Genesis 35

1 God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel, and live there. Make there an altar to God, who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau your brother.”

2 Then Jacob said to his household, and to all who were with him, “Put away the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves, and change your garments.

3 Let’s arise, and go up to Bethel. I will make there an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me on the way which I went.”

4 They gave to Jacob all the foreign gods which were in their hands, and the rings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem.

5 They traveled, and a terror of God was on the cities that were around them, and they didn’t pursue the sons of Jacob.

6 So Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him.

7 He built an altar there, and called the place El Beth El; because there God was revealed to him, when he fled from the face of his brother.

8 Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and she was buried below Bethel under the oak; and its name was called Allon Bacuth.

9 God appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Paddan Aram, and blessed him.

10 God said to him, “Your name is Jacob. Your name shall not be Jacob any more, but your name will be Israel.” He named him Israel.

11 God said to him, “I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations will be from you, and kings will come out of your body.

12 The land which I gave to Abraham and Isaac, I will give it to you, and to your offspring after you I will give the land.”

13 God went up from him in the place where he spoke with him.

14 Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he spoke with him, a pillar of stone. He poured out a drink offering on it, and poured oil on it.

15 Jacob called the name of the place where God spoke with him “Bethel”.

16 They traveled from Bethel. There was still some distance to come to Ephrath, and Rachel travailed. She had hard labor.

17 When she was in hard labor, the midwife said to her, “Don’t be afraid, for now you will have another son.”

18 As her soul was departing (for she died), she named him Benoni, but his father named him Benjamin.

19 Rachel died, and was buried on the way to Ephrath (also called Bethlehem).

20 Jacob set up a pillar on her grave. The same is the Pillar of Rachel’s grave to this day.

21 Israel traveled, and spread his tent beyond the tower of Eder.

22 While Israel lived in that land, Reuben went and lay with Bilhah, his father’s concubine, and Israel heard of it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve.

23 The sons of Leah: Reuben (Jacob’s firstborn), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.

24 The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin.

25 The sons of Bilhah (Rachel’s servant): Dan and Naphtali.

26 The sons of Zilpah (Leah’s servant): Gad and Asher. These are the sons of Jacob, who were born to him in Paddan Aram.

27 Jacob came to Isaac his father, to Mamre, to Kiriath Arba (which is Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac lived as foreigners.

28 The days of Isaac were one hundred eighty years.

29 Isaac gave up the spirit and died, and was gathered to his people, old and full of days. Esau and Jacob, his sons, buried him.

Around Genesis 35

Context

Context for this book is being written. A note appears here only once it names its sources.

AI explanation

Genesis 35 · Written by an AI model · Not reviewed by a theological reader

This explanation was written by an AI model to help you get started. It names no sources and can contain mistakes. Scripture comes first, and context with sources is shown separately on this page.

What this chapter says

God tells Jacob to go up to Bethel and to build an altar there. Jacob says to his household, “Put away the foreign gods that are among you,” and to purify themselves and change their garments. They hand over the gods, and Jacob hides them under the oak at Shechem. A terror of God keeps the cities around from pursuing them.

At Bethel he builds the altar. God appears again, blesses him, and says that his name is Israel. Jacob sets up a pillar and pours oil on it.

Then, on the road to Ephrath, Rachel goes into hard labor. The midwife says, “Don’t be afraid, for now you will have another son.” As her soul departs she names the boy Benoni, but his father calls him Benjamin. Rachel is buried on the way to Bethlehem. Reuben lies with Bilhah, and the twelve sons are listed. Isaac dies at one hundred eighty, and Esau and Jacob bury him.

Background

Jacob returns to the place of his vow in Genesis 28. The promises there are renewed, now to a man whose name has changed. Rachel’s tomb near Bethlehem is remembered in the prophets; see Jeremiah 31 and Matthew 2. The list of the twelve sons gathers in one place the names of the tribes of Israel.

About this explanation

Written by Claude Sonnet 5.5, an AI model, on 21 October 2026. It draws on the WEB text and general knowledge and was not checked against sources by a person. Every quotation from Scripture is checked automatically against the WEB text.

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World English Bible. Public-domain source and edition notes