Bible Strands
Genesis 28:19
and he called that place Bethel, though previously the city had been named Luz.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The narrator records Jacob’s actions after he wakes from his dream at Luz, immediately following his erection of a stone pillar and its anointing with oil.
The words — The Hebrew verb וַיִּקְרָא (va-yiqrāʾ) means "and he called," and the compound name בֵּית־אֵל (bêṯ-ʾēl) translates literally to "house of God." The conjunction וְ/אוּלָם (ve-ʾulām) introduces a contrast, marking the shift from the city’s former name, Luz.
The thread — The location reappears when God commands Jacob to return and build an altar there (Genesis 35:1), Jacob later recalls God’s appearance at Luz (Genesis 48:3), and Hosea 12:4 links Jacob’s angelic struggle to this site.
Why it lands — The text records a deliberate renaming that marks a shift in Jacob’s perception of the location, requiring the reader to track how the same place carries different names and meanings across the narrative.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And he called the name of that place Beth–el: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first.
Cross-references
- Genesis 35:1 Then 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.”
- Genesis 48:3 Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and there He blessed me
- Hosea 12:4 Yes, he struggled with the angel and prevailed; he wept and sought His favor; he found Him at Bethel and spoke with Him there—
- Genesis 12:8 From 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.
- Judges 1:22 The house of Joseph also attacked Bethel, and the LORD was with them.
- 1 Kings 12:29 One calf he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan.
- Hosea 4:15 Though 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!’