Study Desk

The first one was very red at birth and covered with thick hair like a fur coat. So they named him Esau.

But then the shepherds from Gerar came and claimed the spring. "This is our water," they said, and they argued over it with Isaac's herdsmen. So Isaac named the well Esek (which means "argument").

where the Lord appeared to him on the night of his arrival. "I am the God of your father, Abraham," he said. "Do not be afraid, for I am with you and will bless you. I will multiply your descendants, and they will become a great nation. I will do this because of my promise to Abraham, my servant."

So Isaac prepared a covenant feast to celebrate the treaty, and they ate and drank together.

Early the next morning, they each took a solemn oath not to interfere with each other. Then Isaac sent them home again, and they left him in peace.

That very day Isaac's servants came and told him about a new well they had dug. "We've found water!" they exclaimed.

May many nations become your servants, and may they bow down to you. May you be the master over your brothers, and may your mother's sons bow down to you. All who curse you will be cursed, and all who bless you will be blessed."

Your descendants will be as numerous as the dust of the earth! They will spread out in all directions—to the west and the east, to the north and the south. And all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants.

Jacob went over to the shepherds and asked, "Where are you from, my friends?" "We are from Haran," they answered.

Jacob said, "Look, it's still broad daylight—too early to round up the animals. Why don't you water the sheep and goats so they can get back out to pasture?"

"We can't water the animals until all the flocks have arrived," they replied. "Then the shepherds move the stone from the mouth of the well, and we water all the sheep and goats."

And when they mated in front of the white-streaked branches, they gave birth to young that were streaked, speckled, and spotted.

At the time they left, Laban was some distance away, shearing his sheep. Rachel stole her father's household idols and took them with her.

Jacob outwitted Laban the Aramean, for they set out secretly and never told Laban they were leaving.

Then he told his family members, "Gather some stones." So they gathered stones and piled them in a heap. Then Jacob and Laban sat down beside the pile of stones to eat a covenant meal.

They stand between us as witnesses of our vows. I will never pass this pile of stones to harm you, and you must never pass these stones or this monument to harm me.

Then Jacob offered a sacrifice to God there on the mountain and invited everyone to a covenant feast. After they had eaten, they spent the night on the mountain.

But you promised me, ‘I will surely treat you kindly, and I will multiply your descendants until they become as numerous as the sands along the seashore—too many to count.'"

Then Esau ran to meet him and embraced him, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him. And they both wept.

Next came Leah with her children, and they bowed before him. Finally, Joseph and Rachel came forward and bowed before him.