About Genesis

Genesis is the book of beginnings, recording the creation of the world, the origin of humanity, the entrance of sin, and the beginning of God's plan of redemption through the family of Abraham.

Author: MosesWritten: c. 1445-1405 BCReading time: ~4 minVerses: 29
CreationFall of ManCovenantFaithProvidenceRedemption

King James Version

Genesis 35

29 verses with commentary

Jacob Returns to Bethel

And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother.

View commentary (3 sources)

KJV Study Commentary

<strong>And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Beth-el, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God,...</strong> This passage belongs to the Jacob narratives which demonstrate God's sovereign election overriding human merit and the transformation of a deceiver into Israel, the father of the twelve tribes. The Jacob cycle shows how divine purposes advance through flawed individuals whom God...
Read full commentary →

Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

XXXV. JACOB RETURNS TO BETH-EL AND HEBRON.—DEATH OF ISAAC. (1) **Arise, go up to Beth-el.**—The position of Jacob at Shechem had become dangerous; for though the first result of the high-handed proceeding of Simeon and Levi was to strike the natives with terror (Genesis 35:5), yet reprisals might follow if they had time to learn the comparatively small number of Jacob’s followers. It was necessary...
Read full commentary →

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Chapter 35 Chapter Outline God commands Jacob to go to Beth-el, He puts away idols from his family. (1-5) Jacob builds an altar, Death of Deborah, God blesses Jacob.(6-15) Death of Rachel.(16-20) Reuben's crime, The death of Isaac.(21-29) **Verses 1-5** Beth-el was forgotten. But as many as God loves, he will remind of neglected duties, one way or other, by conscience...
Read full commentary →

Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments:

View commentary (4 sources)

KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that ar...</strong> This passage belongs to the Jacob narratives which demonstrate God's sovereign election overriding human merit and the transformation of a deceiver into Israel, the father of the twelve tribes. The Jacob cycle shows how divine purposes advance through flawed individuals whom God...
Read full commentary →

Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(2) **Strange gods.**—Besides Rachel’s teraphim, many, probably, of the persons acquired by Jacob at Haran were idolaters, and had brought their gods with them. Besides these, the numerous men and women who formed the*”tafs*” of the Shechemites were certainly worshippers of false deities. The object, then, of this reformation was not merely to raise Jacob’s own family to a higher spiritual state, ...
Read full commentary →

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**17. Jacob journeyed to Succoth--**that is, "booths," that being the first station at which Jacob halted on his arrival in Canaan. His posterity, when dwelling in houses of stone, built a city there and called it Succoth, to commemorate the fact that their ancestor, "a Syrian ready to perish" [De 26:5], was glad to dwell in booths.

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Chapter 35 Chapter Outline God commands Jacob to go to Beth-el, He puts away idols from his family. (1-5) Jacob builds an altar, Death of Deborah, God blesses Jacob.(6-15) Death of Rachel.(16-20) Reuben's crime, The death of Isaac.(21-29) **Verses 1-5** Beth-el was forgotten. But as many as God loves, he will remind of neglected duties, one way or other, by conscience...
Read full commentary →

And let us arise, and go up to Bethel; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went.

View commentary (4 sources)

KJV Study Commentary

<strong>And let us arise, and go up to Beth-el; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in ...</strong> This passage belongs to the Jacob narratives which demonstrate God's sovereign election overriding human merit and the transformation of a deceiver into Israel, the father of the twelve tribes. The Jacob cycle shows how divine purposes advance through flawed individuals whom God...
Read full commentary →

Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(3) **Who answered me . . . —**The narrative of Jacob’s life, and the detail of God’s providential care of him, would doubtless affect strongly the minds of his followers, and make them ready to abandon their idols, “and worship the God that was Israel’s God” (Genesis 33:20).

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**18. Shalem--**that is, "peace"; and the meaning may be that Jacob came into Canaan, arriving safe and sound at the city Shechem--a tribute to Him who had promised such a return (compare Ge 28:15). But most writers take Shalem as a proper name--a city of Shechem, and the site is marked by one of the little villages about two miles to the northeast. A little farther in the valley below Shechem "he...
Read full commentary →

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Chapter 35 Chapter Outline God commands Jacob to go to Beth-el, He puts away idols from his family. (1-5) Jacob builds an altar, Death of Deborah, God blesses Jacob.(6-15) Death of Rachel.(16-20) Reuben's crime, The death of Isaac.(21-29) **Verses 1-5** Beth-el was forgotten. But as many as God loves, he will remind of neglected duties, one way or other, by conscience...
Read full commentary →

And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem.

View commentary (4 sources)

KJV Study Commentary

<strong>And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings which...</strong> This passage belongs to the Jacob narratives which demonstrate God's sovereign election overriding human merit and the transformation of a deceiver into Israel, the father of the twelve tribes. The Jacob cycle shows how divine purposes advance through flawed individuals whom God...
Read full commentary →

Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(4) **Earrings.**—Earrings seem to have been worn not so much for ornament as for superstitious purposes, being regarded as talismans or amulets. Hence it was from their earrings that Aaron made the golden calf (Exodus 32:2-4). **The oak.**—Not Abraham’s oak-grove (Genesis 12:6), referred to probably in Judges 9:6; Judges 9:37—the Hebrew word in these three places being *êlôn*—but that under which...
Read full commentary →

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**19. an hundred pieces of money--**literally, "lambs"; probably a coin with the figure of a lamb on it.

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Chapter 35 Chapter Outline God commands Jacob to go to Beth-el, He puts away idols from his family. (1-5) Jacob builds an altar, Death of Deborah, God blesses Jacob.(6-15) Death of Rachel.(16-20) Reuben's crime, The death of Isaac.(21-29) **Verses 1-5** Beth-el was forgotten. But as many as God loves, he will remind of neglected duties, one way or other, by conscience...
Read full commentary →

And they journeyed: and the terror of God was upon the cities that were round about them, and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob.

View commentary (4 sources)

KJV Study Commentary

<strong>And they journeyed: and the terror of God was upon the cities that were round about them, and they d...</strong> This passage belongs to the Jacob narratives which demonstrate God's sovereign election overriding human merit and the transformation of a deceiver into Israel, the father of the twelve tribes. The Jacob cycle shows how divine purposes advance through flawed individuals whom God...
Read full commentary →

Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(5) **The terror . . . —**Heb., *a terror of God, *that is, a very great terror (see Genesis 23:6; Genesis 30:8). But to the deeply religious mind of the Hebrew everything that was great and wonderful was the result of the direct working of the Deity. (But see Note on Genesis 48:22.)

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**20. and he erected ... an altar--**A beautiful proof of his personal piety, a most suitable conclusion to his journey, and a lasting memorial of a distinguished favor in the name "God, the God of Israel." Wherever we pitch a tent, God shall have an altar.

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Chapter 35 Chapter Outline God commands Jacob to go to Beth-el, He puts away idols from his family. (1-5) Jacob builds an altar, Death of Deborah, God blesses Jacob.(6-15) Death of Rachel.(16-20) Reuben's crime, The death of Isaac.(21-29) **Verses 1-5** Beth-el was forgotten. But as many as God loves, he will remind of neglected duties, one way or other, by conscience...
Read full commentary →

So Jacob came to Luz, which is in the land of Canaan, that is, Bethel, he and all the people that were with him.

View commentary (2 sources)

KJV Study Commentary

<strong>So Jacob came to Luz, which is in the land of Canaan, that is, Beth-el, he and all the people that w...</strong> This passage belongs to the Jacob narratives which demonstrate God's sovereign election overriding human merit and the transformation of a deceiver into Israel, the father of the twelve tribes. The Jacob cycle shows how divine purposes advance through flawed individuals whom God...
Read full commentary →

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 6-15** The comfort the saints have in holy ordinances, is not so much from Beth-el, the house of God, as from El-beth-el, the God of the house. The ordinances are empty things, if we do not meet with God in them. There Jacob buried Deborah, Rebekah's nurse. She died much lamented. Old servants in a family, that have in their time been faithful and useful, ought to be respected. God ap...
Read full commentary →

And he built there an altar, and called the place Elbethel: because there God appeared unto him, when he fled from the face of his brother. Elbethel: that is, The God of Bethel

View commentary (4 sources)

KJV Study Commentary

<strong>And he built there an altar, and called the place El-beth-el: because there God appeared unto him, w...</strong> This passage belongs to the Jacob narratives which demonstrate God's sovereign election overriding human merit and the transformation of a deceiver into Israel, the father of the twelve tribes. The Jacob cycle shows how divine purposes advance through flawed individuals whom God...
Read full commentary →

Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(7) **El-beth-el.**—That is, *the God of the house of God: *the God into whose house he had been admitted, and seen there the wonders of His providence. **God appeared.**—The verb here, contrary to rule, is plural (see Note on Genesis 20:13), but the Samaritan Pentateuch has the singular. No argument can be drawn either way from the versions, as the word for God is singular in them all, and the ve...
Read full commentary →

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

CHAPTER 34 Ge 34:1-31. The Dishonor of Dinah. 1-4. Though freed from foreign troubles, Jacob met with a great domestic calamity in the fall of his only daughter. According to Josephus, she had been attending a festival; but it is highly probable that she had been often and freely mixing in the society of the place and that she, being a simple, inexperienced, and vain young woman, had been flatter...
Read full commentary →

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 6-15** The comfort the saints have in holy ordinances, is not so much from Beth-el, the house of God, as from El-beth-el, the God of the house. The ordinances are empty things, if we do not meet with God in them. There Jacob buried Deborah, Rebekah's nurse. She died much lamented. Old servants in a family, that have in their time been faithful and useful, ought to be respected. God ap...
Read full commentary →

But Deborah Rebekah's nurse died, and she was buried beneath Bethel under an oak: and the name of it was called Allonbachuth. Allonbachuth: that is, The oak of weeping

View commentary (4 sources)

KJV Study Commentary

<strong>But Deborah Rebekah's nurse died, and she was buried beneath Beth-el under an oak: and the name of i...</strong> This passage belongs to the Jacob narratives which demonstrate God's sovereign election overriding human merit and the transformation of a deceiver into Israel, the father of the twelve tribes. The Jacob cycle shows how divine purposes advance through flawed individuals whom God...
Read full commentary →

Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(8) **Deborah.**—As she was at Hebron with Rebekah when Jacob journeyed to Haran, he must have somehow gone thither before this, have seen his father, and told him of his fortunes. Apparently Rebekah was then dead, and Jacob brought back Deborah with him. (See Note on Genesis 33:18.) How dear she was to them is shown by their calling the tree under which she was buried *the oak of weeping. *This o...
Read full commentary →

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

CHAPTER 34 Ge 34:1-31. The Dishonor of Dinah. 1-4. Though freed from foreign troubles, Jacob met with a great domestic calamity in the fall of his only daughter. According to Josephus, she had been attending a festival; but it is highly probable that she had been often and freely mixing in the society of the place and that she, being a simple, inexperienced, and vain young woman, had been flatter...
Read full commentary →

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 6-15** The comfort the saints have in holy ordinances, is not so much from Beth-el, the house of God, as from El-beth-el, the God of the house. The ordinances are empty things, if we do not meet with God in them. There Jacob buried Deborah, Rebekah's nurse. She died much lamented. Old servants in a family, that have in their time been faithful and useful, ought to be respected. God ap...
Read full commentary →

And God appeared unto Jacob again, when he came out of Padanaram, and blessed him.

View commentary (4 sources)

KJV Study Commentary

<strong>And God appeared unto Jacob again, when he came out of Padan-aram, and blessed him....</strong> This passage belongs to the Jacob narratives which demonstrate God's sovereign election overriding human merit and the transformation of a deceiver into Israel, the father of the twelve tribes. The Jacob cycle shows how divine purposes advance through flawed individuals whom God graciously trans...
Read full commentary →

Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(9) **When he came out of Padan-aram.**—The word “out” is not in the Hebrew, which says, *on his coming from*—that is, on his arrival at Beth-el from Padan-aram. The insertion of the word “out” lends to a confusion with the revelation recorded in Genesis 31:3. At Beth-el Jacob, when going forth, had seen the dream which assured him of Divine protection; at Beth-el, on his return, God renews the co...
Read full commentary →

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

CHAPTER 34 Ge 34:1-31. The Dishonor of Dinah. 1-4. Though freed from foreign troubles, Jacob met with a great domestic calamity in the fall of his only daughter. According to Josephus, she had been attending a festival; but it is highly probable that she had been often and freely mixing in the society of the place and that she, being a simple, inexperienced, and vain young woman, had been flatter...
Read full commentary →

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 6-15** The comfort the saints have in holy ordinances, is not so much from Beth-el, the house of God, as from El-beth-el, the God of the house. The ordinances are empty things, if we do not meet with God in them. There Jacob buried Deborah, Rebekah's nurse. She died much lamented. Old servants in a family, that have in their time been faithful and useful, ought to be respected. God ap...
Read full commentary →

And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and he called his name Israel.

View commentary (3 sources)

KJV Study Commentary

<strong>And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel sh...</strong> This passage belongs to the Jacob narratives which demonstrate God's sovereign election overriding human merit and the transformation of a deceiver into Israel, the father of the twelve tribes. The Jacob cycle shows how divine purposes advance through flawed individuals whom God...
Read full commentary →

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

CHAPTER 34 Ge 34:1-31. The Dishonor of Dinah. 1-4. Though freed from foreign troubles, Jacob met with a great domestic calamity in the fall of his only daughter. According to Josephus, she had been attending a festival; but it is highly probable that she had been often and freely mixing in the society of the place and that she, being a simple, inexperienced, and vain young woman, had been flatter...
Read full commentary →

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 6-15** The comfort the saints have in holy ordinances, is not so much from Beth-el, the house of God, as from El-beth-el, the God of the house. The ordinances are empty things, if we do not meet with God in them. There Jacob buried Deborah, Rebekah's nurse. She died much lamented. Old servants in a family, that have in their time been faithful and useful, ought to be respected. God ap...
Read full commentary →

And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins;

View commentary (4 sources)

KJV Study Commentary

<strong>And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nation...</strong> This passage belongs to the Jacob narratives which demonstrate God's sovereign election overriding human merit and the transformation of a deceiver into Israel, the father of the twelve tribes. The Jacob cycle shows how divine purposes advance through flawed individuals whom God...
Read full commentary →

Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(11) **God Almighty.**—Heb., *El-shaddai, *the name by which God had entered into the covenant with Abraham (Genesis 17:1). **A company.**—Heb., *a congregation of nations. *(See Genesis 28:3, where it is “a congregation,” or church, “of peoples.”)

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**5. Jacob held his peace--**Jacob, as a father and a good man, must have been deeply distressed. But he could do little. In the case of a family by different wives, it is not the father, but the full brothers, on whom the protection of the daughters devolves--they are the guardians of a sister's welfare and the avengers of her wrongs. It was for this reason that Simeon and Levi, the two brothers ...
Read full commentary →

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 6-15** The comfort the saints have in holy ordinances, is not so much from Beth-el, the house of God, as from El-beth-el, the God of the house. The ordinances are empty things, if we do not meet with God in them. There Jacob buried Deborah, Rebekah's nurse. She died much lamented. Old servants in a family, that have in their time been faithful and useful, ought to be respected. God ap...
Read full commentary →

And the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land.

View commentary (3 sources)

KJV Study Commentary

<strong>And the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will...</strong> This passage belongs to the Jacob narratives which demonstrate God's sovereign election overriding human merit and the transformation of a deceiver into Israel, the father of the twelve tribes. The Jacob cycle shows how divine purposes advance through flawed individuals whom God...
Read full commentary →

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**6. Hamor--**that is, "ass"; and it is a striking proof of the very different ideas which, in the East, are associated with that animal, which there appears sprightly, well proportioned, and of great activity. This chief is called Emmor (Ac 7:16).

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 6-15** The comfort the saints have in holy ordinances, is not so much from Beth-el, the house of God, as from El-beth-el, the God of the house. The ordinances are empty things, if we do not meet with God in them. There Jacob buried Deborah, Rebekah's nurse. She died much lamented. Old servants in a family, that have in their time been faithful and useful, ought to be respected. God ap...
Read full commentary →

And God went up from him in the place where he talked with him.

View commentary (4 sources)

KJV Study Commentary

<strong>And God went up from him in the place where he talked with him....</strong> This passage belongs to the Jacob narratives which demonstrate God's sovereign election overriding human merit and the transformation of a deceiver into Israel, the father of the twelve tribes. The Jacob cycle shows how divine purposes advance through flawed individuals whom God graciously transforms.<br><br>Key th...
Read full commentary →

Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(13) **God went up from him.**—This formula, used before in Genesis 17:22; Genesis 18:33, shows that this manifestation of God’s presence was more solemn than any of those previous occasions upon which the Deity had revealed Himself to Jacob. It was, in fact, the acknowledgment of the patriarch as the heir of the Abrahamic covenant.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**7. the men were grieved, and ... very wroth--**Good men in such a case could not but grieve; but it would have been well if their anger had been less, or that they had known the precept "let not the sun go down upon your wrath" [Ep 4:26]. No injury can justify revenge (De 32:35; Ro 12:9); but Jacob's sons planned a scheme of revenge in the most deceitful manner.

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 6-15** The comfort the saints have in holy ordinances, is not so much from Beth-el, the house of God, as from El-beth-el, the God of the house. The ordinances are empty things, if we do not meet with God in them. There Jacob buried Deborah, Rebekah's nurse. She died much lamented. Old servants in a family, that have in their time been faithful and useful, ought to be respected. God ap...
Read full commentary →

And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he talked with him, even a pillar of stone: and he poured a drink offering thereon, and he poured oil thereon.

View commentary (4 sources)

KJV Study Commentary

<strong>And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he talked with him, even a pillar of stone: and he pour...</strong> This passage belongs to the Jacob narratives which demonstrate God's sovereign election overriding human merit and the transformation of a deceiver into Israel, the father of the twelve tribes. The Jacob cycle shows how divine purposes advance through flawed individuals whom God...
Read full commentary →

Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(14) **Jacob set up a pillar.**—In doing this Jacob was imitating his previous action when God manifested Himself to him in his journey to Haran, Genesis 28:18. This consecration of it by pouring on it oil, and offering to God a drink-offering, was in itself natural and right. But as these memorial pillars were subsequently worshipped, they were expressly forbidden by the Mosaic Law, the word corr...
Read full commentary →

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**8-10. Hamor communed with them--**The prince and his son seem at first sight to have acted honestly, and our feelings are enlisted on their side. They betray no jealousy of the powerful shepherds; on the contrary, they show every desire to establish friendly intercourse. But their conduct was unjustifiable in neither expressing regret nor restoring Dinah to her family; and this great error was t...
Read full commentary →

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 6-15** The comfort the saints have in holy ordinances, is not so much from Beth-el, the house of God, as from El-beth-el, the God of the house. The ordinances are empty things, if we do not meet with God in them. There Jacob buried Deborah, Rebekah's nurse. She died much lamented. Old servants in a family, that have in their time been faithful and useful, ought to be respected. God ap...
Read full commentary →

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

View commentary (4 sources)

KJV Study Commentary

<strong>And Jacob called the name of the place where God spake with him, Beth-el....</strong> This passage belongs to the Jacob narratives which demonstrate God's sovereign election overriding human merit and the transformation of a deceiver into Israel, the father of the twelve tribes. The Jacob cycle shows how divine purposes advance through flawed individuals whom God graciously transforms.<br>...
Read full commentary →

Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(15) **Jacob called . . . —**See Genesis 28:19. The name had, of course, remained unknown and unused, as what then passed had been confined to Jacob’s own inward consciousness. He now teaches the name to his family, explains the reason why he first gave it, and requires them to employ it. But with so grand a beginning the town was debased to unholy uses, and from being Beth-el, *the house of God, ...
Read full commentary →

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**8-10. Hamor communed with them--**The prince and his son seem at first sight to have acted honestly, and our feelings are enlisted on their side. They betray no jealousy of the powerful shepherds; on the contrary, they show every desire to establish friendly intercourse. But their conduct was unjustifiable in neither expressing regret nor restoring Dinah to her family; and this great error was t...
Read full commentary →

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 6-15** The comfort the saints have in holy ordinances, is not so much from Beth-el, the house of God, as from El-beth-el, the God of the house. The ordinances are empty things, if we do not meet with God in them. There Jacob buried Deborah, Rebekah's nurse. She died much lamented. Old servants in a family, that have in their time been faithful and useful, ought to be respected. God ap...
Read full commentary →

The Death of Rachel

And they journeyed from Bethel; and there was but a little way to come to Ephrath: and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labour. a little: Heb. a little piece of ground

View commentary (4 sources)

KJV Study Commentary

<strong>And they journeyed from Beth-el; and there was but a little way to come to Ephrath: and Rachel trava...</strong> This passage belongs to the Jacob narratives which demonstrate God's sovereign election overriding human merit and the transformation of a deceiver into Israel, the father of the twelve tribes. The Jacob cycle shows how divine purposes advance through flawed individuals whom God...
Read full commentary →

Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(16) **But a little way.**—Heb., *and there was still a “chibrath”* *of land to come to Ephrath. *This word occurs four times in the Old Testament: here, in Genesis 48:7, in 2Kings 5:19, and in Amos 9:9, where it is used in the sense of a *sieve. *Many of the Rabbins, therefore, translate “in the spring-time,” because the earth is then riddled by the plough like a sieve; and the Targum and Vulgate...
Read full commentary →

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**8-10. Hamor communed with them--**The prince and his son seem at first sight to have acted honestly, and our feelings are enlisted on their side. They betray no jealousy of the powerful shepherds; on the contrary, they show every desire to establish friendly intercourse. But their conduct was unjustifiable in neither expressing regret nor restoring Dinah to her family; and this great error was t...
Read full commentary →

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 16-20** Rachel had passionately said, Give me children, or else I die; and now that she had children, she died! The death of the body is but the departure of the soul to the world of spirits. When shall we learn that it is God alone who really knows what is best for his people, and that in all worldly affairs the safest path for the Christian is to say from the heart, It is the Lord, ...
Read full commentary →

And it came to pass, when she was in hard labour, that the midwife said unto her, Fear not; thou shalt have this son also.

View commentary (3 sources)

KJV Study Commentary

<strong>And it came to pass, when she was in hard labour, that the midwife said unto her, Fear not; thou sha...</strong> This passage belongs to the Jacob narratives which demonstrate God's sovereign election overriding human merit and the transformation of a deceiver into Israel, the father of the twelve tribes. The Jacob cycle shows how divine purposes advance through flawed individuals whom God...
Read full commentary →

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**11. Shechem said unto her father ... and brethren--**The consideration of the proposal for marriage belonged to Jacob, and he certainly showed great weakness in yielding so much to the fiery impetuosity of his sons. The sequel shows the unhappy consequences of that concession.

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 16-20** Rachel had passionately said, Give me children, or else I die; and now that she had children, she died! The death of the body is but the departure of the soul to the world of spirits. When shall we learn that it is God alone who really knows what is best for his people, and that in all worldly affairs the safest path for the Christian is to say from the heart, It is the Lord, ...
Read full commentary →

And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni: but his father called him Benjamin. Benoni: that is, The son of my sorrow Benjamin: that is, The son of the right hand

View commentary (4 sources)

KJV Study Commentary

<strong>And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Ben-oni: ...</strong> This passage belongs to the Jacob narratives which demonstrate God's sovereign election overriding human merit and the transformation of a deceiver into Israel, the father of the twelve tribes. The Jacob cycle shows how divine purposes advance through flawed individuals whom God...
Read full commentary →

Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(18) **Ben-oni . . . Benjamin.**—Rachel, in her dying moments, names her child *the son of my sorrow; *for though *on *has a double meaning, and is translated *strength *in Genesis 49:3, yet, doubtless, her feeling was that the life of her offspring was purchased by her own pain and death. Jacob’s name, “son of the right hand,” was probably given not merely that the child might-bear no ill-omened ...
Read full commentary →

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**12. Ask me never so much dowry and gift--**The gift refers to the presents made at betrothal, both to the bride elect and her relations (compare Ge 24:53), the dowry to a suitable settlement upon her.

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 16-20** Rachel had passionately said, Give me children, or else I die; and now that she had children, she died! The death of the body is but the departure of the soul to the world of spirits. When shall we learn that it is God alone who really knows what is best for his people, and that in all worldly affairs the safest path for the Christian is to say from the heart, It is the Lord, ...
Read full commentary →

And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem.

View commentary (3 sources)

KJV Study Commentary

<strong>And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Beth-lehem....</strong> This passage belongs to the Jacob narratives which demonstrate God's sovereign election overriding human merit and the transformation of a deceiver into Israel, the father of the twelve tribes. The Jacob cycle shows how divine purposes advance through flawed individuals whom God graciously transforms.<b...
Read full commentary →

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**13. The sons of Jacob answered--**The honor of their family consisted in having the sign of the covenant. Circumcision was the external rite by which persons were admitted members of the ancient Church. But that outward rite could not make the Shechemites true Israelites; and yet it does not appear that Jacob's sons required anything more. Nothing is said of their teaching the people to worship ...
Read full commentary →

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 16-20** Rachel had passionately said, Give me children, or else I die; and now that she had children, she died! The death of the body is but the departure of the soul to the world of spirits. When shall we learn that it is God alone who really knows what is best for his people, and that in all worldly affairs the safest path for the Christian is to say from the heart, It is the Lord, ...
Read full commentary →

And Jacob set a pillar upon her grave: that is the pillar of Rachel's grave unto this day.

View commentary (3 sources)

KJV Study Commentary

<strong>And Jacob set a pillar upon her grave: that is the pillar of Rachel's grave unto this day....</strong> This passage belongs to the Jacob narratives which demonstrate God's sovereign election overriding human merit and the transformation of a deceiver into Israel, the father of the twelve tribes. The Jacob cycle shows how divine purposes advance through flawed individuals whom God graciousl...
Read full commentary →

Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(20) **That is the pillar of Rachel’s grave unto this day.**—This is a later addition, but whether inserted by Moses or Ezra we cannot tell. Its site was known in the days of Samuel (1Samuel 10:2); and as the pillar would be a mass of unwrought stone, with which the natives would have no object in interfering, its identification upon the conquest of Canaan would not be difficult.

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 16-20** Rachel had passionately said, Give me children, or else I die; and now that she had children, she died! The death of the body is but the departure of the soul to the world of spirits. When shall we learn that it is God alone who really knows what is best for his people, and that in all worldly affairs the safest path for the Christian is to say from the heart, It is the Lord, ...
Read full commentary →

And Israel journeyed, and spread his tent beyond the tower of Edar.

View commentary (3 sources)

KJV Study Commentary

<strong>And Israel journeyed, and spread his tent beyond the tower of Edar....</strong> This passage belongs to the Jacob narratives which demonstrate God's sovereign election overriding human merit and the transformation of a deceiver into Israel, the father of the twelve tribes. The Jacob cycle shows how divine purposes advance through flawed individuals whom God graciously transforms.<br><br>Ke...
Read full commentary →

Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(21) **The tower of Edar.**—Heb., *Eder. *Micah (Genesis 4:8) calls it “the hill of the daughter of Zion;” but the word used often means a beacon-hill, a hill on which a tower for observation is erected, wrongly translated in the Authorised Version *a stronghold. *The tower may, therefore, have been a few miles south of Jerusalem; and as the word “beyond” includes the idea of *up to, as far *as, t...
Read full commentary →

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 21-29** What a sore affliction Reuben's sin was, is shown, "and Israel heard it." No more is said, but that is enough. Reuben thought that his father would never hear of it; but those that promise themselves secrecy in sin, are generally disappointed. The age and death of Isaac are recorded, though he died not till after Joseph was sold into Egypt. Isaac lived about forty years after ...
Read full commentary →

And it came to pass, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine: and Israel heard it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve :

View commentary (3 sources)

KJV Study Commentary

<strong>And it came to pass, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father...</strong> This passage belongs to the Jacob narratives which demonstrate God's sovereign election overriding human merit and the transformation of a deceiver into Israel, the father of the twelve tribes. The Jacob cycle shows how divine purposes advance through flawed individuals whom God...
Read full commentary →

Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(22) **Reuben.**—Again another grief for Jacob to mar his return home, and this time it arises from the sin of his first-born, who thereby forfeits the birthright. It was the thought of these miseries, following upon his long years of exile, which made Jacob speak so sorrowfully of his experience of life before Pharaoh (Genesis 47:9). **And Israel heard it.**—The Masora notes that some words have ...
Read full commentary →

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 21-29** What a sore affliction Reuben's sin was, is shown, "and Israel heard it." No more is said, but that is enough. Reuben thought that his father would never hear of it; but those that promise themselves secrecy in sin, are generally disappointed. The age and death of Isaac are recorded, though he died not till after Joseph was sold into Egypt. Isaac lived about forty years after ...
Read full commentary →

The sons of Leah; Reuben, Jacob's firstborn, and Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Zebulun:

View commentary (2 sources)

KJV Study Commentary

<strong>The sons of Leah; Reuben, Jacob's firstborn, and Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Zebu...</strong> This passage belongs to the Jacob narratives which demonstrate God's sovereign election overriding human merit and the transformation of a deceiver into Israel, the father of the twelve tribes. The Jacob cycle shows how divine purposes advance through flawed individuals whom God...
Read full commentary →

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 21-29** What a sore affliction Reuben's sin was, is shown, "and Israel heard it." No more is said, but that is enough. Reuben thought that his father would never hear of it; but those that promise themselves secrecy in sin, are generally disappointed. The age and death of Isaac are recorded, though he died not till after Joseph was sold into Egypt. Isaac lived about forty years after ...
Read full commentary →

The sons of Rachel; Joseph, and Benjamin:

View commentary (2 sources)

KJV Study Commentary

<strong>The sons of Rachel; Joseph, and Benjamin:...</strong> This passage belongs to the Jacob narratives which demonstrate God's sovereign election overriding human merit and the transformation of a deceiver into Israel, the father of the twelve tribes. The Jacob cycle shows how divine purposes advance through flawed individuals whom God graciously transforms.<br><br>Key themes include God's sov...
Read full commentary →

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 21-29** What a sore affliction Reuben's sin was, is shown, "and Israel heard it." No more is said, but that is enough. Reuben thought that his father would never hear of it; but those that promise themselves secrecy in sin, are generally disappointed. The age and death of Isaac are recorded, though he died not till after Joseph was sold into Egypt. Isaac lived about forty years after ...
Read full commentary →

And the sons of Bilhah, Rachel's handmaid; Dan, and Naphtali:

View commentary (2 sources)

KJV Study Commentary

<strong>And the sons of Bilhah, Rachel's handmaid; Dan, and Naphtali:...</strong> This passage belongs to the Jacob narratives which demonstrate God's sovereign election overriding human merit and the transformation of a deceiver into Israel, the father of the twelve tribes. The Jacob cycle shows how divine purposes advance through flawed individuals whom God graciously transforms.<br><br>Key them...
Read full commentary →

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 21-29** What a sore affliction Reuben's sin was, is shown, "and Israel heard it." No more is said, but that is enough. Reuben thought that his father would never hear of it; but those that promise themselves secrecy in sin, are generally disappointed. The age and death of Isaac are recorded, though he died not till after Joseph was sold into Egypt. Isaac lived about forty years after ...
Read full commentary →

And the sons of Zilpah, Leah's handmaid; Gad, and Asher: these are the sons of Jacob, which were born to him in Padanaram.

View commentary (4 sources)

KJV Study Commentary

<strong>And the sons of Zilpah, Leah's handmaid; Gad, and Asher: these are the sons of Jacob, which were bor...</strong> This passage belongs to the Jacob narratives which demonstrate God's sovereign election overriding human merit and the transformation of a deceiver into Israel, the father of the twelve tribes. The Jacob cycle shows how divine purposes advance through flawed individuals whom God...
Read full commentary →

Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(26) **In Padan-aram.**—The words are to be taken only generally, as Benjamin was born in Canaan.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**20. Hamor and Shechem ... came unto the gate of their city--**That was the place where every public communication was made; and in the ready obsequious submission of the people to this measure we see an evidence either of the extraordinary affection for the governing family, or of the abject despotism of the East, where the will of a chief is an absolute command.

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 21-29** What a sore affliction Reuben's sin was, is shown, "and Israel heard it." No more is said, but that is enough. Reuben thought that his father would never hear of it; but those that promise themselves secrecy in sin, are generally disappointed. The age and death of Isaac are recorded, though he died not till after Joseph was sold into Egypt. Isaac lived about forty years after ...
Read full commentary →

The Death of Isaac

And Jacob came unto Isaac his father unto Mamre, unto the city of Arbah, which is Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac sojourned.

View commentary (3 sources)

KJV Study Commentary

<strong>And Jacob came unto Isaac his father unto Mamre, unto the city of Arbah, which is Hebron, where Abra...</strong> This passage belongs to the Jacob narratives which demonstrate God's sovereign election overriding human merit and the transformation of a deceiver into Israel, the father of the twelve tribes. The Jacob cycle shows how divine purposes advance through flawed individuals whom God...
Read full commentary →

Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(27) **The city of Arbah, which is Hebron.**—Better rendered *Kirjath-arba *in Genesis 23:2, where see Note.

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 21-29** What a sore affliction Reuben's sin was, is shown, "and Israel heard it." No more is said, but that is enough. Reuben thought that his father would never hear of it; but those that promise themselves secrecy in sin, are generally disappointed. The age and death of Isaac are recorded, though he died not till after Joseph was sold into Egypt. Isaac lived about forty years after ...
Read full commentary →

And the days of Isaac were an hundred and fourscore years.

View commentary (3 sources)

KJV Study Commentary

<strong>And the days of Isaac were an hundred and fourscore years....</strong> This passage belongs to the Jacob narratives which demonstrate God's sovereign election overriding human merit and the transformation of a deceiver into Israel, the father of the twelve tribes. The Jacob cycle shows how divine purposes advance through flawed individuals whom God graciously transforms.<br><br>Key themes ...
Read full commentary →

Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(28) **The days of Isaac were an hundred and fourscore years.**—As Isaac was sixty when his sons were born, Jacob was one hundred and twenty years of age at his father’s death, and one hundred and thirty when he appeared before Pharaoh (Genesis 47:9). Now, as Joseph was seventeen when sold into Egypt (Genesis 37:2), and thirty when raised to power (Genesis 41:46), and as the seven years of plenty ...
Read full commentary →

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 21-29** What a sore affliction Reuben's sin was, is shown, "and Israel heard it." No more is said, but that is enough. Reuben thought that his father would never hear of it; but those that promise themselves secrecy in sin, are generally disappointed. The age and death of Isaac are recorded, though he died not till after Joseph was sold into Egypt. Isaac lived about forty years after ...
Read full commentary →

And Isaac gave up the ghost, and died, and was gathered unto his people, being old and full of days: and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

View commentary (3 sources)

KJV Study Commentary

<strong>And Isaac gave up the ghost, and died, and was gathered unto his people, being old and full of days:...</strong> This passage belongs to the Jacob narratives which demonstrate God's sovereign election overriding human merit and the transformation of a deceiver into Israel, the father of the twelve tribes. The Jacob cycle shows how divine purposes advance through flawed individuals whom God...
Read full commentary →

Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(29) **Esau and Jacob buried him.**—Esau, who apparently still dwelt at Hebron until his father’s death, takes here the precedence as his natural right. But having in previous expeditions learnt the physical advantages of the land of Seir, and the powerlessness of the Horites to resist him, he gives up Hebron to his brother, and migrates with his large wealth to that country. **Ellicott's Commenta...
Read full commentary →

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 21-29** What a sore affliction Reuben's sin was, is shown, "and Israel heard it." No more is said, but that is enough. Reuben thought that his father would never hear of it; but those that promise themselves secrecy in sin, are generally disappointed. The age and death of Isaac are recorded, though he died not till after Joseph was sold into Egypt. Isaac lived about forty years after ...
Read full commentary →

Test Your Knowledge

Continue Your Study