Genesis 33:20

33:20 There he set up an altar and called it “The God of Israel is God.” ¹ 

Genesis 13:18

13:18 So Abram moved his tents and went to live ²  by the oaks ³  of Mamre in Hebron, and he built an altar to the Lord there.

Genesis 8:20

8:20 Noah built an altar to the Lord. He then took some of every kind of clean animal and clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. ⁴ 

Genesis 12:7

12:7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants ⁵  I will give this land.” So Abram ⁶  built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.

Genesis 26:25

26:25 Then Isaac built an altar there and worshiped ⁷  the Lord. He pitched his tent there, and his servants dug a well. ⁸ 

Genesis 35:3

35:3 Let us go up at once ⁹  to Bethel. Then I will make ¹⁰  an altar there to God, who responded to me in my time of distress ¹¹  and has been with me wherever I went.” ¹² 

Genesis 35:7

35:7 He built an altar there and named the place El Bethel ¹³  because there God had revealed himself ¹⁴  to him when he was fleeing from his brother.

Genesis 12:8

12:8 Then he moved from there to the hill country east of Bethel ¹⁵  and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and worshiped the Lord. ¹⁶ 

Genesis 35:1

The Return to Bethel

35:1 Then God said to Jacob, “Go up at once ¹⁷  to Bethel ¹⁸  and live there. Make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.” ¹⁹ 

[33:20]  ¹ tn Heb “God, the God of Israel.” Rather than translating the name, a number of modern translations merely transliterate it from the Hebrew as “El Elohe Israel” (cf. NIV, NRSV, REB). It is not entirely clear how the name should be interpreted grammatically. One option is to supply an equative verb, as in the translation: “The God of Israel [is] God.” Another interpretive option is “the God of Israel [is] strong [or “mighty”].” Buying the land and settling down for a while was a momentous step for the patriarch, so the commemorative naming of the altar is significant.

[13:18]  ² tn Heb “he came and lived.”

[13:18]  ³ tn Or “terebinths.”

[8:20]  ³ sn Offered burnt offerings on the altar. F. D. Maurice includes a chapter on the sacrifice of Noah in The Doctrine of Sacrifice. The whole burnt offering, according to Leviticus 1, represented the worshiper’s complete surrender and dedication to the Lord. After the flood Noah could see that God was not only a God of wrath, but a God of redemption and restoration. The one who escaped the catastrophe could best express his gratitude and submission through sacrificial worship, acknowledging God as the sovereign of the universe.

[12:7]  ⁴ tn The same Hebrew term זֶרַע (zera’) may mean “seed” (for planting), “offspring” (occasionally of animals, but usually of people), or “descendants” depending on the context.

[12:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been supplied in the translation for clarification.

[26:25]  ⁵ tn Heb “called in the name of.” The expression refers to worshiping the Lord through prayer and sacrifice (see Gen 4:26; 12:8; 13:4; 21:33). See G. J. Wenham, Genesis (WBC), 1:116.

[26:25]  ⁶ tn Heb “and they dug there, the servants of Isaac, a well.”

[35:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “let us arise and let us go up.” The first cohortative gives the statement a sense of urgency.

[35:3]  ⁷ tn The cohortative with the prefixed conjunction here indicates purpose or consequence.

[35:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “day of distress.” See Ps 20:1 which utilizes similar language.

[35:3]  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).

[35:7]  ⁷ sn The name El-Bethel means “God of Bethel.”

[35:7]  ⁸ 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.

[12:8]  ⁸ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[12:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “he called in the name of the Lord.” The expression refers to worshiping the Lord through prayer and sacrifice (see Gen 4:26; 13:4; 21:33; 26:25). See G. J. Wenham, Genesis (WBC), 1:116, 281.

[35:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “arise, go up.” The first imperative gives the command a sense of urgency.

[35:1]  ¹⁰ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[35:1]  ¹¹ sn God is calling on Jacob to fulfill his vow he made when he fled from…Esau (see Gen 28:20-22).