JACOB RETURNS TO BETHEL AND ERECTS AN ALTAR THERE. GOD RENEWS HIS COVENANT WITH HIM. HE FINALLY JOINS WITH ISAAC. THE DEATH OF ISAAC (35:1-36:1A) This covenant record is based around the theophany and covenant in Genesis 35:9. It is a moment of extreme sacredness on Jacob's return to Bethel after s... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Then Jacob said to his household, and to all who were with him, “Put away the strange gods which are among you, and purify yourselves and change your clothing. And let us rise and go to Bethel, and I will make there an altar to God who answered me in the day of my distress and was with me in the wa... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And they gave to Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and the rings which were in their ears, and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem.' These would include small images, amulets, and other superstitious objects, which included earrings, which had idolatrous religious... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And they began their journey, and a terror from God (or ‘a great terror') was on the cities that were round about them, and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob.' They made their escape from Shechem without interference. This was because of the fear that had spread round as a result of their... [ Continue Reading ]
‘So Jacob came to Luz, which is in the land of Canaan, (the same is Bethel), he and all the people who were with him.' Luz was the name of the city in the area in which Jacob had erected the pillar on his first visit. Later it was changed to Bethel and a compiler's note added here.... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And he built there an altar and called the place El-Bethel because there God was revealed to him when he fled from the face of his brother.' Previously Jacob had erected a pillar as a personal witness to his personal covenant with God. He had named its site Bethel. Now he erects an altar as a plac... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died, and she was buried below Bethel under the oak, and the name of it was called Allon-Bacuth.' The ceremony was marred by a sad event, the death of Rebekah's nurse. It is probable that Rebekah had sent her nurse to keep a motherly eye on Jacob on his flight to Padd... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And God appeared to Jacob again when he came from Paddan-aram, and blessed him. “GOD APPEARED TO JACOB AGAIN.” The ‘again' refers back to the previous theophany at Bethel before he left Canaan (Genesis 28:10). This is now God's renewal of that covenant on his return to the promised land at the pla... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob. Your name will not any longer be called Jacob, but Israel will be your name. And he called his name Israel.” ' A change of name for Abram occurred at God's first revelation of Himself as El Shaddai, and here a second change of name is referred to on God's... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And God said to him, “I am El Shaddai (the Almighty God). Be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations (goyim) will be from you, and kings will come from your loins. And the land which I gave to Abraham and Isaac, to you will I give it, and to your seed after you will I give the land... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And God went up from him in the place where he spoke with him.' This is confirmation that here was a physical manifestation of God. Once God had finished re-establishing His covenant with Jacob He ‘goes up', a recognition that He is leaving the world for His own realm. For ‘went up' compare Genesi... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he spoke with him, a pillar of stone. And he poured out a drink offering on it, and poured oil on it.' This is the second pillar that Jacob has set up. The first commemorated his first vision when he saw the angels of God ascending and descending on a ra... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And Jacob called the place where God spoke to him ‘Beth-el'.' The previous naming had been in private (Genesis 28:19) and was of the spot where he had had his vision. It was an extremely personal thing and was accompanied by a personal response. Now the naming is more public and covers a wider are... [ Continue Reading ]
“And they journeyed from Bethel, and there was still some way to come to Ephrath, and Rachel began to experience birth pains and she had hard labour. And it happened that when she was in hard labour the midwife said to her, “Don't be afraid, for now you will have another son. And it happened that, a... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And they saw him in the distance, and before he came near to them they conspired against him to kill him. And they said to one another, “See, the lord of dreams comes.” Come now therefore, let us kill him and throw him into one of the cisterns, and we will say, ‘An evil beast has devoured him', and... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And Jacob set up a pillar on her grave. The same is the pillar of Rachel's grave to this day.' The loss of Rachel is a deep blow and when she is buried he sets up a memorial stone. The setting up of such stones was a custom widely practised in Canaan in those days. The significance attached to suc... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And Israel journeyed and spread his tent beyond the Tower of Eder.' The name means ‘cattle tower.' It is unidentified but clearly obtained its name from some well known local landmark. But what is significant is that we see Jacob's new name applied to him in an historical record for the first time... [ Continue Reading ]
‘The sons of Leah: Reuben, Jacob's firstborn, and Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Zebulun. The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin. And the sons of Zilpah, Rachel's handmaid: Dan and Naphtali. And the sons of Zilpah, Leah's handmaid: Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob which w... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And Jacob came to Isaac his father, to Mamre, to Kiriath-arba (the same is Hebron) where Abraham and Isaac sojourned. At last Jacob is home. He has come to take up his now rightful place as heir to the family tribe and the covenant promises. He is now in the line of Abraham and Isaac. For Mamre s... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And the days of Isaac were one hundred and eighty years, and Isaac yielded up his breath and died, and was gathered to his people old and full of days. And Esau and Jacob his sons buried him. Isaac lives on for many years with Esau and Jacob as his support. He was not much more than one hundred wh... [ Continue Reading ]