Study Desk

Now Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him, and Esau said to himself, "The days of mourning for my father are approaching; then I will kill my brother Jacob."

and that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and gone to Paddan-aram.

So when Esau saw that the Canaanite women did not please his father Isaac,

Esau went to Ishmael and took Mahalath daughter of Abraham's son Ishmael, and sister of Nebaioth, to be his wife in addition to the wives he had.

He came to a certain place and stayed there for the night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place.

Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, "Surely the Lord is in this place—and I did not know it!"

So Jacob rose early in the morning, and he took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it.

Then Jacob went on his journey, and came to the land of the people of the east.

He said to them, "Is it well with him?" "Yes," they replied, "and here is his daughter Rachel, coming with the sheep."

Now when Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of his mother's brother Laban, and the sheep of his mother's brother Laban, Jacob went up and rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the flock of his mother's brother Laban.

When Laban heard the news about his sister's son Jacob, he ran to meet him; he embraced him and kissed him, and brought him to his house. Jacob told Laban all these things,

But in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob; and he went in to her.

(Laban gave his maid Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her maid.)

Jacob did so, and completed her week; then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel as a wife.

(Laban gave his maid Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be her maid.)

In the days of wheat harvest Reuben went and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, "Please give me some of your son's mandrakes."

But that day Laban removed the male goats that were striped and spotted, and all the female goats that were speckled and spotted, every one that had white on it, and every lamb that was black, and put them in charge of his sons;

Jacob separated the lambs, and set the faces of the flocks toward the striped and the completely black animals in the flock of Laban; and he put his own droves apart, and did not put them with Laban's flock.

So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah into the field where his flock was,

So Jacob arose, and set his children and his wives on camels;