He erected an altar there, and called it El Elohe Israel.
Parallel translations
- KJV And he erected there an altar, and called it EleloheIsrael.
- BSB There he set up an altar and called it El-Elohe-Israel.
- NKJV Then he erected an altar there and called it El Elohe Israel.
- NASB Then he erected there an altar and called it El-Elohe-Israel.
- NLT And there he built an altar and named it El-Elohe-Israel.
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
Having safely arrived in Canaan, Jacob builds an altar and names it 'El, the God of Israel,' confessing the God who had kept him as his own.
Overview
After his reconciliation with Esau, Jacob settles near Shechem and erects an altar, the first recorded by him in the land of promise. The name 'El Elohe Israel' ('God, the God of Israel') publicly claims the LORD as his covenant God, tying together God's identity with Jacob's new name, Israel. Like Abraham before him, Jacob marks the land with worship, anticipating the day when God's people would worship Him fully through Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Gen 35:7He built an altar there, and called the place El Beth El; because there God was revealed to him, when he fled from the face of his brother.
- Gen 21:33Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and called there on the name of Yahweh, the Everlasting God.
- Gen 32:28He said, “Your name will no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have fought with God and with men, and have prevailed.”
- Gen 8:20Noah built an altar to Yahweh, and took of every clean animal, and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
- Gen 12:7–8Yahweh appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring.” He built an altar there to Yahweh, who had appeared to him.
- Gen 13:18Abram moved his tent, and came and lived by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and built an altar there to Yahweh.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 33:20 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.