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And God—Elohim. The employment of this name for the Deity throughout the present chapter has been deemed conclusive evidence that, with Rome Jehovistic alterations, it belongs to the fundamental document (Tuch, Bleek, Delitzsch, Kalisch, et alii); but the frequent allusions to Gen_28:13-16, which by partitionists is almost universally assigned to the Jehovist, prove that both sections have proceeded from the same author, and that, "though the mention of the name is avoided, this chapter, there is no doubt, substantially relates to Jehovah" (Hengstenberg), while the name Elohim may simply indicate that Jacob's journey from Shechem was undertaken in obedience to a Divine intimation (Quarry)—said unto Jacob (shortly after the incidents recorded in the preceding chapter), Arise, go up to Bethel,—about thirty miles distant (Gen_12:8; Gen_13:3; Gen_28:19), to which, some thirty years previous, he had solemnly vowed to return (Gen_28:22)—a vow which he appeared somewhat dilatory in performing, although its conditions had been exactly fulfilled (Keil, Kurtz, Kalisch, &c.)—and dwell there (the massacre of the Shechemites had obviously rendered longer residence in that neighborhood unsafe): and make there an altar—this Jacob had substantially promised to do in his vow (vide Gen_28:22)—unto God, that appeared unto thee—i.e. unto Jehovah (vide Gen_28:13)—when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother. The words contained an assurance that the same Divine arm which had shielded him against the enmity of Esau and the oppression of Laban would extend to him protection on his future way.
Gen_35:2, Gen_35:3
Then Jacob said unto his household (i.e. those more immediately belonging to his family), and to all that were with him (referring probably to the captured Shechemites), Put away the strange gods—literally, the gods of the stranger, including most likely the teraphim of Laban, which Rachel still retained, and other objects of idolatrous worship, either brought by Jacob's servants from Mesopotamia, or adopted in Canaan, or perhaps possessed by the captives—that are among you, and be clean,—literally, cleanse yourselves. The word is that which afterwards describes the purifications of the law (Num_19:11, Num_19:12; Le Num_14:4; Num_15:13). Aben Ezra interprets it as meaning that they washed their bodies; and Michaelis views the rite as a kind of baptism, signifying their adoption of the true religion of Jehovah—a quasi baptism of repentance, like that afterwards preached by John—and change your garments. The directions here given are very similar to those which were subsequently issued at Sinai (Exo_19:10), and were meant to symbolize a moral and spiritual purification of the mind and heart. And let us arise, and go to Bethel. "This is obviously not the first time Jacob acquainted his family with the vision at Bethel (Inglis). And I will make there an altar unto God,—El is probably employed because of its proximity to and connection with Bethel, or house of El, and the intended contrast between the El of Bethel and the strange Elohim which Jacob's household were commanded to put away—who answered me in the day of my distress,—this seems to imply that Jacob prayed at Bethel before he slept, if it does not refer to his supplication before meeting, Esau (Gen_32:9)—and was with me in the way which I went. This language clearly looks back to Bethel (vide Gen_28:20).
Gen_35:4
And they gave mate Jacob all the strange gods—Rosenmüller thinks these must have been many, since the historian would not otherwise have used the term ëÉÌì —which were in their hand (i.e. which they possessed), and all their earrings which were in their ears;—i.e. those employed for purposes of idolatrous worship, which were often covered with allegorical figures and mysterious sentences, and supposed to be endowed with a talismanic virtue (Jdg_8:21; Isa_3:20; Hos_2:13)—and Jacob hid them—having probably first destroyed them, since they do not appear to have been ever after sought for or resumed by the parties who gave them up (Hughes)—under the oak which was by Shechem. Whether the oak, or terebinth, under which Abraham once pitched his tent (Gen_12:6), that beneath whose shade Joshua afterwards erected his memorial pillar (Jos_24:26), the oak of the sorcerers (Jdg_9:37), and the oak of the pillar at Shechem (Jdg_9:6) were all the tree under which Jacob buried the images and earrings cannot with certainty be determined, though the probability is that they were.
Gen_35:5
And they journeyed (from Shechem, after the work of reformation just described): and the terror of God—meaning not simply a great terror, as in Gen_23:6; Gen_30:8 (Dathe, Bush), but either a supernatural dread inspired by Elohim (Ainsworth, Clericus, Rosenmüller, Keil, Kalisch, and others), or a fear of Elohim, under whose care Jacob manifestly bad been taken (Murphy, Quarry)—was upon the cities that were round about them,—literally, in their circuits, i.e. wherever they went—and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob—as might have been expected.
Gen_35:6
So (literally, and) Jacob came to Luz (vide Gen_28:19), which is in the land of Canaan (this clause is added to draw attention to the fact that Jacob had now accomplished his return to Canaan), that is, Bethel, he and all the people that were with him—i.e. his household and the captured Shechemites.
Gen_35:7
And he built there an altar,—thus redeeming his vow (cf. Ecc_5:4)—and called the place El-beth-el:—i.e. God of Bethel. Not he called the place of God, or the place sacred to God, Bethel, nor he called the altar (Keil, Kalisch, Gerlach, &c.), but he called the place where the altar was El-beth-el; i.e. either he devoted the place as sacred to the El of Bethel (Rosenmüller), or he gave to the place the name of (so. the place of) the El of Bethel, reading the first El as a genitive (Lange); or he called it El-Beth-el metaphorically, as Jerusalem afterwards was styled Jehovah Tsidkenu (Jer_33:16) and Jehovah Shammah (Eze_48:35; Inglis). It has been proposed, after the LXX; to avoid the seeming incongruity of assigning such a name to a place, to read, he invoked upon the place the El of Bethel—because there God appeared unto him,—the El of Bethel was Jehovah (vide Gen_28:13; Gen_31:13)—when he fled from the face of his brother.
Gen_35:8
But Deborah—Bee (Gesenius, Furst) Rebekah's nurse (vide Gen_24:59) died—at a very advanced age, having left Padan-aram for Canaan along with Rebekah, upwards of 150 years ago. That she is now found in Jacob's household may be accounted for by supposing that Rebekah had sent her, in accordance with the promise of Gen_27:45 (Delitzsch); or that Jacob had paid a visit to his father at Hebron, and brought her back with him to Shechem, probably because of Rebekah's death (Lange); or that on Rebekah's death she had been transferred to Jacob's household (Keil, Murphy, Alford); or that Isaac, "who had during the twenty years of his son's absence wandered in different parts of the land" (?), had "at this period of his migrations come into the neighborhood of Bethel" (Kalisch). And she was buried beneath Bethel—which was situated in the hill country, whence Jacob is instructed to "go up" to Bethel (Gen_27:1) under an oak. More correctly, the oak or terebinth, i.e. the well-known tree, which long after served to mark her last resting-place, which some have without reason identified with the palm tree of Deborah the prophetess (Jdg_4:5), and the oak of Tabor mentioned in 1Sa_10:3 (Delitzsch, Kurtz, &c.). And the name of it was called—not "he," i.e. Jacob, "called it" (Ainsworth), but "one called its name," i.e. its name was called (Kalisch)—Allon-bachuth (i.e. the oak of weeping).
Gen_35:9, Gen_35:10
And God appeared unto Jacob again,—this was a visible manifestation, m contrast to the audible one in Shechem (Gen_35:1), and in a state of wakefulness (Gen_35:13), as distinguished from the dream vision formerly beheld at Bethel (Gen_28:12)—when he came (or had come) out of Padan-aram (as previously he had appeared to the patriarch on going into Padan-aram), and blessed him—i.e. renewed the promises of the covenant, of which he was the heir. And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob:—or Supplanter (vide Gen_25:26). Lange reads, Is thy name Jacob?—thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel (vide Gen_32:28) shall be thy name: and he called his name Israel. The renewal of the name given at Peniel may possibly indicate a revival in the spiritual life of Jacob, which had been declining in the interval between the former interview with God and the present (Murphy), but was probably designed as a confirmation of the former interview with God, and of the experience through which he then passed. Cf. the twice-given name of Peter (Joh_1:42; Mat_16:16-19).
Gen_35:11, Gen_35:12
And God said unto him (repeating substantially the promises made to Abraham), I am God Almighty:—El Shaddai (cf. Gen_17:1)—be fruitful and multiply;—"Abraham and Isaac had each only one son of promise; but now the time of increase was come" (Murphy; cf. Gen_1:28)—a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee (cf. Gen_17:5; Gen_28:3), and kings shall come out of thy loins (cf. Gen_17:6, Gen_17:16); and the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac (vide Gen_12:7; Gen_13:15; Gen_26:3, Gen_26:4), to thee I will give it (cf. Gen_28:13), and to thy seed after thee will I give the land. The time of their entering on possession was specified to Abraham (Gen_15:16).
Gen_35:13
And God went up from him—showing this to have been a visible manifestation (cf. Gen_17:22)—in the place where he talked with him.
Gen_35:14
And Jacob set up a pillar—the former pillar (Gen_28:18) having probably fallen down and disappeared—in the place where he (God) talked with him (to commemorate the interview), even a pillar of stone. The setting up of pillars, according to Tuch a peculiarity of the Elohist, appears to have been a favorite practice of Jacob's: witness the first pillar at Bethel (Gen_28:18), the pillar on Galeed (Gen_31:45), the second pillar at Bethel (Gen_35:14), the pillar over Rachel's grave (Gen_35:20). And he poured a drink offering thereon. This is the first mention of those sacrificial libations which afterwards became so prominent in connection with the Mosaic ritual (Exo_29:40, Exo_29:41; Le Exo_23:13, Exo_23:18, 37; Num_6:15; and elsewhere). Under the law the ðÆñÆêÀ —óðïíäåé ͂ ïí óðïíäç ́ (LXX.) libamentum, libamen (Vulgate); frankopfer (Luther)—consisted of a fourth part of a hin of wine, which was equal to about a third of a gallon. And he poured oil thereon—as he did on the previous occasion (Gen_28:18, q.v.).
Gen_35:15
And Jacob called the name of the place where God spake with him, Bethel. This name was first given after the dream vision of the ladder (Gen_28:19); already on this occasion it had been changed into El-beth-el (Gen_35:7); now its old name is reimposed.
HOMILETICS
Gen_35:1-15
Bethel revisited.
I. JACOB'S JOURNEY TO BETHEL.
1. The occasion of the journey. The crime of his sons had made it necessary that Jacob should leave Shechem and its neighborhood; but it is doubtful if in the circumstances Jacob would have thought of going to Bethel without an express invitation from Heaven, which, however, he got.
2. The object of the journey. This was stated by the Divine communication which Jacob received to be the fulfillment of the vow which twenty years before he had made to erect an altar on the spot where he enjoyed the vision of the ladder and the angels. Vows do not lose their obligatory character by lapse of years. Men may, but God never does, forget the promises which are made to him. Hence the counsel of the Preacher (Ecc_5:4, Ecc_5:5).
3. The preparation for the journey. The removal of the strange gods—
(1) Was needful if God was to be sincerely worshipped by Jacob and his household. The necessity of having no other gods but Jehovah was afterwards enjoined upon Israel as a nation. In the gospel the law is equally imperative. God and Christ demand the undivided homage of the human heart.
(2) Was counseled by Jacob to his household. It is well when heads of families have the ability as well as inclination to direct their children and dependents in the duties of religion.
(3) Was cheerfully assented to by Jacob's household. The silver and wooden images (the teraphim) that Rachel had abstracted from her father's tent, the idolatrous objects that the Shechemites may have brought with them, and the earrings that were in their ears, were at once and completely given up, and by Jacob's own hand buried beneath the oak of Shechem.
(4) Was symbolized in Jacob's household by the acts of washing and putting on of clean apparel. Under the law corporeal ablutions and beautified habiliments were typical of spiritual renovation and the putting on of the righteousness of the saints (cf. Eze_36:25; Heb_10:22; Jud 1:23; Rev_19:2).
4. The experience of the journey. Wherever the travelers went they found themselves unmolested, and the cities round about them alarmed, and afraid to pursue. The terror of Elohim was upon the people of the land, and thus the care of Jehovah was around his saints.
5. The completion of the journey. Jacob and all the people that were with him came to Luz in the land of Canaan, which is Bethel. Many journeys are begun that never end. Some that promise well at the outset are overwhelmed in disaster before they terminate. It is only he who keeps Israel that can preserve a good man's going out and coming in.
II. JACOB'S RESIDENCE AT BETHEL.
1. The building of an altar. This was on the part of Jacob
(1) an act of obedience, since it was done in accordance with Divine instructions (Gen_35:1);
(2) an act of justice, inasmuch as it was executed in fulfillment of a vow, (Gen_28:22);
(3) an act of gratitude, being designed to give expression to Jacob's thankfulness for God's mercies (Gen_35:3, Gen_35:7).
2. The death of Deborah.
(1) Her life-work: Rebekah's nurse.
(2) Her death: this must have taken place at an advanced age.
(3) Her burial: the place of sepulture was on the slope of Bethel hill, beneath the shadow of a wide-spreading oak.
(4) Her memorial: the tree was named Allon-bachuth, oak of weeping.
3. The appearance of Elohim.
(1) The blessing renewed (Gen_35:9;)
(2) the new name confirmed (Gen_35:10);
(3) the promises repeated (Gen_35:11).
4. The erection of a pillar. The old column having probably been thrown down, this was
(1) set up as a memorial of the interview with God which had just been enjoyed;
(2) employed as an altar for the worship of Elohim—"he poured a drink offering thereon;" and
(3) consecrated as an object of reverential regard by pouring oil thereon.
5. The renaming of the place. The name given twenty years previously is renewed, Bethel (Gen_35:15), with a slight modification, El-Bethel (Gen_35:7), to connect it with the altar just erected.
Learn—
1. That good men sometimes require to be reminded by God of their duty.
2. That acts of Divine worship should be preceded by heart purification and life reformation.
3. That God is perfectly able to protect his people when they are walking in his appointed paths.
4. That good men when serving God are not exempt from the afflictions of life.
5. That faithful servants should be tenderly cherished by their masters when old, decently buried when dead, and lovingly remembered when entombed.
6. That God never forgets either his promises or his people.
7. That God should not be forgotten by those whom he remembers.
God with us.
Jacob's settlement with his family at Bethel. This was a solemn renewal of the covenant to the patriarch at the end of his pilgrimage. It was the occasion for a new dedication of himself and his household by vows and offerings, and by separation of themselves from all heathen things and thoughts around the newly-erected altar El-Bethel.
I. REVELATION the basis of faith. God went up from him after he had spoken with him, and there he set up a pillar of stone, and poured a drink offering thereon, and he poured oil thereon.
II. PERSONAL EXPERIENCE the background of a consecrated life. We should make the memory of Gears goodness the foundation on which we build up the monuments of our life. Mark the places by offerings. Let the Bethel of our worship be the Bethel of his praise.—R.
HOMILIES BY J.F. MONTGOMERY
Gen_35:1, Gen_35:2
Spiritual renovation.
Spiritual life is a thing of growth; never finished here (Php_3:13; Heb_6:1). No doubt the all-important question is, Art thou in Christ? And in every Christian life there is a point, known to God, when the soul passes from death to life (1Jn_5:12). For by nature children of wrath. Still there is a life's work. The spirit may have chosen Christ; but the flesh is weak, and the law of sin still works. Most commonly in such a life certain times will stand out, connected with special lessons and special dealings, when some window of the soul has been opened to heavenly light, some line of action pressed upon the mind.
I. THE LESSON LEARNED BY JACOB HIMSELF. We know not when his spiritual life began. Probably before he left home; for with all his faults he desired a spiritual blessing. But at Bethel and Penuel great steps were made. He learned the presence of God, and the protecting care of God, as he had never known them before. Yet the lessons were chiefly subjective; they regarded his own attitude towards God. And this generally comes first, but it is not all. "Arise, go up to Bethel." Take up again the lesson book. Is there not more to be learned from it? Those angels ascending and descending, were they charged with thy good only? The Lord who stood above, did he care only for thee? With all thy possessions thou art in "a solitary way" (Psa_107:4). Here Jacob seems first to realize his responsibility for the spiritual state of others (cf. Psa_119:136). The Christian character is not thoroughly formed till it is felt that the possession of truth hinds us to use-it for the good of others. Being "bought with a price," we are debtors to all (Rom_1:14); and chiefly to those with whom we are connected (1Ti_5:8).
II. THE WORK HE TOOK IN HAND. To press upon his household—
1. Single-hearted service of God. "Put away the strange gods." Sincerity lies at the root of all real renovation. Hitherto the semi-idolatry of teraphim seems to have been tacitly allowed. Jacob's fondness for Rachel may have kept him from forbidding it. Hence a divided service. Putting away does not refer only to formal worship. It is putting away service of the god of this world: covetousness (Col_3:5), worldly aims (Joh_5:44), gratification of self (Luk_12:19; Luk_14:11), traditional maxims of conduct and judgment (Mar_3:21; 1Pe_4:4). It is seeking first the kingdom of God, and resting in him (Psa_37:5).
2. "Be clean." No toleration of evil (Mat_5:48). Christians are to be a holy people (1Pe_2:9). This is much more than a mere upright and honorable life. The Levitical rules, strict and minute as they were, faintly shadowed the extent of the law of righteousness. See the Sermon on the Mount. Vast difference between an upright life and a holy life. The one is a following of rules, the other a walk with God.
3. "Change your garments." Under the law this a necessary part of purification. Contrast the garments, Psa_109:18 and Isa_61:10. The explanation, Zec_3:4. In New Testament language, put on Christ. The root is atonement, the covering of sins (Psa_32:1), the forgiveness of the sinful (Rom_3:26). No real renovation without this change—casting away self-righteousness, and clinging to the work of Christ (Jer_23:6; Rom_10:4). Many have said trust in free grace points to sin. God's word from end to end declares it is the only way of holiness.—M.
HOMILIES BY F. HASTINGS
Gen_35:2
Jacob's preparation for acceptable worship.
"Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be ye clean, and change your garments: and let us arise, and go up to Bethel." "When thou vowest a vow, defer not to pay it," says Ecclesiastes (Gen_5:4); but Jacob had deferred. He made a vow at Bethel, and he seems afterwards to have ignored it. If he thought of it, a number of things had been ever ready to present themselves as excuses for delay. His faithful services given constantly to Laban, his efforts to make good his position in the land, and then to avert the anger of Esau, had apparently absorbed so much of his attention that he had forgotten his vows. These solemn promises had been made at a very critical period of his life, and God had not forgotten them. He reminds Jacob of them in a very emphatic manner. Jacob had failed to see in the circumstances in which he was placed with respect to the people among whom he dwelt that there was a hint of neglected duty. God permitted Jacob to be made uncomfortable that he might be made considerate. The way in which his sons had treated the Shechemites had brought him into great danger. He and all his were likely to be cut off by these enraged inhabitants of the land. He is reminded of the danger in which he was once placed from the vengeance of Esau. The similarity of the circumstances forcibly and very naturally turn his thoughts to the One who alone can be his defense. Thus circumstances and Divine communications impel to the performance of duty. How merciful is God in his treatment of souls! How he leads the wanderer back to duty! Jacob, when about to strike his tents and remove to Bethel, wishes that his sons and servants should go up with him, and that they should go up in the right spirit. He therefore says to them, "Put away the strange gods," &c.
I. NEGLECTED DUTY IS A HINDRANCE TO APPROPRIATE AND ACCEPTABLE WORSHIP. That Jacob should have been obliged to give such an injunction to his household shows that he had not sufficiently kept before his sons and servants the duty they owed to God. He had allowed himself to strive for worldly success until they might have even imagined that he was no better than the rest of them or their neighbors; but deep down in the heart of this man was a reverence for God and a desire to do his will. His neglect to carefully instruct his sons had borne bitter fruit. Had he instilled into his sons ideas more in accordance with the character of the God he served, they would not have taken such mean methods as are mentioned of revenging themselves on those they had come to dislike. His neglect necessitates the sudden and difficult effort now put forth to induce his sons to seek with him to serve God. He feels that he cannot rightly worship God unless his children and household are with him in spirit. He wishes to foster in them a belief in his own sincerity. To have one in a family looking on indifferently or sneeringly is death to successful worship. Jacob's neglect had led to carelessness by his sons of the Divine service. He could not himself enter heartily on the service until he had discharged, in a measure, his duty as guide and instructor to his family.
II. ANOTHER HINDRANCE IS THE ATTACHMENT TO OBJECTS WRONGLY HELD IN REVERENCE. The sons of Jacob had admitted false gods into their affections. Idolatry was rife among them. Even his wife Rachel had so much faith in her father's idols that she stole them when she left home. The sons caught the spirit of the mother, and indulged in the worship of strange gods. Perhaps they worshipped secretly the gods which Rachel cherished, or they may have given adoration to the idols they found among the spoils of the Shechemites. They may have had little images which they carried about with them, as many superstitious Christians carry the crucifix. Amulets and charms they seem to have worn on their hands and in their ears, all indicating superstition, false worship, and wrong ideas. God is spoken of in the Bible as "jealous." This is with respect to worship given to representations of gods having no existence. The jealousy is right, because it would be an evil thing for man himself to think there were many gods, or to select his own god. When, in after ages, the descendants of these sons of Jacob yielded to the sin of worshipping other gods, ten of the tribes were swept away, and have never been rediscovered. Indeed the stream was tainted in source, and "grew no purer as it rolled along." When Achan brought the Babylonish garment into the camp of Israel, the chosen of God could not stand before their enemies, but when it was removed they were again victorious. So strange gods must be removed from our homes and from our hearts, or we can never be successful in the conflict against sin, or in the acceptability of the worship we offer. It is for each Christian to search his soul, and to see whether there is any desire, habit, or practice which in the least militates against the worship of God. Many who were incorporated with Jacob's household were Syrians, who brought their evil practices with them. When any enter God's Church they must leave behind them the practices of the world; nor possessions nor potation must be the gods then worshipped, "If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him."
III. THE HARBOURING OF ANY SPECIAL SIN WILL BE A SURE HINDRANCE. The sons of Jacob had not only outward false objects of reverence, but inward evil propensities. They were treacherous, cruel, lustful, envious, murderous. See how they treated the Shechemites, and in after years their own brother Joseph. What scandalizing, jealousy, and even opposition, are found in some homes! How hard it is to alienate sinful habits from the heart and the home I how hard to get the right tone for devout service in the home I Certain habits of temper, ridicule, sarcasm will chill and check all worship. Jacob urged his sons to be "clean,"—pure,—"to change their garments." They had need to do the latter, for they had been spotted with the blood of the men they had murdered. Jacob meant that they were to put on the garments kept for the worship of God. Rebekah had garments by her in which Esau as eldest son worshipped God, and which she put on Jacob. It is probable that it was the practice under the patriarchal dispensation to perform certain ceremonial ablutions prior to entering on the solemn worship. "Cleaniness is next to godliness."
It leads to it. The need of purity in the worship or God is thus indicated by ablutions and change of garments. But how easily we may have the outward without the inward. We need cleansing in the holy fountain opened by Christ, and to be clothed by his righteousness.
IV. A great hindrance to successful worship is HAVING LOW IDEAS OF THE DIGNITY OF THE ACT, AND THE MAJESTY AND HOLINESS OF HIM WHOM WE WORSHIP. God must be made to appear great to us. He is "high and lifted up." He made not only these frames of ours, but this vast universe. He is worshipped by worlds of intelligent spirits, and has been worshipped from the depths of eternity. He is holy and full of majesty. Shall we be indifferent as to the duty or the mode of worship? What a marvel that we should be permitted to have fellowship with our Creator I If we have it, it must be in the way and place he appoints. For Jacob it was at Bethel, for the Jews at Jerusalem, for Christians at the cross. To Jacob and the Jews it was by annual sacrifices, to us it is by the offering of Christ "once for all."—H.