It is ditlicult to account for these divergences. Some authorities, such as Wellhausen.t suppose that J contained an independent narrative ; others, as Kuenen,§ hold that we have here, not the work of J, but a passage expanded and modified from E bv 'a follower of j'; according to the latter scholar, J probably carried back the consecration of Bethel to Abraham and not to Jacob (Gn 12"; cf. 13').
b. In the later account of P (Gn 35»-'*-") there is no mention of the characteristic features of the earlier narrative. The salient points here seem to be that God changes Jacob's name to Israel, and the name Bethel is given to the place because God spake with him there. God reveals Himself by the name El Shaddai, and the promise (vv."-") is cast into the form characteristic of P. This account is referred to again in 48' P.
In Hos 12* the vision at Bethel comes after Jacob's wrestling, ».«. after his return from Paddan- aram, as in P, though not necessarily implying that Uosea naed this narrative.il In the subsequent
• Ttlm. Rab. Sola, 486; Btruhilh Babim, ch. 88. Be« Neobaaer OiogT. du Talm. p. 168.
t Cf. BfthShoiiioah, Beth-Dagon (Jot 16*11 B«th-Pcor {Dt 3«), BithlioalMeon (,Io» 18").
I Camp, de Ilex. p. 88. The rarUtlons which occnr In the tomipi of thn promise In v.u when compared with the other promis.s In J (Gn 123 1314 1818 2218) ,„ explained by auppoelug that J here has been worked over by a later hand.
I Hejcalrv\, p. 147. The 'follower of J' Incorporated IS" altnoBl word for word In T.I4, and modlfled E In y.1>> ; tbua VV.13.H become honiogeneona with 321*-U. It will be noticed that both Tlewa Inrolre a modJQcatlon of J 1> a laaaar or greater decree.
I On 8i»-u haa been expanded by tha radaotor with extracu fhjiii JE, «.j. In T.14. l-ho nuuzfto and Ubatlon are qult« fortlgn to P. The word 'afcaln,' v.», ii not original, but waa Inserted to hamionlae with Gn 2slM.. It la the second rlslt to Bethel recorded by E rss'.*-*'), once, perhaps, a fuller narrative, which Uaa Mhlna tha pronhet'a woitla. Knao. ib.
278
BETHEL
BETHEL
narrative E records the command to return to Bethel, where Jacob had set up and anointed a pillar ; now he buUda an altar in memory of the revelation years before (Gn 35'- ^-^-'j. 'And he called the name of the place El-Bethel.' * Nothing is said of the fulfilment of the vow to dedicate a tenth promised in iS-"" ; but this particular is generally held to have been inserted later. On the occasion of this second visit Deborah, Kebekah's nurse, died, and was buried ' below Bethel, under the oak.'
Thus tradition connected Bethel with the patri- aichal history ; and the connexion is a witness to the hif^h antiquity of the sanctuary. It has been supposed that, like many other sanctuaries, such as Jerusalem, Jericho, Shechem, Hebron, etc.. Bethel was originally a Canaanite holy place, and that after it had passed into the han(hi of the Israelites it was adopted Into Israelite traditions, and assigned a patriarchal consecration. On the other hand, there is no clear evidence that Bethel was a Canaanite sanctuary ; all that the OT knows about its earlier history is that its ancient name was Luz ; so we are Justified in concluding that its sanctity was of purely Israelite origin.t At the same tune, it possessed a sanctity independent of the dedication which Jacob is said to have given it. It was a haunt of angels, a place where a ladder was always fixed between earth and heaven ; and when Jacob passed the night there he saw it. J It was not so much that J" found Jacob, as that Jacob was unconsciously guided to find J " there.
The setting up and anointing of the pUlar in Bethel is important as illustrating primitive re- ligious ideas. Several of these pulars are men- tioned in the history of Jacob (Gn 31" 35* E ; cf. Jos 24^ E), and the narratives give the impres- sion that they were memorial-stones, marking the scene of a uivine revelation. But this was not their primary significance. It is the stone of Bethel, not the place, that is called ' a house of God ' (Gn 28^), the stone being regarded as the shrine of the Deity, and the symbol of His presence. §
In the Book of Joshua Bethel is mentioned several times in connexion with the capture of Ai (Jos 1' 8'-i*-" JE); its inhabitants assisted those of Ai in attacking the Israelites (Jos 8"). The Deuteronomic compiler of Jos defines the situation of Ai by Bethel, showing the importance of the place in his day, and mentions a king of Bethel (Jos 12»- '« D').
A frontier town on the S. border of Joseph (Jos 16'-- JE), and on the N. border of Benjamin (Jos 18" P), it is reckoned as belon<jing sometimes to Benjamin (Jos IS-'- P), sometimes to Ephraim (Jg 1^- J, 1 Ch 7=*). Lying on the frontier, it must have changed hands from time to time ; e.g.
' That ia, SI qfBtiltd ; a local name of J", pointing to a belief in a local deity inhabiting this particular spot Cr. the i-aine of the nuuzibaof Shechem, 'El G'j4 of Israel' (Gn 33"). »"'! of the place where Abraham sacriliced the ram (Gn 2'."*); BO, too, El-rol, the Ood of the well of Lahai-rol (Gn 16"); El 01am, the God of Beersheba (On 2133). ct the variona local names of Baat See Kowack, Hebr. ArehdrAo^''-^ ii. p. 9, and 8ta<le, Gts^htcku d. V. Itr. I. p. 447. The LXX, Pesh. Vulg. onut the tlrst El (Gn SS^, perhaps because the exjiression was not aiidcrstood. There is no need to duubt its onginality.