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1 And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother. 2 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: 3 And let us arise, and go up to Bethel; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went. 4 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. 5 And they journeyed: and the terror of God was upon the cities that were round about them, and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob. 6 So Jacob came to Luz, which is in the land of Canaan, that is, Bethel, he and all the people that were with him. 7 And he built there an altar, and called the place El-beth-el: because there God appeared unto him, when he fled from the face of his brother. 8 But Deborah Rebekah's nurse died, and she was buried beneath Bethel under an oak: and the name of it was called Allon-bachuth. 9 And God appeared unto Jacob again, when he came out of Padan-aram, and blessed him. 10 And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and he called his name Israel. 11 And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins; 12 And the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land. 13 And God went up from him in the place where he talked with him. 14 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. 15 And Jacob called the name of the place where God spake with him, Bethel. 16 And they journeyed from Bethel; and there was but a little way to come to Ephrath: and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labour. 17 And it came to pass, when she was in hard labour, that the midwife said unto her, Fear not; thou shalt have this son also. 18 And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Ben-oni: but his father called him Benjamin. 19 And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem. 20 And Jacob set a pillar upon her grave: that is the pillar of Rachel's grave unto this day. 21 And Israel journeyed, and spread his tent beyond the tower of Edar. 22 And it came to pass, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine: and Israel heard it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve: 23 The sons of Leah; Reuben, Jacob's firstborn, and Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Zebulun: 24 The sons of Rachel; Joseph, and Benjamin: 25 And the sons of Bilhah, Rachel's handmaid; 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. 28 And the days of Isaac were an hundred and fourscore years. 29 And Isaac gave up the ghost, and died, and was gathered unto his people, being old and full of days: and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.
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[AD 444] Cyril of Alexandria on Genesis 35:2
After 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. We, as if we drive away the foreign gods and part from such error, must assert, “I refuse you, Satan, and all your pomp and all your worship.” We also must change completely our garment by stripping off “the old self that is corrupt through deceitful lusts” and by clothing ourselves with “the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to image of its Creator.” The women who were with Jacob took off their earrings. And in fact women by entering the house of God without wearing any carnal ornament and with loose hair remove from their head any accusation of pride. That is why, I believe, those women took off the precious stones they wore in their ears.

Source: GLAPHYRA ON GENESIS, 5.4
[AD 420] Jerome on Genesis 35:6
(Chapter 35, Verse 6.) And Jacob came to Luz in the land of Canaan, which is Bethel. Here it is clearly confirmed that Bethel is not Ulammaus, as stated above, but Luz, that is, the almond tree mentioned before.

Source: Hebrew Questions on Genesis
[AD 420] Jerome on Genesis 35:7
(Verse 7.) And Jacob came to his father Isaac in Mamre, the city of Arba, which is Hebron. Arba was formerly a great city with fields surrounding it, while Hebron itself is situated on a mountain. This city is also called Mamre, as it has been called since ancient times by Abraham's friend.

Source: Hebrew Questions on Genesis
[AD 420] Jerome on Genesis 35:8
(Verse 8) And Deborah, the nurse of Rebekah, died and was buried near Bethel. If the nurse of Rebekah named Deborah is dead, as the Septuagint interpreters also translated here, and the Hebrew word is Meneketh: we cannot know why they put 'substantiam' there, 'nutricem' here.

Source: Hebrew Questions on Genesis
[AD 420] Jerome on Genesis 35:10
(Verse 10) And God said to him, Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name: and he called his name Israel. For a long time, his name was not given to him by an angel, but it was predicted that it would be given by God. Therefore, what is promised to happen there is taught to be fulfilled here.

Source: Hebrew Questions on Genesis
[AD 444] Cyril of Alexandria on Genesis 35:14
When 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. And you see how this is prefigured in the words that were just said to us: “And Jacob set up a stone and poured oil upon it.” That action is a symbol of the mystery of Christ, through whom and with whom be glory to God the Father and the Holy Spirit, world without end. Amen.

Source: GLAPHYRA ON GENESIS, 5.5
[AD 420] Jerome on Genesis 35:16
(Verse 16.) And it came to pass, while he was approaching Chabratha in the land of Canaan, to come to Ephratha, Rachel gave birth to the Hebrew word () Chabratha, in the following, where Jacob speaks to Joseph: But when I came from Mesopotamia in Syria, your mother Rachel died in the land of Canaan, on the way to Hippodrome, to come to Ephrata (Gen. 48): I do not know what they wanted, the Septuagint interpreters translated Hippodrome: and immediately there, where it is said in Hebrew: And they buried her on the way to Ephrata, this is Bethlehem (Gen. 35:19), again the Septuagint put Hippodrome instead of Ephrata: since surely if Chabratha is Hippodrome, Ephrata cannot be Hippodrome. But Aquila translated it this way: And it came to pass καθ᾽ ὁδον τῆς γῆς, that is, in the journey of the earth, when he entered into Ephratah. But it is better if it is translated, in the chosen time of the earth, when he entered into Ephratha. Moreover, it signifies the springtime, when all things burst into flower, and the chosen time of the year: or when those passing by along the way pluck and choose from the nearby fields whatever comes to hand, enticed by various flowers. Indeed, Ephrata and Bethlehem are two names for the same city, with similar meanings. For they both translate to 'fruitful' and 'house of bread', respectively. This is because of the bread that is said to have come down from heaven (John 6).

Source: Hebrew Questions on Genesis
[AD 420] Jerome on Genesis 35:18
(Verse 18.) And it came to pass, when her soul departed, for she died, that he called her name, 'The Son of my Sorrow'; but his father called his name Benjamin. In Hebrew, the similarity of the name is echoed; for the son of my sorrow, which the dying mother gave him as a name, is called Benoni (). However, the son of the right hand, that is, of strength, which Jacob changed, is called Benjamin. Hence, those who think Benjamin () is interpreted as 'Son of Days' are mistaken. For when the right hand is called Jamin (), and it ends in the letter n: the days are indeed called Jamim (), but they end in the letter m.

Source: Hebrew Questions on Genesis
[AD 420] Jerome on Genesis 35:21
(Verse 21.) And Israel advanced and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eder. The Hebrews believe that this place is where the temple was later built, and the tower of Eder signifies the tower of the flock, that is, the congregation and assembly. This is also testified to by the prophet Micah, saying: And you, O cloudy tower of the flock, daughter of Zion (Micah 4:8), and so on. At that time, Jacob set up his tents across the place where the temple was later built. But if we follow the order of the way, there is a place near Bethlehem where the shepherds were, where even the King of the Angels sang at the birth of the Lord, or where Jacob fed his flock, giving the place its name, or what is more true, a certain prophecy was already then indicating the future mystery.

Source: Hebrew Questions on Genesis