3 Heb. Shimeon.

4 From the root lavah.

5 From the Heb. hodah. 6 Heb. Jehudah.

me, and hath also heard my voice, and hath given me a son: therefore 7 called she his name Dan. And Bilhah Rachel's handmaid' conceived again, and bare Jacob a second son. (8 And Rachel said, With mighty wrestlings have I 10wrestled with my sister, and have prevailed: and she 9 called his name Naphtali. "When Leah saw that she had left bearing, she took Zilpah her handmaid', and 10 gave her to Jacob to wife. And

Zilpah Leah's handmaid' bare Jacob 11 a son. And Leah said, 11 Fortunate!! 12 and she called his name 12Gad. And

Zilpah Leah's 'handmaid' bare Jacob a 13 second son. And Leah said, 18 Happy am I! for the daughters will call me 'happy': and she called his name 14 Asher. °And Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest, and found 15mandrakes in the field, and brought them unto his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, Give me, I pray 15 thee, of thy son's mandrakes.

And

she said unto her, Is it a small matter that thou hast taken away my husband? and wouldest thou take away my son's mandrakes also? And Rachel said, Therefore he shall lie with thee to-night for thy son's man16) drakes. And Jacob came from the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said, Thou must come in unto me; for I have surely hired thee with my son's mandrakes. 17 And he lay with her that night. And God hearkened unto Leah, and she conceived, and bare Jacob 'a' fifth son. 18 And Leah said, God hath given me my 16hire, because I gave my handmaid to my husband: and she called 19) his name Issachar. And Leah conceived again, and bare la sixth son 20 to Jacob. And Leah said, God hath lendowed me with a good dowry; now will my husband 1dwell with me, because I have borne' him six sons: and she called his name Zebulun. And afterwards she bare a daughter, 22 and called her name Dinah. And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and opened her 23 womb. And she conceived, and bare

21

O

a son and said, God hath taken away (24 my reproach: and she called his name

25

Joseph, saying!, The LORD 1add to me another son.

And it came to pass, when Rachel had 'borne Joseph, that Jacob said unto Laban, Send me away, that I may go unto mine own place, and to my 26 country. Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served thee, and let me go: for thou knowest my service wherewith I have served (27 thee. And Laban said unto him, If now I have found favour in thine eyes, tarry: for I have divined' that the LORD hath blessed me for thy 28 sake. And he said, Appoint me thy 29 wages, and I will give it. And he

said unto him, Thou knowest how I have served thee, and how thy cattle 30 hath fared with me. For it was little which thou hadst before I came, and it hath increased unto a multitude; and the LORD hath blessed thee 3whithersoever I turned' and now when shall I provide for mine own 31) house also? And he said, What shall I give thee? And Jacob said, Thou shalt not give me laught: if thou wilt do this thing for me, I will again feed thy flock and keep it. 32 I will pass through all thy flock today, removing from thence levery speckled and spotted 'one', and 'every black one among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats: 33) and of such shall be my hire.

So

shall my righteousness answer for me Thereafter, when thou shalt come 'concerning my hire that is before theel: every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and black among the sheep, that if found 34 with me shall be counted stolen. And

Laban said, Behold, I would it might (35 be according to thy word. And he removed that day the he-goats that were ringstraked and spotted, and all the she-goats that were speckled and spotted, every one that had white in it, and all the 'black ones among the sheep, and gave them into the hand 36 of his sons; and he set three days' journey betwixt himself and Jacob: and Jacob fed the rest of Laban's 37 flocks. And Jacob took him rods of fresh poplar, and of the 'almond' and of the plane tree; and 'peeled' white strakes in them, and made the

1 Heb. joseph.

2 Heb. broken forth.

VERSION OF 1611.

white appear which was in the rods. 38 And he set the rods which he had 'peeled over against the flocks in the gutters in the watering troughs 'where the flocks came to drink; and they Iconceived when they came to drink. (39 And the flocks conceived before the

rods, and 'the flocks brought forth ring40 straked, speckled, and spotted. And Jacob separated the lambs, and set the faces of the flocks toward the ringstraked and all the 'black' in the flock of Laban; and he put his own Idroves apart, and put them not unto 41 Laban's flock'. And it came to

pass, whensoever the stronger of the flock did conceive, that Jacob laid the rods before the eyes of the 'flock' in the gutters, that they might con42 ceive among the rods; but when the

flock' were feeble, he put them not in: so the feebler were Laban's, and 43 the stronger Jacob's. And the man increased exceedingly, and had large flocks, and maidservants and menservants, and camels and asses. 31(1 And he heard the words of Laban's sons, saying, Jacob hath taken away all that was our father's; and of that which was our father's hath he gotten 2 all this glory. And Jacob beheld the countenance of Laban, and, behold, it was not toward him as 'beforetime". 3 And the LORD said unto Jacob, Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred; and I will be with 4 thee. And Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field unto 5 his flock, and said unto them, I see your father's countenance, that it is not toward me as beforetime; but the God of my father hath been with 6 me. And ye know that with all my power I have served your father. 7 And your father hath deceived me, and changed my wages ten times; but God suffered him not to hurt me. 8 If he said thus, The speckled shall be thy wages; then all the 'flock' bare speckled: and if he said thus, The ringstraked shall be thy 'wages; then 9 bare all the 'flock' ringstraked. Thus God hath taken away the cattle of your father, and given them to me. 10 And it came to pass at the time that the flock' conceived, that I lifted up mine eyes, and saw in a dream, and,