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Genesis 35

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Part of Isaac and Jacob📖 Genesis introduction

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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.” ✦ 2So Jacob told his household and all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods that are among you. Purify yourselves and change your garments. ✦ 3Then let us arise and go to Bethel. I will build an altar there to God, who answered me in my day of distress. He has been with me wherever I have gone.” ✦ 4So they gave Jacob all their foreign gods and all their earrings, and Jacob buried them under the oak near Shechem. ✦ 5As they set out, a terror from God fell over the surrounding cities, so that they did not pursue Jacob’s sons. ✦ 6So Jacob and everyone with him arrived in Luz (that is, Bethel) in the land of Canaan. ✦ 7There 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. ✦ 8Now Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died and was buried under the oak below Bethel. So Jacob named it Allon-bachuth. ✦ 9After Jacob had returned from Paddan-aram, God appeared to him again and blessed him. ✦ 10And God said to him, “Though your name is Jacob, you will no longer be called Jacob. Instead, your name will be Israel.” So God named him Israel. ✦ 11And God told him, “I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply. A nation—even a company of nations—shall come from you, and kings shall descend from you. ✦ 12The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you.” ✦ 13Then God went up from the place where He had spoken with him. ✦ 14So Jacob set up a pillar in the place where God had spoken with him—a stone marker—and he poured out a drink offering on it and anointed it with oil. ✦ 15Jacob called the place where God had spoken with him Bethel. ✦ 16Later, they set out from Bethel, and while they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth, and her labor was difficult. ✦ 17During her severe labor, the midwife said to her, “Do not be afraid, for you are having another son.” ✦ 18And with her last breath—for she was dying—she named him Ben-oni. But his father called him Benjamin. ✦ 19So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). ✦ 20Jacob set up a pillar on her grave; it marks Rachel’s tomb to this day. ✦ 21Israel again set out and pitched his tent beyond the Tower of Eder. ✦ 22While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went in and slept with his father’s concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard about it. Jacob had twelve sons: ✦ 23The sons of Leah were Reuben the firstborn of Jacob, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. ✦ 24The sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin. ✦ 25The sons of Rachel’s maidservant Bilhah were Dan and Naphtali. ✦ 26And the sons of Leah’s maidservant Zilpah were Gad and Asher. These are the sons of Jacob, who were born to him in Paddan-aram. ✦ 27Jacob returned to his father Isaac at Mamre, near Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had stayed. ✦ 28And Isaac lived 180 years. ✦ 29Then he breathed his last and died and was gathered to his people, old and full of years. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him. ✦

Tap any verse for its study page. Underlined terms mark a concept, person, or place; ✦ marks verses with cross-references.

Where this chapter connects

Gen 28 ·18Gen 35 ·12Gen 31 ·10Gen 46 ·7Gen 17 ·7Gen 30 ·7Gen 18 ·6Matt 2 ·6

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 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.

Resources, by level

Lay

  • ★ Start hereDocumentaryExpedition BibleJoel Kramer · Free · evangelical

    On-location biblical archaeology from a credentialed archaeologist (M.A., excavated in Israel) — the best free place to start on "did it really happen?"

  • ★ Start hereAudioThrough the WordThrough the Word · ~10 min/chapter · Free · evangelical

    A clear ~10-minute audio teaching for every one of the Bible's 1,189 chapters — the most systematic free way to study chapter by chapter.

  • ★ Start hereVideoOverview: Genesis 1–11BibleProject · 9 min · Free

    The single best free starting point for Genesis 1–11 — clear, visual, and faithful to the literary design.

  • VideoSpoken GospelSpoken Gospel · Free · evangelical

    Short, gospel-centered videos and spoken-word poems showing how each passage points to Jesus — especially strong on the Old Testament.

  • ReferenceBook of Genesis — Visual GuideBibleProject · Free

    A free structured guide to the whole book — outline, themes, and links to each video.

  • DocumentaryIs Genesis History?Del Tackett · Free · evangelical

    A young-earth-creationist case for a literal Genesis, free on YouTube. (YEC is one view held by faithful Christians; others read Genesis differently — see the genre guide on how to read it.)

Pastoral

  • SermonChuck Smith — C2000 SeriesChuck Smith · Free · evangelical

    Free verse-by-verse audio through the entire Bible from the founder of Calvary Chapel.

Seminary

  • ★ Start hereCommentaryGenesis (Word Biblical Commentary)Gordon J. Wenham · Paid · evangelical

    For decades the gold-standard commentary on Genesis — technical but rich. (See the ranked list for alternatives like Hamilton, NICOT.)

  • BookThe Pentateuch as NarrativeJohn H. Sailhamer · ~560 pp · Library · evangelical

    A literary-theological reading that makes Genesis's design visible.

Commentaries & study tools

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