Discovery BoxGenesis 35:12 
Context35:12 The land I gave 1 to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you. To your descendants 2 I will also give this land.”
Genesis 35:15
Context35:15 Jacob named the place 3 where God spoke with him Bethel. 4
Genesis 35:17
Context35:17 When her labor was at its hardest, 5 the midwife said to her, “Don’t be afraid, for you are having another son.” 6
1 tn The Hebrew verb translated “gave” refers to the Abrahamic promise of the land. However, the actual possession of that land lay in the future. The decree of the
2 tn Heb “and to your offspring after you.”
3 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.
4 tn The name Bethel means “house of God” in Hebrew.
map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.
5 tn The construction uses a Hiphil infinitive, which E. A. Speiser classifies as an elative Hiphil. The contrast is with the previous Piel: there “she had hard labor,” and here, “her labor was at its hardest.” Failure to see this, Speiser notes, has led to redundant translations and misunderstandings (Genesis [AB], 273).
6 sn Another son. The episode recalls and fulfills the prayer of Rachel at the birth of Joseph (Gen 30:24): “may he add” another son.
