Genesis 35

1¶ And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there and make there an altar unto God, who appeared unto thee when thou didst flee from the face of Esau, thy brother.

2Then Jacob said unto his household and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you and be clean and change your garments:

3And let us arise and go up to Bethel and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and has been with me in the way which I have gone.

4So they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their power and all their earrings which were in their ears, and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem.

5And they journeyed, and the terror of God was upon the cities that were round about them, and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob.

6¶ And Jacob came to Luz, which is in the land of Canaan, that is, Bethel, he and all the people that were with him.

7And there he built an altar and called the place Elbethel because there God had appeared unto him when he fled from the face of his brother.

8Then Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and she was buried beneath Bethel under an oak, and the name of it was called Allonbachuth.

9And God appeared unto Jacob again when he came out of Padanaram and blessed him.

10And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob; thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name, and he called his name Israel.

11And God said unto him, I am God Almighty; be fruitful and multiply, a nation and a company of nations (Gentiles) shall come out of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins;

12and the land which I have given to Abraham and to Isaac, to thee will I give it and to thy seed after thee will I give the land.

13And God went up from him in the place where he talked with him.

14And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he talked with him, even a pillar of stone; and he poured a drink offering upon it, and he poured oil upon it.

15And Jacob called the name of the place where God spoke with him, Bethel.

16¶ And they journeyed from Bethel, and there was but a little way to come to Ephrath when Rachel travailed, and she had hard labour.

17And it came to pass when she was in hard labour, that the midwife said unto her, Fear not; thou shalt have this son also.

18And it came to pass as her soul was departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni, but his father called him Benjamin.

19Thus Rachel died and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem.

20And Jacob set a pillar upon her grave; that is the pillar of Rachel’s grave unto this day.

21¶ And Israel journeyed and spread his tent beyond the tower of Edar.

22And it came to pass when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah, his father’s concubine, and Israel heard of it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve:

23The sons of Leah: Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.

24The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin.

25And the sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s handmaid: Dan and Naphtali.

26And the sons of Zilpah, Leah’s handmaid: Gad and Asher. These are the sons of Jacob, who were born to him in Padanaram.

27And Jacob came unto Isaac, his father, unto Mamre, unto the city of Arbah, which is Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac sojourned.

28And the days of Isaac were one hundred and eighty years.

29And Isaac expired and died and was gathered unto his people, being old and full of days, and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

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Genesis 35

Jacob Returns to Bethel

1 # Gn 28.11-17. God told Jacob, “Return to Bethel, where I appeared to you when you were running from your brother Esau. Make your home there and build an altar for me.”

2Jacob said to his family and to everyone else who was traveling with him:

Get rid of your foreign gods! Then make yourselves acceptable to worship God and put on clean clothes. 3Afterwards, we'll go to Bethel. I will build an altar there for God, who answered my prayers when I was in trouble and who has always been at my side.

4So everyone gave Jacob their idols and their earrings,#35.4 earrings: These would have had symbols of foreign gods on them. and he buried them under the oak tree near Shechem.

5While Jacob and his family were traveling through Canaan, God terrified the people in the towns so much that no one dared bother them. 6Finally, they reached Bethel, also known as Luz. 7Jacob built an altar there and called it “God of Bethel,” because that was the place where God had appeared to him when he was running from Esau. 8While they were there, Rebekah's personal servant Deborah#35.8 Deborah: See 24.59 and the note there. died. They buried her under an oak tree and called it “Weeping Oak.”

God Blesses Jacob at Bethel

9-11 # Gn 32.28. #Gn 17.4-8. After Jacob came back to the land of Canaan, God appeared to him again. This time he gave Jacob a new name and blessed him by saying:

I am God All-Powerful, and from now on your name will be Israel#35.9-11 Israel: See the note at 32.28. instead of Jacob. You will have many children. Your descendants will become nations, and some of the men in your family will even be kings. 12I will give you the land that I promised Abraham and Isaac, and it will belong to your family forever.

13After God had gone, 14#Gn 28.18,19. Jacob set up a large rock, so that he would remember what had happened there. Then he poured wine and olive oil on the rock to show that it was dedicated to God, 15and he named the place Bethel.#35.15 Bethel: See the note at 28.19.

Benjamin Is Born

16Jacob and his family had left Bethel and were still a long way from Ephrath, when the time came for Rachel's baby to be born. 17She was having a rough time, but the woman who was helping her said, “Don't worry! It's a boy.” 18Rachel was at the point of death, and right before dying, she said, “I'll name him Benoni.”#35.18 Benoni: In Hebrew “Benoni” means “Son of my Sorrow.” But Jacob called him Benjamin.#35.18 Benjamin: In Hebrew “Benjamin” can mean “Son at my Right Side” (the place of power).

19Rachel was buried beside the road to Ephrath, which is also called Bethlehem. 20Jacob set up a tombstone over her grave, and it is still there. 21Jacob, also known as Israel, traveled to the south of Eder Tower, where he set up camp.

22 # Gn 49.4. During their time there, Jacob's oldest son Reuben slept with Bilhah, who was one of Jacob's other wives.#35.22 other wives: See the note at 22.24. Bilhah had been Rachel's servant woman (see 29.28-30). And Jacob found out about it.

Jacob's Twelve Sons

23-26Jacob had twelve sons while living in northern Syria.#35.23-26 northern Syria: See the note at 24.10. His first-born Reuben was the son of Leah, who later gave birth to Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. Leah's servant Zilpah had two sons: Gad and Asher.

Jacob and his wife Rachel had Joseph and Benjamin. Rachel's servant woman Bilhah had two more sons: Dan and Naphtali.

Isaac Dies

27 # Gn 13.18. Jacob went to his father Isaac at Hebron, also called Mamre or Kiriath-Arba, where Isaac's father Abraham had lived as a foreigner. 28-29Isaac died at the ripe old age of 180, then his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

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