• Torah (T): Bereshiyt (Genesis) 28:1-22
• Prophets (P): Micah 1:1; Micah 5:1-15
• Apostolic (A): John 1:43-51
• Additional (ADD): Jubilees 27:1-27

RELATED SCRIPTURES

• Numbers 30:1-2 (T)
• Genesis 31:13 (T)
• Genesis 35:6-7, 14-15 (T)
• Exodus 21:7-11 (T)
• Luke 12:22-34 (T)
• 1 Timothy 6:6-10 (T)
• Leviticus 27:30-33 (T)
• Numbers 18:24 (T)
• Deuteronomy 12:10-19 (T)
• Leviticus 18:18 (T)
• Colossians 3:18-19 (T)

RELATED ADDITIONAL REA.D.INGS

• Sirach 11:4; Sirach 29:21; Sirach 39:26 (T)
• Testament of Naphtali (4Q215) Fragment 1 (T)
• The Temple Scroll (11Q19) XXIX (T)
• Judith 8:25-27 (T)
• Genesis Apocryphon 1Q20 (1QapGen, 1Q20) Column 21 (T)
• Genesis 28:10 – 29:30 from the Jerusalem Targum aka Targum Pseudo-Jonathan (T)
• Antiquities of the Jews by Flavius Josephus, 1.19.1-7 (T)

Note: (T) means the verse relates to that week’s Torah portion. (P) means the verse relates to that week’s Prophets portion. (A) means the verse relates to that week’s Apostolic portion. (ADD) means the verse relates to that week’s Additional portion.

Torah Portion (T)

Bereshiyt (Genesis) 28:1-22

28:1 Isaac called Jacob, blessed him, and commanded him, “You shall not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan. 2 Arise, go to Paddan Aram, to the house of Bethuel your mother's father. Take a wife from there from the daughters of Laban, your mother's brother. 3 May El Shaddai bless you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, that you may be an assembly of peoples, 4 and give you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your seed with you, that you may inherit the land where you travel, which Elohim gave to Abraham.” 5 Isaac sent Jacob away. He went to Paddan Aram to Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob's and Esau's mother. 6 Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan Aram, to take him a wife from there, and that as he blessed him he gave him a command, saying, “You shall not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan;” 7 and that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother, and was gone to Paddan Aram. 8 Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan didn't please Isaac, his father. 9 So Esau went to Ishmael, and took, in addition to the wives that he had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham's son, the sister of Nebaioth, to be his wife.10 Jacob went out from Be'ersheba, and went toward Haran. 11 He came to a certain place, and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. He took from of the stones of the place, and put it under his head, and lay down in that place to sleep. 12 He dreamed and saw a stairway set upon the land, and its top reached to the heavens. Behold, the angels of Elohim were ascending and descending on it. 13 [And Elohim]^(mss) stood above it, and said, “[I am]^(LXX)(mss) the Elohim of Abraham your father, and the Elohim of Isaac. I will give the land you lie on to you and to your seed. 14 Your seed will be as the dust of the land, and you will spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south. In you and in your seed, all the families of the land will be blessed. 15 Behold, I am with you, and will keep you, wherever you go, and will bring you again into this land. For I will not leave you until I have done that which I have spoken of to you.” 16 Jacob awakened out of his sleep, and he said, “Surely [Elohim]^(mss) is in this place, and I didn't know it.” 17 He was afraid, and said, “How awesome this place is! This is none other than the house of Elohim, and this is the gate of the heavens.” 18 Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put under his head, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil on its top. 19 He called the name of that place Bethel, but the name of the city was Luz at the first. 20 Jacob vowed a vow, saying, “If Elohim will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and clothing to put on, 21 so that I come again to my father's house in peace, and [He]^(mss) will be my Elohim, 22 then this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, will be the house of Elohim. Of all that you will give me I will surely give a tenth to you.”

Prophets Portion (P)

Apostolic Portion (A)

Additional Portion (ADD)

Between 1947 and 1956 approximately 15 Jubilees scrolls were found in five caves at Qumran, all written in Hebrew. The large number of manuscripts (more than for any biblical books except for Psalms, Deuteronomy, Isaiah, Exodus, and Genesis, in descending order) indicates that Jubilees was widely used at Qumran. A comparison of the Qumran texts with the Ethiopic version, performed by James VanderKam, found that the Ethiopic was in most respects an accurate and literalistic translation. Scholars have dated Jubilees to have been written sometime around 160-150 B.C.

27:1 And the words of Esau, her elder son, were told to Rebecca in a dream, and Rebecca sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said unto him: 2. “Behold Esau thy brother will take vengeance on thee so as to kill thee. 3. Now, therefore, my son, obey my voice, and arise and flee thou to Laban, my brother, to Haran, and tarry with him a few days until thy brother’s anger turneth away, and he remove his anger from thee, and forget all that thou hast done; then I will send and fetch thee from thence.” 4. And Jacob said: “I am not afraid; if he wisheth to kill me, I will kill him.” 5. But she said unto him: “Let me not be bereft of both my sons on one day.” 6. And Jacob said to Rebecca his mother: “Behold, thou knowest that my father hath become old, and doth not see because his eyes are dull, and if I leave him it will be evil in his eyes, because I leave him and go away from you, and my father will be angry, and will curse me. I will not go; when he sendeth me, then only will I go.” 7. And Rebecca said to Jacob: “I will go in and speak to him, and he will send thee away.” 8. And Rebecca went in and said to Isaac: “I loathe my life because of the two daughters of Heth, whom Esau hath taken him as wives; and if Jacob take a wife from among the daughters of the land such as these, for what purpose do I further live; for the daughters of Canaan are evil.” 9. And Isaac called Jacob and blessed him, and admonished him and said unto him: 10. “Do not take thee a wife of any of the daughters of Canaan; arise and go to Mesopotamia, to the house of Bethuel, thy mother’s father, and take thee a wife from thence of the daughters of Laban, thy mother’s brother. 11. And El Shaddai bless thee and increase and multiply thee that thou mayest become a company of nations, and give thee the blessings of my father Abraham, to thee and to thy seed after thee, that thou mayest inherit the land of thy sojournings and all the land which Elohim gave to Abraham: go, my son, in peace.” 12. And Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Mesopotamia, to Laban the son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebecca, Jacob’s mother. 13. And it came to pass after Jacob had arisen to go to Mesopotamia that the spirit of Rebecca was grieved after her son, and she wept. 14. And Isaac said to Rebecca: “My sister, weep not on account of Jacob, my son; for he goeth in peace, and in peace will he return. 15. The Most High Elohim will preserve him from all evil, and will be with him; for He will not forsake him all his days; 16. For I know that his ways will be prospered in all things wherever he goeth, until he return in peace to us, and we see him in peace. 17. Fear not on his account my sister, for he is on the upright path and he is a perfect man: and he is faithful and will not perish. Weep not.” 18. And Isaac comforted Rebecca on account of her son Jacob, and blessed him.

27:19 And Jacob went from the Well of the Oath to go to Haran on the first year of the second week in the forty-fourth Jubilee, and he came to Luz on the mountains, that is, Bethel, on the new moon of the first new moon of this week [2115 A.M.], and he came to the place at even and turned from the way to the west of the road that night: and he slept there; for the sun had set. 20. And he took one of the stones of that place and laid it (at his head) under the tree, and he was journeying alone, and he slept. 21. And he dreamt that night, and behold a ladder set up on the land, and the top of it reached to the heavens, and behold, the angels of the Lord ascended and descended on it: and behold, the Lord stood upon it. 22. And He spake to Jacob and said: “I am the Lord Elohim of Abraham, thy father, and the Elohim of Isaac; the land whereon thou art sleeping, to thee will I give it, and to thy-seed after thee. 23. And thy seed will be as the dust of the land, and thou wilt increase to the west and to the east, to the north and the south, and in thee and in thy seed will all the families of the nations be blessed. 24. And behold, I will be with thee, and will guard thee whithersoever thou goest, and I will bring thee again into this land in peace; for I will not leave thee until I do everything that I told thee of.” 25. And Jacob awoke from his sleep, and said, “Truly this place is the house of the Lord, and I knew it not.” And he was afraid and said:” Dreadful is this place which is none other than the house of Elohim, and this is the gate of the heavens.” 26. And Jacob arose early in the morning, and took the stone which he had put under his head and set it up as a pillar for a sign, and he poured oil upon the top of it. And he called the name of that place Bethel; but the name of the place was Luz at the first. 27. And Jacob vowed a vow unto the Lord, saying: “If the Lord will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and give me bread to eat and raiment to put on, so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then will the Lord be my Elohim, and this stone which I have set up as a pillar for a sign in this place, will be the Lord’s house, and of all that thou givest me, I will give the tenth to thee, my Elohim.”

Related Scriptures

30:1 Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes of the sons of Israel, saying, “This is the thing which YHWH has commanded. 2 When a man vows a vow to YHWH, or swears an oath to bind his soul with a bond, he will not break his word. He will do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth. 3 “Also, when a woman vows a vow to YHWH and binds herself by a pledge, being in her father’s house, in her youth, 4 and her father hears her vow and her pledge with which she has bound her soul, and her father says nothing to her, then all her vows will stand, and every pledge with which she has bound her soul will stand. 5 But if her father forbids her in the day that he hears, none of her vows or of her pledges with which she has bound her soul, will stand. YHWH will forgive her, because her father has forbidden her. 6 “If she has a husband, while her vows are on her, or the rash utterance of her lips with which she has bound her soul, 7 and her husband hears it, and says nothing to her in the day that he hears it; then her vows will stand, and her pledges with which she has bound her soul will stand. 8 But if her husband forbids her in the day that he hears it, then he makes void her vow which is on her and the rash utterance of her lips, with which she has bound her soul. YHWH will forgive her. 9 “But the vow of a widow, or of her who is divorced, everything with which she has bound her soul will stand against her. 10 “If she vowed in her husband’s house or bound her soul by a bond with an oath, 11 and her husband heard it, and held his peace at her and didn’t disallow her, then all her vows will stand, and every pledge with which she bound her soul will stand. 12 But if her husband made them null and void in the day that he heard them, then whatever proceeded out of her lips concerning her vows, or concerning the bond of her soul, will not stand. Her husband has made them void. YHWH will forgive her. 13 Every vow, and every binding oath to afflict the soul, her husband may establish it, or her husband may make it void. 14 But if her husband says nothing to her from day to day, then he establishes all her vows or all her pledges which are on her. He has established them, because he said nothing to her in the day that he heard them. 15 But if he makes them null and void after he has heard them, then he will bear her iniquity.” 16 These are the statutes which YHWH commanded Moses, between a man and his wife, between a father and his daughter, being in her youth, in her father’s house.

31:13 I am the Elohim of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar, where you vowed a vow to me. Now arise, get out from this land, and return to the land of your birth.

35:6 So Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him. 7 He built an altar there, and called the place El Beth El; because there Elohim was revealed to him, when he fled from the face of his brother…13 Elohim went up from him in the place where he spoke with him. 14 Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he spoke with him, a pillar of stone. He poured out a libation offering on it, and poured oil on it. 15 Jacob called the name of the place where Elohim spoke with him “Bethel”.

21:7 If a man sells his daughter to be a maid, she will not go out as the male servants do. 8 If she doesn’t please her master, who has married her to himself, then he will let her be redeemed. He will have no right to sell her to a foreign people, since he has dealt deceitfully with her. 9 If he marries her to his son, he will deal with her as a daughter. 10 If he takes another, he will not diminish her [remains], her clothing, and her habitation. 11 If he doesn’t do these three things for her, she may go free without paying any money.

12:22 He said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, don’t be anxious for your life, what you will eat, nor yet for your body, what you will wear. 23 Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. 24 Consider the ravens: they don’t sow, they don’t reap, they have no warehouse or barn, and Elohim feeds them. How much more valuable are you than birds! 25 Which of you by being anxious can add a cubit to his height? 26 If then you aren’t able to do even the least things, why are you anxious about the rest? 27 Consider the lilies, how they grow. They don’t toil, neither do they spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 28 But if this is how Elohim clothes the grass in the field, which today exists, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith? 29 Don’t seek what you will eat or what you will drink; neither be anxious. 30 For the nations of the world seek after all of these things, but your Father knows that you need these things. 31 But seek the reign of Elohim, and all these things will be added to you. 32 Don’t be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Reign. 33 Sell that which you have, and give gifts to the needy. Make for yourselves purses which don’t grow old, a treasure in the heavens that doesn’t fail, where no thief approaches, neither moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

6:6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we certainly can’t carry anything out. 8 But having food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9 But those who are determined to be rich fall into a trial, a snare, and many foolish and harmful coveting, such as drown men in ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some have been led astray from the faith in their greed, and have pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

12:22 He said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, don’t be anxious for your life, what you will eat, nor yet for your body, what you will wear. 23 Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. 24 Consider the ravens: they don’t sow, they don’t reap, they have no warehouse or barn, and Elohim feeds them. How much more valuable are you than birds! 25 Which of you by being anxious can add a cubit to his height? 26 If then you aren’t able to do even the least things, why are you anxious about the rest? 27 Consider the lilies, how they grow. They don’t toil, neither do they spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 28 But if this is how Elohim clothes the grass in the field, which today exists, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith? 29 Don’t seek what you will eat or what you will drink; neither be anxious. 30 For the nations of the world seek after all of these things, but your Father knows that you need these things. 31 But seek God’s Reign, and all these things will be added to you. 32 Don’t be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Reign. 33 Sell that which you have, and give gifts to the needy. Make for yourselves purses which don’t grow old, a treasure in the heavens that doesn’t fail, where no thief approaches, neither moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

27:30 All the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the trees, is YHWH’s. It is holy to YHWH. 31 If a man redeems anything of his tithe, he will add a fifth part to it. 32 All the tithe of the herds or the flocks, whatever passes under the rod, the tenth will be holy to YHWH. 33 He will not examine whether it is good or bad, neither will he exchange it. If he exchanges it at all, then both it and that for which it is exchanged will be holy. It will not be redeemed.

24 For the tithe of the sons of Israel, which they offer as a wave offering to YHWH, I have given to the Levites for an inheritance. Therefore I have said to them, ‘Among the sons of Israel they will have no inheritance.’

12:10 But when you go over the Jordan and dwell in the land which YHWH your Elohim causes you to inherit, and he gives you rest from all your enemies around you, so that you dwell in safety, 11 then it will happen that to the place which YHWH your Elohim will choose, to cause his name to dwell there, there you will bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings, your slaughters, your tithes, the wave offering of your hand, and all your choice vows which you vow to YHWH. 12 You will rejoice before YHWH your Elohim—you, and your sons, your daughters, your male servants, your maids, and the Levite who is within your gates, because he has no portion nor inheritance with you. 13 Be careful that you don’t offer your burnt offerings in every place that you see; 14 but in the place which YHWH chooses in one of your tribes, there you will offer your burnt offerings, and there you will do all that I command you. 15 Yet you may kill and eat meat within all your gates, after all the desire of your soul, according to YHWH your Elohim’s blessing which he has given you. The unclean and the clean may eat of it, as of the gazelle and the deer. 16 Only you will not eat the blood. You will pour it out on the land like water. 17 You may not eat within your gates the tithe of your grain, or of your new wine, or of your oil, or the firstborn of your herd or of your flock, nor any of your vows which you vow, nor your freewill offerings, nor the wave offering of your hand; 18 but you will eat them before YHWH your Elohim in the place which YHWH your Elohim will choose: you, your son, your daughter, your male servant, your maid, and the Levite who is within your gates. You will rejoice before YHWH your Elohim in all that you put your hand to. 19 Be careful that you don’t forsake the Levite as long as you live in your land.

18:18 You will not take a woman in addition to her sister, to be a rival, to uncover her nakedness, while her sister is still alive.

3:18 Wives, be in subjection to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. 19 Husbands, love your wives, and don’t be bitter against them.

Additional Readings​

The Sirach or simply Sirach, and also known as the Book of Ecclesiasticus  (abbreviated Ecclus.) or Ben Sira, is a work of ethical teachings, from approximately 200 to 175 B.C., written by the Jewish scribe Ben Sira of Jerusalem, on the inspiration of his father Joshua son of Sirach, sometimes called Jesus son of Sirach or Yeshua ben Eliezer ben Sira.

Sirach 11:4 Don’t boast about the clothes you wear, and don’t exalt yourself in the day of honor; for the works of YHWH are wonderful, and his works are hidden among men.

Sirach 29:21 The chief thing for life is water, and bread, and a garment, and a house to cover shame.

Sirach 39:26 The chief of all things necessary for the life of man are water, and fire, and iron, and salt, and flour of wheat, and honey, and milk, the blood of the grape, and oil, and clothing.

… with the sisters(?) of (or: with Ahiyot,) the father of Bilhah, … Deborah, who suckled Reb[eccah] … And he went into captivity and Laban sent out and rescued him and gave him Hannah, one of [his] maidservants. [And she conceived and bore] a first [daughter], Zilphah, and gave her the name Zilphah after the name of the town whe[re] he was taken into captivity. She conceived and bore Bilhah, my mother, and Hannah called her name Bilhah, for when she was born, [she was in] a hurry to suck. And she said, ‘What? Is my daughter in a hurry?’ And she called her again Bilhah. vacat When my father Jacob came to Laban, fleeing from Esau, his brother, and after … the father of Bilhah my mother. And Laban led Hannah, the mother of my mother and her two daughters, [and he gave one to Lea]h and one to Rachel. And when it came to pass that Rachel did not bear sons, … [Jaco]b my father, and he gave him Bilhah my mother and she bore Dan [my] brother …

The Temple Scroll is the longest of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Among the discoveries at Qumran it is designated: 11QTemple Scroll. It describes a Jewish temple which was never built, along with extensive detailed regulations about slaughters and temple practices. There is no scholarly consensus regarding the date, origin, author or authors, or its relationship to the Qumran community.[4] Some scholars attribute the Temple Scroll to the isolated Qumran community, while others see no connection with the Qumran community; instead they see the work as a priestly (possible Zadokite) document that was hidden in a cave by Zealots during their flight from Jerusalem in 70 A.D. before the Roman destruction of the Temple.

XXIX [the rams, the lambs and the he-goat … On the fifth day … and the corresponding grain-offering] and drink-offer[ing] … in the house on which I [will cause] my name to rest … holocausts, [each on its] day according to the law of this statute, always from the sons of Israel in addition to their freewill-offerings in regard to all that they offer, their drink-offerings and all their gifts that they will bring to me in order to be acceptable. I will accept them and they will be my people and I will be for them for ever. I will dwell with them for ever and ever and will sanctify my [sa]nctuary by my glory. I will cause my glory to rest on it until the day of creation on which I will create my sanctuary, establishing it for myself for all time according to the covenant which I have made with Jacob in Bethel.

The Book of Judith is included in the Septuagint and believed to be written in the late second century or early first century B.C.

8:25 Besides all this let’s give thanks to the Lord our Elohim, who tries us, even as he did our fathers also. 26 Remember all the things which he did to Abraham, and all the things in which he tried Isaac, and all the things which happened to Jacob in Mesopotamia of Syria, when he kept the sheep of Laban his mother’s brother. 27 For he has not tried us in the fire, as he did them, to search out their hearts, neither has he taken vengeance on us; but the Lord scourges those who come near to him, to admonish them.”

Column 21…in which I had formerly camped until I came to Bethel, the place where I had built an altar. And I built a second altar and laid on it a slaughter, and an offering to the Most High Elohim. And there I called on the name of the Lord of worlds and praised the Name of Elohim and blessed Elohim, and I gave thanks before Elohim for all the riches and favours which He had bestowed on me. For He had dealt kindly towards me and had led me back in peace into this land. After that day, Lot departed from me on account of the deeds of our shepherds. He went away and settled in the valley of the Jordan, together with all his flocks; and I myself added more to them. He kept his sheep and journeyed as far as Sodom, and he bought a house for himself in Sodom and dwelt in it. But I dwelt on the mountain of Bethel and it grieved me that my nephew Lot had departed from me. And Elohim appeared to me in a vision at night and said to me, ‘Go to Ramath Hazor which is north of Bethel, the place where you dwell, and lift up your eyes and look to the east and to the west and to the south and to the north; and behold all this land which I give to you and your seed for ever.’

Genesis 28:10 – 29:30 from the Jerusalem Targum aka Targum Pseudo-Jonathan (T)

Composed in Talmudic Israel (c.150 – c.250 AD). Targum Pseudo-Jonathan is a western targum (translation) of the Torah (Pentateuch) from the land of Israel (as opposed to the eastern Babylonian Targum Onkelos). Its correct title was originally Targum Yerushalmi (Jerusalem Targum), which is how it was known in medieval times. But because of a printer’s mistake it was later labeled Targum Jonathan, in reference to Jonathan ben Uzziel. Some editions of the Pentateuch continue to call it Targum Jonathan to this day. Most scholars refer to the text as Targum Pseudo-Jonathan. This targum is more than a mere translation. It includes much Aggadic material collected from various sources as late as the Midrash Rabbah as well as earlier material from the Talmud. It is effectively a combination of a commentary and a translation. In the portions where it is pure translation, it often agrees with the Targum Onkelos. The date of its composition is disputed. It cannot have been completed before the Arabic conquest as it refers to Mohammad’s wife Fatimah, but might have been initially composed in the 4th Century AD. However, some scholars date it in the 14th Century.

Chapter 28 …Five miracles were wrought for our father Jakob at the time that he went forth from Beersheba. The first sign: the hours of the day were shortened, and the sun went down before his time, forasmuch as the Word had desired to speak with him. The second sign: the four stones which Jakob had set for his pillow he found in the morning, had become one stone. Sign the third: the Stone which, when all the flocks were assembled, they rolled from the mouth of the well, he rolled away with one of his arms. The fourth sign: the well overflowed, and the water rose to the edge of it, and continued to overflow all the days that he was in Haran. The fifth sign: the country was shortened before him, so that in one day he went forth and came to Haran.

And he prayed in the place of the house of the sanctuary, and lodged there, because the sun had gone down. And he took four stones of the holy place, and set his pillow, and slept in that place. And he dreamed, and, behold, a ladder was fixed in the ground, and the top of it reached to the height of heaven. And, behold, the two angels who went unto Sedom, and who had been expelled from the midst of them, because they had revealed the secrets of the Lord of the world; and being cast forth they had walked till the time that Jakob went out from the house of his father, and had accompanied him with kindliness unto Bethel, in that day had ascended to the high heavens, and said, Come, see Jakob the pious, whose likeness is inlaid in the throne of glory, and whom you have so greatly desired to behold. Then the rest of the angels of the holy Lord descended to look upon him.

[JERUSALEM. Five signs were wrought for our father Jakob at the time he went forth from Beersheba to go unto Haran. The first sign: the hours of the day were shortened for him, and the sun was hidden from him before its time, because His Word had desired to speak with him. The second sign: after our father Jakob had lifted up his feet from Beersheba, the country was shortened before him, and be found himself sitting in Haran. The third sign: the stones which Jakob our father had taken in the evening, and set as the resting-place of his head, when he had risen in the morning be found had all become one stone; and that is the stone which he set up in the first covenant, pouring oil upon the top of it. The fourth sign : when all the shepherds had gathered together at the stone to roll it from the mouth of the well, and could not, then came our father Jakob and lifted it with one hand, and watered the flock, of Laban his mother’s brother. The fifth sign: after our father Jakob had lifted the stone from the mouth of the well, the well overflowed, and was overflowing twenty years; all the days that our father Jakob dwelt in Haran. These five signs were wrought for our father Jakob in the time when he departed from Beersheba to go to Charan.

And he dreamed, and, behold, a ladder was fixed in the earth, and the summit of it reached to the height of heaven. And, behold, the angels who had accompanied him from the house of his father, ascended to make known to the angels on high, saying, Come, see Jakob the pious, whose likeness is in the throne of glory, and whom you have been desirous to see! And, behold, the holy angels from before the Lord ascended and descended, and looked upon him.]

And, behold, the Glory of the Lord stood above him, and He said to him, I am the Lord the Elohim of Abraham thy father, and the Elohim of Izhak, The land on which thou art lying I will give to thee and to thy sons. And thy sons will be many as the dust of the earth, and will become strong on the west and on the east, on the north and on the south: and all the kindreds of the earth will through thy righteousness and the righteousness of thy sons be blessed. And, behold, My Word is for thy help, and will guard thee in every place where thou shalt go, and will bring thee (again) to this land; for I will not leave thee until the time when I have performed all that I have told thee.

And Jakob awoke from his sleep, and said, Verily the Glory of the Lord’s Shekinah dwelleth in this place, and I knew it not. And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful and glorious is this place! This place is not common, but the sanctuary of the Name of the Lord, the proper spot for prayer, set forth before the gate of heaven and founded beneath the throne of glory.

And Jakob arose in the morning, and took the stone which he had placed for his pillow, and set it standing, and poured oil on the top of it. And he called the name of that place Beth El; but Luz was the name of the city at the first. And Jakob vowed a vow, saying, If the Word of the Lord will be my Helper, and will keep me from shedding innocent blood, and from strange worship, and from impure converse, in this way that I am going; and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to wear, and will bring me back in peace to my father’s house; the Lord will be my God: ‘and this stone which I have set (for) a pillar will be ordained for the house of the sanctuary of the Lord, and upon it will generations worship the Name of the Lord; and of all that Thou mayest give me, the tenth will I separate before Thee.

Chapter 29 And Jakob lifted up his feet lightly to proceed, and he came to the land of the children of the cast. And he looked and saw, and behold (there was) a well in a field, and behold there three flocks of sheep lying near it; because from that well they watered the flocks; and a great stone was laid upon the mouth of the well. And they gathered the flocks there, and rolled the stone from the well’s mouth, and watered the sheep, and set the stone on the mouth of the well in its place.

And Jakob said to them, My brethren, whence are you ? And they said, From Haran are we. And he said to them, Know you Laban bar Nachor? And they said, We know. And he said, Hath he peace? And they said, Peace; and, behold, Rahel his daughter cometh with the sheep. And he said, Behold, the time of the day is great; it is not time to gather home the cattle; water the sheep, and let them go (again) to pasture. [JERUSALEM It is not time to gather.] And they said, We cannot until all the flocks are gathered together, and we roll the stone from the mouth of the well and water the sheep.

While they were speaking with him, Rahel came with her father’s sheep; for she was a shepherdess at that time, because there had been a plague from the Lord among the sheep of Laban, and but few of them were left, and he had dismissed his shepherds, and had put the remaining (flock) before Rahel his daughter. And it was when Jakob saw Rahel the daughter of Laban his mother’s brother that Jakob went nigh, and rolled the stone with one of his arms from the mouth of the Well; and the well uprose, and the waters ascended to the top of it; and he watered the sheep of Laban his mother’s brother; and it uprose for twenty years.

And Jakob kissed Rahel, and lifted up his voice and wept. And Jakob told unto Rahel, that he was come to be with her father to take one of his daughters. And Rahel answered him Thou canst not dwell with him, for he is a man of cunning. And Jakob said to her, I am more cunning and wiser than he; nor can he do me evil, because the Word of the Lord is my Helper. And when she knew that he was the son of Rivekah, she ran and made it known to her father. And it was when Laban heard the account of the strength and piety of Jakob the son of his sister; how he had taken the birthright and the order of blessing from the hand of his brother, and how the Lord had revealed Himself to him at Bethel; how the stone had been removed, and how the well had upflowed and risen to the brink; he ran to meet him and embrace him, and kissed him and led him into his house; and he related to Laban all these things. And Laban said to him, Truly thou art my near one and my blood; and he dwelt with him a new moon of days.

And Laban said to Jakob, Though thou art reputed my brother, shouldst thou serve me for nothing? Tell me, what will be thy wages? And Laban had two daughters, the name of the elder Leah, and the name of the younger Rahel. And the eyes of Leah were moist, (or dropping, running) from weeping and praying before the Lord that he would not destine her for Esau the wicked; and Rahel was beautiful in appearance, and of a fair countenance. [JERUSALEM. And the eyes of Leah were tender, for she had wept and prayed that she might not be brought up in the lot of Esau; and Rahel was beautiful in appearance, and of fair countenance.] And Jakob loved Rahel; and he said, I will serve thee seven years for Rahel thy Younger daughter. And Laban said with deceit, It is better that I give her to thee, than to another man abide with me. And Jakob served for Rahel seven years; and they seemed in his eyes as a few days, because he loved her.

And Jakob said to Laban, Give me my wife: for the days of my service are completed, and I will go in with her. And Laban gathered all the men of the place, and made them a feast. Answering he said to them, Behold, seven years since Jakob came to us the wells have not failed and the watered places are multiplied: and now come, let us counsel against him cunning counsel, that he may remain with us. And they gave him cunning counsel that he should take Leah to him instead of Rahel.

[JERUSALEM. And Laban gathered all the people of the place, and made a feast. And Laban answered and said to them, Behold seven years are from the coming of this just man to us; our waterings have not failed, and our springs are many: and now come, give me counsel how we may settle (or subject) him among us yet seven years. And they gave him cunning counsel to take Leah to him instead of Rahel.]

And it was in the evening that he brought Leah his daughter, and introduced her to him, and he went in with her. And Laban gave to him Zilpha his daughter, whom his concubine had borne to him, and he delivered her to Leah his daughter to be her handmaid. And it

was the time of the morning and he saw her, and behold, she was Leah, whom all the night he had thought to be Rahel; because Rahel had delivered to her all the things with which Jakob had presented her. But when he saw this, he said to Laban, what is this that thou hast done to me? Was it not for Rahel that I served with thee? Why hast thou deceived me?

And Laban said, It is not so done in our place, to give the younger before the elder. Fulfil now the seven days of the feast of this, and I will give thee also that for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years. [JERUSALEM. Fulfil the seven days of this feast of Leah, and I will give.] And Jakob did so, and fulfilled the seven days of the feast of Leah, and he gave him Rahel his daughter Bilhah, whom his concubine bare him, and he delivered her unto her to be her handmaid. And he went in also unto Rahel; and he loved Rahel also more than Leah. And he served with him for her yet seven other years.

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1.19.1. Now Jacob was sent by his mother to Mesopotamia, in order to marry Laban her brother’s daughter [which marriage was permitted by Isaac, on account of his obsequiousness to the desires of his wife]; and he accordingly journeyed through the land of Canaan; and because he hated the people of that country, he would not lodge with any of them, but took up his lodging in the open air, and laid his head on a heap of stones that he had gathered together. At which time he saw in his sleep such a vision standing by him:—he seemed to see a ladder that reached from the land unto the heavens, and persons descending upon the ladder that seemed more excellent than human; and at last Elohim himself stood above it, and was plainly visible to him, who, calling him by his name, spake to him in these words:—

1.19.2. “O Jacob, it is not fit for thee, who art the son of a good father, and grandson of one who had obtained a great reputation for his eminent virtue, to be dejected at thy present circumstances, but to hope for better times, for thou shalt have great abundance of all good things, by my assistance: for I brought Abraham hither, out of Mesopotamia, when he was driven away by his kinsmen, and I made thy father a happy man, nor will I bestow a lesser degree of happiness on thyself: be of good courage, therefore, and under my conduct proceed on this thy journey, for the marriage thou goest so zealously about will be consummated. And thou shalt have children of good characters, but their multitude will be innumerable; and they will leave what they have to a still more numerous posterity, to whom, and to whose posterity, I give the dominion of all the land, and their posterity will fill the entire land and sea, so far as the sun beholds them: but do not thou fear any danger, nor be afraid of the many labors thou must undergo, for by my providence I will direct thee what thou art to do in the time present, and still much more in the time to come.”

1.19.3. Such were the predictions which Elohim made to Jacob; whereupon he became very joyful at what he had seen and heard; and he poured oil on the stones, because on them the prediction of such great benefits was made. He also vowed a vow, that he would offer slaughters upon them, if he lived and returned safe; and if he came again in such a condition, he would give the tithe of what he had gotten to Elohim. He also judged the place to be honorable and gave it the name of Bethel, which, in the Greek, is interpreted, The House of Elohim.

1.19.4. So he proceeded on his journey to Mesopotamia, and at length came to Haran; and meeting with shepherds in the suburbs, with boys grown up, and maidens sitting about a certain well, he staid with them, as wanting water to drink; and beginning to discourse with them, he asked them whether they knew such a one as Laban, and whether he was still alive. Now they all said they knew him, for he was not so inconsiderable a person as to be unknown to any of them; and that his daughter fed her father’s flock together with them; and that indeed they wondered that she was not yet come, for by her means thou mightest learn more exactly whatever thou desirest to know about that family. While they were saying this the damsel came, and the other shepherds that came down along with her. Then they showed her Jacob, and told her that he was a stranger, who came to inquire about her father’s affairs. But she, as pleased, after the custom of children, with Jacob’s coming, asked him who he was, and whence he came to them, and what it was he lacked that he came thither. She also wished it might be in their power to supply the wants he came about.

1.19.5. But Jacob was quite overcome, not so much by their kindred, nor by that affection which might arise thence, as by his love to the damsel, and his surprise at her beauty, which was so flourishing, as few of the women of that age could vie with. He said then, “There is a relation between thee and me, elder than either thy or my birth, if thou be the daughter of Laban; for Abraham was the son of Terah, as well as Haran and Nahor. Of the last of whom [Nahor] Bethuel thy grandfather was the son. Isaac my father was the son of Abraham and of Sarah, who was the daughter of Haran. But there is a nearer and later cement of mutual kindred which we bear to one another, for my mother Rebeka was sister to Laban thy father, both by the same father and mother; I therefore and thou are cousin-germans. And I am now come to salute you, and to renew that affinity which is proper between us.” Upon this the damsel, at the mention of Rebeka, as usually happens to young persons, wept, and that out of the kindness she had for her father, and embraced Jacob, she having learned an account of Rebeka from her father, and knew that her parents loved to hear her named; and when she had saluted him, she said that “he brought the most desirable and greatest pleasures to her father, with all their family, who was always mentioning his mother, and always thinking of her, and her alone; and that this will make thee equal in his eyes to any advantageous circumstances whatsoever.” Then she bid him go to her father, and follow her while she conducted him to him; and not to deprive him of such a pleasure, by staying any longer away from him.

1.19.6. When she had said thus, she brought him to Laban; and being owned by his uncle, he was secure himself, as being among his friends; and he brought a great deal of pleasure to them by his unexpected coning. But a little while afterward, Laban told him that he could not express in words the joy he had at his coming; but still he inquired of him the occasion of his coming, and why he left his aged mother and father, when they wanted to be taken care of by him; and that he would afford him all the assistance he wanted. Then Jacob gave him an account of the whole occasion of his journey, and told him, “that Isaac had two sons that were twins, himself and Esau; who, because he failed of his father’s prayers, which by his mother’s wisdom were put up for him, sought to kill him, as deprived of the reign which was to be given him of Elohim, and of the blessings for which their father prayed; and that this was the occasion of his coming hither, as his mother had commanded him to do: for we are all [says he] brethren one to another; but our mother esteems an alliance with your family more than she does one with the families of the country; so I look upon yourself and Elohim to be the supporters of my travels, and think myself safe in my present circumstances.”

1.19.7. Now Laban promised to treat him with great humanity, both on account of his ancestors, and particularly for the sake of his mother, towards whom, he said, he would show his kindness, even though she were absent, by taking care of him; for he assured him he would make him the head shepherd of his flock, and give him authority sufficient for that purpose; and when he should have a mind to return to his parents, he would send him back with presents, and this in as honorable a manner as the nearness of their relation should require. This Jacob heard gladly; and said he would willingly, and with pleasure, undergo any sort of pains while he tarried with him, but desired Rachel to wife, as the reward of those pains, who was not only on other accounts esteemed by him, but also because she was the means of his coming to him; for he said he was forced by the love of the damsel to make this proposal. Laban was well pleased with this agreement, and consented to give the damsel to him, as not desirous to meet with any better son-in-law; and said he would do this, if he would stay with him some time, for he was not willing to send his daughter to be among the Canaanites, for he repented of the alliance he had made already by marrying his sister there. And when Jacob had given his consent to this, he agreed to stay seven years; for so many years he had resolved to serve his father-in-law, that, having given a specimen of his virtue, it might be better known what sort of a man he was. And Jacob, accepting of his terms, after the time was over, he made the wedding-feast; and when it was night, without Jacob’s perceiving it, he put his other daughter into bed to him, who was both elder than Rachel, and of no comely countenance: Jacob lay with her that night, as being both in drink and in the dark. However, when it was day, he knew what had been done to him; and he reproached Laban for his unfair proceeding with him; who asked pardon for that necessity which forced him to do what he did; for he did not give him Lea out of any ill design, but as overcome by another greater necessity: that, notwithstanding this, nothing should hinder him from marrying Rachel; but that when he had served another seven years, he would give him her whom he loved. Jacob submitted to this condition, for his love to the damsel did not permit him to do otherwise; and when another seven years were gone, he took Rachel to wife.