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Jacob in Bethel

35 God said to Jacob, “·Go [L Rise up and go up] to the city of Bethel [12:8] and live there. Make an altar to the God who appeared to you there when you were ·running away [fleeing] from your brother Esau [28:1–22].”

So Jacob said to his ·family [household] and to all who were with him, “Put away the foreign gods you have, and ·make yourselves clean [purify yourselves], and change your clothes. We will ·leave here and go [L rise up and go up] to Bethel. There I will build an altar to God, who ·has helped [L answered] me ·during my time of trouble [L in the day of my distress]. He has been with me [C an indication of a covenant relationship] everywhere I have gone.” So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods ·they had [in their possession; L in their hands], and the earrings ·they were wearing [L on their ears], and he hid them under the ·great tree [L oak; or terebinth; 12:6] near the town of Shechem. Then Jacob and his sons left there. But ·God caused the people in the nearby cities to be afraid [L the terror of God was on the surrounding cities], so they did not ·follow [pursue] them. And Jacob and all the people who were with him went to Luz, which is now called Bethel, in the land of Canaan. There Jacob built an altar and named the place ·Bethel, after God [El-Bethel; or “God of Bethel”], because God had appeared to him there when he was ·running [fleeing] from his brother.

Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died and was buried under the oak tree at Bethel, so they named that place ·Oak of Crying [L Allon-bacuth].

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Jacob Moves to Bethel

35 Then God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to (A)Bethel and live there, and make an altar there to (B)God, who appeared to you (C)when you fled [a]from your brother Esau.” So Jacob said to his (D)household and to all who were with him, “Remove (E)the foreign gods which are among you, and (F)purify yourselves and change your garments; and let’s arise and go up to Bethel, and I will make (G)an altar there to God, (H)who answered me on the day of my distress and (I)has been with me [b]wherever I have gone.” So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods which [c]they had and the rings which were in their ears, and Jacob hid them under the [d]oak which was near Shechem.

As they journeyed, there was [e](J)a great terror upon the cities which were around them, and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob. So Jacob came to (K)Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him. Then (L)he built an altar there, and called the place [f]El-bethel, because there God had revealed Himself to him when he fled [g]from his brother. Now (M)Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and she was buried below Bethel under the oak; and it was named [h]Allon-bacuth.

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 35:1 Lit from the face of
  2. Genesis 35:3 Lit in the way which
  3. Genesis 35:4 Lit were in their hand
  4. Genesis 35:4 Or terebinth
  5. Genesis 35:5 Or a terror of God
  6. Genesis 35:7 I.e., the God of Bethel
  7. Genesis 35:7 Lit from the face of
  8. Genesis 35:8 I.e., oak of weeping