टीका वर्तमान में केवल अंग्रेज़ी में उपलब्ध है। हिन्दी अनुवाद प्रगति पर है।
Genesis 35 — Arise, Go Up to Bethel
God calls Jacob back to Bethel. He purges his household of idols. He builds an altar. God reaffirms the new name Israel and the covenant. Rachel dies giving birth to Benjamin. Reuben defiles Bilhah. Isaac dies at 180.
“Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God.”
— Genesis 35:1
- v.1-7 The command to return to Bethel; the burial of idols
- v.8 The death of Deborah, Rebekah's nurse
- v.9-15 God renews the blessing; the pillar at Bethel
- v.16-20 The death of Rachel; the birth of Benjamin
- v.21-22 Reuben's sin with Bilhah
- v.23-29 The twelve sons listed; the death of Isaac
They surrendered the idols. The household obeyed. Spiritual leadership in a family is possible — Jacob took authority and his household followed.
Jacob buried them. Things put away must be put deep. Half-buried idols rise again. The sins we leave only partially dealt with often reappear when we are weakest.
The new name given at Peniel (32:28) is now formally confirmed at Bethel. The renewal of identity must sometimes be repeated. We hear and we forget. God speaks the same word again.
God uses both names in subsequent chapters — sometimes Jacob when the old nature appears, sometimes Israel when faith prevails. We are both at once until the end.
Rachel named the child Benoni — "son of my sorrow." Jacob renamed him Benjamin — "son of my right hand." Two perspectives on the same child.
The grief of the mother and the joy of the father in the same moment. The cost of life is real; the gift of life is real. Both must be named.
The pattern foreshadows Christ — the Father called Him son of my right hand (Psalm 110:1), but His mother's heart was pierced (Luke 2:35) by sorrow.
And Israel heard it. The text records and stops. No action. The silence repeats the pattern of chapter 34. Jacob again knew of family sin and did not act.
Reuben lost his birthright for this (49:3-4; 1 Chronicles 5:1). The cost compounded across generations — Reuben's tribe never became prominent in Israel.
What idols are still in your household? Not stone images — the modern equivalents. The grudge in the corner of your heart, the rival you secretly worship, the comfort you trust more than God. Before you go up to Bethel — before any new chapter — put them away, be clean, change your garments.
Benjamin — son of my right hand — anticipates Christ as the Son seated at the right hand of God (Hebrews 1:3). The mother's sorrow that named him Benoni anticipates Mary at the cross. The Father saw the same Son both ways: pierced for sorrow, exalted to the right hand.
Before returning to Bethel, Jacob purges the household. Idols cannot accompany you to the place where you met God. Some baggage must be left behind before the next chapter.
Three commands — put away, be clean, change garments. Repentance is comprehensive: get rid of the wrong, cleanse what remains, present yourself afresh. The pattern is the same in every revival.