Jacob bible study Genesis chapters 28 through 36

 

            Here is a bible study which tells all about the life story of Jacob, from chapters 28 to 35 then goes on to tell about Esau and his descendants in chapter 36. It gives details aboutJacob’s marriages with the different people such as Rachel and Leah the birth of  all twelve of his sons, his return from Laban including his meeting with his Esau again. He has a number of wonderful encounters with God all along the way and God really blesses all that Jacob did. I am now including a link to the study which includes Jacob and Esau’s birth and Abraham and Isaac’s life here

https://www.facebook.com/notes/jay-dougherty/abraham-and-isaac-bible-study-genesis-chapters-21-through-27/10200686430536738

In Genesis 28 Jacob is sent off by Isaac on his journey to Laban, in the meanwhile Esau takes a wife from Ishmael. The chapter then concludes with Jacob’s dream of the ladder and God speaking to Jacob, promising many blessings

(Genesis 28:1)  Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him and directed him, "You must not take a wife from the Canaanite women.

 

(Genesis 28:2)  Arise, go to Paddan-aram to the house of Bethuel your mother's father, and take as your wife from there one of the daughters of Laban your mother's brother.

 

(Genesis 28:3)  God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may become a company of peoples.

 

(Genesis 28:4)  May he give the blessing of Abraham to you and to your offspring with you, that you may take possession of the land of your sojournings that God gave to Abraham!"

 

(Genesis 28:5)  Thus Isaac sent Jacob away. And he went to Paddan-aram, to Laban, the son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob's and Esau's mother.

 

(Genesis 28:6)  Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan-aram to take a wife from there, and that as he blessed him he directed him, "You must not take a wife from the Canaanite women,"

 

(Genesis 28:7)  and that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and gone to Paddan-aram.

 

(Genesis 28:8)  So when Esau saw that the Canaanite women did not please Isaac his father,

 

(Genesis 28:9)  Esau went to Ishmael and took as his wife, besides the wives he had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham's son, the sister of Nebaioth.

 

(Genesis 28:10)  Jacob left Beersheba and went toward Haran.

 

(Genesis 28:11)  And he came to a certain place and stayed there that 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 to sleep.

 

(Genesis 28:12)  And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it!

 

(Genesis 28:13)  And behold, the LORD stood above it and said, "I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring.

 

(Genesis 28:14)  Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

 

(Genesis 28:15)  Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you."

 

(Genesis 28:16)  Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it."

 

(Genesis 28:17)  And he was afraid and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven."

 

(Genesis 28:18)  So early in the morning Jacob 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.

 

(Genesis 28:19)  He called the name of that place Bethel, but the name of the city was Luz at the first.

 

(Genesis 28:20)  Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear,

 

(Genesis 28:21)  so that I come again to my father's house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God,

 

(Genesis 28:22)  and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God's house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you."

 

In Genesis chapter 29, Jacob arrives at Laban’s place and serves his time first for Leah and then for Rachel, seven years for each one, for a total of 14 years, as Laban made Jacob marry Leah first before he could marry Rachel. Jacob’s sons start being born while Jacob serves for Rachel

(Genesis 29:1)  Then Jacob went on his journey and came to the land of the people of the east.

 

(Genesis 29:2)  As he looked, he saw a well in the field, and behold, three flocks of sheep lying beside it, for out of that well the flocks were watered. The stone on the well's mouth was large,

 

(Genesis 29:3)  and when all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would roll the stone from the mouth of the well and water the sheep, and put the stone back in its place over the mouth of the well.

 

(Genesis 29:4)  Jacob said to them, "My brothers, where do you come from?" They said, "We are from Haran."

 

(Genesis 29:5)  He said to them, "Do you know Laban the son of Nahor?" They said, "We know him."

 

(Genesis 29:6)  He said to them, "Is it well with him?" They said, "It is well; and see, Rachel his daughter is coming with the sheep!"

 

(Genesis 29:7)  He said, "Behold, it is still high day; it is not time for the livestock to be gathered together. Water the sheep and go, pasture them."

 

(Genesis 29:8)  But they said, "We cannot until all the flocks are gathered together and the stone is rolled from the mouth of the well; then we water the sheep."

 

(Genesis 29:9)  While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep, for she was a shepherdess.

 

(Genesis 29:10)  Now as soon as Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother's brother, Jacob came near and rolled the stone from the well's mouth and watered the flock of Laban his mother's brother.

 

(Genesis 29:11)  Then Jacob kissed Rachel and wept aloud.

 

(Genesis 29:12)  And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father's kinsman, and that he was Rebekah's son, and she ran and told her father.

 

(Genesis 29:13)  As soon as Laban heard the news about Jacob, his sister's son, he ran to meet him and embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house. Jacob told Laban all these things,

 

(Genesis 29:14)  and Laban said to him, "Surely you are my bone and my flesh!" And he stayed with him a month.

 

(Genesis 29:15)  Then Laban said to Jacob, "Because you are my kinsman, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be?"

 

(Genesis 29:16)  Now Laban had two daughters. The name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel.

 

(Genesis 29:17)  Leah's eyes were weak, but Rachel was beautiful in form and appearance.

 

(Genesis 29:18)  Jacob loved Rachel. And he said, "I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel."

 

(Genesis 29:19)  Laban said, "It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to any other man; stay with me."

 

(Genesis 29:20)  So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her.

 

(Genesis 29:21)  Then Jacob said to Laban, "Give me my wife that I may go in to her, for my time is completed."

 

(Genesis 29:22)  So Laban gathered together all the people of the place and made a feast.

 

(Genesis 29:23)  But in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob, and he went in to her.

 

(Genesis 29:24)  (Laban gave his female servant Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her servant.)

 

(Genesis 29:25)  And in the morning, behold, it was Leah! And Jacob said to Laban, "What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve with you for Rachel? Why then have you deceived me?"

 

(Genesis 29:26)  Laban said, "It is not so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn.

 

(Genesis 29:27)  Complete the week of this one, and we will give you the other also in return for serving me another seven years."

 

(Genesis 29:28)  Jacob did so, and completed her week. Then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife.

 

(Genesis 29:29)  (Laban gave his female servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be her servant.)

 

(Genesis 29:30)  So Jacob went in to Rachel also, and he loved Rachel more than Leah, and served Laban for another seven years.

 

(Genesis 29:31)  When the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren.

 

(Genesis 29:32)  And Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben, for she said, "Because the LORD has looked upon my affliction; for now my husband will love me."

 

(Genesis 29:33)  She conceived again and bore a son, and said, "Because the LORD has heard that I am hated, he has given me this son also." And she called his name Simeon.

 

(Genesis 29:34)  Again she conceived and bore a son, and said, "Now this time my husband will be attached to me, because I have borne him three sons." Therefore his name was called Levi.

 

(Genesis 29:35)  And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, "This time I will praise the LORD." Therefore she called his name Judah. Then she ceased bearing.

 

In chapter 30, the rest of Jacob’s sons are born, except for Benjamin his last one, then Jacob then serves Laban for sheep, and God blesses Jacob very abundantly in that doing seeing as how whatever terms that Jacob and Laban agree too God ensures that things always favor Jacob in that. .

(Genesis 30:1)  When Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, she envied her sister. She said to Jacob, "Give me children, or I shall die!"

 

(Genesis 30:2)  Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel, and he said, "Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?"

 

(Genesis 30:3)  Then she said, "Here is my servant Bilhah; go in to her, so that she may give birth on my behalf, that even I may have children through her."

 

(Genesis 30:4)  So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob went in to her.

 

(Genesis 30:5)  And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son.

 

(Genesis 30:6)  Then Rachel said, "God has judged me, and has also heard my voice and given me a son." Therefore she called his name Dan.

 

(Genesis 30:7)  Rachel's servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son.

 

(Genesis 30:8)  Then Rachel said, "With mighty wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister and have prevailed." So she called his name Naphtali.

 

(Genesis 30:9)  When Leah saw that she had ceased bearing children, she took her servant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife.

 

(Genesis 30:10)  Then Leah's servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son.

 

(Genesis 30:11)  And Leah said, "Good fortune has come!" so she called his name Gad.

 

(Genesis 30:12)  Leah's servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son.

 

(Genesis 30:13)  And Leah said, "Happy am I! For women have called me happy." So she called his name Asher.

 

(Genesis 30:14)  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."

 

(Genesis 30:15)  But she said to her, "Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband? Would you take away my son's mandrakes also?" Rachel said, "Then he may lie with you tonight in exchange for your son's mandrakes."

 

(Genesis 30:16)  When Jacob came from the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, "You must come in to me, for I have hired you with my son's mandrakes." So he lay with her that night.

 

(Genesis 30:17)  And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son.

 

(Genesis 30:18)  Leah said, "God has given me my wages because I gave my servant to my husband." So she called his name Issachar.

 

(Genesis 30:19)  And Leah conceived again, and she bore Jacob a sixth son.

 

(Genesis 30:20)  Then Leah said, "God has endowed me with a good endowment; now my husband will honor me, because I have borne him six sons." So she called his name Zebulun.

 

(Genesis 30:21)  Afterward she bore a daughter and called her name Dinah.

 

(Genesis 30:22)  Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb.

 

(Genesis 30:23)  She conceived and bore a son and said, "God has taken away my reproach."

 

(Genesis 30:24)  And she called his name Joseph, saying, "May the LORD add to me another son!"

 

(Genesis 30:25)  As soon as Rachel had borne Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, "Send me away, that I may go to my own home and country.

 

(Genesis 30:26)  Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served you, that I may go, for you know the service that I have given you."

 

(Genesis 30:27)  But Laban said to him, "If I have found favor in your sight, I have learned by divination that the LORD has blessed me because of you.

 

(Genesis 30:28)  Name your wages, and I will give it."

 

(Genesis 30:29)  Jacob said to him, "You yourself know how I have served you, and how your livestock has fared with me.

 

(Gen 30:30)  For you had little before I came, and it has increased abundantly, and the LORD has blessed you wherever I turned. But now when shall I provide for my own household also?"

 

(Genesis 30:31)  He said, "What shall I give you?" Jacob said, "You shall not give me anything. If you will do this for me, I will again pasture your flock and keep it:

 

(Genesis 30:32)  let me pass through all your flock today, removing from it every speckled and spotted sheep and every black lamb, and the spotted and speckled among the goats, and they shall be my wages.

 

(Genesis 30:33)  So my honesty will answer for me later, when you come to look into my wages with you. Every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats and black among the lambs, if found with me, shall be counted stolen."

 

(Genesis 30:34)  Laban said, "Good! Let it be as you have said."

 

(Genesis 30:35)  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 the charge of his sons.

 

(Genesis 30:36)  And he set a distance of three days' journey between himself and Jacob, and Jacob pastured the rest of Laban's flock.

 

(Genesis 30:37)  Then Jacob took fresh sticks of poplar and almond and plane trees, and peeled white streaks in them, exposing the white of the sticks.

 

(Genesis 30:38)  He set the sticks that he had peeled in front of the flocks in the troughs, that is, the watering places, where the flocks came to drink. And since they bred when they came to drink,

 

(Gen 30:39)  the flocks bred in front of the sticks and so the flocks brought forth striped, speckled, and spotted.

 

(Genesis 30:40)  And Jacob separated the lambs and set the faces of the flocks toward the striped and all the black in the flock of Laban. He put his own droves apart and did not put them with Laban's flock.

 

(Genesis 30:41)  Whenever the stronger of the flock were breeding, Jacob would lay the sticks in the troughs before the eyes of the flock, that they might breed among the sticks,

 

(Genesis 30:42)  but for the feebler of the flock he would not lay them there. So the feebler would be Laban's, and the stronger Jacob's.

 

(Genesis 30:43)  Thus the man increased greatly and had large flocks, female servants and male servants, and camels and donkeys.

 

In chapter 31 Jacob continues to serve Laban until God appears to Jacob and tells him to go back, which Jacob does very suddenly and without warning to Laban, who pursues and overtakes him. After overtaking him, Laban and Jacob talk and then make a covenant with each other at the end of the chapter.

(Genesis 31:1)  Now Jacob heard that the sons of Laban were saying, "Jacob has taken all that was our father's, and from what was our father's he has gained all this wealth."

 

(Genesis 31:2)  And Jacob saw that Laban did not regard him with favor as before.

 

(Genesis 31:3)  Then the LORD said to Jacob, "Return to the land of your fathers and to your kindred, and I will be with you."

 

(Genesis 31:4)  So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah into the field where his flock was

 

(Genesis 31:5)  and said to them, "I see that your father does not regard me with favor as he did before. But the God of my father has been with me.

 

(Genesis 31:6)  You know that I have served your father with all my strength,

 

(Genesis 31:7)  yet your father has cheated me and changed my wages ten times. But God did not permit him to harm me.

 

(Genesis 31:8)  If he said, 'The spotted shall be your wages,' then all the flock bore spotted; and if he said, 'The striped shall be your wages,' then all the flock bore striped.

 

(Genesis 31:9)  Thus God has taken away the livestock of your father and given them to me.

 

(Genesis 31:10)  In the breeding season of the flock I lifted up my eyes and saw in a dream that the goats that mated with the flock were striped, spotted, and mottled.

 

(Genesis 31:11)  Then the angel of God said to me in the dream, 'Jacob,' and I said, 'Here I am!'

 

(Genesis 31:12)  And he said, 'Lift up your eyes and see, all the goats that mate with the flock are striped, spotted, and mottled, for I have seen all that Laban is doing to you.

 

(Genesis 31:13)  I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and made a vow to me. Now arise, go out from this land and return to the land of your kindred.'"

 

(Genesis 31:14)  Then Rachel and Leah answered and said to him, "Is there any portion or inheritance left to us in our father's house?

 

(Genesis 31:15)  Are we not regarded by him as foreigners? For he has sold us, and he has indeed devoured our money.

 

(Genesis 31:16)  All the wealth that God has taken away from our father belongs to us and to our children. Now then, whatever God has said to you, do."

 

(Genesis 31:17)  So Jacob arose and set his sons and his wives on camels.

 

(Genesis 31:18)  He drove away all his livestock, all his property that he had gained, the livestock in his possession that he had acquired in Paddan-aram, to go to the land of Canaan to his father Isaac.

 

(Genesis 31:19)  Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel stole her father's household gods.

 

(Genesis 31:20)  And Jacob tricked Laban the Aramean, by not telling him that he intended to flee.

 

(Genesis 31:21)  He fled with all that he had and arose and crossed the Euphrates, and set his face toward the hill country of Gilead.

 

(Genesis 31:22)  When it was told Laban on the third day that Jacob had fled,

 

(Genesis 31:23)  he took his kinsmen with him and pursued him for seven days and followed close after him into the hill country of Gilead.

 

(Genesis 31:24)  But God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream by night and said to him, "Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad."

 

(Genesis 31:25)  And Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country, and Laban with his kinsmen pitched tents in the hill country of Gilead.

 

(Genesis 31:26)  And Laban said to Jacob, "What have you done, that you have tricked me and driven away my daughters like captives of the sword?

 

(Genesis 31:27)  Why did you flee secretly and trick me, and did not tell me, so that I might have sent you away with mirth and songs, with tambourine and lyre?

 

(Genesis 31:28)  And why did you not permit me to kiss my sons and my daughters farewell? Now you have done foolishly.

 

(Genesis 31:29)  It is in my power to do you harm. But the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, 'Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.'

 

(Genesis 31:30)  And now you have gone away because you longed greatly for your father's house, but why did you steal my gods?"

 

(Genesis 31:31)  Jacob answered and said to Laban, "Because I was afraid, for I thought that you would take your daughters from me by force.

 

(Genesis 31:32)  Anyone with whom you find your gods shall not live. In the presence of our kinsmen point out what I have that is yours, and take it." Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.

 

(Genesis 31:33)  So Laban went into Jacob's tent and into Leah's tent and into the tent of the two female servants, but he did not find them. And he went out of Leah's tent and entered Rachel's.

 

(Genesis 31:34)  Now Rachel had taken the household gods and put them in the camel's saddle and sat on them. Laban felt all about the tent, but did not find them.

 

(Genesis 31:35)  And she said to her father, "Let not my lord be angry that I cannot rise before you, for the way of women is upon me." So he searched but did not find the household gods.

 

(Genesis 31:36)  Then Jacob became angry and berated Laban. Jacob said to Laban, "What is my offense? What is my sin, that you have hotly pursued me?

 

(Genesis 31:37)  For you have felt through all my goods; what have you found of all your household goods? Set it here before my kinsmen and your kinsmen, that they may decide between us two.

 

(Genesis 31:38)  These twenty years I have been with you. Your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried, and I have not eaten the rams of your flocks.

 

(Genesis 31:39)  What was torn by wild beasts I did not bring to you. I bore the loss of it myself. From my hand you required it, whether stolen by day or stolen by night.

 

(Genesis 31:40)  There I was: by day the heat consumed me, and the cold by night, and my sleep fled from my eyes.

 

(Genesis 31:41)  These twenty years I have been in your house. I served you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your flock, and you have changed my wages ten times.

 

(Genesis 31:42)  If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been on my side, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God saw my affliction and the labor of my hands and rebuked you last night."

 

(Genesis 31:43)  Then Laban answered and said to Jacob, "The daughters are my daughters, the children are my children, the flocks are my flocks, and all that you see is mine. But what can I do this day for these my daughters or for their children whom they have borne?

 

(Genesis 31:44)  Come now, let us make a covenant, you and I. And let it be a witness between you and me."

 

(Genesis 31:45)  So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar.

 

(Genesis 31:46)  And Jacob said to his kinsmen, "Gather stones." And they took stones and made a heap, and they ate there by the heap.

 

(Genesis 31:47)  Laban called it Jegar-sahadutha, but Jacob called it Galeed.

 

(Genesis 31:48)  Laban said, "This heap is a witness between you and me today." Therefore he named it Galeed,

 

(Genesis 31:49)  and Mizpah, for he said, "The LORD watch between you and me, when we are out of one another's sight.

 

(Genesis 31:50)  If you oppress my daughters, or if you take wives besides my daughters, although no one is with us, see, God is witness between you and me."

 

(Genesis 31:51)  Then Laban said to Jacob, "See this heap and the pillar, which I have set between you and me.

 

(Genesis 31:52)  This heap is a witness, and the pillar is a witness, that I will not pass over this heap to you, and you will not pass over this heap and this pillar to me, to do harm.

 

(Genesis 31:53)  The God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us." So Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac,

 

(Genesis 31:54)  and Jacob offered a sacrifice in the hill country and called his kinsmen to eat bread. They ate bread and spent the night in the hill country.

 

(Genesis 31:55)  Early in the morning Laban arose and kissed his grandchildren and his daughters and blessed them. Then Laban departed and returned home.

 

In Genesis chapter 32 Jacob sends messengers to Esau who then comes to meet Jacob with 400 men, which distresses Jacob who then splits his people and possessions, then later while alone, having sent his wives ahead across the stream is Jacob’s wrestling encounter with an angel, quite probably the pre-incarnate Jesus at the very least one of the archangels. There is some disagreement on that. However as a result of the encounter Jacob’s name is first changed to Israel and Jacob limps from an injury to his hip

(Genesis 32:1)  Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.

 

(Genesis 32:2)  And when Jacob saw them he said, "This is God's camp!" So he called the name of that place Mahanaim.

 

(Genesis 32:3)  And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother in the land of Seir, the country of Edom,

 

(Genesis 32:4)  instructing them, "Thus you shall say to my lord Esau: Thus says your servant Jacob, 'I have sojourned with Laban and stayed until now.

 

(Genesis 32:5)  I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, male servants, and female servants. I have sent to tell my lord, in order that I may find favor in your sight.'"

 

(Genesis 32:6)  And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, "We came to your brother Esau, and he is coming to meet you, and there are four hundred men with him."

 

(Genesis 32:7)  Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed. He divided the people who were with him, and the flocks and herds and camels, into two camps,

 

(Genesis 32:8)  thinking, "If Esau comes to the one camp and attacks it, then the camp that is left will escape."

 

(Genesis 32:9)  And Jacob said, "O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O LORD who said to me, 'Return to your country and to your kindred, that I may do you good,'

 

(Genesis 32:10)  I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant, for with only my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps.

 

(Genesis 32:11)  Please deliver me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him, that he may come and attack me, the mothers with the children.

 

(Genesis 32:12)  But you said, 'I will surely do you good, and make your offspring as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.'"

 

(Genesis 32:13)  So he stayed there that night, and from what he had with him he took a present for his brother Esau,

 

(Genesis 32:14)  two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams,

 

(Genesis 32:15)  thirty milking camels and their calves, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys.

 

(Genesis 32:16)  These he handed over to his servants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, "Pass on ahead of me and put a space between drove and drove."

 

(Genesis 32:17)  He instructed the first, "When Esau my brother meets you and asks you, 'To whom do you belong? Where are you going? And whose are these ahead of you?'

 

(Genesis 32:18)  then you shall say, 'They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a present sent to my lord Esau. And moreover, he is behind us.'"

 

(Genesis 32:19)  He likewise instructed the second and the third and all who followed the droves, "You shall say the same thing to Esau when you find him,

 

(Genesis 32:20)  and you shall say, 'Moreover, your servant Jacob is behind us.'" For he thought, "I may appease him with the present that goes ahead of me, and afterward I shall see his face. Perhaps he will accept me."

 

(Genesis 32:21)  So the present passed on ahead of him, and he himself stayed that night in the camp.

 

(Genesis 32:22)  The same night he arose and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok.

 

(Genesis 32:23)  He took them and sent them across the stream, and everything else that he had.

 

(Genesis 32:24)  And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day.

 

(Genesis 32:25)  When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him.

 

(Genesis 32:26)  Then he said, "Let me go, for the day has broken." But Jacob said, "I will not let you go unless you bless me."

 

(Genesis 32:27)  And he said to him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Jacob."

 

(Genesis 32:28)  Then he said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed."

 

(Genesis 32:29)  Then Jacob asked him, "Please tell me your name." But he said, "Why is it that you ask my name?" And there he blessed him.

 

(Genesis 32:30)  So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, "For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered."

 

(Genesis 32:31)  The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip.

 

(Genesis 32:32)  Therefore to this day the people of Israel do not eat the sinew of the thigh that is on the hip socket, because he touched the socket of Jacob's hip on the sinew of the thigh.

 

In Genesis chapter 33 is Jacob’s encounter with Esau with all the details of it. Esau and Jacob then separate and go on their own ways

(Genesis 33:1)  And Jacob lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, Esau was coming, and four hundred men with him. So he divided the children among Leah and Rachel and the two female servants.

 

(Genesis 33:2)  And he put the servants with their children in front, then Leah with her children, and Rachel and Joseph last of all.

 

(Genesis 33:3)  He himself went on before them, bowing himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.

 

(Genesis 33:4)  But Esau ran to meet him and embraced him and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept.

 

(Genesis 33:5)  And when Esau lifted up his eyes and saw the women and children, he said, "Who are these with you?" Jacob said, "The children whom God has graciously given your servant."

 

(Genesis 33:6)  Then the servants drew near, they and their children, and bowed down.

 

(Genesis 33:7)  Leah likewise and her children drew near and bowed down. And last Joseph and Rachel drew near, and they bowed down.

 

(Genesis 33:8)  Esau said, "What do you mean by all this company that I met?" Jacob answered, "To find favor in the sight of my lord."

 

(Genesis 33:9)  But Esau said, "I have enough, my brother; keep what you have for yourself."

 

(Genesis 33:10)  Jacob said, "No, please, if I have found favor in your sight, then accept my present from my hand. For I have seen your face, which is like seeing the face of God, and you have accepted me.

 

(Genesis 33:11)  Please accept my blessing that is brought to you, because God has dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough." Thus he urged him, and he took it.

 

(Genesis 33:12)  Then Esau said, "Let us journey on our way, and I will go ahead of you."

 

(Genesis 33:13)  But Jacob said to him, "My lord knows that the children are frail, and that the nursing flocks and herds are a care to me. If they are driven hard for one day, all the flocks will die.

 

(Genesis 33:14)  Let my lord pass on ahead of his servant, and I will lead on slowly, at the pace of the livestock that are ahead of me and at the pace of the children, until I come to my lord in Seir."

 

(Genesis 33:15)  So Esau said, "Let me leave with you some of the people who are with me." But he said, "What need is there? Let me find favor in the sight of my lord."

 

(Genesis 33:16)  So Esau returned that day on his way to Seir.

 

(Genesis 33:17)  But Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built himself a house and made booths for his livestock. Therefore the name of the place is called Succoth.

 

(Genesis 33:18)  And Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, on his way from Paddan-aram, and he camped before the city.

 

(Genesis 33:19)  And from the sons of Hamor, Shechem's father, he bought for a hundred pieces of money the piece of land on which he had pitched his tent.

 

(Genesis 33:20)  There he erected an altar and called it El-Elohe-Israel.

 

In chapter 34 then Jacob’s daughter Dinah is raped by one uncircumcised and then eventually very harsh consequences follow from two of Jacob’s sons, which displease and distress Jacob because Jacob feared that the Canaanites and the others could gather together and overwhelm their small band.

(Genesis 34:1)  Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the women of the land.

 

(Genesis 34:2)  And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her, he seized her and lay with her and humiliated her.

 

(Genesis 34:3)  And his soul was drawn to Dinah the daughter of Jacob. He loved the young woman and spoke tenderly to her.

 

(Genesis 34:4)  So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, "Get me this girl for my wife."

 

(Genesis 34:5)  Now Jacob heard that he had defiled his daughter Dinah. But his sons were with his livestock in the field, so Jacob held his peace until they came.

 

(Genesis 34:6)  And Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him.

 

(Genesis 34:7)  The sons of Jacob had come in from the field as soon as they heard of it, and the men were indignant and very angry, because he had done an outrageous thing in Israel by lying with Jacob's daughter, for such a thing must not be done.

 

(Genesis 34:8)  But Hamor spoke with them, saying, "The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter. Please give her to him to be his wife.

 

(Genesis 34:9)  Make marriages with us. Give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves.

 

(Genesis 34:10)  You shall dwell with us, and the land shall be open to you. Dwell and trade in it, and get property in it."

 

(Genesis 34:11)  Shechem also said to her father and to her brothers, "Let me find favor in your eyes, and whatever you say to me I will give.

 

(Genesis 34:12)  Ask me for as great a bride price and gift as you will, and I will give whatever you say to me. Only give me the young woman to be my wife."

 

(Genesis 34:13)  The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and his father Hamor deceitfully, because he had defiled their sister Dinah.

 

(Genesis 34:14)  They said to them, "We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised, for that would be a disgrace to us.

 

(Genesis 34:15)  Only on this condition will we agree with you--that you will become as we are by every male among you being circumcised.

 

(Genesis 34:16)  Then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters to ourselves, and we will dwell with you and become one people.

 

(Genesis 34:17)  But if you will not listen to us and be circumcised, then we will take our daughter, and we will be gone."

 

(Gen 34:18)  Their words pleased Hamor and Hamor's son Shechem.

 

(Genesis 34:19)  And the young man did not delay to do the thing, because he delighted in Jacob's daughter. Now he was the most honored of all his father's house.

 

(Genesis 34:20)  So Hamor and his son Shechem came to the gate of their city and spoke to the men of their city, saying,

 

(Genesis 34:21)  "These men are at peace with us; let them dwell in the land and trade in it, for behold, the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters as wives, and let us give them our daughters.

 

(Genesis 34:22)  Only on this condition will the men agree to dwell with us to become one people--when every male among us is circumcised as they are circumcised.

 

(Genesis 34:23)  Will not their livestock, their property and all their beasts be ours? Only let us agree with them, and they will dwell with us."

 

(Genesis 34:24)  And all who went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor and his son Shechem, and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city.

 

(Genesis 34:25)  On the third day, when they were sore, two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, took their swords and came against the city while it felt secure and killed all the males.

 

(Gen 34:26)  They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the sword and took Dinah out of Shechem's house and went away.

 

(Genesis 34:27)  The sons of Jacob came upon the slain and plundered the city, because they had defiled their sister.

 

(Genesis 34:28)  They took their flocks and their herds, their donkeys, and whatever was in the city and in the field.

 

(Genesis 34:29)  All their wealth, all their little ones and their wives, all that was in the houses, they captured and plundered.

 

(Genesis 34:30)  Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, "You have brought trouble on me by making me stink to the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites and the Perizzites. My numbers are few, and if they gather themselves against me and attack me, I shall be destroyed, both I and my household."

 

(Genesis 34:31)  But they said, "Should he treat our sister like a prostitute?"

 

In chapter 35 Jacob then has more encounters with God, who sends him to Bethel and eventually and finally changes his name to Israel, though that also happened during the wrestling encounter in chapter 32 above. Also in the chapter, finally Benjamin is finally born but Rachel the mother dies during that childbirth, also Isaac the father of Jacob dies at the end of the chapter

(Genesis 35:1)  God said to Jacob, "Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there. Make an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau."

 

(Genesis 35:2)  So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, "Put away the foreign gods that are among you and purify yourselves and change your garments.

 

(Genesis 35:3)  Then let us arise and go up to Bethel, so that I may make there an altar to the God who answers me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone."

 

(Genesis 35:4)  So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that they had, and the rings that were in their ears. Jacob hid them under the terebinth tree that was near Shechem.

 

(Genesis 35:5)  And as they journeyed, a terror from God fell upon the cities that were around them, so that they did not pursue the sons of Jacob.

 

(Genesis 35:6)  And Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him,

 

(Genesis 35:7)  and there he built an altar and called the place El-bethel, because there God had revealed himself to him when he fled from his brother.

 

(Genesis 35:8)  And Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died, and she was buried under an oak below Bethel. So he called its name Allon-bacuth.

 

(Genesis 35:9)  God appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Paddan-aram, and blessed him.

 

(Genesis 35:10)  And God said to him, "Your name is Jacob; no longer shall your name be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name." So he called his name Israel.

 

(Genesis 35:11)  And God said to him, "I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come from your own body.

 

(Genesis 35:12)  The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give the land to your offspring after you."

 

(Genesis 35:13)  Then God went up from him in the place where he had spoken with him.

 

(Genesis 35:14)  And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he had spoken with him, a pillar of stone. He poured out a drink offering on it and poured oil on it.

 

(Genesis 35:15)  So Jacob called the name of the place where God had spoken with him Bethel.

 

(Genesis 35:16)  Then they journeyed from Bethel. When they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel went into labor, and she had hard labor.

 

(Genesis 35:17)  And when her labor was at its hardest, the midwife said to her, "Do not fear, for you have another son."

 

(Genesis 35:18)  And as her soul was departing (for she was dying), she called his name Ben-oni; but his father called him Benjamin.

 

(Genesis 35:19)  So Rachel died, and she was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem),

 

(Genesis 35:20)  and Jacob set up a pillar over her tomb. It is the pillar of Rachel's tomb, which is there to this day.

 

(Genesis 35:21)  Israel journeyed on and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eder.

 

(Genesis 35:22)  While Israel lived in that land, Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine. And Israel heard of it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve.

 

(Genesis 35:23)  The sons of Leah: Reuben (Jacob's firstborn), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.

 

(Genesis 35:24)  The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin.

 

(Genesis 35:25)  The sons of Bilhah, Rachel's servant: Dan and Naphtali.

 

(Genesis 35:26)  The sons of Zilpah, Leah's servant: Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan-aram.

 

(Genesis 35:27)  And Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre, or Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had sojourned.

 

(Genesis 35:28)  Now the days of Isaac were 180 years.

 

(Genesis 35:29)  And Isaac breathed his last, and he died and was gathered to his people, old and full of days. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

 

Genesis chapter 36 then gives a genealogy of the various descendents of Esau, or the Edomites and lists them

(Genesis 36:1)  These are the generations of Esau (that is, Edom).

 

(Genesis 36:2)  Esau took his wives from the Canaanites: Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, Oholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite,

 

(Genesis 36:3)  and Basemath, Ishmael's daughter, the sister of Nebaioth.

 

(Genesis 36:4)  And Adah bore to Esau, Eliphaz; Basemath bore Reuel;

 

(Genesis 36:5)  and Oholibamah bore Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These are the sons of Esau who were born to him in the land of Canaan.

 

(Genesis 36:6)  Then Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the members of his household, his livestock, all his beasts, and all his property that he had acquired in the land of Canaan. He went into a land away from his brother Jacob.

 

(Genesis 36:7)  For their possessions were too great for them to dwell together. The land of their sojournings could not support them because of their livestock.

 

(Genesis 36:8)  So Esau settled in the hill country of Seir. (Esau is Edom.)

 

(Genesis 36:9)  These are the generations of Esau the father of the Edomites in the hill country of Seir.

 

(Genesis 36:10)  These are the names of Esau's sons: Eliphaz the son of Adah the wife of Esau, Reuel the son of Basemath the wife of Esau.

 

(Genesis 36:11)  The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz.

 

(Genesis 36:12)  (Timna was a concubine of Eliphaz, Esau's son; she bore Amalek to Eliphaz.) These are the sons of Adah, Esau's wife.

 

(Genesis 36:13)  These are the sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These are the sons of Basemath, Esau's wife.

 

(Genesis 36:14)  These are the sons of Oholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon, Esau's wife: she bore to Esau Jeush, Jalam, and Korah.

 

(Genesis 36:15)  These are the chiefs of the sons of Esau. The sons of Eliphaz the firstborn of Esau: the chiefs Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz,

 

(Genesis 36:16)  Korah, Gatam, and Amalek; these are the chiefs of Eliphaz in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Adah.

 

(Genesis 36:17)  These are the sons of Reuel, Esau's son: the chiefs Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah; these are the chiefs of Reuel in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Basemath, Esau's wife.

 

(Genesis 36:18)  These are the sons of Oholibamah, Esau's wife: the chiefs Jeush, Jalam, and Korah; these are the chiefs born of Oholibamah the daughter of Anah, Esau's wife.

 

(Genesis 36:19)  These are the sons of Esau (that is, Edom), and these are their chiefs.

 

(Genesis 36:20)  These are the sons of Seir the Horite, the inhabitants of the land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah,

 

(Genesis 36:21)  Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan; these are the chiefs of the Horites, the sons of Seir in the land of Edom.

 

(Genesis 36:22)  The sons of Lotan were Hori and Hemam; and Lotan's sister was Timna.

 

(Genesis 36:23)  These are the sons of Shobal: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam.

 

(Genesis 36:24)  These are the sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah; he is the Anah who found the hot springs in the wilderness, as he pastured the donkeys of Zibeon his father.

 

(Genesis 36:25)  These are the children of Anah: Dishon and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah.

 

(Genesis 36:26)  These are the sons of Dishon: Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran.

 

(Genesis 36:27)  These are the sons of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan.

 

(Genesis 36:28)  These are the sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran.

 

(Genesis 36:29)  These are the chiefs of the Horites: the chiefs Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah,

 

(Genesis 36:30)  Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan; these are the chiefs of the Horites, chief by chief in the land of Seir.

 

(Genesis 36:31)  These are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom, before any king reigned over the Israelites.

 

(Genesis 36:32)  Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom, the name of his city being Dinhabah.

 

(Genesis 36:33)  Bela died, and Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his place.

 

(Genesis 36:34)  Jobab died, and Husham of the land of the Temanites reigned in his place.

 

(Genesis 36:35)  Husham died, and Hadad the son of Bedad, who defeated Midian in the country of Moab, reigned in his place, the name of his city being Avith.

 

(Genesis 36:36)  Hadad died, and Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his place.

 

(Genesis 36:37)  Samlah died, and Shaul of Rehoboth on the Euphrates reigned in his place.

 

(Genesis 36:38)  Shaul died, and Baal-hanan the son of Achbor reigned in his place.

 

(Genesis 36:39)  Baal-hanan the son of Achbor died, and Hadar reigned in his place, the name of his city being Pau; his wife's name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, daughter of Mezahab.

 

(Genesis 36:40)  These are the names of the chiefs of Esau, according to their clans and their dwelling places, by their names: the chiefs Timna, Alvah, Jetheth,

 

(Genesis 36:41)  Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon,

 

(Genesis 36:42)  Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar,

 

(Genesis 36:43)  Magdiel, and Iram; these are the chiefs of Edom (that is, Esau, the father of Edom), according to their dwelling places in the land of their possession.

To continue this bible study with the story of Joseph and his adventures and misadventures in Egypt, please go here  https://www.facebook.com/notes/jay-dougherty/joseph-bible-study-genesis-chapters-37-through-44/10200691473222802

God shows His mercy so many times with Jacob, with several encounters, also peaceful resolutions with Laban and then Esau. He blesses Jacob with twelve sons from which the tribes of Israel would come, though the Levites would be the priests. Years later the lion of the tribe of Judah would come, Jesus, who would die to bring atonement for each and every one of our sins, for God loved the world enough to send His only son to do that. Jesus (and God the Father) is eager to have a love relationship with you and now I am including a prayer to facilitate that happening, to start this relationship or to return to it if you have drifted away and want to come back, for He welcomes all people who will repent and return. Please then say this following prayer with me

Dear God in heaven, I come to you in the name of Jesus. I acknowledge to You that I am a sinner, and I am sorry for my sins and the life that I have lived; I need your forgiveness. I believe that your only begotten Son Jesus Christ shed His precious blood on the cross at Calvary and died for my sins, and I am now willing to turn from my sin. You said in Your Holy Word, Romans 10:9 that if we confess Jesus as our Lord and believe in our hearts that God raised Jesus from the dead, we will be saved. Right now I confess Jesus as the Lord of my soul. With my heart, I believe that God raised Jesus from the dead. This very moment I accept Jesus Christ as my own personal Savior and according to His Word, right now I am saved. Thank you Jesus for your unlimited grace which has saved me from my sins. I thank you Jesus that your grace never leads to license, but rather it always leads to repentance. Therefore Lord Jesus transform my life so that I may bring glory and honor to you alone and not to myself. Thank you Jesus for dying for me and giving me eternal life.

Amen.

God bless you and yours