A Curious Ceremony Before The Departure From Shechem
YAHWEH remained the head of the caravan. 'Move on now,' HE commanded Yacob, 'and go to Bethel and settle there. 21 Make an altar there for YAHWEH WHO appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau.' But before leaving, for the time being at least, for they hoped to return to this land made Qadash by the passage there of the great patriarch Abraham, Yacob made arrangements for a ceremony, strange yet pregnant with meaning, which offers us a curious insight into the spiritual reform effected in this small group whose chieftain, alone up to the present, adhered to the idea of the one YAHWEH.
Speaking threateningly to his sons and wives, his concubines, his slaves and shepherds Yacob commanded, 'Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you; wash, and change your clothes.' They gave Yacob all the foreign gods in their possession, and the earrings that they were wearing. Yacob buried them under the oak tree near Shechem (Bereshith 35: 2-4).
'Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you,' Yacob had ordered. All these shepherds, natives of the country on the banks of the Euphrates, and the slaves carried off from the most remote regions of the Near East and the servants, were worshippers of deities originating in all sorts of different countries: Mesopotamian idols (Sumerian or Akkadian), Semitic gods (more especially those of Canaan), even those of Egypt. They formed a picturesque pantheon of wooden, copper, bronze or earthenware statues, almost always much reduced in size so that they could be easily carried about by these wandering pastoral folk continually on the move. Even Laban's daughters had kept their Aramean religion. Rachel stole her father's teraphim almost certainly to be able to pay homage in the privacy of her tent to the deities of her ancestors.
By his violent and general rejection of these idols Yacob firmly intended to proclaim the faith of all his people before the one YAHWEH, the PROTECTOR of his clan; this 'jealous' YAHWEH WHO had no intention of sharing HIS honour and HIS worship with 'foreign gods'.
'Wash and change your clothes.' Bethel was a Qadash place. Now the Hebrews (and well before them the primitive Semites and also the Vedic Hindus and the Peruvians of pre-Columbus days) believed that a man could not approach a place where the deity had been manifested without previously being 'sanctified', that is, 'purified'. To grasp the precise meaning of these terms we can refer to the prescriptions of the old law; obviously these are later than the period with which we are concerned, but by reason of the almost unchangeable nature of the liturgical observances of those times the historian is here on fairly solid ground.
Two days before the ceremony which was to take place in a set apart place (sometimes one day was enough) the worshipper was bound to change his clothes, or at least to wash them (Shemoth 19: 10; Josh. 3: 5, 7, 13), and although there was no question of taking a bath, as was done before a profane festivity, he had to be clean when he drew near to YAHWEH. All these prescriptions are derived from very strict spiritual regulations. For according to the general beliefs of most primitive peoples the individual's body and his clothes could attract the spiritual powers to be found scattered about his environment. And by definition these profane entities were regarded, at least in principle, as hostile to the supernatural beings to whom homage was to be paid.
In the same way, before entering a place in which YAHWEH dwelt, sandals had to be taken off (as Moses did on Sinai when YAHWEH summoned him to draw near, and the Muslims still do nowadays before entering a mosque). The same precaution was at work here: one had to avoid bringing in foreign influences on one's footwear, especially those which might come from a rival form of worship.
They gave Yacob all the foreign gods in their possession, and the earrings that they were wearing. Yacob buried them under the oak tree near Shechem (Gen 35: 4). This was the Oak of Moreh under which Abraham had previously set up his tent. It was a venerable, historic set apart tree in the eyes of the Hebrews.
But what was the reason for this strange burying of the little idols, amulets and talismans? They were the foreign gods the Scriptures explains, though it seems careful not to say that they were false gods. At the time of the patriarchs neither their existence nor their power was denied. Yacob confined himself to laying down that they were undesirable.
It was only later, as the result of a spiritual evolution in accordance with the progressive character of the belief of the Chosen People, that idols were regarded by them as objects devoid of supernatural reality. The terms used to describe them in Devarim (32: 21) give us an idea of the spiritual value then attributed to them: they are 'beings of nothing', 'vanity' and 'untruths'. Thus, what in Yacob's time were 'foreign gods' were to become at the time of Moses 'false gods'.
On this score there could be no question of Yacob's destroying these 'gods' by breaking them up or burning them; and it would have been impossible, or at least very dangerous, to re-use the metal after melting them down. How then could precautions be taken against the anticipated reaction of these occult powers? The best thing was to bury them deeply in the ground.
After this delicate but necessary operation Yacob's clan was now set among the followers of YAHWEH, the one Sovereign.
21 This meant a fairly long stay, but not a permanent one The objective remained Hebron where the patriarch Yitschaq 'full of years' was shortly to die
Sojourn At Bethel
Before setting out for the Qadash place of Bethel Yacob informed the members of his family and his shepherds of the spiritual programme that he meant to carry out. 'We must move on,' he said, 'and go to Bethel. There I will make an altar for YAHWEH WHO heard me when I was in distress, and gave me HIS help on the journey I made.' On the uncultivated land near the village of Luz Yacob put up an altar in honour of YAHWEH, a massive altar built of stones untouched by a chisel. He made a sacrifice there and prayed and gave thanks.
YAHWEH did not delay in answering him. During an appearance there he confirmed the name of Yisrael. In addition HE repeated solemnly the terms of the Covenant established with Yacob's grandfather and father, and promised him that a group of nations shall descend from you. Even kings shall be numbered among your descendants. And once more HE stated that this land of Canaan would one day belong to the patriarch's descendants.
Yacob raised a monument in the place where HE [YAHWEH] had spoken with him, a stone monument on which he made a libation and poured oil. This was essentially a Semitic and typically Canaanite rite, allowed among YAHWEH's followers during the period of the patriarchs but later severely condemned by the Mosaic law and by the thundering voices of the prophets (Shemoth 23: 24; Wayyiqra 26: 1; Devarim 7:7; Hosea 3:4; Micah 5:12). A parallel text informs us that Yacob named the place Bethel where YAHWEH had spoken with him. Yacob, it will be remembered, had already given the place this name on the occasion of his first halt there.
An unexpected event occurs in the middle of this chapter; this was the death of Deborah, who was buried below Bethel under the oak tree. When Rebekah and her servants left Haran to come to her future husband Yitschaq, her nurse (mentioned but not given a name at that time) had followed her to the Negeb. How then could she now be at Bethel among Yacob's people, returning from the land of the Fathers? Fairly obviously, this is a clumsy addition to the primitive text, wrongly incorporated in this place because of the mention of Bethel.
From Bethel to Bethel
The importance of Bethel in Yacob's life can hardly be exaggerated. Beth 'El the house of YAHWEH, provides us with the key to Yacob's spiritual transformation. On his first halt at Luz (as the place was called before Yacob renamed it) he was an astute and crafty shepherd, though not without a certain maturity of mind, As was pointed out at the time, his whole wealth consisted in his shepherd's crook, but he does seem to have made up his mind not to miss an opportunity to improve matters.
To YAHWEH's approaches he made a ritual response: he set up a stone on which he poured oil. He was still imbued with pagan ideas: he was afraid, indeed he was terrified ('How awe-inspiring this place is!'), But his heart was entirely untouched, for he at once began to lay down the conditions governing the relationship between the polytheist that he was and one of his gods, 'If YAHWEH goes with me and keeps me safe on this journey I am making, if he gives me bread to eat and clothes to wear, and if I return home safe to my father, then YAHWEH shall be my god, This stone I have set up as a monument shall be a house of YAHWEH, and I will surely pay you a tenth part of all YOU have given me' (Bereshith 28: 20-22),
On his return from Haran he came to Bethel again. But this time he was at the head of a rich clan and the owner of large flocks and herds of sheep and goats, asses, cows and even camels. He had two wives, two concubines and eleven sons. Obviously, he was in a very different position from the poor shepherd of the first halt at Bethel. But there was no question now of Yacob's squaring the account in accordance with his previous undertaking, of his paying his debt to YAHWEH by putting up another stele and the payment of a small levy. At that time YAHWEH was not to be satisfied with a tenth of the flock; he had taken the whole man for himself. At the second visit to Bethel, and the second time of his passing through this land which had already been sanctified by Abraham's two visits, Yacob, shortly after the astounding spiritual experience of Mahanaim, the Jabbok and Peniel, was a new man. He was entirely transformed, to put it in modern terms, by his free adhesion to the Law of YAHWEH or, more clearly, by his faith. It was a living, fruitful faith, ready to show itself on all occasions, and always in accordance with YAHWEH's plan. After these events Yacob did not linger at Bethel; he set out for Hebron where under the oak at Mamre stood the tents of the aged patriarch Yitschaq.
Yacob Called Yisrael Index Yacob Sitemap Scripture History Through the Ages Yacob Called Yisrael Yacob and Esau Theft Of The Paternal Blessing Flight, The Only Solution For Yacob Yacob's Dream At Bethel Yacob Puts Up A Stele Named BethEl The Location Of Bethel Importance Of The Well, A Meeting Place Details Of The Mohar The Sons Of Yacob How Yacob Became Rich Yacob Leaves The Land Of The Fathers Treaty Between Yacob And Laban Messages Between Yacob And Esau Yacob Wrestles With YAHWEH Two Brothers, Yacob and Esau Meet Towards The Promised Land The Departure From Shechem The Conclusion Of Yacob