Text -- Genesis 35:1-27 (NET)

The Return to Bethel

35:1 Then God said to Jacob, “Go up at once to Bethel and live there. Make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.” 35:2 So Jacob told his household and all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods you have among you. Purify yourselves and change your clothes. 35:3 Let us go up at once to Bethel. Then I will make an altar there to God, who responded to me in my time of distress and has been with me wherever I went.” 35:4 So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods that were in their possession and the rings that were in their ears. Jacob buried them under the oak near Shechem 35:5 and they started on their journey. The surrounding cities were afraid of God, and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob. 35:6 Jacob and all those who were with him arrived at Luz (that is, Bethel) in the land of Canaan. 35:7 He built an altar there and named the place El Bethel because there God had revealed himself to him when he was fleeing from his brother. 35:8 (Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died and was buried under the oak below Bethel; thus it was named Oak of Weeping.) 35:9 God appeared to Jacob again after he returned from Paddan Aram and blessed him. 35:10 God said to him, “Your name is Jacob, but your name will no longer be called Jacob; Israel will be your name.” So God named him Israel. 35:11 Then God said to him, “I am the sovereign God. Be fruitful and multiply! A nation– even a company of nations– will descend from you; kings will be among your descendants! 35:12 The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you. To your descendants I will also give this land.” 35:13 Then God went up from the place where he spoke with him. 35:14 So Jacob set up a sacred stone pillar in the place where God spoke with him. He poured out a drink offering on it, and then he poured oil on it. 35:15 Jacob named the place where God spoke with him Bethel. 35:16 They traveled on from Bethel, and when Ephrath was still some distance away, Rachel went into labor– and her labor was hard. 35:17 When her labor was at its hardest, the midwife said to her, “Don’t be afraid, for you are having another son.” 35:18 With her dying breath, she named him Ben-Oni. But his father called him Benjamin instead. 35:19 So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). 35:20 Jacob set up a marker over her grave; it is the Marker of Rachel’s Grave to this day. 35:21 Then Israel traveled on and pitched his tent beyond Migdal Eder. 35:22 While Israel was living in that land, Reuben had sexual relations with Bilhah, his father’s concubine, and Israel heard about it. Jacob had twelve sons: 35:23 The sons of Leah were Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, as well as Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. 35:24 The sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin. 35:25 The sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s servant, were Dan and Naphtali. 35:26 The sons of Zilpah, Leah’s servant, were Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan Aram. 35:27 So Jacob came back to his father Isaac in Mamre, to Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had stayed.

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

Wesley: Gen 35:1

Here God minds Jacob of his vow at Beth - el, and sends him thither to perform it, Jacob had said in the day of his distress, If I come again in peace, this stone shall be God's house, Gen 28:22. God had performed his part, had given Jacob more than bread to eat, and raiment to put on; but it should seem he had forgotten his vow, or, at least, deferred the performance of it.

Wesley: Gen 35:1

That is, Not only go himself, but take his family with him, that they might join with him in his devotions.

Wesley: Gen 35:1

Strange God's in Jacob's family! Could such a family, that was taught the knowledge of the Lord, admit them? Could such a master, to whom God had appeared twice, and oftner, connive at them? And be clean, and change your garments - These were ceremonies signifying the purification and change of the heart.

Wesley: Gen 35:4

His servants, and even the retainers to his family, gave him all the strange gods, and the ear - rings they wore either as charms, or to the honour of their gods. Jacob took care to bury their images, we may suppose, in some place unknown to them, that they might not afterwards find and return to them.

Wesley: Gen 35:5

Though the Canaanites were much exasperated against the sons of Jacob for their barbarous usage of the Shechemites; yet they were so restrained by a divine power, that they could not take this fair opportunity to avenge their neighbours quarrel. God governs the world more by secret terrors on men's minds than we are aware of.

Wesley: Gen 35:7

And no doubt offered sacrifice upon it, perhaps the tenth of his cattle, according to his vow, I will give the tenth unto thee. And he called the place, That is, the altar, El - beth - el, the God of Beth - el. As when he made a thankful acknowledgement of the honour God had done him in calling him Israel, he worshipped God by the name of El - elohe - israel, so now he was making a grateful recognition of God's former favour at Beth - el, he worships God by the name of El - beth - el, the God of Beth - el, because there God appeared to him.

Wesley: Gen 35:8

We have reason to think that Jacob, after he came to Canaan, while his family dwelt near Shechem, went himself to visit his father Isaac at Hebron. Rebekah probably was dead, but her old nurse (of whom mention is made Gen 24:59,) survived her, and Jacob took her to his family.

Wesley: Gen 35:8

el she died, and died lamented, so much lamented, that the oak under which she was buried, was called Allon - bachuth, the oak of weeping.

Wesley: Gen 35:10

God now confirmed the change of his name. It was done before by the angel that wrestled with him, Gen 32:28, and here it was ratified by the divine majesty, to encourage him against the fear of the Canaanites. Who can be too hard for Israel, a prince with God?

Wesley: Gen 35:11

Shaddai, I am God Almighty.

Wesley: Gen 35:11

sufficient, able to make good the promise in due time, and to support thee and provide for thee. Two things are promised him. That he should be the father of a great nation: great in number, a company of nations shall be of thee - Every tribe of Israel was a nation, and all the twelve, a company of nations: great in honour and power, kings shall come out of thy loins. That he should be master of a good land, Gen 35:12. The land that was given to Abraham and Isaac is here entailed on Jacob and his seed. These two promises had also a spiritual signification, which we may suppose Jacob himself had some notion of: for without doubt Christ is the promised seed, and heaven is the promised land; the former is the foundation, and the latter the top - stone of all God's favours.

Wesley: Gen 35:13

Or, from over him - In some visible display of glory, which had hovered over him, while he talked with him.

Wesley: Gen 35:14

When he was going to Padan - aram he set up that stone which he had laid his head on for a pillar; but now he took time to erect one more stately, and durable, probably inserting that stone into it. And in token of his intending it for a sacred memorial of his communion with God, he poured oil, and the other ingredients of a drink-offering upon it. This stone shall be God's house, that is, shall be set up for his honour, as houses to the praise of their builders; and here he performs it. And he confirmed the name he had formerly given to the place, Beth - el, the house of God. Yet this very place afterwards lost the honour of its name, and became Beth - aven, a house of iniquity, for here it was that Jeroboam set up one of his calves. It is impossible for the best men to entail so much as the profession and form of religion upon a place.

Wesley: Gen 35:16

Harder than usual.

Wesley: Gen 35:17

Rachel had said when she bore Joseph, God shall give me another son, which now the midwife remembers, and tells her, her words were made good. Yet this did not avail; unless God command away fear, no one else can. We are apt in extreme perils to comfort ourselves and our friends with the hopes of a temporal deliverance, in which we may be disappointed; we had better ground our comforts on that which cannot fail us, the hope of eternal life. Rachel had passionately said, Give me children, or else I die; and now she had children (for this was her second) she died.

Wesley: Gen 35:18

born soon Benoni, the son of my sorrow. But Jacob because he would not renew the sorrowful remembrance of his mother's death every time he called his son by name, changed his name, and called him Benjamin, the son of my right hand - That is, very dear to me; set on my right hand for a right hand blessing; the support of my age, like the staff in my right hand. Jacob buried her near the place where she died. If the soul be at rest after death, the matter is not great where the body lies. In the place where the tree falls, there let it lie. The Jewish writers say, The death of Deborah and Rachel was to expiate the murder of the Shechemites, occasioned by Dinah, a daughter of the family.

Wesley: Gen 35:20

So that it was known long after to be Rachel's sepulchre, 1Sa 10:2, and Providence so ordered it, that this place afterwards fell in the lot of Benjamin. Jacob set up a pillar in remembrance of his joys Gen 35:14, and here he set up one in remembrance of his sorrows; for as it may be of use to ourselves to keep both in mind, so it may be of use to others to transmit the memorials of both.

Wesley: Gen 35:21

Israel, a prince with God, yet dwells in tents; the city is reserved for him in the other world.

Wesley: Gen 35:22

As if he were then absent from his family, which might be the unhappy occasion of these disorders. Though perhaps Bilhah was the greater criminal, yet Reuben's crime was so provoking that for it he lost his birth - right and blessing, Gen 49:4.

Wesley: Gen 35:22

No more is said, that is enough; he heard it with the utmost grief and shame, horror and displeasure.

Wesley: Gen 35:27

We may suppose he had visited him before since his return, for he sore longed after his father's house, but never 'till now brought his family to settle with him, or near him. Probably he did this now upon the death of Rebekah, by which Isaac was left solitary.

JFB: Gen 35:1

This command was given seasonably in point of time and tenderly in respect of language. The disgraceful and perilous events that had recently taken place in the patriarch's family must have produced in him a strong desire to remove without delay from the vicinity of Shechem. Borne down by an overwhelming sense of the criminality of his two sons--of the offense they had given to God and the dishonor they had brought on the true faith; distracted, too, with anxiety about the probable consequences which their outrage might bring upon himself and family, should the Canaanite people combine to extirpate such a band of robbers and murderers; he must have felt this call as affording a great relief to his afflicted feelings. At the same time it conveyed a tender rebuke.

JFB: Gen 35:1

Beth-el was about thirty miles south of Shechem and was an ascent from a low to a highland country. There, he would not only be released from the painful associations of the latter place but be established on a spot that would revive the most delightful and sublime recollections. The pleasure of revisiting it, however, was not altogether unalloyed.

JFB: Gen 35:1

It too frequently happens that early impressions are effaced through lapse of time, that promises made in seasons of distress, are forgotten; or, if remembered on the return of health and prosperity, there is not the same alacrity and sense of obligation felt to fulfil them. Jacob was lying under that charge. He had fallen into spiritual indolence. It was now eight or ten years since his return to Canaan. He had effected a comfortable settlement and had acknowledged the divine mercies, by which that return and settlement had been signally distinguished (compare Gen 33:19). But for some unrecorded reason, his early vow at Beth-el [Gen 28:20-22], in a great crisis of his life, remained unperformed. The Lord appeared now to remind him of his neglected duty, in terms, however, so mild, as awakened less the memory of his fault, than of the kindness of his heavenly Guardian; and how much Jacob felt the touching nature of the appeal to that memorable scene at Beth-el, appears in the immediate preparations he made to arise and go up thither (Psa 66:13).

JFB: Gen 35:2

Hebrew, "gods of the stranger," of foreign nations. Jacob had brought, in his service, a number of Mesopotamian retainers, who were addicted to superstitious practices; and there is some reason to fear that the same high testimony as to the religious superintendence of his household could not have been borne of him as was done of Abraham (Gen 18:19). He might have been too negligent hitherto in winking at these evils in his servants; or, perhaps, it was not till his arrival in Canaan, that he had learnt, for the first time, that one nearer and dearer to him was secretly infected with the same corruption (Gen 31:34). Be that as it may, he resolved on an immediate and thorough reformation of his household; and in commanding them to put away the strange gods, he added,

JFB: Gen 35:2

As if some defilement, from contact with idolatry, should still remain about them. In the law of Moses, many ceremonial purifications were ordained and observed by persons who had contracted certain defilements, and without the observance of which, they were reckoned unclean and unfit to join in the social worship of God. These bodily purifications were purely figurative; and as sacrifices were offered before the law, so also were external purifications, as appears from the words of Jacob; hence it would seem that types and symbols were used from the fall of man, representing and teaching the two great doctrines of revealed truth--namely, the atonement of Christ and the sanctification of our nature.

JFB: Gen 35:4

Strange gods, the "seraphim" (compare Gen 31:30), as well, perhaps, as other idols acquired among the Shechemite spoil--earrings of various forms, sizes, and materials, which are universally worn in the East, and, then as now, connected with incantation and idolatry (compare Hos 2:13). The decided tone which Jacob now assumed was the probable cause of the alacrity with which those favorite objects of superstition were surrendered.

JFB: Gen 35:4

Or terebinth--a towering tree, which, like all others of the kind, was a striking object in the scenery of Palestine; and beneath which, at Shechem, the patriarch had pitched his tent. He hid the images and amulets, delivered to him by his Mesopotamian dependents, at the root of this tree. The oak being deemed a consecrated tree, to bury them at its root was to deposit them in a place where no bold hand would venture to disturb the ground; and hence it was called from this circumstance--"the plain of Meonenim"--that is, "the oak of enchantments" (Jdg 9:37); and from the great stone which Joshua set up--"the oak of the pillar" (Jdg 9:6).

JFB: Gen 35:5

There was every reason to apprehend that a storm of indignation would burst from all quarters upon Jacob's family, and that the Canaanite tribes would have formed one united plan of revenge. But a supernatural panic seized them; and thus, for the sake of the "heir of the promise," the protecting shield of Providence was specially held over his family.

JFB: Gen 35:6

It is probable that this place was unoccupied ground when Jacob first went to it; and that after that period [CALVIN], the Canaanites built a town, to which they gave the name of Luz [Gen 28:19], from the profusion of almond trees that grew around. The name of Beth-el, which would, of course, be confined to Jacob and his family, did not supersede the original one, till long after. It is now identified with the modern Beitin and lies on the western slope of the mountain on which Abraham built his altar (Gen 12:8).

JFB: Gen 35:7

That is, "the God of Beth-el."

JFB: Gen 35:8

This event seems to have taken place before the solemnities were commenced. Deborah (Hebrew, a "bee"), supposing her to have been fifty years on coming to Canaan, had attained the great age of a hundred eighty. When she was removed from Isaac's household to Jacob's, is unknown. But it probably was on his return from Mesopotamia; and she would have been of invaluable service to his young family. Old nurses, like her, were not only honored, but loved as mothers; and, accordingly, her death was the occasion of great lamentation. She was buried under the oak--hence called "the terebinth of tears" (compare 1Ki 13:14). God was pleased to make a new appearance to him after the solemn rites of devotion were over. By this manifestation of His presence, God testified His acceptance of Jacob's sacrifice and renewed the promise of the blessings guaranteed to Abraham and Isaac [Gen 35:11-12]; and the patriarch observed the ceremony with which he had formerly consecrated the place, comprising a sacramental cup, along with the oil that he poured on the pillar, and reimposing the memorable name [Gen 35:14]. The whole scene was in accordance with the character of the patriarchal dispensation, in which the great truths of religion were exhibited to the senses, and "the world's grey fathers" taught in a manner suited to the weakness of an infantile condition.

JFB: Gen 35:13

The presence of God was indicated in some visible form and His acceptance of the sacrifice shown by the miraculous descent of fire from heaven, consuming it on the altar.

JFB: Gen 35:16

There can be no doubt that much enjoyment was experienced at Beth-el, and that in the religious observances solemnized, as well as in the vivid recollections of the glorious vision seen there, the affections of the patriarch were powerfully animated and that he left the place a better and more devoted servant of God. When the solemnities were over, Jacob, with his family, pursued a route directly southward, and they reached Ephrath, when they were plunged into mourning by the death of Rachel, who sank in childbirth, leaving a posthumous son [Gen 35:18]. A very affecting death, considering how ardently the mind of Rachel had been set on offspring (compare Gen 30:1).

JFB: Gen 35:18

The dying mother gave this name to her child, significant of her circumstances; but Jacob changed his name into Benjamin. This is thought by some to have been originally Benjamin, "a son of days," that is, of old age. But with its present ending it means "son of the right hand," that is, particularly dear and precious.

JFB: Gen 35:19

The one, the old name; the other, the later name, signifying "house of bread."

JFB: Gen 35:20

The spot still marked out as the grave of Rachel exactly agrees with the Scriptural record, being about a mile from Beth-lehem. Anciently it was surmounted by a pyramid of stones, but the present tomb is a Mohammedan erection.

JFB: Gen 35:26

It is a common practice of the sacred historian to say of a company or body of men that which, though true of the majority, may not be applicable to every individual. (See Mat 19:28; Joh 20:24; Heb 11:13). Here is an example, for Benjamin was born in Canaan [Gen 35:16-18].

Clarke: Gen 35:1

Arise, go up to Beth-el - The transaction that had lately taken place rendered it unsafe for Jacob to dwell any longer at the city of Shechem; and it seems that while he was reflecting on the horrible act of Simeon and Levi, and not knowing what to do, God graciously appeared to him, and commanded him to go up to Beth-el, build an altar there, and thus perform the vow he had made, Gen 28:20, Gen 28:22.

Clarke: Gen 35:2

Put away the strange gods - אלהי הנכר elohey hannechar , the gods of the foreigners, which were among them. Jacob’ s servants were all Syrians, and no doubt were addicted less or more to idolatry and superstition. These gods might belong to them, or, as some have conjectured, they were the teraphim which Rachel stole; but these have already been supposed to be astrological tables, or something of this kind, called by Laban his gods, because by them he supposed he could predict future events, and that they referred to certain astral and planetary intelligences, by whose influences sublunary things were regulated. But it is more natural to suppose that these gods found now in Jacob’ s family were images of silver, gold, or curious workmanship, which were found among the spoils of the city of Shechem. Lest these should become incitements to idolatry, Jacob orders them to be put away

Clarke: Gen 35:2

Be clean, and change your garments - Personal or outward purification, as emblematical of the sanctification of the soul, has been in use among all the true worshippers of God from the beginning of the world. In many cases the law of Moses more solemnly enjoined rites and ceremonies which had been in use from the earliest ages. "A Hindoo considers those clothes defiled in which he has been employed in business, and always changes them before eating and worship."- Ward.

Clarke: Gen 35:3

Answered me in the day of my distress - Not only when he fled from the face of his brother, but more particularly when he was in his greatest strait at the brook of Jabbok.

Clarke: Gen 35:4

And - ear-rings which were in their ears - Whether these rings were in the ears of the gods, or in those of Jacob’ s family, we may rest assured that they were not mere ornaments, but served for superstitious purposes. Ear-rings were certainly worn as amulets and charms, first consecrated to some god, or formed under some constellation, on which magical characters and images were drawn. A very ancient and beautiful one of this kind brought from Egypt, cut out of a solid piece of cornelian, now lies before me. It was evidently intended for the ear, as the opening is too small for any human finger; and it is engraved all over with strange characters and images, which prove that it was intended for a talisman or amulet. It seems to be such a one as St. Augustine describes, Epist. 73, which was suspended from the tip of the ears both of men and women, not for the purpose of ornament, but through an execrable superstition, for the service of demons. " Execranda superstitio ligaturarum, in quibus etiam inaures virorum in summis ex una parte auriculis suspensae deputantur, non ad placendum hominibus, sed ad serviendum daemonibus ."See Clarke on Gen 24:22 (note).

Clarke: Gen 35:5

The terror of God - A supernatural awe sent by the Almighty, was upon the cities that were round about, so that they were not molested in their departure. This could be owing to nothing less than the especial providence of God.

Clarke: Gen 35:7

El -beth -el - אל בית אל the strong God, the house of the strong God. But the first אל el is wanting in one of De Rossi’ s MSS., as it is also in the Septuagint, Vulgate, Syriac, and some copies of the Arabic. The sentence reads much better without it, and much more consistent with the parallel passages.

Clarke: Gen 35:8

But Deborah, Rebekah’ s nurse, died - She was sent with Rebekah when taken by Abraham’ s servant to be wife to Isaac, Gen 24:59. How she came to be in Jacob’ s family, expositors are greatly puzzled to find out; but the text does not state that she was in Jacob’ s family. Her death is mentioned merely because Jacob and his family had now arrived at the place where she was buried, and the name of that place was called Allon-bachuth, "the oak of weeping,"as it is likely her death had been greatly regretted, and a general and extraordinary mourning had taken place on the occasion. Of Rebekah’ s death we know nothing. After her counsel to her son, Gen 27:5-17, Gen 27:42-46, we hear no more of her history from the sacred writings, except of her burial in Gen 49:31. Her name is written in the dust. And is not this designed as a mark of the disapprobation of God? It seems strange that such an inconsiderable person as a nurse should be mentioned, when even the person she brought up is passed by unnoticed! It has been observed that the nurse of Aeneas is mentioned nearly in the same way by the poet Virgil; and in the circumstances, in both cases, there is a striking resemblance

" Tu quoque littoribus nostris

Aeneia nutrix, Aeternam moriens famam

Caleta, dedisti

Eet nunc servat honos sedem tunus; ossaque nomen

Hesperia in magna, (si qua est en gloria), signat

At pius exequils Aeneas rite solutis

Aggere composito tumuli, postquam alta quierun

Aequora, tendit iter veils, portumque relinqult .

Aen., lib. vii., ver. 1, etc

"Thou too, Cajeta, whose indulgent care

Nursed the great chief, and form’ d his tender years

Expiring here (an ever-honor’ d name!

Adorn Hesperia with immortal fame

Thy name survives, to please thy pensive ghost

Thy sacred relics grace the Latian coast

Soon as her funeral rites the prince had paid

And raised a tomb in honor of the dead

The sea subsiding, and the tempests o’ er

He spreads the flying sails, and leaves the shore.

Pitt.

||&&$

Clarke: Gen 35:9

God appeared unto Jacob again - He appeared to him first at Shechem, when he commanded him to go to Bethel, and now that he is arrived at the place, God appears to him the second time, and confirms to him the Abrahamic blessing. To Isaac and Jacob these frequent appearances of God were necessary, but they were not so to Abraham; for to him one word was sufficient - Abraham believed God.

Clarke: Gen 35:13

And God went up from him - This was not a vision, nor a strong mental impression, but a real manifestation of God. Jacob saw and heard him speak, and before his eyes he went up - ascended to heaven. This was no doubt the future Savior, the Angel of the covenant. See Gen 16:7.

Clarke: Gen 35:14

A drink-offering - נסך nesech , a libation. These were afterwards very common in all countries. At first they consisted probably of water only, afterwards wine was used; see on Lev 7:1 (note), etc. The pillar which Jacob set up was to commemorate the appearance of God to him; the drink-offering and the oil were intended to express his gratitude and devotion to his preserver. It was probably the same pillar which he had set up before, which had since been thrown down, and which he had consecrated afresh to God.

Clarke: Gen 35:16

There was but a little way to come to Ephrath - The word כברת kibrath , translated here a little way, has greatly perplexed commentators. It occurs only here, in Gen 48:7, and 2Ki 5:19; and it seems to have been some sort of measure applied to land, as we say a mile, an acre, a rood, a perch; but what the exact quantity of the kibrath was cannot be ascertained. Ephrath, called also Bethlehem, and Bethlehem Ephrata, was the birthplace of our blessed Redeemer. See its meaning Mat 2:6 (note).

Clarke: Gen 35:18

As her soul was in departing - Is not this a proof that there is an immortal spirit in man, which can exist separate from and independent of the body? Of Rachel’ s death it is said, בצאת נפשה betseth naphshah , in the going away of her soul; her body did not go away, therefore her soul and body must have been distinct. If her breath only had been in tended, נשמה neshamah or רוח ruach would have rather been used, as the first means breath, the latter breath or spirit indifferently

Clarke: Gen 35:18

She called his name Ben - oni - בן אני the Son of my sorrow or affliction, because of the hard labor she had in bringing him into the world; but his father called him Benjamin, בנימין the son of my right hand, i.e., the son peculiarly dear to me. So man of the right hand, Psa 80:17, signifies one much loved and regarded of God. The Samaritan has Benyamin, the son of days; i.e., the son of his old age, as Judah calls him, Gen 44:20; and Houbigant contends that this is the true reading, and that the Chaldee termination in for im is a corruption. If it be a corruption, it is as old as the days of St. Jerome, who translated the place Benjamin, id est, filius dextrae ; Benjamin, that is, the son of the right hand.

Clarke: Gen 35:20

Jacob set a pillar upon her grave - Was not this the origin of funeral monuments? In ancient times, and among rude nations, a heap of stones designated the burial place of the chief; many of these still remain in different countries. Afterwards a rude stone, with a simple inscription, was used, containing only the name of the deceased, and that of his father. But where arts and sciences flourished, superb monuments were erected highly decorated, and pompously inscribed. It is very likely from the circumstances of Jacob that a single stone constituted the pillar in this case, on which, if writing did then exist, the name, or rather some hieroglyphical device, was probably inscribed. That which is now called Rachel’ s pillar is allowed, by those who have examined it, to be a comparatively modern structure.

Clarke: Gen 35:21

Tower of Edar - Literally, the tower of the flock, and so translated Mic 4:8. It is supposed that this tower was about a mile from Bethlehem, and to have been the place where the angels appeared to the shepherds. The Targum of Jonathan expressly says: "It is the place in which the King Messiah shall be manifested in the end of days."By the tower of the flock we may understand a place built by the shepherds near to some well, for the convenience of watering their flocks, and keeping watch over them by night.

Clarke: Gen 35:22

Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’ s concubine - Jonathan, in his Targum, says that Reuben only overthrew the bed of Bilhah, which was set up opposite to the bed of his mother Leah, and that this was reputed to him as if he had lain with her. The colouring given to the passage by the Targumist is, that Reuben was incensed, because he found Bilhah preferred after the death of Rachel to his own mother Leah; and therefore in his anger he overthrew her couch. The same sentiment is repeated by Jonathan, and glanced at by the Jerusalem Targum, Gen 49:4. Could this view of the subject be proved to be correct, both piety and candour would rejoice

Clarke: Gen 35:22

And Israel heard it - Not one word is added farther in the Hebrew text; but a break is left in the verse, opposite to which there is a Masoretic note, which simply states that there is a hiatus in the verse. This hiatus the Septuagint has thus supplied: και πονηρον εφανη εναντιον αυτον, and it appeared evil in his sight

Clarke: Gen 35:22

Now the sons of Jacob were twelve - Called afterwards the twelve patriarchs, because they became heads or chiefs of numerous families or tribes, Act 7:8; and the people that descended from them are called the twelve tribes, Act 26:7; Jam 1:1. Twelve princes came from Ishmael, Gen 25:16, who were heads of families and tribes. And in reference to the twelve patriarchs, our Lord chose twelve apostles. Strictly speaking, there were thirteen tribes among the Hebrews, as Ephraim and Manasses were counted for tribes, Gen 48:5, Gen 48:6; but the Scripture in naming them, says Mr. Ainsworth, usually sets down but twelve, omitting the name now of one, then of another, as may in sundry places be observed, Deuteronomy 33; Ezekiel 48; Revelation 12, etc.

Clarke: Gen 35:23

The sons of Leah - The children are arranged under their respective mothers, and not in order of their birth.

Clarke: Gen 35:26

Born to him in Padan-aram - i.e., all but Benjamin was born in Canaan, Gen 35:16, Gen 35:17

It is well known that Padan-aram is the same as Mesopotamia, and hence the Septuagint translate Μεσοποταμια της Συριας, Mesopotamia of Syria. The word signifies between the two rivers, from μεσος the midst, and ποταμος, a river. It is situated between the Euphrates and Tigris, having Assyria on the east, Arabia Deserta, with Babylonia, on the south, Syria on the west, and Armenia on the north. It is now the province of Diarbek, in Asiatic Turkey, and is sometimes called Maverannahar, the country beyond the river; and Aram Naharaim, Aram or Syria of the two rivers.

Clarke: Gen 35:27

The city of Arbah, (which is Hebron) - See Gen 23:2. It has been conjectured that Jacob must have paid a visit to his father before this time, as previously to this he had been some years in Canaan; but now, as he was approaching to his end, Jacob is supposed to have gone to live with and comfort him in his declining days.

Calvin: Gen 35:1

1.And God said unto Jacob. Moses relates that when Jacob had been reduced to the last extremity, God came to his help in the right time, and as at the critical juncture. And thus he shows, in the person of one man, that God never deserts his Church which he has once embraced, but will procure its salvation. We must, however, observe the order of his procedure; for God did not immediately appear to his servant, but suffered him first to be tormented by grief and excessive cares, that he might learn patience, deferring his consolation to the time of extreme necessity. Certainly the condition of Jacob was then most miserable. For all, on every side, might be so incensed against him that he would be surrounded with as many deaths as there were neighboring nations: and he was not so stupid as to be insensible of his danger. God suffered the holy man to be thus tossed with cares and tormented with troubles, until, by a kind of resurrection, he restored him, as one half-dead. Whenever we read this and similar passages, let us reflect that the providence of God watches for our salvation, even when it most seems to sleep. Moses does not say how long Jacob was kept in anxiety, but we may infer from the context, that he had been very greatly perplexed, when the Lord thus revived him. Moreover, we must observe that the principal medicine by which he was restored, was contained in the expression, The Lord spoke. Why did not God by a miracle translate him to some other place, and thus immediately remove him from all danger? Why did he not even, without a word, stretch out the hand over him, and repress the ferocity of all, so that no one should attempt to hurt him? But Moses does not insist upon this point in vain. For hereby we are taught whence our greatest consolation in our afflictions is to be sought; and also, that it is the principal business of our life, to depend upon the word of God, as those who are certainly persuaded that, when he has promised salvation, he will deal well with us, so that we need not hesitate to walk through the midst of deaths. Another reason for the vision was, that Jacob might not only truly perceive that God was his deliverer; but, being forewarned by his word, might learn to ascribe to God whatever afterwards followed. For seeing that we are slow and dull, bare experience by no means suffices to attest the favor of God towards us, unless faith arising from the word be added.

Go up to Beth-el. Though it is God’s design to raise his servant from death to life, he may yet have appeared to hold him up to derision; for the objection was ready, Thou indeed, O Lord, commandest me to go up, but all the ways are closed; for my sons have raised such a flame against me, that I cannot remain safe in any hiding-place. I dare scarcely move a finger: what therefore will become of me, if with a great multitude, I now begin to move my camp? shall I not provoke new enmities against me by my movements? But by this mode the faith of Jacob was most fully proved; because, knowing God to be the leader and guardian of his journey, he girded himself to it, relying on the divine favor. Moreover, the Lord does not simply command what it is his will to have done, but he encourages his servant, by adding the promise. For, in reminding him that he is the same God who had before appeared unto him as he was fleeing in alarm from his brother, a promise is included in these words. The altar also refers to the same point; for since it is the divinely appointed token of thanksgiving, it follows that Jacob would come thither in safety, in order that he might duly celebrate the grace of God. God chooses and assigns Bethel, rather than any other place, for his sanctuary; because the very sight of it would greatly avail to take away terror, when he should remember that there the glory of the Lord had been seen by him. Further, since God exhorts his servant to gratitude, he shows that he is kind to the faithful, in order that they, in return, may own themselves to be indebted for everything to his grace, and may exercise themselves in the celebration of it.

Calvin: Gen 35:2

2.Then Jacob said unto his household. The prompt obedience of Jacob is here described. For when he heard the voice of God, he neither doubted nor disputed with himself respecting what was necessary to be done: but, as he was commanded, he quickly prepared himself for his journey. But to show that he obeyed God, he not only collected his goods, but also purified his house from idols. For if we desire that God should be propitious to us, all hindrances are to be removed, which in any way separate him from us. Hence also we perceive to what point the theft of Rachel tended. For, (as we have said,) she neither wished to draw her father away from superstition, but rather followed him in his fault; nor did she keep this poison to herself, but spread it through the whole family. Thus was that sacred house infected with the worst contagion. Whence also it appears, how great is the propensity of mankind to impious and vicious worship; since the domestics of Jacob, to whom the pure religion had been handed down, thus eagerly laid hold on the idols offered to them. And Jacob was not entirely ignorant of the evil: but it is probable that he was so far under the influence of his wife, that, by connivance, he silently cherished this plague of his family. And truly, in one word, he convicts and condemns both himself and the rest, by calling idols “strange gods.” For whence arose the distinction here made, unless from his knowing that he ought to be devoted to one God only? For there is a tacit comparison between the God of Abraham and all other gods which the world had wickedly invented for itself: not because it was in the power of Abraham to determine who should be the true God: but because God had manifested himself to Abraham, he also wished to assume His name. Jacob therefore confesses his own negligence, in having admitted to his house idols, against which the door had been closed by God. For wherever the knowledge of the true God shines, it is necessary to drive far away whatever men fabricate to themselves which is contrary to the true knowledge of him. But whereas Jacob had been lulled to sleep either by the blandishments of his wife, or had neglected to do his duty, through the carelessness of the flesh, he is now aroused by the fear of danger, to become more earnest in the pure worship of God. If this happened to the holy patriarch, how much more ought carnal security to be dreaded by us, in the season of prosperity? If, however, at any time such torpor and neglect shall have stolen upon us, may the paternal chastisement of God excite and stimulate us diligently to purge ourselves from whatever faults we, by our negligence, may have contracted. The infinite goodness of God is here conspicuous; seeing that he still deigned to regard the house of Jacob, though polluted with idols, as his sanctuary. For although Jacob mingled with idolaters, and even his wife, — a patroness of idolatry, — slept in his bosom, his sacrifices were always acceptable to God. Yet this great benignity of God in granting pardon, neither lessens the fault of the holy man, nor ought to be used by us as an occasion for negligence. For though Jacob did not approve of these superstitions, yet it was not owing to him that the pure worship of God was not gradually subverted. For the corruption which originated with Rachel was now beginning to spread more widely. And the example of all ages teaches the same thing. For scarcely ever does the truth of God so prevail among men, however strenuously pious teachers may labor in maintaining it, but that some superstitions will remain among the common people. If dissimulation be added to them, the mischief soon creeps onward, until it takes possession of the whole body. By being thus cherished, the mass of superstitions which at this day pervades the Papacy, has gained its influence. Wherefore we must boldly resist those beginnings of evil, lest the true religion should be injured by the sloth and silence of the pastors.

And be clean, and change your garments. This is an exhortation to the external profession of penitence. For Jacob wishes that his domestics, who before had polluted themselves, should testify their renewed purification by a change of garments. With the same design and end, the people, after they had made the golden calves, were commanded by Moses to put off their ornaments. Only in that instance a different method was observed; namely, that the people having laid aside their ornaments, simply confessed their guilt by mournful and mean apparel: but in the house of Jacob the garments were changed, in order that they who had been defiled might come forth as new men: yet the end (as I have said) was the same, that by this external rite, idolaters might learn how great was the atrocity of their wickedness. For although, repentance is an inward virtue, and has its seat in the heart, yet this ceremony was by no means superfluous; for we know how little disposed men are to be displeased with themselves on account of their sins, unless they are pierced with many goads. Again, the glory of God is also concerned in this, that men should not only inwardly reflect upon their guilt, but at the same time openly declare it. This then is the sum; although God had given no express command concerning the purifying of his house, yet because he had commanded an altar to be raised, Jacob, in order that he might yield pure obedience to God, took care that all impediments should be removed; and he did this when necessity compelled him to seek help from God.

Calvin: Gen 35:4

4.And they gave unto Jacob. Though the holy man had his house in suitable subordination; yet as all yielded such prompt obedience to his command by casting away their idols, I doubt not that they were influenced by the fear of danger. Whence also we infer how important it is for us to be aroused from slumber by suffering. For we know how pertinacious and rebellious is superstition. If, in a peaceful and joyous state of affairs, Jacob had given any such command, the greater part of his family would have fraudulently concealed their idols: some, perhaps, would have obstinately refused to surrender them; but now the hand of God urges them, and with ready minds they quickly repent. It is also probable, that, according to the circumstances of the time, Jacob preached to them concerning the righteous judgment of God, to inspire them with fear. When he commands them to cleanse themselves, it is as if he had said, Hitherto ye have been defiled before the Lord; now, seeing that he has regarded us so mercifully, wash out this filth, lest he should again avert his face from us. It seems, however, absurd, that Jacob should have buried the idols under an oak, and not rather have broken them in pieces and consumed them in the fire, as we read that Moses did with the golden calves, (Exo 32:20,) and Hezekiah with the brazen serpent, (2Kg 18:4.) The fact is not thus related without reason: but the infirmity of Jacob is touched upon, because he had not been sufficiently provident against the future. And perhaps the Lord punished his previous excessive connivance and want of firmness, by depriving him of prudence or courage. Yet God accepted his obedience, although it had some remainder of defect, knowing that it was the design of the holy man to remove idols from his family, and, in token of his detestation, to bury them in the earth. The earrings were doubtless badges of superstition; as at this day innumerable trifles are seen in the Papacy, by which impiety displays itself.

Calvin: Gen 35:5

5.And the terror of God was upon the cities. It now manifestly appears that deliverance was not in vain promised to the holy man by God; since, amidst so many hostile swords, he goes forth not only in safety but undisturbed. By the destruction of the Shechemites all the neighboring people were inflamed with enmity against a single family; yet no one moves to take vengeance. The reason is explained by Moses, that the terror of God had fallen upon them, which repressed their violent assaults. Hence we may learn that the hearts of men are in the hands of God; that he can inspire those with fortitude who in themselves are weak; and, on the other hand, soften their iron-hardness whenever he pleases. Sometimes, indeed, he suffers many to cast up the foam of their pride, against whom he afterwards opposes his power: but he often weakens those with fear who were naturally bold as lions: thus we find these giants, who were able to devour Jacob a hundred times, so struck with terror that they faint away. Wherefore, whenever we see the wicked furiously bent on our destruction, lest our hearts should fail with fear and be broken by desperation, let us call to mind this terror of God, by which the rage, however furious, of the whole world may be easily subdued.

Calvin: Gen 35:7

7.And he built there an altar. It has been already stated why it behaved the holy fathers, wherever they came, to have an altar of their own, distinct from those of other nations; namely, to make it manifest that they did not worship gods of various kinds, a practice to which the world was then everywhere addicted, but that they had a God peculiar to themselves. For although God is worshipped with the mind, yet an external confession is the inseparable companion of faith. Besides, all acknowledge how very useful it is to us to be stirred up by outward helps to the worship of God. If any one object that these altars differed nothing from other altars in appearance; I answer, that whereas others rashly, and with inconsiderate zeal, built altars to unknown gods, Jacob always adhered to the word of God. And there is no lawful altar but that which is consecrated by the word; nor indeed did the worship of Jacob excel by any other mark than this, that he attempted nothing beyond the command of God. In calling the name of the place “The God of Beth-el,” ¹²² he is thought to be too familiar; and yet this very title commends the faith of the holy man, and that rightly, since he confines himself within the divinely prescribed bounds. The Papists act foolishly in affecting the praise of humility by a modesty which is most degrading. But the humility of faith is praiseworthy, seeing it does not desire to know more than God permits. And as when God descends to us, he, in a certain sense, abases himself, and stammers with us, so he allows us to stammer with him. And this is to be truly wise, when we embrace God in the manner in which he accommodates himself to our capacity. For in this way, Jacob does not keenly dispute concerning the essence of God, but renders God familiar to himself by the oracle which he has received. And because he applies his senses to the revelation, this stammering and simplicity (as I have said) is acceptable to God. Now, though at this day, the knowledge of God has shined more clearly, yet since God, in the gospel, takes upon him the character of a nursing father, let us learn to subject our minds to him; only let us remember that he descends to us in order to raise us up to himself. For he does not speak to us in this earthly manner, to keep us at a distance from heaven, but rather by this vehicle, to draw us up thither. Meanwhile this rule must be observed, that since the name of the altar was given by a celestial oracle, the building of it was a proof of faith. For where the living voice of God does not sound, whatever pomps may be introduced will be like shadowy spectres; as in the Papacy nothing can be seen except bladders filled with wind. It may be added that Jacob shows the constant tenor of his faith, from the time that God began to manifest himself to him; because he keeps in view the fact, that the angels had appeared unto him. ¹²³ For since the word is in the plural number, I willingly interpret it of angels; and this is not contrary to the former doctrine; for although the majesty of God was then conspicuous, so far as he could comprehend it, yet Moses does not without reason mention the angels whom Jacob saw ascending and descending on the steps of the ladder. For he then beheld the glory of God in the angels, as we see the splendor of the sun flowing to us through his rays.

Calvin: Gen 35:8

8.But Deborah, Rebecca’s nurse, died. Here is inserted a short narration of the death of Deborah, whom we may conclude to have been a holy matron, and whom the family of Jacob venerated as a mother; for the name given in perpetuity to the place, testifies that she was buried with peculiar honor, and with no common mourning. Shortly afterwards the death and burial of Rachel are to be recorded: yet Moses does not say that any sign of mourning for Deborah was transmitted to posterity; ¹²⁴ therefore it is probable that she was held by all in the place of a grandmother: But it may be asked, how she then happened to be in Jacob’s company, seeing that he had not yet come to his father; and the age of a decrepit old woman rendered her unfit for so long a journey. ¹²⁵ Some interpreters imagine that she had been sent by Rebecca to meet her son Jacob; but I do not see what probability there is in the conjecture; nor yet have I anything certain to affirm, except that, perhaps, she had loved Jacob from a boy, because she had nursed him; and when she knew the cause of his exile, she followed him from her regard for religion. Certainly Moses does not in vain celebrate her death with an eulogy so remarkable.

Calvin: Gen 35:9

9.And God appeared unto Jacob. Moses, having introduced a few words on the death of Deborah, recites a second vision, by which Jacob was confirmed, after his return to Bethel. Once, in this place, God had appeared unto him, when he was on his way into Mesopotamia. In the meantime God had testified in various methods, as need required, that he would be present with him everywhere through his whole journey; but now he is brought back again to that very place where a more illustrious and memorable oracle had been given him, in order that he may receive again a new confirmation of his faith. The blessing of God here means nothing else than his promise; for though men pray for blessings on each other; God declares himself to be the sole Dispenser of perfect happiness. Now Jacob heard at this time nothing new; but the same promise is repeated to him, that he, as one who had returned from captivity to his own country, and had gathered new strength to his faith, might accomplish with greater courage the remaining course of his life.

Calvin: Gen 35:10

10.Thy name shall not be called any more Jacob. We have before given the meaning of these words. The former name is not abolished, but the dignity of the other, which was afterwards put upon him, is preferred: for he was called Jacob from the womb, because he had strongly wrestled with his brother; but he was afterwards called Israel, because he entered into contest with God, and obtained the victory; not that he had prevailed by his own power, (for he had borrowed courage and strength and arms from God alone,) but because it was the Lord’s will freely to confer upon him this honor. He therefore speaks comparatively, showing that the name Jacob is obscure and ignoble when compared with the name Israel. Some understand it thus, “Not only shalt thou be called Jacob, but the surname of Israel shall be added;” yet the former exposition seems to me the more simple; namely, that the old name, having in it less of splendor, should give place to the second. What Augustine adduces is specious rather than solid; namely, that he was called Jacob in reference to his present life, but Israel in reference to his future life. Let this, however, be regarded as settled, that a double name was given to the holy man, of which one was by far the most excellent; for we see that the prophets often combine them both, thus marking the constancy of God’s grace from the beginning to the end.

Calvin: Gen 35:11

11.I am God Almighty. God here, as elsewhere, proclaims his own might, in order that Jacob may the more certainly rely on his faithfulness. He then promises that he will cause Jacob to increase and multiply, not only into one nation, but into a multitude of nations. When he speaks of “a nation,” he no doubt means that the offspring of Jacob should become sufficiently numerous to acquire the body and the name of one great people. But that follows concerning “nations” may appear absurd; for if we wish it to refer to the nations which, by gratuitous adoption, are inserted into the race of Abraham, the form of expression is improper: but if it be understood of sons by naturals descent, then it would be a curse rather shall a blessing, that the Church, the safety of which depends on its unity, should be divided into many distinct nations. But to me it appears that the Lord, in these words, comprehended both these benefits; for when, under Joshua, the people was apportioned into tribes, as if the seed of Abraham was propagated into so many distinct nations; yet the body was not thereby divided; it is called an assembly of nations, for this reason, because in connection with that distinction a sacred unity yet flourished. The language also is not improperly extended to the Gentiles, who, having been before dispersed, are collected into one congregation by the bond of faith; and although they were not born of Jacob according to the flesh; yet, because faith was to them the commencement of a new birth, and the covenant of salvation, which is the seed of spiritual birth, flowed from Jacob, all believers are rightly reckoned among his sons, according to the declaration, I have constituted thee a father of many nations.

And kings shall come out of thy loins. This, in my judgment, ought properly to be referred to David and his posterity; for God did not approve of the kingdom of Saul, and therefore it was not established; and the kingdom of Israel was but a corruption of the legitimate kingdom. I acknowledge truly that, sometimes, those things which have sprung from evil sources are numbered among God’s benefits; but because here the simple and pure benediction of God is spoken of, I willingly understand it of David’s successors only. Finally; Jacob is constituted the lord of the land, as the sole heir of his grandfather Abraham, and of his father Isaac; for the Lord manifestly excludes Esau from the holy family, when he transfers the dominion of the land, by hereditary right, to the posterity of Jacob alone.

Calvin: Gen 35:13

13.And God went up from him. This ascent of God is analogous to his descent; for God, who fills heaven and earth, is yet said to descend to us, though he changes not his place, whenever he gives us any token of his presence; a mode of expression adopted in accommodation to our littleness. He went up, therefore, from Jacob, when he disappeared from his sight, or when the vision ended. By the use of such language, God shows us the value of his word, because, indeed, he is near to us in the testimony of his grace; for, seeing that there is a great distance between us and his heavenly glory, he descends to us by his word. This, at length, was fully accomplished in the person of Christ; who while, by his own ascension to heaven, he raised our faith thither; nevertheless dwells always with us by the power of his Spirit.

Calvin: Gen 35:14

14.And Jacob set up a pillar. Though it is possible that he may again have erected a sacred monument, in memory of the second vision; yet I readily subscribe to the opinion of those who think that reference is made to what had been done before; as if Moses should say, that was the ancient temple of God, in which Jacob had poured forth his libation: for he had not been commanded to come thither for the sake of dwelling there; but in order that a fresh view of the place might renew his faith in the ancient oracle, and more fully confirm it. We read elsewhere that altars were built by the holy fathers, where they intended to remain longer; but their reason for doing so was different: for whereas Jacob had made a solemn vow in Beth-el, on condition that he should be brought back by the Lord in safety; thanksgiving is now required of him, after he has become bound by his vow, ¹²⁶ that, being strengthened, he may pass onward on his journey.

Calvin: Gen 35:16

16.And they journeyed from Beth-el. We have seen how severe a wound the defilement of his daughter inflicted on holy Jacob, and with what terror the cruel deed of his two sons had inspired him. Various trials are now blended together, by which he is heavily afflicted throughout his old age; until, on his departure into Egypt, he receives new joy at the sight of his son Joseph. But even this was a most grievous temptation, to be exiled from the promised land even to his death. The death of his beloved wife is next related; and soon after follows the incestuous intercourse of his firstborn with his wife Bilhah. A little later, Isaac his father dies; then his son Joseph is snatched away, whom he supposes to have been torn in pieces by wild beasts. While he is almost consumed with perpetual mourning, a famine arises, so that he is compelled to seek food from Egypt. There another of his sons is kept in chains; and, at length, he is deprived of his own most beloved Benjamin, whom he sends away as if his own bowels were torn from him. We see, therefore, by what a severe conflict, and by what a continued succession of evils, he was trained to the hope of a better life. And whereas Rachel died in childbirth, through the fatigue of the journey, before they reached a resting-place; this would prove no small accession to his grief. But, as to his being bereaved of his most beloved wife, this was probably the cause, that the Lord intended to correct the exorbitance of his affection for her. The Holy Spirit fixes no mark of infamy upon Leah, seeing that she was a holy woman, and endowed with greater virtue; but Jacob more highly appreciated Rachel’s beauty. This fault in the holy man was cured by a bitter medicine, when his wife was taken array from him: and the Lord often deprives the faithful of his own gifts, to correct their perverse abuse of them. The wicked, indeed, more audaciously profane the gifts of God; but if God connives longer at their misconduct, a more severe condemnation remains to them on account of his forbearance. But in taking away from his own people the occasion of sinning, he promotes their salvation. Whoever, therefore, desires the continued use of God’s gifts, let him learn not to abuse them, but to enjoy them with purity and sobriety.

Calvin: Gen 35:17

17.The midwife said unto her. We know that the ancients were very desirous of offspring, especially of male offspring. Since Rachel therefore does not accept this kind of consolation when offered, we infer that she was completely oppressed with pain. She therefore died in agonies, thinking of nothing but her sad childbirth and her own sorrows: from the feeling of which she gave a name to her son; but Jacob afterwards corrected the error. For the chance of the name sufficiently shows, that, in his judgment, the excess of sorrow in his wife was wrong; seeing that she had branded his son with a sinister and opprobrious name; ¹²⁷ for that sadness is not free from ingratitude, which so occupies our minds in adversity that the kindness of God does not exhilarate them; or, at least, does not infuse some portion of sweetness to mitigate our grief. Then her burial is mentioned; to which the holy fathers could not have attended with such religious care, except on account of their hope of the future resurrection. Whenever, therefore, we read concerning their burying the dead, as if they were anxious about the performance of some extraordinary duty, let us think of that end of which I have spoken; for it was no foolish ceremony, but a lively symbol of the future resurrection. I acknowledge, indeed, that profane and degenerate men at that time, in various places, vainly incurred much expense and toil in burying their dead, only as an empty solace of their grief. But although they had declined from the original institution into gross errors, yet the Lord caused that this rite should remain entire among his own people. Moreover, he designed that a testimony should exist among unbelievers, by which they might be rendered inexcusable. For since, independently of instruction, this sentiment was innate in all men, that to bury the dead was one of the offices of piety, nature has clearly dictated to them that the human body is formed for immortality; and, therefore, that, by sinking into death, it does not utterly perish. The statue or monument, erected by him, signifies the same thing. He reared no citadel which might stand as a token of his glory among his posterity: but he took care to raise the memorial of a sepulcher, which might be a witness to all ages that he was more devoted to the life to come; and, by the providence of God, this memorial remained standing, till the people returned out of Egypt.

Calvin: Gen 35:22

22.Reuben went and lay with Bilhah. A sad and even tragic history is now related concerning the incestuous intercourse of Reuben with his mother-in-law. Moses, indeed, calls Bilhah Jacob’s concubine: but though she had not come into the hands of her husband, as the mistress of the family and a partaker of his goods; yet, as it respected the bed, she was his lawful wife, as we have before seen. If even a stranger had defiled the wife of the holy man, it would have been a great disgrace; it was, however, far more atrocious that he should suffer such an indignity from his own son. But how great and how detestable was the dishonor, that the mother of two tribes should not only contaminate herself with adultery, but even with incest; which crime is so abhorrent to nature, that, not even among the Gentiles, has it ever been held tolerable? And truly, by the wonderful artifice of Satan, this great obscenity penetrated into the holy house, in order that the election of God might seem to be of no effect. Satan endeavors, by whatever means he can, to pervert the grace of God in the elect; and since he cannot effect that, he either covers it with infamy, or at least obscures it. Hence it happens that disgraceful examples often steal into the Church. And the Lord, in this manner, suffers his own people to be humbled, that they may be more attentively careful of themselves, that they may more earnestly watch unto prayer, and may learn entirely to depend on his mercy. Moses only relates that Jacob was informed of this crime; but he conceals his grief, not because he was unfeeling, (for he was not so stupid as to be insensible to sorrow,) but because his grief was too great to be expressed. For here Moses seems to have acted as the painter did who, in representing the sacrifice of Iphigenia, put a veil over her father’s face, because he could not sufficiently express the grief of his countenance. In addition to this eternal disgrace of the family, there were other causes of anxiety which transfixed the breast of the holy man. The sum of his happiness was in his offspring, from which the salvation of the whole world was to proceed. Whereas, already, two of his sons had been perfidious and sanguinary robbers; the first-born, now, exceeds them both in wickedness. But here the gratuitous election of God has appeared the more illustrious, because it was not on account of their worthiness that he preferred the sons of Jacob to all the world; and also because, when they had fallen so basely, this election nevertheless remained firm and efficacious. Warned by such examples, let us learn to fortify ourselves against those dreadful scandals by which Satan strives to disturb us. Let every one also privately apply this to the strengthening of his own faith. For sometimes even good men slide, as if they had fallen from grace. Desperation would necessarily be the consequence of such ruin, unless the Lord, on the other hand, held out the hope of pardon. A remarkable instance of this is set before us in Reuben; who, after this extreme act of iniquity, yet retained his rank of a patriarch in the Church. We must, however, remain under the custody of fear and watchfulness, lest temptation should seize upon us unawares, and thus the snares of Satan should envelop us. For the holy Spirit did not design to set before us an example of vile lust, in order that every one might rush into incestuous connections; but would rather expose to infamy the baseness of this crime, in an honorable person, that all, on that account, might more vehemently abhor it. This passage also refutes the error of Novatus. Reuben had been properly instructed; he bore in his flesh, from early infancy, the symbol of the divine covenant; he was even born again by the Spirit of God; we see, therefore, what was the deep abyss from which he was raised by the incredible mercy of God. The Novatians, therefore, and similar fanatics, have no right to cut off the hope of pardon from the lapsed: for it is no slight injury to Christ, if we suppose the grace of God to be more restricted by his advent.

Now the sons of Jacob were twelve. Moses again recounts the sons of Jacob in a regular series. Reuben is put the first among them, not for the sake of honor, but that he may be loaded with the greater opprobrium: for the greater the honor which any one receives from the Lord, the more severely is he to be blamed, if he afterwards makes himself the slave of Satan, and deserts his post. Moses seems to insert this catalogue before the account of the death of Isaac, for the purpose of discriminating between the progeny of Jacob and the Idumeans, of whom he is about to make mention in Gen 36:1. For on the death of Isaac the fountain of the holy race became divided, as into two streams; but since the adoption of God restrained itself to one branch only, it was necessary to distinguish it from the other.

Defender: Gen 35:1

It is strange that during all the ten years or so that Jacob had been back in Canaan, he had never yet gone back to nearby Bethel to build his altar as he had promised God he would do when he was leaving Canaan (Gen 28:20-22). He may have been spiritually uncomfortable with how content he allowed his family to become in their compromising and worldly prosperity at Shechem."

Defender: Gen 35:2

His family and servants still had some of the pagan images and charms they had brought from Syria, not to mention the spoils of Shechem. These spoils had to be buried before they could meet God at Bethel. Like many modern believers, they tried to retain some of the accouterments of ungodliness from which they had been delivered."

Defender: Gen 35:8

Allon-bachuth means "The Oak of Weeping." Deborah was Rebekah's nurse and accompanied her when she left her home to marry Isaac. Deborah no doubt stayed with Rebekah until Deborah's death. Deborah had known and loved Jacob ever since he was born, and evidently had gone to live with him on one of his trips home from Shechem to Hebron to visit his aged father Isaac."

TSK: Gen 35:1

God said : Gen 22:14; Deu 32:36; Psa 46:1, Psa 91:15

Bethel : Gen 35:7, Gen 12:8, Gen 13:3, Gen 13:4, Gen 28:10-22, Gen 31:3, Gen 31:13; Psa 47:4; Ecc 5:4-6; Hos 12:4; Nah 1:15

when thou : Gen 16:8, Gen 27:41-45; Exo 2:15

TSK: Gen 35:2

unto his : Gen 18:19; Jos 24:15; Psa 101:2-7

strange : Gen 31:19, Gen 31:34; Exo 20:3, Exo 20:4, Exo 23:13; Deu 5:7, Deu 6:14, Deu 7:25, Deu 11:28, Deu 32:16; Jos 23:7; Jos 24:2, Jos 24:20, Jos 24:23; Jdg 10:16; Rth 1:15; 1Sa 7:3; 2Sa 7:23; 2Ki 17:29; 1Ch 16:26; Jer 5:7, Jer 16:20; Dan 5:4; Act 19:26; 1Co 10:7; 2Co 6:15-17; Gal 4:8

clean : Gen 35:22, Gen 34:2, Gen 34:24, Gen 34:25; Exo 19:10, Exo 19:14; Lev 15:5, Lev 17:16; Num 31:24; 2Ki 5:10, 2Ki 5:12, 2Ki 5:13; Job 1:5; Psa 51:2, Psa 51:7; Ecc 5:1; Isa 1:16, Isa 52:11; Jer 13:27; Eze 18:31; Eze 20:7, Eze 36:25; Joh 13:10, Joh 13:11; 2Co 7:1; Heb 10:22; Jam 4:8; 1Pe 2:1, 1Pe 2:2; Jud 1:23

TSK: Gen 35:3

who answered : Gen 28:12, Gen 28:13, Gen 32:7, Gen 32:24; Psa 46:1, Psa 50:15, Psa 66:13, Psa 66:14, Psa 91:15, Psa 103:1-5, Psa 107:6, Psa 107:8; Psa 116:1, Psa 116:2, Psa 116:16-18, Psa 118:19-22; Isa 30:19

was with : Gen 28:20, Gen 31:3, Gen 31:42; Pro 3:6; Isa 43:2

TSK: Gen 35:4

earrings : These rings were not worn as mere ornaments, but for superstitious purposes; perhaps as amulets or charms, first consecrated to some false god, or formed under some constellation, and stamped with magical characters. Maimonides mentions rings and jewels of this kind, with the image of the sun, moon, etc., impressed upon them; and Augustine describes them (Epist. 73), as used for this execrable purpose. Exo 32:2-4; Jdg 8:24-27; Hos 2:13

hid them : Exo 32:20; Deu 7:5, Deu 7:25; Isa 2:20, Isa 30:22

the oak : Jos 24:25, Jos 24:26; Jdg 9:6

TSK: Gen 35:5

Gen 34:30; Exo 15:15, Exo 15:16, Exo 23:27, Exo 34:24; Deu 11:25; Jos 2:9-11, Jos 5:1; 1Sa 11:7; 1Sa 14:15; 2Ch 14:14, 2Ch 17:10; Psa 14:5

TSK: Gen 35:6

Luz : Gen 12:8, Gen 28:19, Gen 28:22; Jdg 1:22-26

TSK: Gen 35:7

built : Gen 35:1, Gen 35:3; Ecc 5:4, Ecc 5:5

El-beth-el : i.e. the god of Beth-el, Gen 28:13, Gen 28:19, Gen 28:22; Exo 17:15; Jdg 6:24; Eze 48:35

TSK: Gen 35:8

Rebekah’ s : Gen 24:59

under an oak : 1Sa 31:13

Allonbachuth : i.e. the oak of weeping, Jdg 2:1, Jdg 2:5

TSK: Gen 35:9

Gen 12:7, Gen 17:1, Gen 18:1, Gen 26:2, Gen 28:13, Gen 31:3, Gen 31:11-13, Gen 32:1, Gen 32:24-30, Gen 35:1, Gen 46:2, Gen 46:3; Gen 48:3, Gen 48:4; Jer 31:3; Hos 12:4; Act 7:2

TSK: Gen 35:10

Gen 17:5, Gen 17:15, Gen 32:27, Gen 32:28; 1Ki 18:31; 2Ki 17:34

TSK: Gen 35:11

God Almighty : Gen 17:1, Gen 18:14, Gen 43:14, Gen 48:3, Gen 48:4; Exo 6:3; 2Co 6:18

a nation : Gen 12:2, Gen 13:16, Gen 15:5, Gen 17:5-7, Gen 17:16, Gen 18:18, Gen 22:17, Gen 28:3, Gen 28:4, Gen 28:14, Gen 32:12, Gen 46:3; Gen 48:4; Exo 1:7; Num. 1:1-26:65; 1Sa 1:1- 2Ch 36:23

TSK: Gen 35:12

the land : Gen 12:7, Gen 13:14-17, Gen 15:18, Gen 26:3, Gen 26:4, Gen 28:3, Gen 28:4, Gen 28:13, Gen 48:4; Exo 3:8; Josh. 6:1-21:45

to : Neh. 13:1-31

TSK: Gen 35:13

Gen 11:5, Gen 17:22, Gen 18:33; Jdg 6:21, Jdg 13:20; Luk 24:31

TSK: Gen 35:14

Gen 35:20, Gen 28:18, Gen 28:19; Exo 17:15; 1Sa 7:12

TSK: Gen 35:15

Bethel : Gen 28:19

TSK: Gen 35:16

a little way to come : Heb. a little piece of ground, 2Ki 5:19

Ephrath : Gen 48:7; Rth 1:2; 1Ch 2:19; Psa 132:6; Mic 5:2; Mat 2:1, Mat 2:16, Mat 2:18

hard labour : Gen 3:16; 1Ti 2:15

TSK: Gen 35:17

Fear not : Gen 30:24; 1Sa 4:19-21

TSK: Gen 35:18

am cir, 2275, bc cir, 1729

her soul : Gen 30:1; 1Sa 4:20, 1Sa 4:21; Psa 16:10; Exo 12:7; Lam 2:12; Luk 12:20, Luk 23:46; Act 7:59

Benoni : i.e. the son of my sorrow, 1Ch 4:9

Benjamin : i.e. the son of my right hand, Gen 42:4, Gen 42:38, Gen 43:14, Gen 44:27-31; Psa 80:17; The Samaritan has ben yamim , ""the son of days,""i.e., of his old age ( Gen 44:20), which Jerome renders Benjamin, id est , filius dextrae , Benjamin, that is, ""the son of the right hand.""

TSK: Gen 35:19

Rachel died : Gen 48:7

Ephrath : Jos 19:15; Rth 1:2, Rth 4:11; Mic 5:2, Mic 6:2; Mat 2:1, Mat 2:6, Mat 2:18

TSK: Gen 35:20

the pillar : Gen 35:9, Gen 35:14; 1Sa 10:2; 2Sa 18:17, 2Sa 18:18

TSK: Gen 35:21

tower : Mic 4:8; Luk 2:8

TSK: Gen 35:22

lay with : Gen 49:4; Lev 18:8; 2Sa 16:21, 2Sa 16:22, 2Sa 20:3; 1Ch 5:1; 1Co 5:1

Now the sons : In the Hebrew Text, a break is here left in the verse, opposite to which there is a Masoretic note, which states that ""there is a hiatus in the verse.""This hiatus the LXX, thus supplies: και [Strong’ s G2532], πονηρον [Strong’ s G4190], εφανη εναντιον [Strong’ s G1726], αυτου [Strong’ s G848], ""and it appeared evil in his sight.""Gen 35:18, Gen 29:31-35, 30:5-24, 46:8-27, 49:1-28; Exo 1:1-5, Exo 6:14-16; Num 1:5-15; Num. 1:20-46, 2:3-33, 7:12-89, 26:5-51, Num 26:57-62, Num 34:14-28; Deut. 33:1-29; Josh. 13:1-21:45; 1Ch 2:1, 1Ch 2:2, 12:23-40, 1Ch 27:16-22; Ezek. 48:1-35; Act 7:8; Rev 7:4-8, Rev 21:14

TSK: Gen 35:23

Gen 29:32-35, Gen 30:18-20, Gen 33:2, Gen 46:8-15

TSK: Gen 35:24

Gen 35:16-18, Gen 30:22-24, Gen 46:19-22

TSK: Gen 35:25

Gen 30:4-8, Gen 37:2, Gen 46:23-25

TSK: Gen 35:26

And the sons : Gen 30:9-13, Gen 46:16-18

in Padanaram : Except Benjamin, Gen 35:18, Gen 25:20, Gen 28:2, Gen 31:18

TSK: Gen 35:27

Jacob : Gen 27:43-45, Gen 28:5

Mamre : Gen 13:18, Gen 14:13, Gen 18:1, Gen 23:2, Gen 23:19; Jos 14:12-15, Jos 15:13, Jos 21:11; 2Sa 2:1, 2Sa 2:3, 2Sa 2:11; 2Sa 5:1, 2Sa 5:3, 2Sa 5:5

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)

Barnes: Gen 35:1-29

- The Death of Isaac

8. דברה d^e borâh , Deborah, "bee." בּכוּת אלּון 'alôn - bākût , Allon-bakuth, "oak of weeping."

16. כברה kı̂brâh , "length stretch."A certain but unknown distance, a stadium or furlong (Josephus) a hippodrome (Septuagint) which was somewhat longer, a mile (Kimchi). אפרת 'ephrâth , Ephrath, "fruitful or ashy."

18. בן־אוני ben - 'ônı̂y , Ben-oni, "son of my pain." בנימין bı̂nyāmı̂yn , Binjamin, "son of the right hand."

19. לחם בית bēyt - lechem , Beth-lechem, "house of bread."

21. עדר ‛ěder , ‘ Eder, "flock, fold."

This chapter contains the return of Jacob to his father’ s house, and then appends the death of Isaac.

Gen 35:1-8

Jacob returns to Bethel. "And God said unto Jacob."He receives the direction from God. He had now been six years lingering in Sukkoth and Sleekem. There may have been some contact between him and his father’ s house during this interval. The presence of Deborah, Rebekah’ s nurse, in his family, is a plain intimation of this. But Jacob seems to have turned aside to Shekem, either to visit the spot where Abraham first erected an altar to the Lord, or to seek pasture for his numerous flocks. "Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there."In his perplexity and terror the Lord comes to his aid. He reminds him of his former appearance to him at that place, and directs him to erect an altar there. This was Abraham’ s second resting-place in the land. He who had there appeared to Jacob as the Yahweh, the God of Abraham and Isaac, is now described as (house of El), the Mighty One, probably in allusion to Bethel (house of El), which contains this name, and was at that time applied by Jacob himself to the place. "His house;"his wives and children. "All that were with him;"his men-servants and maid-servants.

The strange gods, belonging to the stranger or the strange land. These include the teraphim, which Rachel had secreted, and the rings which were worn as amulets or charms. Be clean; cleanse the body, in token of the cleaning of your souls. Change your garments; put on your best attire, befitting the holy occasion. The God, in contradistinction to the strange gods already mentioned. Hid them; buried them. "The oak which was by Shekem."This may have been the oak of Moreh, under which Abraham pitched his tent Gen 12:6. The terror of God; a dread awakened in their breast by some indication of the divine presence being with Jacob. The patriarch seems to have retained possession of the land he had purchased and gained by conquest, in this place. His flocks are found there very shortly after this time Gen 37:12, he alludes to it, and disposes of it in his interview with Joseph and his sons Gen 48:22, and his well is there to this day.

"Luz, which is in the land of Kenaan."This seems at first sight to intimate that there was a Luz elsewhere, and to have been added by the revising prophet to determine the place here intended. Luz means an almond tree, and may have designated many a place. But the reader of Genesis could have needed no such intimation, as Jacob is clearly in the land of Kenaan, going from Shekem to Hebron. It seems rather to call attention again Gen 33:18 to the fact that Jacob has returned from Padan-aram to the land of promise. The name Luz still recurs, as the almond tree may still be flourishing. "And he built there an altar, and called the place El-beth-el."Thus has Jacob obeyed the command of God, and begun the payment of the vow he made twenty-six years before at this place Gen 38:20-22. "There God revealed himself unto him."The verb here נגלוּ nı̂glû is plural in the Masoretic Hebrew, and so it was in the copy of Onkelos. The Samaritan Pentateuch and the Septuagint have the singular. The reading is therefore, various. The original was probably singular, and may have been so even with its present letters. If not, this is one of the few instances in which Elohim is construed grammatically with a plural verb. Deborah dies in the family in which she began life. She is buried under "the well-known oak"at Bethel. Jacob drops a natural tear of sorrow over the grave of this faithful servant, and hence, the oak is called the oak of weeping. It is probable that Rebekah was already dead, since otherwise we should not expect to find Deborah transferred to Jacob’ s household. She may not have lived to see her favorite son on his return.

Gen 35:9-15

God appears to Jacob again at Bethel, and renews the promise made to him there Gen 28:13-14. Again. The writer here refers to the former meeting of God with Jacob at Bethel, and thereby proves himself cognizant of the fact, and of the record already made of it. "When he went out of Padan-aram."This corroborates the explanation of the clause, Gen 35:6, "which is in the land of Kenaan."Bethel was the last point in this land that was noticed in his flight from Esau. His arrival at the same point indicates that he has now returned from Padan-aram to the land of Kenaan. "He called his name Israel."At Bethel he renews the change of name, to indicate that the meetings here were of equal moment in Jacob’ s spiritual life with that at Penuel. It implies also that this life had been declining in the interval between Penuel and Bethel, and had now been revived by the call of God to go to Bethel, and by the interview.

The renewal of the naming aptly expresses this renewal of spiritual life. "I am God Almighty."So he proclaimed himself before to Abraham Gen 17:1. "Be fruitful, and multiply."Abraham and Isaac had each only one son of promise. But now the time of increase is come. Jacob has been blessed with eleven sons, and at least one daughter. And now he receives the long-promised blessing, "be fruitful and multiply."From this time forth the multiplication of Israel is rapid. In twenty-six years after this time he goes down into Egypt with seventy souls, besides the wives of his married descendants, and two hundred and ten years after that Israel goes out of Egypt numbering about one million eight hundred thousand. "A nation and a congregation of nations,"such as were then known in the world, had at the last date come of him, and "kings"were to follow in due time. The land, as well as the seed, is again promised.

Jacob now, according to his wont, perpetuates the scene of divine manifestation with a monumental stone. "God went up;"as he went up from Abraham Gen 17:22 after a similar conferencc with him. He had now spoken to Jacob face to face, as he communed with Abraham. "A pillar"in the place where he talked with him, a consecrated monument of this second interview, not in a dream as before, but in a waking vision. On this he pours a drink-offering of wine, and then anoints it with oil. Here, for the first time, we meet with the libation. It is possible there was such an offering when Melkizedec brought forth bread and wine, though it is not recorded. The drink-offering is the complement of the meat-offering, and both are accompaniments of the sacrifice which is offered on the altar. They are in themselves expressive of gratitude and devotion. Wine and oil are used to denote the quickening and sanctifying power of the Spirit of God. "Bethel."We are now familiar with the repetition of the naming of persons and places. This place was already called Bethel by Jacob himself; it is most likely that Abraham applied this name to it: and for aught we know, some servant of the true God, under the Noachic covenant, may have originated the name.

Gen 17:16-22.

On the journey, Rachel dies at the birth of her second son. "A stretch."It was probably a few furlongs. "Fear not."The cause for encouragement was that the child was born, and that it was a son. Rachel’ s desire and hope expressed at the birth of Joseph were therefore, fulfilled Gen 30:24. "When her soul was departing."This phrase expresses not annihilation, but merely change of place. It presupposes the perpetual existence of the soul. "Ben-oni,"son of my pain, is the natural expression of the departing Rachel. "Benjamin."The right hand is the seat of power. The son of the right hand is therefore, the child of power. He gave power to his father, as he was his twelfth son, and so completed the number of the holy family. "Ephrath and Beth-lehem"are names the origin of which is not recorded. "The pillar of Rachel’ s grave."Jacob loves the monumental stone. "Unto this day."This might have been written ten or twenty years after the event, and therefore, before Jacob left Kenaan (see on Gen 19:37). The grave of Rachel was well known in the time of Samuel 1Sa 10:2, and the Kubbet Rahil, dome or tomb of Rachel, stands perhaps on the identical spot, about an English mile north of Bethlehem.

Gen 35:21-22

Eder - The tower of the flock was probably a watch-tower where shepherds guarded their flocks by night. It was a mile (Jerome) or more south of Bethlehem. Here Reuben was guilty of the shameful deed which came to the knowledge of his father, and occasions the allusion in Gen 49:4. He was by this act degraded from his position in the holy family. The division of the open parashah in the text here is more in accordance with the sense than that of the verse.

Gen 35:22-29

Jacob’ s return and his father’ s death. The family of Jacob is now enumerated, because it has been completed by the birth of Benjamin. "In Padan-aram."This applies to all of them but Benjamin; an exception which the reader of the context can make for himself. Jacob at length arrives with his whole establishment at Hebron, the third notable station occupied by Abraham in the land Gen 13:1. Here also his father sojourns. The life of Isaac is now closed. Joseph must have been, at the time of Jacob’ s return, in his thirteenth year, and therefore, his father in his hundred and fourth. Isaac was consequently in his hundred and sixty-third year. He survived the return of Jacob to Hebron about seventeen years, and the sale of Joseph his grandson about thirteen. "Esau and Jacob his sons buried him."Hence, we learn that Esau and Jacob continued to be on brotherly terms from the day of their meeting at the ford of Jabbok.

This chapter closes the ninth of the pieces or documents marked off by the phrase "these are the generations."Its opening event was the birth of Isaac Gen 25:19, which took place in the hundreth year of Abraham, and therefore, seventy-five years before his death recorded in the seventh document. As the seventh purports to be the generations of Terah Gen 11:27 and relates to Abraham who was his offspring, so the present document, containing the generations of Isaac, refers chiefly to the sons of Isaac, and especially to Jacob, as the heir of promise. Isaac as a son learned obedience to his father in that great typical event of his life, in which he was laid on the altar, and figuratively sacrificed in the ram which was his substitute. This was the great significant passage in his life, after which he retires into comparative tranquillity.

Poole: Gen 35:2

The strange gods, the idols which are so called here, and Deu 31:16 32:12 Jos 24:20 , because they were the gods of strange and foreign nations, such as all were accounted who were not Israelites.

Quest. How came these to be and to continue so long in Jacob’ s house.

Answ Either,

1. By Rachel’ s means, who brought them from her father’ s house, which haply was not discovered till this time. Or,

2. By Leah, and by Jacob’ s two concubines, who might possibly bring such with them. Or,

3. By the means of Jacob’ s Gentile servants, who might secretly worship such gods; or having taken them from the She-chemites, they might keep them for their precious matter, as gold and silver, though not for religious use. Like a good man, and a good master of a family, he takes care not only for himself, but for all his family, to keep them from the exercise of a false religion, and to engage them as far as he can in the profession and practice of the true. Compare Gen 18:19 Jos 24:15 .

Be clean cleanse yourselves by outward and ritual washing, as Exo 19:10,14 , which even then was in use; and especially by purging your hearts as well as hands from these idols, which I perceive, to my sorrow, some of you have still retained; and from your late detestable cruelty; that you may be fit to approach to that God who hath now summoned me and you to make a solemn appearance before him.

Change your garments either by putting on new garments, as 2Sa 12:20 , or by washing the old ones, as Exo 19:10 Lev 15:13 . And these, as well as other ceremonial institutions and practices, were professions of their repentance; which consists in putting off the old man, and putting on the new, Eph 4:22 .

Poole: Gen 35:3

He takes God’ s gracious promise, and the comfortable hope and assurance of God’ s favour to him, and care of him, impressed by God upon his mind and heart, for an answer to his prayers, though he had then seen no success nor accomplishment of God’ s word to him.

Poole: Gen 35:4

Either because they had been abused to idolatry and superstition at Shechem, or elsewhere, and therefore were to be destroyed according to God’ s command, now signified to Jacob, and afterwards delivered to his posterity, Deu 7:5 12:3 ; or for fear they should be so abused. For the Scripture seems to insinuate, and other writers expressly affirm, that divers heathen people did wear earrings for the honour of their idols, and with the representations or ensigns of their idols engraven upon them. See Jud 8:24 . After he had melted or broken them, (which seems probable from parallel instances, as Exo 32:20 2Ki 18:4 ),

Jacob hid them under a certain oak, though not known to his family which it was. He chose that place, either as most proper to put monuments of idolatry under those trees which were so much and so generally abused to idolatry, as oaks especially were, Isa 1:29 ; or as the safest place, where they were likely to remain longest hid, because the heathen had a veneration for oaks, and therefore would not cut them down, nor dig them up, nor do any thing which had a tendency that way.

Poole: Gen 35:5

The terror of God i.e. a great terror sent from God, as Exo 23:27 Jos 2:9,11 2Ch 14:14 17:10 . So we read of a sleep of God, 1Sa 26:12 . Nothing less could have secured Jacob, considering the great number, power, and rage of his enemies.

Poole: Gen 35:6

In the land of Canaan properly so called, or where the Canaanites properly so called dwelt. Thus it is distingnished from another Luz, Jud 1:26 .

Poole: Gen 35:7

El-beth-el i.e. He confirmed the name which he had formerly given to the place.

Poole: Gen 35:8

She came with Rebekah into Canaan, Gen 24:59 , and probably tarried with her whilst she lived, and after her death, as it seems; and, upon Jacob’ s desire, after his return from Haran, came into his family; where, being a person of great prudence and piety, her presence and advice was very useful in his numerous and divided family.

Allon-bachuth from the great lamentation which they made there for the loss of a person of such singular worth.

Poole: Gen 35:10

Israel shall be thy name I do not repent of the change which I made of thy name, but I do again confirm it; and as then thou didst prevail over thy brother Esau, so now thou shalt prevail over those of whom thou art afraid.

Poole: Gen 35:11

A company of nations tribes, for number and power, equal to so many nations,

shall come out of thy loins i.e. shall be begotten by thee, as this phrase is taken also in Gen 46:26 1Ki 8:19 Act 2:30 .

Poole: Gen 35:13

God went up from him either locally and visibly, to wit, in that human shape in which he appeared to him; or by withdrawing the signs of his special presence, as Gen 17:22 Jud 13:20 ; as on the contrary God is said to come down, not by change of place, but by some signal manifestation of his presence and favour, as Exo 3:8 Num 11:17 .

Poole: Gen 35:14

Either he repaired the old pillar set up by him, Gen 28:18 , which was ruined by the injury of time, or by the neighbouring idolaters; or rather erected a new one, more stable and durable than he could do in that time, as a monument or witness of God’ s manifold favours, and of his own gratitude. The

drink-offering was of wine, as may be gathered by comparing Exo 29:40 Num 28:14 .

Poole: Gen 35:18

In departing or, in going out; namely, out of the body, as Psa 146:4 , which is an argument of the soul’ s immortality, especially if compared with Ecc 12:7 . From which places, laid together, we learn the two terms of the journey, whence it goes, and whither it goes.

Benjamin either as near and dear and precious to him as his right hand, which is both more useful and more honourable than the left; see Psa 80:17 ; or instead of his right hand, the staff, stay, and comfort of his old age.

Poole: Gen 35:19

In the way to Ephrath not in the city, though that was near; for in ancient times their sepulchres were not in the places of resort, but in separated places, and out of cities. See Mat 27:60 Luk 7:12 .

Poole: Gen 35:20

Jacob set a pillar as a monument or memorial of her life and death, and as a testimony of her future resurrection.

Unto this day i.e. unto the time wherein Moses writ this book, and long after. See 1Sa 10:2 Jer 31:15 .

Poole: Gen 35:21

Or, the tower of the flock; a place where were excellent pastures. See Mic 4:8 .

Poole: Gen 35:22

This was a horrid incest; for concubines were a sort of wives. See Gen 22:24 25:1 .

Israel heard it and doubtless sadly resented it, both in Reuben, as appears from Gen 49:4 1Ch 5:1,2 ; and in Bilhah, whose bed without question he forsook upon it, as afterwards David did in the like case. See 2Sa 16:22 20:3 . Yet here is no mention of Jacob’ s reproof of it, nor any censure of Moses added to it; possibly to teach us, that we are not to approve of every fact which is mentioned in Scripture without censure, and that the miscarriages of professors of religion are rather to be silently bewailed than publicly reproached, lest religion should suffer by it.

The sons of Jacob were twelve which were heads of the twelve tribes; therefore his daughter Dinah is not here mentioned, because she was not the head of a tribe.

Poole: Gen 35:26

All but Benjamin, who must in all reason be supposed to be excepted here, because he is said to be born elsewhere, above, Gen 35:16 . But it is a usual synecdoche, whereby that is ascribed to all in gross which belongs to the greatest part. See Gen 15:13 46:15 Exo 12:40 Jud 20:46 Joh 20:24 1Co 15:5 .

Poole: Gen 35:27

Jacob came either with his wives, and children, and estate, to dwell with Isaac; or rather in person, to visit his sick and dying father; for otherwise Jacob having been ten years near his father, no doubt he had oft visited him, and carried his wives and children thither, though Scripture be silent in this particular: but they could not live together because of the greatness of their estates, as it happened with others. See Gen 13:6 36:7 .

Haydock: Gen 35:1

God dissipates Jacob's well-grounded fears, and sends him to perform his vow, chap. xviii. 13. (Haydock)

Haydock: Gen 35:2

Strange gods, which his servants had reserved in the plundering of Sichem; perhaps he had also been informed of Rachel's theft. (Du Hamel) ---

Garments; put on your cleanest and best attire, to testify the purity with which you ought to approach to the service of God. (Menochius) ---

See Exodus xix. 10; Leviticus xv. 13.

Haydock: Gen 35:4

And the ear-rings. Hebrew, hanezamim; such as had been consecrated to some idol, and adorned the ears of those false but gaudy deities. (Menochius) ---

Men and women used them likewise, as phylacteries or talismans, to which many superstitious virtues were attributed. (St. Augustine, ep. 73, ad Posid. 9, iii. in Gen.; Ezechiel xvi. 12; Proverbs xxv.; Exodus xxxv.; Judges viii. (Calmet) ---

The turpentine tree ; or "an oak tree," as the Hebrew haela means also. Septuagint adds, "and he destroyed them till this present day;" which seems intended to refute the story of their being found and adored by the Samaritans, or employed by Solomon when he built the temple. Jacob buried them privately. (Calmet) See Deuteronomy vii. 5.

Haydock: Gen 35:5

Terror of God. A panic fear, which the pagans thought was sent by Pan. (Calmet) ---

God can easily make the most powerful flee before a few. St. Augustine, q. 112.

Haydock: Gen 35:6

Chanaan, to distinguish it from another. Judges i. 26, (Menochius) or because Moses wrote this in Arabia. (Calmet)

Haydock: Gen 35:7

To him. Hebrew literally, "He called that place the God of Bethel, because there God ( or the angels) appeared to him." Haelohim, with a verb plural, generally refers to angels; when it is applied to God, the article is omitted, and the verb is singular. (Calmet)

Haydock: Gen 35:8

Debora. The Rabbin say she had been sent to urge Jacob's return. (Menochius) ---

Perhaps she was come to see him and the daughters of Laban, for whom she would naturally have a great regard, as she lived with Laban. ---

Weeping. This shews the great respect they had for this good old servant. (Haydock)

Haydock: Gen 35:10

Israel. This name signifies one that prevaileth with God; (Challoner) and is more honourable and expressive than that of Jacob. God confirms what had been declared by his angel, chap. xxxii. 28.

Haydock: Gen 35:12

And to, &c. And is often put by way of explanation. Chanaan was possessed by all the twelve sons of Jacob. Those of the handmaids are not excluded, as Ismael had been. (Worthington)

Haydock: Gen 35:14

Set up either a fresh altar, or restored the stone which he had formerly used for sacrifice. (St. Augustine q. 116.) ---

Drink, wine. ---

Oil. Theophrastus, speaking of a man addicted to superstition, says, "he adores every anointed stone." (Calmet)

Haydock: Gen 35:16

Spring. Hebrew, cibrath. Septuagint leave it untranslated, Chalratha, though they render it horse-race, (ver. 19.) and join both together, chap. xlviii. 7. The word occurs again, 4 Kings v. 19; and St. Jerome translates it the spring, or the finest time of the earth. Others suppose it signifies the high road, (ver. 19.) or horse-course, or a mile, &c. as if the place, where Rachel died, and not the season of the year, were designated. Calmet concludes, she died about the distance of an acre ( sillon, furrow or ridge) from Ephrata. But there seems to be no reason why we should recede from the Vulgate. (Haydock)

Haydock: Gen 35:18

That is. These etymologies are given by St. Jerome. (Du Hamel) ---

Right hand, ( jemini ) as he is often styled in Scripture. Jamin has the same meaning; though it may also signify of the south, with respect to Bethel and Sichem; or of days and old age, chap. xliv. 20. 1. (Calmet) Jacob chooses to give his son a more auspicious name; as the other would have reminded him too sensibly of his loss. (Haydock)

Haydock: Gen 35:20

A pillar; or sepulchral monument, about 500 paces north of Bethlehem, (Haydock) which was called Ephrata afterwards, from Caleb's wife. (Calmet)

Haydock: Gen 35:21

Tower. Hebrew, Heder, about a mile to the east of Bethlehem, where the angels appeared to announce the birth of Christ. St. Helen built a temple there in honour of the angels. (Tirinus) ---

Shepherds had such places to keep watch. (Calmet) ---

There was a tower of this name near Jerusalem. (Micheas iv. 8; St. Jerome, q. His.)

Haydock: Gen 35:22

The concubine. She was his lawful wife; but according to the style of the Hebrews, is called concubine, because of her servile extraction. (Challoner) ---

Ignorant of; and therefore, to mark his displeasure, he deprived him of the birth-right, chap. xlix. 4. Jacob approached no more to Bala, as David had no farther commerce with the wives whom Absalom had defiled, 2 Kings xvi. 22. (Menochius) ---

The Septuagint add, and it appeared evil in his sight; an omission which the Hebrew editions seem to acknowledge, by leaving a vacant space. (Kennicott)

Haydock: Gen 35:26

Syria, all except Benjamin. (Calmet) ---

All frequently means the greatest part. (Haydock)

Gill: Gen 35:1

And God said unto Jacob,.... When he was in great distress, on account of the slaughter of the Shechemites by his sons, not knowing what step to take, or course to steer for the safety of him and his family; then God, for his comfort and direction, appeared and spoke to him, either in a dream or vision, or by an impulse on his mind, or by an articulate voice: perhaps this was the Son of God, the second Person, who might appear in an human form, as he often did; since he afterwards speaks of God as of another divine Person, distinct from him, even his divine Father:

arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there; which is said to be twenty eight miles from Shechem ^r; hither he is bid to go in haste, and where, it is suggested, he would be safe, and where it would be right and proper for him to dwell awhile:

and make there an altar to God; and offer sacrifice to him, praise him for salvation and deliverance wrought, pray to him for present and future mercies that were needful, and pay the vows he had there made, even to that God:

that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother; who, resenting his getting the birthright and blessing from him, threatened to kill him; which obliged him to flee from his father's house, and go into Mesopotamia, and in his way thither God appeared to him, at the place called by him from thence Bethel, and gave him many precious promises; and Jacob there made a solemn vow, that if God would be with him, and keep him, and give him food and raiment, and return him to his father's house, the pillar that was then and there set up should be God's house, as well as he should be his God. Jacob had now been nine or ten years in the land of Canaan, and had all done for him he desired, and much more abundantly, and yet had not been at Bethel to make good his vow, either through forgetfulness or neglect; and therefore, as Jarchi thinks, was chastised for it in the affair of Dinah; or rather, for one can hardly think so good a man could forget, or would wilfully neglect such a vow as this, that he wanted opportunity of going thither, or waited for a divine order, and now he had both, which he readily embraced.

Gill: Gen 35:2

Then Jacob said unto his household,.... His wives and children:

and to all that were with him; his menservants and maidservants, and such as remained with him of the captives of Shechem, who might choose to continue with him:

put away the strange gods that are among you; meaning not the teraphim or images of Laban's, which Rachel had stolen from him; for it can hardly be thought that these should be retained so many years in Jacob's family, and used in an idolatrous manner; but rather such as might be among the Canaanitish servants that had been lately taken into Jacob's service, or that were among the captives of Shechem, or taken along with the spoil of that city; and so the Targum of Jonathan calls them the idols of the people, which they brought from the idols' temple at Shechem; and the words may be rendered, "the gods of the strangers" ^s, that is, of the Shechemites, who were Heathens and aliens, strangers to the true God, the knowledge and worship of him:

and be clean; either by abstaining from their wives, as some interpret it, from Exo 19:10; or rather by washing their bodies, as Aben Ezra gives the sense of it; their hands were full of the blood of the Shechemites, and needed to be washed and purified, as the Targum of Jonathan has it, from the pollutions of the slain, before they went to Bethel, the house of God; and these outward ablutions and purifications were significative of inward cleansing by the grace of God, and of outward reformation of life and manners; see Isa 1:15,

and change your garments: which might be stained with blood, and therefore not fit to appear in before God, or were old and worn out, or sordid apparel: changing and washing of garments were also emblems of renewing of the mind, and cleansing of the soul, and of the change of heart and life, as well as of pleasure, delight, and cheerfulness in appearing before God.

Gill: Gen 35:3

And let us arise and go up to Bethel,.... Thus prepared and purged, their tents clear of idols, their bodies washed with pure water, and their garments new, neat, and clean; all symbolical of inward purity, and of freedom from idolatry and evil works, as became those who go to the house of God, and are his worshippers, see Heb 10:22.

I will make there an altar unto God; as he has directed, and sacrifice to him, and worship him, and give the tenth unto him, and so make it a Bethel, an house of God indeed, as he had vowed, Gen 28:22,

who answered me in the day of my distress; on account of his brother Esau, from whose wrath he fled:

and was with me in the way which I went; from his father's house to Padanaram; in which journey he was alone and destitute, and exposed to many difficulties and dangers, but God was with him, and preserved him, and directed and brought him to Laban's house in safety.

Gill: Gen 35:4

They gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hands,.... Whether in the hands of his servants or of the captives taken at Shechem, or in the hands of his sons, who had them along with the spoil they took there; so the Targum of Jonathan,"they delivered, into the hand of Jacob all the idols of the people which were in their hands, which they had took of the idols of Shechem:"

and all their earrings which were in their ears; not the earrings that women wore in common, such as Abraham's servant gave to Rebekah, and which Jacob's wives might wear, for such were not unlawful; but either which were worn in the ears of the strange gods or idols; for such used, it seems, according to some writers, to be decorated and ornamented after that manner; or rather in the ears of the idolaters themselves, worn by them in a superstitious way, having the images of these idols on them: so the Targum of Jonathan,"and the earrings which were in the ears of the inhabitants of the city of Shechem, in which were formed the likeness of their idols:"

and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem; that is, the idols, which, after he had broke to pieces, perhaps, he dug a hole under an oak, and there buried them, that they might be no more made use of in an idolatrous way; and he chose to put them under an oak, because it is a tree which often stands many years before it is cut down, and besides was used for religious purposes, and had in great veneration, and therefore seldom felled. Those idols seem not to be made of anything valuable, perhaps of wood or stone, for had they been of gold or silver, Jacob would doubtless have melted them, and converted them to other uses, and not have buried them under ground. The Jews ^t say, that the idol Jacob hid under the oak was in the form of a dove, which the Samaritans after some time found, and set it on the top of Mount Gerizim. Some take this oak to be the same with that mentioned in Jos 24:26; but of that there can be no certainty, since Jacob, as it is highly probable, laid these images alone, and never intended any should know anything of them where they were.

Gill: Gen 35:5

And they journeyed,.... Jacob and his family, with all that were with them, from Shechem to Bethel:

and the terror of God was upon the cities that were round about them; an exceeding great panic seized the inhabitants of the cities of the land of Canaan, all about Shechem, which was from God himself impressing it on their minds, through what the sons of Jacob had done to that city:

and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob; as it might have been thought they would, and take revenge on them for their ill usage of the inhabitants of a neighbouring city; but instead of this, they were afraid they should be used in the same manner; wherefore Jacob and his family journeyed in safety, and came to Bethel in peace.

Gill: Gen 35:6

So Jacob came to Luz, which is in the land of Canaan, that is Bethel,.... The place Jacob had called Bethel, when he was there before, was formerly called Luz, Gen 28:19; and is here said to be in the land of Canaan, that is, in that part of the land which was inhabited by those who were properly called Canaanites, to distinguish it from another Luz, which was in the land of the Hittites; Jdg 1:26,

he and all the people that were with him; wives, children, servants, or whoever else came from Shechem, these all came safe to Luz without any molestation or loss.

Gill: Gen 35:7

And he built there an altar,.... As he was bid to do, and as he promised he would, Gen 35:1,

and called the place Elbethel; the God of Bethel; a title which God takes to himself, Gen 31:13; or rather the sense is, that he called the place with respect God, or because of his appearance to him there, Bethel, confirming the name he had before given it, Gen 36:19; see Gen 35:15; as the following reason shows:

because there God appeared; or the divine Persons, for both words are plural that are used; the Targum of Jonathan has it, the angels of God, and so Aben Ezra interprets it; but here, no doubt, the divine Being is meant, who appeared

unto him; to Jacob in this place, as he went to Mesopotamia, and comforted and encouraged him with many promises:

when he fled from the face of his brother; his brother Esau, who was wroth with him, and sought to take away his life, and therefore was forced to flee for it.

Gill: Gen 35:8

But Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died,.... That is, when, and quickly after they were come to Bethel; a nurse of Rebekah's came with her to Canaan, when she married Isaac, and is generally thought to be this Deborah, which is not improbable, Gen 24:59, though she might have more nurses than one, as great personages sometimes have, and then it will not be so difficult to answer the objection made here; that Rebekah's nurse, whom Jacob is supposed to leave in Canaan when he went to Padanaram, should now be in his family when he returned from hence; since the reply would be, that that nurse and this Deborah were not the same; but supposing them to be the same, which is most likely, this is accounted for several ways: according to Jarchi, who had it from an ancient writer of theirs ^u, Rebekah sent her to fetch Jacob home, according to her promise, Gen 27:45; but it is not very probable that she should send a woman, and one so ancient, on such an errand: rather, this nurse of hers, after she had accompanied her to Canaan, and stayed awhile with her there, returned to Haran again, and being very useful in Jacob's large family, and having a great respect for them, returned again with them, and which she might choose in hopes of seeing Rebekah once more, whom she had a strong affection for; or, when Jacob was come into the land of Canaan to Shechem, he might send for her from Hebron to be assisting in his family; or going to visit his parents, which he might do before he went with his whole family to them, might bring her with him to Shechem, who travelling with him to Bethel died there: her name signifies a bee, as Josephus ^w observes:

and she was buried beneath Bethel; at the bottom of the hill or mountain on which Bethel stood:

under an oak; of which there were many about Bethel, 1Ki 13:14 2Ki 2:23; and it was not unusual to bury the dead under trees, see 1Sa 31:13,

and the name of it was called Allonbachuth; the oak of weeping, because of the weeping and mourning of Jacob's family at her death, she being a good woman, an ancient servant, and in great esteem with them. The Jews have a tradition that the occasion of this weeping, or at least of the increase of it, was, that Jacob at this time had the news of the death of Rebekah his mother; so the Targum of Jonathan,"there tidings were brought to Jacob of the death of Rebekah his mother, and he called the name of it another weeping;''and so Jarchi.

Gill: Gen 35:9

And God appeared unto Jacob again,.... At Bethel, as he had at Shechem, when he bid him go thither, Gen 35:1; or rather as he had at the brook Jabbok, where he said to him the same things as here, Gen 32:24, though Jarchi interprets it of his appearing again to him at the same place at Bethel, where he had appeared to him the first time, at his going to Haran, and now a second time:

when he came out of Padanaram; or returned from thence:

and blessed him; with the same blessings as before, renewing and confirming them. Jarchi says, with the blessing of mourners, because of the death of his mother, and her nurse.

Gill: Gen 35:10

And God said unto him, thy name is Jacob,.... Which his parents gave him at his birth, and by, which he had been always called:

thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name; not Jacob only, as Aben Ezra and Ben Melech interpret it, but Israel also, and that more commonly and frequently, and not only he himself personally, but his posterity also:

and he called his name Israel; confirmed the name he had before given him, Gen 32:28; and by this confirmation of it signifying, that as he had prevailed over his brother Esau, and escaped his hands, so he should prevail over all that rose up against him, and opposed him, even as he had power with God, and prevailed: though some think this name was only promised him before, but now actually given him; but then they take the angel that appeared wrestling with him in the likeness of a man to be a created angel, and that what he promised in the name of God was now made, good by God himself; there is great reason to believe that that angel was the increased one, the Son of God, as here also.

Gill: Gen 35:11

And God said unto him, I am God Almighty,.... And so able to protect and defend him, and to fulfil all promises made to him, and to supply him with everything he wanted; being, as some choose to render the word, "God all sufficient", having a sufficiency of all good things in him to communicate to his people:

be fruitful and multiply; which carries in it a promise or prophecy that he should increase and multiply, though not he himself personally, he having but one son born after this, yet in his posterity:

a nation, and a company of nations, shall be of thee; the nation of Israel, called so after his name, and the twelve tribes, which were as so many nations, of which the above nation consisted:

and kings shall come out of thy loins; as Saul, David, Solomon, and, many others, who were kings of Israel and of Judah, and especially the King Messiah; yea, all his posterity were kings and priests, or a kingdom of priests, Exo 19:6.

Gill: Gen 35:12

And the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee will I give it,.... Meaning the land of Canaan, which, as he had by promise given it to his grandfather, and father, so he would give it to him; thus renewing the grant of it for his comfort, and the encouragement of his faith, when he had been in danger of being destroyed by the inhabitants of it, and was obliged to remove from one part of it to another:

and to thy seed after thee will I give the land; and not only make a grant of it to them, but put them into the possession of it, as in process of time he did.

Gill: Gen 35:13

And God went up from him,.... Or "from above" him ^x; by this it seems that there was a visible appearance of the glory of the Lord, as Onkelos, or of the Shechinah, as Jonathan; even of the Son of God in an human form, who either appeared just above him, or on the same spot with him, conversing with him as above related; and when he had done, ascended in a visible manner from him, till he disappeared:

in the place where he talked with him; whether it was over him, or by him; thence he removed from him, and ceased talking with him; for communion with a divine Person is not constant and uninterrupted in the present state.

Gill: Gen 35:14

And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he talked with him,.... He had set up a pillar in this place before he went to Padanaram, Gen 28:18; and some, think this pillar is here referred to, and render the words, "had set up a pillar" ^y; but as that was done thirty years ago, it is very likely it was demolished by the Heathens before this time, or was fallen to ruin, wherefore this must be at least a renewal or reparation of it: though it rather seems to be another pillar, and quite a new one, being set up in that very spot of ground, over or on which God had been talking with him: and the following account of it seems to confirm the same:

even a pillar of stone; made of several stones hewed and polished, and well put together; whereas the former was but a single stone, rude and unpolished, though it is probable it was one of these:

and he poured a drink offering thereon; of wine, of which drink offerings under the law were, thereby consecrating it to the worship and service of God. Aben Ezra says it was either of water or of wine, with which he washed it, and after that poured oil on it; and the Targum of Jonathan says, he poured a drink offering of wine, and a drink offering of water:

and he poured oil thereon; as he did before; See Gill on Gen 28:18.

Gill: Gen 35:15

And Jacob called the name of the place where God spake with him, Bethel. He confirmed the name he had before given it, when he went to Mesopotamia, and now upon his return renews and establishes it; or he gave this name more especially to that particular spot where God conversed with him, and on which he erected a pillar, and consecrated it to religious worship, and so made it God's house, as he promised he would, Gen 28:22, both building an altar for sacrifice, and setting up a pillar, which was beginning an house for God.

Gill: Gen 35:16

And they journeyed from Bethel,.... Jacob and his family; how long they stayed there is not certain, some say four months ^z; hence they removed towards Bethlehem, which was twelve miles from Bethel ^a, in their way to Hebron:

and there was but a little way to come to Ephrath; or Bethlehem, as it was also called, Gen 35:19; a mile off of it, according to the Targums of Onkelos and Jerusalem; or about a mile, as Saadiah Gaon; for it was not a precise exact mile, but something less than a mile, as Ben Melech observes; and so Benjamin of Tudela, who was on the spot, says ^b, that Rachel's grave is about half a mile from Bethlehem. Ben Gersom thinks the word here used signifies cultivated land, and that the sense is, that there were only fields, vineyards, and gardens to go through to the city, see Gen 48:7,

and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labour; the time of childbirth was come, and which came suddenly upon her, as travail does, even while journeying, which obliged them to stop; and her pains came upon her, and these very sharp and severe, so that she had a difficult time of it: pains and sorrow in childbearing are the fruit of sin, and more or less attend all in such a circumstance; but, in some, labour is more painful than in others, and more at one time than at another, and is the most painful in women than in other creatures.

Gill: Gen 35:17

And it came to pass, when she was in hard labour,.... In the midst of it, and at the worst:

that the midwife said unto her, fear not; for Rachel big with child, it was necessary to take a midwife with them in the journey; and perhaps this might be one that was always kept in the family, and had been assisting to all Jacob's wives and concubines at their labours; and this seems probable from what follows, since she not only bids her be of good courage, and not fear, comforting her under her pains, giving her hopes they would soon be over, and that she would have a safe delivery, and do well: but this she assures her of:

thou shalt have this son also; as she had one before, at whose birth she said, "the Lord shall add to me another son"; and therefore called his name Joseph, Gen 30:24; this the midwife remembered, and endeavours to comfort her with the accomplishment of it.

Gill: Gen 35:18

And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, for she died,.... In childbirth; she had most passionately desired children, without which she could not live with ease and peace of mind, and now she dies by having one; see Gen 30:1; and by this account of her death it appears, that death is the separation and disunion of soul and body; that at death the soul departs from the body; that the soul does not die with it, but goes elsewhere, and lives in a separate state, and never dies; it goes into another world, a world of spirits, even unto God that gave it, Ecc 12:7,

that she called his name Benoni; which signifies "the son of my sorrow", having borne and brought him forth in sorrow, and now about to leave him as soon as born, which might increase her sorrow; or "the son, of my mourning"; as Aben Ezra and Ben Gersom interpret it; or "the son of my strength", all her strength being exhausted in bringing him forth:

but his father called him Benjamin; that is, "the son of the right hand", being as dear to him, and as beloved by him as his right hand; or who would be as the right hand to him, his staff and support in his old age; or else as being the son of her who was as his right hand, dear and assisting to him. Some render it, "the son of days", or years, that is, the son of his old age, as he is called, Gen 44:20; Jarchi and Ben Gerson interpret it, "the son of the south"; the right hand being put for the south; and they think this son was so called, because he only was born in the land of Canaan, which lay, they say, to the south with respect to Mesopotamia, where the rest were born; but be the etymology of the word as it will, the change of the name seems to be made by Jacob, because that which Rachel gave her son would have perpetually put Jacob in mind of the sorrow of his beloved Rachel, and therefore gave him a name more pleasant and agreeable. The Jews say ^c he was born the eleventh of October, and lived one hundred and eleven years.

Gill: Gen 35:19

And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem. Hence called Bethlehem Ephratah, Mic 5:2; with great pertinency is Rachel represented as if risen from her grave, and weeping for her children, when the children of Bethlehem, and thereabout, were slain by Herod, she being buried so near that place, Mat 2:16; at what age she died is not said. Polyhistor, out of Demetrius ^d, reports, that she died after Jacob had lived with her twenty three years.

Gill: Gen 35:20

And Jacob set a pillar upon her grave,.... A sepulchral monument erected in memory of her; this according to Benjamin of Tudela ^e was made of twelve stones, according to the number of the sons of Jacob, and over it was a vault or roof, supported by four pillars:

that is the pillar of Rachel's grave unto this day; it continued to the times of Moses, the writer of this history, and to the times of Samuel, as appears from 1Sa 10:2; and even travellers of late times affirm it to be seen still, to the north of Bethlehem, on the right hand of the way as you go from Bethlehem to Jerusalem; but the present sepulchral monument, as Mr. Maundrel says ^f, can be none of that which Jacob erected, for it appears plainly to be a modern Turkish structure. Near the grave are found some little black stones, which strangers pick up, and are fancied to be helpful to women, to give them an easier birth, the same the above traveller says resemble peas. The Jews that pass by it were used to engrave their names on the stones, of the pillars ^g.

Gill: Gen 35:21

And Israel journeyed,.... Having stayed near Bethlehem, as it is said, about two months ^h; this is the first time Jacob is by Moses called Israel, after this name, was given him; the reason of which the Jews say is, because he bore the death of Rachel with so much patience:

and spread his tent beyond the tower of Eder; which was a place of pasturage, and fit for his flocks, see Mic 4:8; it was about a mile from Bethlehem to the south ⁱ, and is supposed to be the place where the shepherds were watching their flocks, when the angel reported to them the birth of Christ, Luk 2:8; pretty remarkable are the words added here in the Targum of Jonathan,"the place from whence the King Messiah will be revealed in the end of days.''

Gill: Gen 35:22

And it came to pass, when Israel dwelt in that land,.... In that part of it near Bethlehem:

that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine; his concubine wife; she was the maid that Rachel gave him, and this added to his affliction, and made it double, to lose Rachel by death, and to have her favourite maid, his concubine, defiled by his own son, and whom it is highly probable he abstained from hereafter. This, though a very heinous sin of his son's, yet might be suffered as a chastisement to Jacob, for making use of concubines:

and Israel heard it; though the crime was committed secretly, and was thought it would have been concealed, but by some means or other Jacob heard of it, and no doubt severely reproved his son for it; and though nothing is here related, as said by him on this occasion, it is certain it gave him great offence, grief and trouble, and he remembered it to his dying day, and took away the birthright from Reuben on account of it, Gen 49:3; an empty space here follows in the original text, and a pause in it, denoting perhaps the amazement Jacob was filled with when he heard it; and the great grief of his heart, which was such, that he was not able to speak a word; the Septuagint version fills up the space by adding, "and it appeared evil in his sight":

now the sons of Jacob were twelve; who were the heads of twelve tribes, Benjamin the last being born, and Jacob having afterwards no more children, they were all reckoned up under their respective mothers, excepting Dinah, a daughter, from whom there was no tribe, in the following verses.

Gill: Gen 35:23

The sons of Leah,.... Jacob's first wife, which are six, and are reckoned in order, according to their birth, Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun.

Gill: Gen 35:24

The sons of Rachel,.... Then Rachel's, Jacob's next wife, though in right his first and only one, who had two children, Joseph and Benjamin.

Gill: Gen 35:25

And the sons of Bilhah,.... Then Bilhah's sons, who was Rachel's handmaid, and these were two, Dan and Naphtali.

Gill: Gen 35:26

And the sons of Zilpah,.... And lastly, the sons of Zilpah, Leah's handmaid, which were two also, Gad and Asher; it is added:

these are the sons of Jacob, which were born to him in Padanaram, all excepting Benjamin; and because they were by far the greater part, even all but one, that were born there, this is said in general; and there having been given in the context such a particular account of the birth of Benjamin, and of the place of it, them was no need for the historian particularly to except him, since the reader would be in no danger of being led into a mistake.

Gill: Gen 35:27

And Jacob came unto Isaac his father,.... No mention being made of his mother, it is very probable she was dead; and Isaac being alone, and very old, and the time of his death drawing nigh, he might send for Jacob to come with his family, and be with him; for it can hardly be thought that this was the first time of Jacob's visiting his father since he came into the land, of Canaan, which must be about ten years; but as yet he had not come with his family to him, and in order to abide with him:

unto Mamre, unto the city of Arbah, which is Hebron; Mamre was a plain, so called from the name of a man, a friend and confederate of Abraham, Gen 13:18; where, or near to which, stood a city, called Kirjath Arbah, or the city of the four, Arbah and his three sons; so that it might be called Tetrapolls, and was later called Hebron:

where Abraham and Isaac sojourned; lived good part of their days, see Gen 13:18; it was about twenty miles from Bethlehem, and the tower of Eder ^k, where Jacob was last.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Gen 35:1

¹ tn Heb “arise, go up.” The first imperative gives the command a sense of urgency.

² map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

³ sn God is calling on Jacob to fulfill his vow he made when he fled from…Esau (see Gen 28:20-22).

NET Notes: Gen 35:2

¹ tn Heb “which are in your midst.”

² sn The actions of removing false gods, becoming ritually clean, and changing garments would become necessary steps in Israel when approaching the Lord in worship.

NET Notes: Gen 35:3

¹ tn Heb “let us arise and let us go up.” The first cohortative gives the statement a sense of urgency.

² tn The cohortative with the prefixed conjunction here indicates purpose or consequence.

³ tn Heb “day of distress.” See Ps 20:1 which utilizes similar language.

⁴ tn Heb “in the way in which I went.” Jacob alludes here to God’s promise to be with him (see Gen 28:20).

NET Notes: Gen 35:4

¹ tn Heb “in their hand.”

² sn On the basis of a comparison with Gen 34 and Num 31, G. J. Wenham argues that the foreign gods and the rings could have been part of the plunder that came from the destruction of Shechem (Genesis [WBC], 2:324).

³ sn Jacob buried them. On the burial of the gods, see E. Nielson, “The Burial of the Foreign Gods,” ST 8 (1954/55): 102-22.

⁴ tn Or “terebinth.”

NET Notes: Gen 35:5

¹ tn Heb “and they journeyed.”

² tn Heb “and the fear of God was upon the cities which were round about them.” The expression “fear of God” apparently refers (1) to a fear of God (objective genitive; God is the object of their fear). (2) But it could mean “fear from God,” that is, fear which God placed in them (cf. NRSV “a terror from God”). Another option (3) is that the divine name is used as a superlative here, referring to “tremendous fear” (cf. NEB “were panic-stricken”; NASB “a great terror”).

NET Notes: Gen 35:6

¹ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

² tn Heb “and Jacob came to Luz which is in the land of Canaan – it is Bethel – he and all the people who were with him.”

NET Notes: Gen 35:7

¹ sn The name El-Bethel means “God of Bethel.”

² tn Heb “revealed themselves.” The verb נִגְלוּ (niglu), translated “revealed himself,” is plural, even though one expects the singular form with the plural of majesty. Perhaps אֱלֹהִים (’elohim) is here a numerical plural, referring both to God and the angelic beings that appeared to Jacob. See the note on the word “know” in Gen 3:5.

NET Notes: Gen 35:8

¹ sn Deborah. This woman had been Rebekah’s nurse, but later attached herself to Jacob. She must have been about one hundred and eighty years old when she died.

² tn “and he called its name.” There is no expressed subject, so the verb can be translated as passive.

³ tn Or “Allon Bacuth,” if one transliterates the Hebrew name (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV). An oak tree was revered in the ancient world and often designated as a shrine or landmark. This one was named for the weeping (mourning) occasioned by the death of Deborah.

NET Notes: Gen 35:10

¹ tn Heb “and he called his name Israel.” The referent of the pronoun “he” (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

sn The name Israel means “God fights” (although some interpret the meaning as “he fights [with] God”). See Gen 32:28.

NET Notes: Gen 35:11

¹ tn The name אֵל שַׁדַּי (’el shadday, “El Shaddai”) has often been translated “God Almighty,” primarily because Jerome translated it omnipotens (“all powerful”) in the Latin Vulgate. There has been much debate over the meaning of the name. For discussion see W. F. Albright, “The Names Shaddai and Abram,” JBL 54 (1935): 173-210; R. Gordis, “The Biblical Root sdy-sd,” JTS 41 (1940): 34-43; and especially T. N. D. Mettinger, In Search of God, 69-72. Shaddai/El Shaddai is the sovereign king of the world who grants, blesses, and judges. In the Book of Genesis he blesses the patriarchs with fertility and promises numerous descendants. Outside Genesis he both blesses/protects and takes away life/happiness. The patriarchs knew God primarily as El Shaddai (Exod 6:3). While the origin and meaning of this name are uncertain its significance is clear. The name is used in contexts where God appears as the source of fertility and life. For a fuller discussion see the note on “sovereign God” in Gen 17:1.

² tn Heb “A nation and a company of nations will be from you and kings from your loins will come out.”

sn A nation…will descend from you. The promise is rooted in the Abrahamic promise (see Gen 17). God confirms what Isaac told Jacob (see Gen 28:3-4). Here, though, for the first time Jacob is promised kings as descendants.

NET Notes: Gen 35:12

¹ tn The Hebrew verb translated “gave” refers to the Abrahamic promise of the land. However, the actual possession of that land lay in the future. The decree of the Lord made it certain; but it has the sense “promised to give.”

² tn Heb “and to your offspring after you.”

NET Notes: Gen 35:13

¹ tn Heb “went up from upon him in the place.”

NET Notes: Gen 35:14

¹ tn Heb “and Jacob set up a sacred pillar in the place where he spoke with him, a sacred pillar of stone” (see the notes on the term “sacred stone” in Gen 28:18). This passage stands parallel to Gen 28:18-19, where Jacob set up a sacred stone, poured oil on it, and called the place Bethel. Some commentators see these as two traditions referring to the same event, but it is more likely that Jacob reconsecrated the place in fulfillment of the vow he had made here earlier. In support of this is the fact that the present narrative alludes to and is built on the previous one.

² tn The verb נָסַךְ (nasakh) means “to pour out, to make libations,” and the noun נֶסֶךְ (nesekh) is a “drink-offering,” usually of wine or of blood. The verb יָצַק (yatsaq) means “to pour out,” often of anointing oil, but of other elements as well.

NET Notes: Gen 35:15

¹ sn Called the name of the place. In view of the previous naming of Bethel in Gen 28:19, here Jacob was confirming or affirming the name through an official ritual marking the fulfillment of the vow. This place now did become Bethel, the house of God.

² tn The name Bethel means “house of God” in Hebrew.

map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

NET Notes: Gen 35:16

¹ tn Heb “and there was still a stretch of the land to go to Ephrath.”

² tn Normally the verb would be translated “she gave birth,” but because that obviously had not happened yet, it is better to translate the verb as ingressive, “began to give birth” (cf. NIV) or “went into labor.”

NET Notes: Gen 35:17

¹ tn The construction uses a Hiphil infinitive, which E. A. Speiser classifies as an elative Hiphil. The contrast is with the previous Piel: there “she had hard labor,” and here, “her labor was at its hardest.” Failure to see this, Speiser notes, has led to redundant translations and misunderstandings (Genesis [AB], 273).

² sn Another son. The episode recalls and fulfills the prayer of Rachel at the birth of Joseph (Gen 30:24): “may he add” another son.

NET Notes: Gen 35:18

¹ tn Heb “in the going out of her life, for she was dying.” Rachel named the child with her dying breath.

² sn The name Ben-Oni means “son of my suffering.” It is ironic that Rachel’s words to Jacob in Gen 30:1, “Give me children or I’ll die,” take a different turn here, for it was having the child that brought about her death.

³ tn The disjunctive clause is contrastive.

sn His father called him Benjamin. There was a preference for giving children good or positive names in the ancient world, and “son of my suffering” would not do (see the incident in 1 Chr 4:9-10), because it would be a reminder of the death of Rachel (in this connection, see also D. Daube, “The Night of Death,” HTR 61 [1968]: 629-32). So Jacob named him Benjamin, which means “son of the [or “my”] right hand.” The name Benjamin appears in the Mari texts. There have been attempts to connect this name to the resident tribe listed at Mari, “sons of the south” (since the term “right hand” can also mean “south” in Hebrew), but this assumes a different reading of the story. See J. Muilenburg, “The Birth of Benjamin,” JBL 75 (1956): 194-201.

NET Notes: Gen 35:19

¹ sn This explanatory note links the earlier name Ephrath with the later name Bethlehem.

map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

NET Notes: Gen 35:20

¹ tn Heb “standing stone.”

² tn Or perhaps “it is known as” (cf. NEB).

NET Notes: Gen 35:21

¹ sn The location of Migdal Eder is not given. It appears to be somewhere between Bethlehem and Hebron. Various traditions have identified it as at the shepherds’ fields near Bethlehem (the Hebrew name Migdal Eder means “tower of the flock”; see Mic 4:8) or located it near Solomon’s pools.

NET Notes: Gen 35:22

¹ tn Heb “and Reuben went and lay with.” The expression “lay with” is a euphemism for having sexual intercourse.

sn Reuben’s act of having sexual relations with Bilhah probably had other purposes than merely satisfying his sexual desire. By having sex with Bilhah, Reuben (Leah’s oldest son) would have prevented Bilhah from succeeding Rachel as the favorite wife, and by sleeping with his father’s concubine he would also be attempting to take over leadership of the clan – something Absalom foolishly attempted later on in Israel’s history (2 Sam 16:21-22).

NET Notes: Gen 35:27

¹ tn This is an adverbial accusative of location.

² tn The name “Kiriath Arba” is in apposition to the preceding name, “Mamre.”

³ tn The Hebrew verb גּוּר (gur), traditionally rendered “to sojourn,” refers to temporary settlement without ownership rights.

Geneva Bible: Gen 35:1

And ^{( a )} God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother.

^{( a )} God is ever at hand to comfort his people in their troubles.

Geneva Bible: Gen 35:2

Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that [were] with him, Put away the strange gods that [are] among you, and be ^{( b )} clean, and change your garments:

^{( b )} That by this outward act they should show their inward repentance.

Geneva Bible: Gen 35:4

And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which [were] in their hand, and [all their] ^{( c )} earrings which [were] in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which [was] by Shechem.

^{( e )} For in this was some sign of superstition, as in tablets and Agnus deis (a cake of wax, stamped with a lamb bearing a cross or flag, that has been blessed by the Pope).

Geneva Bible: Gen 35:5

And they journeyed: and the ^{( d )} terror of God was upon the cities that [were] round about them, and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob.

^{( d )} Thus, despite the inconvenience that came before, God delivered Jacob.

Geneva Bible: Gen 35:13

And God ^{( e )} went up from him in the place where he talked with him.

^{( e )} As God is said to descend, when he shows some sign of his presence: so he is said to ascend when a vision is ended.

Geneva Bible: Gen 35:16

And they journeyed from Bethel; and there was but a ^{( f )} little way to come to Ephrath: and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labour.

^{( f )} The Hebrew word signifies as much ground as one can cover from resting point to resting point, which is taken for half a days journey.

Geneva Bible: Gen 35:20

And Jacob set a ^{( g )} pillar upon her grave: that [is] the pillar of Rachel's grave unto this day.

^{( g )} The ancient fathers used this ceremony to testify their hope of the resurrection to come, which was not generally revealed.

Geneva Bible: Gen 35:22

And it came to pass, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and ^{( h )} lay with Bilhah his father's concubine: and Israel heard [it]. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve:

^{( h )} This teaches that the fathers were not chosen for their merits, but only by God's mercies, whose election was not changed by their faults.

Commentary -- Verse Range Notes

TSK Synopsis: Gen 35:1-29

1 God commands Jacob to go to Bethel.

2 He purges his house of idols.

6 He builds an altar at Bethel.

8 Deborah dies at Allon-bachuth.

9 God blesses Jacob at Bethel.

16 Rachel travails of Benjamin, and dies in the way to Edar.

22 Reuben lies with Bilhah.

23 The sons of Jacob.

27 Jacob comes to Isaac at Hebron.

28 The age, death, and burial of Isaac.

Maclaren: Gen 35:1

Genesis 35:1

Thirty years at least had passed since Jacob's vow; ten or twenty since his return. He is in no haste to fulfil it, but has settled down at Shechem and bought land there, and seems to have forgotten all about Bethel.

1. The Lesson Of Possible Negligence.

(a) We are apt to forget vows when God has fulfilled His side of them. Resolutions made in time of trouble are soon forgotten. We pray and think about God more then than when things go well with us. Religion is in many men's judgment for stormy weather only.

(b) We are often more resolved to make sacrifices in the beginning of our Christian course than afterwards.

Many a brilliant morning is followed by cloudy day.

Youth is often full of enthusiasms which after-days forget.

2. The Reasons For The Negligence.

Jacob felt a gradual fading away of impressions of need. He was comfortably settled at Shechem. He was surrounded by a wild, godless household who cherished their idols, and he knew that if he went to Bethel idolatry must be given up.

3. The Essentials To Communion And Service. Surrender.

Purity. Must bury idols under oak.

4. The Reward Of Sacrifice And Of Duty Discharged.

The renewed appearance of God. The confirmation of name Israel. Enlarged promises. So the old man's vision may be better than the youth's, if he lives up to his youthful vows.

MHCC: Gen 35:1-5

Beth-el was forgotten. But as many as God loves, he will remind of neglected duties, one way or other, by conscience or by providences. When we have vowed a vow to God, it is best not to defer the payment of it; yet better late than never. Jacob commanded his household to prepare, not only for the journey and removal, but for religious services. Masters of families should use their authority to keep up religion in their families, Jos 24:15. They must put away strange gods. In families where there is a face of religion, and an altar to God, yet many times there is much amiss, and more strange gods than one would suppose. They must be clean, and change their garments. These were but outward ceremonies, signifying the purifying and change of the heart. What are clean clothes, and new clothes, without a clean heart, and a new heart? If Jacob had called for these idols sooner, they had parted with them sooner. Sometimes attempts for reformation succeed better than we could have thought. Jacob buried their images. We must be wholly separated from our sins, as we are from those that are dead and buried out of sight. He removed from Shechem to Beth-el. Though the Canaanites were very angry against the sons of Jacob for their barbarous usage of the Shechemites, yet they were so kept back by Divine power, that they could not take the opportunity now offered to avenge them. The way of duty is the way of safety. When we are about God's work, we are under special protection; God is with us, while we are with him; and if He be for us, who can be against us? God governs the world more by secret terrors on men's minds than we are aware of.

MHCC: Gen 35:6-15

The comfort the saints have in holy ordinances, is not so much from Beth-el, the house of God, as from El-beth-el, the God of the house. The ordinances are empty things, if we do not meet with God in them. There Jacob buried Deborah, Rebekah's nurse. She died much lamented. Old servants in a family, that have in their time been faithful and useful, ought to be respected. God appeared to Jacob. He renewed the covenant with him. I am God Almighty, God all-sufficient, able to make good the promise in due time, and to support thee and provide for thee in the mean time. Two things are promised; that he should be the father of a great nation, and that he should be the master of a good land. These two promises had a spiritual signification, which Jacob had some notion of, though not so clear and distinct as we now have. Christ is the promised Seed, and heaven is the promised land; the former is the foundation, and the latter the top-stone, of all God's favours.

MHCC: Gen 35:16-20

Rachel had passionately said, Give me children, or else I die; and now that she had children, she died! The death of the body is but the departure of the soul to the world of spirits. When shall we learn that it is God alone who really knows what is best for his people, and that in all worldly affairs the safest path for the Christian is to say from the heart, It is the Lord, let him do what seemeth him good. Here alone is our safety and our comfort, to know no will but his. Her dying lips called her newborn son Ben-oni, the son of my sorrow; and many a son proves to be the heaviness of her that bare him. Children are enough the sorrow of their mothers; they should, therefore, when they grow up, study to be their joy, and so, if possible, to make them some amends. But Jacob, because he would not renew the sorrowful remembrance of the mother's death every time he called his son, changed his name to Benjamin, the son of my right hand: that is, very dear to me; the support of my age, like the staff in my right hand.

MHCC: Gen 35:21-29

What a sore affliction Reuben's sin was, is shown, " and Israel heard it." No more is said, but that is enough. Reuben thought that his father would never hear of it; but those that promise themselves secrecy in sin, are generally disappointed. The age and death of Isaac are recorded, though he died not till after Joseph was sold into Egypt. Isaac lived about forty years after he had made his will, Gen 27:2. We shall not die an hour the sooner, but much the better, for timely setting our hearts and houses in order. Particular notice is taken of the agreement of Esau and Jacob at their father's funeral, to show how God had wonderfully changed Esau's mind. It is awful to behold relations, sometimes for a little of this world's goods, disputing over the graves of their friends, while they are near going to the grave themselves.

Matthew Henry: Gen 35:1-5

Here, I. God reminds Jacob of his vow at Beth-el, and sends him thither to perform it, Gen 35:1. Jacob had said in the day of his distress, If I come again in peace, this stone shall be God's house, Gen 28:22. God had performed his part of the bargain, and had given Jacob more than bread to eat and raiment to put on - he had got an estate, and had become two bands; but, it should seem, he had forgotten his vow, or at least had too long deferred the performance of it. Seven or eight years it was now since he came to Canaan; he had purchased ground there, and had built an altar in remembrance of God's last appearance to him when he called him Israel (Gen 33:19, Gen 33:20); but still Beth-el is forgotten. Note, Time is apt to wear out the sense of mercies and the impressions made upon us by them; it should not be so, but so it is. God had exercised Jacob with a very sore affliction in his family (ch. 34), to see if this would bring his vow to his remembrance, and put him upon the performance of it, but it had not this effect; therefore God comes himself and puts him in mind of it: Arise, go to Beth-el. Note, 1. As many as God loves he will remind of neglected duties, one way or other, by conscience or by providences. 2. When we have vowed a vow to God, it is best not to defer the payment of it (Ecc 5:4), yet better late than never. God bade him go to Beth-el and dwell there, that is, not only go himself, but take his family with him, that they might join with him in his devotions. Note, In Beth-el, the house of God, we should desire to dwell, Psa 27:4. That should be our home, not our inn. God reminds him not expressly of his vow, but of the occasion of it: When thou fleddest from the face of Esau. Note, The remembrance of former afflictions should bring to mind the workings of our souls under them, Psa 66:13, Psa 66:14.

II. Jacob commands his household to prepare for this solemnity; not only for the journey and remove, but for the religious services that were to be performed, Gen 35:2, Gen 35:3. Note, 1. Before solemn ordinances, there must be solemn preparation. Wash you, make you clean, and then come, and let us reason together, Isa 1:16-18. 2. Masters of families should use their authority for the promoting of religion in their families. Not only we, but our houses also, should serve the Lord, Jos 24:15. Observe the commands he gives his household, like Abraham, Gen 18:19. (1.) They must put away the strange gods. Strange gods in Jacob's family! Strange things indeed! Could such a family, that was taught the good knowledge of the Lord, admit them? Could such a master, to whom God had appeared twice, and oftener, connive at them? Doubtless this was his infirmity. Note, Those that are good themselves cannot always have those about them so good as they should be. In those families where there is a face of religion, and an altar to God, yet many times there is much amiss, and more strange gods than one would suspect. In Jacob's family, Rachel had her îäִôøַúֶ , which, it is to be feared, she secretly made some superstitious use of. The captives of Shechem brought their gods along with them, and perhaps Jacob's sons took some with the plunder. However they came by them, now they must put them away. (2.) They must be clean, and change their garments; they must observe a due decorum, and make the best appearance they could. Simeon and Levi had their hands full of blood, it concerned them particularly to wash, and to put off their garments that were so stained. These were but ceremonies, signifying the purification and change of the heart. What are clean clothes, and new clothes, without a clean heart, and a new heart? Dr. Lightfoot, by their being clean, or washing themselves, understands Jacob's admission of the proselytes of Shechem and Syria into his religion by baptism, because circumcision had become odious. 3. They must go with him to Bethel, Gen 35:3. Note, Masters of families, when they go up to the house of God, should bring their families with them.

III. His family surrendered all they had that was idolatrous or superstitious, Gen 35:4. Perhaps, if Jacob had called for them sooner, they would sooner have parted with them, being convicted by their own consciences of the vanity of them. Note, Sometimes attempts for reformation succeed better than one could have expected, and people are not so obstinate against them as we feared. Jacob's servants, and even the retainers of his family, gave him all the strange gods, and the ear-rings they wore, either as charms or to the honour of their gods; they parted with all. Note, Reformation is not sincere if it be not universal. We hope they parted with them cheerfully, and without reluctance, as Ephraim did, when he said, What have I to do any more with idols? (Hos 14:8), or that people that said to their idols, Get you hence, Isa 30:22. Jacob took care to bury their images, we may suppose in some place unknown to them, that they might not afterwards find them and return to them. Note, We must be wholly separated from our sins, as we are from those that are dead and buried out of our sight, cast them to the moles and the bats, Isa 2:20.

IV. He removes without molestation from Shechem to Bethel, Gen 35:5. The terror of God was upon the cities. Though the Canaanites were much exasperated against the sons of Jacob for their barbarous usage of the Shechemites, yet they were so restrained by a divine power that they could not take this fair opportunity, which now offered itself, when they were upon their march, to avenge their neighbours' quarrel. Note, The way of duty is the way of safety. While there was sin in Jacob's house, he was afraid of his neighbours; but now that the strange gods were put away, and they were all going together to Bethel, his neighbours were afraid of him. When we are about God's work, we are under special protection. God is with us, while we are with him; and, if he be for us, who can be against us? See Exo 34:24, No man shall desire thy land, when thou goest up to appear before the Lord. God governs the world more by secret terrors on men's minds than we are aware of.

Matthew Henry: Gen 35:6-15

Jacob and his retinue having safely arrived at Bethel, we are here told what passed there.

I. There he built an altar (Gen 35:7), and no doubt offered sacrifice upon it, perhaps the tenth of his cattle, according to his vow, I will give the tenth unto thee. With these sacrifices he joined praises for former mercies, particularly that which the sight of the place brought afresh to his remembrance; and he added prayers for the continuance of God's favour to him and his family. And he called the place (that is, the altar ) El-beth-el, the God of Bethel. As, when he made a thankful acknowledgment of the honour God had lately done him in calling him Israel, he worshipped God by the name of El-elohe Israel; so, now that he was making a grateful recognition of God's former favour to him at Bethel, he worships God by the name of El-beth-el, the God of Bethel, because there God appeared to him. Note, The comfort which the saints have in holy ordinances is not so much from Bethel, the house of God, as from El-beth-el, the God of the house. The ordinances are but empty things if we do not meet with God in them.

II. There he buried Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, Gen 35:8. We have reason to think that Jacob, after he came to Canaan, while his family dwelt near Shechem, went himself (it is likely, often) to visit his father Isaac at Hebron. Rebekah probably was dead, but her old nurse (of whom mention is made Gen 24:59) survived her, and Jacob took her to his family, to be a companion to his wives, her country-women, and an instructor to his children; while they were at Bethel, she died, and died lamented, so much lamented that the oak under which she was buried was called Allon-bachuth, the oak of weeping. Note, 1. Old servants in a family, that have in their time been faithful and useful, ought to be respected. Honour was done to this nurse, at her death, by Jacob's family, though she was not related to them, and though she was aged. Former services, in such a case, must be remembered. 2. We do not know where death may meet us; perhaps at Beth-el, the house of God. Therefore let us be always ready. 3. Family-afflictions may come even when family-reformation and religion are on foot. Therefore rejoice with trembling.

III. There God appeared to him (Gen 35:9), to own his altar, to answer to the name by which he had called him, The God of Bethel (Gen 35:7), and to comfort him under his affliction, Gen 35:8. Note, God will appear to those in a way of grace that attend on him in a way of duty. Here, 1. He confirmed the change of his name, Gen 35:10. It was done before by the angel that wrestled with him (Gen 32:28), and here it was ratified by the divine Majesty, or Shechinah , that appeared to him. There it was to encourage him against the fear of Esau, here against the fear of the Canaanites. Who can be too hard for Israel, a prince with God? It is below those who are thus dignified to droop and despond. 2. He renewed and ratified the covenant with him, by the name El-shaddai. I am God Almighty, God all-sufficient (Gen 35:11), able to make good the promise in due time, and to support thee and provide for thee in the mean time. Two things are promised him which we have met with often before: - (1.) That he should be the father of a great nation, great in honour and power - a company of nations shall be of thee (every tribe of Israel was a nation, and all the twelve a company of nations), great in honour and power - kings shall come out of thy loins. (2.) That he should be the master of a good land (Gen 35:12), described by the grantees, Abraham and Isaac, to whom it was promised, not by the occupants, the Canaanites in whose possession it now was. The land that was given to Abraham and Isaac is here entailed on Jacob and his seed. He shall not have children without an estate, which is often the case of the poor, nor an estate without children, which is often the grief of the rich; but both. These two promises had a spiritual signification, of which we may suppose Jacob himself had some notion, though not so clear and distinct as we now have; for, without doubt, Christ is the promised seed, and heaven is the promised land; the former is the foundation, and the latter the top-stone, of all God's favours. 3. He then went up from him, or from over him, in some visible display of glory, which had hovered over him while he talked with him, Gen 35:13. Note, The sweetest communions the saints have with God in this world are short and transient, and soon have an end. Our vision of God in heaven will be everlasting; there we shall be ever with the Lord; it is not so here.

IV. There Jacob erected a memorial of this, Gen 35:14. 1. He set up a pillar. When he was going to Padan-aram, he set up for a pillar that stone on which he had laid his head. This was agreeable enough to his low condition and his hasty flight; but now he took time to erect one more stately, more distinguishable and durable, probably placing that stone in it. In token of his intending it for a sacred memorial of his communion with God, he poured oil and the other ingredients of a drink-offering upon it. His vow was, This stone shall be God's house, that is, shall be set up for his honour, as houses to the praise of their builders; and here he performs it, transferring it to God by anointing it. 2. He confirmed the name he had formerly given to the place (Gen 35:15), Beth-el, the house of God. Yet this very place afterwards lost the honour of its name, and became Beth-aven, a house of iniquity; for here it was that Jeroboam set up one of his calves. It is impossible for the best man to entail upon a place so much as the profession and form of religion.

Matthew Henry: Gen 35:16-20

We have here the story of the death of Rachel, the beloved wife of Jacob. 1. She fell in travail by the way, not able to reach to Bethlehem, the next town, though they were near it; so suddenly does pain sometimes come upon a woman in travail, which she cannot escape, or put off. We may suppose Jacob had soon a tent up, convenient enough for her reception. 2. Her pains were violent. She had hard labour, harder than usual: this was the effect of sin, Gen 3:16. Note, Human life begins with sorrow, and the roses of its joy are surrounded with thorns. 3. The midwife encouraged her, Gen 35:17. No doubt she had her midwife with her, ready at hand, yet that would not secure her. Rachel had said, when she bore Joseph, God shall add another son, which now the midwife remembers, and tells her her words were made good. Yet this did not avail to keep up her spirits; unless God command away fear, no one else can. He only says as one having authority, Fear not. We are apt, in extreme perils, to comfort ourselves and our friends with the hopes of a temporal deliverance, in which we may be disappointed; we had better found our comforts on that which cannot fail us, the hope of eternal life. 4. Her travail was to the life of the child, but to her own death. Note, Though the pains and perils of childbearing were introduced by sin, yet they have sometimes been fatal to very holy women, who, though not saved in childbearing, are saved through it with an everlasting salvation. Rachel had passionately said, Give me children, or else I die; and now that she had children (for this was her second) she died. Her dying is here called the departing of her soul. Note, The death of the body is but the departure of the soul to the world of spirits. 5. Her dying lips called her new-born son Ben-oni, The son of my sorrow. And many a son, not born in such hard labour, yet proves the son of his parent's sorrow, and the heaviness of her that bore him. Children are enough the sorrow of their poor mothers in the breeding, bearing, and nursing of them; they should therefore, when they grow up, study to be their joy, and so, if possible, to make them some amends. But Jacob, because he would not renew the sorrowful remembrance of the mother's death every time he called his son by his name, changed his name, and called him Benjamin, The son of my right hand; that is, "very dear to me, set on my right hand for a blessing, the support of my age, like the staff in my right hand."6. Jacob buried her near the place where she died. As she died in child-bed, it was convenient to bury her quickly; and therefore he did not bring her to the burying-place of his family. If the soul be at rest after death, it matters little where the body lies. In the place where the tree falls, there let it be. No mention is made of the mourning that was at her death, because that might easily be taken for granted. Jacob, no doubt, was a true mourner. Note, Great afflictions sometimes befal us immediately after great comforts. Lest Jacob should be lifted up with the visions of the Almighty with which he was honoured, this was sent as a thorn in the flesh to humble him. Those that enjoy the favours peculiar to the children of God must yet expect the troubles that are common to the children of men. Deborah, who, had she lived, would have been a comfort to Rachel in her extremity, died but a little before. Note, When death comes into a family, it often strikes double. God by it speaks once, yea, twice. The Jewish writers say, "The death of Deborah and Rachel was to expiate the murder of the Shechemites, occasioned by Dinah, a daughter of the family."7. Jacob set up a pillar upon her grave, so that it was known, long after, to be Rachel's sepulchre (1Sa 10:2), and Providence so ordered it that this place afterwards fell in the lot of Benjamin. Jacob set up a pillar in remembrance of his joys (Gen 35:14), and here he sets up one in remembrance of his sorrows; for, as it may be of use to ourselves to keep both in mind, so it may be of use to others to transmit the memorials of both: the church, long afterwards, owned that what God said to Jacob at Bethel, both by his word and by his rod, he intended for their instruction (Hos 12:4), There he spoke with us.

Matthew Henry: Gen 35:21-29

Here is, 1. Jacob's removal, Gen 35:21. He also, as his fathers, sojourned in the land of promise as in a strange country, and was not long in a place. Immediately after the story of Rachel's death he is here called Israel (Gen 35:21, Gen 35:22), and not often so afterwards: the Jews say, "The historian does him this honour here because he bore that affliction with such admirable patience and submission to Providence."Note, Those are Israel's indeed, princes with God, that support the government of their own passions. He that has this rule over his own spirit is better than the mighty. Israel, a prince with God, yet dwells in tents; the city is reserved for him in the other world. 2. The sin of Reuben. A piece of abominable wickedness it was that he was guilty of (Gen 35:22), that very sin which the apostle says (1Co 5:1) is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father's wife. It is said to have been when Israel dwelt in that land; as if he were then absent from his family, which might be the unhappy occasion of these disorders. Though perhaps Bilhah was the greater criminal, and it is probable was abandoned by Jacob for it, yet Reuben's crime was so provoking that, for it, he lost his birthright and blessing, Gen 49:4. The first-born is not always the best, nor the most promising. This was Reuben's sin, but it was Jacob's affliction; and what a sore affliction it was is intimated in a little compass, and Israel heard it. No more is said - that is enough; he heard it with the utmost grief and shame, horror and displeasure. Reuben thought to conceal it, that his father should never hear of it; but those that promise themselves secresy in sin are generally disappointed; a bird of the air carries the voice. 3. A complete list of the sons of Jacob, now that Benjamin the youngest was born. This is the first time we have the names of these heads of the twelve tribes together; afterwards we find them very often spoken of and enumerated, even to the end of the Bible, Rev 7:4; Rev 21:12. 4. The visit which Jacob made to his father Isaac at Hebron. We may suppose he had visited him before since his return, for he sorely longed after his father's house; but never, till now, brought his family to settle with him, or near him, Gen 35:27. Probably he did this now upon the death of Rebekah, by which Isaac was left solitary, and not disposed to marry again. 5. The age and death of Isaac are here recorded, though it appears, by computation, that he died not till many years after Joseph was sold into Egypt, and much about the time that he was preferred there. Isaac, a mild quiet man, lived the longest of all the patriarches, for he was 180 years old; Abraham was but 175. Isaac lived about forty years after he had made his will, Gen 27:2. We shall not die an hour the sooner, but abundantly the better, for our timely setting our heart and house in order. Particular notice is taken of the amicable agreement of Esau and Jacob, in solemnizing their father's funeral (Gen 35:29), to show how wonderfully God had changed Esau's mind since he vowed his brother's murder immediately after his father's death, Gen 27:41. Note, God has many ways of preventing bad men from doing the mischief they intended; he can either tie their hands or turn their hearts.

Keil-Delitzsch: Gen 35:1-7

Journey to Bethel . - Jacob had allowed ten years to pass since his return from Mesopotamia, without performing the vow which he made at Bethel when fleeing from Esau (Gen 28:20.), although he had recalled it to mind when resolving to return (Gen 31:13), and had also erected an altar in Shechem to the "God of Israel"(Gen 33:20). He was now directed by God (Gen 35:1) to go to Bethel, and there build an altar to the God who had appeared to him on his flight from Esau. This command stirred him up to perform what had been neglected, viz., to put away from his house the strange gods, which he had tolerated in weak consideration for his wives, and which had no doubt occasioned the long neglect, and to pay to God the vow that he had made in the day of his trouble. He therefore commanded his house (Gen 35:2, Gen 35:3), i.e., his wives and children, and " all that were with him, "i.e., his men and maid-servants, to put away the strange gods, to purify themselves, and wash their clothes. He also buried "all the strange gods,"i.e., Rachel's teraphim (Gen 31:19), and whatever other idols there were, with the earrings which were worn as amulets and charms, " under the terebinth at Shechem, "probably the very tree under which Abraham once pitched his tent (Gen 12:6), and which was regarded as a sacred place in Joshua's time (vid., Jos 24:26, though the pointing is אלּה there). The burial of the idols was followed by purification through the washing of the body, as a sign of the purification of the heart from the defilement of idolatry, and by the putting on of clean and festal clothes, as a symbol of the sanctification and elevation of the heart to the Lord (Jos 24:23). This decided turning to the Lord was immediately followed by the blessing of God. When they left Shechem a " terror of God, "i.e., a supernatural terror, " came upon the cities round about, "so that they did not venture to pursue the sons of Jacob on account of the cruelty of Simeon and Levi (Gen 35:5). Having safely arrived in Bethel, Jacob built an altar, which he called El Bethel (God of Bethel) in remembrance of the manifestation of God on His flight from Esau.

Keil-Delitzsch: Gen 35:8

There Deborah , Rebekah's nurse, died, and was buried below Bethel under an oak, which was henceforth called the "oak of weeping,"a mourning oak, from the grief of Jacob's house on account of her death. Deborah had either been sent by Rebekah to take care of her daughters-in-law and grandsons, or had gone of her own accord into Jacob's household after the death of her mistress. The mourning at her death, and the perpetuation of her memory, are proofs that she must have been a faithful and highly esteemed servant in Jacob's house.

Keil-Delitzsch: Gen 35:9-15

The Fresh Revelation at Bethel. - After Jacob had performed his vow by erecting the altar at Bethel, God appeared to him again there (" again, "referring to Gen 28), " on his coming out of Padan-Aram, "as He had appeared to him 30 years before on his journey thither, - though it was then in a dream, now by daylight in a visible form (cf. Gen 35:13, " God went up from him "). The gloom of that day of fear had now brightened into the clear daylight of salvation. This appearance was the answer, which God gave to Jacob on his acknowledgement of Him; and its reality is thereby established, in opposition to the conjecture that it is merely a legendary repetition of the previous vision.

(Note: This conjecture derives no support from the fact that the manifestations of God are ascribed to Elohim in Gen 35:1 and Gen 35:9., although the whole chapter treats of the display of mercy by the covenant God, i.e., Jehovah . For the occurrence of Elohim instead of Jehovah in Gen 35:1 may be explained, partly from the antithesis of God and man (because Jacob , the man, had neglected to redeem his vow, it was necessary that he should be reminded of it by God), and partly from the fact that there is no allusion to any appearance of God, but the words "God said"are to be understood, no doubt, as relating to an inward communication. The use of Elohim in Gen 35:9. follows naturally from the injunction of Elohim in Gen 35:1; and there was the less necessity for an express designation of the God appearing as Jehovah , because, on the one hand, the object of this appearance was simply to renew and confirm the former appearance of Jehovah (Gen 28:12.), and on the other hand, the title assumed in Gen 35:11, El Shaddai , refers to Gen 27:1, where Jehovah announces Himself to Abram as El Shaddai .)

The former theophany had promised to Jacob divine protection in a foreign land and restoration to his home, on the ground of his call to be the bearer of the blessings of salvation. This promise God had fulfilled, and Jacob therefore performed his vow. On the strength of this, God now confirmed to him the name of Israel, which He had already given him in Gen 32:28, and with it the promised of a numerous seed and the possession of Canaan, which, so far as the form and substance are concerned, points back rather to Gen 17:6 and Gen 17:8 than to Gen 28:13-14, and for the fulfilment of which, commencing with the birth of his sons and his return to Canaan, and stretching forward to the most remote future, the name of Israel was to furnish him with a pledge. - Jacob alluded to this second manifestation of God at Bethel towards the close of his life (Gen 48:3-4); and Hosea (Hos 12:4) represents it as the result of his wrestling with God. The remembrance of this appearance Jacob transmitted to his descendants by erecting a memorial stone, which he not only anointed with oil like the former one in Gen 28:17, but consecrated by a drink-offering and by the renewal of the name Bethel.

Keil-Delitzsch: Gen 35:16-20

Birth of Benjamin and Death of Rachel. - Jacob's departure from Bethel was not in opposition to the divine command, "dwell there"(Gen 35:1). For the word שׁב does not enjoin a permanent abode; but, when taken in connection with what follows, "make there an altar,"it merely directs him to stay there and perform his vow. As they were travelling forward, Rachel was taken in labour not far from Ephratah. הארץ כּברת is a space, answering probably to the Persian parassang, though the real meaning of כּברה is unknown. The birth was a difficult one. בּלדתּהּ תּקשׁ : she had difficulty in her labour (instead of Piel we find Hiphil in Gen 35:17 with the same signification). The midwife comforted her by saying: " Fear not, for this also is to thee a son, "- a wish expressed by her when Joseph was born (Gen 30:24). But she expired; and as she was dying, she called him Been-oni , "son of my pain."Jacob, however, called him Ben-jamin , probably son of good fortune, according to the meaning of the word jamin sustained by the Arabic, to indicate that his pain at the loss of his favourite wife was compensated by the birth of this son, who now completed the number twelve. Other explanations are less simple. He buried Rachel on the road to Ephratah, or Ephrath (probably the fertile, from פּרה ), i.e., Bethlehem (bread-house), by which name it is better known, though the origin of it is obscure. He also erected a monument over her grave ( מצּבה , στήλη ), on which the historian observes, " This is the pillar of Rachel's grave unto this day: "a remark which does not necessarily point to a post-Mosaic period, but which could easily have been made even 10 or 20 years after its erection. For the fact that a grave-stone had been preserved upon the high road in a foreign land, the inhabitants of which had no interest whatever in it, might appear worthy of notice even though only a single decennary had passed away.

(Note: But even if this Mazzebah was really preserved till the conquest of Canaan by the Israelites, i.e., more than 450 years, and the remark referred to that time, it might be an interpolation by a later hand. The grave was certainly a well-known spot in Samuel's time (1Sa 10:2); but a monumentum ubi Rachel posita est uxor Jacob is first mentioned again by the Bordeaux pilgrims of a.d. 333 and Jerome . The Kubbet Rahil (Rachel's grave), which is now shown about half an hour's journey to the north of Bethlehem, to the right of the road from Jerusalem to Hebron, is merely "an ordinary Muslim wely, or tomb of a holy person, a small square building of stone with a dome, and within it a tomb in the ordinary Mohammedan form"(Rob. Pal. 1, p. 322). It has been recently enlarged by a square court with high walls and arches on the eastern side (Rob. Bibl. Researches. p. 357). Now although this grave is not ancient, the correctness of the tradition, which fixes upon this as the site of Rachel's grave, cannot on the whole be disputed. At any rate, the reasons assigned to the contrary by Thenius , Kurtz , and others are not conclusive.)

Keil-Delitzsch: Gen 35:21-26

Gen 35:21-22

Reuben's Incest. - As they travelled onward, Jacob pitched his tent on the other side of Migdal Eder , where Reuben committed incest with Bilhah, his father's concubine. It is merely alluded to her in the passing remark that Israel heard it, by way of preparation for Gen 49:4. Migdal Eder (flock-tower) was a watch-tower built for the protection of flocks against robbers (cf. 2Ki 18:8; 2Ch 26:10; 2Ch 27:4) on the other side of Bethlehem, but hardly within 1000 paces of the town, where it has been placed by tradition since the time of Jerome. The piska in the middle of Gen 35:22 does not indicate a gap in the text, but the conclusion of a parashah , a division of the text of greater antiquity and greater correctness than the Masoretic division.

Gen 35:22-29

Jacob's Return to His Father's House, and Death of Isaac. - Jacob had left his father's house with no other possession than a staff, and now he returned with 12 sons. Thus had he been blessed by the faithful covenant God. To show this, the account of his arrival in his father's tent at Hebron is preceded by a list of his 12 sons, arranged according to their respective mothers; and this list is closed with the remark, " These are the sons of Jacob, which were born to him in Padan-Aram "( ילּד for ילּדוּ ; Ges. §143, 1), although Benjamin, the twelfth, was not born in Padan-Aram, but on the journey back.

Keil-Delitzsch: Gen 35:27-29

Jacob's arrival in " Mamre Kirjath-Arbah, "i.e., in the terebinth-grove of Mamre (Gen 13:18) by Kirjath-Arbah or Hebron (vid., Gen 23:2), constituted his entrance into his father's house, to remain there as Isaac's heir. He had probably visited his father during the ten years that had elapsed since his return from Mesopotamia, though no allusion is made to this, since such visits would have no importance, either in themselves or their consequences, in connection with the sacred history. This was not the case, however, with his return to enter upon the family inheritance. With this, therefore, the history of Isaac's life is brought to a close. Isaac died at the age of 180, and was buried by his two sons in the cave of Machpelah (Gen 49:31), Abraham's family grave, Esau having come from Seir to Hebron to attend the funeral of his father. But Isaac's death did not actually take place for 12 years after Jacob's return to Hebron. For as Joseph was 17 years old when he was sold by his brethren (Gen 37:2), and Jacob was then living at Hebron (Gen 37:14), it cannot have been more than 31 years after his flight from Esau when Jacob returned home (cf. Gen 34:1). Now since, according to our calculation at Gen 27:1, he was 77 years old when he fled, he must have been 108 when he returned home; and Isaac would only have reached his 168th year, as he was 60 years old when Jacob was born (Gen 25:26). Consequently Isaac lived to witness the grief of Jacob at the loss of Joseph, and died but a short time before his promotion in Egypt, which occurred 13 years after he was sold (Gen 41:46), and only 10 years before Jacob's removal with his family to Egypt, as Jacob was 130 years old when he was presented to Pharaoh (Gen 47:9). But the historical significance of his life was at an end, when Jacob returned home with his twelve sons.

Constable: Gen 11:27--Exo 1:1

II. PATRIARCHAL NARRATIVES 11:27--50:26

One of the significant changes in the emphasis that occurs at this point in Genesis is from cursing in the primeval record to blessing in the patriarchal narratives. The Abrahamic Covenant is most important in this respect. How Abram's family gained these blessings unfolds. Israel could, and we can, identify with their experiences.

"Chapters 1-11 are set in Babylonia; chs. 12-36 are set in Palestine; chs. 37-50 are set in Egypt. (The same kind of tripartite geographical focus emerges from Exodus: [1] 1:1-12:36, in Egypt; [2] 12:37-18:27, to Sinai; [3] 19:1-40:38, at Sinai.) In other words, each part of the Mediterranean world is highlighted in some part of Genesis. The crucial center section of Genesis (chs. 12-36) is bracketed geographically by two sections of the Near Eastern world with whose history that of Israel would be constantly interlocked. . . .

"In chs. 1-11 we read of individuals who had land, but are either losing it or being expelled from it. In chs. 12-50 the emphasis is on individuals who do not have land, but are on the way toward it. One group is losing; another group is expecting.

"Genesis is moving us progressively from generation (chs. 1-2), to degeneration (chs. 3-11), to regeneration (chs. 12-50)."³⁹³

Chapters 1-11 present a structural pattern that carries over into the rest of the Pentateuch.

"The importance of Genesis 1-11 for the rest of the Pentateuch can be seen in the fact that its narrative structure provides a pattern by which the author often shapes subsequent pentateuchal narratives. Thus the order and arrangement of the Creation accounts in Genesis 1-2 exhibit the same pattern as the description of the building of the tabernacle (Ex 25-31); the tabernacle is portrayed as a return to the Garden of Eden. The instructions given to Noah for building the ark foreshadow those given to Moses for building the tabernacle. Furthermore, one can demonstrate that whole sections of laws in the Pentateuch have been grouped and arranged in patterns that parallel the narrative structure of Genesis 1-11."³⁹⁴

"The ancient oriental background to Gen 1-11 shows it to be concerned with rather different issues from those that tend to preoccupy modern readers. It is affirming the unity of God in the face of polytheism, his justice rather than his caprice, his power as opposed to his impotence, his concern for mankind rather than his exploitation. And whereas Mesopotamia clung to the wisdom of primeval man, Genesis records his sinful disobedience. Because as Christians we tend to assume these points in our theology, we often fail to recognize the striking originality of the message of Gen 1-11 and concentrate on subsidiary points that may well be of less moment."³⁹⁵

Some notable changes take place in the second part of Genesis. Instead of the genealogies being prominent and the stories secondary, as in chapters 1-11, the reverse becomes true now. God retreats farther into the background of the events recorded than was the case earlier, and there is corresponding emphasis on the personalities of the patriarchs. The promises to the patriarchs form the central theme of this section, especially those concerning descendants, land, and divine blessing. There also seems to be increasing depth in the moral awareness of the patriarchs as generation follows generation from Abram to Joseph.³⁹⁶

Constable: Gen 25:19--36:1

C. What became of Isaac 25:19-35:29

A new toledot begins with 25:19. Its theme is "the acquisition of the blessing and its development and protection by the Lord."⁶²⁵

Moses set up the whole Jacob narrative in a chiastic structure that emphasizes the fulfillment of the promise of the seed and the seed's prosperity.

"A Oracle sought; Rebekah struggles in childbirth; bekorah birthright; birth; themes of strife, deception, fertility (25:19-34).

B Interlude: strife; deception; berakah blessing; covenant with foreigner (26).

C Deception; berakah stolen; fear of Esau; flight from land (27:1-28:9).

D Encounter (<paga') with the divine at sacred site near border; berakah (28:10-22).

E Internal cycle opens: arrival; Laban at border; deception; wages; Rachel barren; Leah fertile (29:1-30:21).

F Rachel fertile; Jacob increases the herds (30:22-43).

E' Internal cycle closes: departure; Laban at border; deception; wages (31).

D' Encounters (<paga') with divine beings at sacred sites near border; berakah (32).

C' Deception planned; fear of Esau; berakah gift returned; return to land (33).

B' Interlude: strife; deception; covenant with foreigner (34).

A' Oracle fulfilled; Rachel struggles in childbirth; berakah; death resolutions (35:1-22)."⁶²⁶

The Flood story also has a palistrophic structure, and both stories have a similar statement at the middle (turning point): God remembered Noah (8:1) and God remembered Rachel (30:22). This emphasizes that God controls events and saves His people.

". . . the author of Genesis has deliberately split the Jacob-Joseph story into two parts by putting the family history of Esau 36:1-37:1 in the middle. This allows him to alternate the genealogies of the non-elect lines of Ishmael (25:12-18) and Esau (36:1-37:1) with the fuller family histories of the chosen lines of Terah (Abraham) (11:27-25:11), Isaac (Jacob) (25:19-35:29), and Jacob (Joseph) (37:2-50:26) to produce a total of five patriarchal family histories. This matches the five family histories of pre-patriarchal times . . ."⁶²⁷

Constable: Gen 35:1-29

15. Jacob's return to Bethel ch. 35

After God reminded Jacob of his commitment to Him (28:20-22), the patriarch returned to Bethel to worship Yahweh. There the Lord reconfirmed the promises to him and completed his family by the birth of Benjamin. However, Jacob also experienced three deaths (Deborah, Rachel, and Isaac) and rebellion against himself by Reuben.

Constable: Gen 35:1-8

Jacob's renewed consecration to Yahweh 35:1-8

About 10 years had passed since Jacob had returned from Paddan-aram, and he had not yet returned to Bethel to fulfill his vow there (28:20-22). His negligence evidently was due in part to the continuing presence of the idols that Rachel and probably others had brought from Haran. Perhaps their allegiance to these gods restrained Jacob's total commitment to Yahweh.

God appeared to Jacob (the fourth time) and commanded him to fulfill his vow (v. 1). This revelation encouraged Jacob to stop procrastinating. This is the first time God commanded a patriarch to build an altar. The command constituted a test of Jacob's obedience similar to Abraham's test when God instructed him to offer up "a burnt offering" on Mt. Moriah (22:2). In preparation for his trip to Bethel he purged his household of idolatry by literally burying Rachel's idols along with other objects associated with the worship of these gods. He also purified himself from the defilement of the blood his family had shed in Shechem (ch. 34).

"It is significant that Jacob called God the one who answered me in the day of my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone' (v. 3). That epithet serves as a fitting summary of the picture of God that has emerged from the Jacob narratives. Jacob was in constant distress; yet in each instance God remained faithful to his promise and delivered him."⁷⁷¹

The oak referred to here (v. 4) seems to have been the oak of Moreh (lit. "teacher") where God had appeared to Abraham shortly after he had entered the land (12:6).

"At the same spot, possibly prompted by Jacob's example, Joshua was one day to issue a very similar call to Israel (Josh. 24:23ff.)."⁷⁷²

God blessed Jacob for his commitment, expressed in his burying the idols and earrings (perhaps taken from the Shechemites), by placing the fear of Jacob's family in the hearts of the Canaanites whom they passed on their way to Bethel (vv. 5-8; cf. Prov. 16:7). Perhaps God used the memory of Simeon and Levi's fierce treatment of the Shechemites to accomplish this end.

"Throughout his life Jacob has had to contend with his own fears--fear of God (28:17), fear of Laban (31:31), fear of Esau (32:8, 12 [Eng. 7, 11]). Nobody had been in fear of him. Angry, yes; fearful, no."⁷⁷³

Jacob faithfully fulfilled his vow to God at Luz, which he renamed Bethel (house of God, v. 15). He named the place of his altar El-Bethel (God of Bethel, v. 7) in memory of God's first revelation to him there.

Deborah, Rebekah's nurse (cf. 24:59), must have been an important member of Jacob's household to merit this notation by the writer. She may have left Beersheba with Jacob or may have joined him later after the death of Rebekah. One writer suggested that the reference to Deborah is simply a way of reminding the reader of Rebekah and alluding to her death in a veiled manner.⁷⁷⁴ This may have been appropriate in view of Rebekah's deception of Isaac (ch. 27).

Constable: Gen 35:9-15

Yahweh's reconfirmation of the covenant 35:9-15

God then appeared again to Jacob at Bethel (the fifth revelation) after he had fulfilled his vow to God and built an altar there (vv. 9-12). This revelation came 30 years after the first one at Bethel. In this case God appeared in visible (bodily?) form (v. 13). In the former instance Jacob had seen a vision. God confirmed Jacob's name change (cf. 32:28). This new name, Israel, was a pledge that God would do what He now promised Jacob: to give him numerous descendants and the land of Canaan. Here God summed up all the long-range promises that He had made to Jacob at various times in his life.

"The purpose of the second renaming . . . is to erase the original negative connotation and to give the name Israel a more neutral or even positive connotation--the connotation it is to have for the remainder of the Torah. It does so by removing the notion of struggle associated with the wordplay in 23:28 . . . and letting it stand in a positive light . . ."⁷⁷⁵

God's use of his name "God Almighty" (El Shaddai) is significant in view of what God promised Jacob. It would take an omnipotent God to fulfill these promises (cf. 17:1-2).

Jacob solemnized this occasion by setting up a second pillar (cf. 28:18) that perpetuated the memory of God's faithfulness for the benefit of his descendants. He not only set the stone apart as special by pouring oil on it as he had done 30 years earlier but also made an offering to God there and renamed the place "Bethel."

"Bethel occupies something of the same focal place in Jacob's career that the birth of Isaac occupied for Abraham, testing his fluctuating obedience and his hold on the promise, for more than twenty years."⁷⁷⁶

God's blessing of Jacob when his dedication was complete illustrates God's response to those who fully obey Him.

"The importance of God's words to Jacob in vv. 11-12 cannot be overemphasized. First, God's words be fruitful and increase in number' recalled clearly the primeval blessing of Creation (1:28) and hence showed God to be still at work' in bringing about the blessing to all mankind through Jacob. Second, for the first time since 17:16 (kings of peoples will come from her'), the mention is made of royalty (kings,' v. 11) in the promised line. Third, the promise of the land, first given to Abraham and then to Isaac, was renewed here with Jacob (v. 12). Thus within these brief words several major themes of the book have come together. The primeval blessing of mankind was renewed through the promise of a royal offspring and the gift of the land."⁷⁷⁷

We can enjoy the fellowship with God that He created us to experience only when we commit ourselves wholeheartedly to Him and obey His Word.

"It is noteworthy that there are certain things in connection with the spiritual life that must be entirely given up and destroyed, for it is impossible to sanctify or consecrate them. They must be buried and left behind, for they cannot possibly be devoted to the service of God. . . . There are things that have to be cut off and cannot be consecrated. Books have to be burned (note xix. 19). Evil habits have to be broken. Sin must be put away. There are things that are beyond all reclamation . . .

". . . if only we yield ourselves wholly and utterly to the hand of God, our lives, whatever the past may have been, shall be monuments, miracles, marvels of the grace of God."⁷⁷⁸

Still all of Jacob's problems were not behind him. (Someone has said that the person whose problems are all behind him or her is probably a school bus driver!)

"Just as Abraham had two sons and only one was the son of promise, and just as Isaac had two sons and only one was the son of the blessing, so now Jacob, though he has twelve sons, has two wives (Leah and Rachel); and each has a son (Judah and Joseph) that can rightfully contend for the blessing. In the narratives that follow, the writer holds both sons, Joseph and Judah, before the readers as rightful heirs of the promise. As the Jacob narratives have already anticipated, in the end it was Judah, the son of Leah, not Joseph, the son of Rachel, that gained the blessing (49:8-12)."⁷⁷⁹

Constable: Gen 35:16-29

The birth of Benjamin, death of Rachel, and sin of Reuben 35:16-29

Jacob was not disobedient to God in leaving Bethel. God's instructions to go to Bethel and "live there" (v. 1) were evidently directions to dwell there while he fulfilled his vow. God did not command permanent residence there.

35:16-22a Ben-oni means "son of my pain (v. 18)." For Rachel, Benjamin's birth was a fatally painful experience. However the birth of his twelfth son mollified Jacob's sorrow over Rachel's death. He named his son Benjamin meaning, "Son of my good fortune."⁷⁸⁰ Oni in Hebrew can mean either trouble or wealth. Benjamin was born in land that later became part of his tribe's allotment. His birth there gave him title to it.

Jacob buried Rachel near Ephrath, an older name for Bethlehem (house of bread; vv. 19-20). The opening section of the Isaac toledot (25:19-26) contained the record of two births: Esau's and Jacob's. Its closing section (35:16-29) documented two deaths: Deborah's and Rachel's.⁷⁸¹ Ironically Rachel, who had cried in desperation to Jacob, "Give me children, or else I die" (30:1), died giving birth to a child.

The tower of Eder (or Migdal Eder) was simply a watchtower built to help shepherds protect their flocks from robbers (v. 21; cf. 2 Kings 18:8; 2 Chron. 26:10; 27:4). Since the time of Jerome, the early church father who lived in Bethlehem, tradition has held that Eder lay very close to Bethlehem.

A concubine was sometimes a slave with whom her owner had sexual relations. She enjoyed some of the privileges of a wife, and people sometimes called her a wife, but she was not a wife in the full sense of the term.

Reuben may have wanted to prevent Rachel's maid from succeeding Rachel as his father's favorite wife. He probably resented the fact that Jacob did not honor his mother.⁷⁸² Reuben's act constituted a claim against (a challenge to) his father as well as being an immoral act (cf. Deut. 22:30; 2 Sam. 16:21-22; 1 Kings 2:13-25). In the ancient Near East a man who wanted to assert his superiority over another man might do so by having sexual relations with that man's wife or concubine (cf. 2 Sam. 16:21-22). Ancient Near Easterners regarded this act of physical domination as an evidence of personal domination.

"Taking the concubine of one's predecessor was a perverted way of claiming to be the new lord of the bride."⁷⁸³

Reuben's act, therefore, manifested rebellion against Jacob's authority as well as unbridled lust. It resulted in his losing the birthright. Judah obtained the right to rule as head of the family, and Levi got the right to be the family priest eventually. The double portion of his father's inheritance went to Joseph who realized it through his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh.

"At an early stage in the narrative Reuben had played some small part in the all too brief restoration to his mother of her conjugal rights (Gen. XXX. 14ff.), but now, at the end of the Jacob narrative, it is by his agency that the supplanter is well and truly supplanted."⁷⁸⁴

35:22b-27 This paragraph is important because it records the entrance of Jacob into his father's inheritance. Jacob presumably visited Isaac in Hebron on various occasions following his return from Paddan-aram. However on this occasion he moved his family to his father's encampment and evidently remained there as Isaac's heir.

Jacob had left Beersheba with only a staff in his hand. Now he returned with 12 sons, a large household, and much livestock. The most important aspect of God's blessing was his 12 sons, grouped here with their four mothers, through whom God would fulfill His promises to the patriarchs.

Benjamin was not born in Paddan-aram but near Bethlehem (vv. 16-18). Therefore the statement that Jacob's 12 sons were born in Paddan-aram (v. 26) must be understood as a general one.

35:28-29 With the record of Jacob entering into his father's inheritance the history of Isaac's life concludes. He was buried in the cave of Machpelah near Hebron (49:29-31). Isaac lived for 12 years after Jacob's relocation to Hebron, however. He shared Jacob's grief over the apparent death of Joseph, but died shortly before Joseph's promotion in Egypt.⁷⁸⁵

"The end of the Jacob narratives is marked by the death of his father, Isaac. The purpose of this notice is not simply to record Isaac's death but rather to show the complete fulfillment of God's promise to Jacob (28:21). According to Jacob's vow, he had asked that God watch over him during his sojourn and return him safely to the house of his father. Thus the conclusion of the narrative marks the final fulfillment of these words as Jacob returned to the house of his father, Isaac, before he died."⁷⁸⁶

It is very important that God's people follow through and keep the commitments they have made concerning participation in His program. When they commit themselves to Him in purity and worship, He commits Himself to blessing them.

Guzik: Gen 35:1-29

Genesis 35 - Revival in Jacob's Life

A. Jacob returns to Bethel.

1. (1) God speaks to Jacob, calling him back to Bethel.

Then God said to Jacob, "Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there; and make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau your brother."

a. Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there: The whole Shechem incident was because Jacob went to Shechem instead of Bethel, where he was supposed to be. We often end up in much difficulty and bring much difficulty to those around us, because we do not go where God tells us to go.

i. "The only cure for worldliness is to separate from it." (Barnhouse) Jacob had to leave Shechem and go to Bethel.

ii. Genesis 34 does not mention God once, and is one of the most sordid chapters in Israel's history. Genesis 35 mentions God over and over again, more than ten times, plus 11 more times in names such as Bethel and Israel.

b. Make an altar there to God: This turning back to the Lord will especially have a good effect on the children of Jacob. This reminds us the best thing parents can do for their children is to be in God's will themselves.

i. As Jacob looked back on his walk with God, the first meeting with God at Bethel must have seemed like a high point. But to his credit, Jacob refused to think the best years of his life with God were behind him. He returned to his first love - he returned to Bethel, and God blessed it.

2. (2-4) The cleansing of Jacob's family.

And Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, "Put away the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves, and change your garments. Then let us arise 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 in the way which I have gone." So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods which were in their hands, and the earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the terebinth tree which was by Shechem.

a. Put away the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves: Jacob's family only got right with God after Jacob himself did. This again shows us the tremendous leadership role men have within the family. A man resisting God will see the same effect in his children. A man who gets right with God will see the effect in his family also.

i. Jacob's children kept foreign gods because their mother did. Rachel clung to the household idols of her father (Genesis 31:19). No matter how hard we try to teach our children godly conduct they will still do what we do.

b. And change your garments: This was important because "Throughout the Bible, garments symbolize character. The inward life of the unregenerate is compared to a polluted garment." (Barnhouse)

i. Jude 23 gives the idea: but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh. Ephesians 4:22-24 gives a similar exhortation: that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.

c. And the earrings which were in their ears: Apparently, the earrings also had a pagan connection. Though some "reason" could be made for keeping the earrings, they got rid of them nonetheless.

i. It is important for everyone to take stock of what they may have in their home that is ungodly or occultic, and promptly get rid of those things.

3. (5-7) God's protection of Jacob; he comes to Bethel.

And they journeyed, and the terror of God was upon the cities that were all around them, and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob. So Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him. And he built an altar there and called the place El Bethel, because there God appeared to him when he fled from the face of his brother.

a. The terror of God was upon the cities that were all around them, and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob: Obviously, it would be fair of God to leave Jacob to the consequences of his sinful lack of leadership in the family. Yet, God's grace covered Jacob even when his sin had made he and his family vulnerable.

b. He built an altar there and called the place El Bethel: Though Jacob had sinned, he now did what was right before God, despite the danger, trusting God's protection. He might have justified a lack of obedience because of fear, but he trusted God instead.

i. It dangerous for Jacob to set out to Bethel but it was more dangerous for him to disobey God. The only thing to save him was a radical obedience to the LORD. No matter what the circumstances look like, the safest place is do the will of God.

4. (8) The death of Deborah, Rebekah's beloved nurse.

Now Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died, and she was buried below Bethel under the terebinth tree. So the name of it was called Allon Bachuth.

a. Now Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died: We know nothing of this woman before this account; seemingly, she came with Rebekah as a companion when she came from Haran to marry Isaac. Obviously, she was a beloved member of the family, because they named the place where she was buried Allon Bachuth, which means "Oak of Weeping."

b. Rebekah's nurse: Many commentators assume for some reason, she came to be in Jacob's household, coming from his mother's household, but we do not know for certain if this is the case.

5. (9-15) God speaks to Jacob again at Bethel.

Then God appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Padan Aram, and blessed him. And God said to him, "Your name is Jacob; your name shall not be called Jacob anymore, but Israel shall be your name." So He called his name Israel. Also God said to him: "I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you, and kings shall come from your body. The land which I gave Abraham and Isaac I give to you; and to your descendants after you I give this land." Then God went up from him in the place where He talked with him. So Jacob set up a pillar in the place where He talked with him, a pillar of stone; and he poured a drink offering on it, and he poured oil on it. And Jacob called the name of the place where God spoke with him, Bethel.

a. Then God appeared to Jacob again . . . and blessed him: When Jacob finally arrived at the place God told him to go, Jacob immediately found great blessing. God appeared to him, God blessed him, and God called him by his new name (Israel).

i. The reminder of the new name was important, because Jacob had been acting like Jacob instead of Israel. Yet, God wants to set his mind on what God made him. God does the same with us, reminding us who we are in Him. God wants us to remember and live in the great names He gives us.

b. God appeared to Jacob again: Relationship is restored. This is an excellent example of what it means to return to your first love, as in Revelation 2:4-5: Jacob remembers to go back to Bethel. He repents by getting rid of all the idols, and he does the first works by building an altar and worshipping God as before.

c. The land which I gave Abraham and Isaac I give to you; and to your descendants after you I give this land: God granted Jacob a precious reminder of his place in God's great covenant, begun with his grandfather Abraham. In this, Jacob did not need to hear anything new from God. He just needed to be reminded of what was true, and encouraged to cling to it all.

d. Then God went up from him in the place where He talked with him: Seemingly, God appeared to Jacob here in bodily form. God blessed Jacob remarkably after his return to his first love. Much blessing waits for us until we do what God tells us to do.

e. He poured a drink offering on it, and he poured oil on it: Appropriately, Jacob performed sacrificial acts of worship to the God who has blessed him so much.

i. The idea of a drink offering is found often in the Bible. Exodus 29:40-41, Leviticus 23:13, and Numbers 15:5-7 show the drink offering was made with wine poured out in sacrifice before the LORD at His altar. Paul considered the pouring out of his life before God to be like the pouring out of a drink offering at God's altar (Philippians 2:17; 2 Timothy 4:6).

ii. Jacob's heart of worship shows gratitude towards God. When we look back on life, we should never have the attitude that says, "I was robbed." Instead our heart should say, "God has blessed." This will probably determine if we will be perfectly miserable or perfectly delightful as we get older.

B. The birth of Benjamin and the death of Rachel.

1. (16-17) The birth of another son.

Then they journeyed from Bethel. And when there was but a little distance to go to Ephrath, Rachel labored in childbirth, and she had hard labor. Now it came to pass, when she was in hard labor, that the midwife said to her, "Do not fear; you will have this son also."

a. Rachel labored in childbirth: There seems to be none of the contentiousness and competitiveness surrounding the birth of this last son, possibly because they are all older at this time, but more so because they are now in the Promised Land and it just isn't as important anymore.

b. In childbirth: We don't know how long Jacob stayed at Bethel, but it is possible this last child was conceived at this place where Jacob came back to his first love for the LORD.

2. (18) The naming of the last son.

And so it was, as her soul was departing (for she died), that she called his name Ben-Oni; but his father called him Benjamin.

a. She called his name Ben-Oni: Rachel named this last child - who before would have been seen as a cause for rejoicing and victory in the competition with her sister - she named this child Ben-Oni, meaning "son of my sorrow."

i. Ultimately, this shows the futility of Rachel's competition with her sister Leah. Now at the time of her final "victory," all she found was sorrow.

b. But his father called him Benjamin: Jacob wisely names the child Benjamin, which means "son of my right hand." Perhaps he rightly sensed the special place God had for this child, or perhaps he simply prized Benjamin so greatly because he was the final link between him and the woman he loved most.

c. Benjamin: The right side was associated with greater strength and honor, because most people are right handed. Benjamin (son of my right hand) therefore has the idea of "son of my strength" or "son of my honor."

i. The idea is expressed in passages like Exodus 15:6: Your right hand, O LORD, has become glorious in power; Your right hand, O LORD, has dashed the enemy in pieces.

ii. The LORD is our strength and honor, as in Psalm 16:8: I have set the LORD always before me; because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.

iii. God's strength and honor are for us: My soul follows close behind You; Your right hand upholds me. (Psalm 63:8) Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You will stretch out Your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and Your right hand will save me (Psalm 138:7).

iv. Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father, the position of strength and honor, and we sit there with Him! If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God (Colossians 3:1).

3. (19-20) The death and burial of Rachel.

So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). And Jacob set a pillar on her grave, which is the pillar of Rachel's grave to this day.

a. Rachel died and was buried: Rachel's death was in tragic fulfillment of the curse Jacob himself pronounced on the one who stole the idols of Laban (Genesis 31:32).

i. In Genesis 30:1, Rachel pleaded with Jacob, Give me children, or else I die! As it happened, both became true. She had children and died as a result.

b. Jacob set a pillar on her grave: This also shows that even when we get right with God and return to our first love it doesn't mean life becomes a bed of roses. There are constant challenges for us to trust God.

i. We cannot prize comfort more than getting right with God. For some, comfort is their idol - a false god they worship with constant pursuit and attention. Some only want a comfortable life, not a godly life. The symbol for some Christians is a Lazy-Boy recliner, not a cross.

4. (21-22a) Reuben's sin with his father's concubine.

Then Israel journeyed and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eder. And it happened, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine; and Israel heard about it.

a. Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine: Reuben was the firstborn. We might expect the highest conduct from him, and might expect him to most seriously receive the covenant of his fathers. Yet, here he sinned in a most offensive way against his father and entire family.

i. However, we don't have to wonder about where this sinful conduct was bred. In this home so filled with strife, contention, competition, and the pursuit of the flesh, it was almost to be expected.

b. Israel heard about it: Through their sin, Reuben, Simeon, and Levi "disqualified" themselves from the high calling of Abraham's blessing. It will be up to the fourth son, Judah, to bring forth the Messiah.

5. (22b-26) Jacob's 12 sons.

Now the sons of Jacob were twelve: the sons of Leah were Reuben, Jacob's firstborn, and Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun; the sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin; the sons of Bilhah, Rachel's maidservant, were Dan and Naphtali; and the sons of Zilpah, Leah's maidservant, were Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Padan Aram.

a. The sons of Jacob were twelve: From what we have seen in the last few chapters, this is no "all-star team." "We are greatly amazed in reflecting upon the event as a whole that descendants of the worthy patriarch Abraham should almost immediately after his time already have sunk to the level upon which Jacob's sons stand in this chapter." (Leupold)

b. These were the sons of Jacob: It is actually a pretty messed-up family. God will use this family, but not because they are such great candidates, but because He has chosen them by His grace alone.

C. The death of Isaac.

1. (27) Jacob visits his father Isaac one last time.

Then Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre, or Kirjath Arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had dwelt.

a. Jacob came to his father Isaac: More than 20 years ago, Jacob left his home thinking his father's death was at hand. Now, quite unexpectedly, he has the opportunity to see his father one last time before his death.

i. We should remember our times are in God's hands. We may expect a long or short life for others or ourselves and be quite wrong. Only God knows.

b. His father Isaac: There seemed to be nothing dramatic between Isaac and Jacob at this meeting. It was possible Isaac was incapacitated by old age.

2. (28-29) Jacob and Esau bury their father together.

Now the days of Isaac were one hundred and eighty years. So Isaac breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people, being old and full of days. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

a. His sons Esau and Jacob buried him: The sons had already been brought together by God's hand. Now they work together again, united by the death of their father.

© 2006 David Guzik - No distribution beyond personal use without permission

Commentary -- Other

Bible Query: Gen 35:1-5

Q: In Gen 35:1-5, what was the sequence of events here?

A: Here is the order.

1. Jacob was apparently lax about permitting foreign idols among his nomadic group.

2. God told Jacob he wanted Jacob to live in Bethel and build an altar to Him.

3. Jacob correctly saw that if they were going to build an altar to God, it would not do to have any idols among them.

4. Once they fully dedicated themselves to the Lord, they had nothing to fear from the surrounding peoples.

Bible Query: Gen 35:11

Q: In Gen 17:1; 28:3; 35:11; 43:14; 48:3; Ex 6:3, what exactly does the name El Shaddai mean?

A: El-Shaddai is a name for God that most literally means El "God" Shaddai "Almighty" according to Unger’s Bible Dictionary p.1000-1001, The New NIV Dictionary of the Bible p.309-310, and the Wycliffe Bible Dictionary p.695. This name was one of the main names for God that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob knew.

Even if they had been taught God’s "personal" name of Yahweh (which they probably were not), God Himself did not reveal Himself to them as Yahweh as he did to Moses according to Exodus 6:2,3.   Names for God apply to Jesus as a member of the Holy Trinity, but there is no suggestion that El Shaddai applies to Jesus more than to the Father or Holy Spirit.

The Hebrew word el was used very similar to the way we use the English word "God/god" today. We refer to the One and Only Almighty Creator as God, we refer to an idol as a "god", etc. The word Shaddai (Almighty) without el is used in Genesis 49:25; Numbers 24:4,16; Ruth 1:20,21; 31 times in Job 5:17-40:2; and Psalms 68:14; 91:1.

Some liberal critics claim that El-Shaddai was derived form a pagan term for "mountain god", but there is no evidence the Bible means this.

El Shaddai is used in Genesis to Abraham in 17:1; to Jacob in 28:3; 35:11; 43:14; 48:3; and Moses in Exodus 6:3.

Similar names for God are El Elyon "Most High God" used by Melchizedek in Genesis 14:18; Numbers 24:16; Deuteronomy 32:8; 2 Samuel 22:14; Psalm 9:2; Isaiah 14:14; Lamentations 3:35,38), El Hai "Living God" Joshua 3:10, or simply El "God" in many places.

Bible Query: Gen 35:21

Q: In Gen 35:21, were all of Jacob’s sons born in Migdal Eber, or were they born earlier as other parts of Genesis say? (A liberal Christian brought this up as a contradiction.)

A: Genesis 35:21-26 does not say every single son of Jacob was born in Migdal Eber, especially since in Genesis 35:19-20, Rachel had just died prior to them moving there. Genesis 35:21-26 simply lists the sons, following the account where Israel (=Jacob) pitched his tent beyond Migdal Eber.

Introduction / Outline

JFB: Genesis (Book Introduction)

GENESIS, the book of the origin or production of all things, consists of two parts: the first, comprehended in the first through eleventh chapters, gives a general history; the second, contained in the subsequent chapters, gives a special history. The two parts are essentially connected; the one, which sets out with an account of the descent of the human race from a single pair, the introduction of sin into the world, and the announcement of the scheme of divine mercy for repairing the ruins of the fall, was necessary to pave the way for relating the other, namely, the call of Abraham, and the selection of his posterity for carrying out the gracious purpose of God. An evident unity of method, therefore, pervades this book, and the information contained in it was of the greatest importance to the Hebrew people, as without it they could not have understood the frequent references made in their law to the purposes and promises of God regarding themselves. The arguments that have been already adduced as establishing the Mosaic origin of the Pentateuch prove of course that Moses was the author of Genesis. The few passages on which the rationalists grounded their assertions that it was the composition of a later age have been successfully shown to warrant no such conclusion; the use of Egyptian words and the minute acquaintance with Egyptian life and manners, displayed in the history of Joseph, harmonize with the education of Moses, and whether he received his information by immediate revelation, from tradition, or from written documents, it comes to us as the authentic work of an author who wrote as he was inspired by the Holy Ghost (2Pe 1:21).

JFB: Genesis (Outline)

• THE CREATION OF HEAVEN AND EARTH. (Gen 1:1-2)
• THE FIRST DAY. (Gen 1:3-5)
• SECOND DAY. (Gen 1:6-8)
• THIRD DAY. (Gen 1:9-13)
• FOURTH DAY. (Gen 1:14-19)
• FIFTH DAY. The signs of animal life appeared in the waters and in the air. (Gen 1:20-23)
• SIXTH DAY. A farther advance was made by the creation of terrestrial animals, all the various species of which are included in three classes: (1) cattle, the herbivorous kind capable of labor or domestication. (Gen 1:24-31)
• THE NARRATIVE OF THE SIX DAYS' CREATION CONTINUED. The course of the narrative is improperly broken by the division of the chapter. (Gen 2:1)
• THE FIRST SABBATH. (Gen 2:2-7)
• THE GARDEN OF EDEN. ( Gen 8-17)
• THE MAKING OF WOMAN, AND INSTITUTION OF MARRIAGE. (Gen 2:18-25)
• THE TEMPTATION. (Gen 3:1-5)
• THE FALL. (Gen 3:6-9)
• THE EXAMINATION. (Gen 3:10-13)
• THE SENTENCE. (Gen 3:14-24)
• BIRTH OF CAIN AND ABEL. (Gen. 4:1-26)
• GENEALOGY OF THE PATRIARCHS. (Gen. 5:1-32)
• WICKEDNESS OF THE WORLD. (Gen. 6:1-22)
• ENTRANCE INTO THE ARK. (Gen. 7:1-24)
• ASSUAGING OF THE WATERS. (Gen 8:1-14)
• DEPARTURE FROM THE ARK. (Gen 8:15-22)
• COVENANT. (Gen 9:1-7)
• RAINBOW. (Gen. 9:8-29)
• GENEALOGIES. (Gen. 10:1-32)
• CONFUSION OF TONGUES. (Gen. 11:1-32) the whole earth was of one language. The descendants of Noah, united by the strong bond of a common language, had not separated, and notwithstanding the divine command to replenish the earth, were unwilling to separate. The more pious and well-disposed would of course obey the divine will; but a numerous body, seemingly the aggressive horde mentioned (Gen 10:10), determined to please themselves by occupying the fairest region they came to.
• CALL TO ABRAM. (Gen. 12:1-20)
• RETURN FROM EGYPT. (Gen. 13:1-18)
• WAR. (Gen. 14:1-24)
• DIVINE ENCOURAGEMENT. (Gen. 15:1-21)
• BESTOWMENT OF HAGAR. (Gen. 16:1-16)
• RENEWAL OF THE COVENANT. (Gen. 17:1-27)
• ENTERTAINMENT OF ANGELS. (Gen 18:1-8)
• REPROOF OF SARAH. An inquiry about his wife, so surprising in strangers, the subject of conversation, and the fulfilment of the fondly cherished promise within a specified time, showed Abraham that he had been entertaining more than ordinary travellers (Heb 13:2). (Gen 18:9-15)
• DISCLOSURE OF SODOM'S DOOM. (Gen 18:16-22)
• ABRAHAM'S INTERCESSION. (Gen 18:23-33)
• LOT'S ENTERTAINMENT. (Gen. 19:1-38)
• ABRAHAM'S DENIAL OF HIS WIFE. (Gen. 20:1-18)
• BIRTH OF ISAAC. (Gen 21:1-13)
• EXPULSION OF ISHMAEL. (Gen 21:14-21)
• COVENANT. (Gen 21:22-34)
• OFFERING ISAAC. (Gen. 22:1-19)
• AGE AND DEATH OF SARAH. (Gen 23:1-2)
• PURCHASE OF A BURYING-PLACE. (Gen. 23:3-20)
• A MARRIAGE COMMISSION. (Gen 24:1-9)
• THE JOURNEY. (Gen. 24:10-67)
• SONS OF ABRAHAM. (Gen 25:1-6)
• DEATH OF ABRAHAM. (Gen 25:7-11)
• DESCENDANTS OF ISHMAEL. Before passing to the line of the promised seed, the historian gives a brief notice of Ishmael, to show that the promises respecting that son of Abraham were fulfilled--first, in the greatness of his posterity (compare Gen 17:20); and, secondly, in their independence. (Gen 25:12-18)
• HISTORY OF ISAAC. (Gen 25:19-34)
• SOJOURN IN GERAR. (Gen. 26:1-35)
• INFIRMITY OF ISAAC. (Gen. 27:1-27)
• THE BLESSING. (Gen. 27:28-46)
• JACOB'S DEPARTURE. (Gen. 28:1-19)
• JACOB'S VOW. (Gen 28:20-22)
• THE WELL OF HARAN. (Gen. 29:1-35)
• DOMESTIC JEALOUSIES. (Gen. 30:1-24)
• JACOB'S COVENANT WITH LABAN. (Gen. 30:25-43)
• ENVY OF LABAN AND SONS. (Gen. 31:1-21)
• LABAN PURSUES JACOB--THEIR COVENANT AT GILEAD. (Gen. 31:22-55)
• VISION OF ANGELS. (Gen 32:1-2)
• MISSION TO ESAU. (Gen 32:3-32)
• KINDNESS OF JACOB AND ESAU. (Gen 33:1-11)
• THE PARTING. (Gen 33:12-20)
• THE DISHONOR OF DINAH. (Gen. 34:1-31) Though freed from foreign troubles, Jacob met with a great domestic calamity in the fall of his only daughter. According to JOSEPHUS, she had been attending a festival; but it is highly probable that she had been often and freely mixing in the society of the place and that she, being a simple, inexperienced, and vain young woman, had been flattered by the attentions of the ruler's son. There must have been time and opportunities of acquaintance to produce the strong attachment that Shechem had for her.
• REMOVAL TO BETHEL. (Gen 35:1-15)
• BIRTH OF BENJAMIN--DEATH OF RACHEL, &c. (Gen 35:16-27)
• DEATH OF ISAAC. (Gen 35:28-29)
• POSTERITY OF ESAU. (Gen. 36:1-43)
• PARENTAL PARTIALITY. (Gen 37:1-4)
• THE DREAMS OF JOSEPH. (Gen. 37:5-36)
• JUDAH AND FAMILY. (Gen. 38:1-30)
• JOSEPH IN POTIPHAR'S HOUSE. (Gen. 39:1-23)
• TWO STATE PRISONERS. (Gen 40:1-8)
• THE BUTLER'S DREAM. (Gen 40:9-15)
• THE BAKER'S DREAM. (Gen 40:16-23)
• PHARAOH'S DREAM. (Gen. 41:1-24)
• JOSEPH INTERPRETS PHARAOH'S DREAMS. (Gen 41:25-36)
• JOSEPH MADE RULER OF EGYPT. (Gen. 41:37-57)
• JOURNEY INTO EGYPT. (Gen. 42:1-38)
• PREPARATIONS FOR A SECOND JOURNEY TO EGYPT. (Gen 43:1-14)
• ARRIVAL IN EGYPT. (Gen. 43:15-30)
• THE DINNER. (Gen 43:31-34)
• POLICY TO STAY HIS BRETHREN. (Gen. 44:1-34)
• JOSEPH MAKING HIMSELF KNOWN. (Gen. 45:1-28)
• SACRIFICE AT BEER-SHEBA. (Gen 46:1-4)
• IMMIGRATION TO EGYPT. (Gen. 46:5-27)
• ARRIVAL IN EGYPT. (Gen 46:28-34)
• JOSEPH'S PRESENTATION AT COURT. (Gen. 47:1-31)
• JOSEPH'S VISIT TO HIS SICK FATHER. (Gen. 48:1-22)
• PATRIARCHAL BLESSING. (Gen. 49:1-33)
• MOURNING FOR JACOB. (Gen. 50:1-26)

TSK: Genesis (Book Introduction)

The Book of Genesis is the most ancient record in the world; including the History of two grand and stupendous subjects, Creation and Providence; of each of which it presents a summary, but astonishingly minute and detailed accounts. From this Book, almost all the ancient philosophers, astronomers, chronologists, and historians have taken their respective data; and all the modern improvements and accurate discoveries in different arts and sciences, have only served to confirm the facts detailed by Moses, and to shew, that all the ancient writers on these subjects have approached, or receded from, truth and the phenomena of Nature, in exactly the same proportion as they have followed or receded from, the Mosaic history. The great fact of the deluge is fully confirmed by the fossilised remains in every quarter of the globe. Add to this, that general traditions of the deluge have been traced among the Egyptians, Chinese, Japanese, Hindoos, Burmans, ancient Goths and Druids, Mexicans, Peruvians, Brazilians, North American Indians, Greenlanders, Otaheiteans, Sandwich Islanders, and almost every nation under heaven; while the allegorical turgidity of these distorted traditions sufficiently distinguishes them from the unadorned simplicity of the Mosaic narrative. In fine, without this history the world would be in comparative darkness, not knowing whence it came, nor whither it goeth. In the first page, a child may learn more in an hour, than all the philosophers in the world learned without it in a thousand years. (The original publisher remembers these words addressed to him and other boys in the year 1780, by his excellent tutor, the later Rev. John Ryland, of Northampton.)

TSK: Genesis 35 (Chapter Introduction)

Overview

Gen 35:1, God commands Jacob to go to Bethel; Gen 35:2, He purges his house of idols; Gen 35:6, He builds an altar at Bethel; Gen 35:8, Deborah dies at Allon-bachuth; Gen 35:9, God blesses Jacob at Bethel; Gen 35:16, Rachel travails of Benjamin, and dies in the way to Edar; Gen 35:22, Reuben lies with Bilhah; Gen 35:23, The sons of Jacob; Gen 35:27, Jacob comes to Isaac at Hebron; Gen 35:28, The age, death, and burial of Isaac.

Poole: Genesis 35 (Chapter Introduction)

CHAPTER 35

God commands Jacob to dwell at Beth-el, and build an altar there, Gen 35:1 . He commands his family to purge themselves from idols, and go to Beth-el, Gen 35:2,3 . They obey, Gen 35:4 . He and they go thither, none pursuing them; the reason thereof, Gen 35:5,6 . There he builds an altar, Gen 35:7 . The death and burial of Rebekah’ s nurse, Gen 35:8 . God appears to Jacob, confirms his name of Israel, renews the promises, Gen 35:9-13 . For which he sets up a pillar, pours oil thereon, and calls the place Beth-el, Gen 35:14,15 . Going thence Rachel dies in labour of Benjamin, and is buried there, Gen 35:16-20 . Reuben commits incest in his father’ s house, Gen 35:22 . Jacob’ s sons’ names, Gen 35:23-26 . Jacob visits his father Isaac, Gen 35:27 . His age, death, and burial, Gen 35:28,29 .

This was a word in season to comfort his disquieted mind, and convey him to a safer place. Understand, and pay thy vows there made in the time of thy distress, but not yet paid; whether it was Jacob’ s error to forget and neglect his former vows and promises; or whether he waited for a fit time, or an admonition from God concerning the season of paying them.

MHCC: Genesis (Book Introduction)

Genesis is a name taken from the Greek, and signifies " the book of generation or production;" it is properly so called, as containing an account of the origin of all things. There is no other history so old. There is nothing in the most ancient book which exists that contradicts it; while many things recorded by the oldest heathen writers, or to be traced in the customs of different nations, confirm what is related in the book of Genesis.

MHCC: Genesis 35 (Chapter Introduction)

(Gen 35:1-5) God commands Jacob to go to Beth-el, He puts away idols from his family.

(Gen 35:6-15) Jacob builds an altar, Death of Deborah, God blesses Jacob.

(Gen 35:16-20) Death of Rachel.

(Gen 35:21-29) Reuben's crime, The death of Isaac.

Matthew Henry: Genesis (Book Introduction)

An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The First Book of Moses, Called Genesis

We have now before us the holy Bible, or book, for so bible signifies. We call it the book, by way of eminency; for it is incomparably the best book that ever was written, the book of books, shining like the sun in the firmament of learning, other valuable and useful books, like the moon and stars, borrowing their light from it. We call it the holy book, because it was written by holy men, and indited by the Holy Ghost; it is perfectly pure from all falsehood and corrupt intention; and the manifest tendency of it is to promote holiness among men. The great things of God's law and gospel are here written to us, that they might be reduced to a greater certainty, might spread further, remain longer, and be transmitted to distant places and ages more pure and entire than possibly they could be by report and tradition: and we shall have a great deal to answer for if these things which belong to our peace, being thus committed to us in black and white, be neglected by us as a strange and foreign thing, Hos 8:12. The scriptures, or writings of the several inspired penmen, from Moses down to St. John, in which divine light, like that of the morning, shone gradually (the sacred canon being now completed), are all put together in this blessed Bible, which, thanks be to God, we have in our hands, and they make as perfect a day as we are to expect on this side of heaven. Every part was good, but all together very good. This is the light that shines in a dark place (2Pe 1:19), and a dark place indeed the world would be without the Bible.

We have before us that part of the Bible which we call the Old Testament, containing the acts and monuments of the church from the creation almost to the coming of Christ in the flesh, which was about four thousand years - the truths then revealed, the laws then enacted, the devotions then paid, the prophecies then given, and the events which concerned that distinguished body, so far as God saw fit to preserve to us the knowledge of them. This is called a testament, or covenant ( diatheke ), because it was a settled declaration of the will of God concerning man in a federal way, and had its force from the designed death of the great testator, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, Rev 8:8. It is called the Old Testament, with relation to the New, which does not cancel and supersede it, but crown and perfect it, by the bringing in of that better hope which was typified and foretold in it; the Old Testament still remains glorious, though the New far exceeds in glory, 2Co 3:9.

We have before us that part of the Old Testament which we call the Pentateuch, or five books of Moses, that servant of the Lord who excelled all the other prophets, and typified the great prophet. In our Saviour's distribution of the books of the Old Testament into the law, the prophets, and the psalms, or Hagiographa , these are the law; for they contain not only the laws given to Israel, in the last four, but the laws given to Adam, to Noah, and to Abraham, in the first. These five books were, for aught we know, the first that ever were written; for we have not the least mention of any writing in all the book of Genesis, nor till God bade Moses write (Exo 17:14); and some think Moses himself never learned to write till God set him his copy in the writing of the ten Commandments upon the tables of stone. However, we are sure these books are the most ancient writings now extant, and therefore best able to give us a satisfactory account of the most ancient things.

We have before us the first and longest of those five books, which we call Genesis, written, some think, when Moses was in Midian, for the instruction and comfort of his suffering brethren in Egypt: I rather think he wrote it in the wilderness, after he had been in the mount with God, where, probably, he received full and particular instructions for the writing of it. And, as he framed the tabernacle, so he did the more excellent and durable fabric of this book, exactly according to the pattern shown him in the mount, into which it is better to resolve the certainty of the things herein contained than into any tradition which possibly might be handed down from Adam to Methuselah, from him to Shem, from him to Abraham, and so to the family of Jacob. Genesis is a name borrowed from the Greek. It signifies the original, or generation: fitly is this book so called, for it is a history of originals - the creation of the world, the entrance of sin and death into it, the invention of arts, the rise of nations, and especially the planting of the church, and the state of it in its early days. It is also a history of generations - the generations of Adam, Noah, Abraham, etc., not endless, but useful genealogies. The beginning of the New Testament is called Genesis too (Mat 1:1), Biblos geneseos the book of the genesis, or generation, of Jesus Christ. Blessed be God for that Book which shows us our remedy, as this opens our wound. Lord, open our eyes, that we may see the wondrous things both of thy law and gospel!

Matthew Henry: Genesis 35 (Chapter Introduction)

In this chapter we have three communions and three funerals. I. Three communions between God and Jacob. 1. God ordered Jacob to Beth-el; and, in obedience to that order, he purged his house of idols, and prepared for that journey (Gen 35:1-5). 2. Jacob built an altar at Beth-el, to the honour of God that had appeared to him, and in performance of his vow (Gen 35:6, Gen 35:7). 3. God appeared to him again, and confirmed the change of his name and covenant with him (Gen 35:9-13), of which appearance Jacob made a grateful acknowledgment (Gen 35:14, Gen 35:15). II. Three funerals. 1. Deborah's (Gen 35:8). 2. Rachel's (Gen 35:16-20). 3. Isaac's (Gen 35:27-29). Here is also Rueben's incest (Gen 35:22), and an account of Jacob's sons (Gen 35:23-26).

Constable: Genesis (Book Introduction)

Introduction

Title

Each book of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Old Testament, called the Torah [instruction] by the Jews) originally received its title in the Hebrew Bible from the first word or words in the book.¹ The Hebrew word translated "in the beginning" is beresit. The English title "Genesis," however, has come to us from the Latin Vulgate translation of Jerome (Liber Genesis). The Latin title came from the Septuagint translation (the Greek translation of the Old Testament made about 300 years before Christ). "Genesis" is a transliteration of the Greek word geneseos, the Greek word that translates the Hebrew toledot. This Hebrew word is the key word in identifying the structure of Genesis, and the translators have usually rendered it "account" or "generations" (2:4; 5:1; 6:9; 10:1; 11:10, 27; 25:12, 19; 36:1, 9; 37:2).

Date

The events recorded date back to the creation of the world.

Many Christians believe the earth is millions of years old. They base this belief on the statements of scientists and understand Scripture in the light of these statements. Likewise, many Christians believe that the human race began hundreds of thousands of years ago for the same reason.

Most evangelicals who take the Scriptures seriously believe that the earth is not much older than 10, 000 years. They base this on the genealogies in Scripture (Gen. 5; 10; 11; et al.), which they understand to be "open" (i.e., not complete). Evangelicals usually hold to a more recent date for man's creation, also for the same reason.

A smaller group of evangelicals believes that the genealogies are either "closed" (i.e., complete) or very close to complete. This leads us to date the creation of the world and man about 6, 000 years ago.²

Liberal interpreters have placed the date of composition of Genesis much later than Moses' lifetime.

If one accepts Mosaic authorship, as most conservative evangelicals do, the date of composition of Genesis must be within Moses' lifetime (ca. 1525-1405 B.C.). This book was perhaps originally intended to encourage the Israelites to trust in their faithful, omnipotent God as they anticipated entrance into the Promised Land from Kadesh Barnea or from the Plains of Moab.³ Moses may have written it earlier to prepare them for the Exodus,⁴ but this seems less likely.

Writer

The authorship of the Pentateuch has been the subject of great controversy among professing Christians since Spinoza introduced "higher criticism" of the Bible in the seventeenth century. The "documentary hypothesis," which developed from his work, is that Moses did not write the Pentateuch, as most scholars in Judaism and the church until that day believed. Instead, it was the product of several writers who lived much later than Moses. A redactor (editor) or redactors combined these several documents into the form we have now. These documents (J, E, D, P, and others) represent a Yahwistic tradition, an Elohistic tradition, a Deuteronomic tradition, a Priestly tradition, etc.⁵

The evidence that Moses wrote the Pentateuch is conclusive if one believes that Jesus Christ spoke the truth when He attributed authorship to Moses (Matt. 19:8; Mark 7:10; Luke 18:29-31; 20:37; 24:27; John 7:19). Jesus Christ did not specifically say that Moses wrote Genesis, but in our Lord's day the Jews regarded the Pentateuch (Torah) as a whole unit. They recognized Moses as the author of all five books. Consequently they would have understood what Jesus said about any of the five books of Moses as an endorsement of the Mosaic authorship of them all.⁶

Scope

The events recorded in Genesis stretch historically from Creation to Joseph's death, a period of at least 2500 years. The first part of the book (ch. 1-11) is not as easy to date precisely as the second part (ch. 12-50). The history of the patriarchs recorded in this second main division of the text covers a period of about 300 years.

The scope of the book progressively and consistently narrows. The selection of content included in Genesis points to the purpose of the divine author: to reveal the history of and basic principles involved in God's relationship with people.⁷

Purpose

Genesis provides the historical basis for the rest of the Bible and the Pentateuch, particularly the Abrahamic Covenant. Chapters 1-11 give historical background essential to understanding that covenant, and chapters 12-50 record the covenant and its initial outworking. The Abrahamic Covenant continues to be the basic arrangement by which God operates in dealing with humanity throughout the Pentateuch and the rest of the Bible.

"The real theme of the Pentateuch is the selection of Israel from the nations and its consecration to the service of God and His Laws in a divinely appointed land. The central event in the development of this theme is the divine covenant with Abraham and its . . . promise to make his offspring into the people of God and to give them the land of Canaan as an everlasting inheritance."⁸

Genesis provides an indispensable prologue to the drama that unfolds in Exodus and the rest of the Pentateuch. The first 11 chapters constitute a prologue to the prologue.

"Two opposite progressions appear in this prologue [chs. 1-11]: (a) God's orderly Creation with its climax in His blessing of man, and (b) the totally disintegrating work of sin with its two greatest curses being the Flood and the dispersion at Babel.⁹ The first progression demonstrates God's plan to bring about perfect order from the beginning in spite of what the reader may know of man's experience. The second progression demonstrates the great need of God's intervention to provide the solution for the corrupt human race."¹⁰

Theology

"The subject matter of the theology in Genesis is certainly God's work in establishing Israel as the means of blessing the families of the earth. This book forms the introduction to the Pentateuch's main theme of the founding of the theocracy, that is, the rule of God over all Creation. It presents the origins behind the founding of the theocracy: the promised blessing that Abraham's descendants would be in the land.

"Exodus presents the redemption of the seed out of bondage and the granting of a covenant to them. Leviticus is the manual of ordinances enabling the holy God to dwell among His people by making them holy. Numbers records the military arrangement and census of the tribes in the wilderness, and shows how God preserves His promised blessings from internal and external threats. Deuteronomy presents the renewal of the covenant.

"In the unfolding of this grand program of God, Genesis introduces the reader to the nature of God as the sovereign Lord over the universe who will move heaven and earth to establish His will. He seeks to bless mankind, but does not tolerate disobedience and unbelief. Throughout this revelation the reader learns that without faith it is impossible to please God' (Heb. 11:6)."¹¹

Message¹²

The message of the Bible might be the best place to begin our study of the Old Testament. What is the Bible all about? We could state it as follows: God desires to glorify Himself by blessing humankind.

The message of the Pentateuch (Torah) is that people can experience God's blessing by trusting Him (believing His word) and by obeying Him (following His initiative).

Genesis is in the Bible primarily to teach us this lesson. People can enjoy a personal relationship with God and thereby realize their own fulfillment as human beings only through trust in God and obedience to God. This is the message statement. Genesis reveals that God is faithful to His promises and powerful enough to bring them to fulfillment.

Genesis reveals that God originally intended people to have an immediate relationship with their Creator. Evidences for this are as follows.

1. God made man as a special creation (2:7).

2. He made man with special care (2:7).

3. He made man in His own image (1:26-27).

4. He regarded man as His son (1:28-30).

5. He consistently demonstrated concern for man's welfare (3:9).

God's immediate relationship with Adam was broken by the Fall (ch. 3). In the Fall man did two things.

1. He failed to trust God's goodness with his mind.

2. He rebelled against God's government with his will (3:6).

God then took the initiative to re-establish the relationship with man that He had created man to enjoy. He provided a covering for man's sin until He would finally remove it. This temporary covering came through the sacrificial system.

Throughout Genesis we see that people in general consistently failed to trust and obey God (e.g., in Noah's day, at Babel, in the patriarchal period).

Genesis also records what God has done to encourage people to trust and obey Him. It is only by living by these two principles that people can enjoy a relationship with God and realize all that God created them to experience.

On the one hand, Genesis reveals much about the person and work of God. This revelation helps us trust and obey Him. It is through His personal revelations to the main characters in Genesis that God revealed Himself initially (e.g., Adam and Eve, Noah, the patriarchs).

On the other hand, Genesis reveals much about the nature of man. Not only did God reveal the perversity of man, but He also identified positive examples of faith and obedience in the lives of the godly.

In Genesis we learn that faith in God is absolutely essential if we are to have fellowship with Him and realize our potential as human beings.

Faith is the law of life. If one lives by faith he flourishes, but if he does not, he fails. The four patriarchs are primarily examples of what faith is and how it manifests itself. In each of their lives we learn something new about faith.

Abraham's faith demonstrates unquestioning obedience. When God told him to do something, he did it. This is the most basic characteristic of faith. That is one reason why Abraham is "the father of the faithful." God revealed Himself nine times to Abraham and each time Abraham's response was unquestioning obedience.

Isaac's faith helps us see the quality of passive acceptance that characterizes true faith in God. This was his response to God's two revelations to him.

Jacob's story is one of conflict with God until he came to realize his own limitations. Then he trusted God. We can see his faith in his acknowledged dependence on God. God's seven revelations to him eventually led him to this position.

Joseph's life teaches us what God can do with a person who trusts Him consistently in the face of adversity. The outstanding characteristic of Joseph's life was his faithful loyalty to God. He believed God's two revelations to him in dreams even though God's will did not seem to be working out as he thought it would. Patient faith and its reward shine through the story of Joseph.

Faith, the key concept in Genesis, means trusting that what God has prescribed is indeed best for me and waiting for God to provide what He has promised. A person of faith is one who commits to acting on this basis even though he or she may not see how it is best.

The Pentateuch is all about God, man, and our relationship. In our study of it, we will be building a model to show how each new book builds on what has preceded. The key concept in Genesis is faith.

Constable: Genesis (Outline)

Outline

The structure of Genesis is very clear. The phrase "the generations of" (toledot in Hebrew, from yalad meaning "to bear, to generate") occurs ten times (really eleven times since 36:9 repeats 36:1), and in each case it introduces a new section of the book.¹³ The first part of Genesis is introductory and sets the scene for what follows. An outline of Genesis based on this structure is as follows.

1. Introduction 1:1-2:3

2. The generations of heaven and earth 2:4-4:26

3. The generations of Adam 5:1-6:8

4. The generations of Noah 6:9-9:29

5. The generations of the sons of Noah 10:1-11:9

6. The generations of Shem 11:10-26

7. The generations of Terah 11:27-25:11

8. The generations of Ishmael 25:12-18

9. The generations of Isaac 25:19-35:29

10. The generations of Esau 36:1-43

11. The generations of Jacob 37:1-50:26

A full expository outline designed to highlight the relative emphases of the book follows. We shall follow this outline in these notes as we seek to unpack the message of the book.

I. Primeval events 1:1-11:26

A. The story of creation 1:1-2:3

1. An initial statement of creation 1:1

2. Conditions at the time of creation 1:2

3. The six days of creation 1:3-31

4. The seventh day 2:1-3

B. What became of the creation 2:4-4:26

1. The garden of Eden 2:4-3:24

2. The murder of Abel 4:1-16

3. The spread of civilization and sin 4:17-26

C. What became of Adam 5:1-6:8

1. The effects of the curse on humanity ch. 5

2. God's sorrow over man's wickedness 6:1-8

D. What became of Noah 6:9-9:29

1. The Flood 6:9-8:22

2. The Noahic Covenant 9:1-17

3. The curse on Canaan 9:18-29

E. What became of Noah's sons 10:1-11:9

1. The table of nations ch. 10

2. The dispersion at Babel 11:1-9

F. What became of Shem 11:10-26

II. Patriarchal narratives 11:27-50:26

A. What became of Terah 11:27-25:11

1. Terah and Abraham's obedience 11:27-12:9

2. Abram in Egypt 12:10-20

3. Abram's separation from Lot ch. 13

4. Abram's military victory ch. 14

5. The Abrahamic covenant ch. 15

6. The birth of Ishmael ch. 16

7. The sign of circumcision ch. 17

8. Yahweh's visit to Abraham 18:1-15

9. Abraham's intercession for Lot 18:16-33

10. The destruction of Sodom ch. 19

11. Abraham's sojourn at Gerar ch. 20

12. The birth of Isaac 21:1-21

13. Abimelech's treaty with Abraham 21:22-34

14. The sacrifice of Isaac 22:1-19

15. The descendants of Nahor 22:20-24

16. The purchase of Sarah's tomb ch. 23

17. The choice of a bride for Isaac ch. 24

18. Abraham's death 25:1-11

B. What became of Ishmael 25:12-18

C. What became of Isaac 25:19-35:29

1. Isaac's twin sons 25:19-26

2. The sale of the birthright 25:27-34

3. Isaac and Abimelech 26:1-11

4. Isaac's wells 26:12-33

5. Jacob's deception for Isaac's blessing 26:34-28:9

6. Jacob's vision at Bethel 28:10-22

7. Jacob's marriages and Laban's deception 29:1-30

8. Jacob's mishandling of God's blessings 29:31-30:24

9. Jacob's new contract with Laban 30:25-43

10. Jacob's flight from Haran ch. 31

11. Jacob's attempt to appease Esau 32:1-21

12. Jacob at the Jabbok 32:22-32

13. Jacob's meeting with Esau and his return to Canaan ch. 33

14. The rape of Dinah and the revenge of Simeon and Levi ch. 34

15. Jacob's return to Bethel ch. 35

D. What became of Esau 36:1-37:1

E. What became of Jacob 37:2-50:26

1. God's choice of Joseph 37:2-11

2. The sale of Joseph into Egypt 37:12-36

3. Judah and Tamar ch. 38

4. Joseph in Potiphar's house ch. 39

5. The prisoners' dreams and Joseph's interpretations ch. 40

6. Pharaoh's dreams and Joseph's interpretation ch. 41

7. Joseph's brothers' first journey into Egypt ch. 42

8. Joseph's brothers' second journey into Egypt ch. 43

9. Joseph's last test and its results ch. 44

10. Joseph's reconciliation with his brothers 45:1-15

11. Israel's move to Egypt 45:16-46:30

12. Joseph's wise leadership 46:31-47:27

13. Jacob's worship in Egypt 47:28-48:22

14. Jacob's blessing of his sons 49:1-28

15. Deaths and a promise yet to be fulfilled 49:29-50:26¹⁴

Constable: Genesis

Bibliography

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Copyright 2003 by Thomas L. Constable

Haydock: Genesis (Book Introduction)

THE BOOK OF GENESIS.

INTRODUCTION.

The Hebrews now entitle all the Five Books of Moses, from the initial words, which originally were written like one continued word or verse; but the Septuagint have preferred to give the titles the most memorable occurrences of each work. On this occasion, the Creation of all things out of nothing, strikes us with peculiar force. We find a refutation of all the heathenish mythology, and of the world's eternity, which Aristotle endeavoured to establish. We behold the short reign of innocence, and the origin of sin and misery, the dispersion of nations, and the providence of God watching over his chosen people, till the death of Joseph, about the year of the world 2369 (Usher) 2399 (Salien and Tirinus), the year before Christ 1631. We shall witness the same care in the other Books of Scripture, and adore his wisdom and goodness in preserving to himself faithful witnesses, and a true Holy Catholic Church, in all ages, even when the greatest corruption seemed to overspread the land. (Haydock)

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This Book is so called from its treating of the Generation, that is, of the Creation and the beginning of the world. The Hebrews call it Bereshith, from the word with which it begins. It contains not only the History of the Creation of the World, but also an account of its progress during the space of 2369 years, that is, until the death of Joseph.

Gill: Genesis (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS

This book, in the Hebrew copies of the Bible, and by the Jewish writers, is generally called Bereshith, which signifies "in the beginning", being the first word of it; as the other four books of Moses are also called from their initial words. In the Syriac and Arabic versions, the title of this book is "The Book of the Creation", because it begins with an account of the creation of all things; and is such an account, and so good an one, as is not to be met with anywhere else: the Greek version calls it Genesis, and so we and other versions from thence; and that because it treats of the generation of all things, of the heavens, and the earth, and all that are in them, and of the genealogy of men: it treats of the first men, of the patriarchs before the flood, and after it to the times of Joseph. It is called the "first" book of Moses, because there are four more that follow; the name the Jewish Rabbins give to the whole is חמשה חומשי תורה, "the five fifths of the law", to which the Greek word "pentateuch" answers; by which we commonly call these books, they being but one volume, consisting of five parts, of which this is the first. And that they were all written by Moses is generally believed by Jews and Christians. Some atheistical persons have suggested the contrary; our countryman Hobbes ^a would have it, that these books are called his, not from his being the author of them, but from his being the subject of them; not because they were written by him, but because they treat of him: but certain it is that Moses both wrote them, and was read, as he was in the Jewish synagogues, every sabbath day, which can relate to no other writings but these, Joh 1:45. And Spinosa, catching at some doubts raised by Aben Ezra on Deu 1:1 concerning some passages which seemed to him to have been added by another hand, forms objections against Moses being the author of the book of Genesis; which are sufficiently answered by Carpzovius ^b. Nor can Ezra be the author of the Pentateuch, as Spinosa suspects; since it is plain these writings were in being before his time, in the times of Josiah, Amaziah, yea, of David, and also of Joshua, 2Ch 34:14 nay, they are even referred to in the book of Ezra as the writings of Moses, Ezr 3:2 to which may be added, in proof of the same, Deu 31:9. Nor are there any other writings of his authentic; what are ascribed to him, as the Analepsis of Moses, his Apocalypse, and his Last Will and Testament, are apocryphal. That this book of Genesis particularly was written by him, is evident from the testimony of Philip, and even of our Lord Jesus Christ, who both testify that he wrote concerning the Messiah, Joh 1:45 as he did in this book, where he speaks of him as the seed of the woman that should break the serpent's head; as the seed of Abraham, in whom all the nations of the earth should be blessed; and as the Shiloh, to whom the gathering of the people should be, Gen 3:15. Nor is there any reason to believe that he wrote this book from the annals of the patriarchs, since it does not appear, nor is it very probable, that they had any; nor from traditions delivered down from one to another, from father to son, which is more probable, considering the length of the lives of the patriarchs: but yet such a variety of particulars respecting times, places, persons, their genealogies and circumstances, so nicely and exactly given, can scarcely be thought to be the fruit of memory; and much less is it to be imagined that he was assisted in it by Gabriel, when he lived in solitude in Midian: but it is best of all to ascribe it to divine inspiration, as all Scripture is by the apostle, 2Ti 3:16 for who else but God could have informed him of the creation, and the manner and order in which every creature was brought into being, with a multitude of things recorded in this book? the design of which is to lead men into the knowledge and worship of the one true God, the Creator of all things, and of the origin of mankind, the fall of our first parents, and their posterity in them; and to point at the means and method of the recovery of man by the Messiah, the promised seed; and to give an account of the state and case of the church of God, in the times of the patriarchs, both before and after the flood, from Adam, in the line of Seth, to Noah; and from Noah to the times of Joseph, in whose death it ends: and, according to Usher ^c, it contains an history of two thousand, three hundred, and sixty nine years.

Gill: Genesis 35 (Chapter Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS 35

This chapter gives an account of Jacob's going to Bethel, and building an altar there by the order and direction of God, Gen 35:1, where Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died and was buried, Gen 35:8, and where God appeared to Jacob, confirmed the new name of Israel he had given him, and renewed to him the promises of the multiplication of his seed, and of their inheriting the land of Canaan, Gen 35:9; all which is gratefully acknowledged by Jacob, who erected a pillar in the place, and called it Bethel, in memory of God's gracious appearance to him there, Gen 35:14; from hence he journeyed towards his father's house, and on the way Rachel his wife fell in travail, and bore him a son, and died, and was buried near Ephrath, Gen 35:16; near this place Reuben committed incest with Bilhah, Gen 35:22, and the names of the twelve sons of Jacob are given, Gen 35:23; and the chapter is closed with an account of Jacob's arrival at his father's house, of the death of Isaac, and of his burial at the direction of his two sons, Gen 35:27.