The Pulpit Commentary — Genesis — Section 468

a gcni!iw (Lange); or he called it El-Beth-el the name given at Peniel may possibly indi- metaphorically, as Jerusalem afterwards ,vas cate a revival in the spiritual lifo of ,Jacob, styled Jehovah Tsidkenu (Jer. xxxiii. 16) which had been declining in the interv,11 und Jehomh Shammah (Ezek. xlviii. 35; between the former interview with God and Inglis). It has been proposeu, after the the present (Mul'phy), but was probably LXX., to avoid the seeming incongruity of designed as a confil'mntion of the former assigning such a name to a place, to read, intervie,v with God, and of the experience he invoked upon the place the El of Bethel th~ough_ which he then passed. Cf. the (Quarry, p. 513)-becanse there God ap- twice -given name of Peter (John i. 42; peared unto him,-the El of Bethel was Matt. xvi. 16-19). Jehovah (vide eh. xxviii. 13; xxxi. 13)- Vers. 11, 12.-And God said unto him when he fled from the face of his brother. (repeating substantially the promises made Yer. 8. -Bot Deborah-Bee (Gesenius, to Abraham), I am God Almighty:-El Fi.irst) Rebekah's nnrse (vide eh. xxiv. 59) Shaddai (cf. eh. xvii. 1)-be fruitful and died-at a very advanced age, having left multiply;-" Abraham and Isaac had each Padan-aram for Canaan along with Rebekah, only one son of promise ; but now the time upwards of 150 years ago. That she is now of increase was come" (Murphy; cf. eh. i. 28) found in Jacob's household may be accounted -a nation and a company of nations shall be for by supposing that Rebekah hau sent her, of thee (cf. eh. xvii. 5; lUviii. 3), and kings in accordance with the promise of eh. xxvii. shall come ont of thy loins (cf. eh. xvii. 6, 45 (Delitzsch); or that Jacob had paid a 16); and the land which I gave Abraham visit to bis father at Hebron, and brought and Isaac (vide eh. xii. 7 ; xiii. 15 ; xxvi. her back with him to Shechem, probably 3, 4), to thee I will give it (cf. eh. x:xviii. because of Rebekah's death (Lange); or 13), and to thy seed after thee will I give that on Rebekah's death she had been trans- the land. The time of their entering on ferred to Jacob's household (Keil, Murphy, possession was specified to Abraham (eh. Alford); or that Isaac, "who had during the xv. 16). twenty years of hi& son's absence wandered Ver. 13.-And God went up from him- in different parts of the land" (!), had "at showing this to have been n visible mani- this period of his migrations come into the festation (cf. eh. xvii. 22)-in the place neighbourhood of Bethel" (Kalisch). And where he talked with him. she was buried beneath Bethel-which was Ver. 14.-And Jaoob set up a pillar-the situated in the hill country, whence Jacob is former pillar (eh. x:xviii. 18) having proba':Jly instructed to "go up" to Bethel (ver. 1 )- fallen down and disappeared-in the place under an oak. More correctly, the oak or where b.e (God) talked with him (to com- terebinth, i. e. the well-known tree, which memorate the interview), even e. pillar of long after served to mark her last resting- stone. The setting up of pillars, according place, which some have without reason to Tuch a peculiarity of the Elohist, appear~ identified with the palm tree of Deborah the to have been a favourite practice of Jacob's: prophetess (Judges iv. 5), and the oak of witness the first pillar n.t Bethel (eh. xicviii. Tabor mentioned in 1 Sam. L 3 (Delitzsch, 18), the pillar on Galeed (eh. xxxi. 45), Kurtz, &c.). And the name of it was called the second pillar at Bethel (eh. xxxv. 14), th~ -not "he," i. e. Jacob, "called it" (Ains- pillar over Rachel's grave (eh. xxxv. 20). worth), but "one called its name," i. e. its And he poured a drink offering thereon. name wa.s called (Kalisch)-Allon-bachnth This is the first mention of those sacrificial (i. e. the oak of weeping). libations which nftenvards became so promi- Vers. 9, 10.-And God appeared unto nent in connection with the Mosaic ritual Jacob aga.in,-thiswasa viilible manifestation, (Exod. x:xix. 40, 41 ; Levit. xxiii. 13, 18, in contrast to the audible one in Sheehem 37; Numb. vi. 15; and elsewhere). Und~r (ver. 1), and in e. state of wakefulness (ver. the law the ';J!;)~ -111ro11Mov, 111rovJ1j (LXX.) 13), as distinguished from the dream vision libamentum, libamen (Vulgate); frnnk- formerly beheld at Bethel (eh. lUviii. 12)- opfer (Luther)-consisted of a fourth part of when he came (or had come) out of Padan- a bin of wine, which was equal to about a. ara.m (as previously he had appeared to the third of a gallon. And he poured oil there- patriarch on going into Padan-aram), and on-as he did on the previous occasion (eh. bleased him-i. e. renewed the promises of xxviii. I B, q. v. ). the covenant, of which he was the heir. Ver. 15.-And J'aoob called the name of And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob: the place where God spake with him, Bethel, -or Supplanter (vide eh. lUV. 26). Lange 'l'his name was first given after the dreuru reads, ls thy name Jacob I-thy name ■hall vision of the ladder (eh. xxviii. 19) ; alreu<ly no~ be called a.ny more Jacob, bot Israel on this occasion it had been changed int.o ('Viele eh. nxii. 28) ■hall be thy name: and El-bcth-ol (ver. 7) ; now its old name ii he called his name Jsra.el The renewal of reimposed. OH. XXXV, 1-15,) THE llOOK OF GENESIS. 413