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Genesis 35:4

in Genesis 35

So they gave Jacob all their foreign gods and all their earrings, and Jacob buried them under the oak near Shechem.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And they gave unto Jacob all the foreign gods which were in their hand, and the rings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem.

KJV

And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem.

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This verse in Genesis 35

Commentary

7 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

And - ear-rings which were in their ears - Whether these rings were in the ears of the gods, or in those of Jacob’s family, we may rest assured that they were not mere ornaments, but served for superstitious purposes. Ear-rings were certainly worn as amulets and charms, first consecrated to some god, or formed under some constellation, on which magical characters and images were drawn. A very ancient and beautiful one of this kind brought from Egypt, cut out of a solid piece of cornelian, now lies before me.

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.

This site's exposition

Jacob buried them under the oak near Shechem

Abram's first altar in the land stood at the oak of Moreh at Shechem, Genesis 12:6 to 7. At Joshua 24:23 Joshua gives Israel the same order at Shechem, to put away the foreign gods among them. The command returns to the same town.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

), yet better late than never. God bade him go to Beth-el and dwell there, that is, not only go himself, but take his family with him, that they might join with him in his devotions.

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A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

8 ), or that people that said to their idols, Get you hence, Isa. xxx. Jacob took care to bury their images, we may suppose in some place unknown to them, that they might not afterwards find them and return to them. Note, We must be wholly separated from our sins, as we are from those that are dead and buried out of our sight, cast them to the moles and the bats, Isa. ii.

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They gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hands,....

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

The oak being deemed a consecrated tree, to bury them at its root was to deposit them in a place where no bold hand would venture to disturb the ground; and hence it was called from this circumstance--"the plain of Meonenim"--that is, "the oak of enchantments" (Jud 9:37); and from the great stone which Joshua set up--"the oak of the pillar" (Jud 9:6).

The words behind it

21 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וַיִּתְּנ֣וּand they gave

    vaiyitenuH5414 →2011 times

  • אֶֽל־to

    ʾel-H413 →5510 times

  • יַעֲקֹ֗בJacob

    yaakoH3290 →350 times

  • אֵ֣ת<obj.>

    ʾetH853 →10935 times

  • כָּל־all

    kol-H3605 →5413 times

  • אֱלֹהֵ֤י[the] gods of

    ʾeloheiH430 →2601 times

  • הַנֵּכָר֙<the> foreignness

    hanekharH5236 →36 times

  • אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich

    ʾasherH834 →5497 times

  • בְּיָדָ֔ם[were] in hand their

    beyadamH3027 →1618 times

  • וְאֶת־and <obj.>

    veetH853 →10935 times

  • הַנְּזָמִ֖יםthe rings

    hanezamimH5141 →17 times

  • אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich

    ʾasherH834 →5497 times

  • בְּאָזְנֵיהֶ֑ם[were] in ears their

    beazeneihemH241 →187 times

  • וַיִּטְמֹ֤ןand he hid

    vaiyitmonH2934 →

  • אֹתָם֙<obj.> them

    ʾotamH853 →10935 times

  • יַעֲקֹ֔בJacob

    yaakoH3290 →350 times

  • תַּ֥חַתunder

    tachatH8478 →505 times

  • הָאֵלָ֖הthe oak

    haelahH424 →

  • אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich

    ʾasherH834 →5497 times

  • עִם־[was] near

    ʾim-H5973 →1050 times

  • שְׁכֶֽם׃Shechem

    shekhemH7927 →63 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

18 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Judges 9:6Then all the leaders of Shechem and Beth-millo gathered beside the oak at the pillar in Shechem and proceeded to make Abimelech their king.5 worksExodus 32:2–4So Aaron told them, “Take off the gold earrings that are on your wives and sons and daughters, and bring them to me.”4 worksDeuteronomy 7:25You must burn up the images of their gods; do not covet the silver and gold that is on them or take it for yourselves, or you will be ensnared by it; for it is detestable to the LORD your God.4 worksJudges 8:24–27Then he added, “Let me make a request of you, that each of you give me an earring from his plunder.” (For the enemies had gold earrings because they were Ishmaelites.)4 worksExodus 32:20Then he took the calf they had made, burned it in the fire, ground it to powder, and scattered the powder over the face of the water. Then he forced the Israelites to drink it.4 worksIsaiah 30:22So you will desecrate your silver-plated idols and your gold-plated images. You will throw them away like menstrual cloths, saying to them, “Be gone!”4 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
Acts 19:19And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books and burned them in front of everyone. When the value of the books was calculated, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas.4 worksGenesis 12:6Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the Oak of Moreh at Shechem. And at that time the Canaanites were in the land.4 worksHosea 2:13I will punish her for the days of the Baals when she burned incense to them, when she decked herself with rings and jewelry, and went after her lovers. But Me she forgot,” declares the LORD.3 worksIsaiah 2:20In that day men will cast away to the moles and bats their idols of silver and gold—the idols they made to worship.3 worksJoshua 24:26Joshua recorded these things in the Book of the Law of God. Then he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak that was near the sanctuary of the LORD.3 worksJoshua 24:2And Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Long ago your fathers, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates and worshiped other gods.3 worksDeuteronomy 7:5Instead, this is what you are to do to them: tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, cut down their Asherah poles, and burn their idols in the fire.2 worksJoshua 24:25–26On that day Joshua made a covenant for the people, and there at Shechem he established for them a statute and ordinance.2 worksIsaiah 3:20their headdresses, ankle chains, and sashes; their perfume bottles and charms;2 worksEzekiel 16:11I adorned you with jewelry, and I put bracelets on your wrists and a chain around your neck.2 works1 Chronicles 6:67They were given Shechem (a city of refuge) with its pasturelands in the hill country of Ephraim, and Gezer,2 worksJoshua 24:1Then Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shechem. He summoned the elders, leaders, judges, and officers of Israel, and they presented themselves before God.1 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    Deuteronomy 7:25

    You must burn up the images of their gods; do not covet the silver and gold that is on them or take it for yourselves, or you will be ensnared by it; for it…

    it leads to

    • Exodus 32:20

      Then he took the calf they had made, burned it in the fire, ground it to powder, and scattered the powder over the face of the water. Then he forced the Israelites to drink…

    • Deuteronomy 17:1

      You shall not sacrifice to the LORD your God an ox or a sheep with any defect or serious flaw, for that is detestable to the LORD your God.

    • 1 Chronicles 14:12

      There the Philistines abandoned their gods, and David ordered that they be burned in the fire.

    • Deuteronomy 12:3

      Tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, burn up their Asherah poles, cut down the idols of their gods, and wipe out their names from every place.

    • Joshua 7:21

      When I saw among the spoils a beautiful cloak from Shinar, two hundred shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in…

  • Through

    Exodus 32:20

    Then he took the calf they had made, burned it in the fire, ground it to powder, and scattered the powder over the face of the water. Then he forced the Israelites to drink…

    it leads to

    • Deuteronomy 9:21

      And I took that sinful thing, the calf you had made, and burned it in the fire. Then I crushed it and ground it to powder as fine as dust, and I cast it…

  • Through

    Judges 9:6

    Then all the leaders of Shechem and Beth-millo gathered beside the oak at the pillar in Shechem and proceeded to make Abimelech their king.

    it leads to

    • 2 Samuel 5:9

      So David took up residence in the fortress and called it the City of David. He built it up all the way around, from the supporting terraces inward.

    • 1 Kings 12:25

      Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. And from there he went out and built Penuel.

Where this verse is studied

About Genesis

The Tower of Babel, Pieter Brueghel the Elder, 1563. Public domain.
The Tower of Babel, Pieter Brueghel the Elder, 1563. Public domain.
Genesis: the study guide →Read Genesis 35 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Genesis 35 →