Genesis 35:4

35:4 So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods that were in their possession ¹  and the rings that were in their ears. ²  Jacob buried them ³  under the oak ⁴  near Shechem

Genesis 35:8

35:8 (Deborah, ⁵  Rebekah’s nurse, died and was buried under the oak below Bethel; thus it was named ⁶  Oak of Weeping.) ⁷ 

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¹ tn Heb “in their hand.”

² sn On the basis of a comparison with Gen 34 and Num 31, G. J. Wenham argues that the foreign gods and the rings could have been part of the plunder that came from the destruction of Shechem (Genesis [WBC], 2:324).

³ sn Jacob buried them. On the burial of the gods, see E. Nielson, “The Burial of the Foreign Gods,” ST 8 (1954/55): 102-22.

⁴ tn Or “terebinth.”

⁵ sn Deborah. This woman had been Rebekah’s nurse, but later attached herself to Jacob. She must have been about one hundred and eighty years old when she died.

⁶ tn “and he called its name.” There is no expressed subject, so the verb can be translated as passive.

⁷ tn Or “Allon Bacuth,” if one transliterates the Hebrew name (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV). An oak tree was revered in the ancient world and often designated as a shrine or landmark. This one was named for the weeping (mourning) occasioned by the death of Deborah.