Jacob’s Return to Bethel

35 Then God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to aBethel and dwell there; and make an altar there to God, bwho appeared to you cwhen you fled from the face of Esau your brother.”

2 And Jacob said to his dhousehold and to all who were with him, “Put away ethe foreign gods that are among you, fpurify yourselves, and change your garments. 3 Then let us arise and go up to Bethel; and I will make an altar there to God, gwho answered me in the day of my distress hand has been with me in the way which I have gone.” 4 So they gave Jacob all the foreign 1gods which were in their hands, and the iearrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under jthe terebinth tree which was by Shechem.

5 And they journeyed, and kthe terror of God was upon the cities that were all around them, and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob. 6 So Jacob came to lLuz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him. 7 And he mbuilt an altar there and called the place 2El Bethel, because nthere God appeared to him when he fled from the face of his brother.

8 Now oDeborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and she was buried below Bethel under the terebinth tree. So the name of it was called 3Allon Bachuth.

9 Then pGod appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Padan Aram, and qblessed him. 10 And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; ryour name shall not be called Jacob anymore, sbut Israel shall be your name.” So He called his name Israel. 11 Also God said to him: t“I am God Almighty. uBe fruitful and multiply; va nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you, and kings shall come from your body. 12 The wland which I gave Abraham and Isaac I give to you; and to your descendants after you I give this land.” 13 Then God xwent 4up from him in the place where He talked with him. 14 So Jacob yset up a pillar in the place where He talked with him, a pillar of stone; and he poured a drink offering on it, and he poured oil on it. 15 And Jacob called the name of the place where God spoke with him, zBethel.

Death of Rachel

16 Then they journeyed from Bethel. And when there was but a little distance to go to Ephrath, Rachel labored in childbirth, and she had hard labor. 17 Now it came to pass, when she was in hard labor, that the midwife said to her, “Do not fear; ayou will have this son also.” 18 And so it was, as her soul was departing (for she died), that she called his name 5Ben-Oni; but his father called him 6Benjamin. 19 So bRachel died and was buried on the way to cEphrath (that is, Bethlehem). 20 And Jacob set a pillar on her grave, which is the pillar of Rachel’s grave dto this day.

21 Then Israel journeyed and pitched his tent beyond ethe tower of Eder.