Genesis 35
Jacob Returns to Bethel
1 Then God said to Jacob, “Go up to Bethel and settle there, and build an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau.”
2 So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes.
3 Then come, let us go up to Bethel, where I will build an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone.”
4 So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods they had and the rings in their ears, and Jacob buried them under the oak at Shechem.
5 Then they set out, and the terror of God fell on the towns all around them so that no one pursued them.
6 Jacob and all the people with him came to Luz (that is, Bethel) in the land of Canaan.
7 There he built an altar, and he called the place El Bethel,[a] because it was there that God revealed himself to him when he was fleeing from his brother.
8 Now Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died and was buried under the oak outside Bethel. So it was named Allon Bakuth.[b]
9 After Jacob returned from Paddan Aram,[c] God appeared to him again and blessed him.
10 God said to him, “Your name is Jacob,[d] but you will no longer be called Jacob; your name will be Israel.[e]” So he named him Israel.
11 And God said to him, “I am God Almighty[f]; be fruitful and increase in number. A nation and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will be among your descendants.
12 The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you.”
13 Then God went up from him at the place where he had talked with him.
14 Jacob set up a stone pillar at the place where God had talked with him, and he poured out a drink offering on it; he also poured oil on it.
15 Jacob called the place where God had talked with him Bethel.[g]
The Deaths of Rachel and Isaac
16 Then they moved on from Bethel. While they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth and had great difficulty.
17 And as she was having great difficulty in childbirth, the midwife said to her, “Don’t despair, for you have another son.”
18 As she breathed her last—for she was dying—she named her son Ben-Oni.[h] But his father named him Benjamin.[i]
19 So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).
20 Over her tomb Jacob set up a pillar, and to this day that pillar marks Rachel’s tomb.
21 Israel moved on again and pitched his tent beyond Migdal Eder.
22 While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went in and slept with his father’s concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard of it.
Jacob had twelve sons:
23 The sons of Leah:
Reuben the firstborn of Jacob,
Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun.
24 The sons of Rachel:
Joseph and Benjamin.
25 The sons of Rachel’s servant Bilhah:
Dan and Naphtali.
26 The sons of Leah’s servant Zilpah:
Gad and Asher.
These were the sons of Jacob, who were born to him in Paddan Aram.
27 Jacob came home to his father Isaac in Mamre, near Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had stayed.
28 Isaac lived a hundred and eighty years.
29 Then he breathed his last and died and was gathered to his people, old and full of years. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.
Footnotes:
- Genesis 35:7 El Bethel means God of Bethel.
- Genesis 35:8 Allon Bakuth means oak of weeping.
- Genesis 35:9 That is, Northwest Mesopotamia; also in verse 26
- Genesis 35:10 Jacob means he grasps the heel, a Hebrew idiom for he deceives.
- Genesis 35:10 Israel probably means he struggles with God.
- Genesis 35:11 Hebrew El-Shaddai
- Genesis 35:15 Bethel means house of God.
- Genesis 35:18 Ben-Oni means son of my trouble.
- Genesis 35:18 Benjamin means son of my right hand.
Observation Questions
Did God tell Jacob to go to Bethel, settle there, and build an altar there to God? (verse 1)
What did Jacob tell his household and all who were with him to do? (verse 2)
Was God with Jacob wherever he had gone? (verse 3)
Did the people give Jacob all the rings in their ears? (verse 4)
Did the terror of God fall on the towns all around them so that no one pursued them? (verse 5)
Why did Jacob call the place where he built an altar El Bethel? (verse 7)
Who died and was buried under the oak outside Bethel? (verse 8)
When did God appear and bless Jacob again? (verse 9)
What name did God give him when he blessed him again? (verse 10)
What did God command when He blessed him? (verse 11-12)
Did God go up from Jacob at the place where he had talked with him? (verse 13)
What did Jacob do at the place where God had talked with him? (verse 14)
What did God call the place where God had talked with him? (verse 15)
The Deaths of Rachel and Isaac
When did Rachel begin to give birth? (verse 16)
What did the midwife say to Rachel? (verse 17)
What did Rachel name her son? (verse 18)
Where was Rachel buried? (verse 19)
What did Jacob set up to mark Rachel's tomb? (verse 20)
When did Reuben sleep with his father's concubine Bilhah? (verse 22)
Who were the songs of Leah? (verse 23)
Who were the sons of Rachel? (verse 24)
Who were the sons of Rachel's servant Bilhah? (verse 25)
Who were the sons of Leah's servant Zilpah? (verse 26)
How old did Isaac live to be? (verse 28)
Who buried Isaac? (verse 29)
Thoughts
“Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you,
and purify yourselves and change your clothes.
Then come, let us go up to Bethel, where I will build an altar to God,
who answered me in the day of my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone.”
“I am God Almighty[f]; be fruitful and increase in number.
A nation and a community of nations will come from you,
and kings will be among your descendants.
The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you,
and I will give this land to your descendants after you.”
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