Genesis 35:15

15 Jacob called the place where God had spoken with him Bethel. ^[a]

Genesis 35:15 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 35:15

And Jacob called the name of the place where God spake with
him, Bethel.
] He confirmed the name he had before given it, when he went to Mesopotamia, and now upon his return renews and establishes it; or he gave this name more especially to that particular spot where God conversed with him, and on which he erected a pillar, and consecrated it to religious worship, and so made it God's house, as he promised he would, ( Genesis 28:22 ) , both building an altar for sacrifice, and setting up a pillar, which was beginning an house for God.

Genesis 35:15 In-Context

13 Then God went up from the place where He had spoken with him.

14 So Jacob set up a pillar in the place where God had spoken with him—a stone marker—and he poured out a drink offering on it and anointed it with oil.

15 Jacob called the place where God had spoken with him Bethel.

16 Later, they set out from Bethel, and while they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth, and her labor was difficult.

17 During her severe labor, the midwife said to her, “Do not be afraid, for you are having another son.”

Footnotes

• [a]. Bethel means house of God.