Genesis 35:11
Ver. 11. And God said unto him, I [am] God Almighty,.... And so able to protect and defend him, and to fulfil all promises made to him, and to supply him with everything he wanted; being, as some choose to render the word, "God all sufficient", having a sufficiency of all good things in him to communicate to his people:
be fruitful and multiply; which carries in it a promise or prophecy that he should increase and multiply, though not he himself personally, he having but one son born after this, yet in his posterity:
a nation, and a company of nations, shall be of thee; the nation of Israel, called so after his name, and the twelve tribes, which were as so many nations, of which the above nation consisted:and kings shall come out of thy loins; as Saul, David, Solomon, and, many others, who were kings of Israel and of Judah, and especially the King Messiah; yea, all his posterity were kings and priests, or a kingdom of priests, Ex 19:6. Genesis 35:12Ver. 12. And the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee will I give it,.... Meaning the land of Canaan, which, as he had by promise given it to his grandfather, and father, so he would give it to him; thus renewing the grant of it for his comfort, and the encouragement of his faith, when he had been in danger of being destroyed by the inhabitants of it, and was obliged to remove from one part of it to another:and to thy seed after thee will I give the land; and not only make a grant of it to them, but put them into the possession of it, as in process of time he did. Genesis 35:13Ver. 13. And God went up from him,.... Or "from above" him {x}; by this it seems that there was a visible appearance of the glory of the Lord, as Onkelos, or of the Shechinah, as Jonathan; even of the Son of God in an human form, who either appeared just above him, or on the same spot with him, conversing with him as above related; and when he had done, ascended in a visible manner from him, till he disappeared:in the place where he talked with him; whether it was over him, or by him; thence he removed from him, and ceased talking with him; for communion with a divine Person is not constant and uninterrupted in the present state.{x} wylem "desuper eum", Montanus. Genesis 35:14Ver. 14. And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he talked with him,.... He had set up a pillar in this place before he went to Padanaram, Ge 28:18; and some, think this pillar is here referred to, and render the words, "had set up a pillar" {y}; but as that was done thirty years ago, it is very likely it was demolished by the Heathens before this time, or was fallen to ruin, wherefore this must be at least a renewal or reparation of it: though it rather seems to be another pillar, and quite a new one, being set up in that very spot of ground, over or on which God had been talking with him: and the following account of it seems to confirm the same,[even] a pillar of stone; made of several stones hewed and polished, and well put together; whereas the former was but a single stone, rude and unpolished, though it is probable it was one of these:and he poured a drink offering thereon; of wine, of which drink offerings under the law were, thereby consecrating it to the worship and service of God. Aben Ezra says it was either of water or of wine, with which he washed it, and after that poured oil on it; and the Targum of Jonathan says, he poured a drink offering of wine, and a drink offering of water:and he poured oil thereon; as he did before;See Gill on "Ge 28:18".{y} buyw "erexerat", Vatablus; "et statuerat", Piscator; so Aben Ezra. Genesis 35:15Ver. 15. And Jacob called the name of the place where God spake with him, Bethel. He confirmed the name he had before given it, when he went to Mesopotamia, and now upon his return renews and establishes it; or he gave this name more especially to that particular spot where God conversed with him, and on which he erected a pillar, and consecrated it to religious worship, and so made it God's house, as he promised he would, Ge 28:22, both building an altar for sacrifice, and setting up a pillar, which was beginning an house for God. Genesis 35:16Ver. 16. And they journeyed from Bethel,.... Jacob and his family; how long they stayed there is not certain, some say four months {z}; hence they removed towards Bethlehem, which was twelve miles from Bethel {a}, in their way to Hebron:and there was but a little way to come to Ephrath; or Bethlehem, as it was also called, Ge 35:19; a mile off of it, according to the Targums of Onkelos and Jerusalem; or about a mile, as Saadiah Gaon; for it was not a precise exact mile, but something less than a mile, as Ben Melech observes; and so Benjamin of Tudela, who was on the spot, says {b}, that Rachel's grave is about half a mile from Bethlehem. Ben Gersom thinks the word here used signifies cultivated land, and that the sense is, that there were only fields, vineyards, and gardens to go through to the city, see Ge 48:7:and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labour; the time of childbirth was come, and which came suddenly upon her, as travail does, even while journeying, which obliged them to stop; and her pains came upon her, and these very sharp and severe, so that she had a difficult time of it: pains and sorrow in childbearing are the fruit of sin, and more or less attend all in such a circumstance; but, in some, labour is more painful than in others, and more at one time than at another, and is the most painful in women than in other creatures.{z} Shalshalet Hakabala, fol. 5. 1. {a} Bunting's Travels, p. 72. {b} Itinerar. p. 47. Genesis 35:17Ver. 17. And it came to pass, when she was in hard labour,.... In the midst of it, and at the worst:that the midwife said unto her, fear not; for Rachel big with child, it was necessary to take a midwife with them in the journey; and perhaps this might be one that was always kept in the family, and had been assisting to all Jacob's wives and concubines at their labours; and this seems probable from what follows, since she not only bids her be of good courage, and not fear, comforting her under her pains, giving her hopes they would soon be over, and that she would have a safe delivery, and do well: but this she assures her of,thou shalt have this son also; as she had one before, at whose birth she said, "the Lord shall add to me another son"; and therefore called his name Joseph, Ge 30:24; this the midwife remembered, and endeavours to comfort her with the accomplishment of it. Genesis 35:18Ver. 18. And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, for she died,.... In childbirth; she had most passionately desired children, without which she could not live with ease and peace of mind, and now she dies by having one; see Ge 30:1; and by this account of her death it appears, that death is the separation and disunion of soul and body; that at death the soul departs from the body; that the soul does not die with it, but goes elsewhere, and lives in a separate state, and never dies; it goes into another world, a world of spirits, even unto God that gave it, Ec 12:7:that she called his name Benoni; which signifies "the son of my sorrow", having borne and brought him forth in sorrow, and now about to leave him as soon as born, which might increase her sorrow; or "the son, of my mourning"; as Aben Ezra and Ben Gersom interpret it; or "the son of my strength", all her strength being exhausted in bringing him forth:but his father called him Benjamin; that is, "the son of the right hand", being as dear to him, and as beloved by him as his right hand; or who would be as the right hand to him, his staff and support in his old age; or else as being the son of her who was as his right hand, dear and assisting to him. Some render it, "the son of days", or years, that is, the son of his old age, as he is called, Ge 44:20; Jarchi and Ben Gerson interpret it, "the son of the south"; the right hand being put for the south; and they think this son was so called, because he only was born in the land of Canaan, which lay, they say, to the south with respect to Mesopotamia, where the rest were born; but be the etymology of the word as it will, the change of the name seems to be made by Jacob, because that which Rachel gave her son would have perpetually put Jacob in mind of the sorrow of his beloved Rachel, and therefore gave him a name more pleasant and agreeable. The Jews say {c} he was born the eleventh of October, and lived one hundred and eleven years.{c} Shalshalet Hakabala, fol. 4. 1. Genesis 35:19Ver. 19. And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which [is] Bethlehem. Hence called Bethlehem Ephratah, Mic 5:2; with great pertinency is Rachel represented as if risen from her grave, and weeping for her children, when the children of Bethlehem, and thereabout, were slain by Herod, she being buried so near that place, Mt 2:16; at what age she died is not said. Polyhistor, out of Demetrius {d}, reports, that she died after Jacob had lived with her twenty three years.{d} Apnd Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 9. c. 21. p. 424. Genesis 35:20Ver. 20. And Jacob set a pillar upon her grave,.... A sepulchral monument erected in memory of her; this according to Benjamin of Tudela {e} was made of twelve stones, according to the number of the sons of Jacob, and over it was a vault or roof, supported by four pillars:that [is] the pillar of Rachel's grave unto this day; it continued to the times of Moses, the writer of this history, and to the times of Samuel, as appears from 1Sa 10:2; and even travellers of late times affirm it to be seen still, to the north of Bethlehem, on the right hand of the way as you go from Bethlehem to Jerusalem; but the present sepulchral monument, as Mr. Maundrel says {f}, can be none of that which Jacob erected, for it appears plainly to be a modern Turkish structure. Near the grave are found some little black stones, which strangers pick up, and are fancied to be helpful to women, to give them an easier birth, the same the above traveller says resemble peas. The Jews that pass by it were used to engrave their names on the stones, of the pillars {g}.{e} ltinerar. p. 47. {f} Journey from Aleppo, &c. p. 87. {g} Benjamin. Itinerar. ib. Adrichom. Theatrum Terrae Sanct. p. 19. Bunting's Travels, p. 75. Genesis 35:21Ver. 21. And Israel journeyed,.... Having stayed near Bethlehem, as it is said, about two months {h}; this is the first time Jacob is by Moses called Israel, after this name, was given him; the reason of which the Jews say is, because he bore the death of Rachel with so much patience:and spread his tent beyond the tower of Eder; which was a place of pasturage, and fit for his flocks, see Mic 4:8; it was about a mile from Bethlehem to the south {i}, and is supposed to be the place where the shepherds were watching their flocks, when the angel reported to them the birth of Christ, Lu 2:8; pretty remarkable are the words added here in the Targum of Jonathan,"the place from whence the King Messiah will be revealed in the end of days.''{h} Shalshalet Hakabala, fol. 5. 2. {i} Bunting's Travels, p. 76. Genesis 35:22Ver. 22. And it came to pass, when Israel dwelt in that land,.... In that part of it near Bethlehem:that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine; his concubine wife; she was the maid that Rachel gave him, and this added to his affliction, and made it double, to lose Rachel by death, and to have her favourite maid, his concubine, defiled by his own son, and whom it is highly probable he abstained from hereafter. This, though a very heinous sin of his son's, yet might be suffered as a chastisement to Jacob, for making use of concubines:and Israel heard [it]; though the crime was committed secretly, and was thought it would have been concealed, but by some means or other Jacob heard of it, and no doubt severely reproved his son for it; and though nothing is here related, as said by him on this occasion, it is certain it gave him great offence, grief and trouble, and he remembered it to his dying day, and took away the birthright from Reuben on account of it, Ge 49:3; an empty space here follows in the original text, and a pause in it, denoting perhaps the amazement Jacob was filled with when he heard it; and the great grief of his heart, which was such, that he was not able to speak a word; the Septuagint version fills up the space by adding, "and it appeared evil in his sight":now the sons of Jacob were twelve; who were the heads of twelve tribes, Benjamin the last being born, and Jacob having afterwards no more children, they were all reckoned up under their respective mothers, excepting Dinah, a daughter, from whom there was no tribe, in the following verses. Genesis 35:23Ver. 23. The sons of Leah,.... Jacob's first wife, which are six, and are reckoned in order, according to their birth, Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun. Genesis 35:24Ver. 24. The sons of Rachel,.... Then Rachel's, Jacob's next wife, though in right his first and only one, who had two children, Joseph and Benjamin. Genesis 35:25Ver. 25. And the sons of Bilhah,.... Then Bilhah's sons, who was Rachel's handmaid, and these were two, Dan and Naphtali. Genesis 35:26Ver. 26. And the sons of Zilpah,.... And lastly, the sons of Zilpah, Leah's handmaid, which were two also, Gad and Asher; it is added,these [are] the sons of Jacob, which were born to him in Padanaram, all excepting Benjamin; and because they were by far the greater part, even all but one, that were born there, this is said in general; and there having been given in the context such a particular account of the birth of Benjamin, and of the place of it, them was no need for the historian particularly to except him, since the reader would be in no danger of being led into a mistake. Genesis 35:27Ver. 27. And Jacob came unto Isaac his father,.... No mention being made of his mother, it is very probable she was dead; and Isaac being alone, and very old, and the time of his death drawing nigh, he might send for Jacob to come with his family, and be with him; for it can hardly be thought that this was the first time of Jacob's visiting his father since he came into the land, of Canaan, which must be about ten years; but as yet he had not come with his family to him, and in order to abide with him:unto Mamre, unto the city of Arbah, which [is] Hebron; Mamre was a plain, so called from the name of a man, a friend and confederate of Abraham, Ge 13:18; where, or near to which, stood a city, called Kirjath Arbah, or the city of the four, Arbah and his three sons; so that it might be called Tetrapolls, and was later called Hebron:where Abraham and Isaac sojourned; lived good part of their days, see Ge 13:18; it was about twenty miles from Bethlehem, and the tower of Eder {k}, where Jacob was last.{k} Bunting's Travels, p. 72. Genesis 35:28Ver. 28. And the days of Isaac were an hundred and fourscore years. He lived, forty years after he had made his will, and blessed his two sons. Jacob was now one hundred and twenty years of age, being born when his father was sixty; and Joseph was now twenty nine years of age, so that Isaac lived twelve years after the selling of Joseph into Egypt; he was five years older than his father Abraham was when he died. Genesis 35:29Ver. 29. And Isaac gave up the ghost, and died,.... According to an Arabic writer {l}, he died at the end of the year 3,668, in the month Jiar, when Jacob was one hundred and twenty years old, and his children buried him in the cave in which Abraham was buried, in the city Chabil: According to Ussher this at about 1,716 B.C.and was gathered unto his people; his soul was gathered to the righteous, his body was laid where Abraham and Sarah were buried:[being] old, and full of days; the number of which is observed in Ge 35:28;and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him; in the cave of Machpelah near Mamre, where he lived and died, and where his parents had been buried, and Rebekah his wife. Esau very probably was sent for upon his father's death, or a little before it. This shows that there was a reconciliation between Jacob and Esau, and that it continued; and that Jacob did not decline the visit of him at Seir, nor in a clandestine manner took his journey another way, and avoided going thither on his invitation.{l} Elmacin. p. 26. apud Hottinger. Smegma Orient. p. 341.
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.