Study Desk

My father Nahor, your grandfather Abraham, and their ancestors all worshiped the same God, and he will make sure that we each keep the agreement. Then Jacob made a promise in the name of the fearsome God his father Isaac had worshiped.

Jacob killed an animal and offered it as a sacrifice there on the mountain, and he invited his men to eat with him. After the meal they spent the night on the mountain.

Early the next morning, Laban kissed his daughters and his grandchildren good-by, then he left to go back home.

As Jacob was on his way back home, some of God's angels came and met him.

Jacob was so frightened that he divided his people, sheep, cattle, and camels into two groups.

So tell him, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob, who is coming this way. He is sending them as a gift to his master Esau.'"

Jacob got up in the middle of the night and took his wives, his eleven children, and everything he owned across to the other side of the Jabbok River for safety.

and the muscle on his hip joint had been injured. That's why even today the people of Israel don't eat the hip muscle of any animal.

Later that day Jacob met Esau coming with his four hundred men. So Jacob had his children walk with their mothers.

Jacob himself walked in front of them all, bowing to the ground seven times as he came near his brother.

But Jacob went to Succoth, where he built a house for himself and set up shelters for his animals. That's why the place is called Succoth.

then he set up his tents and built an altar there to honor the God of Israel.

He even asked his father to get her for his wife.

Meanwhile, Jacob heard what had happened. But his sons were out in the fields with the cattle, so he did not do anything at the time.

Hamor said to Jacob and his sons: My son Shechem really loves Dinah. Please let him marry her.

Jacob's sons wanted to get even with Shechem and his father because of what had happened to their sister.

Shechem was the most respected person in his family, and he was so in love with Dinah that he hurried off to get everything done.

Jacob said to his family and to everyone else who was traveling with him: Get rid of your foreign gods! Then make yourselves acceptable to worship God and put on clean clothes.

While Jacob and his family were traveling through Canaan, God terrified the people in the towns so much that no one dared bother them.

Jacob and his family had left Bethel and were still a long way from Ephrath, when the time came for Rachel's baby to be born.