God Blesses and Renames Jacob

35 God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to (A)Bethel and dwell there. Make an altar there to the God who appeared to you (B)when you fled from your brother Esau.” So Jacob said to his (C)household and to all who were with him, “Put away (D)the foreign gods that are among you and (E)purify yourselves and change your garments. Then let us arise and go up to Bethel, so that I may make there an altar to the God (F)who answers me in the day of my distress and (G)has been with me wherever I have gone.” So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that they had, and the rings that were in their ears. Jacob hid them under (H)the terebinth tree that was near Shechem.

And as they journeyed, a terror from God fell upon the cities that were around them, so that they did not pursue the sons of Jacob. And Jacob came to (I)Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him, and there he built an altar and called the place El-bethel,[a] because (J)there God had revealed himself to him when he fled from his brother.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 35:7 El-bethel means God of Bethel

35 And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother.

Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments:

And let us arise, and go up to Bethel; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went.

And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem.

And they journeyed: and the terror of God was upon the cities that were round about them, and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob.

So Jacob came to Luz, which is in the land of Canaan, that is, Bethel, he and all the people that were with him.

And he built there an altar, and called the place Elbethel: because there God appeared unto him, when he fled from the face of his brother.

Read full chapter