CHAPTER XXXV _Jacob is commanded of God to go to_ Beth-el, _and to build_ _an altar there_, 1. _His exhortation to his family to put away all strange_ _gods, c._, 2, 3. _They deliver them all up, and Jacob hides them in the_ _earth_, 4. _They commence their journey_, 5 _come to_ Luz, 6; _bu... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 35:2. _PUT AWAY THE STRANGE GODS_] אלהי הנכר _elohey hannechar,_ the _gods of the foreigners_, which were among them. Jacob's servants were all _Syrians_, and no doubt were addicted less or more to idolatry and superstition. These gods might belong to _them_, or, as some have conjectu... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 35:3. _ANSWERED ME IN THE DAY OF MY DISTRESS_] Not only when he fled from the face of his brother, but more particularly when he was in his greatest strait at the brook of Jabbok.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 35:4. _AND - EAR-RINGS WHICH WERE IN THEIR EARS_] Whether these rings were in the ears of the gods, or in those of Jacob's family, we may rest assured that they were not mere ornaments, but served for superstitious purposes. _Ear-rings_ were certainly worn as _amulets_ and _charms_, f... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 35:5. _THE TERROR OF GOD_] A supernatural awe sent by the Almighty, _was upon the cities that_ were _round about_, so that they were not molested in their departure. This could be owing to nothing less than the especial providence of God.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 35:7. _EL-BETH-EL_] אל בית אל _the strong God_, _the house of_ _the strong God_. But the first אל _el_ is wanting in one of De Rossi's MSS., as it is also in the Septuagint, Vulgate, Syriac, and some copies of the Arabic. The sentence reads much better without it, and much more consist... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 35:8. _BUT DEBORAH, REBEKAH'S NURSE, DIED_] She was sent with Rebekah when taken by Abraham's servant to be wife to Isaac, Genesis 24:59. How she came to be in Jacob's family, expositors are greatly puzzled to find out; but the text does not state that _she_ _was in Jacob's family_. H... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 35:9. _GOD APPEARED UNTO JACOB AGAIN_] He appeared to him first at Shechem, when he commanded him to go to Bethel, and now that he is arrived at the place, God appears to him the _second_ time, and confirms to him the Abrahamic blessing. To Isaac and Jacob these frequent appearances of... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 35:13. _AND GOD WENT UP FROM HIM_] This was not a vision, nor a strong mental impression, but a real manifestation of God. Jacob _saw_ and _heard_ him speak, and before his eyes _he went_ _up _- ascended to heaven. This was no doubt the future Saviour, the Angel of the covenant. See Ge... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 35:14. _A DRINK-OFFERING_] נסך _nesech_, a _libation_. These were afterwards very common in all countries. At first they consisted probably of _water_ only, afterwards _wine_ was used; see on Leviticus 7:1, c. The _pillar_ which Jacob set up was to commemorate the appearance of God to... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 35:16. _THERE WAS BUT A LITTLE WAY TO COME TO EPHRATH_] The word כברת _kibrath_, translated here _a little way_, has greatly perplexed commentators. It occurs only here, in Genesis 48:7, and 2 Kings 5:19; and it seems to have been some sort of _measure_ applied to land, as we say a _mi... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 35:18. _AS HER SOUL WAS IN DEPARTING_] Is not this a proof that there is an immortal spirit in man, which can exist _separate_ from and independent of the body? Of Rachel's death it is said, בצאת נפשה _betseth naphshah, in the going away of her soul_; her _body_ did not go away, theref... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 35:20. _JACOB SET A PILLAR UPON HER GRAVE_] Was not this the origin of funeral monuments? In ancient times, and among rude nations, a heap of stones designated the burial place of the chief; many of these still remain in different countries. Afterwards a rude stone, with a simple inscr... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 35:21. _TOWER OF EDAR._] Literally, _the tower of the flock_, and so translated Micah 4:8. It is supposed that this tower was about a mile from Bethlehem, and to have been the place where the angels appeared to the shepherds. The Targum of Jonathan expressly says: "It is the place in w... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 35:22. _REUBEN WENT AND LAY WITH BILHAH HIS FATHER'S_ _CONCUBINE_] Jonathan, in his Targum, says that Reuben only overthrew the bed of Bilhah, which was set up opposite to the bed of his mother Leah, and that this was reputed to him as if he had lain with her. The colouring given to th... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 35:23. _THE SONS OF LEAH_] The children are arranged under their respective mothers, and not in order of their birth.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 35:26. _BORN TO HIM IN PADAN-ARAM._] _i.e._, all but Benjamin was born in Canaan, Genesis 35:16; Genesis 35:17. It is well known that Padan-aram is the same as _Mesopotamia_, and hence the Septuagint translate Μεσοποταμια της Συριας, _Mesopotamia_ _of Syria_. The word signifies _betw... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 35:27. _THE CITY OF ARBAH_, (which is _Hebron_)] See Genesis 23:2. It has been conjectured that Jacob must have paid a visit to his father before this time, as previously to this he had been some years in Canaan; but now, as he was approaching to his end, Jacob is supposed to have gone... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 35:29. _ISAAC GAVE UP THE GHOST - AND WAS GATHERED UNTO HIS_ _PEOPLE_] Genesis 25:8. _ESAU AND JACOB BURIED HIM._] See Genesis 25:9. Esau, as we have seen chap. xxxiii., was thoroughly reconciled to his brother Jacob, and now they both join in fraternal and filial affection to do the... [ Continue Reading ]