Bible Strands
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.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — God issues this command directly to Jacob after his return from Haran and his encounter with Esau. The directive marks a deliberate return to the site where God first revealed Himself to him.
The words — The imperatives ק֥וּם (qum, "arise") and עֲלֵ֥ה ('aleh, "go up") structure the command as a physical movement toward Bethel, which the text identifies as בֵּית־אֵל (Beth-El, "house of God").
The thread — The location and divine presence are recalled in Genesis 31:13, where God identifies Himself as the God of Bethel and commands Jacob to depart. Hosea 12:4 later references Jacob’s struggle and encounter with God at that same site.
Why it lands — The text requires Jacob to physically return to a place of past revelation and construct an altar, demanding concrete action to acknowledge the God who appeared to him during his flight.
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 God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Beth–el, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother.
Cross-references
- Genesis 31:13 I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed the pillar and made a solemn vow to Me. Now get up, leave this land at once, and return to your native land.’”
- 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—
- Psalms 91:15 When he calls out to Me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him and honor him.
- Genesis 31:3 Then the LORD said to Jacob, “Go back to the land of your fathers and to your kindred, and I will be with you.”
- Genesis 35:7 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.
- Deuteronomy 32:36 For the LORD will vindicate His people and have compassion on His servants when He sees that their strength is gone and no one remains, slave or free.
- 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.
- Genesis 13:3 From the Negev he journeyed from place to place toward Bethel, until he came to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had formerly been pitched,
- Genesis 16:8 “Hagar, servant of Sarai,” he said, “where have you come from, and where are you going?” “I am running away from my mistress Sarai,” she replied.
- Genesis 27:41 Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. And Esau said in his heart, “The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then I will kill my brother Jacob.”