Bible Verses About Patriarchal Government

That thou do us no harm, as we on our part have touched nothing of thine, nor have done any thing to hurt thee; but with peace have sent thee away, increased with the blessing of the Lord.

And he made them a feast, and after they had eaten and drunk:

Arising in the morning, they swore one to another: and Isaac sent them away peaceably to their own home.

And behold, the same day the servants of Isaac came, telling him of a well which they had digged, and saying: We have found water.

Whereupon he called it Abundance: and the name of the city was called Bersabee, even to this day.

God give thee of the dew of heaven, and of the fatness of the earth, abundance of corn and wine.

And let peoples serve thee, and tribes worship thee: be thou lord of thy brethren, and let thy mother's children bow down before thee. Cursed be he that curseth thee: and let him that blesseth thee be filled with blessings.

In the mean time God said to Jacob: Arise and go up to Bethel, and dwell there, and make there an altar to God, who appeared to thee when thou didst flee from Esau, thy brother.

And Jacob having called together all his household, said: Cast away the strange gods that are among you, and be cleansed, and change your garments.

Arise, and let us go up to Bethel, that we may make there an altar to God; who heard me in the day of my affliction, and accompained me in my journey.

So they gave him all the strange gods they had, and the earrings which were in their ears: and he buried them under the turpentine tree, that is behind the city of Sichem.

And when they were departed, the terror of God fell upon all the cities round about, and they durst not pursue after them as they went away.

And Jacob came to Luza, which is in the land of Chanaan, surnamed Bethel: he and all the people that were with him.

And he built there an altar, and called the name of that place, The house of God: for there God appeared to him when he fled from his brother.

And behold, after three months, they told Juda, saying: Thamar, thy daughter-in-law, hath played the harlot, and she appeareth to have a big belly. And Juda said: Bring her out that she may be burnt.

And Jacob called his sons, and said to them: Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you the things that shall befall you in the last days.

Gather yourselves together, and hear, O ye sons of Jacob, hearken to Israel, your father:

Ruben, my firstborn, thou art my strength, and the beginning of my sorrow; excelling in gifts, greater in command.

Thou art poured out as water, grow thou not; because thou wentest up to thy father's bed, and didst defile his couch.

Simeon and Levi brethren: vessels of iniquity waging war.

Let not my soul go into their counsel, nor my glory be in their assembly: because in their fury they slew a man, and in their self-will they undermined a wall.

Cursed be their fury, because it was stubborn: and their wrath, because it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and will scatter them in Israel.

Juda, thee shall thy brethren praise: thy hand shall be on the necks of thy enemies; the sons of thy father shall bow down to thee.

Juda is a lion's whelp: to the prey, my son, thou art gone up: resting thou hast couched as a lion, and as a lioness, who shall rouse him?

The sceptre shall not be taken away from Juda, nor a ruler from his thigh, till he come that is to be sent, and he shall be the expectation of nations.