Genesis 35:1

The Return to Bethel

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 

Genesis 35:6-7

35:6 Jacob and all those who were with him arrived at Luz (that is, Bethel) ⁴  in the land of Canaan. ⁵  35:7 He built an altar there and named the place El Bethel ⁶  because there God had revealed himself ⁷  to him when he was fleeing from his brother.

Genesis 48:3

48:3 Jacob said to Joseph, “The sovereign God ⁸  appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me.

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

[35:1]  ² map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[35:1]  ³ sn God is calling on Jacob to fulfill his vow he made when he fled from…Esau (see Gen 28:20-22).

[35:6]  ⁴ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[35:6]  ⁵ 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.”

[35:7]  ⁶ sn The name El-Bethel means “God of Bethel.”

[35:7]  ⁷ 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.

[48:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “El Shaddai.” See the extended note on the phrase “sovereign God” in Gen 17:1.