Bible Strands
Genesis 35:16
Later, they set out from Bethel, and while they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth, and her labor was difficult.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator records Jacob’s caravan departing Bethel, pinpointing the moment Rachel’s difficult labor begins while the group is still traveling toward Ephrath.
The words — וַ/יִּסְעוּ֙ (va/i.yis.'U) means "and they set out," marking the caravan's movement, while כִּבְרַת־ (kiv.rat-) translates as "the distance of," indicating the specific geographic gap between Bethel and Ephrath.
The thread — The location Ephrath anchors the narrative to Genesis 48:7, which recalls Rachel’s death on the road, and points forward to Micah 5:2, which identifies Bethlehem Ephrathah as a royal birthplace, while the painful delivery echoes the childbirth curse in Genesis 3:16.
Why it lands — The text documents the physical progression of the patriarchal journey and the unvarnished reality of Rachel’s childbirth, requiring the reader to track geographic markers and familial lineage as concrete historical data rather than symbolic imagery.
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 they journeyed from Beth–el; and there was but a little way to come to Ephrath: and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labour.
Cross-references
- Micah 5:2 But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come forth for Me One to be ruler over Israel—One whose origins are of old, from the days of eternity.
- Genesis 48:7 Now as for me, when I was returning from Paddan, to my sorrow Rachel died along the way in the land of Canaan, some distance from Ephrath. So I buried her there beside the road to Ephrath” (that is, Bethlehem).
- Genesis 3:16 To the woman He said: “I will sharply increase your pain in childbirth; in pain you will bring forth children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”
- Genesis 35:19 So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).
- Ruth 1:2 The man’s name was Elimelech, his wife’s name was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah, and they entered the land of Moab and settled there.
- 2 Kings 5:19 “Go in peace,” said Elisha. But after Naaman had traveled a short distance,
- 1 Chronicles 2:19 When Azubah died, Caleb married Ephrath, who bore to him Hur.
- Psalms 132:6 We heard that the ark was in Ephrathah; we found it in the fields of Jaar.
- Matthew 2:1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem,
- Matthew 2:16 When Herod saw that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was filled with rage. Sending orders, he put to death all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, according to the time he had learned from the Magi.