(from One New Man Bible translated by William Morford)
Vayishlakh
Meeting Esau
32:4. And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother to the land of Seir, the country of Edom. 5. And he commanded them saying, “Thus will you speak to my lord Esau, ‘Your servant Jacob says thus, I have sojourned with Laban and stayed there until now. 6. And I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, men servants and women servants, and I have sent to tell my lord, so I can find favor in your sight.’” 7. And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother Esau and he too is walking to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.”
32:8. Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed and he divided the people, the flocks, herds, and the camels that were with him into two bands. 9. And said, “If Esau comes to the one company and strikes it, then the other company which is left will escape.” 10. And Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, LORD* Who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your kindred, and I shall deal well with you.’ 11. I am not worthy of the least of all Your loving kindnesses, and of all the truth which You have shown to Your servant, for I crossed this Jordan with my staff, and now I have become two bands. 12. Rescue me, please! From the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him lest he will come and strike me and the mother with the children. 13. And You said, ‘I shall surely do you good and make your seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.’”
32:14. And he lodged there that same night and took of that which came to his hand as a present for Esau his brother 15. two hundred she-goats, twenty he-goats, two hundred ewes, twenty rams, 16. thirty nursing camels with their colts, forty cows, ten bulls, twenty she-donkeys, and ten foals. 17. And he delivered them into the hand of his servants, each flock or herd by itself. He said to his servants, “Pass over before me and put a space between each group.” 18. And he commanded the first saying, “When Esau my brother meets you and asks you saying, ‘Whose are you? And where are you going? And whose are these before you?’ 19. Then you will say, ‘They are your servant Jacob’s. It is a present sent to my lord Esau and, behold, also he is behind us.’” 20. Then he similarly commanded the second and the third, and all who followed the flocks saying, “In this manner you will speak to Esau when you find him. 21. And say moreover, ‘Behold, your servant Jacob is behind us.’” For he said, “I shall appease him with the present that goes before me and afterward I shall see his face. Perhaps he will accept me.” 22. So the present went over before him and he himself lodged that night in the company. 23. And he rose up that night and took his two wives, his two women servants, and his eleven sons and crossed the ford Jabbok. 24. And he took them, and sent them over the brook, and sent over what he had.
Jacob Wrestles
32:25. And Jacob was left alone, and a Man wrestled with him there until the breaking of the day. 26. And when the Man saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip, and the socket of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint as he wrestled with Him. 27. And He said, “Let me go, for the day is breaking.” And Jacob said, “I shall not let You go until You bless me.” 28. And the Man said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” 29. And He said, “Your name will no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for as a prince you have power with God and with men, and you have prevailed.” 30. And Jacob asked and said, “Tell me, I pray You, Your name.” And He said, “Why do you ask after My name?” And He blessed him there. 31. And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, for I have seen God face to face and my life is preserved. 32. And as he passed over Peniel the sun rose upon him, and he was limping on account of his hip.
32:33. Therefore the children of Israel do not eat of the sinew which shrank, which is upon the hip socket, to this day because He touched the socket of Jacob’s hip in the sinew that shrank.
The Brothers Meet
33.1. And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked and there was Esau coming, and four hundred men were with him. And he divided the children to Leah, to Rachel, and to the two handmaids. 2. And he put the handmaids and their children foremost, Leah and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph last. 3. And Jacob crossed before them and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.
33:4. And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept. 5. And he lifted up his eyes and saw the women and the children and said, “Who are those with you?” And he said, “The children whom God has graciously given your servant.” 6. Then the handmaids came near, they and their children, and they bowed themselves. 7. And Leah also came near with her children and they bowed, and afterward Joseph and Rachel came near, and they bowed.
33:8. And he said, “What do you mean by this whole troop which I met?” And he said, “These are to find favor in the sight of my lord.” 9. And Esau said, “I have enough, my brother. Keep what you have for yourself.” 10. And Jacob said, “No, please, if I have now found favor in your sight, then take my present at my hand, for now that I have seen your face, as though I had seen the face of God, and you were pleased with me. 11. Please take my blessing that is brought to you because God has dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough.” And he urged him, and he took it. 12. And he said, “Let us take our journey and let us go, and I shall go before you.” 13. And he said to him, “My lord knows that the children are tender and the flocks and herds with young are with me, and if men should overdrive them one day, all the flocks will die. 14. Let my lord, I pray you, cross before his servant and I shall lead on softly, according as the cattle that go before me and the children are able to endure, until I come to my lord in Seir.” 15. And Esau said, “Let me now leave with you some of the folk that are with me.” And he said, “Why? Let me find favor in the sight of my lord.” 16. So Esau returned that day on his way to Seir. 17. And Jacob journeyed to Sukkot, and built a house for himself and made sukkot for his cattle. Therefore the name of the place is called Sukkot.
33:18. And Jacob came in peace to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padan-Aram and pitched his tent outside the city.
19. And he bought a parcel of a field, where he had spread his tent at the hand of the children of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for a hundred pieces of kesitah. 20. And he erected an altar there, and called it El Elohe Yisrael.
Dinah Goes Out
34.1. And Dinah, the daughter of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land. 2. And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite prince of the country saw her, he took her and lay with her and violated her. 3. And his very being yearned for Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the girl and spoke kindly to the girl. 4. And Shechem spoke to his father Hamor saying, “Get me this girl for my wife.” 5. And Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter: now his sons were with his cattle in the field and Jacob held his peace until they came. 6. And Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him. 7. And the sons of Jacob came out of the field when they heard it and the men were grieved, and they were extremely angry, because he had wrought folly in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter, which thing ought not to be done. 8. And Hamor spoke with them saying, “My son Shechem’s whole being longs for your daughter. I pray for you to give her to him for his wife. 9. And make marriages with us giving your daughters to us, and taking our daughters for you. 10. And you will dwell with us, and the land will be before you. Live and trade here and get possessions for yourselves here.”
34:11. And Shechem said to her father and to her brothers, “Let me find favor in your eyes and I shall give whatever you tell me. 12. Ask me whatever bride price and gift and I shall give whatever you say to me, but give me the girl for my wife.” 13. And the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father deceitfully and said, because he has defiled Dinah their sister, 14. then they said to them, “We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one that is uncircumcised, for that is a reproach to us. 15. But we will consent to you by this, If you will be as we are, that every male of yours will be circumcised, 16. then we will give our daughters to you and we will take your daughters for us and we will dwell with you, and we will become one people. 17. But if you will not heed us, to be circumcised, then we will take our daughter and we will be gone.” 18. And their words pleased Hamor and Shechem, Hamor’s son. 19. And the young man did not delay to do the thing, because he had delight in Jacob’s daughter, and he was more honorable than all the house of his father, Hamor.
34:20. And Hamor and Shechem his son came to the gate of their city, and spoke with the men of their city saying, 21. “These men are peaceable with us, therefore let them stay in the land and trade here, for the land, behold, is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters to us for wives, and let us give them our daughters.
22. Only if we do this will the men consent to dwell with us, to be one people, if every male among us is circumcised, as they are circumcised. 23. Will not their cattle and their possessions and every animal of theirs be ours? Only let us consent to them, and they will stay with us.” 24. And all who went out of the gate of his city paid heed to Hamor and to Shechem his son and every male was circumcised, all that went out of the gate of his city.
34:25. And it was on the third day, when they were sore, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, each man took his sword and came upon the city boldly and slew all the males. 26. And they slew Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword and took Dinah out of Shechem’s house and went out.
27. The sons of Jacob came upon the slain and sacked the city, because they had defiled their sister. 28. They took their sheep, their oxen, their donkeys, that which was in the city and that which was in the field. 29. And all their wealth and all their little ones, and they took their wives captive and took even all that was in the house.
34:30. And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have caused trouble for me to make me loathsome among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites and since I am few in number, they will gather themselves together against me and slay me, and I shall be destroyed, I and my house.” 31. And they said, “Should he deal with our sister as with a prostitute?”
From Shechem to Beit-El
35.1. Then God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Beit-El, and live there and there make an altar to God, Who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau your brother.” 2. Then Jacob said to his household and to all that were with him, “Put away the strange gods that are among you and be clean and change your garments. 3. And let us rise and go up to Beit-El, and there I shall make an altar to God, Who answered me in the day of my distress and was with me in the way which I went.” 4. And they gave to Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand and the rings which were in their ears, and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem. 5. And they journeyed and the terror of God was upon the cities that were all around them, and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob. 6. So Jacob came to Luz, which is in the land of Canaan that is Beit-El, he and all the people with him. 7. And he built an altar there and called the place El Beit-El because God appeared to him there, when he fled from the face of his brother. 8. And Deborah, Rebeccah’s nurse died, and she was buried below Beit-El under an oak, and the name of it was called Allon-bakhut (Oak of Weeping).
The Lord Prophesies to Jacob
35:9. And God appeared to Jacob again, when he came out of Padan-Aram, and blessed him. 10. And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob. Your name will not be called Jacob any more, but your name will be Israel: and He called his name Israel.” 11. And God said to him, “I AM El Shaddai (God Almighty)! Be fruitful and multiply! A nation and a company of nations will be out from you, and kings will come out of your loins. 12. And I shall give to you the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, and I shall give the land to your seed after you.” 13. And God went up from him in the place where He talked with him. 14. And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he talked with Him, a pillar of stone, and he poured a drink offering on it and he poured oil on it. 15. And Jacob called the name of the place where God spoke with him, Beit-El.
35:16. And they journeyed from Beit-El and there was but a little way to come to Efrat and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labor. 17. And it happened when she was in hard labor that the midwife said to her, “Do not be in awe! For this is also a son for you.” 18. And it came to pass, as her life went out – for she died – that she called his name Ben-oni but his father called him Benjamin (Binyamin). 19. And Rachel died, and was buried by the road of Efrat, which is Bethlehem, House of Bread.
20. And Jacob set a pillar upon her grave that is the pillar of Rachel’s grave to this day.
35:21. And Israel journeyed and set up his tent beyond Migdal Eder, Tower of Eder. 22. And it happened, while Israel lived in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine, and Israel heard about it.
Now there were twelve sons of Jacob. 23. The sons of Leah; Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, and Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. 24. The sons of Rachel; Joseph and Benjamin. 25. And the sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s handmaid; Dan and Naphtali: 26. and the sons of Zilpah, Leah’s handmaid, Gad and Asher. These are the sons of Jacob that were born to him in Padan-Aram.
35:27. And Jacob came to Isaac his father in Mamre, Kiriat-Arba which is Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac lived. 28. And the days of Isaac were a hundred eighty years. 29. And Isaac expired and died and was gathered to his people, being old and full of days: and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.
Descendants of Esau
36.1. Now these are the descendants of Esau, who is Edom. 2. Esau took for his wives from the daughters of Canaan; Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite and Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite, 3. and Basemat, Ishmael’s daughter, sister of Nebajoth. 4. And Adah bore Elifaz to Esau, and Basemat bore Reuel, 5. and Oholibamah bore Jeush, Jaalam, and Korah: these are the sons of Esau who were born to him in the land of Canaan.
36:6. And Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the people of his house, his cattle, all his beasts, and all his possessions, which he had gotten in the land of Canaan, and went into the country from the presence of his brother Jacob.
7. For their wealth was too great for them to stay together and the land in which they were strangers could not bear them because of their cattle. 8. So Esau lived in Mount Seir. Esau is Edom.
36:9. And these are the descendants of Esau the father of the Edomites in Mount Seir. 10. These are the names of Esau’s sons; Elifaz the son of Adah the wife of Esau, Reuel the son of Basemat the wife of Esau. 11. And the sons of Elifaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, and Gatam, and Kenaz. 12. And Timna was concubine to Elifaz, Esau’s son, and she bore Amalek to Elifaz: these are the sons of Adah, Esau’s wife. 13. And these are the sons of Reuel: Nahat, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah; these are the sons of Basemat, Esau’s wife. 14. And these are the sons of Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon, Esau’s wife: and she bore to Esau; Jeush, Jaalam, and Korah.
36:15. These are the chiefs of the sons of Esau; the sons of Elifaz, the firstborn son of Esau; Chief Teman, Chief Omar, Chief Zepho, Chief Kenaz, 16. Chief Korah, Chief Gatam, and Chief Amalek. These are the chiefs that came of Elifaz in the land of Edom. These are the sons of Adah.
36:17. And these are the sons of Reuel, Esau’s son; Chief Nakhat, Chief Zerah, Chief Shammah, Chief Mizzah: these are the chiefs fathered by Reuel in the land of Edom. These are the sons of Basemat, Esau’s wife. 18. And these are the sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah; Chief Jeush, Chief Jaalam, Chief Korah. These are the chiefs borne by Oholibamah the daughter of Anah, Esau’s wife. 19. These are the sons of Esau, who is Edom, and these are their chiefs.
36:20. These are the sons of Seir the Horite, who inhabited the land; Lotan, Shoval, Zibeon, Anah, 21. Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan: these are the chiefs of the Horites, the children of Seir in the land of Edom. 22. And the children of Lotan are Hori and Hemam; and Lotan’s sister was Timna. 23. And the children of Shoval are these; Alvan, Manakhat, Eval, Shefo, and Onam. 24. And these are the children of Zibeon; Ayah and Anah: this is the Anah who found the water in the wilderness, as he fed the donkeys of Zibeon his father. 25. And the children of Anah are these: Dishon and Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah. 26. And these are the children of Dishon; Hemdan, Eshban, Itran, and Kheran. 27. The children of Ezer are these; Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan. 28. The children of Dishan are these; Uz and Aran.
36:29. These are the chiefs that came of the Horites; Chief Lotan, Chief Shoval, Chief Zibeon, Chief Anah, 30. Chief Dishon, Chief Ezer, Chief Dishan: these are the chiefs descended from Hori, among their chiefs in the land of Seir.
36:31. And these are the kings that reigned in the land of Edom, before any king reigned over the children of Israel. 32. And Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom and the name of his city was Dinhabah. 33. And Bela died, and Jobab the son of Zerah of Botsrah reigned in his stead. 34. And Jobab died and Husham of the land of Temani reigned in his stead. 35. And Husham died, and Hadad the son of Bedad, who struck Midian in the field of Moab reigned in his stead: and the name of his city was Avith. 36. And Hadad died and Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his stead. 37. And Samlah died then Shaul of Rehoboth by the river reigned in his stead. 38. And Shaul died and Baal-Hanan the son of Akhbor reigned in his stead. 39. And Baal-Hanan the son of Akhbor died and Hadar reigned in his stead; and the name of his city was Pau, and his wife’s name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Mezahab.
36:40. And these are the names of the chiefs who descended from Esau according to their families, after their places, by their names; Chief Timnah, Chief Alvah, Chief Jetheth, 41. Chief Oholibamah, Chief Elah, Chief Pinon, 42. Chief Kenaz, Chief Teman, Chief Mibzar, 43. Chief Magdiel, Chief Iram: these are the chiefs of Edom, according to their settlements in the land of their possession: he is Esau the father of Edom.
Next week’s Torah readings: Vayeishev