God said to Jacob, "Go to Bethel at once, and live there. Build an altar there to me, the God who appeared to you when you were running away from your brother Esau."

Jacob came with all his people to Luz, which is now known as Bethel, in the land of Canaan.

He built an altar there and named the place for the God of Bethel, because God had revealed himself to him there when he was running away from his brother.

Jacob said to Joseph, "Almighty God appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me.

After this, Abram had a vision and heard the LORD say to him, "Do not be afraid, Abram. I will shield you from danger and give you a great reward."

I will give you many descendants, and some of them will be kings. You will have so many descendants that they will become nations.

"I will keep my promise to you and to your descendants in future generations as an everlasting covenant. I will be your God and the God of your descendants.

That night the LORD appeared to him and said, "I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid; I am with you. I will bless you and give you many descendants because of my promise to my servant Abraham."

If the God of my fathers, the God of Abraham and Isaac, had not been with me, you would have already sent me away empty-handed. But God has seen my trouble and the work I have done, and last night he gave his judgment."

Then Jacob prayed, "God of my grandfather Abraham and God of my father Isaac, hear me! You told me, LORD, to go back to my land and to my relatives, and you would make everything go well for me.

"I am God, the God of your father," he said. "Do not be afraid to go to Egypt; I will make your descendants a great nation there.

I am the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." So Moses covered his face, because he was afraid to look at God.

Tell the Israelites that I, the LORD, the God of their ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, have sent you to them. This is my name forever; this is what all future generations are to call me.

Go and gather the leaders of Israel together and tell them that I, the LORD, the God of their ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, appeared to you. Tell them that I have come to them and have seen what the Egyptians are doing to them.

'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.' He is the God of the living, not of the dead."

Instead, it was a better country they longed for, the heavenly country. And so God is not ashamed for them to call him their God, because he has prepared a city for them.

May he bless you and your descendants as he blessed Abraham, and may you take possession of this land, in which you have lived and which God gave to Abraham!"

The LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, "This is the country that I am going to give to your descendants." Then Abram built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.

I am going to give you and your descendants all the land that you see, and it will be yours forever.

I will give you the land which I gave to Abraham and to Isaac, and I will also give it to your descendants after you."

He named the place Bethel.

When her labor pains were at their worst, the midwife said to her, "Don't be afraid, Rachel; it's another boy."

"I will give you the land of Canaan," he said. "It will be your own possession."

A king like my servant David will be their king. They will all be united under one ruler and will obey my laws faithfully.

They will live on the land I gave to my servant Jacob, the land where their ancestors lived. They will live there forever, and so will their children and all their descendants. A king like my servant David will rule them forever.

God did not then give Abraham any part of it as his own, not even a square foot of ground, but God promised to give it to him, and that it would belong to him and to his descendants. At the time God made this promise, Abraham had no children.