Old Testament

Genesis 35
The Return to Bethel
351God said to Jacob, “Get up and go to Bethel, and live there. Make an altar there for God, who appeared to you when you fled from the presence of Esau your brother.”
2Then Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Throw away the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves, and change your clothing. 3Let's get up and go to Bethel. I will make an altar there for God, who answered me in the day when I was in trouble and who has been with me wherever I have traveled.”
4They gave Jacob all the foreign gods that were in their possession and the rings that were in their ears, and Jacob hid them under the terebinth tree that was near Shechem.
5They set out, and terror from God fell on the cities that were around them, so they did not pursue Jacob's sons. 6So Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him. 7He built an altar there and named the place El Beth El,[] because God had been revealed to him there, when he fled from the presence of his brother.
8Deborah, who was Rebekah's nurse, died, and she was buried under the oak below Bethel. So the place was named Allon Bakuth.[]
9God appeared to Jacob again, after he had come from Paddan Aram, and he blessed him.[] 10God said to him, “Your name is Jacob, but your name will not be Jacob anymore. Your name will be Israel.” So he named him Israel.[] 11God said to him, “I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a community of nations will descend from you, and kings will come from your body. 12The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac, I will give also to you, and I will give the land to your descendants after you.”
13God left him in the place where he had spoken with him, 14and Jacob set up a memorial in the place where God had spoken with him. It was a memorial stone. He poured out a drink offering on it and poured oil on it. 15Jacob named the place where God spoke with him Bethel.
Jacob's Sons
16Then they traveled from Bethel. As they were coming close to Ephrath, Rachel went into labor. She was experiencing hard labor, 17and when she was in hard labor, the midwife said to her, “Don't be afraid, for now you will have another son.”
18Then as her life was slipping away[] (for she was dying), she named her son Benoni,[] but his father named him Benjamin.[] 19So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). 20Jacob set up a memorial stone on her grave. It is the marker for Rachel's tomb to this day. 21Israel traveled on and pitched his tent beyond Migdal Eder.[]
22While Israel lived in that region, Reuben went and lay down with Bilhah, his father's concubine, and Israel heard about it.
Jacob had twelve sons.
23The sons of Leah were Reuben (Jacob's firstborn), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.
24The sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin.
25The sons of Bilhah (Rachel's maid) were Dan and Naphtali.
26The sons of Zilpah (Leah's maid) were Gad and Asher.
These are the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan Aram.
27Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre near Kiriath Arba (which is Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had resided as aliens.
The Death of Isaac
28The days of Isaac's life were one hundred eighty years. 29Isaac breathed his last and died. He was gathered to his people. He had lived a long, full life. Esau and Jacob, his sons, buried him.

Footnotes

  • 35:7 El Beth El means God of the House of God.
  • 35:8 Allon Bacuth means Oak of Weeping.
  • 35:9 It is not certain whether the events in these verses occurred at this time or if they are a flashback to an earlier visit to Bethel.
  • 35:10 Israel means wrestles with God or prevails with God.
  • 35:18 Or as her soul was departing
  • 35:18 Benoni means son of my trouble.
  • 35:18 Benjamin means son of my right hand.
  • 35:21 Migdal Eder means Tower of the Flock.