Genesis 36:5 | 69
13
Then God went up from him at the place where he had talked with him .
14
Ja cob set up a stone pil lar at the place where God had talked with him , and he poured out a drink of fer ing on it ; he also poured oil on it . 15 Jacob called the place where God had talked with him Beth el . a
The Deaths of Rachel and Isaac
35:23-26pp — 1Ch 2:1-2
16
Then they moved on from Beth el . While they were still some dis tance from Eph rath , Ra chel began to give birth and had great dif fi cul ty . 17 And as she was hav ing great dif fi cul ty in child birth , the mid wife said to her , “ Don ’ t de spair , for you have an oth er son .” 18 As she breathed her last — for she was dy ing — she named her son Ben-Oni . b But his fa ther named him Ben ja min . c
19
So Ra chel died and was bur ied on the way to Eph rath ( that is , Beth le hem ). 20 Over her tomb Ja cob set up a pil lar , and to this day that pil lar marks Ra chel ’ s tomb .
21
Is ra el moved on again and pitched his tent be yond Mig dal Eder . 22 While Is ra el was liv ing in that re gion , Reu ben went in and slept with his fa ther ’ s con cu bine Bil hah , and Is ra el heard of it .
Ja cob had twelve sons :
23
The sons of Leah : Reu ben the first born of Ja cob , Sim e on , Levi , Ju dah , Is sa char and Zeb u lun .
24
The sons of Ra chel : Jo seph and Ben ja min .
25 The sons of Ra chel ’ s ser vant Bil hah : Dan and Naph ta li .
26
The sons of Le ah ’ s ser vant Zil pah : Gad and Ash er .
These were the sons of Ja cob , who were born to him in Pad dan Aram .
27
Ja cob came home to his fa ther Isaac in Mamre , near Kir i ath Arba ( that is , He bron ), where Abra ham and Isaac had stayed . 28 Isaac lived a hun dred and eighty years . 29 Then he breathed his last and died and was gath ered to his people , old and full of years . And his sons Esau and Ja cob bur ied him .
Esau ’ s Descendants
36:10-14pp — 1Ch 1:35-37 36:20-28pp — 1Ch 1:38-42
36
This is the ac count of the fam i ly line of Esau ( that is , Edom ).
2
Esau took his wives from the wom en of Ca naan : Adah daugh ter of Elon the Hittite , and Ohol i ba mah daugh ter of Anah and grand daugh ter of Zib e on the Hi vite — 3 also Bas e math daugh ter of Ish ma el and sis ter of Ne ba ioth .
4
Adah bore El i phaz to Esau , Bas e math bore Reu el , 5 and Ohol i ba mah bore Je ush , Ja lam and Ko rah . These were the sons of Esau , who were born to him in Ca naan . a
15 Bethel means house of God . b
18 Ben-Oni means son of my trouble . c
18 Benjamin means son of my right hand .
35:14 stone pillar See note on 28:18 . drink offering This offering involved pouring out liquid , usually wine , in honor of God ( compare Ex 29:40 – 42 ; Isa 57:6 ). oil on it This marks the pillar as sacred ( compare Ge 28:18 ).
35:16 – 29 This section describes Jacob ’ s travels south and records the deaths of Rachel and Isaac , as well as an additional tragic incident involving Reuben .
35:16 Ephrath Genesis 35:19 identifies Ephrath with Bethlehem , as do other passages ( 48:7 ; 1Sa 17:12 ; Ru 1:2 ; 4:11 ; Mic 5:2 ). Bethlehem is located in the territory of the tribe of Judah ; it is surprising that Rachel is not buried in one of the territories allotted to her sons — Joseph and Benjamin . 35:18 Ben-Oni This Hebrew name can mean either “ son of my sorrow ,” “ son of my oath ” or “ son of my wickedness .” Because of the context , “ son of my sorrow ” is more likely . his father named him Benjamin Benjamin ( binyamin in Hebrew ) means “ son of the right hand .” Since the Hebrew word yamin is also used to denote the southern direction ( facing east ), the name can also mean “ son of the south .” See the table “ Symbolic Names of People in Hebrew ” on p . 1388 . 35:22 his father ’ s concubine Bilhah Bilhah was Rachel ’ s maidservant . With the matriarch of the family ( Rachel ) now dead , Reuben ’ s violation of Bilhah ensures she will never replace Rachel as chief wife . Had Bilhah desired this status , her chief rival would have been Leah — Reuben ’ s mother . Reuben was already the firstborn ( Ge 29:32 ; 35:23 ), but Jacob ’ s favor of Rachel — and thus her sons — likely concerned him . He may have also been concerned for his mother . Since Reuben was the firstborn , cohabiting with his father ’ s concubine represented a challenge to his aging father ’ s position and authority . Reuben ’ s act is a political move for power , one that recurs elsewhere in the OT for similar reasons ( 2Sa 3:7 – 8 ; 12:7 – 10 ; 16:21 – 22 ; 1Ki 2:13 – 25 ). Jacob commemorates Reuben ’ s failure in his deathbed rebuke , denying Reuben any right to preeminence over his siblings and their families ( Ge 49:3 – 4 ). 35:27 Kiriath Arba This is an early name for Hebron . See note on 23:2 .
36:1 – 43 There are two genealogies in this passage : vv . 1 – 8 and vv . 9 – 43 . This passage is the last mention of Esau in Genesis ( compare note on 5:1 ). The remainder of the book ( chs . 37 – 50 ) focuses on Jacob ’ s descendants .
36:1 Esau See note on 25:25 . Edom See 25:30 and note . 36:2 Esau took his wives The names of Esau ’ s wives in this account differ from those in 26:34 and 28:9 . Despite these variances , all the traditions agree that Esau married foreign wives ( see 26:35 ; 27:46 — 28:9 ). women of Canaan This Hebrew term is used in the Pentateuch to refer to the wide range of peoples living in the region .