Genesis 35: “Arise, Go Up to Bethel”
1. God’s Call to Return
“God said to Jacob, ‘Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there; make there an altar to the God who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau your brother.’” (Gen 35:1)
God takes the initiative again. After the scandal of Shechem, Jacob’s family must be re-consecrated.
The command recalls the first moment of Jacob’s faith (Gen 28); he must now return to where grace began.
St Bede the Venerable notes:
“After sin, the Lord calls the soul back to its first vision. For Bethel means House of God; there faith was born, and there it must be renewed.” (Commentary on Genesis, 35)
The pilgrimage of faith is circular: every fall must end in a return to the altar.
2. The Command to Purify
“So Jacob said to his household, ‘Put away the foreign gods that are among you, and purify yourselves, and change your garments.’” (v. 2)
Jacob now acts as patriarch and priest. His household has drifted — Rachel’s idols (Gen 31:19), the spoils of Shechem (34:29) — all must be renounced.
External cleansing (wash and change your garments) symbolises inner repentance.
St Ambrose comments:
“The washing of garments prefigures baptism; the putting away of idols, conversion of heart. For none may ascend to Bethel with unclean hands.” (On Jacob and the Happy Life 18)
The family must be spiritually re-clothed before they can worship rightly.
3. The Burying of the Idols
“They gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that they had, and the rings that were in their ears, and Jacob hid them under the oak which was near Shechem.” (v. 4)
This is an act of final renunciation. The oak becomes a grave for sin.
What Rachel once hid for superstition, Jacob now buries for sanctification.
St Bede writes:
“The burial of idols beneath the tree foreshadows the Cross, under which all our sins are buried with Christ.” (Commentary on Genesis, 35)
The call to holiness begins with decisive separation from the past.
4. The Journey Protected
“As they journeyed, a terror from God fell upon the cities around them, so that they did not pursue the sons of Jacob.” (v. 5)
Where violence once invited danger, now obedience brings protection.
Grace surrounds the repentant like a shield.
St Augustine remarks:
“When man purifies himself from idols, God Himself becomes his defence; for holiness is the strongest fortress.” (City of God XVI.44)
Fear of man yields to fear of God, which is holy awe.
5. The Altar at Bethel
“And Jacob came to Luz, that is, Bethel… and built an altar there, and called the place El-Bethel, because there God had revealed Himself to him when he fled from his brother.” (v. 6–7)
Jacob now names God as El-Bethel — “God of the House of God.”
He acknowledges that the place is holy not because of memory, but because of divine presence renewed.
St Bede comments:
“The second altar perfects the first vision: before he dreamed, now he adores; before he promised, now he fulfils.” (Commentary on Genesis, 35)
Faith matures from vision to worship, from promise to obedience.
6. The Death of Deborah
“And Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and she was buried under an oak below Bethel; so it was called Allon-bacuth (the Oak of Weeping).” (v. 8)
This gentle note of grief gives the chapter its human tenderness.
Deborah represents memory of the older generation — service, loyalty, and maternal care.
The “Oak of Weeping” stands beside the “Oak of Renunciation”: purification joined to mourning.
St Ambrose says:
“Purification is not without sorrow; for every repentance has its tears. The oak of weeping stands beside the altar of grace.” (On Jacob and the Happy Life 18)
7. God’s Appearance and the Renewed Name
“And God appeared to Jacob again… and blessed him, and said to him, ‘Your name is Jacob; no longer shall your name be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name.’” (vv. 9–10)
The renaming given during the wrestling (Gen 32) is now confirmed by God Himself.
The earlier struggle has matured into a covenant blessing.
St John Chrysostom explains:
“Before he received the name in striving; now he receives it in peace. For God confirms in quiet what He bestowed in trial.” (Homilies on Genesis LXII.1)
Grace tested becomes grace established.
8. The Covenant Restated
“And God said to him, ‘I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall come from you… and the land which I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you.’” (vv. 11–12)
This is the third full repetition of the Abrahamic covenant — now entrusted to Jacob personally.
Promise, posterity, and possession are reaffirmed; God’s faithfulness proves unchanging despite human failure.
St Bede:
“The repetition of the promise after sin teaches that God’s mercy is greater than man’s unworthiness.” (Commentary on Genesis, 35)
9. The Pillar and the Offering
“So Jacob set up a pillar in the place where He had spoken with him… and he poured out a drink offering on it and poured oil on it.” (v. 14)
This echoes his first anointing at Bethel (Gen 28:18) but adds a libation — wine, symbol of joy and sacrifice.
The Fathers saw here the first hint of the Eucharistic mystery.
St Ambrose writes:
“The libation of wine prefigures the blood of Christ, and the oil the anointing of the Spirit; together they sanctify the altar of the heart.” (On Isaac 14)
Jacob’s worship has deepened: from fear to thanksgiving, from vision to communion.
10. Rachel’s Death
“Then they journeyed from Bethel; and when they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel travailed, and she had hard labour… and as her soul was departing, she called his name Ben-oni; but his father called him Benjamin.” (vv. 16–18)
Joy and sorrow meet. The beloved wife dies giving birth to the last son, whose name means “Son of the right hand.”
Rachel’s death near Bethlehem prefigures another birth in the same place — that of Christ, the true Son of the right hand.
St Bede observes:
“Rachel dies that Benjamin may live, as the Synagogue declines that the Church may be born.” (Commentary on Genesis, 35)
Death becomes the passage of grace; every sorrow in salvation history bears hidden fruit.
11. Reuben’s Sin
“While Israel dwelt in that land, Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine; and Israel heard of it.” (v. 22)
The tragic cycle of sin continues even amid blessing.
Reuben’s act, both incestuous and rebellious, shows how easily privilege can decay without vigilance.
St John Chrysostom warns:
“No height of grace secures the careless; even within the covenant, the flesh contends against the spirit.” (Homilies on Genesis LXII.2)
Jacob’s silence here resembles his earlier restraint — sorrow too deep for words.
12. The Twelve Sons Named
“Now the sons of Jacob were twelve.” (vv. 23–26)
Despite human frailty, the divine promise stands fulfilled: twelve sons — the patriarchal root of Israel.
Grace does not wait for perfect instruments to create holy history.
St Augustine notes:
“God wrote His plan not with angels but with men; and that His power might be seen, He chose the weak to found the strong.” (City of God XVI.44)
13. The Death of Isaac
“And Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre… And Isaac breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people, old and full of days; and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.” (vv. 27–29)
Father and sons are reconciled at the grave.
The story that began with conflict ends in quiet unity.
St Bede:
“The burying of Isaac by both sons signifies the peace of the Church, in which Jew and Gentile together honour the same fathers in faith.” (Commentary on Genesis, 35)
Isaac’s death closes an era; Jacob inherits not only promise but responsibility — to guard the faith of his fathers.
14. Theological Summary
| Theme | Revelation |
| Call to Bethel | God recalls His people to first grace |
| Purification | Repentance as renewal of covenant |
| Burial of idols | Conversion through renunciation |
| Renewed name | Perseverance confirmed by God |
| Rachel’s death | Sorrow turned to salvation |
| Twelve sons | Fulfilment of the patriarchal promise |
| Isaac’s burial | Unity in the communion of saints |
St Augustine summarises:
“In Jacob’s return to Bethel the Church sees the soul’s renewal: confession, purification, confirmation, and hope of resurrection.” (City of God XVI.44)
15. Moral and Spiritual Application
Return to your Bethel. When faith grows cold, revisit the altar where God first met you.
Bury your idols. Leave behind habits and attachments that divide the heart.
Renew your vows. Grace given in struggle must be confirmed in worship.
Accept purification’s pain. Like Rachel’s labour, repentance can hurt — but it brings new life.
Honour your fathers. Remember the faith that formed you; unity is born of gratitude.
16. Christ the True Bethel
Every element of this chapter points to Christ and the Church:
| Jacob’s Renewal | Fulfilment in Christ |
| God’s call to Bethel | Christ’s call to repentance: “Come to Me.” |
| Burial of idols | Baptismal renunciation of Satan |
| Altar and libation | The Eucharist — sacrifice and thanksgiving |
| Rachel’s death at Bethlehem | Mary’s childbirth without corruption, bringing forth the living Son |
| Twelve sons | The Twelve Apostles |
| Isaac’s death | The Father’s will fulfilled in the death of the Son |
St Bede concludes:
“Bethel, the house of God, is the Church; there Christ renews His covenant with the penitent and builds again the altar of grace.” (Commentary on Genesis, 35)
17. Closing Prayer
God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
You call Your people back to the place of their first love.
Grant us to rise and go up to Bethel,
to bury our idols, to purify our hearts,
and to renew our covenant in worship.
Let our sorrow be turned into the joy of Benjamin,
and our labour into the peace of Isaac’s rest.
Through Jesus Christ, the true Bethel and eternal High Priest,
who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
St. Mary's, St. John Bosco and St. Edward's 