Genesis 31:13

31:13 I am the God of Bethel, ¹  where you anointed ²  the sacred stone and made a vow to me. ³  Now leave this land immediately ⁴  and return to your native land.’”

Genesis 31:45

31:45 So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a memorial pillar.

Genesis 35:14

35:14 So Jacob set up a sacred stone pillar in the place where God spoke with him. ⁵  He poured out a drink offering on it, and then he poured oil on it. ⁶ 

Genesis 35:20

35:20 Jacob set up a marker ⁷  over her grave; it is ⁸  the Marker of Rachel’s Grave to this day.

Joshua 24:26-27

24:26 Joshua wrote these words in the Law Scroll of God. He then took a large stone and set it up there under the oak tree near the Lord’s shrine. 24:27 Joshua said to all the people, “Look, this stone will be a witness against you, for it has heard everything the Lord said to us. ⁹  It will be a witness against you if ¹⁰  you deny your God.”

Joshua 24:1

Israel Renews its Commitment to the Lord

24:1 Joshua assembled all the Israelite tribes at Shechem. He summoned Israel’s elders, rulers, judges, and leaders, and they appeared before God.

Joshua 7:12

7:12 The Israelites are unable to stand before their enemies; they retreat because they have become subject to annihilation. ¹¹  I will no longer be with you, ¹²  unless you destroy what has contaminated you. ¹³ 

Joshua 7:2

7:2 Joshua sent men from Jericho ¹⁴  to Ai (which is located near Beth Aven, east of Bethel ¹⁵ ) and instructed them, “Go up and spy on the land.” So the men went up and spied on Ai.

Joshua 18:18

18:18 It crossed to the slope in front of the Arabah to the north and descended into the Arabah.

Isaiah 19:19

19:19 At that time there will be an altar for the Lord in the middle of the land of Egypt, as well as a sacred pillar ¹⁶  dedicated to the Lord at its border.

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

² sn You anointed the sacred stone. In Gen 28:18 the text simply reported that Jacob poured oil on top of the stone. Now that pouring is interpreted by the Lord as an anointing. Jacob had consecrated the place.

³ sn And made a vow to me. The second clause reminds Jacob of the vow he made to the Lord when he anointed the stone (Gen 28:20-22). God is now going to take him back to the land, and so he will have to fulfill his vow.

⁴ tn Heb “arise, leave!” The first imperative draws attention to the need for immediate action.

⁵ 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.

⁶ 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.

⁷ tn Heb “standing stone.”

⁸ tn Or perhaps “it is known as” (cf. NEB).

⁹ tn Heb “all the words of the Lord which he spoke with us.”

¹⁰ tn Or “lest,” “so that you might not.”

¹¹ tn Heb “they turn [the] back before their enemies because they are set apart [to destruction by the Lord].”

¹² tn The second person pronoun is plural in Hebrew, indicating these words are addressed to the entire nation.

¹³ tn Heb “what is set apart [to destruction by the Lord] from your midst.”

¹⁴ map For location see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.

¹⁵ map For the location of Bethel see Map4-G4; Map5-C1; Map6-E3; Map7-D1; Map8-G3.

¹⁶ tn This word is sometimes used of a sacred pillar associated with pagan worship, but here it is associated with the worship of the Lord.