Antiguo Testamento

Genesis — Capítulo 35

REMOVAL TO BETHEL. (Gen 35:1-15) God said unto Jacob, Arise, &c.--This command was given seasonably in point of time and tenderly in respect of language. The disgraceful and perilous events that had recently taken pla…

Versión

Texto — Reina-Valera 1960

1Dijo Dios a Jacob: Levántate y sube a Bet-el, y quédate allí; y haz allí un altar al Dios que te apareció cuando huías de tu hermano Esaú.

2Entonces Jacob dijo a su familia y a todos los que con él estaban: Quitad los dioses ajenos que hay entre vosotros, y limpiaos, y mudad vuestros vestidos.

3Y levantémonos, y subamos a Bet-el; y haré allí altar al Dios que me respondió en el día de mi angustia, y ha estado conmigo en el camino que he andado.

4Así dieron a Jacob todos los dioses ajenos que había en poder de ellos, y los zarcillos que estaban en sus orejas; y Jacob los escondió debajo de una encina que estaba junto a Siquem.

5Y salieron, y el terror de Dios estuvo sobre las ciudades que había en sus alrededores, y no persiguieron a los hijos de Jacob.

6Y llegó Jacob a Luz, que está en tierra de Canaán (esta es Bet-el), él y todo el pueblo que con él estaba.

7Y edificó allí un altar, y llamó al lugar El-bet-el, porque allí le había aparecido Dios, cuando huía de su hermano.

8Entonces murió Débora, ama de Rebeca, y fue sepultada al pie de Bet-el, debajo de una encina, la cual fue llamada Alón-bacut.

9Apareció otra vez Dios a Jacob, cuando había vuelto de Padan-aram, y le bendijo.

10Y le dijo Dios: Tu nombre es Jacob; no se llamará más tu nombre Jacob, sino Israel será tu nombre; y llamó su nombre Israel.

11También le dijo Dios: Yo soy el Dios omnipotente: crece y multiplícate; una nación y conjunto de naciones procederán de ti, y reyes saldrán de tus lomos.

12La tierra que he dado a Abraham y a Isaac, la daré a ti, y a tu descendencia después de ti daré la tierra.

13Y se fue de él Dios, del lugar en donde había hablado con él.

14Y Jacob erigió una señal en el lugar donde había hablado con él, una señal de piedra, y derramó sobre ella libación, y echó sobre ella aceite.

15Y llamó Jacob el nombre de aquel lugar donde Dios había hablado con él, Bet-el.

16Después partieron de Bet-el; y había aún como media legua de tierra para llegar a Efrata, cuando dio a luz Raquel, y hubo trabajo en su parto.

17Y aconteció, como había trabajo en su parto, que le dijo la partera: No temas, que también tendrás este hijo.

18Y aconteció que al salírsele el alma (pues murió), llamó su nombre Benoni; mas su padre lo llamó Benjamín.

19Así murió Raquel, y fue sepultada en el camino de Efrata, la cual es Belén.

20Y levantó Jacob un pilar sobre su sepultura; esta es la señal de la sepultura de Raquel hasta hoy.

21Y salió Israel, y plantó su tienda más allá de Migdal-edar.

22Aconteció que cuando moraba Israel en aquella tierra, fue Rubén y durmió con Bilha la concubina de su padre; lo cual llegó a saber Israel. Ahora bien, los hijos de Israel fueron doce:

23los hijos de Lea: Rubén el primogénito de Jacob; Simeón, Leví, Judá, Isacar y Zabulón.

24Los hijos de Raquel: José y Benjamín.

25Los hijos de Bilha, sierva de Raquel: Dan y Neftalí.

26Y los hijos de Zilpa, sierva de Lea: Gad y Aser. Estos fueron los hijos de Jacob, que le nacieron en Padan-aram.

27Después vino Jacob a Isaac su padre a Mamre, a la ciudad de Arba, que es Hebrón, donde habitaron Abraham e Isaac.

28Y fueron los días de Isaac ciento ochenta años.

29Y exhaló Isaac el espíritu, y murió, y fue recogido a su pueblo, viejo y lleno de días; y lo sepultaron Esaú y Jacob sus hijos.

JAMIESON-FAUSSET-BROWN BIBLE COMMENTARY

Versículo 2

I. Then Jacob said unto his household . . . Put away the strange gods that are among you--Hebrew, "g…

Then Jacob said unto his household . . . Put away the strange gods that are among you--Hebrew, "gods of the stranger," of foreign nations. Jacob had brought, in his service, a number of Mesopotamian retainers, who were addicted to superstitious practices; and there is some reason to fear that the same high testimony as to the religious superintendence of his household could not have been borne of him as was done of Abraham (Gen 18:19). He might have been too negligent hitherto in winking at these evils in his servants; or, perhaps, it was not till his arrival in Canaan, that he had learnt, for the first time, that one nearer and dearer to him was secretly infected with the same corruption (Gen 31:34). Be that as it may, he resolved on an immediate and thorough reformation of his household; and in commanding them to put away the strange gods, he added, be clean, and change your garments--as if some defilement, from contact with idolatry, should still remain about them. In the law of Moses, many ceremonial purifications were ordained and observed by persons who had contracted certain defilements, and without the observance of which, they were reckoned unclean and unfit to join in the social worship of God. These bodily purifications were purely figurative; and as sacrifices were offered before the law, so also were external purifications, as appears from the words of Jacob; hence it would seem that types and symbols were used from the fall of man, representing and teaching the two great doctrines of revealed truth--namely, the atonement of Christ and the sanctification of our nature.

Versículo 4

II. they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods . . . and earrings--Strange gods, the "seraphim" (compa…

they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods . . . and earrings--Strange gods, the "seraphim" (compare Gen 31:30), as well, perhaps, as other idols acquired among the Shechemite spoil--earrings of various forms, sizes, and materials, which are universally worn in the East, and, then as now, connected with incantation and idolatry (compare Hos 2:13). The decided tone which Jacob now assumed was the probable cause of the alacrity with which those favorite objects of superstition were surrendered. Jacob hid them under the oak--or terebinth--a towering tree, which, like all others of the kind, was a striking object in the scenery of Palestine; and beneath which, at Shechem, the patriarch had pitched his tent. He hid the images and amulets, delivered to him by his Mesopotamian dependents, at the root of this tree. The oak being deemed a consecrated tree, to bury them at its root was to deposit them in a place where no bold hand would venture to disturb the ground; and hence it was called from this circumstance--"the plain of Meonenim"--that is, "the oak of enchantments" (Jdg 9:37); and from the great stone which Joshua set up--"the oak of the pillar" (Jdg 9:6).

Versículo 5

III. the terror of God was upon the cities--There was every reason to apprehend that a storm of indign…

the terror of God was upon the cities--There was every reason to apprehend that a storm of indignation would burst from all quarters upon Jacob's family, and that the Canaanite tribes would have formed one united plan of revenge. But a supernatural panic seized them; and thus, for the sake of the "heir of the promise," the protecting shield of Providence was specially held over his family.

Versículo 6

IV. So Jacob came to Luz . . . that is, Beth-el--It is probable that this place was unoccupied ground…

So Jacob came to Luz . . . that is, Beth-el--It is probable that this place was unoccupied ground when Jacob first went to it; and that after that period [CALVIN], the Canaanites built a town, to which they gave the name of Luz [Gen 28:19], from the profusion of almond trees that grew around. The name of Beth-el, which would, of course, be confined to Jacob and his family, did not supersede the original one, till long after. It is now identified with the modern Beitin and lies on the western slope of the mountain on which Abraham built his altar (Gen 12:8).

Versículo 7

V. El-Beth-el--that is, "the God of Beth-el."

El-Beth-el--that is, "the God of Beth-el."

Versículo 8

VI. Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died--This event seems to have taken place before the solemnities were …

Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died--This event seems to have taken place before the solemnities were commenced. Deborah (Hebrew, a "bee"), supposing her to have been fifty years on coming to Canaan, had attained the great age of a hundred eighty. When she was removed from Isaac's household to Jacob's, is unknown. But it probably was on his return from Mesopotamia; and she would have been of invaluable service to his young family. Old nurses, like her, were not only honored, but loved as mothers; and, accordingly, her death was the occasion of great lamentation. She was buried under the oak--hence called "the terebinth of tears" (compare Kg1 13:14). God was pleased to make a new appearance to him after the solemn rites of devotion were over. By this manifestation of His presence, God testified His acceptance of Jacob's sacrifice and renewed the promise of the blessings guaranteed to Abraham and Isaac [Gen 35:11-12]; and the patriarch observed the ceremony with which he had formerly consecrated the place, comprising a sacramental cup, along with the oil that he poured on the pillar, and reimposing the memorable name [Gen 35:14]. The whole scene was in accordance with the character of the patriarchal dispensation, in which the great truths of religion were exhibited to the senses, and "the world's grey fathers" taught in a manner suited to the weakness of an infantile condition.

Versículo 13

VII. God went up from him--The presence of God was indicated in some visible form and His acceptance o…

God went up from him--The presence of God was indicated in some visible form and His acceptance of the sacrifice shown by the miraculous descent of fire from heaven, consuming it on the altar.

Versículo 16

VIII. BIRTH OF BENJAMIN--DEATH OF RACHEL, &c. (Gen 35:16-27)

BIRTH OF BENJAMIN--DEATH OF RACHEL, &c. (Gen 35:16-27) And they journeyed from Beth-el--There can be no doubt that much enjoyment was experienced at Beth-el, and that in the religious observances solemnized, as well as in the vivid recollections of the glorious vision seen there, the affections of the patriarch were powerfully animated and that he left the place a better and more devoted servant of God. When the solemnities were over, Jacob, with his family, pursued a route directly southward, and they reached Ephrath, when they were plunged into mourning by the death of Rachel, who sank in childbirth, leaving a posthumous son [Gen 35:18]. A very affecting death, considering how ardently the mind of Rachel had been set on offspring (compare Gen 30:1).

Versículo 18

IX. She called his name Ben-oni--The dying mother gave this name to her child, significant of her cir…

She called his name Ben-oni--The dying mother gave this name to her child, significant of her circumstances; but Jacob changed his name into Benjamin. This is thought by some to have been originally Benjamin, "a son of days," that is, of old age. But with its present ending it means "son of the right hand," that is, particularly dear and precious.

Versículo 19

X. Ephrath, which is Beth-lehem--The one, the old name; the other, the later name, signifying "house…

Ephrath, which is Beth-lehem--The one, the old name; the other, the later name, signifying "house of bread."

Versículo 20

XI. and Jacob set a pillar on her grave . . . unto this day--The spot still marked out as the grave o…

and Jacob set a pillar on her grave . . . unto this day--The spot still marked out as the grave of Rachel exactly agrees with the Scriptural record, being about a mile from Beth-lehem. Anciently it was surmounted by a pyramid of stones, but the present tomb is a Mohammedan erection.

Versículo 26

XII. Sons of Jacob . . . born to him in Padan-aram--It is a common practice of the sacred historian to…

Sons of Jacob . . . born to him in Padan-aram--It is a common practice of the sacred historian to say of a company or body of men that which, though true of the majority, may not be applicable to every individual. (See Mat 19:28; Joh 20:24; Heb 11:13). Here is an example, for Benjamin was born in Canaan [Gen 35:16-18].

Versículo 29

XIII. DEATH OF ISAAC. (Gen 35:28-29)

DEATH OF ISAAC. (Gen 35:28-29) Isaac gave up the ghost--The death of this venerable patriarch is here recorded by anticipation for it did not take place till fifteen years after Joseph's disappearance. Feeble and blind though he was, he lived to a very advanced age; and it is a pleasing evidence of the permanent reconciliation between Esau and Jacob that they met at Mamre to perform the funeral rites of their common father. Next: Genesis Chapter 36

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