The First Book of Moses, called Genesis
Genesis 35
Chapter XXXV · Vol. I, pp. 270–272
1 God sendeth Jacob to Beth-el; he purgeth his house of idols. 6 He buildeth an altar at Beth-el. 8 Deborah dieth at Allon-bachuth. 9 God blesseth Jacob at Beth-el. 16 Rachel travaileth of Benjamin, and dieth in the way to Edar. 22 Reuben lieth with Bilhah. The twelve sons of Jacob. 27 Jacob cometh to Isaac at Hebron. 28 The age, death, and burial of Isaac.
1 And God asaid unto Jacob, Arise, go up bto Beth-el, and dwell there; and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother.
a Ps. 91.15; 46.1. ch. 31. 3, 13; 22. 14. De. 32. 36.
b ch. 28.10-20; 31.13; 27.43.
2 Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, cPut away the strange gods that are among you, and dbe clean, and change your garments:1
c Ex. 20.3,4. Jos. 24. 15,23. Ju. 10.16. 1 Sa. 7. 3. 2 Co. 6.15,16. 1 Jn. 5. 21. Ac. 14.15. 1 Co. 10.7.
d Ex. 19.10,14. Jude 23. Ps. 51. 2,7. Eze. 36. 25. Ec. 5.1. 2 Co. 7.1. He. 10.22.
1 It ought not to be forgotten that Jacob had now a large band of followers—wives, children, domestics, slaves, and shepherds. His tribe, as it may be called, could scarcely have numbered fewer than from two hundred to three hundred persons, old and young. These had all come from Mesopotamia, and most of them had been trained in idolatry. So long as Jacob resided in Mesopotamia it is probable he had not the power to prevent idolatrous practices; but now, having come to another country—a country in which the power of Jehovah had been so signally manifested to himself and his fathers—he felt that he might safely and effectually eradicate idolatry from his people.—P.
3 And let us arise, and go up to Beth-el; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answerede me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went.
e ch. 28.12,13. Is. 30. 19. Ps. 91.15; 46.1; 103.1-5.
4 And they gave unto Jacob fall the strange gods which were in their hand, and all their ear-rings which were in their ears; and Jacob hidg them under the oak which was by Shechem.
f All their idols, monuments, or instruments of idolatry, Ho. 2. 13. Ex. 32. 3, 4. De. 7.5,25. Ju. 8.24,27.
g Ex. 32. 20. Jos. 24. 26. Ju. 9.6.
5 And they journeyed: and hthe terror of God was upon the cities that were round about them, and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob.
h Ex. 15. 16; 23. 27. De. 11.25. Jos. 2.9,11. 1 Sa. 11.7. 2 Ch. 14.14; 17. 10, with ch. 34.30.
6 So Jacob came to iLuz, which is in the land of Canaan, (that is, Beth-el,) he, and all the people that were with him.
i ch. 12.8; 28.19,22.
7 And khe built there an altar, and called lthe place El-beth-el; because there God appeared unto him, when he fled from the face of his brother.
8 But mDeborah, Rebekah's nurse, 2died, and she was buried beneath Beth-el nunder an oak: and the name of it was called Allon-bachuth.3
9 And God oappeared unto Jacob again, when he came out of Padan-aram, and blessed him.
o ch. 28. 13; 31. 3, 11; 32. 1,24; 35.1.
10 And God said unto him,4 Thyp name is Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel5 shall be thy name: and he called his name Israel.
4 Thus he assured him, that as he had prevailed over Esau, so he should prevail over those of whom he was now afraid, and over every difficulty.
p ch. 32.28. 2 Ki. 17. 34.
5 The reason of this second investiture with the name of Israel seems probably to be that either Jacob himself, or his family, had refrained from using it.—Note, Believers, like Jacob and his family, are oftentimes negligent of the use and unmindful of the privilege of the new name. Believers 'were by nature children of wrath, even as others,' Ep. 2.3. But, 'Behold what manner of love God has bestowed, that they should be called, through faith (Ga. 3. 26) the children of God,' 1 Jn. 3.2.—C.
11 And God said unto him, qI am God Almighty; be fruitful, and multiply: a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee; and kings shall come out of thy loins:
12 Andr the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land.
14 And Jacob tset up a pillar in the place where he talked with him, even a pillar of stone; and he poured a drink-offering thereon, and he poured oil thereon.
t ch. 28.18,19. Ex. 17. 15. 1 Sa. 7.12.
15 And Jacob called the name of the place where God spake with him,6 Beth-el.
6 He renews the memorial of his faith and thankfulness, as God had done his promise.
16 And they journeyed from Beth-el; and there was but a little way7 to come uto Ephrath: and Rachel travailed, and she had xhard labour.
7 Heb. a little piece of ground.
u 1 Ch. 2.19. Ps. 132. 6. Mi. 5.2. Mat. 2.1,16, 18.
x ch. 3.16. 1 Ti. 2.15.
17 And it came to pass, when she was in hard labour, that the midwife said unto her, Fear not; thou shalt yhave this son also.
y ch. 30.24. 1 Sa. 4.20.
18 And it came to pass, as her soul zwas in departing, (for she died,) that she called his name Ben-oni;8 but his father called him aBenjamin.
z ch. 30.1. 1 Sa. 4.20, 21.
8 i.e. the son of my sorrow.
a i.e. the son of the right hand, very dear, Ps. 80.17.
20 And Jacob cset a pillar upon her grave: that is the pillar of Rachel's grave unto this day.9
c 1 Sa. 10. 2. 2 Sa. 18. 17,18.
9 Rachel's sepulchre is still a noted spot. Jews and Mohammedans unite in honouring it. It is marked by a small building surmounted by a white dome. It is on the leading road from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, three miles from the former and one from the latter. The original name of Bethlehem appears to have been Ephrath, 'fruitful.' This gave place to Beth-lehem, 'house of bread;' which in modern times has given place to the Arabic Beit-lahm, 'house of flesh.'—P.
22 And it came to pass, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and elay with Bilhah, his father's concubine:9 and Israel heard it. Now fthe sons of Jacob were twelve.
e ch. 49.4. 1 Ch. 5.1. 2 Sa. 16.22. 1 Co. 5.1.
A.M. 2275. B.C. 1729.
9 In the note on ch. 34. 7 the importance of a sensitive regard to family honour was remarked; but the necessity of conjoining it with personal purity was added. Reuben, through the power of the one sentiment, family honour, practises deceit, and joins in revenge, slaughters a whole city; while, for want of the other, personal religion, he is himself guilty of a crime as foul as that which he avenged, with this additional aggravation, that he offends not against a stranger, but a father.—Note, We must not mistake indignation against one sin for spiritual hatred of all sin; nor zeal for a favourite virtue as zeal for the glory of God.—C.
f ch. 29. 31-35; 30.5-24; ver.18; ch.46.8-27; 49.1-28.Ex.1.1-5;6.14-16. Nu.i.ii.x.xxvi. De. xxxiii. Jos. xiii.-xxi. 1 Ch.2.1,2; 27.16-22; 12. 23-40. Eze. 48. 1-28. Re.7.4-8.
23 The sons of Leah; Reuben, Jacob's first-born, and Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Zebulun.
24 The sons of Rachel; Joseph, and Benjamin.
25 And the sons of Bilhah, Rachel's handmaid; Dan, and Naphtali.
26 And the sons of Zilpah, Leah's handmaid; Gad, and Asher. These are the sons of Jacob, which were born to him gin Padan-aram.
g Except Benjamin, ver.18; ch. 25.20; 28.2;31.18.
27 And Jacob came unto Isaac his father unto hMamre, unto the city of Arba, (which is Hebron,) where Abraham and Isaac sojourned.
h ch.13.18;14.13;18. 1;23.2. Jos.14.12-15;21. 11. 2 Sa.2.1,3,11; 5.1,3, 5.
28 And the days of Isaac were an hundred and fourscore years.1
1 The record of Isaac's death is not inserted in its chronological order. This will appear from the following facts, which ought to be kept in mind. Isaac was sixty years old when Jacob was born. Jacob was seventy-eight years old when he went to Haran, and his father one hundred and thirty-eight. Jacob remained in Haran twenty years, and Joseph was seven years old when he left. Ten years later Joseph was sold into Egypt, ch. 37. 2, and thirteen years afterwards he stood before Pharaoh, ch. 41. 32. He was then thirty years old. Consequently, Isaac was one hundred and fifty-eight years old when Jacob returned from Haran to Canaan; he was one hundred and sixty-eight when Joseph was sold by his brethren; and his death took place only about one year before Joseph was presented to Pharaoh.—P.
Notes
Ver. 1. He was to go thither to build an altar for sacrifices of thanksgiving for deliverances received, and to strengthen his faith in God's protection against present fears, ch. 34. 30.
Ver. 2. Their outward purification was to be attended with internal purification of their heart from idols, or from cruel dispositions.—[Put away. Whilst 'wicked men and seducers wax worse and worse,' Jacob labours to make the sin and sorrow of his family an occasion of family reformation; and thus, out of evil, to extract good. That he did not sooner attempt to purge them from idolatry, cannot be charged against Jacob; for though the narrative is silent about any such attempt, no one can thence infer that the attempt was never previously made. Let the extent of Jacob's family (for he was a prince in the land) be considered; let the idolatrous materials of which it was originally composed be taken into account; and let Jacob be judged, not by those who neglect or despise family religion, but by those who, in circumstances somewhat similar, have most efficiently introduced and most successfully maintained it; and they, instead of censuring past failure as evidence of past neglect, will admire that grace of God which led Jacob to reform his family religion, and that moved his children and household to renounce every rite of idolatry to embrace the truth and worship of God.—Clean. Compared with Ex. 19. 10, this verse furnishes the first recorded example of washing as a ceremonial picture of regeneration. 'Ye must be born again,' and 'except a man be born of water, and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God,' Jn. 3. 5-7. C.]
Ver. 7. He had formerly called it Beth-el, i.e. the house of God. Now, to attest his experience of God's fulfilment of his promises, he calls it El-Beth-el, i.e. the God of Bethel.
Reflections.—Alas! how apt are the best of saints to forget their Bethel-enjoyments and their Bethel-vows, till the Lord by his providence shuts them up, and by his word reminds them of them! And yet how precious are such visits, and how fixed and lasting ought to be our care in maintaining intimate fellowship with God when once we have attained it! What corruptions and idols have need to be purged from the best hearts and families on earth, especially before solemn approaches to God! for let us always remember, there is no acceptable drawing near to God without having on Jesus' righteousness and grace, nor with allowed sin in the heart; and sins must be put away with a resolution never to return to them. How much better to pay our vows too late than never! What deaths, what disorders, may we expect to meet with on earth! But surely it is a mercy much to be esteemed, that our forgetfulness of God doth not make him forget his kindness or promises to us. He often sweetens our past troubles, and prepares us for future ones, with the manifestations of his favour; and his sweetness never changes, even when the family, the wives, the children, or other created enjoyments, which we have so impatiently desired, prove deathful or distressing to us. Ah! how plainly men's sins are written on their judgments; and how infatuated they must be who think so little of death, amidst so many births, deaths, and graves, which all warn us of it! May our hearts be set upon our Christ, our family, our house eternal in the heavens! An old age on earth is so filled up with sins and troubles that it is scarcely worth coveting. But in the now deceased Isaac let me behold my Redeemer! How often promised! how earnestly desired! how long expected! how supernatural! and how gladdening to angels and men was his birth! How maliciously was he, the Father's only begotten Son, hated, mocked, and persecuted by his Jewish brethren, at the expense of their ejection from the church of God! With what cheerfulness he assumed our nature, bore our sins and punishments, bore his cross, and laid down his life a ransom for men, that he might render the everlasting covenant a new testament in his blood, and purchase all spiritual blessings for us! Being raised from death he is espoused to a chosen church, chiefly consisting of Gentile sinners; and his blood, his prayers, and his power produce a most numerous offspring of spiritual and professed seed. But how great is his glory at his Father's right hand! and he will be glorious in the church below, where he digs the wells of salvation to give drink to his people, notwithstanding the envy of a carnal world. For a time what a struggle between his Jewish and Gentile church, till at last the former, rejecting their birthright and forfeiting their blessing, were cast out, and the latter became the highly-favoured but much-afflicted people of God!