35:1 Then God said to Jacob, “Go up at once 1 to Bethel 2 and live there. Make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.” 3 35:2 So Jacob told his household and all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods you have among you. 4 Purify yourselves and change your clothes. 5 35:3 Let us go up at once 6 to Bethel. Then I will make 7 an altar there to God, who responded to me in my time of distress 8 and has been with me wherever I went.” 9
35:4 So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods that were in their possession 10 and the rings that were in their ears. 11 Jacob buried them 12 under the oak 13 near Shechem 35:5 and they started on their journey. 14 The surrounding cities were afraid of God, 15 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) 16 in the land of Canaan. 17 35:7 He built an altar there and named the place El Bethel 18 because there God had revealed himself 19 to him when he was fleeing from his brother. 35:8 (Deborah, 20 Rebekah’s nurse, died and was buried under the oak below Bethel; thus it was named 21 Oak of Weeping.) 22
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. 23 35:11 Then God said to him, “I am the sovereign God. 24 Be fruitful and multiply! A nation – even a company of nations – will descend from you; kings will be among your descendants! 25 35:12 The land I gave 26 to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you. To your descendants 27 I will also give this land.” 35:13 Then God went up from the place 28 where he spoke with him. 35:14 So Jacob set up a sacred stone pillar in the place where God spoke with him. 29 He poured out a drink offering on it, and then he poured oil on it. 30 35:15 Jacob named the place 31 where God spoke with him Bethel. 32
35:16 They traveled on from Bethel, and when Ephrath was still some distance away, 33 Rachel went into labor 34 – and her labor was hard. 35:17 When her labor was at its hardest, 35 the midwife said to her, “Don’t be afraid, for you are having another son.” 36 35:18 With her dying breath, 37 she named him Ben-Oni. 38 But his father called him Benjamin instead. 39 35:19 So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). 40 35:20 Jacob set up a marker 41 over her grave; it is 42 the Marker of Rachel’s Grave to this day.
35:21 Then Israel traveled on and pitched his tent beyond Migdal Eder. 43 35:22 While Israel was living in that land, Reuben had sexual relations with 44 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, 45 to Kiriath Arba 46 (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had stayed. 47 35:28 Isaac lived to be 180 years old. 48 35:29 Then Isaac breathed his last and joined his ancestors. 49 He died an old man who had lived a full life. 50 His sons Esau and Jacob buried him.
26:10 Then Abimelech exclaimed, “What in the world have you done to us? 51 One of the men 52 might easily have had sexual relations with 53 your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us!”
26:16 Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “Leave us and go elsewhere, 55 for you have become much more powerful 56 than we are.” 26:17 So Isaac left there and settled in the Gerar Valley. 57 26:18 Isaac reopened 58 the wells that had been dug 59 back in the days of his father Abraham, for the Philistines had stopped them up 60 after Abraham died. Isaac 61 gave these wells 62 the same names his father had given them. 63
15:14 The nations will hear 64 and tremble;
anguish 65 will seize 66 the inhabitants of Philistia.
2:3 The shields of his warriors are dyed red; 67
the mighty soldiers are dressed in scarlet garments. 68
The metal fittings 69 of the chariots 70 shine
like 71 fire 72 on the day of battle; 73
the soldiers brandish 74 their spears. 75
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).
4 tn Heb “which are in your midst.”
5 sn The actions of removing false gods, becoming ritually clean, and changing garments would become necessary steps in Israel when approaching the
6 tn Heb “let us arise and let us go up.” The first cohortative gives the statement a sense of urgency.
7 tn The cohortative with the prefixed conjunction here indicates purpose or consequence.
8 tn Heb “day of distress.” See Ps 20:1 which utilizes similar language.
9 tn Heb “in the way in which I went.” Jacob alludes here to God’s promise to be with him (see Gen 28:20).
10 tn Heb “in their hand.”
11 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).
12 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.
13 tn Or “terebinth.”
14 tn Heb “and they journeyed.”
15 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”).
16 map For location see Map4-G4; Map5-C1; Map6-E3; Map7-D1; Map8-G3.
17 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.”
18 sn The name El-Bethel means “God of Bethel.”
19 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.
20 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.
21 tn “and he called its name.” There is no expressed subject, so the verb can be translated as passive.
22 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.
23 tn Heb “and he called his name Israel.” The referent of the pronoun “he” (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
24 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.
25 tn Heb “A nation and a company of nations will be from you and kings from your loins will come out.”
26 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
27 tn Heb “and to your offspring after you.”
28 tn Heb “went up from upon him in the place.”
29 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.
30 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.
31 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.
32 tn The name Bethel means “house of God” in Hebrew.
33 tn Heb “and there was still a stretch of the land to go to Ephrath.”
34 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.”
35 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).
36 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.
37 tn Heb “in the going out of her life, for she was dying.” Rachel named the child with her dying breath.
38 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.
39 tn The disjunctive clause is contrastive.
40 sn This explanatory note links the earlier name Ephrath with the later name Bethlehem.
41 tn Heb “standing stone.”
42 tn Or perhaps “it is known as” (cf. NEB).
43 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.
44 tn Heb “and Reuben went and lay with.” The expression “lay with” is a euphemism for having sexual intercourse.
45 tn This is an adverbial accusative of location.
46 tn The name “Kiriath Arba” is in apposition to the preceding name, “Mamre.”
47 tn The Hebrew verb גּוּר (gur), traditionally rendered “to sojourn,” refers to temporary settlement without ownership rights.
48 tn Heb “And the days of Isaac were one hundred and eighty years.”
49 tn Heb “and Isaac expired and died and he was gathered to his people.” In the ancient Israelite view he joined his deceased ancestors in Sheol, the land of the dead.
50 tn Heb “old and full of years.”
51 tn Heb “What is this you have done to us?” The Hebrew demonstrative pronoun “this” adds emphasis: “What in the world have you done to us?” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 24, §118).
52 tn Heb “people.”
53 tn The Hebrew verb means “to lie down.” Here the expression “lie with” or “sleep with” is euphemistic for “have sexual relations with.”
54 tn Heb “and the Philistines stopped them up and filled them with dirt.”
55 tn Heb “Go away from us.”
56 sn You have become much more powerful. This explanation for the expulsion of Isaac from Philistine territory foreshadows the words used later by the Egyptians to justify their oppression of Israel (see Exod 1:9).
57 tn Heb “and he camped in the valley of Gerar and he lived there.”
58 tn Heb “he returned and dug,” meaning “he dug again” or “he reopened.”
59 tn Heb “that they dug.” Since the subject is indefinite, the verb is translated as passive.
60 tn Heb “and the Philistines had stopped them up.” This clause explains why Isaac had to reopen them.
61 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
62 tn Heb “them”; the referent (the wells) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
63 tn Heb “called names to them according to the names that his father called them.”
64 tn This verb is a prophetic perfect, assuming that the text means what it said and this song was sung at the Sea. So all these countries were yet to hear of the victory.
65 tn The word properly refers to “pangs” of childbirth. When the nations hear, they will be terrified.
66 tn The verb is again a prophetic perfect.
67 tc The MT reads מְאָדָּם (mÿ’adam, “reddened”) from אָדֹם (’adom, “red”). The LXX confused the roots אָדָם (“man”) and אָדֹם (“red”): ἐξ ἀνθρώπων (ex anqrwpwn, “from among men”) which reflects מֵאָדָם (me’adam, “from man”) from אָדָם.
68 tn The Pual participle מְתֻלָּעִים (mÿtulla’im, “dressed in scarlet”) from תָּלָע (tala’, “scarlet”) is used elsewhere of clothing dyed red or purple (Isa 1:18; Lam 4:5).
69 tc The MT reads פְּלָדוֹת (pÿladot, “steel”; see the following tn). The LXX’s αἱ ἡνιάι (Jai Jhniai, “the reins”) and Vulgate’s habenai (“reins”) confused פְּלָדוֹת (pÿladot) with כְּלָיוֹת (kÿlayot, “reins, kidneys”). The BHS editors suggest emending the MT’s פְּלָדוֹת (peladot) to לַפִּדוֹת (lappidot, “torches”) to create the simile כְּאֵשׁ לַפִּדוֹת (kÿ’esh lappidot, “like torches of fire” or “like flaming torches”) which is reflected in the Syriac Peshitta and Symmachus (so KJV, RSV, NJPS). The problem with this is that לַפִּיד (lappid, “torch”) is masculine in gender, so the plural form is not לַפִּדוֹת but לַפִּדִים (lappidim) – which appears in Nah 2:4 (BDB 542 s.v. לַפִּיד; HALOT 533 s.v. לַפִּיד). Others propose a complete reversal of the consonants to דלפות from the root דָּלַף (dalaf, “to drip, to trickle, to leak, to weep”) and translate כְּאֵשׁ דְלָפוֹת (kÿ’esh dÿlafot) as “like flickering fire” (so NEB). Against this proposal is the fact that דָּלָף is usually used in reference to water, but it is never used in reference to fire (HALOT 223 s.v. דלף; BDB 196 s.v. דָּלַף).
70 tn The collective singular רֶכֶב (rekhev, “chariot”) refers to all of the chariots in the army as a whole: “chariots; chariotry” (BDB 939 s.v. 1; HALOT 891 s.v. 1). The singular form rarely refers to a single chariot (BDB 939 s.v. 2; HALOT 891 s.v. 3). The collective use is indicated by the plural verb “they race back and forth” (יִתְהוֹלְלוּ, yitholÿlu) in v. 5 (GKC 462 §145.b). The term רֶכֶב usually refers to war chariots (Exod 14:7; Josh 11:4; 17:16, 18; 24:6; Judg 1:19; 4:3, 7, 13; 5:28; 1 Sam 13:5; 2 Sam 1:6; 8:4; 10:18; 1 Kgs 9:19, 22; 10:26; Jer 47:3; 50:37; 51:21; Ezek 23:24; Nah 2:3, 4, 13).
71 tc The MT reads the preposition בְּ (bet, “are [like]”), but several Hebrew
72 tn Or perhaps “The chariots are [like] flaming torches.”
73 tn Heb “on the day of its preparation.” The Hiphil infinitive construct הֲכִינוֹ (hakhino; from כּוּן, kun) means “to prepare, to make ready” (HALOT 465 s.v. כּוּן; BDB 466 s.v. כּוּן). The Hiphil verb is used of preparing weapons and military equipment for the day of battle (2 Chr 26:14; Ps 7:13 [HT 7:14]; 57:6 [HT 57:7]). The 3rd person masculine singular suffix (“its preparation”) is a collective singular, referring to the chariotry as a whole.
74 tc Some scholars adopt the variant reading הַפְּרֹשִׁים (happÿroshim, “the horses”) and relate הָרְעָלוּ (hor’alu) to Arabic raàala (“to stand in row and rank”): “the horses stand in row and rank,” that is, at attention. However, it is preferable to retain the MT for the noun, with the verb given its normal Hebrew meaning.
75 tc The MT reads הַבְּרֹשִׁים (habbÿroshim, “the cypresses”). A variant textual tradition (preserved in several Hebrew