Genesis 28:19
in Genesis 28and he called that place Bethel, though previously the city had been named Luz.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he called the name of that place Beth-el: but the name of the city was Luz at the first.
KJV
And he called the name of that place Beth–el: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first.
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This verse in Genesis 28
Commentary
6 notes on this verse(Chapter 28, verse 19) And he called the name of that place Bethel, but previously its name was Luz. From what he had said above: How awesome is this place, it is nothing but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven: now he gives the place a name, and he calls it Bethel, which means the house of God. The place was previously called Luz, which means nut or almond. Therefore, some foolishly think that the Hebrew word Ulam is the name of a city, when Ulam actually means previously.
This site's exposition
he set it up as a pillar
on Genesis 28:18-19
The stone under Jacob's head becomes a pillar, and he pours oil on top of it. He sets up pillars again at 31:45 with Laban, at 35:14 on this same spot, and over Rachel's grave at 35:20. Jerome takes the old name Luz to mean almond. Cyril of Alexandria read the anointed stone as a figure of Christ, anointed with the oil of gladness.
This site's exposition
the city had been named Luz
The Hebrew word for previously stands right before Luz, and some Greek copies ran the two together into one name, Oulamlouz, as Adam Clarke reports. Jerome corrects readers who took Ulam for a city. Bethel means the house of God, the words Jacob spoke in verse 17.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
This gracious appearance of God to him put a greater honour upon it, and made it more remarkable, than all the almond-trees that flourished there. This is that Beth-el where, long after, it is said, God found Jacob, and there (in what he said to him) he spoke with us, Hos. xii.
And he called the name of that place Bethel,.... The house of God, which he took this place to be: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first; which signifies an almond or hazel nut, Gen 30:37; perhaps from the number of this sort of trees that grew there, under which Jacob might lay himself down, which was probably in the field of Luz; and being at night, he might not know there was a city so near, until the morning.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
He called the name of that place Beth-el - That is, the house of God; for in consequence of his having anointed the stone, and thus consecrated it to God, he considered it as becoming henceforth his peculiar residence; see on the preceding verse. This word should be always pronounced as two distinct syllables, each strongly accented, Beth-El. Was called Luz at the first - The Hebrew has אולם לוז Ulam Luz, which the Roman edition of the Septuagint translates Ουλαμλουζ Oulamlouz; the Alexandrian MS., Ουλαμμους Oulammaus; the Aldine, Ουλαμμαους Oulammaous; Symmachus, Λαμμαους Lammaous; and some others, Ουλαμ Oulam.
The words behind it
12 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּקְרָ֛א | vaiyikra' | and he called | H7121 → | 733 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| שֵֽׁם־ | shem- | [the] name of | H8034 → | 864 times |
| הַמָּק֥וֹם | hamakom | the place | H4725 → | 401 times |
| הַה֖וּא | hahu' | <the> that | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| בֵּֽית־ | beit- | Beth- | H1008 → | 142 times |
| אֵ֑ל | ʾel | -el | H1008 → | 142 times |
| וְאוּלָ֛ם | veulam | and but | H199 → | |
| ל֥וּז | luz | [was] Luz | H3870 → | 8 times |
| שֵׁם־ | shem- | [the] name of | H8034 → | 864 times |
| הָעִ֖יר | hair | the city | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| לָרִאשֹׁנָֽה׃ | larishonah | to the former [time] | H7223 → | 182 times |
וַיִּקְרָ֛אand he called
vaiyikra'H7121 →733 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
שֵֽׁם־[the] name of
shem-H8034 →864 times
הַמָּק֥וֹםthe place
hamakomH4725 →401 times
הַה֖וּא<the> that
hahu'H1931 →1879 times
בֵּֽית־Beth-
beit-H1008 →142 times
אֵ֑ל-el
ʾelH1008 →142 times
וְאוּלָ֛םand but
veulamH199 →
ל֥וּז[was] Luz
luzH3870 →8 times
שֵׁם־[the] name of
shem-H8034 →864 times
הָעִ֖ירthe city
hairH5892 →1090 times
לָרִאשֹׁנָֽה׃to the former [time]
larishonahH7223 →182 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Genesis 35:1Then God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel, and settle there. Build an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.”
it leads to
- Genesis 31:13
I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed the pillar and made a solemn vow to Me. Now get up and leave this land at once, and return to your native land.’”
- Hosea 12:4
Yes, he struggled with the angel and prevailed; he wept and sought His favor; he found Him at Bethel and spoke with Him there—
- Psalms 91:15
When he calls out to Me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him and honor him.
- Deuteronomy 32:36
For the LORD will vindicate His people and have compassion on His servants when He sees that their strength is gone and no one remains, slave or free.
- Genesis 31:3
Then the LORD said to Jacob, “Go back to the land of your fathers and to your kindred, and I will be with you.”
- Genesis 31:13
Through
Genesis 48:3Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and there He blessed me
it leads to
- Genesis 35:9–12
After Jacob had returned from Paddan-aram, God appeared to him again and blessed him.
- Genesis 17:1
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty. Walk before Me and be blameless.
- Genesis 35:9–12
Through
1 Kings 12:29One calf he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan.
it leads to
- Judges 18:27–31
After they had taken Micah’s idols and his priest, they went to Laish, to a tranquil and unsuspecting people, and they struck them with their swords and burned down the city.
- Judges 18:27–31
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Cyril of Alexandria, Glaphyra on Genesis; Jerome, Hebrew Questions on Genesis; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.