God Blesses and Renames Jacob

35 God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to bBethel and dwell there. Make an altar there to the God who appeared to you cwhen you fled from your brother Esau.” 2 So Jacob said to his dhousehold and to all who were with him, “Put away ethe foreign gods that are among you and fpurify yourselves and change your garments. 3 Then let us arise and go up to Bethel, so that I may make there an altar to the God gwho answers me in the day of my distress and hhas been with me wherever I have gone.” 4 So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that they had, and the rings that were in their ears. Jacob hid them under ithe terebinth tree that was near Shechem.

5 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. 6 And Jacob came to jLuz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him, 7 and there he built an altar and called the place El-bethel,1 because kthere God had revealed himself to him when he fled from his brother. 8 And lDeborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and she was buried under an oak below Bethel. So he called its name Allon-bacuth.2

9 God appeared3 to Jacob again, when he came from Paddan-aram, and blessed him. 10 And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; mno longer shall your name be called Jacob, but nIsrael shall be your name.” So he called his name Israel. 11 And God said to him, o“I am God Almighty:4 be pfruitful and multiply. qA nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come from your own body.5 12 rThe land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give the land to your offspring after you.” 13 Then God swent up from him in the place where he had spoken with him. 14 And Jacob tset up a pillar in the place where he had spoken with him, a pillar of stone. He poured out a drink offering on it and poured oil on it. 15 So Jacob called the name of the place where God had spoken with him uBethel.