Abraham loves Jacob and blesses him (xix. 15-31). 15. And Abraham loved Jacob, but Isaac loved Esau. 16. And Abraham saw the deeds of Esau, and he knew that in Jacob 1 should his name and seed be called; and he called Rebecca and gave commandment regarding Jacob, for he knew that she (too) loved Jacob much more than Esau. 17. And he said unto her: "My daughter, watch over my son Jacob,
For he shall be in my stead on the earth,
And for a blessing in the midst of the children of men,
And for the glory of the whole seed of Shem.
18. For I know that YHVH will choose him to be a people for possession unto Himself, above all peoples that are upon the face of the earth. 2 19. And behold, Isaac my son loveth Esau more than Jacob, but I see that thou truly lovest Jacob.
20. Add still further to thy kindness to him,
And let thine eyes be upon him in love;
For he will be a blessing unto us on the earth from henceforth unto all generations of the earth.
21. Let thy hands be strong
And let thy heart rejoice in thy son Jacob;
For I have loved him far beyond all my sons.
He will be blessed for ever,
And his seed will fill the whole earth.
22. If a man can number the sand of the earth,
His seed also will be numbered. 3
23. And all the blessings wherewith The Most High hath blessed me and my seed shall belong to Jacob and his seed alway. 24. And in his seed shall my name be blessed, and the name of my fathers, Shem, and
Noah, and Enoch, and Mahalalel, and Enos, and Seth, and Adam. 1 25. And these shall serve
To lay the foundations of the heaven,
And to strengthen the earth,
And to renew all the luminaries which are in the firmament."
26. And he called Jacob before the eyes of Rebecca his mother, and kissed him, and blessed him, and said: 27. "Jacob, my beloved son, whom my soul loveth, may YHVH bless thee from above the firmament, and may He give thee all the blessings wherewith He blessed Adam, and Enoch, and Noah, and Shem; and all the things of which He told me, and all the things which He promised to give me, may He cause to cleave to thee and to thy seed for ever, according to the days of heaven above the earth. 2 28. And the spirits of Mastêmâ shall not rule over thee or over thy seed 3 to turn thee from YHVH, who is thy Father from henceforth for ever. 29. And may The Most High YHVH be a father to thee and thou the first-born son, and to the people alway. Go in peace, my son." 30. And they both went forth together from Abraham. 31. And Rebecca loved Jacob, with all her heart and with all her soul, very much more than Esau; but Isaac loved Esau much more than Jacob.
Jacob obtains the Blessing of the Firstborn (xxvi. 1-35; cf. Gen. xxvii.). XXVI. And in the seventh year of this week Isaac called Esau, his elder son, and said unto him: "I am old, my son, and behold my eyes are dim in seeing, and I know not the day of my death. 2. And now take thy hunting weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and hunt and catch me (venison), my son, and make me savoury meat, such as my soul loveth, and bring it to me that I may eat, and that my soul may bless thee before I die." 3. But Rebecca heard Isaac speaking to Esau. 4. And Esau went forth early to the field to hunt and catch and bring home to his father. 5. And Rebecca called Jacob, her son, and said unto him: "Behold, I heard Isaac, thy father, speak unto Esau, thy brother, saying: 'Hunt for me, and make me savoury meat, and bring (it) to me that I may eat and bless thee before YHVH before I die.' 6. And now, my son, obey my voice in that which I command thee: Go to thy flock and fetch me two good kids of the goats, and I will make them savoury meat for thy father, such as he loveth, and thou shalt bring (it) to thy father that he may eat and bless thee before YHVH before he die, and that thou mayst be blessed." 7. And Jacob said to Rebecca his mother: "Mother, I shall not withhold
anything which my father would eat, and which would please him: only I fear, my mother, that he will recognise my voice and wish to touch me. 8. And thou knowest that I am smooth, and Esau, my brother, is hairy, and I shall appear before his eyes as an evildoer, and shall do a deed which he had not commanded me, and he will be wroth with me, and I shall bring upon myself a curse, and not a blessing." 9. And Rebecca, his mother, said unto him: "Upon me be thy curse, my son, only obey my voice." 10. And Jacob obeyed the voice of Rebecca, his mother, and went and fetched two good and fat kids of the goats, and brought them to his mother, and his mother made them (savoury meat) such as he loved. 11. And Rebecca took the goodly raiment of Esau, her elder son, which was with her in the house, and she clothed Jacob, her younger son, (with them), and she put the skins of the kids upon his hands and on the exposed parts of his neck. 12. And she gave the meat and the bread which she had prepared into the hand of her son Jacob. 13. And Jacob went in to his father and said: "I am thy son: I have done according as thou badest me: arise and sit and eat of that which I have caught, father, that thy soul may bless me." 14. And Isaac said to his son: "How hast thou found so quickly, my son?" 15. And Jacob said: "Because (YHVH) thy Father caused me to find." 16. And Isaac said unto him: "Come near, that I may feel thee, my son, if thou art my son Esau or not." 17. And Jacob went near to Isaac, his father, and he felt him and said: 18. "The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau," and he discerned him not, because it was a dispensation from heaven 1 to remove his power of perception and Isaac discerned not, for his hands were hairy as (his brother) Esau's, so that he blessed him. 19. And he said: "Art thou my son Esau?" and he said: "I am thy son and he said, "Bring
near to me that I may eat of that which thou hast caught, my son, that my soul may bless thee." 20. And he brought near to him, and he did eat, and he brought him wine and he drank. 21. And Isaac, his father, said unto him: "Come near and kiss me, my son." And he came near and kissed him. 22. And he smelled the smell of his raiment, and he blessed him and said: "Behold, the smell of my son is as the smell of a (full) 1 field which YHVH hath blessed.
23. And may YHVH give thee of the dew of heaven
And of the dew 2 of the earth, and plenty of corn and oil: 3
Let nations serve thee,
And peoples bow down to thee.
24. Be Master over thy brethren,
And let thy mother's sons bow down to thee;
And may all the blessings wherewith YHVH hath blessed me and blessed Abraham, my father, 4
Be imparted to thee and to thy seed for ever
Cursed be he that curseth thee,
And blessed be he that blesseth thee."
25. And it came to pass as soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing his son Jacob, and Jacob had gone forth from Isaac his father †he hid himself and† 5 Esau, his brother, came in from his hunting. 26. And he also made savoury meat, and brought (it) to his father, and said unto his father: "Let my father arise, and eat of my venison that thy soul may bless me." 27. And Isaac, his father, said unto him: "Who art thou?" And he said unto him: "I am thy first born, thy son Esau: I have done as thou hast commanded me." 28. And Isaac was very
greatly astonished, and said: "Who is he that hath hunted and caught and brought (it) to me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed him: (and) he shall be blessed, and all his seed for ever." 29. And it came to pass when Esau heard the words of his father Isaac that he cried with an exceeding great and bitter cry, and said unto his father: "Bless me, (even) me also, father." 30. And he said unto him: "Thy brother came with guile, and hath taken away thy blessing." And he said: "Now I know why his name is named Jacob: behold, he hath supplanted me these two times: he took away my birth-right, and now he hath taken away my blessing." 31. And he said: "Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me, father?" and Isaac answered and said unto Esau:
"Behold, I have made him thy Master,
And all his brethren have I given to him for servants,
And with plenty of com and wine and oil have I strengthened him:
And what now shall I do for thee, my son?"
32. And Esau said to Isaac, his father:
"Hast thou but one blessing, O father?
Bless me, (even) me also, father":
And Esau lifted up his voice and wept. 33. And Isaac answered and said unto him:
"Behold, far from the dew of the earth shall be thy dwelling,
And far from the dew of heaven from above.
34. And by thy sword wilt thou live,
And thou wilt serve thy brother.
And it shall come to pass when thou becomest great, 1
And dost shake his yoke from off thy neck,
Thou wilt sin a complete sin unto death, 2
p. 144 And thy seed will be rooted out from under heaven."
35. And Esau kept threatening Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him, and he said in his heart: "May the days of mourning for my father now come, so that I may slay my brother Jacob."
Rebecca's Last Admonitions and Death (xxxv. 1-27). XXXV. And in the first year of the first week of the forty-fifth jubilee Rebecca called Jacob, her son, and commanded him regarding his father and regarding his brother, that he should honour them all the days of his life. 2. And Jacob said: "I will do
everything as thou hast commanded me; for this thing will be honour and greatness to me, and righteousness before YHVH, that I should honour them. 3. And thou too, mother, knowest from the time I was born until this day, all my deeds and all that is in my heart, that I always think good concerning all. 4. And how should I not do this thing which thou hast commanded me, that I should honour my father and my brother! 5. Tell me, mother, what perversity hast thou seen in me and I shall turn away from it, and mercy will be upon me." 6. And she said unto him: "My son, I have not seen in thee all my days any perverse but (only) upright deeds. And yet I shall tell thee the truth, my son: I shall die this, year, and I shall not survive this year in my life; for I have seen in a dream the day of my death, that I should not live beyond a hundred and fifty-five years: and behold I have completed all the days of my life which I am to live." 7. And Jacob laughed at the words of his mother, because his mother had said unto him that she should die; and she was sitting opposite to him in possession of her strength, and she was not infirm in her strength; for she went in and out and saw, and her teeth were strong, and no ailment had touched her all the days of her life. 8. And Jacob said unto her: "Blessed am I, mother, if my days approach the days of thy life, and my strength remain with me thus as thy strength: and thou wilt not die, for thou art jesting idly with me regarding thy death." 9. And she went in to Isaac and said unto him: "One petition I make unto thee: make Esau swear that he will not injure Jacob, nor pursue him with enmity; for thou knowest Esau's thoughts that they are perverse from his youth, and there is no goodness in him; for he desireth after thy death to kill him. 10. And thou knowest all that he hath done since the day Jacob his brother went to Haran until this day; how he hath forsaken us with his whole heart, and hath done evil to us; thy flocks he hath taken to himself, and carried off all thy
possessions from before thy face. 11. And when we implored and besought him for what was our own, he did as a man who was taking pity on us. 12. And he is bitter against thee because thou didst bless Jacob thy perfect and upright son; for there is no evil but only goodness in him, and since he came from Haran unto this day he hath not robbed us of aught, for he bringeth us everything in its season always, and rejoiceth with all his heart when we take at his hands, and he blesseth us, and hath not parted from us since he came from Haran until this day, and he remaineth with us continually at home honouring us." 13. And Isaac said unto her: "I, too, know and see the deeds of Jacob who is with us, how that with all his heart he honoureth us; but I loved Esau formerly more than Jacob, because he was the first-born; but now I love Jacob more than Esau, for he hath done manifold evil deeds, and there is no righteousness in him, for all his ways are unrighteousness and violence, [and there is no righteousness around him]. 1 14. And now my heart is troubled because of all his deeds, and neither he nor his seed is to be saved, for they are those who will be destroyed from the earth, and who will be rooted out from under heaven, for he hath forsaken The Father of Abraham and gone after his wives and after their uncleanness and after their error, he and his children. 15. And thou dost bid me make him swear that he will not slay Jacob, his brother; even if he swear he will not abide by his oath, and he will not do good but evil only. 16. But if he desireth to slay Jacob, his brother, into Jacob's hands will he be given, and he will not escape from his hands, [for he will descend into his hands.] 2 17. And fear thou not on account of Jacob; for the guardian 3 of Jacob is great and powerful and honoured, and praised more than the guardian of Esau." 18. And Rebecca sent
and called Esau, and he came to her, and she said unto him: "I have a petition, my son, to make unto thee, and do thou promise to do it, my son." 19. And he said: "I will do everything that thou sayest unto me, and I will not refuse thy petition." 20. And she said unto him: "I ask you that the day I die, thou wilt take me in and bury me near Sarah, thy father's mother, and that thou and Jacob will love each other, and that neither will desire evil against the other, but mutual love only, and (so) ye will prosper, my sons, and be honoured in the midst of the land, and no enemy will rejoice over you, and ye will be a blessing and a mercy in the eyes of all those that love you." 21. And he said: "I will do all that thou hast told me, and I shall bury thee on the day thou diest near Sarah, my father's mother, as thou hast desired that her bones may be near thy bones. 22. And Jacob, my brother, also, I shall love above all flesh; for I have not a brother in all the earth but him only: and this is no great merit for me if I love him; for he is my brother, and we were sown together in thy body, and together came we forth from thy womb, and if I do not love my brother, whom shall I love? 23. And I, myself, beg thee to exhort Jacob concerning me and concerning my sons, for I know that he will assuredly be king over me and my sons, for on the day my father blessed him he made him the higher and me the lower. 24. And I swear unto thee that I shall love him, and not desire evil against him all the days of my life but good only." And he sware unto her regarding all this matter. 25. And she called Jacob before the eyes of Esau, and gave him commandment according to the words which she had spoken to Esau. 26. And he said: "I shall do thy pleasure; believe me that no evil will proceed from me or from my sons against Esau, and I shall be first in naught save in love only." 27. And they ate and drank, she and her sons that night, and she died, three jubilees and one week and one year old, on that night, and her two sons, Esau and
Jacob, buried her in the double cave 1 near Sarah, their father's mother.
Isaac's Last Words and Admonitions: his Death. The Death of Leah (xxxvi. 1-24). XXXVI. And in the sixth year of this week Isaac called his two sons, Esau and Jacob, and they came to him, and he said unto them: "My sons, I am going the way of my fathers, to the eternal house 2 where my fathers are. 2. Wherefore bury me near Abraham my father, in the double cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite, where Abraham purchased a sepulchre to bury in; in the sepulchre which I digged for myself, there bury me. 3. And this I command you, my sons, that ye practise righteousness and uprightness on the earth, so that YHVH may bring upon you all that The Most High said that he would do to Abraham and to his seed. 4. And love one another, my sons, your brothers 3 as a man who loveth his own soul, and let each seek in what he may benefit his brother, and act together on the earth; and let them love each other as their own souls. 5. And concerning the question of idols, I command and admonish you to reject them and hate them, and love them not; for they are full of deception for those that worship them and for those that bow down to them. 6. Remember ye, my sons, YHVH Father of Abraham your father, and how I too worshipped Him and served Him in righteousness and in joy, that He might multiply you and increase your seed as the stars of heaven in multitude, and establish you on the earth as the plant of righteousness 4 which will not be rooted out unto all the generations for ever. 7. And now I shall make you swear a great oath--for there is no oath which is greater than it by the name glorious and honoured
and great and splendid and wonderful and mighty, which created the heavens and the earth and all things together--that ye will fear YHVH and worship Him. 8. And that each will love his brother with affection and righteousness, and that neither will desire evil against his brother from henceforth for ever all the days of your life, so that ye may prosper in all your deeds and not be destroyed. 9. And if either of you deviseth evil against his brother, know that from henceforth every one that deviseth evil against his brother will fall into his hand, and will be rooted out of the land of the living, and his seed will be destroyed from under heaven. 10. But on the day of turbulence and execration and indignation and anger, with flaming devouring fire as He burnt Sodom, so likewise will He burn his land and his city and all that is his, and he will be blotted out of the book of the discipline of the children of men, and not be recorded in the book of life, 1 but in that which is appointed to destruction, and he will depart into eternal execration; so that their condemnation may be always renewed in hate and in execration and in wrath and in torment and in indignation and in plagues and in disease for ever. 11. I say and testify to you, my sons, according to the judgment which will come upon the man who wisheth to injure his brother." 12. And he divided all his possessions between the two on that day, and he gave the larger portion to him that was the first-born, and the tower and all that was about it, and all that Abraham possessed at the Well of the Oath. 13. And he said, "This larger portion I shall give to the first-born." 14. And Esau said, "I have sold to Jacob and given my birthright to Jacob; to him let it be given, and I have not a single word to say regarding it, for it is his." 15. And Isaac said, "May a blessing rest upon you, my sons, and upon your seed this day, for ye have given me rest, and my heart is not pained concerning the birthright, lest thou shouldest work wickedness on account
of it. 16. May the Most High YHVH 1 bless the man that worketh righteousness, him and his seed for ever." 17. And he ended commanding them and blessing them, and they ate and drank together before him, and he rejoiced because there was one mind between them, and they went forth from him and rested that day and slept. 18. And Isaac slept on his bed that day rejoicing; and he slept the eternal sleep, and died one hundred and eighty years old. He completed twenty-five weeks and five years; and his two sons Esau and Jacob buried him. 2 19. And Esau went to the land of Edom, to the mountains of Seir, and dwelt there. 20. And Jacob dwelt in the mountains of Hebron, in the tower of the land of the sojournings of his father Abraham, and he worshipped YHVH with all his heart and according to the visible commands according as He had divided the days of his generations. 3 21. And Leah his wife died
. in the fourth year of the second week of the forty-fifth jubilee, and he buried her in the double cave near Rebecca his mother, to the left of the grave of Sarah, his father's mother. 22. And all her sons and his sons came to mourn over Leah his wife with him, and to comfort him regarding her, for he was lamenting her. 23. For he loved her exceedingly after Rachel her sister died; for she was perfect and upright in all her ways and honoured Jacob, and all the days that she lived with him he did not hear from her mouth a harsh word, for she was gentle and peaceable and upright and honourable. 24. And he remembered all her deeds which she had done during her life, and he lamented her exceedingly; for he loved her with all his heart and with all his soul.
Esau and his Sons wage War with Jacob (xxxvii. 1-25). XXXVII. 1 And on the day that Isaac the father
of Jacob and Esau died, the sons of Esau heard that Isaac had given the portion of the elder to his younger son Jacob and they were very angry. 2. And they strove with their father, saying: "Why hath thy father given Jacob the portion of the elder and passed over thee, although thou art the elder and Jacob the younger?" 3. And he said unto them "Because I sold my birthright to Jacob for a small mess of lentils; and on the day my father sent me to hunt and catch and bring him something that he should eat and bless me, he came with guile and brought my father food and drink, and my father blessed him and put me under his hand. 4. And now our father hath caused us to swear, me and him, that we shall not mutually devise evil, either against his brother, and that we shall continue in love and in peace each with his brother and not make our ways corrupt." 2 5. And they said unto him, "We shall not hearken unto thee to make peace with him; for our strength is greater than his strength, and we are more powerful than he; we shall go against him and slay him, and destroy him and his sons. And if thou wilt not go with us, we shall do hurt to thee also. 6. And now hearken unto us: Let us send to Aram 3 and Philistia 4 and Moab
and Ammon, 1 and let us choose for ourselves chosen men who are ardent for battle, and let us go against him and do battle with him, and let us exterminate him from the earth before he groweth strong." 7. And their father said unto them, "Do not go and do not make war with him lest ye fall before him." 8. And they said unto him, "This too, is exactly thy mode of action from thy youth until this day, and thou art putting thy neck under his yoke. We shall not hearken to these words." 9. And they sent to Aram, and to ’Adurâm 2 to the friend of their father, and they hired along with them one thousand fighting men, chosen men of war. 10. And there came to them from Moab and from the children of Ammon, those who were hired, one thousand chosen men, and from Philistia, one thousand chosen men of war, and from Edom 3 and from the Horites one thousand chosen fighting men, and from the Kittim 4 mighty men of war. 11. And they said unto their father: "Go forth with them and lead them, else we shall slay thee." 12. And he was filled with wrath and indignation on seeing that his sons were forcing him to go before (them) to lead them against Jacob his brother. 13. But afterward he remembered all the evil which lay hidden in his heart against Jacob his brother; and he remembered not the oath which he had sworn to his father and to his mother that he would devise no evil all his days against Jacob his brother. 14. And notwithstanding all this, Jacob knew not that they were coming against him to battle, and he was mourning for Leah, his wife, until they approached very near to the tower with four thousand warriors and chosen men of war. 15. And the men of Hebron sent to him saying, "Behold thy brother hath come against thee, to fight thee, with four thousand girt with the sword, and they carry shields and weapons"; for they loved Jacob more than Esau. So they told him; for Jacob was a more liberal and merciful man
than Esau. 16. But Jacob would not believe until they came very near to the tower. 17. And he closed the gates of the tower; and he stood on the battlements and spake to his brother Esau and said, "Noble is the comfort wherewith thou hast come to comfort me for my wife who hath died. Is this the oath that thou didst swear to thy father and again to thy mother before they died? Thou hast broken the oath, and on the moment that thou didst swear to thy father wast thou condemned." 18. And then Esau answered and said unto him, "Neither the children of men nor the beasts of the earth have any oath of righteousness which in swearing they have sworn (an oath valid) for ever; but every day they devise evil one against another, and how each may slay his adversary and foe. 19. And thou dost hate me and my children for ever. And there is no observing the tie of brotherhood with thee. 20. Hear these words which I declare unto thee,
If the boar can change its skin and make its bristles as soft as wool,
Or if it can cause horns to sprout forth on its head like the horns of a stag or of a sheep,
Then shall I observe the tie of brotherhood with thee. 1
[And if the breasts separated themselves from their mother; for thou hast not been a brother to me.] 2
21. And if the wolves make peace with the lambs so as not to devour or do them violence,
And if their hearts are towards them for good,
Then there will be peace in my heart towards thee.
22. And if the lion becometh the friend of the ox and maketh peace with him, p. 182
And if he is bound under one yoke with him and plougheth with him,
Then shall I make peace with thee.
23. And when the raven becometh white as the râzâ, 1
Then know that -I have loved thee
And shall make peace with thee.
Thou shalt be rooted out,
And thy sons shall be rooted out,
And there shall be no peace for thee."
24. And when Jacob saw that he was (so) evilly disposed towards him with his heart, and with all his soul as to slay him, and that he had come springing like the wild boar which cometh upon the spear that pierceth and killeth it, and recoileth not from it; 25. Then he spake to his own and to his servants that they should attack him and all his companions.
For he shall be in my stead on the earth,
And for a blessing in the midst of the children of men,
And for the glory of the whole seed of Shem.
18. For I know that YHVH will choose him to be a people for possession unto Himself, above all peoples that are upon the face of the earth. 2 19. And behold, Isaac my son loveth Esau more than Jacob, but I see that thou truly lovest Jacob.
20. Add still further to thy kindness to him,
And let thine eyes be upon him in love;
For he will be a blessing unto us on the earth from henceforth unto all generations of the earth.
21. Let thy hands be strong
And let thy heart rejoice in thy son Jacob;
For I have loved him far beyond all my sons.
He will be blessed for ever,
And his seed will fill the whole earth.
22. If a man can number the sand of the earth,
His seed also will be numbered. 3
23. And all the blessings wherewith The Most High hath blessed me and my seed shall belong to Jacob and his seed alway. 24. And in his seed shall my name be blessed, and the name of my fathers, Shem, and
Noah, and Enoch, and Mahalalel, and Enos, and Seth, and Adam. 1 25. And these shall serve
To lay the foundations of the heaven,
And to strengthen the earth,
And to renew all the luminaries which are in the firmament."
26. And he called Jacob before the eyes of Rebecca his mother, and kissed him, and blessed him, and said: 27. "Jacob, my beloved son, whom my soul loveth, may YHVH bless thee from above the firmament, and may He give thee all the blessings wherewith He blessed Adam, and Enoch, and Noah, and Shem; and all the things of which He told me, and all the things which He promised to give me, may He cause to cleave to thee and to thy seed for ever, according to the days of heaven above the earth. 2 28. And the spirits of Mastêmâ shall not rule over thee or over thy seed 3 to turn thee from YHVH, who is thy Father from henceforth for ever. 29. And may The Most High YHVH be a father to thee and thou the first-born son, and to the people alway. Go in peace, my son." 30. And they both went forth together from Abraham. 31. And Rebecca loved Jacob, with all her heart and with all her soul, very much more than Esau; but Isaac loved Esau much more than Jacob.
Jacob obtains the Blessing of the Firstborn (xxvi. 1-35; cf. Gen. xxvii.). XXVI. And in the seventh year of this week Isaac called Esau, his elder son, and said unto him: "I am old, my son, and behold my eyes are dim in seeing, and I know not the day of my death. 2. And now take thy hunting weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and hunt and catch me (venison), my son, and make me savoury meat, such as my soul loveth, and bring it to me that I may eat, and that my soul may bless thee before I die." 3. But Rebecca heard Isaac speaking to Esau. 4. And Esau went forth early to the field to hunt and catch and bring home to his father. 5. And Rebecca called Jacob, her son, and said unto him: "Behold, I heard Isaac, thy father, speak unto Esau, thy brother, saying: 'Hunt for me, and make me savoury meat, and bring (it) to me that I may eat and bless thee before YHVH before I die.' 6. And now, my son, obey my voice in that which I command thee: Go to thy flock and fetch me two good kids of the goats, and I will make them savoury meat for thy father, such as he loveth, and thou shalt bring (it) to thy father that he may eat and bless thee before YHVH before he die, and that thou mayst be blessed." 7. And Jacob said to Rebecca his mother: "Mother, I shall not withhold
anything which my father would eat, and which would please him: only I fear, my mother, that he will recognise my voice and wish to touch me. 8. And thou knowest that I am smooth, and Esau, my brother, is hairy, and I shall appear before his eyes as an evildoer, and shall do a deed which he had not commanded me, and he will be wroth with me, and I shall bring upon myself a curse, and not a blessing." 9. And Rebecca, his mother, said unto him: "Upon me be thy curse, my son, only obey my voice." 10. And Jacob obeyed the voice of Rebecca, his mother, and went and fetched two good and fat kids of the goats, and brought them to his mother, and his mother made them (savoury meat) such as he loved. 11. And Rebecca took the goodly raiment of Esau, her elder son, which was with her in the house, and she clothed Jacob, her younger son, (with them), and she put the skins of the kids upon his hands and on the exposed parts of his neck. 12. And she gave the meat and the bread which she had prepared into the hand of her son Jacob. 13. And Jacob went in to his father and said: "I am thy son: I have done according as thou badest me: arise and sit and eat of that which I have caught, father, that thy soul may bless me." 14. And Isaac said to his son: "How hast thou found so quickly, my son?" 15. And Jacob said: "Because (YHVH) thy Father caused me to find." 16. And Isaac said unto him: "Come near, that I may feel thee, my son, if thou art my son Esau or not." 17. And Jacob went near to Isaac, his father, and he felt him and said: 18. "The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau," and he discerned him not, because it was a dispensation from heaven 1 to remove his power of perception and Isaac discerned not, for his hands were hairy as (his brother) Esau's, so that he blessed him. 19. And he said: "Art thou my son Esau?" and he said: "I am thy son and he said, "Bring
near to me that I may eat of that which thou hast caught, my son, that my soul may bless thee." 20. And he brought near to him, and he did eat, and he brought him wine and he drank. 21. And Isaac, his father, said unto him: "Come near and kiss me, my son." And he came near and kissed him. 22. And he smelled the smell of his raiment, and he blessed him and said: "Behold, the smell of my son is as the smell of a (full) 1 field which YHVH hath blessed.
23. And may YHVH give thee of the dew of heaven
And of the dew 2 of the earth, and plenty of corn and oil: 3
Let nations serve thee,
And peoples bow down to thee.
24. Be Master over thy brethren,
And let thy mother's sons bow down to thee;
And may all the blessings wherewith YHVH hath blessed me and blessed Abraham, my father, 4
Be imparted to thee and to thy seed for ever
Cursed be he that curseth thee,
And blessed be he that blesseth thee."
25. And it came to pass as soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing his son Jacob, and Jacob had gone forth from Isaac his father †he hid himself and† 5 Esau, his brother, came in from his hunting. 26. And he also made savoury meat, and brought (it) to his father, and said unto his father: "Let my father arise, and eat of my venison that thy soul may bless me." 27. And Isaac, his father, said unto him: "Who art thou?" And he said unto him: "I am thy first born, thy son Esau: I have done as thou hast commanded me." 28. And Isaac was very
greatly astonished, and said: "Who is he that hath hunted and caught and brought (it) to me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed him: (and) he shall be blessed, and all his seed for ever." 29. And it came to pass when Esau heard the words of his father Isaac that he cried with an exceeding great and bitter cry, and said unto his father: "Bless me, (even) me also, father." 30. And he said unto him: "Thy brother came with guile, and hath taken away thy blessing." And he said: "Now I know why his name is named Jacob: behold, he hath supplanted me these two times: he took away my birth-right, and now he hath taken away my blessing." 31. And he said: "Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me, father?" and Isaac answered and said unto Esau:
"Behold, I have made him thy Master,
And all his brethren have I given to him for servants,
And with plenty of com and wine and oil have I strengthened him:
And what now shall I do for thee, my son?"
32. And Esau said to Isaac, his father:
"Hast thou but one blessing, O father?
Bless me, (even) me also, father":
And Esau lifted up his voice and wept. 33. And Isaac answered and said unto him:
"Behold, far from the dew of the earth shall be thy dwelling,
And far from the dew of heaven from above.
34. And by thy sword wilt thou live,
And thou wilt serve thy brother.
And it shall come to pass when thou becomest great, 1
And dost shake his yoke from off thy neck,
Thou wilt sin a complete sin unto death, 2
p. 144 And thy seed will be rooted out from under heaven."
35. And Esau kept threatening Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him, and he said in his heart: "May the days of mourning for my father now come, so that I may slay my brother Jacob."
Rebecca's Last Admonitions and Death (xxxv. 1-27). XXXV. And in the first year of the first week of the forty-fifth jubilee Rebecca called Jacob, her son, and commanded him regarding his father and regarding his brother, that he should honour them all the days of his life. 2. And Jacob said: "I will do
everything as thou hast commanded me; for this thing will be honour and greatness to me, and righteousness before YHVH, that I should honour them. 3. And thou too, mother, knowest from the time I was born until this day, all my deeds and all that is in my heart, that I always think good concerning all. 4. And how should I not do this thing which thou hast commanded me, that I should honour my father and my brother! 5. Tell me, mother, what perversity hast thou seen in me and I shall turn away from it, and mercy will be upon me." 6. And she said unto him: "My son, I have not seen in thee all my days any perverse but (only) upright deeds. And yet I shall tell thee the truth, my son: I shall die this, year, and I shall not survive this year in my life; for I have seen in a dream the day of my death, that I should not live beyond a hundred and fifty-five years: and behold I have completed all the days of my life which I am to live." 7. And Jacob laughed at the words of his mother, because his mother had said unto him that she should die; and she was sitting opposite to him in possession of her strength, and she was not infirm in her strength; for she went in and out and saw, and her teeth were strong, and no ailment had touched her all the days of her life. 8. And Jacob said unto her: "Blessed am I, mother, if my days approach the days of thy life, and my strength remain with me thus as thy strength: and thou wilt not die, for thou art jesting idly with me regarding thy death." 9. And she went in to Isaac and said unto him: "One petition I make unto thee: make Esau swear that he will not injure Jacob, nor pursue him with enmity; for thou knowest Esau's thoughts that they are perverse from his youth, and there is no goodness in him; for he desireth after thy death to kill him. 10. And thou knowest all that he hath done since the day Jacob his brother went to Haran until this day; how he hath forsaken us with his whole heart, and hath done evil to us; thy flocks he hath taken to himself, and carried off all thy
possessions from before thy face. 11. And when we implored and besought him for what was our own, he did as a man who was taking pity on us. 12. And he is bitter against thee because thou didst bless Jacob thy perfect and upright son; for there is no evil but only goodness in him, and since he came from Haran unto this day he hath not robbed us of aught, for he bringeth us everything in its season always, and rejoiceth with all his heart when we take at his hands, and he blesseth us, and hath not parted from us since he came from Haran until this day, and he remaineth with us continually at home honouring us." 13. And Isaac said unto her: "I, too, know and see the deeds of Jacob who is with us, how that with all his heart he honoureth us; but I loved Esau formerly more than Jacob, because he was the first-born; but now I love Jacob more than Esau, for he hath done manifold evil deeds, and there is no righteousness in him, for all his ways are unrighteousness and violence, [and there is no righteousness around him]. 1 14. And now my heart is troubled because of all his deeds, and neither he nor his seed is to be saved, for they are those who will be destroyed from the earth, and who will be rooted out from under heaven, for he hath forsaken The Father of Abraham and gone after his wives and after their uncleanness and after their error, he and his children. 15. And thou dost bid me make him swear that he will not slay Jacob, his brother; even if he swear he will not abide by his oath, and he will not do good but evil only. 16. But if he desireth to slay Jacob, his brother, into Jacob's hands will he be given, and he will not escape from his hands, [for he will descend into his hands.] 2 17. And fear thou not on account of Jacob; for the guardian 3 of Jacob is great and powerful and honoured, and praised more than the guardian of Esau." 18. And Rebecca sent
and called Esau, and he came to her, and she said unto him: "I have a petition, my son, to make unto thee, and do thou promise to do it, my son." 19. And he said: "I will do everything that thou sayest unto me, and I will not refuse thy petition." 20. And she said unto him: "I ask you that the day I die, thou wilt take me in and bury me near Sarah, thy father's mother, and that thou and Jacob will love each other, and that neither will desire evil against the other, but mutual love only, and (so) ye will prosper, my sons, and be honoured in the midst of the land, and no enemy will rejoice over you, and ye will be a blessing and a mercy in the eyes of all those that love you." 21. And he said: "I will do all that thou hast told me, and I shall bury thee on the day thou diest near Sarah, my father's mother, as thou hast desired that her bones may be near thy bones. 22. And Jacob, my brother, also, I shall love above all flesh; for I have not a brother in all the earth but him only: and this is no great merit for me if I love him; for he is my brother, and we were sown together in thy body, and together came we forth from thy womb, and if I do not love my brother, whom shall I love? 23. And I, myself, beg thee to exhort Jacob concerning me and concerning my sons, for I know that he will assuredly be king over me and my sons, for on the day my father blessed him he made him the higher and me the lower. 24. And I swear unto thee that I shall love him, and not desire evil against him all the days of my life but good only." And he sware unto her regarding all this matter. 25. And she called Jacob before the eyes of Esau, and gave him commandment according to the words which she had spoken to Esau. 26. And he said: "I shall do thy pleasure; believe me that no evil will proceed from me or from my sons against Esau, and I shall be first in naught save in love only." 27. And they ate and drank, she and her sons that night, and she died, three jubilees and one week and one year old, on that night, and her two sons, Esau and
Jacob, buried her in the double cave 1 near Sarah, their father's mother.
Isaac's Last Words and Admonitions: his Death. The Death of Leah (xxxvi. 1-24). XXXVI. And in the sixth year of this week Isaac called his two sons, Esau and Jacob, and they came to him, and he said unto them: "My sons, I am going the way of my fathers, to the eternal house 2 where my fathers are. 2. Wherefore bury me near Abraham my father, in the double cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite, where Abraham purchased a sepulchre to bury in; in the sepulchre which I digged for myself, there bury me. 3. And this I command you, my sons, that ye practise righteousness and uprightness on the earth, so that YHVH may bring upon you all that The Most High said that he would do to Abraham and to his seed. 4. And love one another, my sons, your brothers 3 as a man who loveth his own soul, and let each seek in what he may benefit his brother, and act together on the earth; and let them love each other as their own souls. 5. And concerning the question of idols, I command and admonish you to reject them and hate them, and love them not; for they are full of deception for those that worship them and for those that bow down to them. 6. Remember ye, my sons, YHVH Father of Abraham your father, and how I too worshipped Him and served Him in righteousness and in joy, that He might multiply you and increase your seed as the stars of heaven in multitude, and establish you on the earth as the plant of righteousness 4 which will not be rooted out unto all the generations for ever. 7. And now I shall make you swear a great oath--for there is no oath which is greater than it by the name glorious and honoured
and great and splendid and wonderful and mighty, which created the heavens and the earth and all things together--that ye will fear YHVH and worship Him. 8. And that each will love his brother with affection and righteousness, and that neither will desire evil against his brother from henceforth for ever all the days of your life, so that ye may prosper in all your deeds and not be destroyed. 9. And if either of you deviseth evil against his brother, know that from henceforth every one that deviseth evil against his brother will fall into his hand, and will be rooted out of the land of the living, and his seed will be destroyed from under heaven. 10. But on the day of turbulence and execration and indignation and anger, with flaming devouring fire as He burnt Sodom, so likewise will He burn his land and his city and all that is his, and he will be blotted out of the book of the discipline of the children of men, and not be recorded in the book of life, 1 but in that which is appointed to destruction, and he will depart into eternal execration; so that their condemnation may be always renewed in hate and in execration and in wrath and in torment and in indignation and in plagues and in disease for ever. 11. I say and testify to you, my sons, according to the judgment which will come upon the man who wisheth to injure his brother." 12. And he divided all his possessions between the two on that day, and he gave the larger portion to him that was the first-born, and the tower and all that was about it, and all that Abraham possessed at the Well of the Oath. 13. And he said, "This larger portion I shall give to the first-born." 14. And Esau said, "I have sold to Jacob and given my birthright to Jacob; to him let it be given, and I have not a single word to say regarding it, for it is his." 15. And Isaac said, "May a blessing rest upon you, my sons, and upon your seed this day, for ye have given me rest, and my heart is not pained concerning the birthright, lest thou shouldest work wickedness on account
of it. 16. May the Most High YHVH 1 bless the man that worketh righteousness, him and his seed for ever." 17. And he ended commanding them and blessing them, and they ate and drank together before him, and he rejoiced because there was one mind between them, and they went forth from him and rested that day and slept. 18. And Isaac slept on his bed that day rejoicing; and he slept the eternal sleep, and died one hundred and eighty years old. He completed twenty-five weeks and five years; and his two sons Esau and Jacob buried him. 2 19. And Esau went to the land of Edom, to the mountains of Seir, and dwelt there. 20. And Jacob dwelt in the mountains of Hebron, in the tower of the land of the sojournings of his father Abraham, and he worshipped YHVH with all his heart and according to the visible commands according as He had divided the days of his generations. 3 21. And Leah his wife died
. in the fourth year of the second week of the forty-fifth jubilee, and he buried her in the double cave near Rebecca his mother, to the left of the grave of Sarah, his father's mother. 22. And all her sons and his sons came to mourn over Leah his wife with him, and to comfort him regarding her, for he was lamenting her. 23. For he loved her exceedingly after Rachel her sister died; for she was perfect and upright in all her ways and honoured Jacob, and all the days that she lived with him he did not hear from her mouth a harsh word, for she was gentle and peaceable and upright and honourable. 24. And he remembered all her deeds which she had done during her life, and he lamented her exceedingly; for he loved her with all his heart and with all his soul.
Esau and his Sons wage War with Jacob (xxxvii. 1-25). XXXVII. 1 And on the day that Isaac the father
of Jacob and Esau died, the sons of Esau heard that Isaac had given the portion of the elder to his younger son Jacob and they were very angry. 2. And they strove with their father, saying: "Why hath thy father given Jacob the portion of the elder and passed over thee, although thou art the elder and Jacob the younger?" 3. And he said unto them "Because I sold my birthright to Jacob for a small mess of lentils; and on the day my father sent me to hunt and catch and bring him something that he should eat and bless me, he came with guile and brought my father food and drink, and my father blessed him and put me under his hand. 4. And now our father hath caused us to swear, me and him, that we shall not mutually devise evil, either against his brother, and that we shall continue in love and in peace each with his brother and not make our ways corrupt." 2 5. And they said unto him, "We shall not hearken unto thee to make peace with him; for our strength is greater than his strength, and we are more powerful than he; we shall go against him and slay him, and destroy him and his sons. And if thou wilt not go with us, we shall do hurt to thee also. 6. And now hearken unto us: Let us send to Aram 3 and Philistia 4 and Moab
and Ammon, 1 and let us choose for ourselves chosen men who are ardent for battle, and let us go against him and do battle with him, and let us exterminate him from the earth before he groweth strong." 7. And their father said unto them, "Do not go and do not make war with him lest ye fall before him." 8. And they said unto him, "This too, is exactly thy mode of action from thy youth until this day, and thou art putting thy neck under his yoke. We shall not hearken to these words." 9. And they sent to Aram, and to ’Adurâm 2 to the friend of their father, and they hired along with them one thousand fighting men, chosen men of war. 10. And there came to them from Moab and from the children of Ammon, those who were hired, one thousand chosen men, and from Philistia, one thousand chosen men of war, and from Edom 3 and from the Horites one thousand chosen fighting men, and from the Kittim 4 mighty men of war. 11. And they said unto their father: "Go forth with them and lead them, else we shall slay thee." 12. And he was filled with wrath and indignation on seeing that his sons were forcing him to go before (them) to lead them against Jacob his brother. 13. But afterward he remembered all the evil which lay hidden in his heart against Jacob his brother; and he remembered not the oath which he had sworn to his father and to his mother that he would devise no evil all his days against Jacob his brother. 14. And notwithstanding all this, Jacob knew not that they were coming against him to battle, and he was mourning for Leah, his wife, until they approached very near to the tower with four thousand warriors and chosen men of war. 15. And the men of Hebron sent to him saying, "Behold thy brother hath come against thee, to fight thee, with four thousand girt with the sword, and they carry shields and weapons"; for they loved Jacob more than Esau. So they told him; for Jacob was a more liberal and merciful man
than Esau. 16. But Jacob would not believe until they came very near to the tower. 17. And he closed the gates of the tower; and he stood on the battlements and spake to his brother Esau and said, "Noble is the comfort wherewith thou hast come to comfort me for my wife who hath died. Is this the oath that thou didst swear to thy father and again to thy mother before they died? Thou hast broken the oath, and on the moment that thou didst swear to thy father wast thou condemned." 18. And then Esau answered and said unto him, "Neither the children of men nor the beasts of the earth have any oath of righteousness which in swearing they have sworn (an oath valid) for ever; but every day they devise evil one against another, and how each may slay his adversary and foe. 19. And thou dost hate me and my children for ever. And there is no observing the tie of brotherhood with thee. 20. Hear these words which I declare unto thee,
If the boar can change its skin and make its bristles as soft as wool,
Or if it can cause horns to sprout forth on its head like the horns of a stag or of a sheep,
Then shall I observe the tie of brotherhood with thee. 1
[And if the breasts separated themselves from their mother; for thou hast not been a brother to me.] 2
21. And if the wolves make peace with the lambs so as not to devour or do them violence,
And if their hearts are towards them for good,
Then there will be peace in my heart towards thee.
22. And if the lion becometh the friend of the ox and maketh peace with him, p. 182
And if he is bound under one yoke with him and plougheth with him,
Then shall I make peace with thee.
23. And when the raven becometh white as the râzâ, 1
Then know that -I have loved thee
And shall make peace with thee.
Thou shalt be rooted out,
And thy sons shall be rooted out,
And there shall be no peace for thee."
24. And when Jacob saw that he was (so) evilly disposed towards him with his heart, and with all his soul as to slay him, and that he had come springing like the wild boar which cometh upon the spear that pierceth and killeth it, and recoileth not from it; 25. Then he spake to his own and to his servants that they should attack him and all his companions.
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