And he built there an altar, and called the place Elbethel: because there God appeared unto him, when he fled from the face of his brother.
Parallel translations
- WEB He 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.
- BSB There Jacob built an altar, and he called that place El-bethel, because it was there that God had revealed Himself to Jacob as he fled from his brother.
- NKJV 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.
- NASB Then he built an altar there, and called the place El-bethel, because there God had revealed Himself to him when he fled from his brother.
- NLT Jacob built an altar there and named the place El-bethel (which means “God of Bethel”), because God had appeared to him there when he was fleeing from his brother, Esau.
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 builds an altar and names the place El Bethel, for there God had revealed Himself when he fled Esau.
Overview
Jacob fulfills both God's command and his old vow by erecting an altar at Bethel, naming it 'God of Bethel.' The name honors the God who met him there decades earlier in his flight. This act of worship marks Jacob's spiritual maturing and his grateful acknowledgment of God's faithful presence.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Gen 28:13And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed;
- Gen 35:1And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother.
- Gen 35:3And let us arise, and go up to Bethel; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went.
- Gen 28:22And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God’s house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.
- Gen 28:19And he called the name of that place Bethel: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first.
- Exod 17:15And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovahnissi:
- Ezek 48:35It was round about eighteen thousand measures: and the name of the city from that day shall be, The LORD is there.
- Judg 6:24Then Gideon built an altar there unto the LORD, and called it Jehovahshalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
- Eccl 5:4–5When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.
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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 35:7 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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