and he called that place Bethel, though previously the city had been named Luz.
Parallel translations
- WEB He called the name of that place Bethel, but the name of the city was Luz at the first.
- KJV And he called the name of that place Bethel: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first.
- NKJV And he called the name of that place Bethel; but the name of that city had been Luz previously.
- NASB Then he named that place Bethel; but previously the name of the city had been Luz.
- NLT He named that place Bethel (which means “house of God”), although it was previously called Luz.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jacob names the place Bethel, meaning "house of God," though the city had been called Luz.
Overview
By naming the place Bethel, Jacob enshrines his encounter with God in the very name of the location. The renaming signals that this site now belongs to God's redemptive story rather than its pagan past. Bethel will reappear repeatedly in Israel's history as a place associated with worship and with God's dealings with his people.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Gen 48:3Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and there He blessed me
- Gen 35:1Then God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel, and settle there. Build an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.”
- Hos 12:4–5Yes, he struggled with the angel and prevailed; he wept and sought His favor; he found Him at Bethel and spoke with Him there—
- Judg 1:22–26The house of Joseph also attacked Bethel, and the LORD was with them.
- Hos 4:15Though you prostitute yourself, O Israel, may Judah avoid such guilt! Do not journey to Gilgal, do not go up to Beth-aven, and do not swear on oath, ‘As surely as the LORD lives!’
- Gen 12:8From there Abram moved on to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. There he built an altar to the LORD, and he called on the name of the LORD.
- 1 Kgs 12:29One calf he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan.
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Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 28:19 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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