Genesis 35:1

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.”

Genesis 35:15

35:15 Jacob named the place where God spoke with him Bethel.


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).

sn Called the name of the place. In view of the previous naming of Bethel in Gen 28:19, here Jacob was confirming or affirming the name through an official ritual marking the fulfillment of the vow. This place now did become Bethel, the house of God.

tn The name Bethel means “house of God” in Hebrew.

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