12 and the land which I have given to Abraham and to Isaac -- to thee I give it, yea to thy seed after thee I give the land.'
And Jehovah appeareth unto Abram, and saith, `To thy seed I give this land;' and he buildeth there an altar to Jehovah, who hath appeared unto him.
and lo, Jehovah is standing upon it, and He saith, `I `am' Jehovah, God of Abraham thy father, and God of Isaac; the land on which thou art lying, to thee I give it, and to thy seed;
sojourn in this land, and I am with thee, and bless thee, for to thee and to thy seed I give all these lands, and I have established the oath which I have sworn to Abraham thy father; and I have multiplied thy seed as stars of the heavens, and I have given to thy seed all these lands; and blessed themselves in thy seed have all nations of the earth;
And Jehovah said unto Abram, after Lot's being parted from him, `Lift up, I pray thee, thine eyes, and look from the place where thou `art', northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward; for the whole of the land which thou are seeing, to thee I give it, and to thy seed -- to the age. And I have set thy seed as dust of the earth, so that, if one is able to number the dust of the earth, even thy seed is numbered; rise, go up and down through the land, to its length, and to its breadth, for to thee I give it.'
In that day hath Jehovah made with Abram a covenant, saying, `To thy seed I have given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Phrat,
and God Almighty doth bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and thou hast become an assembly of peoples; and He doth give to thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee and to thy seed with thee, to cause thee to possess the land of thy sojournings, which God gave to Abraham.'
and saith unto me, Lo, I am making thee fruitful, and have multiplied thee, and given thee for an assembly of peoples, and given this land to thy seed after thee, a possession age-during.
and I go down to deliver it out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to cause it to go up out of the land, unto a land good and broad, unto a land flowing with milk and honey -- unto the place of the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite.
(And Jericho shutteth itself up, and is shut up, because of the presence of the sons of Israel -- none going out, and none coming in;) And Jehovah saith unto Joshua, `See, I have given into thy hand Jericho and its king -- mighty ones of valour, and ye have compassed the city -- all the men of battle -- going round the city once; thus thou dost six days; and seven priests do bear seven trumpets of the jubilee before the ark, and on the seventh day ye compass the city seven times, and the priests blow with the trumpets, and it hath been, in the prolongation of the horn of the jubilee, in your hearing the voice of the trumpet, all the people shout -- a great shout, and the wall of the city hath fallen under it, and the people have gone up, each over-against him.' And Joshua son of Nun calleth unto the priests, and saith unto them, `Bear ye the ark of the covenant, and seven priests do bear seven trumpets of the jubilee before the ark of Jehovah;' and He said unto the people, `Pass over, and compass the city, and he who is armed doth pass over before the ark of Jehovah.' And it cometh to pass, when Joshua speaketh unto the people, that the seven priests bearing seven trumpets of the jubilee before Jehovah have passed over and blown with the trumpets, and the ark of the covenant of Jehovah is going after them; and he who is armed is going before the priests blowing the trumpets, and he who is gathering up is going after the ark, going on and blowing with the trumpets; and the people hath Joshua commanded, saying, `Ye do not shout, nor cause your voice to be heard, nor doth there go out from your mouth a word, till the day of my saying unto you, Shout ye -- then ye have shouted.' And the ark of Jehovah doth compass the city, going round once, and they come into the camp, and lodge in the camp. And Joshua riseth early in the morning, and the priests bear the ark of Jehovah, and seven priests bearing seven trumpets of the jubilee before the ark of Jehovah are walking, going on, and they have blown with the trumpets -- and he who is armed is going before them, and he who is gathering up is going behind the ark of Jehovah -- going on and blowing with the trumpets. And they compass the city on the second day once, and turn back to the camp; thus they have done six days. And it cometh to pass, on the seventh day, that they rise early, at the ascending of the dawn, and compass the city, according to this manner, seven times; (only, on that day they have compassed the city seven times); and it cometh to pass, at the seventh time, the priests have blown with the trumpets, and Joshua saith unto the people, `Shout ye, for Jehovah hath given to you the city; and the city hath been devoted, it and all that `is' in it, to Jehovah; only Rahab the harlot doth live, she and all who `are' with her in the house, for she hid the messengers whom we sent; and surely ye have kept from the devoted thing, lest ye devote `yourselves', and have taken from the devoted thing, and have made the camp of Israel become a devoted thing, and have troubled it; and all the silver and gold, and vessels of brass and iron, holy they `are' to Jehovah; into the treasury of Jehovah they come.' And the people shout, and blow with the trumpets, and it cometh to pass when the people hear the voice of the trumpet, that the people shout -- a great shout, and the wall falleth under it, and the people goeth up into the city, each over-against him, and they capture the city; and they devote all that `is' in the city, from man even unto woman, from young even unto aged, even unto ox, and sheep, and ass, by the mouth of the sword.
On that day there was read in the book of Moses, in the ears of the people, and it hath been found written in it that an Ammonite and Moabite doth not come into the assembly of God -- unto the age, because they have not come before the sons of Israel with bread and with water, and hire against them Balaam to revile them, and our God turneth the reviling into a blessing. And it cometh to pass, at their hearing the law, that they separate all the mixed people from Israel. And before this Eliashib the priest, appointed over chambers of the house of our God, `is' a relation of Tobiah, and he maketh for him a great chamber, and there they were formerly putting the present, the frankincense, and the vessels, and the tithe of the corn, the new wine, and the oil -- the commanded thing of the Levites, and the singers, and the gatekeepers -- and the heave-offering of the priests. And during all this I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty and second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon did I come unto the king, and at the end of days I have asked of the king, and I come in to Jerusalem, and understand concerning the evil that Eliashib hath done for Tobiah, to make to him a chamber in the courts of the house of God, and it is very displeasing to me, and I cast all the vessels of the house of Tobiah without, out of the chamber, and I speak, and they cleanse the chambers, and I bring back thither the vessels of the house of God with the present and the frankincense. And I know that the portions of the Levites have not been given, and they flee each to his field -- the Levites and the singers, doing the work. And I strive with the prefects, and say, `Wherefore hath the house of God been forsaken?' and I gather them, and set them on their station; and all Judah have brought in the tithe of the corn, and of the new wine, and of the oil, to the treasuries. And I appoint treasurers over the treasuries, Shelemiah the priest, and Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah of the Levites; and by their hand `is' Hanan son of Zaccur, son of Mattaniah, for stedfast they have been reckoned, and on them `it is' to give a portion to their brethren. Be mindful of me, O my God, for this, and do not blot out my kind acts that I have done, for the house of my God, and for its charges. In those days I have seen in Judah those treading wine-vats on sabbath, and bringing in the sheaves, and lading on the asses, and also, wine, grapes, and figs, and every burden, yea, they are bringing in to Jerusalem on the sabbath-day, and I testify in the day of their selling provision. And the Tyrians have dwelt in it, bringing in fish, and every ware, and selling on sabbath to the sons of Judah and in Jerusalem. And I strive with the freemen of Judah, and say to them, `What `is' this evil thing that ye are doing, and polluting the sabbath-day? Thus did not your fathers do? and our God bringeth in on us all this evil, and on this city, and ye are adding fierceness on Israel, to pollute the sabbath.' And it cometh to pass, when the gates of Jerusalem have been dark before the sabbath, that I speak, and the doors are shut, and I say, that they do not open them till after the sabbath; and of my servants I have stationed at the gates; there doth not come in a burden on the sabbath-day. And they lodge -- the merchants and sellers of all ware -- at the outside of Jerusalem, once or twice, and I testify against them, and say unto them, `Wherefore are ye lodging over-against the wall? if ye repeat `it', a hand I put forth upon you;' from that time they have not come in on the sabbath. And I say to the Levites, that they be cleansed, and, coming in, keeping the gates, to sanctify the sabbath-day. Also, this, remember for me, O my God, and have pity on me, according to the abundance of Thy kindness. Also, in those days, I have seen the Jews `who' have settled women of Ashdod, of Ammon, of Moab. And of their sons, half are speaking Ashdoditish -- and are not knowing to speak Jewish -- and according to the language of people and people. And I strive with them, and declare them vile, and smite certain of them, and pluck off their hair, and cause them to swear by God, `Ye do not give your daughters to their sons, nor do ye take of their daughters to your sons, and to yourselves. `By these did not Solomon king of Israel sin? and among the many nations there was no king like him, and beloved by his God he was, and God maketh him king over all Israel -- even him did the strange women cause to sin. And to you do we hearken to do all this great evil, to trespass against our God, to settle strange women?' And `one' of the sons of Joiada son of Eliashib the high priest, `is' son-in-law to Sanballat the Horonite, and I cause him to flee from off me. Be mindful of them, O my God, for the redeemed of the priesthood, and the covenant of the priesthood, and of the Levites. And I have cleansed them from every stranger, and appoint charges to priests and to Levites, each in his work, and for the wood-offering at appointed times, and for first-fruits. Be mindful of me, O my God, for good.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Genesis 35
Commentary on Genesis 35 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
Journey to Bethel . - Jacob had allowed ten years to pass since his return from Mesopotamia, without performing the vow which he made at Bethel when fleeing from Esau (Genesis 28:20.), although he had recalled it to mind when resolving to return (Genesis 31:13), and had also erected an altar in Shechem to the “God of Israel” (Genesis 33:20). He was now directed by God (Genesis 35:1) to go to Bethel, and there build an altar to the God who had appeared to him on his flight from Esau. This command stirred him up to perform what had been neglected, viz., to put away from his house the strange gods, which he had tolerated in weak consideration for his wives, and which had no doubt occasioned the long neglect, and to pay to God the vow that he had made in the day of his trouble. He therefore commanded his house (Genesis 35:2, Genesis 35:3), i.e., his wives and children, and “ all that were with him, ” i.e., his men and maid-servants, to put away the strange gods, to purify themselves, and wash their clothes. He also buried “all the strange gods,” i.e., Rachel's teraphim (Genesis 31:19), and whatever other idols there were, with the earrings which were worn as amulets and charms, “ under the terebinth at Shechem, ” probably the very tree under which Abraham once pitched his tent (Genesis 12:6), and which was regarded as a sacred place in Joshua's time (vid., Joshua 24:26, though the pointing is אלּה there). The burial of the idols was followed by purification through the washing of the body, as a sign of the purification of the heart from the defilement of idolatry, and by the putting on of clean and festal clothes, as a symbol of the sanctification and elevation of the heart to the Lord (Joshua 24:23). This decided turning to the Lord was immediately followed by the blessing of God. When they left Shechem a “ terror of God, ” i.e., a supernatural terror, “ came upon the cities round about, ” so that they did not venture to pursue the sons of Jacob on account of the cruelty of Simeon and Levi (Genesis 35:5). Having safely arrived in Bethel, Jacob built an altar, which he called El Bethel (God of Bethel) in remembrance of the manifestation of God on His flight from Esau.
There Deborah , Rebekah's nurse, died, and was buried below Bethel under an oak, which was henceforth called the “oak of weeping,” a mourning oak, from the grief of Jacob's house on account of her death. Deborah had either been sent by Rebekah to take care of her daughters-in-law and grandsons, or had gone of her own accord into Jacob's household after the death of her mistress. The mourning at her death, and the perpetuation of her memory, are proofs that she must have been a faithful and highly esteemed servant in Jacob's house.
The Fresh Revelation at Bethel. - After Jacob had performed his vow by erecting the altar at Bethel, God appeared to him again there (“ again, ” referring to Gen 28), “ on his coming out of Padan-Aram, ” as He had appeared to him 30 years before on his journey thither, - though it was then in a dream, now by daylight in a visible form (cf. Genesis 35:13, “ God went up from him ”). The gloom of that day of fear had now brightened into the clear daylight of salvation. This appearance was the answer, which God gave to Jacob on his acknowledgement of Him; and its reality is thereby established, in opposition to the conjecture that it is merely a legendary repetition of the previous vision.
(Note: This conjecture derives no support from the fact that the manifestations of God are ascribed to Elohim in Genesis 35:1 and Genesis 35:9., although the whole chapter treats of the display of mercy by the covenant God, i.e., Jehovah . For the occurrence of Elohim instead of Jehovah in Genesis 35:1 may be explained, partly from the antithesis of God and man (because Jacob , the man, had neglected to redeem his vow, it was necessary that he should be reminded of it by God), and partly from the fact that there is no allusion to any appearance of God, but the words “God said” are to be understood, no doubt, as relating to an inward communication. The use of Elohim in Genesis 35:9. follows naturally from the injunction of Elohim in Genesis 35:1; and there was the less necessity for an express designation of the God appearing as Jehovah , because, on the one hand, the object of this appearance was simply to renew and confirm the former appearance of Jehovah (Genesis 28:12.), and on the other hand, the title assumed in Genesis 35:11, El Shaddai , refers to Genesis 27:1, where Jehovah announces Himself to Abram as El Shaddai .)
The former theophany had promised to Jacob divine protection in a foreign land and restoration to his home, on the ground of his call to be the bearer of the blessings of salvation. This promise God had fulfilled, and Jacob therefore performed his vow. On the strength of this, God now confirmed to him the name of Israel, which He had already given him in Genesis 32:28, and with it the promised of a numerous seed and the possession of Canaan, which, so far as the form and substance are concerned, points back rather to Genesis 17:6 and Genesis 17:8 than to Genesis 28:13-14, and for the fulfilment of which, commencing with the birth of his sons and his return to Canaan, and stretching forward to the most remote future, the name of Israel was to furnish him with a pledge. - Jacob alluded to this second manifestation of God at Bethel towards the close of his life (Genesis 48:3-4); and Hosea (Hosea 12:4) represents it as the result of his wrestling with God. The remembrance of this appearance Jacob transmitted to his descendants by erecting a memorial stone, which he not only anointed with oil like the former one in Genesis 28:17, but consecrated by a drink-offering and by the renewal of the name Bethel.
Birth of Benjamin and Death of Rachel. - Jacob's departure from Bethel was not in opposition to the divine command, “dwell there” (Genesis 35:1). For the word שׁב does not enjoin a permanent abode; but, when taken in connection with what follows, “make there an altar,” it merely directs him to stay there and perform his vow. As they were travelling forward, Rachel was taken in labour not far from Ephratah. הארץ כּברת is a space, answering probably to the Persian parassang, though the real meaning of כּברה is unknown. The birth was a difficult one. בּלדתּהּ תּקשׁ : she had difficulty in her labour (instead of Piel we find Hiphil in Genesis 35:17 with the same signification). The midwife comforted her by saying: “ Fear not, for this also is to thee a son, ” - a wish expressed by her when Joseph was born (Genesis 30:24). But she expired; and as she was dying, she called him Been-oni , “son of my pain.” Jacob, however, called him Ben-jamin , probably son of good fortune, according to the meaning of the word jamin sustained by the Arabic, to indicate that his pain at the loss of his favourite wife was compensated by the birth of this son, who now completed the number twelve. Other explanations are less simple. He buried Rachel on the road to Ephratah, or Ephrath (probably the fertile, from פּרה ), i.e., Bethlehem (bread-house), by which name it is better known, though the origin of it is obscure. He also erected a monument over her grave ( מצּבה , στήλη ), on which the historian observes, “ This is the pillar of Rachel's grave unto this day: ” a remark which does not necessarily point to a post-Mosaic period, but which could easily have been made even 10 or 20 years after its erection. For the fact that a grave-stone had been preserved upon the high road in a foreign land, the inhabitants of which had no interest whatever in it, might appear worthy of notice even though only a single decennary had passed away.
(Note: But even if this Mazzebah was really preserved till the conquest of Canaan by the Israelites, i.e., more than 450 years, and the remark referred to that time, it might be an interpolation by a later hand. The grave was certainly a well-known spot in Samuel's time (1 Samuel 10:2); but a monumentum ubi Rachel posita est uxor Jacob is first mentioned again by the Bordeaux pilgrims of a.d. 333 and Jerome . The Kubbet Rahil (Rachel's grave), which is now shown about half an hour's journey to the north of Bethlehem, to the right of the road from Jerusalem to Hebron, is merely “an ordinary Muslim wely, or tomb of a holy person, a small square building of stone with a dome, and within it a tomb in the ordinary Mohammedan form” (Rob. Pal. 1, p. 322). It has been recently enlarged by a square court with high walls and arches on the eastern side (Rob. Bibl. Researches. p. 357). Now although this grave is not ancient, the correctness of the tradition, which fixes upon this as the site of Rachel's grave, cannot on the whole be disputed. At any rate, the reasons assigned to the contrary by Thenius , Kurtz , and others are not conclusive.)
Genesis 35:21-22
Reuben's Incest. - As they travelled onward, Jacob pitched his tent on the other side of Migdal Eder , where Reuben committed incest with Bilhah, his father's concubine. It is merely alluded to her in the passing remark that Israel heard it, by way of preparation for Genesis 49:4. Migdal Eder (flock-tower) was a watch-tower built for the protection of flocks against robbers (cf. 2 Kings 18:8; 2 Chronicles 26:10; 2 Chronicles 27:4) on the other side of Bethlehem, but hardly within 1000 paces of the town, where it has been placed by tradition since the time of Jerome. The piska in the middle of Genesis 35:22 does not indicate a gap in the text, but the conclusion of a parashah , a division of the text of greater antiquity and greater correctness than the Masoretic division.
Genesis 35:22-29
Jacob's Return to His Father's House, and Death of Isaac. - Jacob had left his father's house with no other possession than a staff, and now he returned with 12 sons. Thus had he been blessed by the faithful covenant God. To show this, the account of his arrival in his father's tent at Hebron is preceded by a list of his 12 sons, arranged according to their respective mothers; and this list is closed with the remark, “ These are the sons of Jacob, which were born to him in Padan-Aram ” ( ילּד for ילּדוּ ; Ges. §143, 1), although Benjamin, the twelfth, was not born in Padan-Aram, but on the journey back.
Jacob's arrival in “ Mamre Kirjath-Arbah, ” i.e., in the terebinth-grove of Mamre (Genesis 13:18) by Kirjath-Arbah or Hebron (vid., Genesis 23:2), constituted his entrance into his father's house, to remain there as Isaac's heir. He had probably visited his father during the ten years that had elapsed since his return from Mesopotamia, though no allusion is made to this, since such visits would have no importance, either in themselves or their consequences, in connection with the sacred history. This was not the case, however, with his return to enter upon the family inheritance. With this, therefore, the history of Isaac's life is brought to a close. Isaac died at the age of 180, and was buried by his two sons in the cave of Machpelah (Genesis 49:31), Abraham's family grave, Esau having come from Seir to Hebron to attend the funeral of his father. But Isaac's death did not actually take place for 12 years after Jacob's return to Hebron. For as Joseph was 17 years old when he was sold by his brethren (Genesis 37:2), and Jacob was then living at Hebron (Genesis 37:14), it cannot have been more than 31 years after his flight from Esau when Jacob returned home (cf. Genesis 34:1). Now since, according to our calculation at Genesis 27:1, he was 77 years old when he fled, he must have been 108 when he returned home; and Isaac would only have reached his 168th year, as he was 60 years old when Jacob was born (Genesis 25:26). Consequently Isaac lived to witness the grief of Jacob at the loss of Joseph, and died but a short time before his promotion in Egypt, which occurred 13 years after he was sold (Genesis 41:46), and only 10 years before Jacob's removal with his family to Egypt, as Jacob was 130 years old when he was presented to Pharaoh (Genesis 47:9). But the historical significance of his life was at an end, when Jacob returned home with his twelve sons.