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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.”
Verse 1. God dissipates Jacob’s well-grounded fears, and sends him to perform his vow. Calmet. 18:13. Bible.
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.
Verse 2. Strange gods, which his servants had reserved in the plundering of Sichem; perhaps he had also been informed of Rachel’s theft. D.—Garments; put on your cleanest and best attire, to testify the purity with which you ought to approach to the service of God. Menochius.—See Exod. 19:10. Leviticus 15:13.
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.”
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.
Verse 4. And the ear-rings. Hebrew, hanezamim; such as had been consecrated to some idol, and adorned the ears of those false but gaudy deities. Menochius.—Men and women used them likewise, as phylacteries or talismans, to which many superstitious virtues were attributed. Saint Augustine ep. 73, ad Posid. 9. iii. in Gen. Ezekiel 16:12. Proverbs 25. Exodus 35. Judith 8. Calmet.—The turpentine tree; or “an oak tree,” as the Hebrew haela means also. Septuagint adds, “and he destroyed them till this present day;” which seems intended to refute the story of their being found and adored by the Samaritans, or employed by Solomon when he built the temple. Jacob buried them privately. Calmet. See Deuteronomy 7:5.
They traveled, and a terror of God was on the cities that were around them, and they didn’t pursue the sons of Jacob.
Verse 5. Terror of God. A panic fear, which the pagans thought was sent by Pan. Calmet.—God can easily make the most powerful flee before a few. Saint Augustine q. 112.
So Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him.
Verse 6. Chanaan, to distinguish it from another. Judith 1:26, ( Menochius.) or because Moses wrote this in Arabia. Calmet.
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.
Verse 7. To him. Hebrew lit. “He called that place the God of Bethel, because there God (or the angels) appeared to him.” Haelohim, with a verb plural, generally refers to angels; when it is applied to God, the article is omitted, and the verb is singular. Calmet.
Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and she was buried below Bethel under the oak; and its name was called Allon Bacuth.
Verse 8. Debora. The Rabbin say she had been sent to urge Jacob’s return. Menochius.—Perhaps she was come to see him and the daughters of Laban, for whom she would naturally have a great regard, as she lived with Laban.—Weeping. This shews the great respect they had for this good old servant. Bible.
God appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Paddan Aram, and blessed him.
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.
Verse 10. Israel. This name signifies one that prevaileth with God; ( Challoner.) and is more honourable and expressive than that of Jacob. God confirms what had been declared by his angel. Calmet. 32:28.
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.
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.”
Verse 12. And to, and so forth And is often put by way of explanation. Chanaan was possessed by all the twelve sons of Jacob. Those of the handmaids are not excluded, as Ismael had been. Worthington.
God went up from him in the place where he spoke with him.
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.
Verse 14. Set up either a fresh altar, or restored the stone which he had formerly used for sacrifice. Saint Augustine q. 116.—Drink, wine.—Oil. Theophrastus, speaking of a man addicted to superstition, says, “he adores every anointed stone.” Calmet.
Jacob called the name of the place where God spoke with him “Bethel”.
They traveled from Bethel. There was still some distance to come to Ephrath, and Rachel travailed. She had hard labor.
Verse 16. Spring. Hebrew cibrath. Septuagint leave it untranslated, Chalratha, though they render it horse-race, (verse 19) and join both together. Calmet. 48:7. The word occurs again, 4 Kennicott. 5:19; and S. Jerom translates it the spring, or the finest time of the earth. Others suppose it signifies the high road, (verse 19) or horse-course, or a mile, and so forth as if the place, where Rachel died, and not the season of the year, were designated. Calmet concludes, she died about the distance of an acre (sillon, furrow or ridge) from Ephrata. But there seems to be no reason why we should recede from the Vulgate. Bible.
When she was in hard labor, the midwife said to her, “Don’t be afraid, for now you will have another son.”
As her soul was departing (for she died), she named him Benoni, but his father named him Benjamin.
Verse 18. That is. These etymologies are given by S. Jerom. D.—Right hand, (jemini) as he is often styled in Scripture. Jamin has the same meaning; though it may also signify of the south, with respect to Bethel and Sichem; or of days and old age. Calmet. 44:20. 1. Calmet. Jacob chooses to give his son a more auspicious name; as the other would have reminded him too sensibly of his loss. Bible.
“Benoni” means “son of my trouble”.
“Benjamin” means “son of my right hand”.
Rachel died, and was buried on the way to Ephrath (also called Bethlehem).
Jacob set up a pillar on her grave. The same is the Pillar of Rachel’s grave to this day.
Verse 20. A pillar; or sepulchral monument, about 500 paces north of Bethlehem, ( Bible.) which was called Ephrata afterwards, from Caleb’s wife. Calmet.
Israel traveled, and spread his tent beyond the tower of Eder.
Verse 21. Tower. Hebrew Heder, about a mile to the east of Bethlehem, where the angels appeared to announce the birth of Christ. S. Helen built a temple there in honour of the angels. Tirinus.—Shepherds had such places to keep watch. Calmet.—There was a tower of this name near Jerusalem. Micah 4:8. S. Jerom, q. His.
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.
Verse 22. The concubine. She was his lawful wife; but according to the style of the Hebrews, is called concubine, because of her servile extraction. Challoner.—Ignorant of; and therefore, to mark his displeasure, he deprived him of the birth-right. Calmet. 49:4. Jacob approached no more to Bala, as David had no farther commerce with the wives whom Absalom had defiled, 2 Kennicott. 16:22. Menochius.—The Septuagint add, and it appeared evil in his sight; an omission which the Hebrew editions seem to acknowledge, by leaving a vacant space. Kennicott.
The sons of Leah: Reuben (Jacob’s firstborn), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.
The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin.
The sons of Bilhah (Rachel’s servant): Dan and Naphtali.
The sons of Zilpah (Leah’s servant): Gad and Asher. These are the sons of Jacob, who were born to him in Paddan Aram.
Verse 26. Syria, all except Benjamin. Calmet.—All frequently means the greatest part. Bible.
Jacob came to Isaac his father, to Mamre, to Kiriath Arba (which is Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac lived as foreigners.
The days of Isaac were one hundred eighty years.
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.
Verse 29. Spent. He lived 42 years, after he had blessed Jacob.—His people, in the bosom of Abraham, in limbo.—Full of days, quite satisfied. Cedat uti conviva satur. Hor. Sat. i. 1. He was one of the brightest figures of Jesus Christ, on account of him miraculous birth, name, willingness to be sacrificed, marriage with a woman sought at a great distance, and so forth Calmet.—Esau, who had always shewn a great regard for his father, joins his brother in rendering to him the last rites of burial. Bible.—Rebecca was probably dead. Menochius.—The death of Isaac is mentioned out of its place, that the history of Joseph may not be interrupted, as it happened when Joseph was in prison, A. 2288. Calmet.