Verse 2

Then Jacob said unto his household . . . Put away the strange gods that are among you--Hebrew, "gods of the stranger," of foreign nations. Jacob had brought, in his service, a number of Mesopotamian retainers, who were addicted to superstitious practices; and there is some reason to fear that the same high testimony as to the religious superintendence of his household could not have been borne of him as was done of Abraham (Gen 18:19). He might have been too negligent hitherto in winking at these evils in his servants; or, perhaps, it was not till his arrival in Canaan, that he had learnt, for the first time, that one nearer and dearer to him was secretly infected with the same corruption (Gen 31:34). Be that as it may, he resolved on an immediate and thorough reformation of his household; and in commanding them to put away the strange gods, he added, be clean, and change your garments--as if some defilement, from contact with idolatry, should still remain about them. In the law of Moses, many ceremonial purifications were ordained and observed by persons who had contracted certain defilements, and without the observance of which, they were reckoned unclean and unfit to join in the social worship of God. These bodily purifications were purely figurative; and as sacrifices were offered before the law, so also were external purifications, as appears from the words of Jacob; hence it would seem that types and symbols were used from the fall of man, representing and teaching the two great doctrines of revealed truth--namely, the atonement of Christ and the sanctification of our nature.

Verse 4

they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods . . . and earrings--Strange gods, the "seraphim" (compare Gen 31:30), as well, perhaps, as other idols acquired among the Shechemite spoil--earrings of various forms, sizes, and materials, which are universally worn in the East, and, then as now, connected with incantation and idolatry (compare Hos 2:13). The decided tone which Jacob now assumed was the probable cause of the alacrity with which those favorite objects of superstition were surrendered. Jacob hid them under the oak--or terebinth--a towering tree, which, like all others of the kind, was a striking object in the scenery of Palestine; and beneath which, at Shechem, the patriarch had pitched his tent. He hid the images and amulets, delivered to him by his Mesopotamian dependents, at the root of this tree. The oak being deemed a consecrated tree, to bury them at its root was to deposit them in a place where no bold hand would venture to disturb the ground; and hence it was called from this circumstance--"the plain of Meonenim"--that is, "the oak of enchantments" (Jdg 9:37); and from the great stone which Joshua set up--"the oak of the pillar" (Jdg 9:6).

Verse 5

the terror of God was upon the cities--There was every reason to apprehend that a storm of indignation would burst from all quarters upon Jacob's family, and that the Canaanite tribes would have formed one united plan of revenge. But a supernatural panic seized them; and thus, for the sake of the "heir of the promise," the protecting shield of Providence was specially held over his family.

Verse 6

So Jacob came to Luz . . . that is, Beth-el--It is probable that this place was unoccupied ground when Jacob first went to it; and that after that period [CALVIN], the Canaanites built a town, to which they gave the name of Luz [Gen 28:19], from the profusion of almond trees that grew around. The name of Beth-el, which would, of course, be confined to Jacob and his family, did not supersede the original one, till long after. It is now identified with the modern Beitin and lies on the western slope of the mountain on which Abraham built his altar (Gen 12:8).

Verse 7

El-Beth-el--that is, "the God of Beth-el."

Verse 8

Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died--This event seems to have taken place before the solemnities were commenced. Deborah (Hebrew, a "bee"), supposing her to have been fifty years on coming to Canaan, had attained the great age of a hundred eighty. When she was removed from Isaac's household to Jacob's, is unknown. But it probably was on his return from Mesopotamia; and she would have been of invaluable service to his young family. Old nurses, like her, were not only honored, but loved as mothers; and, accordingly, her death was the occasion of great lamentation. She was buried under the oak--hence called "the terebinth of tears" (compare Kg1 13:14). God was pleased to make a new appearance to him after the solemn rites of devotion were over. By this manifestation of His presence, God testified His acceptance of Jacob's sacrifice and renewed the promise of the blessings guaranteed to Abraham and Isaac [Gen 35:11-12]; and the patriarch observed the ceremony with which he had formerly consecrated the place, comprising a sacramental cup, along with the oil that he poured on the pillar, and reimposing the memorable name [Gen 35:14]. The whole scene was in accordance with the character of the patriarchal dispensation, in which the great truths of religion were exhibited to the senses, and "the world's grey fathers" taught in a manner suited to the weakness of an infantile condition.

Verse 13

God went up from him--The presence of God was indicated in some visible form and His acceptance of the sacrifice shown by the miraculous descent of fire from heaven, consuming it on the altar.

Verse 16

BIRTH OF BENJAMIN--DEATH OF RACHEL, &c. (Gen 35:16-27) And they journeyed from Beth-el--There can be no doubt that much enjoyment was experienced at Beth-el, and that in the religious observances solemnized, as well as in the vivid recollections of the glorious vision seen there, the affections of the patriarch were powerfully animated and that he left the place a better and more devoted servant of God. When the solemnities were over, Jacob, with his family, pursued a route directly southward, and they reached Ephrath, when they were plunged into mourning by the death of Rachel, who sank in childbirth, leaving a posthumous son [Gen 35:18]. A very affecting death, considering how ardently the mind of Rachel had been set on offspring (compare Gen 30:1).

Verse 18

She called his name Ben-oni--The dying mother gave this name to her child, significant of her circumstances; but Jacob changed his name into Benjamin. This is thought by some to have been originally Benjamin, "a son of days," that is, of old age. But with its present ending it means "son of the right hand," that is, particularly dear and precious.

Verse 19

Ephrath, which is Beth-lehem--The one, the old name; the other, the later name, signifying "house of bread."

Verse 20

and Jacob set a pillar on her grave . . . unto this day--The spot still marked out as the grave of Rachel exactly agrees with the Scriptural record, being about a mile from Beth-lehem. Anciently it was surmounted by a pyramid of stones, but the present tomb is a Mohammedan erection.

Verse 26

Sons of Jacob . . . born to him in Padan-aram--It is a common practice of the sacred historian to say of a company or body of men that which, though true of the majority, may not be applicable to every individual. (See Mat 19:28; Joh 20:24; Heb 11:13). Here is an example, for Benjamin was born in Canaan [Gen 35:16-18].

Verse 29

DEATH OF ISAAC. (Gen 35:28-29) Isaac gave up the ghost--The death of this venerable patriarch is here recorded by anticipation for it did not take place till fifteen years after Joseph's disappearance. Feeble and blind though he was, he lived to a very advanced age; and it is a pleasing evidence of the permanent reconciliation between Esau and Jacob that they met at Mamre to perform the funeral rites of their common father. Next: Genesis Chapter 36

Verse 1

And God said unto Jacob,.... When he was in great distress, on account of the slaughter of the Shechemites by his sons, not knowing what step to take, or course to steer for the safety of him and his family; then God, for his comfort and direction, appeared and spoke to him, either in a dream or vision, or by an impulse on his mind, or by an articulate voice: perhaps this was the Son of God, the second Person, who might appear in an human form, as he often did; since he afterwards speaks of God as of another divine Person, distinct from him, even his divine Father: arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there; which is said to be twenty eight miles from Shechem (r); hither he is bid to go in haste, and where, it is suggested, he would be safe, and where it would be right and proper for him to dwell awhile: and make there an altar to God; and offer sacrifice to him, praise him for salvation and deliverance wrought, pray to him for present and future mercies that were needful, and pay the vows he had there made, even to that God: that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother; who, resenting his getting the birthright and blessing from him, threatened to kill him; which obliged him to flee from his father's house, and go into Mesopotamia, and in his way thither God appeared to him, at the place called by him from thence Bethel, and gave him many precious promises; and Jacob there made a solemn vow, that if God would be with him, and keep him, and give him food and raiment, and return him to his father's house, the pillar that was then and there set up should be God's house, as well as he should be his God. Jacob had now been nine or ten years in the land of Canaan, and had all done for him he desired, and much more abundantly, and yet had not been at Bethel to make good his vow, either through forgetfulness or neglect; and therefore, as Jarchi thinks, was chastised for it in the affair of Dinah; or rather, for one can hardly think so good a man could forget, or would wilfully neglect such a vow as this, that he wanted opportunity of going thither, or waited for a divine order, and now he had both, which he readily embraced. (r) Bunting's Travels, p. 72.

Verse 2

Then Jacob said unto his household,.... His wives and children: and to all that were with him; his menservants and maidservants, and such as remained with him of the captives of Shechem, who might choose to continue with him: put away the strange gods that are among you; meaning not the teraphim or images of Laban's, which Rachel had stolen from him; for it can hardly be thought that these should be retained so many years in Jacob's family, and used in an idolatrous manner; but rather such as might be among the Canaanitish servants that had been lately taken into Jacob's service, or that were among the captives of Shechem, or taken along with the spoil of that city; and so the Targum of Jonathan calls them the idols of the people, which they brought from the idols' temple at Shechem; and the words may be rendered, "the gods of the strangers" (s), that is, of the Shechemites, who were Heathens and aliens, strangers to the true God, the knowledge and worship of him: and be clean; either by abstaining from their wives, as some interpret it, from Exo 19:10; or rather by washing their bodies, as Aben Ezra gives the sense of it; their hands were full of the blood of the Shechemites, and needed to be washed and purified, as the Targum of Jonathan has it, from the pollutions of the slain, before they went to Bethel, the house of God; and these outward ablutions and purifications were significative of inward cleansing by the grace of God, and of outward reformation of life and manners; see Isa 1:15, and change your garments: which might be stained with blood, and therefore not fit to appear in before God, or were old and worn out, or sordid apparel: changing and washing of garments were also emblems of renewing of the mind, and cleansing of the soul, and of the change of heart and life, as well as of pleasure, delight, and cheerfulness in appearing before God. (s) "deos alenigenarum", Pagninus; "alienigenae", Montanus, Schmidt; "alieni populi", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.

Verse 3

And let us arise and go up to Bethel,.... Thus prepared and purged, their tents clear of idols, their bodies washed with pure water, and their garments new, neat, and clean; all symbolical of inward purity, and of freedom from idolatry and evil works, as became those who go to the house of God, and are his worshippers, see Heb 10:22. I will make there an altar unto God; as he has directed, and sacrifice to him, and worship him, and give the tenth unto him, and so make it a Bethel, an house of God indeed, as he had vowed, Gen 28:22, who answered me in the day of my distress; on account of his brother Esau, from whose wrath he fled: and was with me in the way which I went; from his father's house to Padanaram; in which journey he was alone and destitute, and exposed to many difficulties and dangers, but God was with him, and preserved him, and directed and brought him to Laban's house in safety.

Verse 4

They gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hands,.... Whether in the hands of his servants or of the captives taken at Shechem, or in the hands of his sons, who had them along with the spoil they took there; so the Targum of Jonathan,"they delivered, into the hand of Jacob all the idols of the people which were in their hands, which they had took of the idols of Shechem:" and all their earrings which were in their ears; not the earrings that women wore in common, such as Abraham's servant gave to Rebekah, and which Jacob's wives might wear, for such were not unlawful; but either which were worn in the ears of the strange gods or idols; for such used, it seems, according to some writers, to be decorated and ornamented after that manner; or rather in the ears of the idolaters themselves, worn by them in a superstitious way, having the images of these idols on them: so the Targum of Jonathan,"and the earrings which were in the ears of the inhabitants of the city of Shechem, in which were formed the likeness of their idols:" and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem; that is, the idols, which, after he had broke to pieces, perhaps, he dug a hole under an oak, and there buried them, that they might be no more made use of in an idolatrous way; and he chose to put them under an oak, because it is a tree which often stands many years before it is cut down, and besides was used for religious purposes, and had in great veneration, and therefore seldom felled. Those idols seem not to be made of anything valuable, perhaps of wood or stone, for had they been of gold or silver, Jacob would doubtless have melted them, and converted them to other uses, and not have buried them under ground. The Jews (t) say, that the idol Jacob hid under the oak was in the form of a dove, which the Samaritans after some time found, and set it on the top of Mount Gerizim. Some take this oak to be the same with that mentioned in Jos 24:26; but of that there can be no certainty, since Jacob, as it is highly probable, laid these images alone, and never intended any should know anything of them where they were. (t) Shalshalet Hakabala, fol. 3. 2.

Verse 5

And they journeyed,.... Jacob and his family, with all that were with them, from Shechem to Bethel: and the terror of God was upon the cities that were round about them; an exceeding great panic seized the inhabitants of the cities of the land of Canaan, all about Shechem, which was from God himself impressing it on their minds, through what the sons of Jacob had done to that city: and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob; as it might have been thought they would, and take revenge on them for their ill usage of the inhabitants of a neighbouring city; but instead of this, they were afraid they should be used in the same manner; wherefore Jacob and his family journeyed in safety, and came to Bethel in peace.

Verse 6

So Jacob came to Luz, which is in the land of Canaan, that is Bethel,.... The place Jacob had called Bethel, when he was there before, was formerly called Luz, Gen 28:19; and is here said to be in the land of Canaan, that is, in that part of the land which was inhabited by those who were properly called Canaanites, to distinguish it from another Luz, which was in the land of the Hittites; Jdg 1:26, he and all the people that were with him; wives, children, servants, or whoever else came from Shechem, these all came safe to Luz without any molestation or loss.

Verse 7

And he built there an altar,.... As he was bid to do, and as he promised he would, Gen 35:1, and called the place Elbethel; the God of Bethel; a title which God takes to himself, Gen 31:13; or rather the sense is, that he called the place with respect God, or because of his appearance to him there, Bethel, confirming the name he had before given it, Gen 36:19; see Gen 35:15; as the following reason shows: because there God appeared; or the divine Persons, for both words are plural that are used; the Targum of Jonathan has it, the angels of God, and so Aben Ezra interprets it; but here, no doubt, the divine Being is meant, who appeared unto him; to Jacob in this place, as he went to Mesopotamia, and comforted and encouraged him with many promises: when he fled from the face of his brother; his brother Esau, who was wroth with him, and sought to take away his life, and therefore was forced to flee for it.

Verse 8

But Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died,.... That is, when, and quickly after they were come to Bethel; a nurse of Rebekah's came with her to Canaan, when she married Isaac, and is generally thought to be this Deborah, which is not improbable, Gen 24:59, though she might have more nurses than one, as great personages sometimes have, and then it will not be so difficult to answer the objection made here; that Rebekah's nurse, whom Jacob is supposed to leave in Canaan when he went to Padanaram, should now be in his family when he returned from hence; since the reply would be, that that nurse and this Deborah were not the same; but supposing them to be the same, which is most likely, this is accounted for several ways: according to Jarchi, who had it from an ancient writer of theirs (u), Rebekah sent her to fetch Jacob home, according to her promise, Gen 27:45; but it is not very probable that she should send a woman, and one so ancient, on such an errand: rather, this nurse of hers, after she had accompanied her to Canaan, and stayed awhile with her there, returned to Haran again, and being very useful in Jacob's large family, and having a great respect for them, returned again with them, and which she might choose in hopes of seeing Rebekah once more, whom she had a strong affection for; or, when Jacob was come into the land of Canaan to Shechem, he might send for her from Hebron to be assisting in his family; or going to visit his parents, which he might do before he went with his whole family to them, might bring her with him to Shechem, who travelling with him to Bethel died there: her name signifies a bee, as Josephus (w) observes: and she was buried beneath Bethel; at the bottom of the hill or mountain on which Bethel stood: under an oak; of which there were many about Bethel, Kg1 13:14 Kg2 2:23; and it was not unusual to bury the dead under trees, see Sa1 31:13, and the name of it was called Allonbachuth; the oak of weeping, because of the weeping and mourning of Jacob's family at her death, she being a good woman, an ancient servant, and in great esteem with them. The Jews have a tradition that the occasion of this weeping, or at least of the increase of it, was, that Jacob at this time had the news of the death of Rebekah his mother; so the Targum of Jonathan,"there tidings were brought to Jacob of the death of Rebekah his mother, and he called the name of it another weeping;''and so Jarchi. (u) R. Moses Hadarsan. (w) Antiqu. l. 5. c. 5. sect. 2.

Verse 9

And God appeared unto Jacob again,.... At Bethel, as he had at Shechem, when he bid him go thither, Gen 35:1; or rather as he had at the brook Jabbok, where he said to him the same things as here, Gen 32:24, though Jarchi interprets it of his appearing again to him at the same place at Bethel, where he had appeared to him the first time, at his going to Haran, and now a second time: when he came out of Padanaram; or returned from thence: and blessed him; with the same blessings as before, renewing and confirming them. Jarchi says, with the blessing of mourners, because of the death of his mother, and her nurse.

Verse 10

And God said unto him, thy name is Jacob,.... Which his parents gave him at his birth, and by, which he had been always called: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name; not Jacob only, as Aben Ezra and Ben Melech interpret it, but Israel also, and that more commonly and frequently, and not only he himself personally, but his posterity also: and he called his name Israel; confirmed the name he had before given him, Gen 32:28; and by this confirmation of it signifying, that as he had prevailed over his brother Esau, and escaped his hands, so he should prevail over all that rose up against him, and opposed him, even as he had power with God, and prevailed: though some think this name was only promised him before, but now actually given him; but then they take the angel that appeared wrestling with him in the likeness of a man to be a created angel, and that what he promised in the name of God was now made, good by God himself; there is great reason to believe that that angel was the increased one, the Son of God, as here also.

Verse 11

And God said unto him, I am God Almighty,.... And so able to protect and defend him, and to fulfil all promises made to him, and to supply him with everything he wanted; being, as some choose to render the word, "God all sufficient", having a sufficiency of all good things in him to communicate to his people: be fruitful and multiply; which carries in it a promise or prophecy that he should increase and multiply, though not he himself personally, he having but one son born after this, yet in his posterity: a nation, and a company of nations, shall be of thee; the nation of Israel, called so after his name, and the twelve tribes, which were as so many nations, of which the above nation consisted: and kings shall come out of thy loins; as Saul, David, Solomon, and, many others, who were kings of Israel and of Judah, and especially the King Messiah; yea, all his posterity were kings and priests, or a kingdom of priests, Exo 19:6.

Verse 12

And the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee will I give it,.... Meaning the land of Canaan, which, as he had by promise given it to his grandfather, and father, so he would give it to him; thus renewing the grant of it for his comfort, and the encouragement of his faith, when he had been in danger of being destroyed by the inhabitants of it, and was obliged to remove from one part of it to another: and to thy seed after thee will I give the land; and not only make a grant of it to them, but put them into the possession of it, as in process of time he did.

Verse 13

And God went up from him,.... Or "from above" him (x); by this it seems that there was a visible appearance of the glory of the Lord, as Onkelos, or of the Shechinah, as Jonathan; even of the Son of God in an human form, who either appeared just above him, or on the same spot with him, conversing with him as above related; and when he had done, ascended in a visible manner from him, till he disappeared: in the place where he talked with him; whether it was over him, or by him; thence he removed from him, and ceased talking with him; for communion with a divine Person is not constant and uninterrupted in the present state. (x) "desuper eum", Montanus.

Verse 14

And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he talked with him,.... He had set up a pillar in this place before he went to Padanaram, Gen 28:18; and some, think this pillar is here referred to, and render the words, "had set up a pillar" (y); but as that was done thirty years ago, it is very likely it was demolished by the Heathens before this time, or was fallen to ruin, wherefore this must be at least a renewal or reparation of it: though it rather seems to be another pillar, and quite a new one, being set up in that very spot of ground, over or on which God had been talking with him: and the following account of it seems to confirm the same: even a pillar of stone; made of several stones hewed and polished, and well put together; whereas the former was but a single stone, rude and unpolished, though it is probable it was one of these: and he poured a drink offering thereon; of wine, of which drink offerings under the law were, thereby consecrating it to the worship and service of God. Aben Ezra says it was either of water or of wine, with which he washed it, and after that poured oil on it; and the Targum of Jonathan says, he poured a drink offering of wine, and a drink offering of water: and he poured oil thereon; as he did before; See Gill on Gen 28:18. (y) "erexerat", Vatablus; "et statuerat", Piscator; so Aben Ezra.

Verse 15

And Jacob called the name of the place where God spake with him, Bethel. He confirmed the name he had before given it, when he went to Mesopotamia, and now upon his return renews and establishes it; or he gave this name more especially to that particular spot where God conversed with him, and on which he erected a pillar, and consecrated it to religious worship, and so made it God's house, as he promised he would, Gen 28:22, both building an altar for sacrifice, and setting up a pillar, which was beginning an house for God. , both building an altar for sacrifice, and setting up a pillar, which was beginning an house for God. Genesis 35:16 gen 35:16 gen 35:16 gen 35:16And they journeyed from Bethel,.... Jacob and his family; how long they stayed there is not certain, some say four months (z); hence they removed towards Bethlehem, which was twelve miles from Bethel (a), in their way to Hebron: and there was but a little way to come to Ephrath; or Bethlehem, as it was also called, Gen 35:19; a mile off of it, according to the Targums of Onkelos and Jerusalem; or about a mile, as Saadiah Gaon; for it was not a precise exact mile, but something less than a mile, as Ben Melech observes; and so Benjamin of Tudela, who was on the spot, says (b), that Rachel's grave is about half a mile from Bethlehem. Ben Gersom thinks the word here used signifies cultivated land, and that the sense is, that there were only fields, vineyards, and gardens to go through to the city, see Gen 48:7, and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labour; the time of childbirth was come, and which came suddenly upon her, as travail does, even while journeying, which obliged them to stop; and her pains came upon her, and these very sharp and severe, so that she had a difficult time of it: pains and sorrow in childbearing are the fruit of sin, and more or less attend all in such a circumstance; but, in some, labour is more painful than in others, and more at one time than at another, and is the most painful in women than in other creatures. (z) Shalshalet Hakabala, fol. 5. 1. (a) Bunting's Travels, p. 72. (b) Itinerar. p. 47.

Verse 16

And it came to pass, when she was in hard labour,.... In the midst of it, and at the worst: that the midwife said unto her, fear not; for Rachel big with child, it was necessary to take a midwife with them in the journey; and perhaps this might be one that was always kept in the family, and had been assisting to all Jacob's wives and concubines at their labours; and this seems probable from what follows, since she not only bids her be of good courage, and not fear, comforting her under her pains, giving her hopes they would soon be over, and that she would have a safe delivery, and do well: but this she assures her of: thou shalt have this son also; as she had one before, at whose birth she said, "the Lord shall add to me another son"; and therefore called his name Joseph, Gen 30:24; this the midwife remembered, and endeavours to comfort her with the accomplishment of it.

Verse 17

And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, for she died,.... In childbirth; she had most passionately desired children, without which she could not live with ease and peace of mind, and now she dies by having one; see Gen 30:1; and by this account of her death it appears, that death is the separation and disunion of soul and body; that at death the soul departs from the body; that the soul does not die with it, but goes elsewhere, and lives in a separate state, and never dies; it goes into another world, a world of spirits, even unto God that gave it, Ecc 12:7, that she called his name Benoni; which signifies "the son of my sorrow", having borne and brought him forth in sorrow, and now about to leave him as soon as born, which might increase her sorrow; or "the son, of my mourning"; as Aben Ezra and Ben Gersom interpret it; or "the son of my strength", all her strength being exhausted in bringing him forth: but his father called him Benjamin; that is, "the son of the right hand", being as dear to him, and as beloved by him as his right hand; or who would be as the right hand to him, his staff and support in his old age; or else as being the son of her who was as his right hand, dear and assisting to him. Some render it, "the son of days", or years, that is, the son of his old age, as he is called, Gen 44:20; Jarchi and Ben Gerson interpret it, "the son of the south"; the right hand being put for the south; and they think this son was so called, because he only was born in the land of Canaan, which lay, they say, to the south with respect to Mesopotamia, where the rest were born; but be the etymology of the word as it will, the change of the name seems to be made by Jacob, because that which Rachel gave her son would have perpetually put Jacob in mind of the sorrow of his beloved Rachel, and therefore gave him a name more pleasant and agreeable. The Jews say (c) he was born the eleventh of October, and lived one hundred and eleven years. (c) Shalshalet Hakabala, fol. 4. 1.

Verse 18

And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem. Hence called Bethlehem Ephratah, Mic 5:2; with great pertinency is Rachel represented as if risen from her grave, and weeping for her children, when the children of Bethlehem, and thereabout, were slain by Herod, she being buried so near that place, Mat 2:16; at what age she died is not said. Polyhistor, out of Demetrius (d), reports, that she died after Jacob had lived with her twenty three years. (d) Apnd Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 9. c. 21. p. 424.

Verse 19

And Jacob set a pillar upon her grave,.... A sepulchral monument erected in memory of her; this according to Benjamin of Tudela (e) was made of twelve stones, according to the number of the sons of Jacob, and over it was a vault or roof, supported by four pillars: that is the pillar of Rachel's grave unto this day; it continued to the times of Moses, the writer of this history, and to the times of Samuel, as appears from Sa1 10:2; and even travellers of late times affirm it to be seen still, to the north of Bethlehem, on the right hand of the way as you go from Bethlehem to Jerusalem; but the present sepulchral monument, as Mr. Maundrel says (f), can be none of that which Jacob erected, for it appears plainly to be a modern Turkish structure. Near the grave are found some little black stones, which strangers pick up, and are fancied to be helpful to women, to give them an easier birth, the same the above traveller says resemble peas. The Jews that pass by it were used to engrave their names on the stones, of the pillars (g). (e) ltinerar. p. 47. (f) Journey from Aleppo, &c. p. 87. (g) Benjamin. Itinerar. ib. Adrichom. Theatrum Terrae Sanct. p. 19. Bunting's Travels, p. 75.

Verse 20

And Israel journeyed,.... Having stayed near Bethlehem, as it is said, about two months (h); this is the first time Jacob is by Moses called Israel, after this name, was given him; the reason of which the Jews say is, because he bore the death of Rachel with so much patience: and spread his tent beyond the tower of Eder; which was a place of pasturage, and fit for his flocks, see Mic 4:8; it was about a mile from Bethlehem to the south (i), and is supposed to be the place where the shepherds were watching their flocks, when the angel reported to them the birth of Christ, Luk 2:8; pretty remarkable are the words added here in the Targum of Jonathan,"the place from whence the King Messiah will be revealed in the end of days.'' (h) Shalshalet Hakabala, fol. 5. 2. (i) Bunting's Travels, p. 76.

Verse 21

And it came to pass, when Israel dwelt in that land,.... In that part of it near Bethlehem: that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine; his concubine wife; she was the maid that Rachel gave him, and this added to his affliction, and made it double, to lose Rachel by death, and to have her favourite maid, his concubine, defiled by his own son, and whom it is highly probable he abstained from hereafter. This, though a very heinous sin of his son's, yet might be suffered as a chastisement to Jacob, for making use of concubines: and Israel heard it; though the crime was committed secretly, and was thought it would have been concealed, but by some means or other Jacob heard of it, and no doubt severely reproved his son for it; and though nothing is here related, as said by him on this occasion, it is certain it gave him great offence, grief and trouble, and he remembered it to his dying day, and took away the birthright from Reuben on account of it, Gen 49:3; an empty space here follows in the original text, and a pause in it, denoting perhaps the amazement Jacob was filled with when he heard it; and the great grief of his heart, which was such, that he was not able to speak a word; the Septuagint version fills up the space by adding, "and it appeared evil in his sight": now the sons of Jacob were twelve; who were the heads of twelve tribes, Benjamin the last being born, and Jacob having afterwards no more children, they were all reckoned up under their respective mothers, excepting Dinah, a daughter, from whom there was no tribe, in the following verses.

Verse 22

The sons of Leah,.... Jacob's first wife, which are six, and are reckoned in order, according to their birth, Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun. The sons of Leah,.... Jacob's first wife, which are six, and are reckoned in order, according to their birth, Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun. Genesis 35:24 gen 35:24 gen 35:24 gen 35:24The sons of Rachel,.... Then Rachel's, Jacob's next wife, though in right his first and only one, who had two children, Joseph and Benjamin.

Verse 23

And the sons of Bilhah,.... Then Bilhah's sons, who was Rachel's handmaid, and these were two, Dan and Naphtali. And the sons of Bilhah,.... Then Bilhah's sons, who was Rachel's handmaid, and these were two, Dan and Naphtali. Genesis 35:26 gen 35:26 gen 35:26 gen 35:26And the sons of Zilpah,.... And lastly, the sons of Zilpah, Leah's handmaid, which were two also, Gad and Asher; it is added: these are the sons of Jacob, which were born to him in Padanaram, all excepting Benjamin; and because they were by far the greater part, even all but one, that were born there, this is said in general; and there having been given in the context such a particular account of the birth of Benjamin, and of the place of it, them was no need for the historian particularly to except him, since the reader would be in no danger of being led into a mistake.

Verse 24

And Jacob came unto Isaac his father,.... No mention being made of his mother, it is very probable she was dead; and Isaac being alone, and very old, and the time of his death drawing nigh, he might send for Jacob to come with his family, and be with him; for it can hardly be thought that this was the first time of Jacob's visiting his father since he came into the land, of Canaan, which must be about ten years; but as yet he had not come with his family to him, and in order to abide with him: unto Mamre, unto the city of Arbah, which is Hebron; Mamre was a plain, so called from the name of a man, a friend and confederate of Abraham, Gen 13:18; where, or near to which, stood a city, called Kirjath Arbah, or the city of the four, Arbah and his three sons; so that it might be called Tetrapolls, and was later called Hebron: where Abraham and Isaac sojourned; lived good part of their days, see Gen 13:18; it was about twenty miles from Bethlehem, and the tower of Eder (k), where Jacob was last. (k) Bunting's Travels, p. 72.

Verse 25

And the days of Isaac were an hundred and fourscore years. He lived, forty years after he had made his will, and blessed his two sons. Jacob was now one hundred and twenty years of age, being born when his father was sixty; and Joseph was now twenty nine years of age, so that Isaac lived twelve years after the selling of Joseph into Egypt; he was five years older than his father Abraham was when he died. Genesis 35:29

Verse 8

There Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died, and was buried below Bethel under an oak, which was henceforth called the "oak of weeping," a mourning oak, from the grief of Jacob's house on account of her death. Deborah had either been sent by Rebekah to take care of her daughters-in-law and grandsons, or had gone of her own accord into Jacob's household after the death of her mistress. The mourning at her death, and the perpetuation of her memory, are proofs that she must have been a faithful and highly esteemed servant in Jacob's house.

Verse 9

The Fresh Revelation at Bethel. - After Jacob had performed his vow by erecting the altar at Bethel, God appeared to him again there ("again," referring to Gen 28), "on his coming out of Padan-Aram," as He had appeared to him 30 years before on his journey thither, - though it was then in a dream, now by daylight in a visible form (cf. Gen 35:13, "God went up from him"). The gloom of that day of fear had now brightened into the clear daylight of salvation. This appearance was the answer, which God gave to Jacob on his acknowledgement of Him; and its reality is thereby established, in opposition to the conjecture that it is merely a legendary repetition of the previous vision. (Note: This conjecture derives no support from the fact that the manifestations of God are ascribed to Elohim in Gen 35:1 and Gen 35:9., although the whole chapter treats of the display of mercy by the covenant God, i.e., Jehovah. For the occurrence of Elohim instead of Jehovah in Gen 35:1 may be explained, partly from the antithesis of God and man (because Jacob, the man, had neglected to redeem his vow, it was necessary that he should be reminded of it by God), and partly from the fact that there is no allusion to any appearance of God, but the words "God said" are to be understood, no doubt, as relating to an inward communication. The use of Elohim in Gen 35:9. follows naturally from the injunction of Elohim in Gen 35:1; and there was the less necessity for an express designation of the God appearing as Jehovah, because, on the one hand, the object of this appearance was simply to renew and confirm the former appearance of Jehovah (Gen 28:12.), and on the other hand, the title assumed in Gen 35:11, El Shaddai, refers to Gen 27:1, where Jehovah announces Himself to Abram as El Shaddai.) The former theophany had promised to Jacob divine protection in a foreign land and restoration to his home, on the ground of his call to be the bearer of the blessings of salvation. This promise God had fulfilled, and Jacob therefore performed his vow. On the strength of this, God now confirmed to him the name of Israel, which He had already given him in Gen 32:28, and with it the promised of a numerous seed and the possession of Canaan, which, so far as the form and substance are concerned, points back rather to Gen 17:6 and Gen 17:8 than to Gen 28:13-14, and for the fulfilment of which, commencing with the birth of his sons and his return to Canaan, and stretching forward to the most remote future, the name of Israel was to furnish him with a pledge. - Jacob alluded to this second manifestation of God at Bethel towards the close of his life (Gen 48:3-4); and Hosea (Hos 12:4) represents it as the result of his wrestling with God. The remembrance of this appearance Jacob transmitted to his descendants by erecting a memorial stone, which he not only anointed with oil like the former one in Gen 28:17, but consecrated by a drink-offering and by the renewal of the name Bethel.

Verse 16

Birth of Benjamin and Death of Rachel. - Jacob's departure from Bethel was not in opposition to the divine command, "dwell there" (Gen 35:1). For the word שׁב does not enjoin a permanent abode; but, when taken in connection with what follows, "make there an altar," it merely directs him to stay there and perform his vow. As they were travelling forward, Rachel was taken in labour not far from Ephratah. הארץ כּברת is a space, answering probably to the Persian parassang, though the real meaning of כּברה is unknown. The birth was a difficult one. בּלדתּהּ תּקשׁ: she had difficulty in her labour (instead of Piel we find Hiphil in Gen 35:17 with the same signification). The midwife comforted her by saying: "Fear not, for this also is to thee a son," - a wish expressed by her when Joseph was born (Gen 30:24). But she expired; and as she was dying, she called him Been-oni, "son of my pain." Jacob, however, called him Ben-jamin, probably son of good fortune, according to the meaning of the word jamin sustained by the Arabic, to indicate that his pain at the loss of his favourite wife was compensated by the birth of this son, who now completed the number twelve. Other explanations are less simple. He buried Rachel on the road to Ephratah, or Ephrath (probably the fertile, from פּרה), i.e., Bethlehem (bread-house), by which name it is better known, though the origin of it is obscure. He also erected a monument over her grave (מצּבה, στήλη), on which the historian observes, "This is the pillar of Rachel's grave unto this day:" a remark which does not necessarily point to a post-Mosaic period, but which could easily have been made even 10 or 20 years after its erection. For the fact that a grave-stone had been preserved upon the high road in a foreign land, the inhabitants of which had no interest whatever in it, might appear worthy of notice even though only a single decennary had passed away. (Note: But even if this Mazzebah was really preserved till the conquest of Canaan by the Israelites, i.e., more than 450 years, and the remark referred to that time, it might be an interpolation by a later hand. The grave was certainly a well-known spot in Samuel's time (Sa1 10:2); but a monumentum ubi Rachel posita est uxor Jacob is first mentioned again by the Bordeaux pilgrims of a.d. 333 and Jerome. The Kubbet Rahil (Rachel's grave), which is now shown about half an hour's journey to the north of Bethlehem, to the right of the road from Jerusalem to Hebron, is merely "an ordinary Muslim wely, or tomb of a holy person, a small square building of stone with a dome, and within it a tomb in the ordinary Mohammedan form" (Rob. Pal. 1, p. 322). It has been recently enlarged by a square court with high walls and arches on the eastern side (Rob. Bibl. Researches. p. 357). Now although this grave is not ancient, the correctness of the tradition, which fixes upon this as the site of Rachel's grave, cannot on the whole be disputed. At any rate, the reasons assigned to the contrary by Thenius, Kurtz, and others are not conclusive.)

Verse 21

Gen 35:21-22 Reuben's Incest. - As they travelled onward, Jacob pitched his tent on the other side of Migdal Eder, where Reuben committed incest with Bilhah, his father's concubine. It is merely alluded to her in the passing remark that Israel heard it, by way of preparation for Gen 49:4. Migdal Eder (flock-tower) was a watch-tower built for the protection of flocks against robbers (cf. Kg2 18:8; Ch2 26:10; Ch2 27:4) on the other side of Bethlehem, but hardly within 1000 paces of the town, where it has been placed by tradition since the time of Jerome. The piska in the middle of Gen 35:22 does not indicate a gap in the text, but the conclusion of a parashah, a division of the text of greater antiquity and greater correctness than the Masoretic division. Gen 35:22-29 Jacob's Return to His Father's House, and Death of Isaac. - Jacob had left his father's house with no other possession than a staff, and now he returned with 12 sons. Thus had he been blessed by the faithful covenant God. To show this, the account of his arrival in his father's tent at Hebron is preceded by a list of his 12 sons, arranged according to their respective mothers; and this list is closed with the remark, "These are the sons of Jacob, which were born to him in Padan-Aram" (ילּד for ילּדוּ; Ges. 143, 1), although Benjamin, the twelfth, was not born in Padan-Aram, but on the journey back.

Verse 27

Jacob's arrival in "Mamre Kirjath-Arbah," i.e., in the terebinth-grove of Mamre (Gen 13:18) by Kirjath-Arbah or Hebron (vid., Gen 23:2), constituted his entrance into his father's house, to remain there as Isaac's heir. He had probably visited his father during the ten years that had elapsed since his return from Mesopotamia, though no allusion is made to this, since such visits would have no importance, either in themselves or their consequences, in connection with the sacred history. This was not the case, however, with his return to enter upon the family inheritance. With this, therefore, the history of Isaac's life is brought to a close. Isaac died at the age of 180, and was buried by his two sons in the cave of Machpelah (Gen 49:31), Abraham's family grave, Esau having come from Seir to Hebron to attend the funeral of his father. But Isaac's death did not actually take place for 12 years after Jacob's return to Hebron. For as Joseph was 17 years old when he was sold by his brethren (Gen 37:2), and Jacob was then living at Hebron (Gen 37:14), it cannot have been more than 31 years after his flight from Esau when Jacob returned home (cf. Gen 34:1). Now since, according to our calculation at Gen 27:1, he was 77 years old when he fled, he must have been 108 when he returned home; and Isaac would only have reached his 168th year, as he was 60 years old when Jacob was born (Gen 25:26). Consequently Isaac lived to witness the grief of Jacob at the loss of Joseph, and died but a short time before his promotion in Egypt, which occurred 13 years after he was sold (Gen 41:46), and only 10 years before Jacob's removal with his family to Egypt, as Jacob was 130 years old when he was presented to Pharaoh (Gen 47:9). But the historical significance of his life was at an end, when Jacob returned home with his twelve sons.

Verse 1

Here, I. God reminds Jacob of his vow at Beth-el, and sends him thither to perform it, Gen 35:1. Jacob had said in the day of his distress, If I come again in peace, this stone shall be God's house, Gen 28:22. God had performed his part of the bargain, and had given Jacob more than bread to eat and raiment to put on - he had got an estate, and had become two bands; but, it should seem, he had forgotten his vow, or at least had too long deferred the performance of it. Seven or eight years it was now since he came to Canaan; he had purchased ground there, and had built an altar in remembrance of God's last appearance to him when he called him Israel (Gen 33:19, Gen 33:20); but still Beth-el is forgotten. Note, Time is apt to wear out the sense of mercies and the impressions made upon us by them; it should not be so, but so it is. God had exercised Jacob with a very sore affliction in his family (ch. 34), to see if this would bring his vow to his remembrance, and put him upon the performance of it, but it had not this effect; therefore God comes himself and puts him in mind of it: Arise, go to Beth-el. Note, 1. As many as God loves he will remind of neglected duties, one way or other, by conscience or by providences. 2. When we have vowed a vow to God, it is best not to defer the payment of it (Ecc 5:4), yet better late than never. God bade him go to Beth-el and dwell there, that is, not only go himself, but take his family with him, that they might join with him in his devotions. Note, In Beth-el, the house of God, we should desire to dwell, Psa 27:4. That should be our home, not our inn. God reminds him not expressly of his vow, but of the occasion of it: When thou fleddest from the face of Esau. Note, The remembrance of former afflictions should bring to mind the workings of our souls under them, Psa 66:13, Psa 66:14. II. Jacob commands his household to prepare for this solemnity; not only for the journey and remove, but for the religious services that were to be performed, Gen 35:2, Gen 35:3. Note, 1. Before solemn ordinances, there must be solemn preparation. Wash you, make you clean, and then come, and let us reason together, Isa 1:16-18. 2. Masters of families should use their authority for the promoting of religion in their families. Not only we, but our houses also, should serve the Lord, Jos 24:15. Observe the commands he gives his household, like Abraham, Gen 18:19. (1.) They must put away the strange gods. Strange gods in Jacob's family! Strange things indeed! Could such a family, that was taught the good knowledge of the Lord, admit them? Could such a master, to whom God had appeared twice, and oftener, connive at them? Doubtless this was his infirmity. Note, Those that are good themselves cannot always have those about them so good as they should be. In those families where there is a face of religion, and an altar to God, yet many times there is much amiss, and more strange gods than one would suspect. In Jacob's family, Rachel had her ִֶַ, which, it is to be feared, she secretly made some superstitious use of. The captives of Shechem brought their gods along with them, and perhaps Jacob's sons took some with the plunder. However they came by them, now they must put them away. (2.) They must be clean, and change their garments; they must observe a due decorum, and make the best appearance they could. Simeon and Levi had their hands full of blood, it concerned them particularly to wash, and to put off their garments that were so stained. These were but ceremonies, signifying the purification and change of the heart. What are clean clothes, and new clothes, without a clean heart, and a new heart? Dr. Lightfoot, by their being clean, or washing themselves, understands Jacob's admission of the proselytes of Shechem and Syria into his religion by baptism, because circumcision had become odious. 3. They must go with him to Bethel, Gen 35:3. Note, Masters of families, when they go up to the house of God, should bring their families with them. III. His family surrendered all they had that was idolatrous or superstitious, Gen 35:4. Perhaps, if Jacob had called for them sooner, they would sooner have parted with them, being convicted by their own consciences of the vanity of them. Note, Sometimes attempts for reformation succeed better than one could have expected, and people are not so obstinate against them as we feared. Jacob's servants, and even the retainers of his family, gave him all the strange gods, and the ear-rings they wore, either as charms or to the honour of their gods; they parted with all. Note, Reformation is not sincere if it be not universal. We hope they parted with them cheerfully, and without reluctance, as Ephraim did, when he said, What have I to do any more with idols? (Hos 14:8), or that people that said to their idols, Get you hence, Isa 30:22. Jacob took care to bury their images, we may suppose in some place unknown to them, that they might not afterwards find them and return to them. Note, We must be wholly separated from our sins, as we are from those that are dead and buried out of our sight, cast them to the moles and the bats, Isa 2:20. IV. He removes without molestation from Shechem to Bethel, Gen 35:5. The terror of God was upon the cities. Though the Canaanites were much exasperated against the sons of Jacob for their barbarous usage of the Shechemites, yet they were so restrained by a divine power that they could not take this fair opportunity, which now offered itself, when they were upon their march, to avenge their neighbours' quarrel. Note, The way of duty is the way of safety. While there was sin in Jacob's house, he was afraid of his neighbours; but now that the strange gods were put away, and they were all going together to Bethel, his neighbours were afraid of him. When we are about God's work, we are under special protection. God is with us, while we are with him; and, if he be for us, who can be against us? See Exo 34:24, No man shall desire thy land, when thou goest up to appear before the Lord. God governs the world more by secret terrors on men's minds than we are aware of.

Verse 6

Jacob and his retinue having safely arrived at Bethel, we are here told what passed there. I. There he built an altar (Gen 35:7), and no doubt offered sacrifice upon it, perhaps the tenth of his cattle, according to his vow, I will give the tenth unto thee. With these sacrifices he joined praises for former mercies, particularly that which the sight of the place brought afresh to his remembrance; and he added prayers for the continuance of God's favour to him and his family. And he called the place (that is, the altar) El-beth-el, the God of Bethel. As, when he made a thankful acknowledgment of the honour God had lately done him in calling him Israel, he worshipped God by the name of El-elohe Israel; so, now that he was making a grateful recognition of God's former favour to him at Bethel, he worships God by the name of El-beth-el, the God of Bethel, because there God appeared to him. Note, The comfort which the saints have in holy ordinances is not so much from Bethel, the house of God, as from El-beth-el, the God of the house. The ordinances are but empty things if we do not meet with God in them. II. There he buried Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, Gen 35:8. We have reason to think that Jacob, after he came to Canaan, while his family dwelt near Shechem, went himself (it is likely, often) to visit his father Isaac at Hebron. Rebekah probably was dead, but her old nurse (of whom mention is made Gen 24:59) survived her, and Jacob took her to his family, to be a companion to his wives, her country-women, and an instructor to his children; while they were at Bethel, she died, and died lamented, so much lamented that the oak under which she was buried was called Allon-bachuth, the oak of weeping. Note, 1. Old servants in a family, that have in their time been faithful and useful, ought to be respected. Honour was done to this nurse, at her death, by Jacob's family, though she was not related to them, and though she was aged. Former services, in such a case, must be remembered. 2. We do not know where death may meet us; perhaps at Beth-el, the house of God. Therefore let us be always ready. 3. Family-afflictions may come even when family-reformation and religion are on foot. Therefore rejoice with trembling. III. There God appeared to him (Gen 35:9), to own his altar, to answer to the name by which he had called him, The God of Bethel (Gen 35:7), and to comfort him under his affliction, Gen 35:8. Note, God will appear to those in a way of grace that attend on him in a way of duty. Here, 1. He confirmed the change of his name, Gen 35:10. It was done before by the angel that wrestled with him (Gen 32:28), and here it was ratified by the divine Majesty, or Shechinah, that appeared to him. There it was to encourage him against the fear of Esau, here against the fear of the Canaanites. Who can be too hard for Israel, a prince with God? It is below those who are thus dignified to droop and despond. 2. He renewed and ratified the covenant with him, by the name El-shaddai. I am God Almighty, God all-sufficient (Gen 35:11), able to make good the promise in due time, and to support thee and provide for thee in the mean time. Two things are promised him which we have met with often before: - (1.) That he should be the father of a great nation, great in honour and power - a company of nations shall be of thee (every tribe of Israel was a nation, and all the twelve a company of nations), great in honour and power - kings shall come out of thy loins. (2.) That he should be the master of a good land (Gen 35:12), described by the grantees, Abraham and Isaac, to whom it was promised, not by the occupants, the Canaanites in whose possession it now was. The land that was given to Abraham and Isaac is here entailed on Jacob and his seed. He shall not have children without an estate, which is often the case of the poor, nor an estate without children, which is often the grief of the rich; but both. These two promises had a spiritual signification, of which we may suppose Jacob himself had some notion, though not so clear and distinct as we now have; for, without doubt, Christ is the promised seed, and heaven is the promised land; the former is the foundation, and the latter the top-stone, of all God's favours. 3. He then went up from him, or from over him, in some visible display of glory, which had hovered over him while he talked with him, Gen 35:13. Note, The sweetest communions the saints have with God in this world are short and transient, and soon have an end. Our vision of God in heaven will be everlasting; there we shall be ever with the Lord; it is not so here. IV. There Jacob erected a memorial of this, Gen 35:14. 1. He set up a pillar. When he was going to Padan-aram, he set up for a pillar that stone on which he had laid his head. This was agreeable enough to his low condition and his hasty flight; but now he took time to erect one more stately, more distinguishable and durable, probably placing that stone in it. In token of his intending it for a sacred memorial of his communion with God, he poured oil and the other ingredients of a drink-offering upon it. His vow was, This stone shall be God's house, that is, shall be set up for his honour, as houses to the praise of their builders; and here he performs it, transferring it to God by anointing it. 2. He confirmed the name he had formerly given to the place (Gen 35:15), Beth-el, the house of God. Yet this very place afterwards lost the honour of its name, and became Beth-aven, a house of iniquity; for here it was that Jeroboam set up one of his calves. It is impossible for the best man to entail upon a place so much as the profession and form of religion.

Verse 16

We have here the story of the death of Rachel, the beloved wife of Jacob. 1. She fell in travail by the way, not able to reach to Bethlehem, the next town, though they were near it; so suddenly does pain sometimes come upon a woman in travail, which she cannot escape, or put off. We may suppose Jacob had soon a tent up, convenient enough for her reception. 2. Her pains were violent. She had hard labour, harder than usual: this was the effect of sin, Gen 3:16. Note, Human life begins with sorrow, and the roses of its joy are surrounded with thorns. 3. The midwife encouraged her, Gen 35:17. No doubt she had her midwife with her, ready at hand, yet that would not secure her. Rachel had said, when she bore Joseph, God shall add another son, which now the midwife remembers, and tells her her words were made good. Yet this did not avail to keep up her spirits; unless God command away fear, no one else can. He only says as one having authority, Fear not. We are apt, in extreme perils, to comfort ourselves and our friends with the hopes of a temporal deliverance, in which we may be disappointed; we had better found our comforts on that which cannot fail us, the hope of eternal life. 4. Her travail was to the life of the child, but to her own death. Note, Though the pains and perils of childbearing were introduced by sin, yet they have sometimes been fatal to very holy women, who, though not saved in childbearing, are saved through it with an everlasting salvation. Rachel had passionately said, Give me children, or else I die; and now that she had children (for this was her second) she died. Her dying is here called the departing of her soul. Note, The death of the body is but the departure of the soul to the world of spirits. 5. Her dying lips called her new-born son Ben-oni, The son of my sorrow. And many a son, not born in such hard labour, yet proves the son of his parent's sorrow, and the heaviness of her that bore him. Children are enough the sorrow of their poor mothers in the breeding, bearing, and nursing of them; they should therefore, when they grow up, study to be their joy, and so, if possible, to make them some amends. But Jacob, because he would not renew the sorrowful remembrance of the mother's death every time he called his son by his name, changed his name, and called him Benjamin, The son of my right hand; that is, "very dear to me, set on my right hand for a blessing, the support of my age, like the staff in my right hand." 6. Jacob buried her near the place where she died. As she died in child-bed, it was convenient to bury her quickly; and therefore he did not bring her to the burying-place of his family. If the soul be at rest after death, it matters little where the body lies. In the place where the tree falls, there let it be. No mention is made of the mourning that was at her death, because that might easily be taken for granted. Jacob, no doubt, was a true mourner. Note, Great afflictions sometimes befal us immediately after great comforts. Lest Jacob should be lifted up with the visions of the Almighty with which he was honoured, this was sent as a thorn in the flesh to humble him. Those that enjoy the favours peculiar to the children of God must yet expect the troubles that are common to the children of men. Deborah, who, had she lived, would have been a comfort to Rachel in her extremity, died but a little before. Note, When death comes into a family, it often strikes double. God by it speaks once, yea, twice. The Jewish writers say, "The death of Deborah and Rachel was to expiate the murder of the Shechemites, occasioned by Dinah, a daughter of the family." 7. Jacob set up a pillar upon her grave, so that it was known, long after, to be Rachel's sepulchre (Sa1 10:2), and Providence so ordered it that this place afterwards fell in the lot of Benjamin. Jacob set up a pillar in remembrance of his joys (Gen 35:14), and here he sets up one in remembrance of his sorrows; for, as it may be of use to ourselves to keep both in mind, so it may be of use to others to transmit the memorials of both: the church, long afterwards, owned that what God said to Jacob at Bethel, both by his word and by his rod, he intended for their instruction (Hos 12:4), There he spoke with us.

Verse 21

Here is, 1. Jacob's removal, Gen 35:21. He also, as his fathers, sojourned in the land of promise as in a strange country, and was not long in a place. Immediately after the story of Rachel's death he is here called Israel (Gen 35:21, Gen 35:22), and not often so afterwards: the Jews say, "The historian does him this honour here because he bore that affliction with such admirable patience and submission to Providence." Note, Those are Israel's indeed, princes with God, that support the government of their own passions. He that has this rule over his own spirit is better than the mighty. Israel, a prince with God, yet dwells in tents; the city is reserved for him in the other world. 2. The sin of Reuben. A piece of abominable wickedness it was that he was guilty of (Gen 35:22), that very sin which the apostle says (Co1 5:1) is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father's wife. It is said to have been when Israel dwelt in that land; as if he were then absent from his family, which might be the unhappy occasion of these disorders. Though perhaps Bilhah was the greater criminal, and it is probable was abandoned by Jacob for it, yet Reuben's crime was so provoking that, for it, he lost his birthright and blessing, Gen 49:4. The first-born is not always the best, nor the most promising. This was Reuben's sin, but it was Jacob's affliction; and what a sore affliction it was is intimated in a little compass, and Israel heard it. No more is said - that is enough; he heard it with the utmost grief and shame, horror and displeasure. Reuben thought to conceal it, that his father should never hear of it; but those that promise themselves secresy in sin are generally disappointed; a bird of the air carries the voice. 3. A complete list of the sons of Jacob, now that Benjamin the youngest was born. This is the first time we have the names of these heads of the twelve tribes together; afterwards we find them very often spoken of and enumerated, even to the end of the Bible, Rev 7:4; Rev 21:12. 4. The visit which Jacob made to his father Isaac at Hebron. We may suppose he had visited him before since his return, for he sorely longed after his father's house; but never, till now, brought his family to settle with him, or near him, Gen 35:27. Probably he did this now upon the death of Rebekah, by which Isaac was left solitary, and not disposed to marry again. 5. The age and death of Isaac are here recorded, though it appears, by computation, that he died not till many years after Joseph was sold into Egypt, and much about the time that he was preferred there. Isaac, a mild quiet man, lived the longest of all the patriarches, for he was 180 years old; Abraham was but 175. Isaac lived about forty years after he had made his will, Gen 27:2. We shall not die an hour the sooner, but abundantly the better, for our timely setting our heart and house in order. Particular notice is taken of the amicable agreement of Esau and Jacob, in solemnizing their father's funeral (Gen 35:29), to show how wonderfully God had changed Esau's mind since he vowed his brother's murder immediately after his father's death, Gen 27:41. Note, God has many ways of preventing bad men from doing the mischief they intended; he can either tie their hands or turn their hearts.

Verse 1

35:1-29 This chapter highlights God’s promises, Jacob’s vow, and the transition to Jacob’s sons’ carrying on the covenant. Deborah, Rachel, and Isaac all died, marking the end of an era and of the account of Isaac’s family (25:19–35:29). • Idols were removed (35:1-4) and pure worship was established (35:6-7). During this transition, the faith had to be revitalized so that the covenant could be carried forward by Jacob’s sons.

35:1-7 Jacob returned to Bethel, about fifteen miles south of Shechem, to complete the vows he had made there (28:20-22).

Verse 2

35:2-4 Jacob had vowed wholehearted devotion to the Lord (28:20-22); establishing this required that his family remove all pagan idols and cease their devotion to other gods. God permits no rivals; only the Lord was to be their God (cp. Josh 5:1-9).

Verse 3

35:3 He has been with me wherever I have gone: God had fulfilled his promises (28:15; 31:3), so Jacob must fulfill his vow.

Verse 5

35:5 a terror from God: People had heard about the massacre of Shechem (34:25-30).

Verse 6

35:6-7 Jacob built an altar at Bethel as God had instructed (35:1; cp. 12:8).

Verse 9

35:9-15 At Bethel, God confirmed the promise he had made there earlier; he reiterated Jacob’s change of name from Jacob to Israel as proof that the blessing had been given.

Verse 11

35:11-12 God’s reference to himself as God Almighty assured Jacob that his promise could and would be fulfilled. At Bethel, God had promised that Jacob would have descendants in the land (cp. 28:13-14); here he added that his descendants would include kings (see 17:6).

Verse 14

35:14-15 In fulfilling his vow (28:20-22), Jacob’s actions were almost identical to his actions in the earlier experience at Bethel (cp. 28:16-19).

Verse 16

35:16-20 Benjamin’s birth completed the family, but it was a sorrowful event because Rachel died in childbirth (see study note on 31:32).

Verse 18

35:18 Rachel found the name son of my sorrow appropriate to the situation, but Jacob did not want such a sad name for his son, so he changed it to son of my right hand. Jacob thus turned the day of sorrow into a day of hope that gave his son the prospect of success.

Verse 19

35:19 Jacob did not carry Rachel’s body to the family tomb at Machpelah (23:1-20; 25:9; 49:30; 50:13) but buried her in the territory that would be Benjamin’s (see Josh 18:21-28; 1 Sam 10:2).

Verse 20

35:20 it can be seen there to this day: This seems to be a later editorial comment by someone who was living in the land after the conquest and giving directions to the tomb (see Genesis Book Introduction, “Composition”).

Verse 22

35:22 Reuben had intercourse with Bilhah, thus defiling his father’s marriage bed. Perhaps Reuben, as the oldest son, was trying to replace his father as head of the clan by a pagan procedure (cp. 2 Sam 16:15-22), but by this action he lost his birthright (see Gen 49:3-4). • Jacob soon heard about it, but he again delayed his response (see 49:3-4; cp. 34:5).

Verse 23

35:23-26 The twelve sons became leaders of the twelve tribes of Israel. Their names are the firstfruits of the nation.

Verse 27

35:27-29 Esau and Jacob (listed here in ordinary birth order) came together—probably for the first time since they had reconciled (33:16-17)—to bury Isaac in Hebron (see 13:18; 23:1-2, 17-19).