Genesis 35:1–14

Footnotes

1. 1 Heb “arise, go up.” The first imperative gives the command a sense of urgency.
2. 2 For location see ; ; ; ; .
3. 3 God is calling on Jacob to fulfill his vow he made when he fled from … Esau (see Gen 28:20–22).
4. 4 Heb “which are in your midst.”
5. 5 The actions of removing false gods, becoming ritually clean, and changing garments would become necessary steps in Israel when approaching the Lord in worship.
6. 6 Heb “let us arise and let us go up.” The first cohortative gives the statement a sense of urgency.
7. 7 The cohortative with the prefixed conjunction here indicates purpose or consequence.
8. 8 Heb “day of distress.” See Ps 20:1 which utilizes similar language.
9. 9 Heb “in the way in which I went.” Jacob alludes here to God’s promise to be with him (see Gen 28:20).
10. 10 Heb “in their hand.”
11. 11 On the basis of a comparison with Gen 34 and Num 31, G. J. Wenham argues that the foreign gods and the rings could have been part of the plunder that came from the destruction of Shechem (Genesis [], 2:).
12. 12 Jacob buried them. On the burial of the gods, see E. Nielson, “The Burial of the Foreign Gods,” 8 (1954/55): 102–22.
13. 13 Or “terebinth.”
14. 14 Heb “and they journeyed.”
15. 15 Heb “and the fear of God was upon the cities which were round about them.” The expression “fear of God” apparently refers (1) to a fear of God (objective genitive; God is the object of their fear). (2) But it could mean “fear from God,” that is, fear which God placed in them (cf. “a terror from God”). Another option (3) is that the divine name is used as a superlative here, referring to “tremendous fear” (cf. “were panic-stricken”; “a great terror”).
16. 16 For location see ; ; ; ; .
17. 17 Heb “and Jacob came to Luz which is in the land of Canaan—it is Bethel—he and all the people who were with him.”
18. 18 The name El-Bethel means “God of Bethel.”
19. 19 Heb “revealed themselves.” The verb נִגְלוּ (niglu), translated “revealed himself,” is plural, even though one expects the singular form with the plural of majesty. Perhaps אֱלֹהִים (’elohim) is here a numerical plural, referring both to God and the angelic beings that appeared to Jacob. See the note on the word “know” in .
20. 20 Deborah. This woman had been Rebekah’s nurse, but later attached herself to Jacob. She must have been about one hundred and eighty years old when she died.
21. 21 “and he called its name.” There is no expressed subject, so the verb can be translated as passive.
22. 22 Or “Allon Bacuth,” if one transliterates the Hebrew name (cf. , , ). An oak tree was revered in the ancient world and often designated as a shrine or landmark. This one was named for the weeping (mourning) occasioned by the death of Deborah.
23. 23 Heb “and he called his name Israel.” The referent of the pronoun “he” (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity. The name Israel means “God fights” (although some interpret the meaning as “he fights [with] God”). See Gen 32:28.
24. 24 The name אֵל שַׁדַּי (’el shadday, “El Shaddai”) has often been translated “God Almighty,” primarily because Jerome translated it omnipotens (“all powerful”) in the Latin . There has been much debate over the meaning of the name. For discussion see W. F. Albright, “The Names Shaddai and Abram,” 54 (1935): 173–210; R. Gordis, “The Biblical Root sdy-sd,” 41 (1940): 34–43; and especially T. N. D. Mettinger, In Search of God, 69–72. Shaddai/El Shaddai is the sovereign king of the world who grants, blesses, and judges. In the Book of Genesis he blesses the patriarchs with fertility and promises numerous descendants. Outside Genesis he both blesses/protects and takes away life/happiness. The patriarchs knew God primarily as El Shaddai (Exod 6:3). While the origin and meaning of this name are uncertain its significance is clear. The name is used in contexts where God appears as the source of fertility and life. For a fuller discussion see the note on “sovereign God” in .
25. 25 Heb “A nation and a company of nations will be from you and kings from your loins will come out.” A nation … will descend from you. The promise is rooted in the Abrahamic promise (see Gen 17). God confirms what Isaac told Jacob (see Gen 28:3–4). Here, though, for the first time Jacob is promised kings as descendants.
26. 26 The Hebrew verb translated “gave” refers to the Abrahamic promise of the land. However, the actual possession of that land lay in the future. The decree of the Lord made it certain; but it has the sense “promised to give.”
27. 27 Heb “and to your offspring after you.”
28. 28 Heb “went up from upon him in the place.”
29. 29 Heb “and Jacob set up a sacred pillar in the place where he spoke with him, a sacred pillar of stone” (see the notes on the term “sacred stone” in ). This passage stands parallel to Gen 28:18–19, where Jacob set up a sacred stone, poured oil on it, and called the place Bethel. Some commentators see these as two traditions referring to the same event, but it is more likely that Jacob reconsecrated the place in fulfillment of the vow he had made here earlier. In support of this is the fact that the present narrative alludes to and is built on the previous one.
30. 30 The verb נָסַךְ (nasakh) means “to pour out, to make libations,” and the noun נֶסֶךְ (nesekh) is a “drink-offering,” usually of wine or of blood. The verb יָצַק (yatsaq) means “to pour out,” often of anointing oil, but of other elements as well.