Genesis 35:1-15
Jacob Moves to Bethel
1 Then God said to Jacob, “Go up to Bethel and live there, and make an altar there to God, who appeared to you [in a distinct manifestation] when you fled [years ago] from Esau your brother.”(A)
2 Then Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Get rid of the [idols and images of] foreign gods that are among you, and ceremonially purify yourselves and change [into fresh] clothes;
3 then let us get up and go up to Bethel, and I will make an altar there to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone.”
4 So they gave Jacob all the [idols and images of the] foreign gods they had and the rings which were in their ears [worn as charms against evil], and Jacob buried them under the (a)oak tree near Shechem.
5 As they journeyed, there was a great [supernatural] terror [sent from God] on the cities around them, and [for that reason] the Canaanites did not pursue the sons of Jacob.
6 So Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him.
7 There he built an altar [to worship the Lord], and called the place El-bethel (God of the House of God), because there God had revealed Himself to him when he escaped from his brother.
8 Now Deborah, [who once was] Rebekah’s nurse, died and was buried below Bethel under the oak; and the name of it was called Allon-bacuth (Oak of Weeping).
Jacob Is Named Israel
9 Then God [in a visible manifestation] appeared to Jacob again when he came out of Paddan-aram, and declared a blessing on him.(B)
10 Again God said to him,
So he was called (b)Israel. 11 And God said to him,
12
“The land which I gave Abraham and Isaac
I will give to you,
and to your descendants after you I will give the land.”
“Your name is Jacob;
You shall no longer be called Jacob,
But Israel shall be your name.”
You shall no longer be called Jacob,
But Israel shall be your name.”
So he was called (b)Israel. 11 And God said to him,
12
“The land which I gave Abraham and Isaac
I will give to you,
and to your descendants after you I will give the land.”
13 Then God ascended from Jacob in the place where He had spoken with him.
14 Jacob set up a pillar (memorial, monument) in the place where he had talked with God, a pillar of stone, and he poured a drink offering [of wine] on it; he also poured oil on it [to declare it sacred for God’s purpose].
15 So Jacob named the place where God had spoken with him, Bethel (the House of God).
Footnotes:
a.
Genesis 35:4: This appears to have been a special tree of uncertain type, perhaps a terebinth tree that had significance for pagan worship.
b.
Genesis 35:10: “He who strives with God” or “God strives” or “Prince of God.”
c.
Genesis 35:11: Heb El Shaddai, the sufficient and powerful One.
d.
Genesis 35:11: The midsection of the body between the lower ribs and the hips. Often a euphemism for the human genitals.