Genesis 35: Jacob’s Return to Bethel

Chapter 35 opens with God’s command to Jacob to fulfill the vow made about thirty years earlier (Genesis 28:20–22). 

Genesis 28:20-22                                           New King James Version

20   Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, 

21   so that I come back to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God. 

22   And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.”

• The Lord used the tragic events of the previous chapter to prepare the patriarch to do it. Notice that God is referred to, about twenty times in this chapter, in contrast to no references in chapter 34. Before obeying God’s command to return to Bethel, Jacob first ordered his family to put away the foreign household gods and to put on clean clothes. As soon as they did this, they became a terror to their heathen neighbors. It was appropriate that Jacob should build an altar at “El Bethel” and worship the God who had protected him from his brother, Esau.

Genesis 35:1-9                                               New King James Version

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

• “The only cure for worldliness is to separate from it” (Barnhouse). Jacob had to leave Shechem and go to Bethel. There had to be a departure from one and a new direction and destination set. There was a new place for Jacob and his family to dwell.

2   And 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. 

• Jacob’s family only got right with God after Jacob himself did. This again shows us the tremendous leadership role men have within the family. A man resisting God will see the same effect in his children. A man who gets right with God will also see the effect in his family.
• Jacob’s children kept foreign gods because their mother did. Rachel kept the household idols of her father (Genesis 31:19). No matter how hard we try to teach our children with godly conduct, they will continue to do what we do.
• “In families it is well, when you see that things are wrong, just to call the household together and say, ‘We must draw near unto God with peculiar earnestness, for we are going astray. We have not given up family prayer, but we must now make it special, and with double zeal draw nigh unto God.’ I am afraid that some of us neglect family prayer. If you do, I am sure it will work evil in your households.” (Spurgeon)

3   Then let us arise and go up to Bethel; and I will make an altar there to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me in the way which I have gone.” 

• I love this testimony, he realizes God has never left him even when he did not deserve for God to stay with him. This is my testimony.

4   So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods which were in their hands, and the earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the terebinth tree which was by Shechem.

• It is important for everyone to take stock of what they may have in their home that is ungodly or connected to the occult, and promptly get rid of those things.

• “He had not said anything about their earrings. Was there any hurt in their earrings? For a woman to wear an earring is not such a dreadful thing, is it? Perhaps not, but I suppose that these earrings were charms, and that they were used in certain incantations, and heathenish customs. It must have been a very sad discovery to Jacob, who himself could not have endured it, to find that wicked superstitions had come into his tents.” (Spurgeon)

5   And they journeyed, and the terror of God was upon the cities that were all around them, and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob. 

• This was God’s protection on Jacob and his family. It would have been fair of God to leave Jacob to the consequences of his sinful lack of leadership in the family. Yet God’s grace covered Jacob even when his sin had made them vulnerable.

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. 

• It was dangerous for Jacob to set out to Bethel, but it was more dangerous for him to disobey God. The only thing that could save him was a radical obedience to the LORD. No matter what the circumstances look like, the safest thing to do is the will of God.

7   And he built an altar there and called the place El Bethel, because there God appeared to him when he fled from the face of his brother.

• This is the first encounter, the stairway or ladder to heaven.

8   Now Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and she was buried below Bethel under the terebinth tree. So, the name of it was called Allon Bachuth.

• Some commentators assume for some reason that she came to be in Jacob’s household, coming from his mother’s household, but we do not know for certain if this is the case. We know nothing of this woman before this account. Seemingly, she came with Rebekah as a companion when she came from Haran to marry Isaac.

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

• This is the second account, when Jacob wrestled with God.

GENESIS 35:10-15

10   And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; your name shall not be called Jacob anymore, but Israel shall be your name.” So He called his name Israel. 

11   Also God said to him: “I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you, and kings shall come from your body. 

• The reminder of the new name was important, because Jacob had acted like the old Jacob instead of Israel. Yet God wanted to set his mind on the new man God made him to be. God does the same with us, reminding us who we are in Him. God wants us to remember and live in the great names He gives us.

12   The land which I gave Abraham and Isaac I give to you; and to your descendants after you I give this land.” 

13   Then God went up from him in the place where He talked with him. 

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

15   And Jacob called the name of the place where God spoke with him, Bethel.

• God granted Jacob a precious reminder of his place in God’s great covenant, begun with his grandfather Abraham. In this, Jacob did not need to hear anything new from God. He just needed to be reminded of what was true and be encouraged to cling to it all.

GENESIS 35:16-20              Death of Rachel

16   Then they journeyed from Bethel. And when there was but a little distance to go to Ephrath, Rachel labored in childbirth, and she had hard labor. 

17   Now it came to pass, when she was in hard labor, that the midwife said to her, “Do not fear; you will have this son also.” 

18   And so it was, as her soul was departing (for she died), that she called his name Ben-Oni; but his father called him Benjamin. 

19   So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). 

20   And Jacob set a pillar on her grave, which is the pillar of Rachel’s grave to this day.

• Jacob set up a pillar (or monument) over Rachel’s grave, with the text stating it remained there “to this day”. While the original ancient pillar itself is no longer there, the traditional site is marked to this day by a, building with a dome, located north of Bethlehem and popular with pilgrims. This was the first time that Bethlehem is mentioned in scripture.

GENESIS 35:21-26

21   Then Israel journeyed and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eder. 

• Situated on the road between Bethlehem and Hebron, it served as a vantage point for shepherds to guard their flocks from predators and for military surveillance.

22   And it happened, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine; and Israel heard about it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve: 

• Reuben was the firstborn. We might expect the best conduct from him, and might expect him to most seriously receive the covenant of his fathers. Yet here, he sinned in a most offensive way against his father and entire family. Through their sin Reuben, Simeon, and Levi seemed to disqualify themselves from the high calling of Abraham’s blessing. It will be up to the fourth son, Judah, to bring forth the Messiah.

23   the sons of Leah were Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, and Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun;

24   the sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin; 

25   the sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s maidservant, were Dan and Naphtali; 

26   and the sons of Zilpah, Leah’s maidservant, were Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Padan Aram.

GENESIS 35:27-29

27   Then Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre, or Kirjath Arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had dwelt. 

28   Now the days of Isaac were one hundred and eighty years. 

29   So Isaac breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people, being old and full of days. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

Genesis 36: The Family of Esau NKJV

(The entire chapter is all about Esau)

1   Now this is the genealogy of Esau, who is Edom.

2   Esau took his wives from the daughters of Canaan: Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite; Aholibamah (O-ho-li-ba-mah) the daughter of Anah, the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite; 

3   and Basemath, Ishmael’s daughter, sister of Nebajoth. 

4   Now Adah bore Eliphaz to Esau, and Basemath bore Reuel. 

5   And Aholibamah bore Jeush, Jaalam, and Korah. These were the sons of Esau who were born to him in the land of Canaan.

6   Then Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the persons of his household, his cattle and all his animals, and all his goods which he had gained in the land of Canaan, and went to a country away from the presence of his brother Jacob. 

7   For their possessions were too great for them to dwell together, and the land where they were strangers could not support them because of their livestock. 

8   So Esau dwelt in Mount Seir. Esau is Edom.

Now this is the genealogy of Esau.  Read Genesis 36:9-39

GENESIS 36:40-43                        The Chiefs of Esau

40   And these were the names of the chiefs of Esau, according to their families and their places, by their names: Chief Timnah, Chief Alvah, Chief Jetheth, 

41   Chief Aholibamah, Chief Elah, Chief Pinon, 

42   Chief Kenaz, Chief Teman, Chief Mibzar, 

43   Chief Magdiel, and Chief Iram. These were the chiefs of Edom, according to their dwelling places in the land of their possession. Esau was the father of the Edomites.

Genesis 37: Joseph Dreams of Greatness NKJV

Joseph is now 17 years old and there’s no question that he is his father’s favorite.

• Based on biblical timelines, Benjamin was likely a young child, possibly between 3 and 4 years old, when Joseph was sold into slavery in Genesis 37. Because Joseph was 17 at the time (Gen 37:2) and was significantly older than Benjamin, the youngest son was still very small when this event occurred.

Joseph Dreams of Greatness

1   Now Jacob dwelt in the land where his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan. 

2   This is the history of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brothers. And the lad was with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives; and Joseph brought a bad report of them to his father.

• You have to look hard to find faults in Joseph, but here, he’s a snich!!

3   Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age. Also he made him a tunic of many colors. 

• “Joseph was loved and hated, favored and abused, tempted and trusted, exalted and abased. Yet at no point in the one-hundred-and-ten-year life of Joseph did he ever seem to get his eyes off God or cease to trust him. Adversity did not harden his character. Prosperity did not ruin him. He was the same in private as in public. He was a truly great man.” (Boice)
• Jacob (Israel) made a special, ornate, or “many-colored” robe for his son Joseph because he loved him more than his other children, having been born to him in his old age. 
• This garment symbolized favoritism, sparking jealousy among Joseph’s brothers, leading them to want to kill him.

GENESIS 37:4-10

4   But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him.

5   Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more. 

6   So he said to them, “Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: 

7   There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Then behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and indeed your sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my sheaf.”

8   And his brothers said to him, “Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.

9   Then he dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers, and said, “Look, I have dreamed another dream. And this time, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me.”

10   So he told it to his father and his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you?” 

11   And his brothers envied him, but his father kept the matter in mind.

GENESIS 37:12-14

Joseph Sold by His Brothers

12   Then his brothers went to feed their father’s flock in Shechem. 

13   And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers feeding the flock in Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.”                                                                 So he said to him, “Here I am.”

14   Then he said to him, “Please go and see if it is well with your brothers and well with the flocks, and bring back word to me.” So he sent him out of the Valley of Hebron, and he went to Shechem.

GENESIS 37:15-36

15   Now a certain man found him, and there he was, wandering in the field. And the man asked him, saying, “What are you seeking?”

16   So he said, “I am seeking my brothers. Please tell me where they are feeding their flocks.”

17 And the man said, “They have departed from here, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’ ” So, Joseph went after his brothers and found them in Dothan.

18   Now when they saw him afar off, even before he came near them, they conspired against him to kill him. 

19   Then they said to one another, “Look, this dreamer is coming! 

20   Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit; and we shall say, ‘Some wild beast has devoured him.’ We shall see what will become of his dreams!”

21   But Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands, and said, “Let us not kill him.” 

22   And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit which is in the wilderness, and do not lay a hand on him”—that he might deliver him out of their hands, and bring him back to his father.

23   So it came to pass, when Joseph had come to his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic of many colors that was on him. 

24   Then they took him and cast him into a pit. And the pit was empty; there was no water in it.

25   And they sat down to eat a meal. Then they lifted their eyes and looked, and there was a company of Ishmaelites, coming from Gilead with their camels, bearing spices, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry them down to Egypt. 

26   So Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is there if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? 

27   Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother and our flesh.” And his brothers listened. 

28   Then Midianite traders passed by; so, the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt.

29   Then Reuben returned to the pit, and indeed Joseph was not in the pit; and he tore his clothes. 

30   And he returned to his brothers and said, “The lad is no more; and I, where shall I go?”

31   So they took Joseph’s tunic, killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the tunic in the blood. 

32   Then they sent the tunic of many colors, and they brought it to their father and said, “We have found this. Do you know whether it is your son’s tunic or not?”

33   And he recognized it and said, “It is my son’s tunic. A wild beast has devoured him. Without doubt Joseph is torn to pieces.” 

34   Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth on his waist, and mourned for his son many days. 

35   And all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted, and he said, “For I shall go down into the grave to my son in mourning.” Thus his father wept for him.

36   Now the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard.

• We have the privilege to see the hand of God throughout this first part of the story. This is going to be the greatest adventure of Joseph’s life. We’re going to see and witness the hardest things in life come at Joseph. Yet we will see a man of unshakable faith. We will ask ourselves, “who is this man”, we know where he comes from. We know exactly what his brothers and father are capable of, yet we have this man named Joseph who will ultimately save a nation and pave the way for our Savior to come.