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Genesis Chapter
Thirty-five
Genesis 35
Outlines
New King James Version
(NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS 35
This
chapter gives an account of Jacob's going to Bethel, and building an altar
there by the order and direction of God, Genesis 35:1, where
Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died and was buried, Genesis 35:8, and
where God appeared to Jacob, confirmed the new name of Israel he had given him,
and renewed to him the promises of the multiplication of his seed, and of their
inheriting the land of Canaan, Genesis 35:9; all
which is gratefully acknowledged by Jacob, who erected a pillar in the place,
and called it Bethel, in memory of God's gracious appearance to him there, Genesis 35:14; from
hence he journeyed towards his father's house, and on the way Rachel his wife
fell in travail, and bore him a son, and died, and was buried near Ephrath, Genesis 35:16; near
this place Reuben committed incest with Bilhah, Genesis 35:22, and
the names of the twelve sons of Jacob are given, Genesis 35:23; and
the chapter is closed with an account of Jacob's arrival at his father's house,
of the death of Isaac, and of his burial at the direction of his two sons, Genesis 35:27.
Genesis 35:1. Then
God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there; and make an altar
there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau your
brother.”
YLT 1And God saith unto Jacob,
`Rise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there, and make there an altar to God, who
appeared unto thee in thy fleeing from the face of Esau thy brother.'
And God said
unto Jacob,....
When he was in great
distress, on account of the slaughter of the Shechemites by his sons, not
knowing what step to take, or course to steer for the safety of him and his
family; then God, for his comfort and direction, appeared and spoke to him,
either in a dream or vision, or by an impulse on his mind, or by an articulate
voice: perhaps this was the Son of God, the second Person, who might appear in
an human form, as he often did; since he afterwards speaks of God as of another
divine Person, distinct from him, even his divine Father:
arise, go up to
Bethel, and dwell there;
which is said to be twenty
eight miles from ShechemF18Bunting's Travels, p. 72. ; hither he is
bid to go in haste, and where, it is suggested, he would be safe, and where it
would be right and proper for him to dwell awhile:
and make there
an altar to God;
and offer sacrifice to
him, praise him for salvation and deliverance wrought, pray to him for present
and future mercies that were needful, and pay the vows he had there made, even
to that God:
that appeared
unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother;
who, resenting his getting
the birthright and blessing from him, threatened to kill him; which obliged him
to flee from his father's house, and go into Mesopotamia, and in his way
thither God appeared to him, at the place called by him from thence Bethel, and
gave him many precious promises; and Jacob there made a solemn vow, that if God
would be with him, and keep him, and give him food and raiment, and return him
to his father's house, the pillar that was then and there set up should be
God's house, as well as he should be his God. Jacob had now been nine or ten
years in the land of Canaan, and had all done for him he desired, and much more
abundantly, and yet had not been at Bethel to make good his vow, either through
forgetfulness or neglect; and therefore, as Jarchi thinks, was chastised for it
in the affair of Dinah; or rather, for one can hardly think so good a man could
forget, or would wilfully neglect such a vow as this, that he wanted
opportunity of going thither, or waited for a divine order, and now he had
both, which he readily embraced.
Genesis 35:2. 2 And
Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Put away the
foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves, and change your
garments.
YLT 2And Jacob saith unto his
household, and unto all who [are] with him, `Turn aside the gods of the
stranger which [are] in your midst, and cleanse yourselves, and change your
garments;
Then Jacob said
unto his household,....
His wives and children:
and to all that
were with him;
his menservants and
maidservants, and such as remained with him of the captives of Shechem, who
might choose to continue with him:
put away the
strange gods that are among you;
meaning not the teraphim
or images of Laban's, which Rachel had stolen from him; for it can hardly be
thought that these should be retained so many years in Jacob's family, and used
in an idolatrous manner; but rather such as might be among the Canaanitish
servants that had been lately taken into Jacob's service, or that were among
the captives of Shechem, or taken along with the spoil of that city; and so the
Targum of Jonathan calls them the idols of the people, which they brought from
the idols' temple at Shechem; and the words may be rendered, "the gods of
the strangers"F19את אלהי הנכר "deos
alenigenarum", Pagninus; "alienigenae", Montanus, Schmidt;
"alieni populi", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. , that is, of the
Shechemites, who were Heathens and aliens, strangers to the true God, the
knowledge and worship of him:
and be clean;
either by abstaining from
their wives, as some interpret it, from Exodus 19:10; or
rather by washing their bodies, as Aben Ezra gives the sense of it; their hands
were full of the blood of the Shechemites, and needed to be washed and
purified, as the Targum of Jonathan has it, from the pollutions of the slain,
before they went to Bethel, the house of God; and these outward ablutions and
purifications were significative of inward cleansing by the grace of God, and
of outward reformation of life and manners; see Isaiah 1:15,
and change your
garments:
which might be stained
with blood, and therefore not fit to appear in before God, or were old and worn
out, or sordid apparel: changing and washing of garments were also emblems of
renewing of the mind, and cleansing of the soul, and of the change of heart and
life, as well as of pleasure, delight, and cheerfulness in appearing before
God.
Genesis 35:3. 3 Then
let us arise and go up to Bethel; and I will make an altar there to God, who
answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me in the way which I
have gone.”
YLT 3and we rise, and go up to
Bethel, and I make there an altar to God, who is answering me in the day of my
distress, and is with me in the way that I have gone.'
And let us
arise and go up to Bethel,....
Thus prepared and purged,
their tents clear of idols, their bodies washed with pure water, and their
garments new, neat, and clean; all symbolical of inward purity, and of freedom
from idolatry and evil works, as became those who go to the house of God, and
are his worshippers, see Hebrews 10:22.
I will make
there an altar unto God;
as he has directed, and
sacrifice to him, and worship him, and give the tenth unto him, and so make it
a Bethel, an house of God indeed, as he had vowed, Genesis 28:22,
who answered me
in the day of my distress;
on account of his brother
Esau, from whose wrath he fled:
and was with me
in the way which I went;
from his father's house to
Padanaram; in which journey he was alone and destitute, and exposed to many
difficulties and dangers, but God was with him, and preserved him, and directed
and brought him to Laban's house in safety.
Genesis 35:4. 4 So
they gave Jacob all the foreign gods which were in their hands, and the
earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the
terebinth tree which was by Shechem.
YLT 4And they give unto Jacob
all the gods of the stranger that [are] in their hand, and the rings that [are]
in their ears, and Jacob hideth them under the oak which [is] by Shechem;
They gave unto
Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hands,....
Whether in the hands of
his servants or of the captives taken at Shechem, or in the hands of his sons,
who had them along with the spoil they took there; so the Targum of
Jonathan,"they delivered, into the hand of Jacob all the idols of the
people which were in their hands, which they had took of the idols of
Shechem:"
and all
their earrings which were in their ears;
not the earrings that
women wore in common, such as Abraham's servant gave to Rebekah, and which
Jacob's wives might wear, for such were not unlawful; but either which were
worn in the ears of the strange gods or idols; for such used, it seems,
according to some writers, to be decorated and ornamented after that manner; or
rather in the ears of the idolaters themselves, worn by them in a superstitious
way, having the images of these idols on them: so the Targum of
Jonathan,"and the earrings which were in the ears of the inhabitants of
the city of Shechem, in which were formed the likeness of their idols:"
and Jacob hid
them under the oak which was by Shechem;
that is, the idols, which,
after he had broke to pieces, perhaps, he dug a hole under an oak, and there
buried them, that they might be no more made use of in an idolatrous way; and
he chose to put them under an oak, because it is a tree which often stands many
years before it is cut down, and besides was used for religious purposes, and
had in great veneration, and therefore seldom felled. Those idols seem not to
be made of anything valuable, perhaps of wood or stone, for had they been of
gold or silver, Jacob would doubtless have melted them, and converted them to
other uses, and not have buried them under ground. The JewsF20Shalshalet
Hakabala, fol. 3. 2. say, that the idol Jacob hid under the oak was in the form
of a dove, which the Samaritans after some time found, and set it on the top of
Mount Gerizim. Some take this oak to be the same with that mentioned in Joshua 24:26; but
of that there can be no certainty, since Jacob, as it is highly probable, laid
these images alone, and never intended any should know anything of them where
they were.
Genesis 35:5. 5 And
they journeyed, and the terror of God was upon the cities that were all
around them, and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob.
YLT 5and they journey, and the
terror of God is on the cities which [are] round about them, and they have not
pursued after the sons of Jacob.
And they
journeyed,....
Jacob and his family, with
all that were with them, from Shechem to Bethel:
and the terror
of God was upon the cities that were round about them;
an exceeding great panic
seized the inhabitants of the cities of the land of Canaan, all about Shechem,
which was from God himself impressing it on their minds, through what the sons
of Jacob had done to that city:
and they did
not pursue after the sons of Jacob;
as it might have been
thought they would, and take revenge on them for their ill usage of the
inhabitants of a neighbouring city; but instead of this, they were afraid they
should be used in the same manner; wherefore Jacob and his family journeyed in
safety, and came to Bethel in peace.
Genesis 35:6. 6 So
Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of
Canaan, he and all the people who were with him.
YLT 6And Jacob cometh in to Luz
which [is] in the land of Canaan (it [is] Bethel), he and all the people who
[are] with him,
So Jacob came
to Luz, which is in the land of Canaan, that is Bethel,....
The place Jacob had called
Bethel, when he was there before, was formerly called Luz, Genesis 28:19; and
is here said to be in the land of Canaan, that is, in that part of the land
which was inhabited by those who were properly called Canaanites, to
distinguish it from another Luz, which was in the land of the Hittites; Judges 1:26,
he and all the
people that were with him;
wives, children, servants,
or whoever else came from Shechem, these all came safe to Luz without any
molestation or loss.
Genesis 35:7. 7 And
he built an altar there and called the place El Bethel,[a] because
there God appeared to him when he fled from the face of his brother.
YLT 7and he buildeth there an
altar, and proclaimeth at the place the God of Bethel: for there had God been
revealed unto him, in his fleeing from the face of his brother.
And he built
there an altar,....
As he was bid to do, and
as he promised he would, Genesis 35:1,
and called the
place Elbethel;
the God of Bethel; a title
which God takes to himself, Genesis 31:13; or
rather the sense is, that he called the place with respect God, or because of
his appearance to him there, Bethel, confirming the name he had before given
it, Genesis 36:19; see Genesis 35:15; as
the following reason shows:
because there
God appeared;
or the divine Persons, for
both words are plural that are used; the Targum of Jonathan has it, the angels
of God, and so Aben Ezra interprets it; but here, no doubt, the divine Being is
meant, who appeared
unto him;
to Jacob in this place, as
he went to Mesopotamia, and comforted and encouraged him with many promises:
when he fled
from the face of his brother;
his brother Esau, who was
wroth with him, and sought to take away his life, and therefore was forced to
flee for it.
Genesis 35:8. 8 Now
Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and she was buried below Bethel under the
terebinth tree. So the name of it was called Allon Bachuth.[b]
YLT 8And Deborah, Rebekah's
nurse, dieth, and she is buried at the lower part of Bethel, under the oak, and
he calleth its name `Oak of weeping.'
But Deborah,
Rebekah's nurse, died,....
That is, when, and quickly
after they were come to Bethel; a nurse of Rebekah's came with her to Canaan,
when she married Isaac, and is generally thought to be this Deborah, which is
not improbable, Genesis 24:59,
though she might have more nurses than one, as great personages sometimes have,
and then it will not be so difficult to answer the objection made here; that
Rebekah's nurse, whom Jacob is supposed to leave in Canaan when he went to
Padanaram, should now be in his family when he returned from hence; since the
reply would be, that that nurse and this Deborah were not the same; but
supposing them to be the same, which is most likely, this is accounted for
several ways: according to Jarchi, who had it from an ancient writer of theirsF21R.
Moses Hadarsan. , Rebekah sent her to fetch Jacob home, according to her
promise, Genesis 27:45; but
it is not very probable that she should send a woman, and one so ancient, on
such an errand: rather, this nurse of hers, after she had accompanied her to
Canaan, and stayed awhile with her there, returned to Haran again, and being
very useful in Jacob's large family, and having a great respect for them,
returned again with them, and which she might choose in hopes of seeing Rebekah
once more, whom she had a strong affection for; or, when Jacob was come into
the land of Canaan to Shechem, he might send for her from Hebron to be
assisting in his family; or going to visit his parents, which he might do before
he went with his whole family to them, might bring her with him to Shechem, who
travelling with him to Bethel died there: her name signifies a bee, as JosephusF23Antiqu.
l. 5. c. 5. sect. 2. observes:
and she was
buried beneath Bethel;
at the bottom of the hill
or mountain on which Bethel stood:
under an oak;
of which there were many
about Bethel, 1 Kings 13:14 2 Kings 2:23; and
it was not unusual to bury the dead under trees, see 1 Samuel 31:13,
and the name of
it was called Allonbachuth;
the oak of weeping,
because of the weeping and mourning of Jacob's family at her death, she being a
good woman, an ancient servant, and in great esteem with them. The Jews have a
tradition that the occasion of this weeping, or at least of the increase of it,
was, that Jacob at this time had the news of the death of Rebekah his mother;
so the Targum of Jonathan,"there tidings were brought to Jacob of the
death of Rebekah his mother, and he called the name of it another weeping;'and
so Jarchi.
Genesis 35:9. 9 Then
God appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Padan Aram, and blessed him.
YLT 9And God appeareth unto
Jacob again, in his coming from Padan-Aram, and blesseth him;
And God
appeared unto Jacob again,....
At Bethel, as he had at
Shechem, when he bid him go thither, Genesis 35:1; or
rather as he had at the brook Jabbok, where he said to him the same things as
here, Genesis 32:24,
though Jarchi interprets it of his appearing again to him at the same place at
Bethel, where he had appeared to him the first time, at his going to Haran, and
now a second time:
when he came
out of Padanaram;
or returned from thence:
and blessed him;
with the same blessings as
before, renewing and confirming them. Jarchi says, with the blessing of
mourners, because of the death of his mother, and her nurse.
Genesis 35:10. 10 And
God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; your name shall not be called
Jacob anymore, but Israel shall be your name.” So He called his name Israel.
YLT 10and God saith to him, `Thy
name [is] Jacob: thy name is no more called Jacob, but Israel is thy name;' and
He calleth his name Israel.
And God said
unto him, thy name is Jacob,....
Which his parents gave him
at his birth, and by, which he had been always called:
thy name shall
not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name;
not Jacob only, as Aben
Ezra and Ben Melech interpret it, but Israel also, and that more commonly and
frequently, and not only he himself personally, but his posterity also:
and he called
his name Israel;
confirmed the name he had
before given him, Genesis 32:28; and
by this confirmation of it signifying, that as he had prevailed over his
brother Esau, and escaped his hands, so he should prevail over all that rose up
against him, and opposed him, even as he had power with God, and prevailed:
though some think this name was only promised him before, but now actually
given him; but then they take the angel that appeared wrestling with him in the
likeness of a man to be a created angel, and that what he promised in the name
of God was now made, good by God himself; there is great reason to believe that
that angel was the increased one, the Son of God, as here also.
Genesis 35:11. 11 Also God said to him: “I am
God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall
proceed from you, and kings shall come from your body.
YLT 11And God saith to him, `I
[am] God Almighty; be fruitful and multiply, a nation and an assembly of
nations is from thee, and kings from thy loins go out;
And God said
unto him, I am God Almighty,....
And so able to protect and
defend him, and to fulfil all promises made to him, and to supply him with
everything he wanted; being, as some choose to render the word, "God all
sufficient", having a sufficiency of all good things in him to communicate
to his people:
be fruitful and
multiply;
which carries in it a
promise or prophecy that he should increase and multiply, though not he himself
personally, he having but one son born after this, yet in his posterity:
a nation, and a
company of nations, shall be of thee;
the nation of Israel,
called so after his name, and the twelve tribes, which were as so many nations,
of which the above nation consisted:
and kings shall
come out of thy loins;
as Saul, David, Solomon,
and, many others, who were kings of Israel and of Judah, and especially the
King Messiah; yea, all his posterity were kings and priests, or a kingdom of
priests, Exodus 19:6.
Genesis 35:12. 12 The
land which I gave Abraham and Isaac I give to you; and to your descendants
after you I give this land.”
YLT 12and the land which I have
given to Abraham and to Isaac -- to thee I give it, yea to thy seed after thee
I give the land.'
And the land
which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee will I give it,....
Meaning the land of
Canaan, which, as he had by promise given it to his grandfather, and father, so
he would give it to him; thus renewing the grant of it for his comfort, and the
encouragement of his faith, when he had been in danger of being destroyed by
the inhabitants of it, and was obliged to remove from one part of it to
another:
and to thy seed
after thee will I give the land;
and not only make a grant
of it to them, but put them into the possession of it, as in process of time he
did.
Genesis 35:13. 13 Then
God went up from him in the place where He talked with him.
YLT 13And God goeth up from him,
in the place where He hath spoken with him.
And God went up
from him,....
Or "from above"
himF24מעליו "desuper eum",
Montanus. ; by this it seems that there was a visible appearance of the glory
of the Lord, as Onkelos, or of the Shechinah, as Jonathan; even of the Son of
God in an human form, who either appeared just above him, or on the same spot
with him, conversing with him as above related; and when he had done, ascended
in a visible manner from him, till he disappeared:
in the place
where he talked with him;
whether it was over him,
or by him; thence he removed from him, and ceased talking with him; for
communion with a divine Person is not constant and uninterrupted in the present
state.
Genesis 35:14. 14 So
Jacob set 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.
YLT 14And Jacob setteth up a
standing pillar in the place where He hath spoken with him, a standing pillar
of stone, and he poureth on it an oblation, and he poureth on it oil;
And Jacob set
up a pillar in the place where he talked with him,....
He had set up a pillar in
this place before he went to Padanaram, Genesis 28:18; and
some, think this pillar is here referred to, and render the words, "had
set up a pillar"F25ויצב
"erexerat", Vatablus; "et statuerat", Piscator; so Aben
Ezra. ; but as that was done thirty years ago, it is very likely it was
demolished by the Heathens before this time, or was fallen to ruin, wherefore
this must be at least a renewal or reparation of it: though it rather seems to
be another pillar, and quite a new one, being set up in that very spot of
ground, over or on which God had been talking with him: and the following
account of it seems to confirm the same:
even a pillar of stone;
made of several stones
hewed and polished, and well put together; whereas the former was but a single
stone, rude and unpolished, though it is probable it was one of these:
and he poured a
drink offering thereon;
of wine, of which drink
offerings under the law were, thereby consecrating it to the worship and
service of God. Aben Ezra says it was either of water or of wine, with which he
washed it, and after that poured oil on it; and the Targum of Jonathan says, he
poured a drink offering of wine, and a drink offering of water:
and he poured
oil thereon;
as he did before; See Gill
on Genesis 28:18.
Genesis 35:15. 15 And
Jacob called the name of the place where God spoke with him, Bethel.
YLT 15and Jacob calleth the name
of the place where God spake with him Bethel.
And Jacob
called the name of the place where God spake with him, Bethel.
He confirmed the name he
had before given it, when he went to Mesopotamia, and now upon his return
renews and establishes it; or he gave this name more especially to that
particular spot where God conversed with him, and on which he erected a pillar,
and consecrated it to religious worship, and so made it God's house, as he
promised he would, Genesis 28:22, both
building an altar for sacrifice, and setting up a pillar, which was beginning
an house for God.
Genesis 35:16. 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.
YLT 16And they journey from
Bethel, and there is yet a kibrath of land before entering Ephratha, and Rachel
beareth, and is sharply pained in her bearing;
And they
journeyed from Bethel,....
Jacob and his family; how
long they stayed there is not certain, some say four monthsF26Shalshalet
Hakabala, fol. 5. 1. ; hence they removed towards Bethlehem, which was twelve
miles from BethelF1Bunting's Travels, p. 72. , in their way to
Hebron:
and there was
but a little way to come to Ephrath;
or Bethlehem, as it was
also called, Genesis 35:19; a
mile off of it, according to the Targums of Onkelos and Jerusalem; or about a
mile, as Saadiah Gaon; for it was not a precise exact mile, but something less
than a mile, as Ben Melech observes; and so Benjamin of Tudela, who was on the
spot, saysF2Itinerar. p. 47. , that Rachel's grave is about half a
mile from Bethlehem. Ben Gersom thinks the word here used signifies cultivated
land, and that the sense is, that there were only fields, vineyards, and
gardens to go through to the city, see Genesis 48:7,
and Rachel
travailed, and she had hard labour;
the time of childbirth was
come, and which came suddenly upon her, as travail does, even while journeying,
which obliged them to stop; and her pains came upon her, and these very sharp
and severe, so that she had a difficult time of it: pains and sorrow in
childbearing are the fruit of sin, and more or less attend all in such a
circumstance; but, in some, labour is more painful than in others, and more at
one time than at another, and is the most painful in women than in other
creatures.
Genesis 35:17. 17 Now
it came to pass, when she was in hard labor, that the midwife said to her, “Do
not fear; you will have this son also.”
YLT 17and it cometh to pass, in
her being sharply pained in her bearing, that the midwife saith to her, `Fear
not, for this also [is] a son for thee.'
And it came to
pass, when she was in hard labour,....
In the midst of it, and at
the worst:
that the
midwife said unto her, fear not;
for Rachel big with child,
it was necessary to take a midwife with them in the journey; and perhaps this
might be one that was always kept in the family, and had been assisting to all
Jacob's wives and concubines at their labours; and this seems probable from
what follows, since she not only bids her be of good courage, and not fear,
comforting her under her pains, giving her hopes they would soon be over, and
that she would have a safe delivery, and do well: but this she assures her of:
thou shalt have
this son also;
as she had one before, at
whose birth she said, "the Lord shall add to me another son"; and
therefore called his name Joseph, Genesis 30:24; this
the midwife remembered, and endeavours to comfort her with the accomplishment
of it.
Genesis 35:18. 18 And
so it was, as her soul was departing (for she died), that she called his name
Ben-Oni;[c] but his
father called him Benjamin.[d]
YLT 18And it cometh to pass in
the going out of her soul (for she died), that she calleth his name Ben-Oni;
and his father called him Benjamin;
And it came to
pass, as her soul was in departing, for she died,....
In childbirth; she had
most passionately desired children, without which she could not live with ease
and peace of mind, and now she dies by having one; see Genesis 30:1; and
by this account of her death it appears, that death is the separation and
disunion of soul and body; that at death the soul departs from the body; that
the soul does not die with it, but goes elsewhere, and lives in a separate
state, and never dies; it goes into another world, a world of spirits, even
unto God that gave it, Ecclesiastes 12:7,
that she called
his name Benoni;
which signifies "the
son of my sorrow", having borne and brought him forth in sorrow, and now
about to leave him as soon as born, which might increase her sorrow; or
"the son, of my mourning"; as Aben Ezra and Ben Gersom interpret it;
or "the son of my strength", all her strength being exhausted in
bringing him forth:
but his father
called him Benjamin;
that is, "the son of
the right hand", being as dear to him, and as beloved by him as his right
hand; or who would be as the right hand to him, his staff and support in his
old age; or else as being the son of her who was as his right hand, dear and
assisting to him. Some render it, "the son of days", or years, that
is, the son of his old age, as he is called, Genesis 44:20;
Jarchi and Ben Gerson interpret it, "the son of the south"; the right
hand being put for the south; and they think this son was so called, because he
only was born in the land of Canaan, which lay, they say, to the south with
respect to Mesopotamia, where the rest were born; but be the etymology of the
word as it will, the change of the name seems to be made by Jacob, because that
which Rachel gave her son would have perpetually put Jacob in mind of the
sorrow of his beloved Rachel, and therefore gave him a name more pleasant and
agreeable. The Jews sayF3Shalshalet Hakabala, fol. 4. 1. he was born
the eleventh of October, and lived one hundred and eleven years.
Genesis 35:19. 19 So
Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).
YLT 19and Rachel dieth, and is
buried in the way to Ephratha, which [is] Bethlehem,
And Rachel
died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem.
Hence called Bethlehem
Ephratah, Micah 5:2; with
great pertinency is Rachel represented as if risen from her grave, and weeping
for her children, when the children of Bethlehem, and thereabout, were slain by
Herod, she being buried so near that place, Matthew 2:16; at
what age she died is not said. Polyhistor, out of DemetriusF4Apnd
Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 9. c. 21. p. 424. , reports, that she died after
Jacob had lived with her twenty three years.
Genesis 35:20. 20 And
Jacob set a pillar on her grave, which is the pillar of Rachel’s grave
to this day.
YLT 20and Jacob setteth up a
standing pillar over her grave; which [is] the standing pillar of Rachel's
grave unto this day.
And Jacob set a
pillar upon her grave,....
A sepulchral monument
erected in memory of her; this according to Benjamin of TudelaF5ltinerar.
p. 47. was made of twelve stones, according to the number of the sons of Jacob,
and over it was a vault or roof, supported by four pillars:
that is
the pillar of Rachel's grave unto this day;
it continued to the times
of Moses, the writer of this history, and to the times of Samuel, as appears
from 1 Samuel 10:2; and
even travellers of late times affirm it to be seen still, to the north of
Bethlehem, on the right hand of the way as you go from Bethlehem to Jerusalem;
but the present sepulchral monument, as Mr. Maundrel saysF6Journey
from Aleppo, &c. p. 87. , can be none of that which Jacob erected, for it
appears plainly to be a modern Turkish structure. Near the grave are found some
little black stones, which strangers pick up, and are fancied to be helpful to
women, to give them an easier birth, the same the above traveller says resemble
peas. The Jews that pass by it were used to engrave their names on the stones,
of the pillarsF7Benjamin. Itinerar. ib. Adrichom. Theatrum Terrae
Sanct. p. 19. Bunting's Travels, p. 75. .
Genesis 35:21. 21 Then Israel journeyed and
pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eder.
YLT 21And Israel journeyeth, and
stretcheth out his tent beyond the tower of Edar;
And Israel
journeyed,....
Having stayed near
Bethlehem, as it is said, about two monthsF8Shalshalet Hakabala,
fol. 5. 2. ; this is the first time Jacob is by Moses called Israel, after this
name, was given him; the reason of which the Jews say is, because he bore the
death of Rachel with so much patience:
and spread his
tent beyond the tower of Eder;
which was a place of
pasturage, and fit for his flocks, see Micah 4:8; it was
about a mile from Bethlehem to the southF9Bunting's Travels, p. 76.
, and is supposed to be the place where the shepherds were watching their
flocks, when the angel reported to them the birth of Christ, Luke 2:8; pretty
remarkable are the words added here in the Targum of Jonathan,"the place
from whence the King Messiah will be revealed in the end of days.'
Genesis 35:22. 22 And
it happened, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with
Bilhah his father’s concubine; and Israel heard about it. Now the sons
of Jacob were twelve:
YLT 22and it cometh to pass in
Israel's dwelling in that land, that Reuben goeth, and lieth with Bilhah his
father's concubine; and Israel heareth.
And it came to
pass, when Israel dwelt in that land,....
In that part of it near
Bethlehem:
that Reuben
went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine;
his concubine wife; she
was the maid that Rachel gave him, and this added to his affliction, and made
it double, to lose Rachel by death, and to have her favourite maid, his
concubine, defiled by his own son, and whom it is highly probable he abstained
from hereafter. This, though a very heinous sin of his son's, yet might be
suffered as a chastisement to Jacob, for making use of concubines:
and Israel
heard it;
though the crime was
committed secretly, and was thought it would have been concealed, but by some
means or other Jacob heard of it, and no doubt severely reproved his son for
it; and though nothing is here related, as said by him on this occasion, it is
certain it gave him great offence, grief and trouble, and he remembered it to
his dying day, and took away the birthright from Reuben on account of it, Genesis 49:3; an
empty space here follows in the original text, and a pause in it, denoting
perhaps the amazement Jacob was filled with when he heard it; and the great
grief of his heart, which was such, that he was not able to speak a word; the
Septuagint version fills up the space by adding, "and it appeared evil in
his sight":
now the sons of
Jacob were twelve;
who were the heads of
twelve tribes, Benjamin the last being born, and Jacob having afterwards no
more children, they were all reckoned up under their respective mothers,
excepting Dinah, a daughter, from whom there was no tribe, in the following
verses.
Genesis 35:23. 23 the
sons of Leah were Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, and Simeon, Levi, Judah,
Issachar, and Zebulun;
YLT 23And the sons of Jacob are
twelve. Sons of Leah: Jacob's first-born Reuben, and Simeon, and Levi, and
Judah, and Issachar, and Zebulun.
The sons of
Leah,....
Jacob's first wife, which
are six, and are reckoned in order, according to their birth, Reuben, Simeon,
Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun.
Genesis 35:24. 24 the
sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin;
YLT 24Sons of Rachel: Joseph and
Benjamin.
The sons of
Rachel,....
Then Rachel's, Jacob's
next wife, though in right his first and only one, who had two children, Joseph
and Benjamin.
Genesis 35:25. 25 the
sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s maidservant, were Dan and Naphtali;
YLT 25And sons of Bilhah,
Rachel's maid-servant: Dan and Naphtali.
And the sons of
Bilhah,....
Then Bilhah's sons, who
was Rachel's handmaid, and these were two, Dan and Naphtali.
Genesis 35:26. 26 and
the sons of Zilpah, Leah’s maidservant, were Gad and Asher. These were
the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Padan Aram.
YLT 26And sons of Zilpah, Leah's
maid-servant: Gad and Asher. These [are] sons of Jacob, who have been born to
him in Padan-Aram.
And the sons of
Zilpah,....
And lastly, the sons of
Zilpah, Leah's handmaid, which were two also, Gad and Asher; it is added:
these are
the sons of Jacob, which were born to him in Padanaram,
all excepting Benjamin;
and because they were by far the greater part, even all but one, that were born
there, this is said in general; and there having been given in the context such
a particular account of the birth of Benjamin, and of the place of it, them was
no need for the historian particularly to except him, since the reader would be
in no danger of being led into a mistake.
Genesis 35:27. 27 Then
Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre, or Kirjath Arba[e] (that is,
Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had dwelt.
YLT 27And Jacob cometh unto Isaac
his father, at Mamre, the city of Arba (which [is] Hebron), where Abraham and
Isaac have sojourned.
And Jacob came
unto Isaac his father,....
No mention being made of
his mother, it is very probable she was dead; and Isaac being alone, and very
old, and the time of his death drawing nigh, he might send for Jacob to come
with his family, and be with him; for it can hardly be thought that this was
the first time of Jacob's visiting his father since he came into the land, of
Canaan, which must be about ten years; but as yet he had not come with his
family to him, and in order to abide with him:
unto Mamre,
unto the city of Arbah, which is Hebron;
Mamre was a plain, so
called from the name of a man, a friend and confederate of Abraham, Genesis 13:18;
where, or near to which, stood a city, called Kirjath Arbah, or the city of the
four, Arbah and his three sons; so that it might be called Tetrapolls, and was
later called Hebron:
where Abraham
and Isaac sojourned;
lived good part of their
days, see Genesis 13:18; it
was about twenty miles from Bethlehem, and the tower of EderF11Bunting's
Travels, p. 72. , where Jacob was last.
Genesis 35:28. 28 Now
the days of Isaac were one hundred and eighty years.
YLT 28And the days of Isaac are a
hundred and eighty years,
And the days of
Isaac were an hundred and fourscore years.
He lived, forty years
after he had made his will, and blessed his two sons. Jacob was now one hundred
and twenty years of age, being born when his father was sixty; and Joseph was
now twenty nine years of age, so that Isaac lived twelve years after the
selling of Joseph into Egypt; he was five years older than his father Abraham
was when he died.
Genesis 35:29. 29 So
Isaac breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people, being
old and full of days. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.
YLT 29and Isaac expireth, and
dieth, and is gathered unto his people, aged and satisfied with days; and bury
him do Esau and Jacob his sons.
And Isaac gave
up the ghost, and died,....
According to an Arabic
writerF12Elmacin. p. 26. apud Hottinger. Smegma Orient. p. 341. , he
died at the end of the year 3,668, in the month Jiar, when Jacob was one
hundred and twenty years old, and his children buried him in the cave in which
Abraham was buried, in the city Chabil: According to Ussher this at about 1,716
B.C.
and was
gathered unto his people;
his soul was gathered to
the righteous, his body was laid where Abraham and Sarah were buried:
being old, and full of days;
the number of which is
observed in Genesis 35:28,
and his sons
Esau and Jacob buried him;
in the cave of Machpelah
near Mamre, where he lived and died, and where his parents had been buried, and
Rebekah his wife. Esau very probably was sent for upon his father's death, or a
little before it. This shows that there was a reconciliation between Jacob and
Esau, and that it continued; and that Jacob did not decline the visit of him at
Seir, nor in a clandestine manner took his journey another way, and avoided
going thither on his invitation.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New
King James Version (NKJV)
a.
Genesis 35:7
Literally God of the House of God
b.
Genesis 35:8
Literally Terebinth of Weeping
c.Genesis 35:18
Literally Son of My Sorrow
d.
Genesis 35:18
Literally Son of the Right Hand
e.
Genesis 35:27
Literally Town of Arba