Study Desk

The shepherds would roll the stone from the opening of the well and water the sheep when all the flocks were gathered there. Then they would return the stone to its place over the well’s opening.

But they replied, “We can’t until all the flocks have been gathered and the stone is rolled from the well’s opening. Then we will water the sheep.”

So Jacob worked seven years for Rachel, and they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her.

He set the peeled branches in the troughs in front of the sheep—in the water channels where the sheep came to drink. And the sheep bred when they came to drink.

Whenever the stronger of the flock were breeding, Jacob placed the branches in the troughs, in full view of the flocks, and they would breed in front of the branches.

Then Laban answered Jacob, “The daughters are my daughters; the sons, my sons; and the flocks, my flocks! Everything you see is mine! But what can I do today for these daughters of mine or for the children they have borne?

Then Jacob said to his relatives, “Gather stones.” And they took stones and made a mound, then ate there by the mound.

Then Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain and invited his relatives to eat a meal. So they ate a meal and spent the night on the mountain.

When the messengers returned to Jacob, they said, “We went to your brother Esau; he is coming to meet you—and he has four hundred men with him.”

then tell him, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a gift sent to my lord Esau. And look, he is behind us.’”

When the man saw that he could not defeat him, he struck Jacob’s hip socket as they wrestled and dislocated his hip.

But Esau ran to meet him, hugged him, threw his arms around him, and kissed him. Then they wept.

Jacob replied, “My lord knows that the children are weak, and I have nursing flocks and herds. If they are driven hard for one day, the whole herd will die.

Jacob’s sons returned from the field when they heard about the incident and were deeply grieved and very angry. For Shechem had committed an outrage against Israel by raping Jacob’s daughter, and such a thing should not be done.

“These men are peaceful toward us,” they said. “Let them live in our land and move about in it, for indeed, the region is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters as our wives and give our daughters to them.

But the men will agree to live with us and be one people only on this condition: if all our men are circumcised as they are.

Won’t their livestock, their possessions, and all their animals become ours? Only let us agree with them, and they will live with us.”

On the third day, when they were still in pain, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, took their swords, went into the unsuspecting city, and killed every male.

They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with their swords, took Dinah from Shechem’s house, and went away.

They took their flocks, herds, donkeys, and whatever was in the city and in the field.