January 18: Genesis 47:28 – Genesis 50:26

Jacob Summons Joseph — Genesis 47

• After seventeen years in Egypt, Jacob calls Joseph to him and asks him to promise not to bury him in Egypt but to take him to where his fathers are buried in Canaan. Joseph swears to him that he will do that.

Jacob Blesses Ephraim and Manasseh – Genesis 48

• Joseph is told that Jacob is ill. He takes his sons Manasseh and Ephraim to him.
• Jacob claims Joseph's two sons as his own (as much as Reuben and Simeon are his own—by blessing Joseph's two sons on the same level as his own sons, Jacob gives Joseph the double share). Since Jacob's vision is failing, Joseph brings the sons near and Jacob embraces and kisses them. He points out that the never expected to see Joseph again, but God has let him see Joseph and his sons.
• Jacob places his right hand on Ephraim's head and his left on Manasseh's hand to bless them, and Joseph tells Jacob that Manasseh is older and tries to move his right hand to Manasseh's head. Jacob responds that both brothers will be great, but Ephraim, though younger, will be greater than Manasseh.
• Jacob tells Joseph he is about to die, that God will be with Joseph, and that God will bring him back to the land of his fathers. Jacob gives him a mountain slope that he took from the Amorites (this promise would be fulfilled when the Israelites returned to Canaan to possess the land God had given them).

Jacob Blesses His Sons – Genesis 49

• Jacob calls his sons together. He tells Reuben he will not have preeminence because he defiled his father's bed (by sleeping with Bilhah). He also reminds Simeon and Levi of their excessive vengeance for their sister Dinah's rape; because of their actions (including an outrage against the ritual of circumcision), their descendants would be scattered. Jacob praises Judah for his selfless actions to save his brother Benjamin, even after his mistreating of Tamar. Zebulun is given precedence over his brother Issachar, who will endure slavery after a time of plenty. Jacob says that "Dan will judge," Gad will endure hardship but ultimate victory is promised, and Asher and Naphtali promised are happiness, hope, and joy. Joseph is spoken highly of and the promises to him are great. He uses the word "Nazirites" (later, both Joseph and the Nazirites were separated from the others in order to serve God's holy purposes). Benjamin is ominously described as a wolf. While Jacob's prophecies about the destiny of some of the tribes are obscure, he declares blessings on Judah and Joseph.

Jacob's Death and Burial

• The twelve tribes of Israel are established. Jacob then tells his sons to bury him with his fathers in the cave of Ephron the Hittite at Machpelah in Canaan. When he finishes, he breathes his last breath.
• Joseph commands Pharaoh's physicians to embalm Jacob (embalming was common for high-ranking Egyptians). The Egyptians weep for Jacob for seventy days.
• When the time of mourning is finished, Joseph goes to Pharaoh to ask to bury Jacob in Canaan. Pharaoh agrees, and all of Egypt's elders and all of Jacob's household leave for Canaan with Jacob's body. At the threshing floor of Atad, beyond Jordan, they mourn for seven days.
• Jacob is buried in the cave in the field of Machpelah, which Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite.
• Joseph's family and the Egyptian elders return to Egypt.

God's Good Purposes – Genesis 50

• After Jacob's death, Joseph's brothers fear that Joseph will hate them and repay their evil to him (for their selling him to the Midianites). They send a message to Joseph asking forgiveness and telling him that they are his servants.
• Joseph tells them not to fear because while they meant evil against him, God meant it for good. He promises to care for them and their children.

The death of Joseph

• At the age of 110 years, Joseph tells his brothers that he is about to die but that God will visit them and bring them up to the land he swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He has them swear to take his body from Egypt, and when he dies, he body is embalmed and put in a coffin in Egypt.

January 17: Genesis 45:16 – Genesis 47:27

Joseph Provides for His Brothers and Family – Genesis 45:16

• Pharaoh is pleased when he learns Joseph's brothers have come to Egypt, and he tells Joseph to have the whole family come and live on the best lands in Egypt. He even sends wagons and everything the family will need to move. Joseph gives each of his brothers a change of clothing, except for Benjamin. He gives Benjamin three hundred shekels of silver and five changes of clothing.
• Joseph's brothers tell Jacob that Joseph is still alive, but Jacob doesn't believe them. When the brothers tell Jacob what Joseph has said, and show him all the wagons, Jacob's spirit revives. Jacob now believes, and he determines to go to see Joseph before he dies.

Joseph Brings the Family to Egypt – Genesis 46

• Jacob takes all he has and journeys to Beersheba, where he offers sacrifices to God.
• God speaks to Jacob in a nighttime vision and tells him not to be afraid to go to Egypt because He will make him a great nation there (God had previously forbidden Isaac to go to Egypt, and Abram had an unpleasant experience there). God promises to be with Jacob in Egypt.
• Jacob takes his family (not including his sons' wives, sixty-six people in all) and all that he owns to Egypt. Including Jacob, Joseph, and Joseph's two sons, they are seventy people in all.

Jacob and Joseph Reunited

• Jacob sends Judah ahead of him to Joseph, and Joseph prepares his chariot and meets his father in Goshen. After they have wept together, Jacob says that he can now die since he has seen Joseph's face and knows he is alive.
• Joseph tells his father that he will tell Pharaoh that his family has arrived, and that when Pharaoh asks their occupation, they are to say that they are shepherds (which the Egyptians consider an abomination) and that they would live in Goshen. (God uses the ethnic and racial prejudice of the Egyptians as a way of preserving the ethnic and spiritual identity of the Hebrews.) 

Jacob's Family Settles in Goshen – Genesis 47

• Joseph goes to Pharaoh and tells him that Jacob, his family, and their flocks and herds have come from Canaan and are now in Goshen. He presents five of his brothers to Pharaoh.
• Pharaoh asks the brothers' occupation, and they tell him they are shepherds. They point out that they have come because there is no pasture land in Canaan due to the famine and request to dwell in the land of Goshen.
• Pharaoh tells Joseph to settle his family in the best lands of Egypt—in Goshen—and also that Joseph may put some of the able-bodied men in charge of Pharaoh's livestock.
• Joseph brings Jacob before Pharaoh, and Jacob blesses Pharaoh. Pharaoh asks Jacob's age, and he tells him he is 130 years. He also claims that "Few and evil have been the days of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their sojourning." Jacob blesses Pharaoh again before leaving him.
• Joseph settles his family in the best land of Egypt, in the land of Ramses, and he provides for the entire household.

Joseph and the Famine 

• The famine is so severe that the lands of Egypt and Canaan languish. Joseph gathers up all the money found in Egypt and Canaan in exchange for the grain he has stored, and brings the money into the house of Pharaoh. 
• When the people have spent all their money on grain, they trade their livestock for grain instead for that year. The next year they again ask for grain, and this time they have nothing but themselves and their lands to give. Joseph buys all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh and makes all the people servants. The only land he doesn't buy is that of the priests, since they lived on a fixed allowance given by Pharaoh. 
• In return for the lands and the people's servanthood, Joseph gives them seed so they can sow the land. He tells them that one-fifth of what is harvested must be given to Pharaoh while the rest is theirs to use for food and seed. Joseph makes a statute that Pharaoh should always have a fifth, and the lands of the priests were all that didn't belong to Pharaoh.
• In Egypt, Jacob's family prospers and grows substantially.

January 16: Genesis 42:1 to Genesis 45:15

Joseph's Brothers Go to Egypt – Genesis 42

• During the famine, Jacob learns that Egypt has grain and sends ten of Joseph's brothers there to buy grain. He does not send Benjamin, Joseph's full brother, for fear of what would happen to him.
• In Egypt, Joseph is governor over the land, and he is the one who sells the grain. His brothers bow before him but don't recognize him (this is twenty years after Joseph was sold into slavery). He recognizes them, and harshly questions where they have come from. They tell him they are from Canaan and have come to buy food.
• Joseph remembers his dreams, and accuses them of being spies (he accuses them of something he knows they haven't done to see if they would betray each other under pressure). They deny it, and Joseph accuses them again. They deny it a second time, claiming they are ten brothers, their father and youngest brother is in Canaan, and another brother is "no more."
• Joseph tests them by telling them that one of them must return to Canaan and bring back the youngest brother. He then puts them in custody, and on the third day repeats what must be done. This time he says he will keep one brother while the others return to bring the youngest brother.
• The brothers agree, and believe that this distress has come upon them because of what they did to their brother Joseph. Reuben points out that he told them not to sin against Joseph. All this is said in front of Joseph, as there is an interpreter present and they are unaware that he can understand their language.
• Joseph turns away and weeps. Then he takes Simeon (since Reuben had tried to save Joseph, the next oldest son is chosen) and binds him before their eyes. He gives orders to fill the brothers' bags with grain, to replace every man's money in his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. They are then sent to Canaan.
• When one of the brothers opens his sack to give his donkey fodder, he finds the money in the sack. The brothers are afraid (they probably fear they will be charged with stealing), and accuse God for their problems, asking what He has done to them.
• In Canaan, they tell Jacob everything that has happened and how they must bring Benjamin to Egypt. When they empty their sacks, all find their money still there, which terrifies them. (While money in one's sack could be a mistake, money in each sack could not.)
• Jacob is angry and claims they have bereaved him of both Joseph and Simeon, and that they will not take Benjamin from him as well. Reuben tells Jacob that he can kill Reuben's two sons if they don't return with Benjamin.
• Jacob again refuses to send Benjamin with them.

Joseph's Brothers Return to Egypt – Genesis 43

• The famine is severe in the land, and when Jacob's family has eaten all the grain the sons had bought, Jacob again sends them to buy food. Judah tells him that they were warned not to return without Benjamin.
• Jacob asks why the brothers told the Egyptian why they had a younger brother, and they brothers reply that the man questioned them all about their father and whether they had another brother. They claim they couldn't have known that he would request they bring their youngest brother to him.
• Judah asks that Jacob allow Benjamin to go with him to Egypt so they won't all die of starvation. (Judah has changed tremendously; instead of leaving the family, he protected his brother and was concerned about his father's welfare.) He claims that if he doesn't return with Benjamin, Jacob can blame him forever.
• Jacob agrees, and has the brothers take gifts, double the money they will need, the money that was in their sacks when they returned, and Benjamin. 
• In Egypt, when Joseph sees Benjamin with the brothers, he has his servants prepare a meal for them. They fear that Joseph has brought them to his house to make them servants and steal their donkeys. They explain about the money in their sacks to the steward of Joseph's house, and he tells them not to be afraid, because their God put the money in their sacks. He then brings Simeon out to them.
• The steward brings them into the house, gives them water, washes their feet, and provides fodder for their donkeys. The brothers prepare the gifts they have brought for Joseph.
• When Joseph comes home, they present the gifts and bow down to him. Joseph questions if his father is well (they tell him he is) and he asks about Benjamin. Joseph then leaves the room to weep, and returns after he has washed his face.
• The  Hebrews and Egyptians are then served separately, as it was an abomination for Egyptians to eat with Hebrews. Portions are taken from Joseph's table for the brothers, but Benjamin is given five times as much.

Joseph Tests His Brothers – Genesis 44

• Joseph commands his house steward to fill the brothers' sacks with as much food as they could carry, put each man's money back in his sack, and put Joseph's silver cup in Benjamin's sack.
• The next morning, the brothers are sent home. When they are only a short distance away, Joseph sends his men after them to accuse them of stealing from Joseph.
• Joseph's men overtake them and do as they've been told, claiming that the one who has stolen the silver cup will die. Each brother is instructed to lower his sack to the ground so it can be searched. The search is conducted from oldest to youngest, and the cup is found in Benjamin's sack. The brothers tear their clothes, and all return to Joseph's house. (Ironically, years ago they tore Joseph's coat to pieces; now they are tearing their own clothing over the possible coming loss of another brother, Benjamin.)
• Joseph demands that Benjamin be his servant, and tells the others to return to their father in peace (he wants to see if they will leave Benjamin as a slave in Egypt just as they sold Joseph to be a slave).
• Judah explains that the loss of Benjamin would kill their father and offers himself as a slave in Benjamin's place.

Joseph Provides for His Brothers and Family – Genesis 45:1–15

• Joseph can no longer control his emotion and has everyone but his brothers removed from his presence. Joseph cries so loudly that all in the palace hear it, and he informs his brothers that he is Joseph and then asks if his father is still alive.
• The brothers do not believe him, and he calls them closer to him. He then points out that he is their brother who they sold into slavery and that they should not be upset because God sent him before them to save their lives. 
• Joseph explains that there will be five more years of famine, and he is in Egypt to provide for his family—so it was not them who sent him there, but God. He tells them to return to their father and tell Jacob that God has made Joseph lord of all Egypt and to come to Joseph so they can dwell in the land of Goshen, near Egypt. Joseph assures them that he will provide for them and again tells them to bring their father to him. 
• Joseph weeps with Benjamin and then with the other brothers. They then talk together.

January 14: Genesis 37:1–Genesis 38:30; 1 Chronicles 2:3–6, 8; Genesis 39:1–23

Joseph's Dreams – Genesis 37

• When Jacob's son Joseph is seventeen, he tends his father's flocks, working for his half-brothers, the sons of his father's wives Bilhah and Zilpah. Joseph reports to his father some of the bad things his brothers are doing.
• Jacob loves Joseph more than any of his brothers, and he has a beautiful robe made for him. Joseph's brothers hate him because of their father's favoritism, and never have a kind word to say to him.
• Joseph has a dream that he and his brothers are out in the fields tying bundles of grain, and Joseph's bundle stands up and all his brothers' bundles bow down to it. He tells his brothers about the dream, and they hate him more.
• Joseph then has a dream that the sun, moon, and eleven stars all bow down to him. He tells his brothers and also tells his father. His father scolds him, asking if he thinks his entire family will bow down to him. But while Joseph's brothers are jealous, Jacob wonders what the dreams mean.
• While Joseph brothers are with the sheep in Shechem, Jacob sends Joseph out to them. Joseph goes in search of them but doesn't find them, and a man he meets tells Joseph he heard them talk about going to Dothan. Joseph goes to Dothan and finds his brothers there.

Joseph Sold by His Brothers

• Joseph's brothers see him coming and make plans to kill him. Reuben, the oldest brother, says that they shouldn't kill him but throw him into an empty cistern and let him die there; that way it wouldn't be his blood on their hands. Reuben plans to rescue Joseph and return him to their father.
• When Joseph reaches them, the brothers rip off his robe and throw him into the empty cistern. They sit down to eat, and a caravan of Ishmaelite Midianite traders and their camels near. Judah suggests they sell Joseph to the traders, and they do so for twenty pieces of silver. Joseph is then taken to Egypt by the traders.
• Reuben returns to get Joseph, but he is gone. He rips his clothing in despair.
• The other brothers kill a young goat and dip Joseph's coat in its blood, then take the robe to Jacob and ask him if the robe belonged to Joseph.
• Jacob confirms it is Joseph's coat and assumes he must have been eaten by a wild animal. He mourns for Joseph for a long time, unable to be comforted.
• The Midianite traders arrive in Egypt, where they sell Joseph to Potiphar, the captain of Pharaoh's palace guard.

Judah and Tamar – Genesis 38

• Jacob's son Judah moves to Adullam. There he marries a Canaanite woman and they have three sons: Er, Onan, and Shelah. The years pass, and Judah arranges for Er to marry a young woman named Tamar.
• Er is a wicked man, and the Lord takes his life, so Judah tells Onan that he must marry Tamar since their cultural tradition requires that a younger brother produce an heir for the deceased older brother.
• Onan is not willing to have a son who isn't his own heir, so whenever he sleeps with Tamar, he spills his seed on the ground so she won't become pregnant.
• God considers it evil for Onan to deny his dead brother an heir, so He taks Onan's life too. Judah tells Tamar to return to her parents until Shelah is old enough to marry (he doesn't intend to marry Shelah to Tamar, though, because he fears Shelah will die too).
• Some years later, Judah's wife dies. After his time of mourning, Judah and a friend, Hirah, travel up to Timnah to supervise the shearing of sheep. Someone tells Tamar, who knows that Shelah is now old enough to marry.
• Tamar changes out of her widow's clothes, covers herself with a veil, and goes to a town on the road to Timnah, where she sits to wait. Judah sees her as he is traveling and thinks she is a prostitute, and propositions her.
• She asks how much he will pay her, and he offers her a young goat. She asks how she can know he will send the goat, and then suggests he leave his identification seal and its cord and his walking stick. Judah agrees.
• Judah sleeps with Tamar, and she becomes pregnant. She returns home and redresses in her widow's clothing.
• Judah has Hirah take a young goat and go looking for the woman so he can get his property back. When Hirah asks about her, then men of the town tell him there is no shrine prostitute. He returns to Judah, who tells him to let the woman have his property then, because he would be a laughingstock if they went back to look for her again.
• About three months later, Judah is told that his daughter-in-law, Tamar, has acted like a prostitute and become pregnant. Judah insists that she be burned. As men are dragging her away to be burned, she sends word to Judah about the seal and cord and walking stick and says that the man who owns them is the one who got her pregnant.
• Judah recognizes them as his own, and determines that she is more righteous than he, because he didn't arrange for her to marry Shelah as he should have.
• When the time comes for Tamar to give birth, it is discovered that she carries twins. During labor, one of the babies reaches his arm out, and the midwife ties a scarlet string on the wrist. That baby pulls his arm back in, and his brother is born first. The firstborn is named Perez and the second Zerah.

Descendants of Judah – 1 Chronicles 2:3–6, 8

• An account is given of the five sons of Judah, the sons of Perez and Zerah, and the son of Ethan (a son of Zerah), Azariah.

Joseph and Potiphar's Wife – Genesis 39

• The Lord is with Joseph while he's in Egypt, so Joseph succeeds in everything he does while in the house of Potiphar. Potiphar notices this and realizes that God is with Joseph, so he puts Joseph in charge of his entire household and everything he owns.
• Potiphar prospers, so he gives Joseph complete administrative responsibility over everything he has.
• Joseph is a handsome young man, and Potiphar's wife tries to get him to sleep with her. Joseph refuses, but she keeps pressuring him. One day, when no one else is around, Joseph goes into the house, and Potiphar's wife grabs him by the cloak and tries to get him to sleep with her. He refuses and gets away from her, but she still has his cloak.
• Potiphar's wife calls on her servants, shows them Joseph's cloak, and tells them that Joseph tried to rape her. She then tells Potiphar the same thing when he returns home.

Joseph Put in Prison 

• Potiphar is furious and has Joseph put in prison, where the king's prisoners are held.
• God is with Joseph, and makes him a favorite with the prison warden. Soon the warden puts Joseph in charge of all the other prisoners and everything that happens in the prison.
• The Lord is with Joseph and causes everything that he does to prosper.

January 13: Genesis 36:1–19; 1 Chronicles 1:35–37; Genesis 36:20–30; 1 Chronicles1:38–42; Genesis 36:31–43; 1 Chronicles 1:43–1 Chronicles 2:2

Esau's Descendants – Genesis 36 & 1 Chronicles 1:35–37

• An account is given of the descendants of Esau, also known as Edom.
• With not enough land to support both Esau and Jacob, Esau took his wives, children, and everything he had acquired in the land of Canaan and moved to the hill country of Seir.
• Esau has sons by three wives: Eliphaz by wife Adah; Reuel by wife Basemath; and Jerush, Jalam, and Korah by wife Oholibamah.

Original Peoples of Edom – Genesis 36:20–30 & 1 Chronicles 1:38–42

• An account is given of the tribes that descended from Seir the Horite.

Rulers of Edom – Genesis 36:31–43 & 1 Chronicles 1:43–54

• An account is given of the rulers in Edom before any king ruled over the Israelites.

Descendants of Israel – 1 Chronicles 2:1–2

• The sons of Israel were Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, Joseph, Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.

January 12: Genesis 32:1 – Genesis 35:27

Jacob Fears Esau – Genesis 32

• As Jacob starts on his way again, angels of God appear to him.
• Jacob sends messengers ahead to his brother Esau, hoping that Esau will be friendly to him. The messengers return with word that Esau is coming to meet Jacob—with an army of four hundred men.
• Jacob splits his household and flocks in two, hoping Esau will only be able to attack one. He then prays, since God told him to return to his land. He asks that the Lord rescue him from Esau. Then he selects gifts for his brother from his flocks and other livestock. He has his servants take the animals and go ahead to meet Esau.

Jacob Wrestles with God

• During the night, Jacob sends his wives, his two servant wives, and his eleven sons across the Jabbok River. Then he sends over all his possessions. He is now alone in the camp.
• A man comes and wrestles with Jacob until dawn. When the man sees that he would not win the match, he touches Jacob's hip and wrenches it from its socket. Then the man asks Jacob to let him go. Jacob says he won't let go until the man blesses him.
• The man asks his name, and Jacob tells him. The man then tells him his name is no longer Jacob, but is now Israel, because he has fought with God and men and has won.
• Jacob asks his name, and the man asks him why he wants to  know his name and then blesses him. 
• Jacob names the place where this happened Peniel, meaning "face of God" (Jacob says he has seen God face to face but his life has been spared). 
• Jacob leaves Peniel when the sun rises, limping due to his injury. (Even today the people of Israel don't eat the tendon near the hip socket because of what happened to Jacob.)

Jacob Meets Esau – Genesis 33

• Jacob looks up and sees Esau coming with his four hundred men. He divides the children among his wives: the servants wives and their children first, then Leah and her children, and then Rachel and her children.
• Jacob goes ahead of them and bows before Esau. Esau runs to him, embraces him, and kisses him. They both weep. 
• Esau asks who the women and children are, and Jacob tells him they are his wives and children. He has the women and children come forward and bow before Esau. Esau then asks about the flocks and animals sent before them, and Jacob tells him they were a gift for him.
• Esau tells Jacob that he has plenty, and that Jacob should keep what he has. Jacob insists he take the gift, and Esau eventually agrees and tells Jacob to follow him home.
• Jacob tells Esau to go ahead, as he doesn't want to harm any of his children or animals by driving them too long. Esau agrees, but leaves some of his men to guard them.
• Esau returns to Seir, and Jacob travels to Succoth, where he builds himself a house and shelters for his livestock. Later, Jacob travels to Shechem and sets up camp outside town. He buys land there and builds and altar to the Lord.

The Defiling of Dinah – Genesis 34

• Dinah, the daughter of Jacob and Leah, goes to visit some young women who live in the area. The local prince, Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, seizes her and rapes her. Then he falls in love with her and tries to win her affection with tender words. Shechem tells his father that he wants to marry Dinah.
• Jacob learns what has happened to Dinah, and since his sons are all out in the fields, he says nothing until they return. Hamor comes to discuss the matter with Jacob, and while they are speaking, Jacob's sons return. They are furious about what has happened.
• Hamor claims that Shechem loves Dinah and wants to marry her, and proposes that Jacob's sons and daughters marry with his sons and daughters. Shechem then asks Jacob if he can marry Dinah.
• Jacob's sons respond deceitfully since Shechem has defiled their sister. They tell Hamor and Shechem that they could not allow the marriage because the men are not circumcised, and agree that if all their men will be circumcised, they will agree to marriage.
• Hamor and Shechem agree, believing that marriage will allow them to becomes owners of Jacob's families livestock and possessions. All the men in the town agree to their circumcision, believing it will give them a way to get to Jacob's possessions, and it is carried out.
• Three days later, Jacob's sons Simeon and Levi (Dinah's full brothers) take their swords and enter the town without opposition (the men are all healing). They kill every male there, including Hamor and Shechem, then take Dinah from Shechem's house and return to their camp.
• The rest of Jacob's sons arrive in town, and finding all the men dead, they plunder the town and take all the possessions and livestock they can find. They also take the women and children of the town as captives.
• When they return to Jacob, he tells Simeon and Levi that they have ruined him, and that the Canaanites and Perizzites will destroy them.
• The brothers ask why they should let their sister be treated like a prostitute.

God Blesses and Renames Jacob – Genesis 35

• God tells Jacob to move to Bethel, settle there, and build an altar to the Lord. Jacob tells everyone in the household to get rid of their idols, purify themselves, and put on clean clothing. Jacob buries their pagan idols and earrings under a tree in Shechem. As they leave, fear spreads over the people, and they allow Jacob's family to leave.
• Jacob and his family eventually reach Bethel, in Canaan. There he builds an altar. Soon after, Rebekah's old nurse, Deborah, dies and she is buried.
• God appears to Jacob and blesses him, telling him he will now be called Israel. God tells him to be fruitful and multiply, and that he will become a great nation and God will give him the lands that once belonged to Abraham and Isaac.
• Jacob sets up a stone to mark where God spoke to him. He pours wine over it as an offering and anoints the pillar with olive oil. He names the place Bethel, which means "house of God."

The Death of Rachel

• Jacobs clan leaves to move to Ephrath (Bethelehem). Rachel goes into labor while they are traveling, and after a hard delivery, the midwife tells her she has another son. With her last words, Rachel names him Ben-Oni (which means "son of my sorrow"). Jacob renames him Benjamin, meaning "son of my right hand." 
• Rachel dies and is buried on the way to Ephrath. Jacob sets up a stone monument over her grave.
• Reuben, Jacob and Leah's son, has intercourse with Bilhah, his father's servant wife, and Jacob hears about it. (He does this to assert himself as principal heir, but this act later causes him to lose the blessing he desired.)
• Jacob returns to his father, Isaac, in Mamre, where Abraham and Isaac had both lived as foreigners.

January 11: Genesis 30:25 – Genesis 31:55

Jacob's Prosperity – Genesis 30:25–43

• After Rachel gives birth to Joseph, Jacob asks Laban to release him so he can go home to his own country. Laban tries to bargain with Jacob, asking how much he owes Jacob (he has become very wealthy because of Jacob and doesn't want him to leave).
• Jacob again asks to be released, but Laban again asks him how much he owes him.
• Jacob tells him he doesn't want money, but asks if he can have all the spotted or speckled sheep and goats from the flocks, as well as the black sheep, as his wages.
• Laban agrees, and places the removed sheep and goats into his sons' care. His sons take the sheep and goats three days' journey away while Jacob stays to care for Laban's flocks.
• Jacob takes branches from poplar, almond, and plane trees, and peels off the bark, making white streaks on them. He places the peeled branches in the water troughs where the flocks come to drink and mate. When they mate in front of the branches, they later give birth to streaked, spotted, or speckled lambs, which then become Jacob's.
• When the stronger females (but not the weaker ones) are ready to mate, Jacob places the peeled branches in front of them. This way the stronger lambs belong to Jacob and the weaker ones to Laban, and Jacob becomes very wealthy.

Jacob Flees from Laban – Genesis 31

• Jacob learns Laban's sons are grumbling about him robbing their father, and Laban begins to treat Jacob differently.
• God tells Jacob to return to his homeland and that He will be with him.
• Jacob calls Leah and Rachel to the fields and tells them that their father has cheated him and that God has told him to leave. They agree, knowing that they will not inherit their father's wealth anyway and that their father has wasted the money Jacob paid him for them.
• Jacob puts his wife and children on camels and drives his livestock ahead of them. He packs all the belongings he had acquired and sets out for Canaan, where his father Isaac lived.
• Before leaving, Rachel steals some of her father's household idols.
• With Laban away, they leave without him knowing about it.

Laban Pursues Jacob

• Three days later, Laban is told that Jacob has fled. Laban gathers a group of relatives and follows after him. They catch up with Jacob seven days later, in the hill country of Gilead. But the previous night, God had appeared to Laban in a dream and told him to leave Jacob alone.
• Laban questions Jacob why he has deceived him and why they left without telling him. He says he could destroy Jacob, but that God had told him to leave Jacob alone. Finally, he asks why Jacob has stolen his gods.
• Jacob responds that he rushed away because he was afraid Laban would take his daughters by force, but then tells him he hasn't taken his gods (he didn't know Rachel had taken them).
• Laban searches Jacob's and Leah's tents and doesn't find them. He then goes to Rachel's tent, Rachel, who is sitting on her camel saddle that holds the idols, does not get up and tells her father she is having her monthly period. Laban continues his search and doesn't find the idols.
• Jacob becomes angry with Laban. He asks what he has taken from Laban and points out that he has slaved for him for twenty years. Jacob tells him that if God had not been on his side, Laban would have sent him away empty-handed. Jacob points out that God has seen Laban's abuse and Jacob's hard work, and that's why he rebuked Laban in the dream.

January 10: Genesis 28:6 – Genesis 30:24

Esau Marries an Ishmaelite – Genesis 28

• Esau, angry at his father Isaac and his brother Jacob over not receiving his blessing, learns that Isaac sent Jacob away so he would not marry a Canaanite woman.
• To try to make his father happy, Esau visits his uncle Ishmael's family and marries one of his daughters, in addition to the wives he already has.

Jacob's Dream

• Jacob leaves Beersheba and journeys toward Haran. One night, he dreams of a ladder reaching up to heaven with angels traveling up and down it.
• God is standing at the top of the ladder, and he tells Jacob that the land he is standing on belonged to his ancestors, and that God will give it to him and his descendants. God also tells him that He will be with Jacob and will bless his descendants.
• Jacob gets up the next morning, sets the rock he used as a pillow for an upright memorial pillar, and pours olive oil over it, calling the place Bethel.
• Jacob vows that if God will protect him on his journey, He will be his God.

Jacob Arrives in Paddan-Aram – Genesis 29

• Jacob arrives in Paddan-Aram and sees flocks of sheep and goats in an open field near a well. Jacob asks the shepherds where they are from, and when they say they are from Haran, he asks if they know Laban, his mother Rebekah's brother.
• They tell him they do know Laban, and that his daughter Rachel is coming with her flock of sheep (she was a shepherd).
• Jacob encourages them to remove the stone from the well to water the sheep and goats, but the shepherds tell him it is tradition to wait until all animals have reached the well before the well is opened. Since the sheep belong to Jacob's uncle, Jacob opens the well and watered the flock. He then kisses Rachel, weeps aloud, and tells her he is her cousin. She runs home to her father to tell him.
• Laban runs out to meet him and brings him back to the house.

Jacob Marries Leah and Rachel – Genesis 29

• After Jacob has stayed with Laban for about a month, Laban tells him he shouldn't be working for him for free just because he's family, and he asks Jacob how much his wages should be.
• Jacob is in love with Rachel, the younger of Laban's daughters, so he tells Laban he will work for him for seven years if he'll allow him to marry Rachel.
• Jacob works hard for seven years, and Laban agrees that he and Rachel can marry, But after it is dark, Laban takes Leah (who is not beautiful like Rachel) in to Jacob instead. In the morning, Jacob realizes what Laban has done and asks why Laban has tricked him.
• Laban explains that it is not their custom to marry off a younger daughter before an older daughter. He then offers Rachel to Jacob if Jacob will work for him for another seven years.
• A week after his marriage to Leah, Jacob is given Rachel as a wife as well, and he stays and works for Laban for seven more years.

Jacob's Children 

• God sees that Jacob does not love Leah like he loves Rachel, so He enables Leah to have many children while Rachel is barren. Within a few years, Leah bears Jacob four sons: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah.
• Rachel becomes jealous and tells Jacob to take her maid, Bilhah, as another wife so Rachel can have children through her. Bilhah bears a son, whom Rachel names Dan. Bilhah has another son with Jacob, whom Rachel names Naphtali.
• Leah realizes she isn't getting pregnant anymore, and she has her maid, Zilpah, become another wife for Jacob so Leah can have more children through her. Zilpah then has two sons: Gad and Asher,
• Rachel allows Leah to sleep with Jacob one night, and over a few years she bears Jacob two sons and a daughter: Issachar, Zebulon, and Dinah.
• God remembers Rachel's plight, and she becomes pregnant. She bears Jacob a son, whom she names Joseph. 

January 9: Genesis 25:27 – Genesis 28:5

Esau Sells His Birthright – Genesis 25:27–34

• Jacob and Esau grow up. Esau becomes a skilled hunter, while Jacob prefers staying at home. Jacob loves Esau, while Rebekah loves Jacob.
• Esau arrives home from hunting, very hungry, while Jacob is cooking stew. He asks Jacob for some stew, and Jacob agrees if Esau will give him his birthright.
• Esau agrees, and trades his birthright for bread and lentil stew, showing contempt for his rights as firstborn. He then leaves the tent.

God's Promise to Isaac – Genesis 26

• A famine strikes the land where Isaac is living, so he moves to Gerar, where Abimelech, the king of the Philistines, lives.
• The Lord appears to Isaac and tells him not to go to Egypt, but to stay as a foreigner in Gerar, and He will bless him and give him the lands for him and his descendants.
• Isaac stays in Gerar, and when people ask him about his wife, Rebekah, he tells them that she is his sister, because he is afraid they will kill him if he admits that she is his wife.
• One day Abimelech sees Jacob caressing Rebekah, and calls Jacob to him, asking him why he has lied, since she is obviously his wife and not his sister.
• Jacob admits that he was afraid, and Abimelech questions how he could have lied and put Abimelech or another man at risk for great sin if they'd taken his wife and slept with her. Abimelech issues a public proclamation that any man who touches Rebekah will be put to death.

Isaac and Abimelech

• Isaac plants his crops and then harvests a hundred times more than he planted because the Lord blessed him. He becomes a very rich man, and acquires many flocks of sheep and goats, herds of cattle, and servants.
• The Philistines become jealous of him and fill his wells, which had been dug by the servants of Abraham, with dirt. Finally, Abimelech orders Isaac to leave because he has become to powerful for them.
• Isaac moves to the Gerar Valley. He has his servants reopen his wells, and the servants also open a well in the Gerar Valley. Shepherds from Gerar claim the well belongs to them, and Isaac has his men dig another well, but the shepherds again dispute the well. Isaac's servants dig another well, and this time the shepherds don't dispute the well.
• Isaac moves to Beersheba, and God appears to him that night. He tells Jacob he will be with him and bless him because of his promise to Abraham. Isaac builds and altar there and worships the Lord. His servants dig another well.

A Treaty with Abimelech

• One day Abimelech, his adviser Ahuzzath, and his army commander Phicol visit Isaac.
• Isaac asks why they have come there since they have removed him from his land in Gerar and obviously hate him.
• They respond that they can see the Lord is with him and they want to make a covenant with him. They ask that Jacob will not cause them any harm, pointing out that they sent him away in peace and God has blessed him.
• Isaac prepares a covenant feast, and the next morning they take an oath not to interfere with each other. The men then leave Jacob in peace.
• The next morning, Isaac's servants return to him with word that they have dug another well (called Beersheba) and found water.
• At the age of forty, Esau marries two Hittite wives, Judith and Basemath. Esau's wives make life difficult for Isaac and Rebekah.

Isaac Blesses Jacob – Genesis 27

• Isaac, who is old and becoming blind, calls for Esau and tells him to go and hunt some wild game and prepare his favorite dish for him. Isaac will then bless Esau.
• Rebekah overhears them. She has Jacob go and get two young goats from their herds so she can prepare Isaac's favorite dish, then has him take the food to his father so Isaac will bless him instead.
• Rebekah dresses Jacob in Esau's clothes and covers Jacob's arms and neck with the skin of the young goats (so he will feel like Esau) and has him take the food to his father.
• Isaac asks which son he is, and Jacob claims he is Esau. Though Jacob doesn't sound like Esau, when Isaac feels his arms and smells his clothes, he believes he is Esau.
• Isaac blesses Jacob, and soon after Jacob leaves his father, Esau returns from his hunt and learns his father, who was deceived, has blessed Jacob instead. Esau asks that Jacob bless him as well, but Isaac cannot because he has nothing left to give Esau. 
• Esau is upset that Jacob has stolen both his birthright and his blessing.

Jacob Sent to Laban – Genesis 27:41 to Genesis 28:5

• Esau plans to kill Jacob, but Rebekah overhears his plan. She tells Jacob to flee to her brother Laban and stay there until Esau's rage has waned and she calls him back to them.
• Rebekah tells Isaac that she doesn't want Jacob to marry a local Hittite woman, and Isaac calls Jacob to him and tells him to go to Paddan-Aram, to the house of his grandfather, and marry one of his uncle Laban's daughters.
• Jacob goes to Paddan-Aram to live with Laban.

January 8: Genesis 25:1–4; 1 Chronicles 25:5–6; Genesis 25:12-18; 1 Chronicles 1:28–31; 1 Chronicles 34; Genesis 25:19–26; Genesis 25:7–11

Abraham's Descendants – Genesis 25:1–6 & 1 Chronicles 1:32–33

• Abraham takes another wife, Keturah, who bears him six sons. Even so, Abraham gives all he has to Isaac. 
• To the sons of his concubines Abraham gives gifts, and then he sends them away from Isaac, eastward to the east country. 

Ishmael's Descendants – Genesis 25:12–18 & 1 Chronicles 1:28–31

• Ishmael has twelve sons, who become twelve princes according to their tribes. They settle from Havilah to Shur.
• Ishmael later dies at the age of 137 years.

Isaac's Descendants – 1 Chronicles 1:34 & Genesis 25:19–26

• Isaac pleads with the Lord because his wife, Rebekah, is barren. God answers his prayers, and Rebekah becomes pregnant. The twins battle in her womb, and Rebekah questions God what is going on.
• God tells her that her sons will become rival nations and that one will be stronger than the other, with her older son serving the younger.
• When her sons are born, the first is red in color and covered with thick hair. She names him Esau. His twin was born grasping Esau's heel, so they named him Jacob (or Israel).

Abraham's Death – Genesis 25:7–11

• Abraham dies as the age of 175 years. Isaac and Ishmael bury him in the cave of Machpelah, near Mamre, where Abraham buried Sarah.
• God blesses Isaac, who settles near Beer-lahai-roi.