Genesis 35:12-22

12 And the land which I gave to Abraam and Isaac, I have given it to thee; and it shall come to pass that I will give this land also to thy seed after thee.

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

14 And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where God spoke with him, a pillar of stone; and offered a libation upon it, and poured oil upon it.

15 And Jacob called the name of the place in which God spoke with him, Baethel.

16 [ ] and it came to pass when he drew nigh to Chabratha, to enter into Ephratha, Rachel travailed; and in her travail she was in hard labour.

17 And it came to pass in her hard labour, that the midwife said to her, Be of good courage, for thou shalt also have this son.

18 And it came to pass in her giving up the ghost (for she was dying), that she called his name, The son of my pain; but his father called his name Benjamin.

19 So Rachel died, and was buried in the way of the course of Ephratha, this is Bethleem.

20 And Jacob set up a pillar on her tomb; this is the pillar on the tomb of Rachel, until this day.

21 And it came to pass when Israel dwelt in that land, that Ruben went and lay with Balla, the concubine of his father Jacob; and Israel heard, and the thing appeared grievous before him.

22 And the sons of Jacob were twelve.

Genesis 35:12-22 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS 35

This chapter gives an account of Jacob's going to Bethel, and building an altar there by the order and direction of God, Ge 35:1-7, where Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died and was buried, Ge 35:8, and where God appeared to Jacob, confirmed the new name of Israel he had given him, and renewed to him the promises of the multiplication of his seed, and of their inheriting the land of Canaan, Ge 35:9-13; all which is gratefully acknowledged by Jacob, who erected a pillar in the place, and called it Bethel, in memory of God's gracious appearance to him there, Ge 35:14,15; from hence he journeyed towards his father's house, and on the way Rachel his wife fell in travail, and bore him a son, and died, and was buried near Ephrath, Ge 35:16-21; near this place Reuben committed incest with Bilhah, Ge 35:22, and the names of the twelve sons of Jacob are given, Ge 35:23-26; and the chapter is closed with an account of Jacob's arrival at his father's house, of the death of Isaac, and of his burial at the direction of his two sons, Ge 35:27-29.

Footnotes

• [a]. Note. — The words between brackets form the 21st verse of this chapter in the Hebrew.