¹ God said to Jacob, "Arise, go up to Bethel, and live there. Make there an altar to God, who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau your brother."

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

³ Let us arise, and go up to Bethel. I will make there an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went."

⁴ They gave to Jacob all the foreign gods which were in their hands, and the rings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem.

⁵ They traveled, and a terror of God was on the cities that were around them, and they didn't pursue the sons of Jacob.

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 God was revealed to him, when he fled from the face of his brother.

⁸ Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died, and she was buried below Bethel under the oak; and its name was called Allon Bacuth.

⁹ God appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Paddan Aram, and blessed him.

¹⁰ God said to him, "Your name is Jacob. Your name shall not be Jacob any more, but your name will be Israel." He named him Israel.

¹¹ God said to him, "I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations will be from you, and kings will come out of your body.

¹² The land which I gave to Abraham and Isaac, I will give it to you, and to your seed after you will I give the land."

¹³ God 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 drink offering on it, and poured oil on it.

¹⁵ Jacob called the name of the place where God spoke with him "Bethel."

¹⁶ They traveled from Bethel. There was still some distance to come to Ephrath, and Rachel travailed. She had hard labor.

¹⁷ When she was in hard labor, the midwife said to her, "Don't be afraid, for now you will have another son."

¹⁸ It happened, as her soul was departing (for she died), that she named him Benoni, but his father named him Benjamin.

¹⁹ Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath (the same is Bethlehem).

²⁰ Jacob set up a pillar on her grave. The same is the Pillar of Rachel's grave to this day.

²¹ Israel traveled, and spread his tent beyond the tower of Eder.

²² It happened, while Israel lived in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah, his father's concubine, and Israel heard of it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve.

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

²⁴ The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin.

²⁵ The sons of Bilhah (Rachel's handmaid): Dan and Naphtali.

²⁶ The sons of Zilpah (Leah's handmaid): Gad and Asher. These are the sons of Jacob, who were born to him in Paddan Aram.

²⁷ Jacob came to Isaac his father, to Mamre, to Kiriath Arba (which is Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac lived as foreigners.

²⁸ The days of Isaac were one hundred eighty years.

²⁹ Isaac gave up the spirit, and died, and was gathered to his people, old and full of days. Esau and Jacob, his sons, buried him.

¹ It happened, when all the nation had completely passed over the Jordan, that Yahweh spoke to Joshua, saying,

² "Take twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man,

³ and command them, saying, 'Take from out of the middle of the Jordan, out of the place where the priests' feet stood firm, twelve stones, and carry them over with you, and lay them down in the lodging place, where you will lodge tonight.'"

⁴ Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man.

⁵ Joshua said to them, "Pass over before the ark of Yahweh your God into the middle of the Jordan, and each of you pick up a stone and put it on your shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel;

⁶ that this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask in time to come, saying, 'What do you mean by these stones?'

⁷ then you shall tell them, 'Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of Yahweh. When it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever.'"

⁸ The children of Israel did as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones out of the middle of the Jordan, as Yahweh spoke to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel; and they carried them over with them to the place where they lodged, and laid them down there.

⁹ Joshua set up twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests who bore the ark of the covenant stood; and they are there to this day.

¹⁰ For the priests who bore the ark stood in the middle of the Jordan, until everything was finished that Yahweh commanded Joshua to speak to the people, according to all that Moses commanded Joshua; and the people hurried and passed over.

¹¹ It happened, when all the people had completely passed over, that the ark of Yahweh passed over, with the priests, in the presence of the people.

¹² The children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, passed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses spoke to them.

¹³ About forty thousand men, ready and armed for war passed over before Yahweh to battle, to the plains of Jericho.

¹⁴ On that day, Yahweh magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they feared Moses, all the days of his life.

¹⁵ Yahweh spoke to Joshua, saying,

¹⁶ "Command the priests who bear the ark of the testimony, that they come up out of the Jordan."

¹⁷ Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, "Come up out of the Jordan!"

¹⁸ It happened, when the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of Yahweh had come up out of the middle of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests' feet were lifted up to the dry ground, that the waters of the Jordan returned to their place, and went over all its banks, as before.

¹⁹ The people came up out of the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, on the east border of Jericho.

²⁰ Joshua set up those twelve stones, which they took out of the Jordan, in Gilgal.

²¹ He spoke to the children of Israel, saying, "When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, 'What do these stones mean?'

²² Then you shall let your children know, saying, 'Israel came over this Jordan on dry land.

²³ For Yahweh your God dried up the waters of the Jordan from before you, until you had passed over, as Yahweh your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up from before us, until we had passed over;

²⁴ that all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of Yahweh, that it is mighty; that you may fear Yahweh your God forever.'"