Hello! Welcome to today’s bible study on Genesis 35 and Genesis 36. Genesis 35 is about about Jacob’s return to Bethel with his family and God confirming His covenant wih Jacob whereas Genesis 36 is about the family of Esau. According to Bible scholars, all the events of Genesis 35 & Genesis 36 took place between 1906 B.C. – 1903 B.C. approximately.
I encourage you to turn to Genesis 35 and Genesis 36 in your Bible. Kindly invite the Holy Spirit to guide you as you read and study with me. I mention this in all the Bible Studies because it is only through the Holy Spirit that we get fresh revelation and knowledge to understand the word of God. No one else can teach you better than the Holy Spirit Himself. I am using the New King James Version (NKJV) of the Bible, just in case you want to know.
In the Bible Study on Genesis 34, we read about what happened to Dinah, Jacob’s daughter, and the events that ensued. In the bible study on Genesis 35 and Genesis 36 we will learn about Jacob’s return to Bethel and the family of Esau.
Backstory on Genesis 34
Dinah (Jacob and Leah’s daughter) was violated by Shechem, the prince of the land of Shechem. Hamor, Shechem’s father, asked Jacob for Dinah’s hand in marriage. Jacob’s sons agreed to let their sister marry Shechem if all the males in Shechem were circumcised. When all the males in Shechem were circumcised and were in pain on the third day, Simeon and Levi killed Shechem and all its male inhabitants, capturing their wives and children. Jacob became anxious about the impending retaliation from the Canaanites and Perizzites.
Without any further delay, let us study together Genesis 35 and Genesis 36, shall we?
Genesis 35 Summary: 1906 B.C – 1903 B.C
God instructed Jacob to return to Bethel and build an altar for Him. Jacob asked his household to put away all idols, purify themselves, and change their garments before making the journey. Jacob vowed to make an altar to God who had delivered him. -Jacob’s family obeyed his instructions and gave him all their foreign gods, and he put (buried) them under the terebinth tree by Shechem.
Jacob and his family traveled from Shechem to Bethel. The surrounding cities were terrified of the Lord God of Israel knowing what had happened to Shechem and its inhabitants. At Bethel, Jacob built an altar to the Lord and named it El Bethel meaning God of the House of God. This was where God had appeared to him many years ago confirming His covenant with Jacob. This is also the place where Rebekah’s nurse, Deborah, died and was buried under the terebinth tree, called Allon Bachuth because of the weeping that took place there for Deborah.
God appeared to Jacob, blessed him, and renamed him Israel. God reaffirmed His covenant with Jacob. And Jacob poured a drink offering and oil on a pillar he erected where God had spoken, and named the place Bethel which was previously called Luz.
Rachel died during childbirth while traveling from Bethel to Ephrath. She named her son Ben-oni (son of sorrow) while she was dying, but Jacob renamed him Benjamin (son of the right hand). After her death, Jacob set up a pillar on her grave.
From this point forward in the chapter of Genesis 35, Jacob is called Israel. Israel continued on his journey and pitched his tent beyond Eder tower. While Israel was staying there, his son Reuben went and slept with Bilhah, who was Israel’s concubine. When Israel found out about this, he was deeply troubled because Reuben had defiled his father’s (Jacob a.k.a Israel’s) bed.
Jacob’s firstborn son was Reuben, who was born to Leah. The other sons of Leah were Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. Rachel’s sons were Joseph and Benjamin. Bilhah, Rachel’s maidservant, gave birth to Dan and Naphtali, while Gad and Asher were born to Zilpah, Leah’s maidservant. They were born to Jacob in Padan Aram.
Jacob went to his father Isaac at Mamre, also known as Kirjath Arba (or Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had lived. Isaac was one hundred and eighty years old at the time. He passed away and was buried by his sons Esau and Jacob, having lived a long and fulfilling life.
Genesis 36 Summary: 1906 B.C.
Esau left Canaan with his family, animals, and possessions because there wasn’t enough space for him and his brother Jacob. Their possessions were too many for them to live together, and the land couldn’t support them because of their livestock. Esau moved to Mount Seir and became known as Edom.
To make it easier for you to read and understand, I have prepared a chart below that lists Esau’s descendants.
The chiefs of Edom were the descendants of Esau. Please refer to the chart, that I have prepared, below to see the list of chiefs.
The chiefs of the Horites were the sons of Seir, who was a Horite himself and lived in the land. Esau married a wife (Aholibamah) from this lineage and his son Eliphaz took a concubine (Timna) from this lineage. To avoid confusion, I have prepared a chart that explains this better than reading through the lineage, which can be quite tedious.
Below is a chart of the kings who ruled Edom before the Israelites settled there.
These are the names of the chiefs of Esau: Timnah, Alvah, Jetheth, Aholibamah, Elah, Pinon, Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, Magdiel, and Iram. They were the chiefs of Edom, and Esau was their father.
Genesis 35 Commentary
1. Genesis 35:1-4
In Genesis 35, we learn that even though Jacob settled with his family in Shechem, the Lord gently guided him back to Bethel, which was the place where God originally intended for Jacob to go. If Jacob hadn’t settled in Shechem, bad things wouldn’t have happened to his family and daughter, Dinah (Genesis 34).
We also see that Jacob had a covenant with the Lord, as per the covenant made with his grandfather Abraham and father Isaac. However, Jacob’s household continued to worship idols and foreign gods, despite knowing the importance of serving the Lord alone. It was only later on that Jacob instructed his family to put away foreign idols.
2. Genesis 35:16-19
It is worth noting that Leah, Rachel’s elder sister, had many more sons and a daughter than Rachel, but she did not die during childbirth.
Joseph was Rachel’s firstborn son, and the child she was about to deliver was Benjamin. In her sorrow, she named him Ben-oni, but Jacob named him Benjamin. This illustrates the significance of the power of a name and the words we speak, which can shape an entire person’s future.
However, the question remains: why did Rachel die? It could have been a common occurrence during childbirth in the olden days. But, I think there might be something more to it. Let’s turn back to Genesis 31:30-32. Do you remember when Jacob fled from Laban with his wives and children, and Rachel stole her father’s household idols? In Genesis 31:32, Jacob pronounced a curse on the person who had stolen Laban’s idols. Laban accused Jacob of stealing his household idols, but this angered Jacob because he was serving the Lord and not Laban’s idols. Jacob thought that Laban was falsely accusing him and pronounced a curse of death on whomever had stolen the idols, not realizing that Rachel had taken them.
Rachel’s death
In my opinion, Rachel’s act of stealing the idols and her husband’s curse might have brought about her death. Firstly, it is perilous to be involved with idols. Secondly, Jacob and Rachel were one before God because they were married. Thus, a curse (even if unintentional) from her husband’s mouth towards her was more potent than if it were pronounced by anyone else. Rachel did not oppose the curse to cancel it nor did Jacob renounce the curse because he didn’t know about what Rachel had done.
Genesis 35 Lessons
1. The Lord is patient with us
Despite Jacob’s mistake of settling in Shechem, as described in Genesis 34, the Lord spoke to him and instructed him to return to Bethel where he should construct an altar. It is amazing to see how the Lord remains faithful to His word and covenant despite our shortcomings and failures and gently guides us on the right path.
2. Death and life are in the power of the tongue
It is interesting to note that the name Benjamin has significant meaning in the history of the Israelites. The name Ben-oni could have had a negative impact on the future of the Benjamin tribe. Fortunately, Jacob named the child Benjamin, changing the fate of the tribe.
Additionally, Jacob unknowingly cursed his wife Rachel when he demanded that whoever had stolen Laban’s idols should be put to death.
These two incidents show us the importance of words and the power they hold.
Genesis 36 Commentary
1. Genesis 36:1-5
Esau, the elder twin of Jacob, did not marry within his family to keep the covenant with God. He not only sold his birthright to Jacob but also intermarried with the Canaanites who were pagan worshippers and practiced evil. He even took the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham and Hagar’s son, who had no part in the covenant of Abraham, as his wife. If Esau hadn’t sold his birthright to Jacob, being the firstborn, he would have had the covenant with God and so would his future generations.
2. Genesis 36:16
Amalek is the ancestor of the Amalekites, who are known to be the enemies of Israel. The spirit of Amalek is associated with the persecution of Israel and the Jewish people. Amalek was a chief of Edom and was the grandson of Esau.
Genesis 36 Lessons
1. Hold on to what God gave you
It is important to not be like Esau and hold on tightly to what God created us to be. Esau made a grave mistake when he sold his birthright to Jacob and continued to err by marrying among the Canaanites. He didn’t think of his birthright as a big deal. He should have at least listened to his parents, Isaac and Rebekah concerning his marriage to Caananite women. Marriages could easily break the covenant with God as we see in Esau’s case.
2. Your family members can be your worst enemy
If you examine the story of Esau and Jacob, you can see that although they were twins at birth, their descendants, later, became each other’s worst enemy. The descendants of Esau remain Israel’s greatest enemy even to this day.
Note: Similarities between Isaac, Ishmael, Esau and Jacob
There are similarities between Isaac and Ishmael, as well as Esau and Jacob. Ishmael was born to Hagar, Sarah’s maidservant from Egypt, and had no covenant with God. He was not part of the Abrahamic covenant. On the other hand, Isaac was the promised son through Sarah and inherited Abraham’s promises and covenant with God.
Similarly, Esau and Jacob, who were born through the same mother Rebekah (Isaac’s wife), were born for enmity. Esau had no covenant with God, as he sold his birthright to Jacob for a pot of stew. Jacob became the chosen one who inherited Abraham’s promises and thus had a covenant with God.
Conclusion
This concludes the bible study lesson on Genesis 35 and Genesis 36. This is the first time that I have combined two bible studies into one. I hope you enjoyed this free bible study and found it helpful in your Bible study journey. Feel free to share it with others. Also, share your thoughts about it and what the Holy Spirit has revealed to you about Genesis 35 or Genesis 36. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below. I will get back to you as soon as I can.
What are your thoughts about Genesis 35 and Genesis 36?
Until next time!