Genesis 33:20

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

Genesis 14:6

14:6 and the Horites in their hill country of Seir, as far as El Paran, which is near the desert. ² 

Genesis 35:7

35:7 He built an altar there and named the place El Bethel ³  because there God had revealed himself ⁴  to him when he was fleeing from his brother.

Genesis 35:15

35:15 Jacob named the place ⁵  where God spoke with him Bethel. ⁶ 

Genesis 13:3

13:3 And he journeyed from place to place ⁷  from the Negev as far as Bethel. ⁸  He returned ⁹  to the place where he had pitched his tent ¹⁰  at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai.

Genesis 12:8

12:8 Then he moved from there to the hill country east of Bethel ¹¹  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. ¹² 

Genesis 28:19

28:19 He called that place Bethel, ¹³  although the former name of the town was Luz.

Genesis 35:6

35:6 Jacob and all those who were with him arrived at Luz (that is, Bethel) ¹⁴  in the land of Canaan. ¹⁵ 

Genesis 35:8

35:8 (Deborah, ¹⁶  Rebekah’s nurse, died and was buried under the oak below Bethel; thus it was named ¹⁷  Oak of Weeping.) ¹⁸ 

Genesis 35:16

35:16 They traveled on from Bethel, and when Ephrath was still some distance away, ¹⁹  Rachel went into labor ²⁰  – and her labor was hard.

Genesis 16:13

16:13 So Hagar named the Lord who spoke to her, “You are the God who sees me,” ²¹  for she said, “Here I have seen one who sees me!” ²² 

Genesis 31:13

31:13 I am the God of Bethel, ²³  where you anointed ²⁴  the sacred stone and made a vow to me. ²⁵  Now leave this land immediately ²⁶  and return to your native land.’”

Genesis 35:1

The Return to Bethel

35:1 Then God said to Jacob, “Go up at once ²⁷  to Bethel ²⁸  and live there. Make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.” ²⁹ 

Genesis 35:3

35:3 Let us go up at once ³⁰  to Bethel. Then I will make ³¹  an altar there to God, who responded to me in my time of distress ³²  and has been with me wherever I went.” ³³ 

[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.

[14:6]  ² sn The line of attack ran down the eastern side of the Jordan Valley into the desert, and then turned and came up the valley to the cities of the plain.

[35:7]  ³ sn The name El-Bethel means “God of Bethel.”

[35:7]  ⁴ 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.

[35:15]  ⁴ 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.

[35:15]  ⁵ tn The name Bethel means “house of God” in Hebrew.

[13:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “on his journeys”; the verb and noun combination means to pick up the tents and move from camp to camp.

[13:3]  ⁶ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[13:3]  ⁷ tn The words “he returned” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[13:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “where his tent had been.”

[12:8]  ⁶ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[12:8]  ⁷ 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.

[28:19]  ⁷ tn The name Bethel means “house of God” in Hebrew (see v. 17).

[35:6]  ⁸ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[35:6]  ⁹ 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.”

[35:8]  ⁹ 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.

[35:8]  ¹⁰ tn “and he called its name.” There is no expressed subject, so the verb can be translated as passive.

[35:8]  ¹¹ 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.

[35:16]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and there was still a stretch of the land to go to Ephrath.”

[35:16]  ¹¹ 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.”

[16:13]  ¹¹ tn Heb “God of my seeing.” The pronominal suffix may be understood either as objective (“who sees me,” as in the translation) or subjective (“whom I see”).

[16:13]  ¹² tn Heb “after one who sees me.”

[31:13]  ¹² map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[31:13]  ¹³ 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.

[31:13]  ¹⁴ 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.

[31:13]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “arise, leave!” The first imperative draws attention to the need for immediate action.

[35:1]  ¹³ tn Heb “arise, go up.” The first imperative gives the command a sense of urgency.

[35:1]  ¹⁴ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[35:1]  ¹⁵ sn God is calling on Jacob to fulfill his vow he made when he fled from…Esau (see Gen 28:20-22).

[35:3]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “let us arise and let us go up.” The first cohortative gives the statement a sense of urgency.

[35:3]  ¹⁵ tn The cohortative with the prefixed conjunction here indicates purpose or consequence.

[35:3]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “day of distress.” See Ps 20:1 which utilizes similar language.

[35:3]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “in the way in which I went.” Jacob alludes here to God’s promise to be with him (see Gen 28:20).