Genesis 35:1-2

The Return to Bethel

35:1 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.” 35:2 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.


tn Heb “arise, go up.” The first imperative gives the command a sense of urgency.

map For location see Map4-G4; Map5-C1; Map6-E3; Map7-D1; Map8-G3.

sn God is calling on Jacob to fulfill his vow he made when he fled from…Esau (see Gen 28:20-22).

tn Heb “which are in your midst.”

sn The actions of removing false gods, becoming ritually clean, and changing garments would become necessary steps in Israel when approaching the Lord in worship.