A Study by Scott Sperling
Genesis 35 -
Back to Bethel
35:1
Then God said to Jacob, "Go up to Bethel and settle there, and build an altar
there to God, who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother
Esau."
2
So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, "Get rid of the
foreign gods you have with you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes.
3
Then come, let us go up to Bethel, where I will build an altar to God, who
answered me in the day of my distress and who has been with me wherever I
have gone."
4
So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods they had and the rings in
their ears, and Jacob buried them under the oak at Shechem.
5
Then they set out,
and the terror of God fell upon the towns all around them so that no-one pursued
them.
6
Jacob and all the people with him came to Luz (that is, Bethel) in the land of
Canaan.
7
There he built an altar, and he called the place El Bethel, because it was
there that God revealed Himself to him when he was fleeing from his brother.
8
Now Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died and was buried under the oak below
Bethel. So it was named Allon Bacuth.
9
After Jacob returned from Paddan Aram, God appeared to him again and
blessed him.
10
God said to him, "Your name is Jacob, but you will no longer be
called Jacob; your name will be Israel." So He named him Israel.
11
And God said to him, "I am God Almighty; be fruitful and increase in number.
A nation and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will come
from your body.
12
The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and I
will give this land to your descendants after you."
13
Then God went up from him
at the place where He had talked with him.
14
Jacob set up a stone pillar at the place where God had talked with him, and he
poured out a drink offering on it; he also poured oil on it.
15
Jacob called the place
where God had talked with him Bethel.
16
Then they moved on from Bethel. While they were still some distance from
Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth and had great difficulty.
17
And as she was
having great difficulty in childbirth, the midwife said to her, "Don't be afraid, for
you have another son."
18
As she breathed her last--for she was dying--she named
her son Ben-Oni. But his father named him Benjamin.
19
So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).
20
Over her tomb Jacob set up a pillar, and to this day that pillar marks Rachel's
tomb.
21
Israel moved on again and pitched his tent beyond Migdal Eder.
22
While Israel
was living in that region, Reuben went in and slept with his father's concubine
Bilhah, and Israel heard of it.
Jacob had twelve sons:
23
The sons of Leah: Reuben the firstborn of Jacob,
Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun.
24
The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin.
25
The sons of Rachel's maidservant Bilhah: Dan and Naphtali.
26
The sons of Leah's maidservant Zilpah: Gad and Asher.
These were the sons of Jacob, who were born to him in Paddan Aram.
27
Jacob came home to his father Isaac in Mamre, near Kiriath Arba (that is,
Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had stayed.
28
Isaac lived a hundred and
eighty years.
29
Then he breathed his last and died and was gathered to his people,
old and full of years. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.
Jacob has just lived through the most lamentable episode of his life (up to that
point). In the previous chapter, his daughter Dinah was seduced by the son of the
king of Shechem. This son offered to do the honorable thing and marry Dinah.
Dinah's brothers, however, chose to take revenge. They took revenge, not just on
the son of the king, but on the whole town of Shechem, as they slaughtered all of
the inhabitants and looted the town. We suggested in the previous issue that at the
root of this episode was the fact that Jacob did not completely obey God as to where
he should dwell. Before he left Paddan-Aram, God had commanded him: "Go back
to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I will be with you." (Gen.
31:3). Jacob did return to the "land of [his] fathers", but he did not go back "to [his]
relatives". Instead, "he arrived safely at the city of Shechem in Canaan and
camped within sight of the city" (33:18). By living "within sight of the city", Jacob
was living on the border of the promised land. He was trying (as it were) to keep
one foot in the promised land and one foot in the world. This led to his family
coming under the evil influences of Shechem, which in turn led to the problems the
family experienced in Shechem.
As things stand here in Genesis 35, Jacob must move away from Shechem, but
where to go? He can't go back to Paddan-Aram. He (effectively) vowed to Laban
that he would not return. He has chosen to avoid Esau, so he can't go to Seir. Well, I
guess Jacob has little choice but to, ahem, finally obey the Lord. God helps him with
his decision: "Then God said to Jacob: `Go up to Bethel and settle there, and build
an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your
brother Esau'" (vs. 1). Why do we only obey God as a last resort? Our lives would
be much easier if we obeyed the Lord as the first choice. He knows what is best for
us! Why do we make our lives difficult by ignoring Him?
But God is gracious. Despite Jacob's disobedience, and despite the godless events of
Genesis 34, God seeks Jacob out, and guides him where he should go, just at the
time when Jacob most needed guidance. Jacob was ready now to listen to God,
because Jacob was at the end of his rope. So many times, it takes severe affliction
before we will listen to God. God allows such affliction so that we will return to
Him. If we would listen to Him and stay close to Him in the first place, we could
avoid much affliction.
God is gracious to Jacob, not just in reappearing to Jacob, but also in modifying His
original command to Jacob. As mentioned above, when Jacob was in Paddan-Aram,
God commanded him: "Go back to the land of your fathers and to your relatives,
and I will be with you" (Gen. 31:3). For some unexplained reason, Jacob did not
want to live near his relatives. Jacob purposely chose to avoid living near Esau, and,
up to this point, there is no recorded evidence that Jacob even visited his father
Isaac since he returned from Paddan-Aram. So God this time, out of love for Jacob,
does not force Jacob to go back "to [his] relatives", but commands him instead to
"go up to Bethel and settle there."
Jacob immediately demonstrates his willingness to obey God: "So Jacob said to his
household and to all who were with him, `Get rid of the foreign gods you have
with you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes. Then come, let us go
up to Bethel, where I will build an altar to God, who answered me in the day of
my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone.' So they gave Jacob
all the foreign gods they had and the rings in their ears, and Jacob buried them
under the oak at Shechem" (vs. 2-3). Jacob used this opportunity to turn his whole
family and household back to God. Apparently, Jacob's household had slipped into
idolatry. Recall that Rachel had stolen her father's household idols and brought
them to Canaan (see Gen. 31:19). Though she originally hid these idols from Jacob
(see Gen. 31:32), he undoubtedly found out about them later. Quite probably,
Jacob's great love for Rachel led to tolerance of her idolatry. This tolerance for
idolatry led to tolerance of the idolatry of others. Jacob was lazy. Jacob was
spiritually apathetic. He let things slide, rather than taking charge. The idolatry
spread throughout the household. Unfortunately, the falsehood of idols spreads
much more quickly than the truth of God, and so, the godliness of Jacob was no
match for the lure of idolatry. The idolatry in the family was certainly at the heart of
the ungodly events in Genesis 34. All sin has dire consequences. We parents must
be careful that we do not tolerate the sin in the lives of our beloved family
members. Toleration of sin (without exception) leads to further toleration. We must
have the courage to confront the sin in our household and, as Jacob finally did,
"bur[y] them under the oak at Shechem." We must also, periodically, examine our
lives and see if there's anything that we need to "bury under the oak of Shechem."
Have you during your journey picked up any evil baggage that is polluting your
life?
Jacob buried the idols at Shechem (so as to leave them behind) as he followed the
command of God to go to Bethel: "Then they set out, and the terror of God fell
upon the towns all around them so that noone pursued them" (vs. 5). Recall that,
after the events in Shechem, Jacob was afraid that the people of the surrounding
areas would seek revenge upon Jacob's family (see Gen. 34:30). God rewarded
Jacob's obedience in setting out for Bethel by supernaturally putting fear in the
hearts of the people of the surrounding areas so that the inhabitants would not
pursue Jacob's household. The hearts of men are in the hands of God, "He who
forms the hearts of all" (Ps. 33:15).
"Jacob and all the people with him came to Luz (that is, Bethel) in the land of
Canaan. There he built an altar, and he called the place El Bethel, because it was
there that God revealed Himself to him when he was fleeing from his brother"
(vss. 6-7). God undoubtedly brought Jacob back to Bethel because "it was there that
God revealed Himself to [Jacob]." Recall that in Bethel, Jacob had his dream that
showed angels ascending and descending on a ladder to heaven (see Gen. 28:12). At
the top of the ladder was the Lord, who gave Jacob the covenant promises. When
Jacob woke up, he said: "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of
it"(Gen. 28:16). God brought Jacob back to Bethel to remind him of the closeness he
felt to God at that time. It is good to remember a past time of closeness to God
when making an attempt to return to God.
In Bethel, God renewed His covenant with Jacob: "God said to him, `Your name is
Jacob, but you will no longer be called Jacob; your name will be Israel.' So He
named him Israel. And God said to him, `I am God Almighty; be fruitful and
increase in number. A nation and a community of nations will come from you,
and kings will come from your body. The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also
give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you.' Then God
went up from him at the place where He had talked with him" (vs. 10-13). It was
like God started all over with Jacob. First, He reminded Jacob that He had changed
his name to Israel. Then He restated the covenant promises to Jacob, the same
promises that God had given Jacob's father Isaac (see Gen. 26:2ff) and his
grandfather Abraham (see Gen. 17:6).
Despite Jacob's renewed relationship with God, his life was not a bed of roses. Jesus
promised us: "In this world you will have trouble" (John 16:33). Jacob continued to
have trouble. First, his mother Rebekah's nurse Deborah died (see vs. 8). This must
have saddened Jacob because, given that culture, Deborah was most likely almost
like a mother to Jacob. Second, and even more saddening to Jacob: "Rachel began
to give birth and had great difficulty. And as she was having great difficulty in
childbirth, the midwife said to her, `Don't be afraid, for you have another son.'
As she breathed her last--for she was dying--she named her son Ben-Oni. But his
father named him Benjamin" (vss. 16-18). Perhaps now we know why God did not
give Rachel any more children. Recall that in Genesis 30, Rachel prayed and
schemed to get more children, but God did not give her any except one son Joseph.
She named her first son Joseph (which means "may he add"), because she wanted
God to give her more sons (see Gen. 30:24). God had not consented to that request
until many years later, here in Genesis 35. This delay on God's part quite possibly
allowed Rachel to live many more years. If she had had another son earlier, she
may have died in childbirth earlier in her life. When God does not seem to answer a
prayer of ours, we get so frustrated and angry with God. "Why doesn't He just do
it?!" We must realize that God loves us, and works out everything according to His
will, and also works out everything "for the good of those who love Him"(Rom.
8:28).
In her sorrow, Rachel named her new son "Ben-Oni" (which means "son of
sorrow"). Jacob wisely changed the name, so as not to dwell on the death of Rachel.
Jacob gave his new son the name "Benjamin", which means "son of my right hand."
Then he buried Rachel near what was later known as Bethlehem (vs. 19).
The third sad event in Jacob's life after he had turned back to God was Reuben's sin
of incest: "While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went in and slept with
his father's concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard of it"(vs. 22). In this passage, we
are not told what Jacob's reaction to this was. He might well have done nothing, just
as he did nothing when he heard about the seduction of Dinah (see Gen. 34:5).
Unfortunately, this seems to have been Jacob's parenting style. His sons seemed to
be pretty much "out of control". Later, however, we do learn that Reuben lost his
birthright because of this sin of incest (see Gen. 49:4). In fact, in Genesis 49, where
Jacob gives all of his sons their blessing, the first three sons (Reuben, Simeon and
Levi) do not receive good blessings, but rather curses. As stated, Reuben does not
receive a blessing because of his sin of incest. Simeon and Levi do not receive
blessings (see Gen. 49:5-7) because of their violence as demonstrated by their
murder of the townspeople of Shechem in Genesis 34. This leaves Judah as first in
line for the birthright, which is significant because Jesus Christ was a descendant of
Judah.
The chapter ends with Jacob finally returning to live with his father. This is what,
many years earlier, God commanded Jacob to do (see Gen. 31:3). We are also at this
time told about Isaac's death: "Isaac lived a hundred and eighty years. Then he
breathed his last and died and was gathered to his people, old and full of years.
And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him" (vss. 28-29). Esau and Jacob are reunited
for the burial of Isaac. All of their animosity toward each other by this time seems to
be buried also. The blessings of God throughout their lives, together with their own
rich and varied experiences of life, seem to have caused them to forget all of their
past quarrels.
Genesis 36 -
Esau’s Family
36:1
This is the account of Esau (that is, Edom).
2
Esau took his wives from the women of Canaan: Adah daughter of Elon the
Hittite, and Oholibamah daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon the
Hivite--
3
also Basemath daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth.
4
Adah bore Eliphaz to Esau, Basemath bore Reuel,
5
and Oholibamah bore Jeush,
Jalam and Korah. These were the sons of Esau, who were born to him in Canaan.
6
Esau took his wives and sons and daughters and all the members of his
household, as well as his livestock and all his other animals and all the goods he
had acquired in Canaan, and moved to a land some distance from his brother
Jacob.
7
Their possessions were too great for them to remain together; the land
where they were staying could not support them both because of their livestock.
8
So Esau (that is, Edom) settled in the hill country of Seir.
9
This is the account of Esau the father of the Edomites in the hill country of Seir.
10
These are the names of Esau's sons: Eliphaz, the son of Esau's wife Adah, and
Reuel, the son of Esau's wife Basemath.
11
The sons of Eliphaz: Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam and Kenaz.
12
Esau's son
Eliphaz also had a concubine named Timna, who bore him Amalek. These were
grandsons of Esau's wife Adah.
13
The sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah and Mizzah. These were
grandsons of Esau's wife Basemath.
14
The sons of Esau's wife Oholibamah daughter of Anah and granddaughter of
Zibeon, whom she bore to Esau: Jeush, Jalam and Korah.
15
These were the chiefs among Esau's descendants: The sons of Eliphaz the
firstborn of Esau: Chiefs Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz,
16
Korah, Gatam and
Amalek. These were the chiefs descended from Eliphaz in Edom; they were
grandsons of Adah.
17
The sons of Esau's son Reuel: Chiefs Nahath, Zerah, Shammah and Mizzah.
These were the chiefs descended from Reuel in Edom; they were grandsons of
Esau's wife Basemath.
18
The sons of Esau's wife Oholibamah: Chiefs Jeush, Jalam and Korah. These
were the chiefs descended from Esau's wife Oholibamah daughter of Anah.
19
These were the sons of Esau (that is, Edom), and these were their chiefs.
20
These were the sons of Seir the Horite, who were living in the region: Lotan,
Shobal, Zibeon, Anah,
21
Dishon, Ezer and Dishan. These sons of Seir in Edom
were Horite chiefs.
22
The sons of Lotan: Hori and Homam. Timna was Lotan's sister.
23
The sons of Shobal: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho and Onam.
24
The sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah. This is the Anah who discovered the hot
springs in the desert while he was grazing the donkeys of his father Zibeon.
25
The children of Anah: Dishon and Oholibamah daughter of Anah.
26
The sons of Dishon: Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran and Keran.
27
The sons of Ezer:
Bilhan, Zaavan and Akan.
28
The sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran.
29
These were the Horite chiefs: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah,
30
Dishon, Ezer and
Dishan. These were the Horite chiefs, according to their divisions, in the land of
Seir.
31
These were the kings who reigned in Edom before any Israelite king reigned:
32
Bela son of Beor became king of Edom. His city was named Dinhabah.
33
When Bela died, Jobab son of Zerah from Bozrah succeeded him as king.
34
When Jobab died, Husham from the land of the Temanites succeeded him as
king.
35
When Husham died, Hadad son of Bedad, who defeated Midian in the country
of Moab, succeeded him as king. His city was named Avith.
36
When Hadad died, Samlah from Masrekah succeeded him as king.
37
When Samlah died, Shaul from Rehoboth on the river succeeded him as king.
38
When Shaul died, Baal-Hanan son of Acbor succeeded him as king.
39
When Baal-Hanan son of Acbor died, Hadad succeeded him as king. His city
was named Pau, and his wife's name was Mehetabel daughter of Matred, the
daughter of Me-Zahab.
40
These were the chiefs descended from Esau, by name, according to their clans
and regions: Timna, Alvah, Jetheth,
41
Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon,
42
Kenaz, Teman,
Mibzar,
43
Magdiel and Iram. These were the chiefs of Edom, according to their
settlements in the land they occupied.
This was Esau the father of the Edomites.
We see here, Esau's family becomes (as prophesied in Gen. 27:39-40) the violent
nation of Edom. Before we depart Esau for good, Moses gives us a listing of many
of his descendants. This is often done in the Bible. The story of the Old Testament
primarily concentrates on the family line of our Savior Jesus Christ. As the various
authors of the Bible prune the family tree of Israel (so to speak) so as to focus on the
royal line, we are often given a genealogy of the branch of the family that we are
leaving. This was done for Ishmael (see Gen. 25:12ff), Japheth and Ham (see Gen.
10:1ff), and Cain (Gen. 4:18).
--------------
Bibliography and Suggested Reading
Calvin, John. A Commentary on Genesis. 2 Vols. in 1. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth,
1965. (Originally published in 1554).
Candlish, Robert S. Studies in Genesis. Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1979. (Originally
published in 1868).
Jamieson, Robert; Fausset, A. R.; Brown, David. A Commentary: Critical,
Experimental, and Practical on the Old and New Testaments. 3 Vols. Grand
Rapids: Eerdman's, 1993. (Originally published in 1866).
Keil, Carl & Delitzsch, Franz. Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament. Reprint
Edition. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1971. (Originally published ca. 1880).
Pink, Arthur W. Gleanings in Genesis. Chicago: Moody, 1981.
Thomas, W. H. Griffith. Genesis: A Devotional Commentary. Grand Rapids: Kregel,
1988.
© 1994-2018, Scott Sperling