Genesis 35:5-8

35:5 and they started on their journey. ¹  The surrounding cities were afraid of God, ²  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) ³  in the land of Canaan. ⁴  35:7 He built an altar there and named the place El Bethel ⁵  because there God had revealed himself ⁶  to him when he was fleeing from his brother. 35:8 (Deborah, ⁷  Rebekah’s nurse, died and was buried under the oak below Bethel; thus it was named ⁸  Oak of Weeping.) ⁹ 

[35:5]  ¹ tn Heb “and they journeyed.”

[35:5]  ² 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”).

[35:6]  ³ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[35:6]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ sn The name El-Bethel means “God of Bethel.”

[35:7]  ⁶ 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.

[35:8]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn “and he called its name.” There is no expressed subject, so the verb can be translated as passive.

[35:8]  ⁹ 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.