Bible Strands
Genesis 35:20
Jacob set up a pillar on her grave; it marks Rachel’s tomb to this day.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Jacob erects a stone marker over Rachel’s burial site near Ephrath immediately following her death, before his family continues the journey toward the Tower of Eder.
The words — The text uses מַצֵּבָה (matzevah) for the initial erected stone and מַצֶּבֶת (matzevet) to describe its ongoing function as a tomb identifier.
The thread — This landmark serves as a geographical reference in 1 Samuel 10:2, while 2 Samuel 18:17 parallels the ancient practice of piling stones over a grave.
Why it lands — The verse records a concrete act of memorialization that establishes a lasting physical identifier for a burial site without adding theological commentary.
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 Jacob set a pillar upon her grave: that is the pillar of Rachel’s grave unto this day.
Cross-references
- 1 Samuel 10:2 When you leave me today, you will find two men at Rachel’s tomb in Zelzah on the border of Benjamin. They will say to you, ‘The donkeys you seek have been found, and now your father has stopped worrying about the donkeys and started worrying about you, asking, “What should I do about my son?”’
- Genesis 35:14 So 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.
- 2 Samuel 18:17 They took Absalom, cast him into a large pit in the forest, and piled a huge mound of stones over him. Meanwhile, all the Israelites fled, each to his home.
- Genesis 35:9 After Jacob had returned from Paddan-aram, God appeared to him again and blessed him.