ESAU AND JACOB Isaac was forty years old when Rebekah became his wife. They had no children for twenty years, and then Rebekah gave birth to twins. The first child was all covered with red hair, and they named him Esau, and the second at birth held Esau by the heel, so he received the name Jacob, which

Jacob and Esau 19 Descendants of Isaac, the son of Abraham. Isaac was born to Abraham. 20 Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel, an Aramean from Paddan-Aram, the sister of Laban, an Aramean. 21 Rebekah had no children, and so Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife. Answered

The sons of Isaac - Jacob and Esau 19 Here is the story of Isaac, the son of Abraham: Isaac was born to Abraham. 20 Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah, the daughter of the Aramean Bethuel of Paddan-aram c and the sister of the Aramean Laban. 21 Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife because she was barren.

The God-fighter Jacob and the sucker Esau How Jacob stabbed Esau Isaac loved Esau, because his game was to his taste, and Rebekah loved Jacob. One day Jacob was cooking food, and at that time Esau came from the field tired. And Esau said to Jacob: “Oh, how delicious it smells!” Give it to me, brother

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We continue to introduce readers to chapters from the book of the English Orthodox theologian Herman Middleton, “The Precious Vessels of the Holy Spirit: Lives and Spiritual Advice of Modern Greek Elders” (Thessaloniki, 2003).

Looking back, the elder always recalled the time of his growth with a feeling of great gratitude to his parents, especially to his mother, who, in his words, “had a monastic soul.” She tried very hard to maintain modesty and moderation in everything, so that the family lived a “humble, ascetic life.” Children were brought up in love and respect for their elders, and before approaching the communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ, for which they prepared by strict fasting, they kissed the hands of their parents and other elders in the community.

From a young age, little Jacob felt the closeness of God, and, not yet understanding the meaning of some expressions, he always avoided rude children, foul-mouthed and disgraceful. In Greece, his first refuge was a warehouse. Their “house,” in which he lived with his mother and grandmother, was separated from others by blankets. His favorite “toy” was a censer, which he himself made from curved tiles. He walked around the “house” with her, burning his family, then lifted the blanket and showed it to the neighbors, repeating: “Aluya, aluya!” In the evenings, he and his grandmother went to their favorite place - a small chapel - to keep the lamps burning. There the grandmother recounted the lives of the saints to her grandson and talked about her hieromonk relatives. At the age of six, little Jacob wanted to learn the Divine Liturgy by heart, including everything that the priest and choir said and sang at Sunday services. His pious mind was like a sponge and easily remembered everything that was connected with the Church, faith, piety and worship. The boy was so humble in character that his peers called him “grandfather,” “monk,” and “Father Jacob.”

In Farald, on Euboea, Jacob was sent to school. It was located in the small chapel of St. Paraskeva. Jacob loved going there. During the day he went to study, and in the evenings he went to light lamps and pray. One evening (he was then eight or nine years old) Saint Paraskeva appeared to him as she is depicted in the icon. Frightened, little Jacob ran home. A few days later, the phenomenon repeated again, but this time the saint calmed the boy. Then the saint often appeared to him in the chapel and talked with him.

At that age, he was entrusted with the keys to the temple: the village did not have its own priest, he came from a neighboring village once every two weeks. The peasants felt the boy’s closeness to Christ and His saints, and when they had any difficulties, they turned to him for help. Jacob was called to anoint with oil and say prayers over the sick, women who were having difficult childbirth, over the possessed, and for other needs. Jacob could not continue to study at school, as he was forced to work to help his family.

One night (this happened in the early 1940s), Saint Paraskeva appeared to him again and warned him that war would soon begin in Greece. Appearances of the saint became especially frequent at this time. The existence of the already eternally poor migrants during the years of the German and Italian occupations became even more miserable. Famine was common. Jacob, in his early twenties, constantly thinking about an increasingly strict life, at this time began to fast according to the rule, which he later resorted to many times. From Sunday evening until Saturday he ate nothing. On Saturday he received the Holy Mysteries of Christ and then ate some bread and olives. Only once a week - on Sunday - was his meal a little more plentiful. But it often turned out that he did not eat anything on these days. One day hungry children came to him, another time sick and weak old people came to him, and Jacob gave them what he had. He suffered greatly and gradually weakened from hunger. And even then he continued to work.

During these years he withstood several strong temptations. Due to poverty, he did not have shoes, and when he went to sing in church, some of the parishioners made rather rude and sarcastic remarks in his direction. Saddened by this, Jacob wanted to give up singing. One night, the martyr George, the patron saint of the temple in which Jacob served, appeared to him and said: “My child! I don't want you to leave. Sing in my house as before! Then his mother Theodora fell ill with an incurable disease. At forty, her hard life made her look seventy or eighty. Four days before her death, she predicted to her loved ones when she would pass into another world. She said that her guardian angel prepared her in advance. Everything happened as she predicted. Jacob's father died a few years later.

Before fulfilling his childhood desire to serve the Lord as a monk, Jacob had to fulfill his civic duty to the Greek government - serve his stipulated term in the army. He was drafted in 1947 and served in Piraeus, near Athens. And here, as in the village, many did not understand Jacob and at first laughed at him. Over time, however, most of his fellow soldiers came to respect him and sought his help when needed. And later some of them visited him in the monastery. The elder spoke about it this way: “A virtuous life always serves as an example and bears fruit, even if it appears years later... If I joined their fun, what good would come of it?” Having heard about Jacob’s piety, the squad commander, Lieutenant-Major Polycarp Zois, summoned him to his place. Convinced of the truth of the rumors and amazed at the firmness of his faith, he took him as his adjutant. Zois and his family were pious people and valued Jacob very much. They even wanted to adopt him, since they did not have children of their own, but Jacob, who had the intention of entering a monastery, was forced to refuse them.

After leaving the army, Jacob, in order to raise a dowry for his sister Anastasia (a responsibility that fell on him after the death of his father), took on any work that was offered to him. At the same time, he devoted a lot of time to renovating and repairing temples and chapels located near the village, which had fallen into disrepair since he joined the army.

At that time, shepherds lived with their families in the monastery buildings. Three monks also lived here, but especially so. The arrival of Jacob did not please either the monks or the shepherds. They tried in various ways to drive him away, and once an attempt was made on his life. Jacob was confused, but he felt that it was God's will that he remain living here, and he patiently endured the persecution. The Monk David appeared to him and assured Jacob that he was on the right path. The young abbot Nicodemus was at first unable to move away from his singular residence and establish a hostel. In addition, he was often forced to leave the monastery to serve in other churches as a parish priest. When Jacob came to the monastery, he finally removed the shepherds from the monastery, and they began to serve in the monastery every day. The abbot did not wait long to tonsure Jacob, as he saw his spiritual gifts and saw the calling of the young novice. The tonsure took place on November 30, 1952. The young monk was appointed steward of the monastery; he kept the keys, monastery books and was in charge of all property. When the need for another priest was discovered, the uneducated but wise and warm-hearted abbot Nicodemus sent Jacob to Metropolitan Gregory, Bishop of Khalki, for ordination. On December 18, 1952, Jacob was ordained to the rank of deacon, and a day later he was ordained a presbyter.

Returning to the monastery, Father Jacob began to serve the liturgy almost every day, preceded by daily services. With the blessing of the Metropolitan, he was to serve the liturgy in small villages. Strange as it may seem, the persecution of the brethren and their associates continued even now. Despite the position of housekeeper and priestly rank, Father Jacob occupied the most inconvenient cell for habitation. Its walls were covered with many cracks, and one winter, waking up after his usual short sleep, he discovered that his back was covered in snow. True, his clothes, since he became a monk, have become a little better; in addition, he got himself a pair of boots, on which he himself put new soles from old car tires.

Father Jacob sometimes thought about finding the hermitage where Saint David lived, so that he could retire there and get away from the temptations encountered in the monastery. At the beginning of 1953, he went in search of the saint's cave, and was very glad that he found it. But he knew that he could not leave the monastery, which could fall apart without him, and therefore decided to spend the night in the hermitage as often as possible. He said: “I tried to indulge in spiritual warfare in secret. I waited until it got dark, and when the fathers in their cells were getting ready for bed, I opened the back gate of the monastery and went to the saint’s hermitage.” One moonless night, the old man got lost, so he had to make his way through the thickets. Bruised and scratched, he begged God to show him the way to the desert. Of the many stars in the sky, “God gave me one,” and with its light it showed him the way to the desert. And this happened many times, but only when it was necessary. Another time, Father Jacob asked Saint David for help. Being shy and modest, Father Jacob was a little afraid of the dark, and therefore he asked Saint Jacob to be present with him during prayer in the cave, but in such a way that he would make sure of the presence of the saint and would not be afraid. The saint answered his prayer and appeared in the cave in the form of abbot Nicodemus. Together they read the monastic rule and the Psalter and said the Jesus Prayer.

One night, while he was praying, the cave suddenly became filled with scorpions. They covered the floor, ceiling and walls. Father Jacob was overwhelmed with fear, but quickly controlled himself and realized that it was just a temptation from the devil. Filled with boldness, with faith in Christ, he ordered them to freeze and not come closer. He drew a circle around himself with a small stone and told them not to cross the line. He continued his prayer until dawn, but not a single scorpion disobeyed the man of God. Another night, Father Jacob, overcome by fatigue, fell asleep. The Monk David appeared to him and, having consoled him, ordered him to rest. Waking up, the elder was filled with love for God and His saints, marveling at their love and care. Sometimes Father Jacob returned to the monastery for the morning service. He washed his face with water and struck the church bell. Throughout his life, Father Jacob remained faithful to his ascetic rule, intensifying his asceticism when temptations intensified. In addition to abstaining from eating and drinking, he made thousands of prostrations every day. The devil, seeing his powerlessness to prevent Jacob’s spiritual growth, resorted to extreme measures. In October 1952, when Father Jacob was removing the despoticon, a horde of terrifying demons in animal form attacked him. He tried to make the sign of the cross and cry out to the Mother of God, but every time the demon interfered with him. He was beaten mercilessly. In the end, he managed to free one hand to make the sign of the cross, and the demons immediately disappeared outside the window. Some time passed before Jacob was able to get up and hobble to his cell. This happened several more times, and this increasingly undermined the monk’s health.

People constantly came running to him, asking for confession, advice, healing and casting out demons. He prayed over the sick man and overshadowed him with the head of the Monk David in the shape of a cross. The patient left, and soon his illness passed. The elder protected himself from the temptation of pride, attributing miraculous healings to the grace of the saint and his relics. Father Jacob's communication with Saint David was very close. He spoke to him as if he were an older brother when he needed intercession for the sick and mourning.

Having restored the monastery of St. David, who chose the elder as his spiritual heir, bringing healing and peace to thousands of suffering souls, Father Jacob prepared for the transition from this world. He prayed to Saint David to accompany his soul on this path, and told one of his children that he would “fly away like a bird.” On November 21, 1991, having served on the Feast of the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple and having received many spiritual children for confession, he peacefully surrendered his soul into the hands of the Lord. Although it was only communicated to a few people by telephone, the news of his death spread like wildfire and the faithful throughout Greece mourned the death of their spiritual father in Christ. Thousands of Christians attended the burial of Father Jacob. All the roads to the monastery were filled with cars. The police arrived to maintain some semblance of order. At the end of the burial ceremony, the mass of people boldly exclaimed: “Holy, you are a saint!” And after his death, the blessed elder Jacob continues to stand for the faithful and show heavenly signs of his boldness, which he acquired in the face of God.

In the Greek Church there is a tradition of a special blessing of the confessor by the ruling bishop.

Herman Middleton

Translated from English Vasily Tomachinsky

Isaac had two sons: Esau and Jacob. Esau was a skilled trapper (hunter) and often lived in the fields. Jacob was meek and quiet, living in tents with his father and mother. Isaac loved Esau more, who pleased him with game food, and Rebekah loved Jacob more. Esau, as the eldest son, had the birthright, that is, the advantage over Jacob in blessing from his father.

But then one day Esau returned from the field tired and hungry. At this time, Jacob was cooking himself some lentil stew. And Esau said to him: “Give me something to eat.” Jacob said: “Sell me your birthright,” because he really wanted the blessing given by God to Abraham to apply to him, and thereby zealously serve God. Esau replied: “Here I am dying of hunger, what is this birthright to me?” With this answer, Esau showed his disdain for the blessing of God. Jacob said, “Swear.” Esau swore an oath and sold his birthright to Jacob for a pot of lentils.

When Isaac grew old and blind, then, feeling that his life was coming to an end, he wanted to bless Esau as his eldest son. But, thanks to a trick arranged by Rebekah, he blessed Jacob instead of Esau. Isaac soon learned his mistake, and, despite this, he still confirmed his blessing for Jacob. For this, Esau hated his brother and even wanted to kill him, so Jacob had to leave his family. On the advice of his parents, he went to his mother’s homeland in Mesopotamia, in the land of Babylon, to her brother Laban, to live with him until Esau’s anger passed, and at the same time to marry one of Laban’s daughters.

Jacob came to Haran to Laban, his mother's brother. Jacob told Laban everything and stayed to live and work with him. Laban asked Jacob what kind of payment he wanted for his work. Jacob agreed to work for Laban for seven years for his daughter, Rachel, so that he could later marry her, since he fell in love with her. But when the deadline was fulfilled, Laban cunningly gave Jacob not Rachel as his wife, but his eldest daughter, Leah, justifying himself by saying that this was the local law, so as not to give the youngest daughter before the eldest. Then the deceived Jacob agreed to work for another seven years for Rachel.

Twenty years later, Jacob safely returned to his father, to the land of Canaan, with a large family and property. Esau, who had not seen his brother for a long time, joyfully met Jacob on the way.

The Lord, under special mysterious circumstances, having tested the strength of Jacob, gave him a new name Israel, which means “seer of God.” And Jacob became the ancestor of the people of Israel, or, what is the same, the Jewish people.

NOTE: See Gen. 23-28, 10-22; 29-35.

The temple was restored by both believers and non-believers

The path to Demidov is not short: from Ivanov to Pestyakov it’s 120 kilometers, then almost 20 more along a dirt road. It happens that only a few cars pass per day, communication in some places is completely lost, and small settlements do not even have signs. Guests from other countries appear infrequently and always attract a lot of attention with their “foreign” manners.

But Father Jacob, a former Afghan, managed to integrate into the measured village life naturally and simply. “He was not a stranger”, “He came as if he belonged”, “He quickly fit in”,- people echo each other.

And he didn’t just join in, he led with him. The church, destroyed during the years of inactivity, was restored by the whole world. The creative principle in a difficult time for the country attracted both believers and non-believers. “The trust in Father Jacob was so great that everyone worked. There was great joy: they were carrying icons, collecting money for building materials,” says local resident Larisa Sinyakova. " Everyone had cattle, haymaking, a lot of work to do, and sometimes spent the whole day on restoration work“, one of the women picks up.

Needless to say, the new priest accepted the “inheritance” in a deplorable state: the old church in the village of Georgievskoye was closed back in 1938, and since then no one has taken care of the building. To imagine the state from which he was raised, they show me the dilapidated gates of a church cemetery, overgrown with moss: “ The masonry of the temple was the same.” Today, looking at the neat white stone vaults against the background of yellowing trees, you hardly believe in it. It’s impossible to get inside - the keys are now in Pestyaki, but there are stories about cleanliness and comfort (“ Our temple is like a picture") no doubt . However, this is not what is important, but the amazing atmosphere of the place of worship, for which people yearn.

Even Nizhny Novgorod residents came to the services

“I can’t go to every church and, as a literate person, I can’t trust every priest. But the story of my acquaintance with this temple is amazing. I arrive and see a little bunny playing right on the lawn near the gate. I went inside and it gave me chills! From what a good place I ended up in, - visiting Anna Kudryavtseva shares her bright memories and continues. - You need to see how the priest conducts the service. He is happy. The eyes glow, they burn"

It is no coincidence that believers came here from all over the area - even from Nizhny Novgorod Chkalovsk. Children and teenagers willingly went to confession to Father Jacob. The temple worked not only on weekends and holidays, but was open to every person who arrived at an inopportune hour. And all the people he met talk in different ways about how he never refused spiritual help to anyone.

« I was an unbeliever, but the priest inspired trust and respect and, by his example, led me to faith. He will never say “no”, he will always help, but at the same time he has never had empty conversations"- says Evgeniy Sinyakov.

Father was given one day to get ready

But unexpectedly for everyone, at the end of summer the temple was empty. On August 24, they came for Father Jacob by car, gave him a few hours to get ready, and took him to an unknown direction (as it later turned out, to the St. Nicholas Tikhonov Monastery in the Lukhsky district, which is 80 kilometers by car along the shortest road from Demidov). Nobody warned believers about this. Maybe they didn’t consider it necessary, or maybe they were afraid that they would stand up to defend themselves with a wall. Many found out about what had happened the next day, when they came to Sunday service, but instead of the liturgy they saw the locks on the doors changed.

Almost a month has passed since that time, but there is still a complete impression that the owner is somewhere nearby. Jacob's father still has an apiary, a vegetable garden, and pets... In the restored school building on the church grounds, food can be seen through simple, worn curtains, and on the threshold there is a bucket of potatoes... Behind the fence of the house where the priest lived, a chained dog begins to bark - residents from neighboring village.

Jacob's father's mobile phone does not answer. It is only known that it is under diocesan court, but no one is talking about the reason for the proceedings or the further fate of the temple raised from the ruins. I really wanted clarity to be brought to this complicated story in the Kineshma diocese, but they refused to comment on this issue.

Therefore, we have to use rumors, which boil down to the fact that some kind of complaint brought Father Jacob to the diocesan court. Locals claim that none of them could have done this, and in rural areas you can’t hide an sew in a bag. People assume that the place has been vacated for a new priest. They also say that the reason for the removal could be that Father Jacob accepted monastic rank, so he was forcibly sent from the world to the monastery.

Without Father Jacob, will the temple fall into disrepair again?

"We don't believe he did anything wrong.“, - the villagers insistently repeat. Father did not go anywhere, he was always in sight, and he directed all donations strictly to the restoration of the temple. He even lifted water uphill for a small garden in buckets from the river, and when asked why he didn’t install a pump, he answered briefly: “The church doesn’t need a pump.”

Over the past 20 years, for the Demidovites, he has become a real priest, a spiritual father; they trust him limitlessly and worry about him as if they were a loved one. In search of Father Jacob, we even reached the monastery in Lukha, but this meeting did not bring clarity. We can only say with confidence that for the priest himself, exile is not a joy, and he is in a depressed state.

The fate of the temple itself is also unclear. Cold weather is coming, and if the building is not heated regularly, the paper iconostasis will become wet, and the old icons collected in the villages will suffer... Of course, the service in the church has not stopped completely - on holidays, priests from Pestyaki go to Georgievskoye, but not everyone is ready to receive them. And even if something happens, you won’t be able to run to the priest - the district center is 20 kilometers away... Moreover, it turned out that since 2010 the church has been assigned to the Pestyakovsky parish, so it’s unlikely that a permanent priest will be sent here now.

But people don’t give up: they call, write, collect signatures, and seek important meetings. So during my visit, having heard about the Ivanovo journalist, residents of neighboring villages began to come to the temple. The material had already been collected, we had just set off - the car was stopped by an approaching Zhiguli. Then another car, a bicycle, a moped... No one was silent, everyone wanted to speak out, find the most important argument and be heard. “We want the priest returned to us”, “They removed not just a priest, but a trusted person”, “If he is not in the church, the church will not be here”, - just have time to write down the hard-won words.

From memories

There are many unknown pages in the history of the temple in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, but at the beginning of the 20th century it was very revered. Valentina Georgievna Golova went there as a little girl and says that he still stands before her eyes. I remember his shrine - the Life-Giving Cross: “When you get there, you’ll kiss me. And whoever still can’t get there will shake everything.”. In 1938, the temple was closed, two priests were taken away, and nothing more is known about their fate. Without supervision, the icons were stolen, and the temple began to collapse.

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Hegumen Jacob (Piksaev) r Born in 1957 in the Urals in the Sverdlovsk region, graduated from veterinary medical school, and served in the army from 1975 to 1977. They say that it was the war in Afghanistan that became the turning point in his life: there he vowed to himself that if he survived, he would devote his life to God. In 1984, he went to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, then was sent as a novice to the Ivanovo region in the village of Chikhachevo, after which he served in several parishes. Finally, in 1993 he was transferred as rector to the village. Georgievskoye, Pestyakovsky district, but lost its status in 2010, since the Kazan Church was assigned to the Pestyakovsky parish.

Cemetery gates. This is what their masonry looked like before restoration.

There is a bucket of potatoes on the threshold. As if the owner was gone for a while.

Having learned about the visit of the IS journalist, people from neighboring villages came to the temple.

Years passed. Abraham became quite old. And his son, Isaac, had already reached adulthood, but was not yet married. Then Abraham began to worry about finding a bride for him. But he did not want to become related to anyone from the family of idolaters, the inhabitants of the land of Canaan. Therefore, calling Eliezer, the steward of all his estates, he told him that the time had come for Isaac my son to take a wife for himself. I instruct you to find and bring a bride to my house for my son, but “swear to me by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son Isaac from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I live, but you will go to my land, to my homeland (and to my tribe), and from there you will take a wife for my son Isaac.”

“The servant said to him: Perhaps the woman will not want to go with me to this land, should I return your son to the land from which you came?

Abraham said to him: Beware, do not return my son there; The Lord God of heaven, who took me from the house of my father and from the land of my birth, who spoke to me and who swore to me, saying: (to you and to) your descendants I will give this land - He will send His angel before you, and you will take a wife. to my son (Isaac) from there; if the woman does not want to go with you (to this land), you will be free from this oath of mine; just don’t return my son there.”

(Gen. 24, 3-8)

And so Eliezer, choosing ten camels from his master's herd and taking various precious things from his treasures, went to Mesopotamia, to the city where Nahor, Abraham's brother, lived.

Having reached there, he “stopped the camels outside the city, at a well of water, in the evening, at the time when the women come out to draw water. And he said: Lord God of my master Abraham! send her today to meet me and show mercy to my master Abraham; Behold, I stand at the source of water, and the daughters of the inhabitants of the city come out to draw water; and the maiden to whom I will say, “Tilt down your pitcher, I will drink,” and who will say to me, “Drink, I will give your camels drink too, until they drink,”—this is the one whom You have appointed for Your servant Isaac; and by this I know that You show kindness to my master Abraham.”

“He had not yet ceased speaking in his mind, and behold, Rebekah the daughter of Bethuel, the granddaughter of Nahor Abraham’s brother, came out, with her pitcher on her shoulder. She went down to the source, filled her jug ​​and went up. And the servant ran to meet her and said: Let me drink a little water from your jug. She said: Drink, my lord. And immediately she lowered her pitcher onto her hand and gave him drink. And when she had given him something to drink, she said, “I will also draw for your camels until everyone has drunk.”

And immediately she poured water from her jug ​​into the swill and ran again to the well to draw water, and drew it for all his camels.

The man looked at her in amazement in silence, wanting to understand whether the Lord blessed his path or not. And he asked her and said: whose daughter are you? tell me, is there a place for us to spend the night in your father’s house?”

(Gen. 24, 11-21, 23)

Having learned from a friendly, young, beautiful girl that she was the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, and having also heard her answer to another question of hers, that in her father’s house there was “a lot of straw and feed, and a place to stay for the night” (Genesis 24:25), Eliezer no longer doubted that God Himself, through his prayer, had sent him a bride for his master’s young son, “and the man bowed down and worshiped the Lord, and said: Blessed is the Lord God of the master my Abraham, who did not forsake my master with His mercy and His truth! The Lord brought me straight to the house of my master’s brother.”

“The girl ran and told about this in her mother’s house.” Here, after listening to Rebekah’s story, her brother Laban went out to Eliezer, who was standing with the camels at the spring, “and said to him: Come in, blessed of the Lord; why are you standing outside? I have prepared a house and a place for the camels.”

“And a man came in. Laban He unsaddled the camels and gave straw and feed to the camels, and water to wash the feet of him and the people who were with him; and food was offered to him; but he said: I will not eat until I have spoken my deed. And they said: Speak."

(Genesis 24, 26-28, 31-33)

Then Eliezer told how he promised his master to find a bride for his young son and how, when meeting Rebekah, he realized that the Lord Himself had shown him the desired bride for young Isaac, “leading him straight to take the daughter of his master’s brother for his son."

“And now tell me,” Abraham’s messenger continued, “do you intend to show mercy and truth to my master or not? tell me, and I will turn to the right or to the left.”

“And Laban and Bethuel answered and said, This work has come from the Lord; We cannot tell you in spite of either good or bad; Behold Rebekah is before you; take it and go; Let her be the wife of your master's son, as the Lord has said.

When Abraham's servant heard their words, he bowed to the Lord to the ground. And the servant took out silver things and gold things and clothes and gave them to Rebekah; He also gave rich gifts to her brother and her mother. And he and the people who were with him ate and drank, and spent the night. When they got up in the morning, he said: Let me go (and I will go) to my lord.

But her brother and her mother said: let the girl stay with us for at least ten days, then you will go. He said to them: Do not hold me back, for the Lord has made my way good; let me go, and I will go to my lord.

They said: Let's call the girl and ask what she will say. And they called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?” She said: I'll go. And they sent away Rebekah their sister, and her nurse, and Abraham's servant, and his men. And they blessed Rebekah and said to her: Our sister! May thousands of thousands be born of you, and may your descendants possess the dwellings of your enemies! And Rebekah and her maids arose, and mounted the camels, and rode after the man. And the servant took Rebekah and went."

(Gen. 24, 49-61)

After that, when one day Isaac, at the onset of evening, went out of his house into the field to “meditate” and “lifted up his eyes,” he saw: behold, camels were coming.

“Rebekah looked and saw Isaac, and she descended from the camel. And she said to the servant: Who is this man who is walking across the field towards us? The slave said: This is my master. And she took the veil and covered herself. The servant told Isaac everything that he had done.

And Isaac brought her into the tent of the deceased.

(Gen. 24, 63-67)

The aged Abraham took for himself “another wife named Keturah” (Gen. 25:1). From her he had six sons, who later became the ancestors and leaders of many important tribes.

Patriarch Abraham did not want the families of his second wife and her children to remain in the neighborhood of Isaac, who was his heir; therefore, having given everything that he had to his son Isaac, he gave his other sons “gifts and sent them away from Isaac his son, while he was still alive, east to the eastern land” (Gen. 25:5-6) .

“The days of the life of Abraham were one hundred and seventy-five years; and Abraham passed away, and died in a good old age, aged and full of life, and was gathered to his people. And Isaac and Ishmael his sons buried him in the cave of Machpelah, opposite Mamre, in the field (and in the cave) which Abraham acquired from the sons of Heth. Abraham and Sarah his wife were buried there.”

(Gen. 25, 7-10)

Ishmael was already a powerful man. His twelve sons were destined to become leaders of those tribes whose names had not yet been erased from human memory even in the 4th century of the Christian era. The victorious conquerors who brought fear to the whole world, known as the Saracens, were descendants of Ishmael.

“The years of Izmailova’s life were one hundred and thirty-seven years; and he expired, and died, and was gathered to his people.” He died in his land, between Sura and Havilah, “which is before Egypt, as you go to Assyria.”

(Gen. 25, 17-18)

Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah as his wife, and only after twenty years of married life, through the tireless prayer of his parents, were their children born, the twins Esau and Jacob.

“The children grew up, and Esau became a man skilled in hunting, a man of the fields; but Jacob was a meek man, living in tents. Isaac loved Esau, because his game was to his taste: and Rebekah loved Jacob. And Jacob cooked food; and Esau came from the field tired. And Esau said to Jacob, Give me something red to eat, this red thing, for I am tired. But Jacob said to Esau, Sell me your birthright now. Esau said: Behold, I am dying, what is this birthright to me? Jacob said to him: Swear to me now. He swore to him, and Esau sold his birthright to Jacob.

And Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil food; and he ate and drank, and arose and walked; and Esau despised the birthright.”

(Gen. 25, 27-34)

“There was a famine in the land, and Isaac went to the king of the Philistines at Gerar. The Lord appeared to him and said: do not go to Egypt; live in the land that I will tell you about, wander through this land, and I will be with you and bless you, for I will give all these lands to you and your descendants, and I will fulfill my oath that I swore to Abraham your father; I will multiply your descendants like the stars of heaven, and through your seed all the nations of the earth will be blessed, because Abraham (your father) obeyed My voice and kept what I commanded to observe: My commandments, My statutes and My laws. Isaac settled in Gerar.

And Isaac sowed in that land and received barley a hundredfold that year: so the Lord blessed him. And the man became great and increased more and more until he became very great. He had flocks of flocks and herds of cattle and many arable fields, and the Philistines began to envy him. And all the wells that his father's servants had dug during the life of his father Abraham, the Philistines filled them up and covered them with earth. And Abimelech (king of the Philistines) said to Isaac: Get away from us, for you have become much stronger than us. And Isaac departed from there, and pitched tents in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there.”

(Genesis 26, 1-6, 12-17)

But even here, quarrels over wells between his shepherds and the shepherds of Gerar forced him to leave here. Isaac moved to Bathsheba.

“And that night the Lord appeared to him and said: I am the God of Abraham thy father; Fear not, for I am with you; and I will bless you and multiply your descendants for the sake of your father Abraham my servant. And he built an altar there and called on the name of the Lord. And he pitched his tent there, and Isaac’s servants dug a well there (in the valley of Gerar).”

(Genesis 26, 24-25)

“When Isaac grew old and the sight of his eyes became dull, he called his eldest son Esau and said to him: my son! He said to him: here I am.

Isaac said: Behold, I am old; I don’t know the day of my death; Now take your tools, your quiver and your bow, go into the field, and catch me game, and prepare for me the food that I love, and bring me something to eat, so that my soul may bless you before I die.

Rebekah heard Isaac speaking to his son Esau. And Esau went into the field to get and bring game; and Rebekah said to her youngest son Jacob: Behold, I heard your father say to your brother Esau: Bring me some game and prepare food for me; I will sing and bless you before the face of the Lord, before my death.

Now, my son, obey my words in what I command you: go to the herd and take me from there two good young kids, and I will prepare from them for your father the food he likes, and you will bring it to your father, and he will eat. to bless you before my death.

Jacob said to Rebekah his mother: My brother Esau is a shaggy man, but I am a smooth man; It may happen that my father will feel me, and I will be a deceiver in his eyes and will bring upon myself a curse, not a blessing. His mother said to him: Let your curse be on me, my son, just listen to my words and go and bring it to me. He went and took it and brought it to his mother; and his mother made the food that his father loved.

And Rebekah took the rich robe of her eldest son Esau, which was in her house, and clothed her youngest son Jacob in it; and she covered his hands and his smooth neck with the skin of kids; and she gave the food and the bread which she had prepared into the hands of Jacob her son.

He went to his father and said: My father! He said: here I am; who are you, my son? Jacob said to his father: I am Esau, your firstborn; I did as you told me; get up, sit down and eat my game, so that your soul may bless me.

And Isaac said to his son: What have you found so quickly, my son? He said: Because the Lord your God has sent to meet me. And Isaac said to Jacob: Come to me, I will feel you, my son, are you my son Esau or not?

Jacob came up to Isaac his father, and he felt him and said: the voice, the voice of Jacob, and the hands, the hands of Esau. And he did not recognize him, because his hands were like the hands of his brother Esau, shaggy; and he blessed him and said, Art thou my son Esau? He answered: I. Isaac said: Give me, I will eat my son's game, so that my soul may bless you.

Jacob gave it to him, and he ate; He brought him some wine, and he drank. Isaac his father said to him: Come to me, kiss me, my son. He came up and kissed him. And Isaac smelled the smell of his clothes and blessed him and said: Behold, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field (full) which the Lord blessed; May God give you from the dew of heaven and from the fatness of the earth, and plenty of bread and wine; Let the nations serve you, and let the nations worship you; be lord over your brothers, and let your mother’s sons worship you; those who curse you are cursed; those who bless you are blessed!

As soon as Isaac performed the blessing over Jacob, and as soon as Jacob went out from the presence of Isaac his father, Esau his brother came from his hunt. He also prepared food and brought it to his father, and said to his father: Arise, my father, and eat your son’s game, so that your soul may bless me. And Isaac his father said to him: Who are you? He said: I am your son, your firstborn Esau.

And Isaac trembled with very great trembling, and said, Who is this that fetched me the game and brought it to me, and I ate of it all, before you came, and I blessed him? he will be blessed.

Esau, having heard the words of his father Isaac, raised a loud and very bitter cry and said to his father: My father! bless me too. But he said to him: Your brother came with cunning and took your blessing. And Esau said, “Isn’t it because the name Jacob was given to him, because he has already tripped me up twice?” He took my birthright, and now he has taken my blessing. And one more thing Esau said to his father: Have you not left me a blessing?

Isaac answered Esau: Behold, I have made him lord over you, and have given all his brothers to him as slaves; gave him bread and wine; what will I do for you, my son?

But Esau said to his father: Do you really have one blessing, my father? bless me too, my father! And (as Isaac remained silent) Esau lifted up his voice and wept.

And Isaac his father answered and said to him, Behold, from the fatness of the earth shall thy dwelling be, and from the dew of heaven from above; and you will live by your sword and serve your brother; The time will come when you will resist and cast off his yoke from your neck.

And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him; and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are approaching, and I will kill Jacob my brother.

And the words of Esau her eldest son were told to Rebekah; and she sent and called her youngest son Jacob, and said to him: Behold, Esau, your brother threatens to kill you; and now, my son, listen to my words, get up, run (to Mesopotamia) to Laban, my brother, in Haran, and live with him for a while, until your brother’s wrath is satisfied, until your brother’s anger against you is satisfied, and he forgets what have you done to him: then I will send and take you from there; Why should I lose both of you in one day?”

(Gen. 27, 1-45)

In deceiving his father, it was difficult for Jacob not to yield to the convictions of his mother, not to fulfill the wishes of the one who loved him so much. In her life, there was already a lot of grief from Esau, who had already managed to get married, taking two Canaanite women as wives, who “were a burden” to her and her husband Isaac. The mother’s heart could not help but be indignant at the fact that the birthright and the Divine promises associated with it would pass to the family of Esau, married to foreigners, alien to the faith in the One God, by faith in Whom Isaac and Rebekah and their forefathers lived. Could these foreign women support this saving worship of God in their families? Wouldn’t their children have been brought up like this, from generation to generation, in the wickedness of their mothers?

Was it not in similar fears that Rebekah decided on the deception with which she thought to ward off the danger she foresaw from generation to generation for all her descendants? In her zeal, she was even ready to accept a curse for her deception. “I am not happy with life from the daughters of Hittite,” she told Isaac. “If Jacob takes a wife from the daughters of the Hittites, such as these are, from the daughters of this land, then what need is my life?” (Gen. 27, 46)

“And Isaac called Jacob and blessed him, and commanded him and said, “Take not a wife from the daughters of Canaan; Arise, go to Mesopotamia, to the house of Bethuel, your mother’s father, and take yourself a wife from there, from the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother; May Almighty God bless you, may he make you fruitful and multiply you, and may you be a multitude of nations, and may he give you the blessing of Abraham (my father), to you and to your descendants with you, so that you may inherit the land of your wandering, which God gave to Abraham! And Isaac released Jacob, and he went to Mesopotamia.

Jacob awoke from his sleep and said: Truly the Lord is present in this place; but I didn’t know!

And he was afraid and said: How terrible is this place! this is nothing other than the house of God, this is the gate of heaven. And Jacob arose early in the morning, and took the stone which he had put for his head, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil on the top of it. And he called the name of that place Bethel, but the former name of that city was Luz.

And Jacob made a vow, saying: If the Lord God will be with me and will keep me on this journey that I am going on, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, and I will return in peace to my father’s house, and the Lord will be my God, - then this stone, which I erected as a monument, will be (for me) the house of God; and of all that You, O God, give me, I will give You a tenth.”

(Genesis 28, 1-5, 11-22)

From the fact that the Lord allowed Isaac to transfer His blessing to his youngest son, Jacob, and He Himself repeatedly repeated His blessing and promises to Jacob and his descendants, is it not clear that the Lord, looking and responding to the good innermost motives of the human heart, with His mercy and omnipotently turns even erroneous human actions into good.

Visited by a vision of God, “Jacob arose and went to the land of the children of the east to his mother’s brother, Rebecca. And he saw: behold, there was a well in the field, and there were three herds of small cattle lying around it. There was a large stone over the mouth of the well.”

“When all the flocks were gathered there, they rolled away the stone from the mouth of the well and watered the sheep; then they put the stone back in its place. Jacob said to them (the shepherds): my brothers! where are you from? They said: We are from Harran. He said to them, “Do you know Laban the son of Nahor?” They said: we know. He also said to them: Is he well? They said: Long live; and behold, Rachel his daughter walked with the sheep.

While he was still talking to them, Rachel (Lavan’s daughter) came with her father’s flocks. When Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban, his mother's brother, Jacob came up, rolled away the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the sheep of Laban, his mother's brother. And Jacob kissed Rachel and lifted up his voice and wept. And Jacob told Rachel that he was related to her father and that he was the son of Rebekah. And she ran and told her father (all this).

Laban, hearing about Jacob, his sister's son, ran out to meet him, embraced him and kissed him, and brought him into his house; and he told Laban all these things. Laban said to him, “Truly you are my bone and my flesh.” And Jacob stayed with him for a whole month.

And Laban said to Jacob, “Will you serve me for nothing, because you are a relative?” tell me what to pay you?

Laban had two daughters; the eldest's name: Leah" the youngest's name: Rachel. Leah was weak-eyed, but Rachel was beautiful in form and beautiful in face.

Jacob fell in love with Rachel and said: I will serve you seven years for Rachel, your youngest daughter. Laban said: It is better to give her to me for you than to give her to someone else; live with me.

And Jacob served for Rachel seven years; and they appeared to him in a few days, because he loved her. And Jacob said to Laban: Give me my wife, because the time has already passed for me to go in to her.

Laban called all the people of the place and held a feast. In the evening Laban took his daughter Leah and brought her to him; and Jacob went in to her. In the morning it turned out that it was Leah. And Jacob said to Laban: What hast thou done to me? Was it not for Rachel that I served with you? why did you deceive me?

Laban said: in our place they don’t do this, to give the younger one away before the older one; Finish this week, then we will give you that week for the service that you will serve with me for another seven years. Jacob did just that. And Laban gave Rachel his daughter to him as a wife. And Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah; and served with him for another seven years.”

(Gen. 29, 1-6, 9-23, 25-28, 30)

Rachel had no children for a long time, while Leah already had six sons and a daughter. Finally, God heard Rachel’s prayer, and her son Joseph was born.

“After Rachel gave birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban: Let me go, and I will go to my place and to my land; Give me my wives and my children, for whom I served you, and I will go, for you know my service, which I served you. And Laban said to him: Oh, that I may find favor in your sight! I notice that the Lord blessed me for you. And he said: Set your reward from me, and I will give it to you.

And Jacob said to him: You know how I served you, and what your livestock became like under me; for you had little before me, but have become many; The Lord blessed you with my coming; when will I work for my house?”

(Gen. 30, 25-30)

However, Jacob agreed to continue serving his uncle for a few more years, but at the same time he also took care of his own household. The conditions under which he agreed to tend Laban's flocks at a distance of three days' journey between him and his uncle turned out to be so favorable that Jacob became "very rich, and had many flocks (and herds), and female servants, and male servants." , and camels, and donkeys."

“And Jacob heard the words of the sons of Laban, who said: Jacob took possession of all that our father had, and from our father’s property he made all this wealth. And Jacob saw Laban's face, and behold, it was not the same to him as it was yesterday and the day before. And the Lord said to Jacob: Return to the land of your fathers and to your homeland; and I will be with you.

And Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah into the field, to his herd of flocks, and said to them: I see the face of your father, that it is not the same towards me as it was yesterday and the day before; but the God of my father was with me; You yourself know that I served your father with all my might, but your father deceived me and changed my reward ten times; but God did not allow him to harm me.

An angel of God said to me in a dream: Jacob! I said: here I am. He said: I see everything Laban is doing to you; I am God, who appeared to you at Bethel, where you poured oil on the memorial and where you made a vow to Me; now arise, get out of this land and return to the land of your homeland (and I will be with you).

Rachel and Leah answered him: Do we still have a share and inheritance in our father's house? Doesn't he consider us to be strangers? So do everything that God has told you.

And Jacob arose and set his children and his wives on camels, and took with him all his livestock and all his wealth that he had acquired, his own livestock that he had acquired in Mesopotamia, (and all that was his) to go to Isaac, to his father, to the land of Canaan.

And he left with everything he had; and he stood up and crossed the river and went to Mount Gilead.”

(Gen. 30, 43-31, 7; 31, 11-18, 21)

Before leaving her parental home, Rachel took and took with her the idols of her father, which he honored despite the fact that he had not yet completely lost the concept of the True and One God. But, living among people among whom idolatry was widespread, Laban himself probably became involved in their rituals, and for Rachel, perhaps, these idols were not completely alien, the worship of which she could see in her childhood in her father’s house, and she took them away, probably as a memory associated with her youth in her parents' house.

The Holy Scripture says nothing about Rachel’s honoring of idols in her husband’s house in her new life.

Only on the third day after Jacob left, Laban was notified about this and, taking his sons and relatives, he chased after those who had left; on the seventh day he overtook them on Mount Gilead. “And God came to Laban the Aramean at night in a dream and said to him: Beware, do not say good or bad to Jacob.”

When Laban reached Jacob’s tents, he said to him, “What have you done? Why did you deceive me and take my daughters away as prisoners of war? Why did you run away secretly and hide from me, and did not tell me? I would have sent you away with joy and songs, with a tambourine and a harp; you did not even allow me to kiss my grandchildren and my daughters; you did it recklessly. There is power in my hand to do you harm; but the God of your father spoke to me yesterday and said: Beware, do not say anything good or bad to Jacob. But even if you left, because you impatiently wanted to be in your father’s house, why did you steal my gods?”

(Genesis 31, 24, 26-30)

“I left secretly,” Jacob answered, “because I was afraid that you would keep your daughters in your house by force; As for the kidnapping of your gods, I am not guilty of this matter. Jacob didn't know that Rachel had kidnapped them. They ordered us to conduct a search, and whoever you find your gods with will not live. Laban began to look for Jacob in the tents. He also entered Rachel’s tent, but she, sitting on the camel’s saddle, under which she hid the idols, apologized to her father that due to ill health she could not stand in front of him, and thus the place where the idols were placed remained uncovered.

Then Jacob became angry and began to reproach Laban himself: “What is my guilt, what is my sin, that you are persecuting me? - he said to Laban. - Now, I was with you for twenty years, you exacted from me; Whether it was during the day or at night, it was my loss; I languished from the heat during the day, and from the cold at night, and my sleep fled from my eyes. These are my twenty years in your house, and you changed my reward ten times.

If the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac had not been with me, you would now have sent me away empty-handed. God saw my misfortune and the labor of my hands and interceded for me yesterday. And Laban answered Jacob: The daughters are my daughters; children are my children; the cattle are my cattle, and everything that you see is mine: can I do anything now with my daughters and with their children who are born of them?

Now you and I will make a covenant, and this will be a testimony between you and me. At this Jacob said to him: Behold, there is no one with us; Look, God is a witness between me and you. And Jacob took the stone and set it up as a monument. And Laban said to Jacob, “This hill is a witness and this monument is a witness, that neither I will go over this hill to you, nor you will go over this hill and this monument, for evil.” Let the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor judge between us, the God of their father. Jacob swore by the fear of his father Isaac. And Jacob slaughtered a sacrifice on the mountain and called his relatives to eat bread; and they ate bread (and drank) and spent the night on the mountain.

And Laban rose early in the morning and kissed his grandchildren and his daughters and blessed them. And Laban went and returned to his place.”

(Gen. 31-32, 36, 38-45, 51-55)

Jacob went his own way. Now, having calmed down by reconciliation with his uncle, he began to think anxiously about his upcoming meeting with his brother Esau. Twenty years ago he broke up with him, greatly irritating him against himself, and could now fear his revenge, which could have a disastrous effect not on him alone, but also on his already numerous loved ones.

In the midst of his spiritual confusion, Jacob was visited by a vision of armed Angels. Strengthened by this vision, he decided to warn his brother about his return, win him a good reception and find favor in the eyes of Esau. The messengers sent to his brother Jacob returned to him and said: “We went to your brother Esau; he is coming to meet you, and with him four hundred people.”

“Jacob was very afraid and embarrassed; and he divided the people who were with him, the flocks and herds, and the camels, into two camps. And Jacob said: if Esau attacks one camp and defeats it, then the rest of the camp can be saved.

And Jacob said: God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, Lord God, who said to me: return to your land, to your homeland, and I will do good to you! I am unworthy of all the mercies and all the good deeds that You have done for Your servant, for I crossed the Jordan with my staff, and now I have two camps. Deliver me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I am afraid of him, lest he come and kill me and the mother and children. You said: I will do good to you and make your descendants like the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.

And Jacob slept there that night. And he took from what he had and sent it as a gift to Esau his brother.

And he gave each flock separately into the hands of his servants and said to his servants: Go before me and leave a distance from herd to herd. And he commanded the first, saying: When my brother Esau meets you and asks you, saying: Whose are you? and where are you going? and whose flock is this that goes before you? then say: Thy servant Jacob; this is a gift sent to my lord Esau; behold, he himself is following us. He commanded the same thing (as to the first) to the second, and the third, and to all who followed the flocks, saying: Thus tell Esau when you meet him; and say, Behold, your servant Jacob is coming after us. For he said within himself: I will appease him with the gifts that go before me, and then I will see his face; maybe he will accept me.

And the gifts went before him, and he spent that night in the camp. And he rose up that night, and took his family, and brought them to the ford of the brook Jabbok, and brought all that he had.

And Jacob was left alone. And Someone fought with him until dawn appeared; and when he saw that it did not prevail against him, he touched the joint of his thigh and damaged the joint of Jacob's thigh when he wrestled with Him. And he said (to him): Let Me go, for the dawn has risen. Jacob said: I will not let you go until you bless me. And he said: What is your name? He said: Jacob. And he said to him: From now on your name will not be Jacob, but Israel, for you have fought with God, and you will overcome men.

Jacob also asked, saying: Tell me Your name. And He said: Why do you ask about My name? (it's wonderful). And he blessed him there. And Jacob called the name of the place Penuel; for, he said, I saw God face to face, and my soul was preserved. And the sun rose as he passed Penuel; and he limped on his hip.”

(Genesis 32, 6-13, 16-31)

At this time, “Jacob looked and saw, and behold, Esau (his brother) was coming, and with him four hundred men.” Then he arranged all his people so that his beloved wife Rachel and his son from her, Joseph, were most protected from danger when meeting hostile people. He himself stepped forward and, meeting his brother, bowed down to him seven times. Esau, however, himself ran “to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they both wept.”

“And Esau looked and saw the wives and children and said: Who is this with you? Jacob said, “The children whom God has given to your servant.”

Then the whole family approached Esau and greeted him.

“And Esau said, Why do you have this multitude that I have met? And Jacob said, That thy servant may find favor in the sight of my lord. Esau said: I have much, my brother; let it be yours. Jacob said: Nay, if I have found favor in your sight, accept my gift from my hand, for I have seen your face as if someone had seen the face of God, and you were favored towards me; accept my blessing that I brought to you, because God has given it to me, and I have everything. And he begged him, and he took it and said: Let us rise and go; and I will go before you.” But Jacob objected to him that, having such a large caravan with him, it would be difficult for him to keep up with him, and then the brothers dispersed, but already completely reconciled. “And Esau returned the same day on his way to Seir. Jacob, returning from Mesopotamia, safely came to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, and settled down in front of the city. And he bought part of the field on which he pitched his tent from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for a hundred coins. And he built an altar there, and called on the name of the Lord God of Israel.”

(Gen. 33, 1, 4-5, 8-12, 16, 18-20)

Hard trials awaited Jacob at the new place of his settlement. His daughter Dinah was kidnapped by the prince of that land, Shechem, the son of Hamor, when he saw her when she one day “went out to look at the daughters of that land.”

Dinah's brothers, the sons of Jacob, decided to brutally avenge their sister, and despite the fact that Jacob agreed to Hamor's request to marry Dinah to his son Shechem, who promised him to maintain friendly relations with him and to assist him in everything on their land and even to obey the ritual circumcision according to the belief in the paternal traditions of Jacob, “the two sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, each took his sword, and boldly attacked the city, and killed all the male sex; and Hamor himself and Shechem his son were killed with the sword; and they took Dinah from Shechem’s house and went out.”

“The sons of Jacob came to the slain and plundered the city. They took their flocks and herds, and their donkeys, and whatever was in the city, and whatever was in the field; and all their wealth, and all their children and their wives, were taken captive.

And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have troubled me, making me hated by all the inhabitants of the land, by the Canaanites and the Perizzites.” I have few people; They will gather against me and defeat me, and I and my house will be destroyed.”

(Gen. 34, 1, 25-30)

Indeed, it was not safe for Jacob to remain any longer in a hostile land, and he again received a message from God.

“God said to Jacob: Arise, go to Bethel and live there, and build there an altar to God, who appeared to you when you fled from the presence of Esau your brother.

And Jacob said to his house and to all that were with him, Cast away the foreign gods which are among you, and purify yourselves, and change your garments; let us arise and go to Bethel; there I will build an altar to God, who heard me in the day of my trouble and was with me and kept me in the way that I walked. And they gave Jacob all the foreign gods that were in their hands, and the earrings that were in their ears; And Jacob buried them under an oak tree that was near Shechem. And he left them unknown even to this day. And they set out from Shechem. And the terror of God came upon the surrounding cities, and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob.

And Jacob came to Bethel, himself and all the people who were with him, and built an altar there, and called the place El-Bethel, for here God appeared to him when he fled from the face of his brother. And God appeared to Jacob and blessed him.”

And here he renewed the promises given to Isaac and Abraham.

“And God went up from him from the place where he had spoken to him. And Jacob erected a monument in the place where God had spoken to him, a monument of stone, and poured out an outpouring upon it, and poured oil upon it. And they departed from Bethel."

Then, on the road to Ephrath, that is, Bethlehem, Rachel’s son, Benjamin, was born, but Rachel fell ill and died. Here Jacob buried her and erected a monument over her tomb.

“And Israel departed (from there) and pitched their tent beyond the tower of Gader.”

(Gen. 35, 1-7, 9, 13-14, 16, 19-21)

Since Jacob had never seen his father and mother since he left his home for Mesopotamia, he now headed to the city of Hebron, to the valley of Mamre, where his elderly father Isaac still lived, but he no longer found his mother Rebekah. alive. Finally, Isaac also died, whose days of life were one hundred and eighty years, “and was gathered to his people, being old and full of life; and Esau and Jacob his sons buried him in the same cave where Abraham and Sarah were buried. Having buried their father, the brothers separated, since “their property was so great that they could not live together, and the land of their wanderings could not accommodate them, due to the multitude of their herds.”

And Esau, who is Edom, the father of the Edomites, settled on Mount Seir. Many of his family were national leaders. “And Jacob dwelt in the land of his father Isaac’s sojourn, in the land of Canaan.”

(Gen. 35, 27-29; 36, 7; 37, 1)

Isaac's mother, Sarah, was 127 years old when she died. Abraham mourned her and buried her in a field cave in Machpelah, opposite Mamre, which is now Hebron, having bought the land from the Hittites (sons of Heth), who then owned this part of the land (Canaanite, “and he took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her ; and Isaac was comforted in his sorrow for his mother (Sarah)" (Gen. 24:67)

Esau took two Canaanite women, daughters of the Hittites, as wives, “and they were a burden to Isaac and Rebekah” (Gen. 26:34-35).