New International Reader s Version - NIrV - 1996
Genesis 35
1
Then God said to Jacob, "Go up to Bethel and settle there. Build an altar there to honor me. That's where I appeared to you when you were running away from your brother Esau."
Reference
Parallel theme
Hosea 12:4
Psalm 91:15
Genesis 31:3
Deuteronomy 32:36
Psalm 47:4
Exodus 2:15
Genesis 16:8
Resurrection
Genesis 31:13
Sacrifice
Genesis 35:7
Genesis 12:8
2
So Jacob spoke to his family and to everyone who was with him. He said, "Get rid of the strange gods you have with you. Make yourselves pure, and change your clothes.
Reference
Parallel theme
Exodus 19:10
Exodus 19:14
Hebrews 10:22
Genesis 18:19
Ezekiel 18:31
Ezekiel 36:25
References God
James 4:8
2 Corinthians 7:1
Deuteronomy 32:16
Joshua 24:15
3
Come, let's go up to Bethel. There I'll build an altar to honor God. He answered me when I was in trouble. He's been with me everywhere I've gone."
Reference
Parallel theme
Isaiah 43:2
Genesis 32:7
Genesis 31:3
Proverbs 3:6
Isaiah 30:19
Psalm 50:15
Psalm 107:6
Genesis 32:24
Genesis 28:15
References God
Genesis 31:42
4
So they gave Jacob all of the strange gods they had. They also gave him their earrings. Jacob buried them under the oak tree at Shechem.
Reference
Parallel theme
Isaiah 30:22
Exodus 32:20
Judges 9:6
Isaiah 2:20
Hosea 2:13
References God
Deuteronomy 7:25
5
Then Jacob and everyone who was with him started out. The terror of God fell on the towns all around them. So no one chased them.
Reference
Parallel theme
Exodus 23:27
2 Chronicles 17:10
Joshua 5:1
Genesis 34:30
2 Chronicles 14:14
1 Samuel 14:15
1 Samuel 11:7
References God
Psalm 14:5
Exodus 34:24
Deuteronomy 11:25
6
Jacob and all of the people who were with him came to Luz. Luz is also called Bethel. It's in the land of Canaan.
Reference
7
Jacob built an altar at Luz. He named the place El Bethel. There God made himself known to Jacob when he was running away from his brother.
Reference
📍 El-bethel
8
Rebekah's attendant Deborah died. They buried her body under the oak tree below Bethel. So it was called Allon Bacuth.
Reference
📍 Allon-bacuth
People
Parallel theme
Genesis 24:59
10
God said to him, "Your name is Jacob. But you will not be called Jacob anymore. Your name will be Israel." So he named him Israel.
Reference
11
God said to him, "I am the Mighty God. Have children and increase your numbers. A nation and a community of nations will come from you. Kings will come from your body.
Reference
Kingdom
Genesis 17:16
Parallel theme
Genesis 22:17
2 Corinthians 6:18
References God
Genesis 17:1
Exodus 6:3
Genesis 9:1
12
I am giving you the land I gave to Abraham and Isaac. I will also give it to your children after you."
Reference
14
Jacob set up a stone pillar at the place where God had talked with him. He poured out a drink offering on it. He also poured oil on it.
15
Jacob named the place Bethel. That's where God had talked with him.
Reference
Parallel theme
Genesis 28:19
16
They moved on from Bethel. Ephrath wasn't very far away when Rachel began to have a baby. She was having a very hard time of it.
Reference
📍 Ephrath
17
The woman who helped her saw that she was having problems. So she said to her, "Don't be afraid. You have another son."
Reference
Parallel theme
Genesis 30:24
18
But Rachel was dying. As she took her last breath, she named her son Ben-Oni. But his father named him Benjamin.
People
19
So Rachel died. Her body was buried beside the road to Ephrath. Ephrath was also called Bethlehem.
Reference
📍 Locations
20
Jacob set up a pillar over her tomb. The pillar marks the place of Rachel's tomb to this very day.
Reference
Parallel theme
1 Samuel 10:2
21
Israel moved on again. He set up his tent beyond Migdal Eder.
Reference
📍 Eder 1
Parallel theme
Micah 4:8
22
While Israel was living in that area, Reuben went in and made love to Bilhah. She was the concubine of Reuben's father. And Israel heard about it. Here are the 12 sons Jacob had.
Reference
23
Leah was the mother of Reuben, Jacob's oldest son. Her other sons were Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun.
24
The sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin.
25
The sons of Rachel's female servant Bilhah were Dan and Naphtali.
26
The sons of Leah's female servant Zilpah were Gad and Asher. Those were Jacob's sons. They were born in Paddan Aram.
Reference
27
Jacob came home to his father Isaac in Mamre. Mamre is near Kiriath Arba, where Abraham and Isaac had stayed. The place is also called Hebron.
Reference
Parallel theme
Genesis 13:18
Genesis 18:1
Joshua 15:13
References Abraham
Genesis 23:19
Genesis 23:2
Summary of Genesis 35
Genesis chapter thirty-five covers a lot of ground in a short amount of time. On the one hand, it serves as an epilogue to Jacob’s long journey, and it sees the loss of one of his most beloved children. On the other hand, it sees the beginning of his new, revitalized spiritual journey as Israel, the man who has seen the face of God.
At the opening of the chapter, God instructs Jacob to return to Bethel to build an altar to him there, just as he promised to do when he fled from Esau’s anger long ago (Genesis 35:1). Before departing on this journey, however, he takes a moment to remind his household that they must put away their foreign gods and idols, and purify themselves before arriving at Bethel. He even declares that he will build an altar to God, the one who has delivered him, and answered his prayers when he was afraid of Esau. This was a difficult thing for Jacob to say, considering the events of the last chapter. Perhaps he recognized that the bloodshed in Shechem needed to be turned away from.
As such, they gathered up the foreign gods and the earrings that were their idols and buried them in Shechem under the oak. Afterward, they set off for Bethel, and it was there that they heard that the terror of God had fallen upon the cities of the surrounding land. As such, no one pursued them despite what had happened at Shechem, and even though Simeon and Levi had taken out their anger of the incident.
They journeyed on to Luz, which is also called Bethel, in the land of Canaan. There, Jacob built an altar to God, calling the place El Bethel, for that was where God had appeared to Jacob when he was fleeing from Esau. Afterward, Deborah, the nurse of Rebekah, died and was buried beneath an oak below Bethel, which was renamed Allon Bacuth, the oak of weeping. After these events, God spoke to Jacob once again, and blessed him. He reminded him of what he told him at the Jabbok, that his name was no longer Jacob but Israel. God said Israel would become a numerous people and that his offspring would be leaders of nations, as well as kings.
Moreover, God announced to Israel that the land that he gave to Abraham and Isaac was his to inherit, as well as his descendants. Israel built a pillar at the place where he had spoken to God and poured a drink offering and oil over it, naming it Bethel. Israel was then blessed once more by God, as well as his twelve sons.
Shortly thereafter, as they traveled from Bethel, Rachel had a miscarriage. At the moment of her death, she named her son Ben-Oni, saying, “A son of my sorrow,” but Israel renamed him Benjamin, saying, “Son of the right hand.” Thus, a name that would have forever carried the burden of Rachel’s grief was changed to a name that signified strength and honor.
Rachel’s body was laid to rest on the road to Ephrath, also known as Bethlehem, and Israel took a pillar and placed it over her grave, saying that this pillar would mark her grave for eternity. This is a particularly sad moment in Israel’s life, for since the day he saw Rachel at the well, he had struggled to get her as his wife. From the day she became his wife, Israel waited and prayed for her to give him children, and now with the birth of her second son, she had died.
Israel continued on to pitch his tent near Migdal Eder, but while he was there, Reuben, the firstborn of his sons, took his father’s concubine Bilhah and lay with her. Israel heard of what Reuben had done but said nothing, for Reuben was his firstborn, and it was expected that he would inherit the birthright. Yet, what Reuben had done was unforgivable, and it was a transgression that would see Reuben lose his birthright when Israel was giving his blessings to his sons.
Finally, the chapter gives a genealogy of Israel’s sons according to their mothers, Leah’s sons, Rachel’s sons, and the servants’ sons. It closes with Israel arriving at his father’s home at Mamre, near Hebron, where his father Abraham and his father Isaac had dwelled. Israel went to his father’s house in Hebron, and there Isaac died, having lived to see one hundred and eighty years. Esau and Jacob laid their father to rest, just as Isaac and Ishmael had laid their father Abraham to rest.
Thus, Genesis chapter thirty-five sees Israel experiencing the loss of one of his beloved children, Rachel, and the loss of his cherished grandson, Joseph. On the other hand, it sees the fulfillment of God’s promises to him, just as he had received them from his father and grandfather. It sees Israel begin to renew his life in the land of Canaan, building altars to God. Finally, it sees Israel lay his father Isaac to rest in the cave in Hebron, where his grandfather Abraham was laid.
At the opening of the chapter, God instructs Jacob to return to Bethel to build an altar to him there, just as he promised to do when he fled from Esau’s anger long ago (Genesis 35:1). Before departing on this journey, however, he takes a moment to remind his household that they must put away their foreign gods and idols, and purify themselves before arriving at Bethel. He even declares that he will build an altar to God, the one who has delivered him, and answered his prayers when he was afraid of Esau. This was a difficult thing for Jacob to say, considering the events of the last chapter. Perhaps he recognized that the bloodshed in Shechem needed to be turned away from.
As such, they gathered up the foreign gods and the earrings that were their idols and buried them in Shechem under the oak. Afterward, they set off for Bethel, and it was there that they heard that the terror of God had fallen upon the cities of the surrounding land. As such, no one pursued them despite what had happened at Shechem, and even though Simeon and Levi had taken out their anger of the incident.
They journeyed on to Luz, which is also called Bethel, in the land of Canaan. There, Jacob built an altar to God, calling the place El Bethel, for that was where God had appeared to Jacob when he was fleeing from Esau. Afterward, Deborah, the nurse of Rebekah, died and was buried beneath an oak below Bethel, which was renamed Allon Bacuth, the oak of weeping. After these events, God spoke to Jacob once again, and blessed him. He reminded him of what he told him at the Jabbok, that his name was no longer Jacob but Israel. God said Israel would become a numerous people and that his offspring would be leaders of nations, as well as kings.
Moreover, God announced to Israel that the land that he gave to Abraham and Isaac was his to inherit, as well as his descendants. Israel built a pillar at the place where he had spoken to God and poured a drink offering and oil over it, naming it Bethel. Israel was then blessed once more by God, as well as his twelve sons.
Shortly thereafter, as they traveled from Bethel, Rachel had a miscarriage. At the moment of her death, she named her son Ben-Oni, saying, “A son of my sorrow,” but Israel renamed him Benjamin, saying, “Son of the right hand.” Thus, a name that would have forever carried the burden of Rachel’s grief was changed to a name that signified strength and honor.
Rachel’s body was laid to rest on the road to Ephrath, also known as Bethlehem, and Israel took a pillar and placed it over her grave, saying that this pillar would mark her grave for eternity. This is a particularly sad moment in Israel’s life, for since the day he saw Rachel at the well, he had struggled to get her as his wife. From the day she became his wife, Israel waited and prayed for her to give him children, and now with the birth of her second son, she had died.
Israel continued on to pitch his tent near Migdal Eder, but while he was there, Reuben, the firstborn of his sons, took his father’s concubine Bilhah and lay with her. Israel heard of what Reuben had done but said nothing, for Reuben was his firstborn, and it was expected that he would inherit the birthright. Yet, what Reuben had done was unforgivable, and it was a transgression that would see Reuben lose his birthright when Israel was giving his blessings to his sons.
Finally, the chapter gives a genealogy of Israel’s sons according to their mothers, Leah’s sons, Rachel’s sons, and the servants’ sons. It closes with Israel arriving at his father’s home at Mamre, near Hebron, where his father Abraham and his father Isaac had dwelled. Israel went to his father’s house in Hebron, and there Isaac died, having lived to see one hundred and eighty years. Esau and Jacob laid their father to rest, just as Isaac and Ishmael had laid their father Abraham to rest.
Thus, Genesis chapter thirty-five sees Israel experiencing the loss of one of his beloved children, Rachel, and the loss of his cherished grandson, Joseph. On the other hand, it sees the fulfillment of God’s promises to him, just as he had received them from his father and grandfather. It sees Israel begin to renew his life in the land of Canaan, building altars to God. Finally, it sees Israel lay his father Isaac to rest in the cave in Hebron, where his grandfather Abraham was laid.