Genesis 35:1–14

Jacob Goes Back to Bethel

35And God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there, and make an altar to the God who appeared to you when you fled from before Esau your brother.” ²Then Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods that are in your midst and purify yourselves and change your garments. ³Then let us make ready and let us go up to Bethel, so that I can make an altar there to the God who answered me in the day of my trouble, and who has been with me on the way that I have gone.” ⁴So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that were in their hands, and the ornamental rings that were in their ears. And Jacob buried them under the oak which was near Shechem. ⁵Then they set out on their journey, and the terror of God was upon the cities that were all around them, so that they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob. ⁶And Jacob came to Luz which was in the land of Canaan (that is Bethel), he and all the people that were with him. ⁷And he built an altar there and called the place El-Bethel, for there God had appeared to him when he fled before his brother. ⁸And Deborah, the nurse of Rebekah, died. And she was buried below Bethel, under the oak. And its name was called Allon-Bacuth.^{a 9}And God appeared to Jacob again when he came from Paddan-Aram, and he blessed him. ¹⁰And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob. Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name.” Then his name was called Israel. ¹¹And God said to him, “I am El-Shaddai.^b Be fruitful and multiply. A nation and an assemblage of nations shall be from you, and kings shall go out from your loins. ¹²And as for the land that I gave to Abraham and to Isaac, I will give it to you. And to your descendants after you I will give the land. ¹³And God went up from him at the place where he spoke with him. ¹⁴And Jacob set up a pillar at the place where God had spoken with him, a pillar of stone. And he poured out a drink offering upon it, and poured oil on it.