# Genesis 35 đź“–: Jacob Returns to Bethel
[[đź“š Explore the Bible Books]]
[[-Genesis Overview]] | [[Genesis 34]] | [[Genesis 36]]
> [!info] Table of Contents
> [[#đź“ś Scripture Text (NET)]]
> [[#đź“– Verse-by-Verse Commentary]]
> [[#🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]]
> [[#🧠Chapter Summary]]
> [[#✝️ Christ in This Chapter]]
> [[#🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application]]
> [[#đź’¬ Discussion Questions]]
> [[#✍️ Key Verses to Remember]]
> [[#đź”— Related Passages/Cross Reference]]
> [[#🙏 Devotional Reflection]]
> [[#đź“‚ Internal Notes]]
## đź“ś Scripture Text (NET)
(The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005)
### The Return to Bethel
[[#Verse 01.]]Then God said to Jacob, “Go up at once to Bethel and live there. Make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.”Â
[[#Verse 02.]] So Jacob told his household and all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods you have among you. Purify yourselves and change your clothes.Â
[[#Verse 03.]] Let us go up at once to Bethel. Then I will make an altar there to God, who responded to me in my time of distress and has been with me wherever I went.”
[[#Verse 04.]] So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods that were in their possession and the rings that were in their ears. Jacob buried them under the oak near ShechemÂ
[[#Verse 05.]] and they started on their journey. The surrounding cities were afraid of God, and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob.
[[#Verse 06.]]Â Jacob and all those who were with him arrived at Luz (that is, Bethel) in the land of Canaan.
[[#Verse 07.]] He built an altar there and named the place El Bethel because there God had revealed himself to him when he was fleeing from his brother.Â
[[#Verse 08.]] (Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died and was buried under the oak below Bethel; thus it was named Oak of Weeping.)
[[#Verse 09.]]Â God appeared to Jacob again after he returned from Paddan Aram and blessed him.Â
[[#Verse 10.]] God said to him, “Your name is Jacob, but your name will no longer be called Jacob; Israel will be your name.” So God named him Israel.Â
[[#Verse 11.]] Then God said to him, “I am the Sovereign God. Be fruitful and multiply! A nation—even a company of nations—will descend from you; kings will be among your descendants!Â
[[#Verse 12.]] The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you. To your descendants I will also give this land.”Â
[[#Verse 13.]] Then God went up from the place where he spoke with him.
[[#Verse 14.]] So Jacob set up a sacred stone pillar in the place where God spoke with him. He poured out a drink offering on it, and then he poured oil on it.
[[#Verse 15.]] Jacob named the place where God spoke with him Bethel.
[[#Verse 16.]] They traveled on from Bethel, and when Ephrath was still some distance away, Rachel went into labor—and her labor was hard.Â
[[#Verse 17.]] When her labor was at its hardest, the midwife said to her, “Don’t be afraid, for you are having another son.”
[[#Verse 18.]] With her dying breath, she named him Ben Oni. But his father called him Benjamin instead.Â
[[#Verse 19.]] So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). [[M0007- Bethlehem]]
[[#Verse 20.]] Jacob set up a marker over her grave; it is the Marker of Rachel’s Grave to this day.
[[#Verse 21.]]Â Then Israel traveled on and pitched his tent beyond Migdal Eder.
[[#Verse 22.]] While Israel was living in that land, Reuben went to bed with Bilhah, his father’s concubine, and Israel heard about it. Jacob had twelve sons:
[[#Verse 23.]] The sons of Leah were Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, as well as Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.
[[#Verse 24.]]Â The sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin.
[[#Verse 25.]] The sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s servant, were Dan and Naphtali.
[[#Verse 26.]] The sons of Zilpah, Leah’s servant, were Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan Aram.
[[#Verse 27.]] So Jacob came back to his father Isaac in Mamre, to Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had stayed.
[[#Verse 28.]]Â Isaac lived to be 180 years old.Â
[[#Verse 29.]] Then Isaac breathed his last and joined his ancestors. He died an old man who had lived a full life. His sons Esau and Jacob buried him.
## đź“– Verse-by-Verse Commentary
###### Overall.
###### Verse 01.
###### Verse 02.
###### Verse 03.
###### Verse 04.
###### Verse 05.
###### Verse 06.
###### Verse 07.
###### Verse 08.
###### Verse 09.
###### Verse 10.
###### Verse 11.
###### Verse 12.
###### Verse 13.
###### Verse 14.
###### Verse 15.
###### Verse 16.
###### Verse 17.
###### Verse 18.
###### Verse 19.
###### Verse 20.
###### Verse 21.
###### Verse 22.
###### Verse 23.
###### Verse 24.
###### Verse 25.
###### Verse 26.
###### Verse 27.
###### Verse 28.
###### Verse 29.
## 🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights
1. Jacob buried the foreign gods and earrings under the oak near Shechem (35:4).
2. Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died and was buried under the "oak of weeping" (35:8).
3. El Bethel means "God of Bethel" (35:7).
4. Rachel died giving birth to Benjamin near Bethlehem (35:16-19).
5. Rachel named him Ben-Oni, "son of my sorrow," but Jacob renamed him Benjamin, "son of the right hand" (35:18).
6. Rachel's tomb near Bethlehem is still a traditional pilgrimage site.
7. Matthew 2:18 quotes Jeremiah 31:15 about Rachel weeping for her children.
8. Reuben slept with Bilhah (35:22), which cost him his rights as firstborn (49:3-4).
9. Jacob's twelve sons are listed together for the first time here (35:23-26).
10. Isaac died at 180, and Esau and Jacob buried him together (35:28-29).
## 🧠Chapter Summary
> [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way.
## ✝️ Christ in This Chapter
Christ is the One through whom God renews His people. Jacob buried the foreign gods and returned to Bethel (35:2-4), and in Christ we put off the old self and put on the new (Ephesians 4:22-24).
## 🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application
> [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way.
## đź’¬ Discussion Questions
1. Jacob told his family to get rid of their foreign gods and purify themselves (35:2). What needs to go for you to return to God fully?
2. God reminded Jacob of his new name, Israel (35:10). Why do we need repeated reminders of our identity?
3. This chapter holds both worship and grief, as Rachel and Isaac die. How does faith hold both?
## ✍️ Key Verses to Remember
- đź“– verse 2: Get rid of the foreign gods and purify yourselves.
- đź“– verse 3: God answered Jacob in his distress and was with him.
- đź“– verse 10: God confirms Jacob's new name, Israel.
## đź”— Related Passages/Cross Reference
- đź”— [[Genesis 28#Verse 10.|Genesis 28:10-22]] - God first met Jacob at Bethel.
- đź”— [[Joshua 24#Verse 14.|Joshua 24:14-15]] - Put away foreign gods.
- đź”— [[Ephesians 04#Verse 22.|Ephesians 4:22-24]] - Put off the old self.
- đź”— [[Jeremiah 31#Verse 15.|Jeremiah 31:15]] - Rachel weeping for her children.
- đź”— [[Matthew 02#Verse 18.|Matthew 2:18]] - Rachel's weeping fulfilled.
## 🙏 Devotional Reflection
đź“ť SOAP: [[Genesis 35- SOAP|Set the Tone]]
## đź“‚ Internal Notes