Genesis 35:2
in Genesis 35So Jacob told his household and all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods that are among you. Purify yourselves and change your garments.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the foreign gods that are among you, and purify yourselves, and change your garments:
KJV
Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments:
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This verse in Genesis 35
Commentary
6 notes on this verseAfter he was called by God, Jacob ascends to Bethel, that is, to the house of God (this is how the name Bethel is interpreted), offers sacrifices to God and is declared chief and master of the holy rites. He teaches his successors and descendants how they must enter the house of God. He orders the foreign gods to be rejected like dung and filth and to change the garments. It is fitting for us to do likewise when we are called before God, or enter the divine temple, especially in the time of the holy baptism.
This site's exposition
Get rid of the foreign gods that are among you
on Genesis 35:2-4
Rachel had taken her father's household gods at Genesis 31:19, and the household still carries foreign gods. The order runs get rid of them, purify yourselves, change your garments, which is the preparation Israel is given at Exodus 19:10 before God comes down. Clarke reads the earrings they hand over as charms consecrated to a god. Jacob buries the lot under the oak near Shechem.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Then Jacob said unto his household,....
Doubtless this was his infirmity. Note, Those that are good themselves cannot always have those about them so good as they should be. In those families where there is a face of religion, and an altar to God, yet many times there is much amiss, and more strange gods than one would suspect.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Put away the strange gods - אלהי הנכר elohey hannechar, the gods of the foreigners, which were among them. Jacob’s servants were all Syrians, and no doubt were addicted less or more to idolatry and superstition.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
These bodily purifications were purely figurative; and as sacrifices were offered before the law, so also were external purifications, as appears from the words of Jacob; hence it would seem that types and symbols were used from the fall of man, representing and teaching the two great doctrines of revealed truth--namely, the atonement of Christ and the sanctification of our nature.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
I do not know the significance of the expression, and abide there.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֤אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יַעֲקֹב֙ | yaako | Jacob | H3290 → | 350 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| בֵּית֔וֹ | beito | household his | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| וְאֶ֖ל | veel | and to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| עִמּ֑וֹ | imo | [were] with him | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| הָסִ֜רוּ | hasiru | remove | H5493 → | 299 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֱלֹהֵ֤י | ʾelohei | [the] gods of | H430 → | 2601 times |
| הַנֵּכָר֙ | hanekhar | <the> foreignness | H5236 → | 36 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בְּתֹכְכֶ֔ם | betokhekhem | in midst of you | H8432 → | 418 times |
| וְהִֽטַּהֲר֔וּ | vehitaharu | and purify yourselves | H2891 → | |
| וְהַחֲלִ֖יפוּ | vehachalifu | and change | H2498 → | 28 times |
| שִׂמְלֹתֵיכֶֽם׃ | simloteikhem | clothes your | H8071 → | 29 times |
וַיֹּ֤אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
יַעֲקֹב֙Jacob
yaakoH3290 →350 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
בֵּית֔וֹhousehold his
beitoH1004 →2046 times
וְאֶ֖לand to
veelH413 →5510 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwho
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
עִמּ֑וֹ[were] with him
imoH5973 →1050 times
הָסִ֜רוּremove
hasiruH5493 →299 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אֱלֹהֵ֤י[the] gods of
ʾeloheiH430 →2601 times
הַנֵּכָר֙<the> foreignness
hanekharH5236 →36 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
בְּתֹכְכֶ֔םin midst of you
betokhekhemH8432 →418 times
וְהִֽטַּהֲר֔וּand purify yourselves
vehitaharuH2891 →
וְהַחֲלִ֖יפוּand change
vehachalifuH2498 →28 times
שִׂמְלֹתֵיכֶֽם׃clothes your
simloteikhemH8071 →29 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
James 4:8Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
it leads to
- Hebrews 10:22
let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 145:18
The LORD is near to all who call on Him, to all who call out to Him in truth.
- Malachi 3:7
Yet from the days of your fathers, you have turned away from My statutes and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,” says the LORD of Hosts. “But…
- Zechariah 1:3
So tell the people that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘Return to Me, declares the LORD of Hosts, and I will return to you, says the LORD of Hosts.’
- Isaiah 55:6–7
Seek the LORD while He may be found; call on Him while He is near.
- Hebrews 10:22
Through
Ezekiel 18:31Cast away from yourselves all the transgressions you have committed, and fashion for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. Why should you die, O house of Israel?
it leads to
- Psalms 51:10
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
- Ezekiel 36:26
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
- Romans 8:13
For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
- Psalms 51:10
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Genesis
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, 5.4; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.