Genesis 35, Bethel

Jacob's sons have murdered the men of Shechem for the rape of their sister. It may be time for Jacob and his clan to move on.

Genesis 35:1-4, An altar at Bethel and removal of other gods

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." 

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.  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."

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.

Jacob returns to Bethel, where God had met him at the top of a ramp to heaven. As they journey there, Jacob insists that his family remove the "foreign gods" (idols), including the rings in their ears (presumably a talisman regarding those gods.) It is likely that some idols were picked up in the looting of Shechem but we note that even Rachel had stolen Laban's figurines.  It was apparently common to have figurines of various gods in the ancient near eastern pagan culture.  Archaeologists have even found earrings in the shapes of various gods (says Alter.)

Genesis 35: 5-7, Terror

Then they set out, and the terror of God fell upon the towns all around them so that no one pursued them. Jacob and all the people with him came to Luz (that is, Bethel) in the land of Canaan. There he built an altar, and he called the place El Bethel, because it was there that God revealed himself to him when he was fleeing from his brother.

Fear and respect follow the tribe of Jacob. They are a scary clan and have a unique God.

"El Bethel" means "God of Bethel".

Genesis 35: 8, Deborah dies
Now Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died and was buried under the oak below Bethel. So it was named Allon Bacuth.

A brief interlude records the death of Rebekah's nurse. We have no other information about Deborah.

According to the NIV footnotes, "Allon Bacuth" means "oak of weeping".

Genesis 35: 9-13, Name change confirmed

After Jacob returned from Paddan Aram, God appeared to him again and blessed him. God said to him, "Your name is Jacob, but you will no longer be called Jacob; your name will be Israel." So he named him Israel.

And God said to him, "I am God Almighty; be fruitful and increase in number. A nation and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will come from your body. The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you." Then God went up from him at the place where he had talked with him.

In verse 10, "Jacob" means "he grasps the heel" (figuratively, he deceives) and "Israel" means "he struggles with God."  Presumably this appearance of YHWH is again at Bethel, on the return trip from Harran.

The English title "God Almighty" is, in Hebrew, "El-Shaddai."

Genesis 35: 14-15, A pillar at Bethel
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. Jacob called the place where God had talked with him Bethel. Then they moved on from Bethel. 

Jacob again consecrates a pillar at Bethel.

Genesis 35: 16-20, Rachel dies in childbirth
While they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth and had great difficulty. And as she was having great difficulty in childbirth, the midwife said to her, "Don't be afraid, for you have another son." As she breathed her last--for she was dying--she named her son Ben-Oni. But his father named him Benjamin. So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). Over her tomb Jacob set up a pillar, and to this day that pillar marks Rachel's tomb.

In naming Joseph in Genesis 30: 24, Rachel intended to "add" sons, to have more than one. The midwife tells her that she is indeed getting a second son.  But she will not live to raise him.  Rachel dies in childbirth, finally getting her wish after many many years of infertility.

The term "Ben-Oni" means "son of my trouble" but could also mean "son of vigor." The name "Benjamin" means "son of my right hand". Alter suggests that "Benjamin", if the last part of the name is the Hebrew yom, would mean "son of my old age". Elderly Jacob has a twelfth son and refuses to allow Rachel's sad naming to stick with the child.

Rachel is buried near Bethlehem of Ephrath.  A great deal will happen in that small town, including a number of significant future childbirths!

Genesis 35: 21-22a, Reuben sleeps with Bilhah

Israel moved on again and pitched his tent beyond Migdal Eder. While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went in and slept with his father's concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard of it. 

Apparently concubines have little say about sex (or rape)?  Apparently in the ancient near eastern culture, sleeping with women in the harem of the father is a statement about dominance, about being the alpha male.  (Absalom does this when he revolts against his father, David.)  Reuben, the firstborn, may be laying claim to clan leadership after Jacob's death.  Neither Jacob nor the narrator comment on this.  Jacob hears of this but is silent.  He will remember however, and will comment on this in Genesis 49: 3-4.

Genesis 35:22b-27, The twelve sons of Israel

Jacob had twelve sons: 

The sons of Leah: Reuben the firstborn of Jacob, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun.

The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin.

The sons of Rachel's maidservant Bilhah: Dan and Naphtali.

The sons of Leah's maidservant Zilpah: Gad and Asher. 

These were the sons of Jacob, who were born to him in Paddan Aram. Jacob came home to his father Isaac in Mamre, near Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had stayed.

Here we have a summary of the sons of Israel, organized according to their mothers.

Genesis 35: 28-29, Isaac dies
Isaac lived a hundred and eighty years. 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.

Isaac dies, leaving two sons, each with large tribes. This entire chapter is a collection of miscellaneous events in the life of Jacob/Israel.  This last event, the burial of Isaac, probably happened some time earlier. 

We wrap up much of the life of Jacob in this chapter as the rest of Genesis will focus on his twelve sons and he will be relegated to a minor role.