- And Isaac the son of Abraham became old and advanced in days, and his eyes became
heavy through age; they were dim and could not see.
- At that time Isaac called unto Esau his son, saying, Get I pray thee thy weapons, thy quiver
and thy bow, rise up and go forth into the field and get me some venison, and make me
savory meat and bring it to me, that I may eat in order that I may bless thee before my death,
as I have now become old and gray-headed.
- And Esau did so; and he took his weapon and went forth into the field to hunt for venison,
as usual, to bring to his father as he had ordered him, so that he might bless him.
- And Rebecca heard all the words that Isaac had spoken unto Esau, and she hastened and
called her son Jacob, saying, Thus did thy father speak unto thy brother Esau, and thus did I
hear, now therefore hasten thou and make that which I shall tell thee.
- Rise up and go, I pray thee, to the flock and fetch me two fine kids of the goats, and I will
get the savory meat for thy father, and thou shalt bring the savory meat that he may eat
before thy brother shall have come from the chase, in order that thy father may bless thee.
- And Jacob hastened and did as his mother had commanded him, and he made the savory
meat and brought it before his father before Esau had come from his chase.
- And Isaac said unto Jacob, Who art thou, my son? And he said, I am thy first born Esau, I
have done as thou didst order me, now therefore rise up I pray thee, and eat of my hunt, in
order that thy soul may bless me as thou didst speak unto me.
- And Isaac rose up and he ate and he drank, and his heart was comforted, and he blessed
Jacob and Jacob went away from his father; and as soon as Isaac had blessed Jacob and he
had gone away from him, behold Esau came from his hunt from the field, and he also made
savory meat and brought it to his father to eat thereof and to bless him.
- And Isaac said unto Esau, And who was he that has taken venison and brought it me
before thou camest and whom I did bless? And Esau knew that his brother Jacob had done
this, and the anger of Esau was kindled against his brother Jacob that he had acted thus
toward him.
- And Esau said, Is he not rightly called Jacob? for he has supplanted me twice, he took
away my birthright and now he has taken away my blessing; and Esau wept greatly; and
when Isaac heard the voice of his son Esau weeping, Isaac said unto Esau, What can I do,
my son, thy brother came with subtlety and took away thy blessing; and Esau hated his
brother Jacob on account of the blessing that his father had given him, and his anger was
greatly roused against him.
- And Jacob was very much afraid of his brother Esau, and he rose up and fled to the house
of Eber the son of Shem, and he concealed himself there on account of his brother, and
Jacob was sixty-three years old when he went forth from the land of Canaan from Hebron,
and Jacob was concealed in Eber's house fourteen years on account of his brother Esau, and
he there continued to learn the ways of the Lord and his commandments.
- And when Esau saw that Jacob had fled and escaped from him, and that Jacob had
cunningly obtained the blessing, then Esau grieved exceedingly, and he was also vexed at his father and mother; and he also rose up
and took his wife and went away from his father and mother to the land of Seir, and he dwelt
there; and Esau saw there a woman from amongst the daughters of Heth whose name was
Bosmath, the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and he took her for a wife in addition to his first
wife, and Esau called her name Adah, saying the blessing had in that time passed from him.
- And Esau dwelt in the land of Seir six months without seeing his father and mother, and
afterward Esau took his wives and rose up and returned to the land of Canaan, and Esau
placed his two wives in his father's house in Hebron.
- And the wives of Esau vexed and provoked Isaac and Rebecca with their works, for they
walked not in the ways of the Lord, but served their father's gods of wood and stone as their
father had taught them, and they were more wicked than their father.
- And they went according to the evil desires of their hearts, and they sacrificed and burnt
incense to the Baalim, and Isaac and Rebecca became weary of them.
- And Rebecca said, I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth; if Jacob take a
wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these which are of the daughters of the land, what
good then is life unto me?
- And in those days Adah the wife of Esau conceived and bare him a son, and Esau called
the name of the son that was born unto him Eliphaz, and Esau was sixty-five years old when
she bare him.
- And Ishmael the son of Abraham died in those days, in the sixty-forth year of the life of
Jacob, and all the days that Ishmael lived were one hundred and thirty-seven years and he
died.
- And when Isaac heard that Ishmael was dead he mourned for him, and Isaac lamented
over him many days.
- And at the end of fourteen years of Jacob's residing in the house of Eber, Jacob desired to
see his father and mother, and Jacob came to the house of his father and mother to Hebron,
and Esau had in those days forgotten what Jacob had done to him in having taken the
blessing from him in those days.
- And when Esau saw Jacob coming to his father and mother he remembered what Jacob
had done to him, and he was greatly incensed against him and he sought to slay him.
- And Isaac the son of Abraham was old and advanced in days, and Esau said, Now my
father's time is drawing nigh that he must die, and when he shall die I will slay my brother
Jacob.
- And this was told to Rebecca, and she hastened and sent and called for Jacob her son,
and she said unto him, Arise, go and flee to Haran to my brother Laban, and remain there for
some time, until thy brother's anger be turned from thee and then shalt thou come back.
- And Isaac called unto Jacob and said unto him, Take not a wife from the daughters of
Canaan, for thus did our father Abraham command us according to the word of the Lord
which he had commanded him, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land; if thy children keep
my covenant that I have made with thee, then will I also perform to thy children that which I
have spoken unto thee and I will not forsake them.
- Now therefore my son hearken to my voice, to all that I shall command thee, and refrain
from taking a wife from amongst the daughters of Canaan; arise, go to Haran to the house of
Bethuel thy mother's father, and take unto thee a wife from there from the daughters of Laban
thy mother's brother.
- Therefore take heed lest thou shouldst forget the Lord thy God and all his ways in the land
to which thou goest, and shouldst get connected with the people of the land and pursue
vanity and forsake the Lord thy God.
- But when thou comest to the land serve there the Lord, do not turn to the right or to the left
from the way which I commanded thee and which thou didst learn.
- And may the Almighty God grant thee favor in the sight of the people of the earth, that
thou mayest take there a wife according to thy choice; one who is good and upright in the
ways of the Lord.
- And may God give unto thee and thy seed the blessing of thy father Abraham, and make
thee fruitful and multiply thee, and mayest thou become a multitude of people in the land
whither thou goest, and may God cause thee to return to this land, the land of thy father's
dwelling, with children and with great riches, with joy and with pleasure.
- And Isaac finished commanding Jacob and blessing him, and he gave him many gifts,
together with silver and gold, and he sent him away; and Jacob hearkened to his father and
mother; he kissed them and arose and went to Padan-aram; and Jacob was seventy-seven
years old when he went out from the land of Canaan from Beersheba.
- And when Jacob went away to go to Haran Esau called unto his son Eliphaz, and secretly
spoke unto him, saying, Now hasten, take thy sword in thy hand and pursue Jacob and pass
before him in the road, and lurk for him, and slay him with thy sword in one of the mountains,
and take all belonging to him and come back.
- And Eliphaz the son of Esau was an active man and expert with the bow as his father had
taught him, and he was a noted hunter in the field and a valiant man.
- And Eliphaz did as his father had commanded him, and Eliphaz was at that time thirteen
years old, and Eliphaz rose up and went and took ten of his mother's brothers with him and
pursued Jacob.
- And he closely followed Jacob, and he lurked for him in the border of the land of Canaan
opposite to the city of Shechem.
- And Jacob saw Eliphaz and his men pursuing him, and Jacob stood still in the place in
which he was going, in order to know what this was, for he did not know the thing; and
Eliphaz drew his sword and he went on advancing, he and his men, toward Jacob; and Jacob
said unto them, What is to do with you that you have come hither, and what meaneth it that
you pursue with your swords.
- And Eliphaz came near to Jacob and he answered and said unto him, Thus did my father
command me, and now therefore I will not deviate from the orders which my father gave me;
and when Jacob saw that Esau had spoken to Eliphaz to employ force, Jacob then
approached and supplicated Eliphaz and his men, saying to him,
- Behold all that I have and which my father and mother gave unto me, that take unto thee
and go from me, and do not slay me, and may this thing be accounted unto thee a
righteousness.
- And the Lord caused Jacob to find favor in the sight of Eliphaz the son of Esau, and his
men, and they hearkened to the voice of Jacob, and they did not put him to death, and
Eliphaz and his men took all belonging to Jacob together with the silver and gold that he had
brought with him from Beersheba; they left him nothing.
- And Eliphaz and his men went away from him and they returned to Esau to Beersheba,
and they told him all that had occurred to them with Jacob, and they gave him all that they
had taken from Jacob.
- And Esau was indignant at Eliphaz his son, and at his men that were with him, because
they had not put Jacob to death.
- And they answered and said unto Esau, Because Jacob supplicated us in this matter not
to slay him, our pity was excited toward him, and we took all belonging to him and brought it
unto thee; and Esau took all the silver and gold which Eliphaz had taken from Jacob and he
put them by in his house.
- At that time when Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob, and had commanded him,
saying, Thou shalt not take a wife from amongst the daughters of Canaan, and that the
daughters of Canaan were bad in the sight of Isaac and Rebecca,
- Then he went to the house of Ishmael his uncle, and in addition to his older wives he took
Machlath the daughter of Ishmael, the sister of Nebayoth, for a wife.
[Book of Jasher
Referred to in Joshua and Second Samuel.
faithfully translated (1840)
from the Original Hebrew into English.
A Reprint of Photo Lithographic Reprint of Exact Edition
Published by J.H. Parry & Co., Salt Lake City: 1887]