Study Desk

When he saw them, he said, "This is God's camp!" So Jacob named that place Mahanaim.

So Jacob sent the gifts to Esau, but he stayed that night in the camp.

So Jacob named that place Peniel. He said, "At this place, I saw God face to face, but my life was spared."

So even today, the people of Israel don't eat the muscle that is on the hip joint, because this is the muscle where Jacob was hurt.

Esau said, "Who were all those people I saw while I was coming here? And what were all those animals for?" Jacob answered, "These are my gifts to you so that you might accept me."

So I beg you to also accept the gifts I give you. God has been very good to me. I have more than I need." Because Jacob begged Esau to take the gifts, he accepted them.

So you go on ahead. I will follow you slowly. I will go slowly enough for the cattle and other animals to be safe and so that my children will not get too tired. I will meet you in Seir."

So Esau said, "Then I will leave some of my men to help you." But Jacob said, "That is very kind of you, but there is no need to do that."

So that day Esau started on his trip back to Seir.

But he was so attracted to her that he fell in love and began expressing his feelings to her.

He told his father, "Please get this girl for me so that I can marry her."

Jacob learned that Shechem had done this very bad thing to his daughter. But all his sons were out in the fields with the cattle. So he did nothing until they came home.

If we do this, we will become rich from all their cattle and other animals. We should make this agreement with them so that they will stay here with us."

Three days later the men who were circumcised were still sore. Two of Jacob's sons, Simeon and Levi, knew that the men would be weak at this time. So they went to the city and killed all the men there.

So the brothers took all their animals, all their donkeys, and everything else in the city and in the fields.

So Jacob told his family and all the other people with him, "Destroy all these foreign gods that you have. Make yourselves pure. Put on clean clothes.

So the people gave Jacob all the foreign gods they had, and they gave him all the rings they were wearing in their ears. He buried everything under an oak tree near the town called Shechem.

So Jacob and his people went to Luz, which is now called Bethel. It is in the land of Canaan.

and said to him, "Your name is Jacob, but I will change that name. You will no longer be called Jacob. Your new name will be Israel." So God named him Israel.

Jacob and Esau's families became too big for the land in Canaan to support them all, so Esau moved away from his brother Jacob. He took his wives, sons, daughters, all his slaves, cattle and other animals, and everything else that he had gotten in Canaan and moved to the hill country of Seir. (Esau is also named Edom.)