Discovery BoxGenesis 35:1 
Context35:1 Then God said to Jacob, “Go up at once 1 to Bethel 2 and live there. Make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.” 3
Genesis 35:3
Context35:3 Let us go up at once 4 to Bethel. Then I will make 5 an altar there to God, who responded to me in my time of distress 6 and has been with me wherever I went.” 7
Genesis 35:7
Context35:7 He built an altar there and named the place El Bethel 8 because there God had revealed himself 9 to him when he was fleeing from his brother.
1 tn Heb “arise, go up.” The first imperative gives the command a sense of urgency.
2 map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.
3 sn God is calling on Jacob to fulfill his vow he made when he fled from…Esau (see Gen 28:20-22).
4 tn Heb “let us arise and let us go up.” The first cohortative gives the statement a sense of urgency.
5 tn The cohortative with the prefixed conjunction here indicates purpose or consequence.
6 tn Heb “day of distress.” See Ps 20:1 which utilizes similar language.
7 tn Heb “in the way in which I went.” Jacob alludes here to God’s promise to be with him (see Gen 28:20).
8 sn The name El-Bethel means “God of Bethel.”
9 tn Heb “revealed themselves.” The verb נִגְלוּ (niglu), translated “revealed himself,” is plural, even though one expects the singular form with the plural of majesty. Perhaps אֱלֹהִים (’elohim) is here a numerical plural, referring both to God and the angelic beings that appeared to Jacob. See the note on the word “know” in Gen 3:5.
