The big picture
God directs Jacob back to Bethel, where the journey began with a promise. Household purification and renewed blessing are followed by deaths, a birth and another serious family offense. Return does not eliminate sorrow.
Central truth
God brings Jacob back to Bethel and renews his name and inheritance while the household confronts idolatry, bereavement, sexual wrongdoing, and the passing of Isaac's generation.
The study notes have a page of their own
The movement by movement analysis, the words to trace, the verse by verse notes and where readers differ are written for someone studying alone. They are on the Deep Personal Reflections page for this chapter. This page is the lesson.
A chapter-specific teaching brief
These anchors come from this chapter itself. They help a teacher use the Level 1 overview, the Level 2 study, and the Scripture text as one lesson.
Open with the chapter’s first image
Genesis 35:1: “And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Beth-el, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the…”
Slow down at the turning point
Genesis 35:17: “And it came to pass, when she was in hard labour, that the midwife said unto her, Fear not; thou shalt have this son also.”
Keep this word trail visible
Jacob, Beth, sons, name, Isaac, Israel
What to explain, in order
Teach the passage in this order. Each step names the verses it rests on, so every point can be shown in the text before it is applied.
Genesis 35:1-5
Return to the named place
Open with God's command: "Arise, go up to Beth-el, and dwell there" (35:1). Remind the class of Jacob's vow in 28:20-22 and of the violence in Shechem in chapter 34. Then read Jacob's instructions to his household: put away the foreign gods, be clean, change clothes. Explain that Rachel's stolen images (31:19) are probably among them. Then show God's protection: "the terror of God was upon the cities" (35:5). Teach this first because it shows repentance and renewal after a dark chapter, and God's care over a guilty and frightened family.
Genesis 35:6-8
An altar and a grave under an oak
Jacob arrives at Bethel, builds an altar and names the place El-beth-el, God of Bethel. Explain that the name now honours the God who met him there, not just the place. Then, unexpectedly, Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, dies and is buried under an oak called Allon-bachuth, oak of weeping. Explain that she came with Rebekah in 24:59. Teach this short section to show that worship and grief come together on this journey. It may also hint at Rebekah's own death, which Genesis never records directly.
Genesis 35:9-15
The promise spoken again
God appears to Jacob again and blesses him. Read the renaming in 35:10, which confirms the name given at Peniel (32:28). Then read the promise of 35:11-12. Explain that God Almighty, El Shaddai, is the name used with Abraham in 17:1 and by Isaac in 28:3, and that kings are promised, pointing toward David. Then show Jacob's response: a stone pillar, a drink offering, oil, and the name Bethel again. Teach this as the high point of the chapter, the vow of 28:20-22 fulfilled and the covenant confirmed.
Genesis 35:16-22
Pause for the losses
Now the losses come quickly. Rachel dies in childbirth near Bethlehem, naming her son Ben-oni, and Jacob renames him Benjamin. Explain the two names. Jacob sets a pillar on her grave, and Jeremiah 31:15 later remembers Rachel weeping for her children. Then read 35:22 plainly: Reuben lies with Bilhah. Explain briefly that this was a grave wrong against his father and Bilhah, likely a bid for power. Teach this step slowly, because grief and sin both enter the family right after the renewal of the promise.
Genesis 35:22-29
Twelve sons and a father buried
End with the list of the twelve sons by their mothers, the twelve tribes of Israel. Point out that Benjamin, born in Canaan, completes the count. Then Jacob comes to Isaac at Mamre, and Isaac dies at one hundred and eighty, "old and full of days". Esau and Jacob bury him together. Teach this last because it closes a generation: Isaac's account ends, and Jacob's family stands complete, with all its wounds. Point ahead to chapter 37, where Joseph and the rivalries of his brothers take centre stage.
Where learners get stuck
The misreadings this passage tends to produce, and how to answer each from the text.
"Christians should not wear earrings because Jacob buried them."
The earrings are given up together with "all the strange gods which were in their hand" (35:4), which suggests they were linked to idolatry, perhaps as charms. The text gives no general command about jewellery, and elsewhere Scripture mentions jewellery without condemning it, including the gifts to Rebekah in 24:22. Teach that the point is removing anything that competes with God, and invite learners to consider what that might be for them.
"Rachel's death was punishment for stealing the idols."
Jacob had said whoever had the gods should not live (31:32), and readers sometimes link that oath to 35:18. But Genesis does not say Rachel's death was a punishment; it says she had hard labour and died giving birth (35:16-19). Childbirth deaths were common, and Jacob mourns her deeply (48:7). Teach with care for anyone who has lost someone in childbirth, and avoid drawing a connection the text does not make.
"Reuben's sin was minor because it is mentioned in only one verse."
The Book of Genesis often reports serious acts briefly and records consequences later. Here "Israel heard it" (35:22), and in 49:4 Jacob says Reuben "shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father's bed". 1 Chronicles 5:1 says his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph. Teach that silence in the moment is not approval, and that wrongs within families have lasting consequences, while also remembering that Bilhah is the one most harmed.
"Jacob got a new name twice, so the first one did not count."
At Peniel the man says, "Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel" (32:28). At Bethel God confirms it, "Israel shall be thy name" (35:10), together with the covenant promises. The second naming confirms and extends the first, now linked with the promises to Abraham. Genesis continues to use both names after this, Jacob and Israel, perhaps to reflect his ongoing struggle and his new identity. Teach that God's confirmation reinforces, not cancels, the earlier gift.
Learning objectives
- Identify the household preparations for returning to Bethel.
- Connect the renewed promise with Jacob's earlier encounter there.
- Distinguish the deaths of Deborah, Rachel, and Isaac.
- Describe the two names given at Benjamin's birth.
- Explain why Reuben's act must not disappear into the family list.
- Show how renewed promise and real grief coexist in the chapter.
Teacher preparation
- Read Genesis 28:10–22 and 34:30; place the promised return beside the household's recent danger.
- Mark the altar and pillars separately: worship at Bethel and a grave marker for Rachel are not interchangeable objects.
- Identify Deborah as Rebekah's nurse from 35:8; do not confuse her with the later woman in Judges.
- Prepare a restrained explanation of Rachel's fatal childbirth and Reuben's act with Bilhah. Require neither personal grief accounts nor speculation about Bilhah's wishes.
- Read Genesis 49:3–4 and 1 Chronicles 5:1; identify later consequences of Reuben's act without importing them as statements made in this chapter.
Evidence and interpretation checks
Explicit
Identify the removal of strange gods in Genesis 35:2–4, renewed promise in 35:9–12, and the deaths recorded in 35:8,19,29.
Scripture-supported
Compare Genesis 35:22 with 49:3–4 and 1 Chronicles 5:1; the later texts explicitly connect Reuben's misconduct with lost firstborn privilege.
Strong inference
Infer that renewal does not mean an untroubled household from the juxtaposition of Genesis 35:9–15 with 35:16–22; do not infer that every loss is punishment.
Possible or traditional reading
Treat identification of the removed images specifically with Rachel's stolen gods as a possible connection to Genesis 31:19; Genesis 35:4 does not inventory their individual origins.
Limit
State that Genesis 35:8 does not explain how Deborah joined Jacob's household, and 35:16–20 does not attribute Rachel's death to Jacob's earlier pronouncement.
Discussion with answer guidance
1. What does Jacob require before the household travels to Bethel?
What a good answer contains
Jacob tells his household, "Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments" (35:2). They give him the gods "and all their earrings which were in their ears", and he buries them "under the oak which was by Shechem" (35:4). Three actions prepare them to worship: removing idols, cleansing and new clothes. A good answer notes that the earrings were probably connected with the idols, as charms or amulets, and does not turn this into a rule against all jewellery, which the text does not give.
Show teacher guidance
List removal of strange gods, cleansing, and changed garments in 35:2–4. Distinguish these actions from an unsupported ban on all jewelry.
2. How does Jacob describe the God to whom he will build an altar?
What a good answer contains
"I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went" (35:3). Jacob describes God by what God has done: answered him in distress and been with him on the road. These words answer the promise at Bethel, "I am with thee, and will keep thee" (28:15), and Jacob's vow, "If God will be with me" (28:20). A strong answer connects the two Bethel visits and sees Jacob testifying that the promise was kept.
Show teacher guidance
Read 35:3: the God who answered in distress and accompanied his journey. Connect those words to the first Bethel promise.
3. Which promises accompany the renewed name Israel?
What a good answer contains
God says, "thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name" (35:10), and adds, "I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins" (35:11), and gives him the land promised to Abraham and Isaac (35:12). A good answer lists fruitfulness, a nation and nations, kings and land, and sees that these echo the promises to Abraham in 17:5-8, now confirmed to Israel by name.
Show teacher guidance
Use 35:10–12: fruitfulness, a nation and company of nations, kings, and the land. Keep the promises more specific than general encouragement.
4. What happens between the two names at Rachel's final childbirth?
What a good answer contains
Rachel has hard labour on the road near Ephrath. The midwife says, "Fear not; thou shalt have this son also" (35:17), and "as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Ben-oni: but his father called him Benjamin" (35:18). Ben-oni means son of my sorrow; Benjamin, son of the right hand. A good answer gives both names their weight: Rachel names her grief, and Jacob gives the child a name of honour. It does not invent a conversation between them.
Show teacher guidance
Read 35:16–19: Rachel names Benoni as she dies; Jacob calls him Benjamin. Do not supply a conversation or motive the account omits.
5. Why should the short report about Reuben receive serious attention?
What a good answer contains
"Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine: and Israel heard it" (35:22). The sentence is short, but the act is serious: the firstborn violates his father's household, perhaps to claim his father's place. Genesis records no reaction yet, only "Israel heard it". In 49:3-4 Jacob says, "Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father's bed". A strong answer sees that brevity is not approval and that the consequence comes later, as Reuben loses the firstborn's rights (1 Chronicles 5:1).
Show teacher guidance
Identify the act and Israel's hearing in 35:22, then consult 49:3–4. Brevity does not signal insignificance or approval.
6. Who buries Isaac, and what earlier conflict makes that detail significant?
What a good answer contains
"Isaac gave up the ghost, and died, and was gathered unto his people, being old and full of days: and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him" (35:29). The brothers who were divided by deceit in chapter 27 and reconciled in chapter 33 stand together at their father's grave, as Isaac and Ishmael did for Abraham (25:9). A good answer notices the echo, and does not claim this proves every tension is gone, since Esau's line is recorded separately in chapter 36.
Show teacher guidance
Read 35:27–29: Esau and Jacob act together. Recall chapters 27 and 33 without claiming the burial proves every tension permanently ended.
Responsible application
Heart and habits
Ask learners to distinguish concrete relinquishment from merely announcing a new beginning, using the household's actions before Bethel.
Relationships and community
Draft a response to a fictional grieving household that acknowledges loss without explaining it as deficient faith or hidden punishment.
Remember different people
Design three brief memorial captions for Deborah, Rachel, and Isaac using only details the chapter actually supplies.
Session plans
Two timings of the same lesson. The shorter keeps the reading, the central discussion and one response; the longer gives the confusions and the application their own time.
45 minutes
Return to Bethel
Read 35:1-5. Take question one and confusion one on the earrings.
The God who answered
Read 35:6-8 with 28:20-22. Take question two.
The promise renewed
Read 35:9-15. Take question three and confusion four.
Losses
Read 35:16-20. Take question four and confusion two, with care for the grieving.
A short sentence
Read 35:21-22 and 49:3-4. Take question five and confusion three, briefly.
Isaac buried
Read 35:23-29. Take question six.
Handout and prayer
Read the key verse and pray for those in distress.
90 minutes
Opening
Ask the group what it takes to start over after a painful season.
Put away the strange gods
Read 35:1-5 with 31:19 and 34:30. Take question one and confusion one.
God who answered
Read 35:6-8 and 28:10-22. Take question two.
Israel shall be thy name
Read 35:9-15 with 17:1-8 and 32:28. Take question three and confusion four.
Rachel
Read 35:16-20 and Jeremiah 31:15. Take question four and confusion two.
Reuben
Read 35:21-22, 49:3-4 and 1 Chronicles 5:1. Take question five and confusion three.
Twelve sons and a grave
Read 35:23-29 with 25:9. Take question six and preview chapter 37.
Handout and prayer
Read the key verse, point to the take-home line, and pray with Jacob's words in 35:3.
Adapting the lesson
Children
Act out packing for a trip and leaving behind things that do not belong, as Jacob's family gave up their idols. Teach that Jacob built an altar to thank God, who helped him when he was in trouble. Tell gently that Rachel died when baby Benjamin was born, and that Jacob was very sad. Leave out the details of 35:22. End with the twelve brothers, perhaps by counting twelve paper figures.
Youth
Youth will understand fresh starts. Ask what idols, things that take God's place, they might need to put away. Read 35:3 and talk about God answering in distress. Discuss grief in Rachel's death, and the meaning of Ben-oni and Benjamin. Handle Reuben's act briefly and seriously, and do not ask for personal disclosures. Note how Esau and Jacob come together for their father's funeral.
Adults
Adults can explore repentance and renewal at Bethel, the covenant promises, and the way grief and sin arrive right after blessing. Discuss Reuben's act and its consequences, and family dynamics around inheritance and power. Rachel's death may touch those who have lost loved ones in childbirth or illness. Honour Isaac's long life and the brothers' shared burial without overstating reconciliation.
One to one
Ask whether the person is in a season of starting over. Read 35:1-3 together and talk about what might need to be put away and what God has done for them in distress. If they are grieving, read 35:16-20 slowly. If they carry family wounds, talk about the brothers burying their father together. Pray for a fresh start with God.
Song and video learning lab
A song or video may interpret, compress, or dramatize the text. Its value becomes clearer when its choices are compared with Scripture.
- Before the media: the exact passage and its central movement.
- During the media: the words, people, events, and emotions the artist emphasizes.
- After the media: what it clarifies, what it leaves out, and what belongs back in the biblical text.
Handout
One page for learners to take home. The print button prints this section alone.
Genesis 35:1-29
The passage in brief
God tells Jacob to return to Bethel. Jacob's household puts away their idols and prepares to worship. At Bethel, Jacob builds an altar to the God who answered him in distress. God appears again, confirms the name Israel, and promises nations, kings and the land. On the journey Rachel dies giving birth to Benjamin. Reuben sins against his father. Jacob now has twelve sons. Isaac dies old and full of days, and Esau and Jacob bury him together.
A verse to keep
And let us arise, and go up to Beth-el; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went.
Genesis 35:3 · King James Version
Questions to take home
What did Jacob's household put away before going to Bethel?
How did Jacob describe God in 35:3?
What did Rachel and Jacob each name the baby, and what do the names mean?
This week
Name one way God has been with you in a hard time, and thank him for it in a short written prayer.
Music and video connected to the passage
Related media appears when its Scripture reference overlaps this study. Music and video can illuminate a theme while the biblical text remains the foundation.
