Genesis 35:14
in Genesis 35So Jacob set up a pillar in the place where God had spoken with him—a stone marker—and he poured out a drink offering on it and anointed it with oil.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he spake with him, a pillar of stone: and he poured out a drink-offering thereon, and poured oil thereon.
KJV
And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he talked with him, even a pillar of stone: and he poured a drink offering thereon, and he poured oil thereon.
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This verse in Genesis 35
Commentary
7 notes on this verseWhen we ascend to Bethel, that is, to the house of God, we will know the stone, I mean, the elected stone, which was made into a cornerstone, that is, Christ. We will see the one who is anointed by the Father in joy and exultation for all the creatures that live under the sky. As I said, the Son is anointed by God the Father: "Joy of us all, universal exultation" according to the words of the psalmist.
This site's exposition
God went up from the place
on Genesis 35:13-15
Jacob answers with a pillar, as he had at Genesis 28:18, and this stone takes a drink offering. It is the first drink offering in Scripture. He gives the place the name he had given it twenty years before, so the vow and the paying of it carry one name.
This site's exposition
he poured out a drink offering on it
The drink offering is nesek, poured out, the libation later set beside the daily offerings at Numbers 28:7. The pillar is a matsevah, the word Deuteronomy 16:22 uses when it forbids Israel to set one up for worship. His pillar marks where God spoke.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
When he was going to Padan-aram, he set up for a pillar that stone on which he had laid his head. This was agreeable enough to his low condition and his hasty flight; but now he took time to erect one more stately, more distinguishable and durable, probably placing that stone in it.
Dan, and Naphtali: 26 And the sons of Zilpah, Leah's handmaid; Gad, and Asher: these are the sons of Jacob, which were born to him in Padan-aram. 27 And Jacob came unto Isaac his father unto Mamre, unto the city of Arbah, which is Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac sojourned.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he talked with him,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A drink-offering - נסך nesech, a libation. These were afterwards very common in all countries. At first they consisted probably of water only, afterwards wine was used; see on Lev 7:1 (note), etc. The pillar which Jacob set up was to commemorate the appearance of God to him; the drink-offering and the oil were intended to express his gratitude and devotion to his preserver. It was probably the same pillar which he had set up before, which had since been thrown down, and which he had consecrated afresh to God.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra explained it as meaning: “And Jacob had previously. See above,:18; also Ramban, ibid., Verse. set up a pillar, and now he poured out a drink-offering thereon, and poured oil thereon.” This is correct.
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
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּצֵּ֨ב | vaiyatzev | and he set up | H5324 → | 75 times |
| יַעֲקֹ֜ב | yaako | Jacob | H3290 → | 350 times |
| מַצֵּבָ֗ה | matzevah | a pillar | H4676 → | 32 times |
| בַּמָּק֛וֹם | bamakom | at the place | H4725 → | 401 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | where | H834 → | 5497 times |
| דִּבֶּ֥ר | diber | he had spoken | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| אִתּ֖וֹ | ʾito | with him | H854 → | 929 times |
| מַצֶּ֣בֶת | matzevet | a pillar of | H4678 → | |
| אָ֑בֶן | ʾaven | stone | H68 → | 273 times |
| וַיַּסֵּ֤ךְ | vaiyasekh | and he poured out | H5258 → | |
| עָלֶ֙יהָ֙ | ʾaleiha | on it | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| נֶ֔סֶךְ | nesekh | a drink offering | H5262 → | |
| וַיִּצֹ֥ק | vaiyitzok | and he poured | H3332 → | |
| עָלֶ֖יהָ | ʾaleiha | on it | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| שָֽׁמֶן׃ | shamen | oil | H8081 → |
וַיַּצֵּ֨בand he set up
vaiyatzevH5324 →75 times
יַעֲקֹ֜בJacob
yaakoH3290 →350 times
מַצֵּבָ֗הa pillar
matzevahH4676 →32 times
בַּמָּק֛וֹםat the place
bamakomH4725 →401 times
אֲשֶׁר־where
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
דִּבֶּ֥רhe had spoken
diberH1696 →1141 times
אִתּ֖וֹwith him
ʾitoH854 →929 times
מַצֶּ֣בֶתa pillar of
matzevetH4678 →
אָ֑בֶןstone
ʾavenH68 →273 times
וַיַּסֵּ֤ךְand he poured out
vaiyasekhH5258 →
עָלֶ֙יהָ֙on it
ʾaleihaH5921 →5755 times
נֶ֔סֶךְa drink offering
nesekhH5262 →
וַיִּצֹ֥קand he poured
vaiyitzokH3332 →
עָלֶ֖יהָon it
ʾaleihaH5921 →5755 times
שָֽׁמֶן׃oil
shamenH8081 →
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
Exodus 17:15And Moses built an altar and named it The LORD Is My Banner.
it leads to
- Genesis 22:14
And Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. So to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Judges 6:24
So Gideon built an altar to the LORD there and called it The LORD Is Peace. To this day it stands in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
- Psalms 60:4
You have raised a banner for those who fear You, that they may flee the bow. Selah
- Genesis 22:14
Through
1 Samuel 7:12Afterward, Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the LORD has helped us.”
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 1:10
He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He will deliver us. In Him we have placed our hope that He will yet again deliver us,
- Joshua 4:9
Joshua also set up twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan, in the place where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant stood. And the stones are there to this day.
- Acts 26:22
But I have had God’s help to this day, and I stand here to testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen:
- 1 Samuel 5:1
After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod,
- 2 Corinthians 1:10
Through
Genesis 35:20Jacob set up a pillar on her grave; it marks Rachel’s tomb to this day.
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 10:2
When you leave me today, you will find two men at Rachel’s tomb in Zelzah on the border of Benjamin. They will say to you, ‘The donkeys you seek have been found, and now…
- 1 Samuel 10:2
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies15
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, 5.5; 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.