Gen 35:1
Then God said to Jacob, "Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there; and make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau your brother.": Not surprisingly, God tells Jacob to move to Bethel. He's also instructed to build an altar there. Bethel is the same place that Abraham had built an altar (Gen 12:8), and it's very possible that the rock Jacob used as a pillow was from that altar. Now, God instructs Jacob to return there and build another altar.
Gen 35:2
And 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.: Jacob's family was worshipping other gods. As you can see, God's promises do not rely on us to do anything. At least Jacob tells everyone to put away the other gods.
Gen 35:3
Then let us arise and go up to Bethel; and I will make an altar there to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me in the way which I have gone.": The reason Jacob told them to put away their gods and purify themselves was because he was about to take them to Bethel (the House of God) and build an altar. This is the same place where Abraham had built an alter, and is likely where Jacob encountered the stairway to Heaven. I think Jacob realized that God had been with him, and it was time to fulfill his vow (Gen 28:20-21).
Gen 35:4
So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods which were in their hands, and the earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the terebinth tree which was by Shechem.: The earrings were different than I expected. From what I could find in commentaries, the earrings had incantations and other spiritual things on them and were used in worship. I expected them to represent being bondslaves to these gods, but I could find nothing that corroborated that belief. The piercing of ears to a door post must have come later.
Gen 35:5
And they journeyed, and the terror of God was upon the cities that were all around them, and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob.: So the cities were angry with what Simeon and Levi had done, but God put fear into them and they didn't attack.
Gen 35:6
So Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him.: This is the same place that Abraham had built an alter, and likely the same place that Jacob saw the stairway to heaven.
Gen 35:7
And he built an altar there and called the place El Bethel, because there God appeared to him when he fled from the face of his brother.: El Bethel means God of Bethel. And Bethel means House of God. So he named it, God of the House of God. He named it after the God that had appeared at the top of the stairway in Heaven. Who was that in Heaven? It was Jesus.
Gen 35:8
Now Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died, and she was buried below Bethel under the terebinth tree. So the name of it was called Allon Bachuth.: Rebekah was Isaac's wife, Jacob's mother. Deborah went with Rebekah when Isaac came to Laban. Allon Bachuth means oak of weeping. Nice to see that they loved her.
Gen 35:9
Then God appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Padan Aram, and blessed him.: Here, Jesus visits Jacob in the flesh, just as he had wrestled with Jacob when he was going to meet up with Esau. This time, instead of Jacob demanding that God bless him, Jesus blesses him.
Gen 35:10
And God said to him, "Your name is Jacob; your name shall not be called Jacob anymore, but Israel shall be your name." So He called his name Israel.: Jacob's name means heel catcher, or supplanter. And the name is related to the character. Jesus changes Jacob's name to Israel. Israel means one who struggles with God. So now, Jacob isn't a supplanter, but one who struggles with God. Hasn't that been the history of Israel?
Gen 35:11
Also God said to him: "I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you, and kings shall come from your body.: God here calls himself the Omnipotent God (Easton Bible Dictionary), El Shaddai. Omnipotent means, "having unlimited power and able to do anything." He then reaffirms His promise to Abraham, and tells Israel to multiply.
Gen 35:12
The land which I gave Abraham and Isaac I give to you; and to your descendants after you I give this land.": God promises the land to Israel. So when someone says that the Palestinians have claim to the land, quote this verse to them.
Gen 35:13
Then God went up from him in the place where He talked with him.: This is the proof text that God appeared in the flesh to Jacob here. Since nobody has seen the Father (Joh 6:46), this must be Jesus. Doesn't this remind you of Act 1:9-12? "Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven." Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey."
Gen 35:14
So Jacob set up a pillar in the place where He talked with him, a pillar of stone; and he poured a drink offering on it, and he poured oil on it.: Interesting that Jacob builds an alter where Jesus was and annoints it with oil. Isa 61:1 "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, Because the Lord has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;"
Gen 35:15
And Jacob called the name of the place where God spoke with him, Bethel.: Bethel means House of God. I find it interesting that names keep changing.
Gen 35:16
Then they journeyed from Bethel. And when there was but a little distance to go to Ephrath, Rachel labored in childbirth, and she had hard labor.: Why did they leave Bethel? God had just told them to go there. Now, the Bible doesn't say that the hard labor was a result, so we mustn't add what the scripture doesn't say. Ephrath was likely a territory and Bethlehem was a location in it. The author of the linked article explains that they would have translated the verse, “while having travelled (only) a short distance on the way to Ephrat.” The NET translation explains why verses 16 and 17 seem almost like they're repeats. They're meant to convey two different stages of her birth. Verse 16 is her starting her labor, while 17 is at it's hardest point.
Gen 35:17
Now it came to pass, when she was in hard labor, that the midwife said to her, "Do not fear; you will have this son also.": Interesting that this is what concerned Rachel at that time. When she was at the hardest point in her labor and was dying, she was concerned about her child. The midwife offered her comfort by telling her that she is having another son, with the sense that the son would survive.
Gen 35:18
And so it was, as her soul was departing (for she died), that she called his name Ben-Oni; but his father called him Benjamin.: As Rachel was dying, she named her son Ben-Oni, which means "son of my sorrow." Thankfully, Israel changes his name to Benjamin, which means "son of my right hand." I couldn't imagine having to go through life being named after the death of my mother in child birth.
Gen 35:19
So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).: They buried her there where she gave birth, on the way to Ephrath, in Bethleham.
Gen 35:20
And Jacob set a pillar on her grave, which is the pillar of Rachel's grave to this day.: There is a structure today named Rache's Tomb, but there's debate about whether it's the real place where Rachel was buried.
Gen 35:21
Then Israel journeyed and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eder.: This location is unknown. According to Smith's Bible Dictionary, no trace of it has been discovered in modern times.
Gen 35:22
And it happened, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine; and Israel heard about it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve: Disgusting, but recorded here because it happened. There's no sugar coating in the Word of God. We do find out later in 1Ch 5:1 that Reuben lost his inheritance because of it. Benjamin was the last of his sons, so he now had 12. Now, I must say that just because the Bible records something doesn't mean that God approves of it. For example, God never approved of Jacob having four women to give birth to sons. The situation with Rachel and Leah is understandable as to why he would have ended up with two, but it was never approved by God. Certainly not his sleeping with his servants. Sometimes with God, we don't always get what we want, and when we go against Him (in my opinion, Jacob should have stuck with Leah, or divorced her due to the deceit on Laban's part), we end up with all kinds of problems. We have seen this over and over already, and it's an established pattern.
Gen 35:23
the sons of Leah were Reuben, Jacob's firstborn, and Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun;: Reuben means behold a son and was Jacob's first son. Simeon means heard. Levi means joined. Judah means praised. Issachar means reward. Zebulun means a habitation.
Gen 35:24
the sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin;: Joseph means increase. Benjamin means son of my right hand. Isn't it interesting that only two were born from Rachel, and one ended in her dying in child birth? I don't believe in coincidences, so it seems to me that although Jacob wanted Rachel, he should have stuck with Leah beause she seemed to have been God's choice.
Gen 35:25
the sons of Bilhah, Rachel's maidservant, were Dan and Naphtali;: This is the Bilhah that slept with Reuben. I found no mention anywhere that Reuben forced her, so it seems consentual. Dan means a judge. Naphtali means wrestling.
Gen 35:26
and the sons of Zilpah, Leah's maidservant, were Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Padan Aram.: Gad means a troop. Asher means happy.
Gen 35:27
Then Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre, or Kirjath Arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had dwelt.: John Wesley supposes that Jacob went to Isaac now because Rebekah had died and he was now alone.
Gen 35:28
Now the days of Isaac were one hundred and eighty years.: Isaac lived the longest of the patriarchs.
Gen 35:29
So Isaac breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people, being old and full of days. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.: Gathered to his people is an interesting phrase. Jesus told a parable in Luk 16:19-31 that gives a picture of what death looked like before the cross.
“There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
“Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’
“Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’ ”
This prase seems to be a reference to where Jacob ended up after death. Also notice that their souls were carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. I do believe that unbelievers still go to where that rich man was, but believers go to Heaven to be with Jesus. Only Jesus has the power to throw souls into hell (Luk 12:5), and that's still a future event (Rev 20:11-15).
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