Genesis 35
35
1And God saith unto Jacob, ‘Rise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there, and make there an altar to God, who appeared unto thee in thy fleeing from the face of Esau thy brother.’
2And Jacob saith unto his household, and unto all who [are] with him, ‘Turn aside the gods of the stranger which [are] in your midst, and cleanse yourselves, and change your garments;
3and we rise, and go up to Bethel, and I make there an altar to God, who is answering me in the day of my distress, and is with me in the way that I have gone.’
4And they give unto Jacob all the gods of the stranger that [are] in their hand, and the rings that [are] in their ears, and Jacob hideth them under the oak which [is] by Shechem;
5and they journey, and the terror of God is on the cities which [are] round about them, and they have not pursued after the sons of Jacob.
6And Jacob cometh in to Luz which [is] in the land of Canaan (it [is] Bethel), he and all the people who [are] with him,
7and he buildeth there an altar, and proclaimeth at the place the God of Bethel: for there had God been revealed unto him, in his fleeing from the face of his brother.
8And Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, dieth, and she is buried at the lower part of Bethel, under the oak, and he calleth its name ‘Oak of weeping.’
9And God appeareth unto Jacob again, in his coming from Padan-Aram, and blesseth him;
10and God saith to him, ‘Thy name [is] Jacob: thy name is no more called Jacob, but Israel is thy name;’ and He calleth his name Israel.
11And God saith to him, ‘I [am] God Almighty; be fruitful and multiply, a nation and an assembly of nations is from thee, and kings from thy loins go out;
12and the land which I have given to Abraham and to Isaac — to thee I give it, yea to thy seed after thee I give the land.’
13And God goeth up from him, in the place where He hath spoken with him.
14And Jacob setteth up a standing pillar in the place where He hath spoken with him, a standing pillar of stone, and he poureth on it an oblation, and he poureth on it oil;
15and Jacob calleth the name of the place where God spake with him Bethel.
16And they journey from Bethel, and there is yet a kibrath of land before entering Ephratha, and Rachel beareth, and is sharply pained in her bearing;
17and it cometh to pass, in her being sharply pained in her bearing, that the midwife saith to her, ‘Fear not, for this also [is] a son for thee.’
18And it cometh to pass in the going out of her soul (for she died), that she calleth his name Ben-Oni; and his father called him Benjamin;
19and Rachel dieth, and is buried in the way to Ephratha, which [is] Bethlehem,
20and Jacob setteth up a standing pillar over her grave; which [is] the standing pillar of Rachel's grave unto this day.
21And Israel journeyeth, and stretcheth out his tent beyond the tower of Edar;
22and it cometh to pass in Israel's dwelling in that land, that Reuben goeth, and lieth with Bilhah his father's concubine; and Israel heareth.
23And the sons of Jacob are twelve. Sons of Leah: Jacob's first-born Reuben, and Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Zebulun.
24Sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin.
25And sons of Bilhah, Rachel's maid-servant: Dan and Naphtali.
26And sons of Zilpah, Leah's maid-servant: Gad and Asher. These [are] sons of Jacob, who have been born to him in Padan-Aram.
27And Jacob cometh unto Isaac his father, at Mamre, the city of Arba (which [is] Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac have sojourned.
28And the days of Isaac are a hundred and eighty years,
29and Isaac expireth, and dieth, and is gathered unto his people, aged and satisfied with days; and bury him do Esau and Jacob his sons.
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Genesis 35
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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