Now the young woman was very beautiful. She was a virgin; no man had ever had sexual relations with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jug, and came back up.

My master made me swear an oath. He said, ‘You must not acquire a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living,

You will be free from your oath if you go to my relatives and they will not give her to you. Then you will be free from your oath.’

Then Laban and Bethuel replied, “This is the Lord’s doing. Our wishes are of no concern.

so that you will not do us any harm, just as we have not harmed you, but have always treated you well before sending you away in peace. Now you are blessed by the Lord.”

Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come closer so I can touch you, my son, and know for certain if you really are my son Esau.”

So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. Then he commanded him, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman!

Then Jacob said, “Since it is still the middle of the day, it is not time for the flocks to be gathered. You should water the sheep and then go and let them graze some more.”

“We can’t,” they said, “until all the flocks are gathered and the stone is rolled off the mouth of the well. Then we water the sheep.”

But you said, ‘I will certainly make you prosper and will make your descendants like the sand on the seashore, too numerous to count.’”

When the man saw that he could not defeat Jacob, he struck the socket of his hip so the socket of Jacob’s hip was dislocated while he wrestled with him.

“No longer will your name be Jacob,” the man told him, “but Israel, because you have fought with God and with men and have prevailed.”

They said to them, “We cannot give our sister to a man who is not circumcised, for it would be a disgrace to us.

Then they brought the special tunic to their father and said, “We found this. Determine now whether it is your son’s tunic or not.”

He asked the men who were there, “Where is the cult prostitute who was at Enaim by the road?” But they replied, “There has been no cult prostitute here.”

Judah said, “Let her keep the things for herself. Otherwise we will appear to be dishonest. I did indeed send this young goat, but you couldn’t find her.”

Judah recognized them and said, “She is more upright than I am, because I wouldn’t give her to Shelah my son.” He did not have sexual relations with her again.

But he refused, saying to his master’s wife, “Look, my master does not give any thought to his household with me here, and everything that he owns he has put into my care.

for I really was kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews and I have done nothing wrong here for which they should put me in a dungeon.”

Pharaoh also said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, but without your permission no one will move his hand or his foot in all the land of Egypt.”