Genesis
Chapter 35
Jacob Returns to Bethel
God said to Jacob: “Go up to Bethel and settle there. Build an altar there to God who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau.”
Jacob said to his family and all those with him: “Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you, purify yourselves, and change your clothes.
We will then go up to Bethel. There, I will make an altar to God who helped me when I was in trouble and who was with me during my journey.”
So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods they had, along with their earrings, and Jacob hid them under the oak near Shechem.
Then they left, and a terror fell on all the surrounding towns, resulting in no one pursuing them.
When Jacob and all those with him arrived at Luz in Canaan—which is Bethel—
he built an altar there and named the place El-Bethel because it was there that God revealed Himself to him while he was fleeing from his brother.
At that time, Rebekah’s nurse, Deborah, passed away and was buried near the oak below Bethel. That is why it was called the Oak of Tears.
God appeared again to Jacob when he arrived from Paddan-aram and blessed him.
And said to him: “Your name is Jacob, but no longer will you be called Jacob, for Israel will be your name.” So he was called Israel.
Then God said to him: “Be fruitful and grow in number! A nation, or rather a group of nations, will come from you.
The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac, I will give to you and your descendants after you.”
Then God left him.
Jacob set up a stone in the place where God had spoken to him, offered a drink offering on it, and poured oil on it.
Jacob named the place where God spoke to him, Bethel.
Birth of Benjamin and Death of Rachel
They moved on from Bethel and were still some distance from Ephrath when Rachel gave birth, and the de-livery was complicated.
When she was in great pain, the midwife said to her: “Courage! For now, you will have another son.”
And as she breathed her last—for she was dying—she called him Ben-oni (which means: son of my pain), but his father named him Benjamin.
So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath—that is Bethlehem—
and Jacob placed a pillar over her tomb, which marks the place of the tomb to this day.
Israel journeyed on and pitched his tent beyond Migdal-eder.
Death of Isaac
While Israel was residing in that region, Reuben went and lay with Bilhah, his father’s concubine, and Israel heard about it.Jacob had twelve sons.
By Leah: Reuben, Jacob’s eldest son, then Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.
The sons by Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin.
The sons by Bilhah, Rachel’s servant: Dan and Naphtali.
The sons of Zilpah, Leah’s servant: Gad and Asher. These were the sons born to Jacob in Paddan-aram.
Jacob returned to his father Isaac at Mamre, also known as Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had lived.
After living for a hundred and eighty years,
Isaac breathed his last and was gathered to his people at a good old age. His sons Esau and Jacob buried him.
Commentaries
Jacob Returns to Bethel.
The necessary withdrawal from Shechem is under divine will: it is God who orders the transfer to Luz. This Canaanite city is named Bethel (15), just as Jacob himself will be given the name Israel (10).
This story holds special significance for the inhabitants of the northern kingdom, as the patriarch Jacob’s passage through Bethel was crucial for them, along with his subsequent settlement there. For the southern kingdom, Beersheba and Hebron are of particular theological significance. It’s essential to recall that when the kingdom was divided (931 B.C.), Jeroboam I departed from Shechem, where the entire population had gathered. His first place of residence was precisely there, where he made gestures reminiscent of his ancestor: he erected an altar and consecrated it to the God of Israel (1 Kgs 12:25-33). In any case, these are legends and traditions that once nourished the Israelite faith and maintained their own identity in a foreign land.
Birth of Benjamin and Death of Rachel.
Life and death walk together. Rachel, Jacob’s first love, must die. For us, her death would hold no special meaning if not for the fact that Jacob himself had sentenced to death whoever had stolen Laban’s amulets and idols (31:32). We know that it was Rachel who stole them, and we also recognize that in the biblical mindset, there is nothing that escapes its just reward. However, the death that must come is preceded by life: Rachel’s last son is born, to whom she assigns a name that alludes to the curse: “Benoni” (Son of my sorrow), revealing in the child’s name the cause of his death (18). Yet, Jacob corrects the first name by giving him Benjamin (Son right-handed), which conveys a better idea of blessing (18). The site of Rachel’s burial is still venerated by the Jews today.
Death of Isaac.
As we prepare to start the history of the sons of Jacob/Israel, the editor or editors inform us of three essential matters:
1. It raises the question of why Reuben was cursed in 49:3f (22), explaining why Reuben, the firstborn of Jacob, did not inherit the blessing and the promises. Neither was Ishmael, Abraham’s firstborn, his heir, nor was Esau Jacob’s heir; a curious fact, but one loaded with theological significance for them.
2. Establishes a comprehensive list of Jacob’s twelve sons, emphasizing their common Aramaic heritage despite having different mothers.
3. It closes the cycle of Isaac, which remains open. Isaac dies old and full of years (29). He is buried by Jacob and Esau, who are reunited here because, despite what has happened between them, the trunk of origin remains common to both, even though their destinies are entirely different. It is important to remember that the number of years is not directly related to quantity, but rather to the quality of life. The number one hundred eighty reinforces the idea of “old and full of years,” allowing him to calmly “reunite with his own.” These phrases provide the calmest and most common acknowledgment of the reality of death in an older person, contrasting with the death of a young person, which is generally seen as a sign of a curse.