Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Genesis 35:21

And Israel journeyed, and spread his tent beyond the tower of Edar.

21. Israel ] Observe the employment of the new name as an alternative for Jacob, with especial frequency in the J narrative.

the tower of Eder ] i.e. “the tower of the flock.” It is uncertain whether “Eder” is a proper name or not. For a similar uncertainty, cf. Gen 33:18. The place is evidently situated between Ephrath ( Gen 35:19) and Hebron (Gen 37:14). The identification of Eder with Jerusalem on the strength of Mic 4:8 (“O tower of the flock [or, “Eder”], the hill of the daughter of Sion”) is improbable.

22 a. Reuben ] The incest of Reuben is alluded to in Gen 49:3-4. The Compiler abbreviates what must have been a repulsive tradition. But, as in ch. 34, the tradition may possibly contain, in figurative language, some reminiscence of early tribal relations. Very little is known of the tribe of Reuben; but in Numbers 16 the tribe of Reuben endeavours to displace Moses on the strength of its primogeniture: and in Jos 15:6, “the stone of Bohan son of Reuben,” in the heart of Canaan, may contain the reminiscence of some early unrecorded tribal encroachment.

Israel heard of it ] As in Gen 34:30-31, the tradition breaks off abruptly.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Verse 21. Tower of Edar.] Literally, the tower of the flock, and so translated Mic 4:8. It is supposed that this tower was about a mile from Bethlehem, and to have been the place where the angels appeared to the shepherds. The Targum of Jonathan expressly says: “It is the place in which the King Messiah shall be manifested in the end of days.” By the tower of the flock we may understand a place built by the shepherds near to some well, for the convenience of watering their flocks, and keeping watch over them by night.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

Or, the tower of the flock; a place where were excellent pastures. See Mic 4:8.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

And Israel journeyed,…. Having stayed near Bethlehem, as it is said, about two months h; this is the first time Jacob is by Moses called Israel, after this name, was given him; the reason of which the Jews say is, because he bore the death of Rachel with so much patience:

and spread his tent beyond the tower of Eder; which was a place of pasturage, and fit for his flocks, see Mic 4:8; it was about a mile from Bethlehem to the south i, and is supposed to be the place where the shepherds were watching their flocks, when the angel reported to them the birth of Christ, Lu 2:8; pretty remarkable are the words added here in the Targum of Jonathan,

“the place from whence the King Messiah will be revealed in the end of days.”

h Shalshalet Hakabala, fol. 5. 2. i Bunting’s Travels, p. 76.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

Gen 35:21-22

Reuben’s Incest. – As they travelled onward, Jacob pitched his tent on the other side of Migdal Eder, where Reuben committed incest with Bilhah, his father’s concubine. It is merely alluded to her in the passing remark that Israel heard it, by way of preparation for Gen 49:4. Migdal Eder (flock-tower) was a watch-tower built for the protection of flocks against robbers (cf. 2Ki 18:8; 2Ch 26:10; 2Ch 27:4) on the other side of Bethlehem, but hardly within 1000 paces of the town, where it has been placed by tradition since the time of Jerome. The piska in the middle of Gen 35:22 does not indicate a gap in the text, but the conclusion of a parashah, a division of the text of greater antiquity and greater correctness than the Masoretic division.

Gen 35:22-29

Jacob’s Return to His Father’s House, and Death of Isaac. – Jacob had left his father’s house with no other possession than a staff, and now he returned with 12 sons. Thus had he been blessed by the faithful covenant God. To show this, the account of his arrival in his father’s tent at Hebron is preceded by a list of his 12 sons, arranged according to their respective mothers; and this list is closed with the remark, “ These are the sons of Jacob, which were born to him in Padan-Aram ” ( for ; Ges. 143, 1), although Benjamin, the twelfth, was not born in Padan-Aram, but on the journey back.

Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament

      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.

      Here is, 1. Jacob’s removal, v. 21. He also, as his fathers, sojourned in the land of promise as in a strange country, and was not long in a place. Immediately after the story of Rachel’s death he is here called Israel (Gen 35:21; Gen 35:22), and not often so afterwards: the Jews say, “The historian does him this honour here because he bore that affliction with such admirable patience and submission to Providence.” Note, Those are Israels indeed, princes with God, that support the government of their own passions. He that has this rule over his own spirit is better than the mighty. Israel, a prince with God, yet dwells in tents; the city is reserved for him in the other world. 2. The sin of Reuben. A piece of abominable wickedness it was that he was guilty of (v. 22), that very sin which the apostle says (1 Cor v. 1) is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father’s wife. It is said to have been when Israel dwelt in that land; as if he were then absent from his family, which might be the unhappy occasion of these disorders. Though perhaps Bilhah was the greater criminal, and it is probable was abandoned by Jacob for it, yet Reuben’s crime was so provoking that, for it, he lost his birthright and blessing, ch. xlix. 4. The first-born is not always the best, nor the most promising. This was Reuben’s sin, but it was Jacob’s affliction; and what a sore affliction it was is intimated in a little compass, and Israel heard it. No more is said–that is enough; he heard it with the utmost grief and shame, horror and displeasure. Reuben thought to conceal it, that his father should never hear of it; but those that promise themselves secresy in sin are generally disappointed; a bird of the air carries the voice. 3. A complete list of the sons of Jacob, now that Benjamin the youngest was born. This is the first time we have the names of these heads of the twelve tribes together; afterwards we find them very often spoken of and enumerated, even to the end of the Bible, Rev 7:4; Rev 21:12. 4. The visit which Jacob made to his father Isaac at Hebron. We may suppose he had visited him before since his return, for he sorely longed after his father’s house; but never, till now, brought his family to settle with him, or near him, v. 27. Probably he did this now upon the death of Rebekah, by which Isaac was left solitary, and not disposed to marry again. 5. The age and death of Isaac are here recorded, though it appears, by computation, that he died not till many years after Joseph was sold into Egypt, and much about the time that he was preferred there. Isaac, a mild quiet man, lived the longest of all the patriarchs, for he was 180 years old; Abraham was but 175. Isaac lived about forty years after he had made his will, ch. xxvii. 2. We shall not die an hour the sooner, but abundantly the better, for our timely setting our heart and house in order. Particular notice is taken of the amicable agreement of Esau and Jacob, in solemnizing their father’s funeral (v. 29), to show how wonderfully God had changed Esau’s mind since he vowed his brother’s murder immediately after his father’s death, ch. xxvii. 41. Note, God has many ways of preventing bad men from doing the mischief they intended; he can either tie their hands or turn their hearts.

Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary

Verses 21-26:

After Rachel’s death, Jacob traveled to Edar, where he set up camp near a “tower” which was likely a watch-tower erected for use by shepherds in guarding their flocks (see 2 Kings 18:2; 2Ch 26:10; 27:4). The exact location of this camp-site is uncertain. Some suggest it was about a mile south of Bethlehem.

During Israel’s stay at this site, Reuben, the first-born, committed a sin of incest, with Bilhah the handmaid of Rachel and one of Jacob’s concubines. Jacob became aware of this sin, and later disinherited Reuben from the rights of the firstborn.

All twelve of Israel’s sons were born in Padan-aram, with the exception of Benjamin. The promise of this final child was made before the family left Padan-aram.

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

CRITICAL NOTES.

Gen. 35:21. Tower of Edar.] Probably a watch-tower for the purpose of guarding the flocks. (2Ki. 18:8; 2Ch. 26:10; 2Ch. 27:4.)

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Gen. 35:21-26

JACOBS TWELVE SONS

The number, twelve, of the sons of Jacob, in its typical significance. Twelve, the number of a life completed, or expanded to its full limits and development, Thus in the house of Ishmael and of Esau, but in a higher sense in the house of Israel. Hence the twelve sons are the types of the twelve tribes (Genesis 49; Deuteronomy 33), and the twelve tribes of the theocracy types of the twelve apostles of Christ, and these, again, types of the twelve fundamental forms of the New Testament Church. (Rev. 21:12, etc.(Lange).

Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell

(21) The tower of Edar.Heb., Eder. Micah (Gen. 4:8) calls it the hill of the daughter of Zion; but the word used often means a beacon-hill, a hill on which a tower for observation is erected, wrongly translated in the Authorised Version a stronghold. The tower may, therefore, have been a few miles south of Jerusalem; and as the word beyond includes the idea of up to, as far as, the meaning is that Jacob now occupied this region permanently with his cattle. Until Esau, with his possessions, withdrew to Seir, there would be no room for Jacob and his flocks and herds at Hebron, but he would at Eder be so near his father as to be able often to visit him. And thus his exile was now over, and he was at last at home.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

REUBEN’S INCEST, Gen 35:21-22.

21. The tower of Edar Or, Migdal-Edar, which means tower of the flock, so called, doubtless, from being a tower or eminence whence flocks at a distance could be watched . Comp . 2Ki 17:9; 2Ki 18:8; 2Ch 26:10.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

‘And Israel journeyed and spread his tent beyond the Tower of Eder.’

The name means ‘cattle tower.’ It is unidentified but clearly obtained its name from some well known local landmark. But what is significant is that we see Jacob’s new name applied to him in an historical record for the first time. He has come home as a new man. It is not Jacob who is coming home, but Israel. The contrast with ‘Jacob’ in the previous verse may well deliberately indicate that the death of Rachel brings in a new era. In some way he is a better man for being free from her influence. But this final step in the journey is mentioned also for another reason. A reason of shame.

Gen 35:22 a

“And it happened, while Israel dwelt in that land that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father” s concubine, and Israel heard of it.’

The homecoming is marred. Israel may be coming home a new man but there is still sin in the camp. His son Reuben commits a great sin, and the news reaches his father. It is a sin that Israel never forgets even on his deathbed (Gen 49:4) for it would bring great shame on him. It would seem that Reuben takes advantage of Bilhah’s new insecurity, for now that her mistress is dead she may well have lost status and be vulnerable and in no position to deal with the advances of her husband’s eldest son.

The significant use of Jacob’s new name ‘Israel’ stresses the final success of his period away. He is a changed man. The sin of Reuben warns against over exuberance.

“Israel heard of it.” The total lack of comment or of any indication of Israel’s reaction speaks volumes. The writer is aware of Israel’s shame and in deference to his master pulls a veil over the incident. It is enough that all will pass the same judgment and be appalled. It had to be mentioned because of the appalling nature of the sin, for it would colour the whole of Reuben’s future. But it was passed over without comment because of deep sensitivity for Israel.

The record finishes with a genealogy of Jacob’s sons, followed by the final homecoming and the death of Isaac. Such genealogies were commonly included in written records at that time and here it is especially pertinent. Jacob had left as a young man with only a staff to call his own, he comes home as the leader of a confederation of sub-tribes.

Gen 35:22 b

”

Now the sons of Jacob were twelve.”

The writer reverts back to the name Jacob. The name Israel will be take up again later. It was Jacob who had gone out, and now he returns a fully fledged confederation of tribes in the recognised twelve-fold pattern. His sons, apart from Benjamin, have grown up and are leaders of their own sub-groups, as what happened at Shechem (chapter 34) had demonstrated, and even Benjamin has those who watch over him. The picture is somewhat idealistic to demonstrate his outstanding success and the faithfulness of the God Who has been with him.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Gen 35:21. The tower of Edar i.e.. Of the flock. It appears from Mic 4:8 that there was a tower of that name near Jerusalem. Some say, that it was a thousand paces from Bethlehem, and was at the place where the angels brought the news of the birth of Christ to the shepherds.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

EIGHTH SECTION

The station at the tower of Edar. Reubens crime. Jacobs sons. His return to Isaac and Hebron (Rebekah no longer living). Isaacs death. His burial by Esau and Jacob.

Gen 35:21-29

21And Israel journeyed, and spread his tent beyond the tower of Edar [flock]. 22And it came to pass, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his fathers concubine: and Israel heard it.6 Now the sons of Jacob were twelve: 23The sons of Leah; Reuben, Jacobs first-born, and Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Zebulun: 24The sons of Rachel; Joseph, and Benjamin: 25And the sons of Bilhah, Rachels handmaid; Dan, and Naphtali: 26And the sons of Zilpah, Leahs handmaid; Gad, and Asher. These are the sons of Jacob, which were born to him in Padan-aram [Mesopotamia].

27And Jacob came unto Isaac his father, unto Mamre, unto the city of Arbah (which is Hebron) where Abraham and Isaac sojourned. 28And the days of Isaac were an hundred and fourscore years. 29And 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.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL

Gen 35:21-26.Beyond the tower of Edar.Had Rachels original burial taken place at Rama, we could not well have supposed that Jacob, who here, as Israel, rises above his grief for his loved wife, should have made his next station at Jerusalem. Moreover, the region immediately around Jerusalem was probably not suitable for a nomadic station. We adhere, however, to the tradition which fixes Rachels death north of Bethlehem, and the next station of Jacob, below Bethlehem, at the tower of Edar. The tower of the flock is a tower built for the protection of the flocks, and as their gathering place, in a region peculiarly fitted for pasturage (2Ki 18:8; 2Ch 26:10; 2Ch 27:4 f.). Jerome and the common tradition locate it south of Bethel, and not far from that place. From this tower Jacob could have easily and frequently visited his father Isaac, without prematurely mingling his household and possessions with the household economy at Hebron, which it is possible may yet have stood in strict relations with Esau. Such an absence might have favored Reubens criminal purpose and act.Reuben went.Bilhah was Rachels handmaid, not Leahs; nevertheless, Reuben was guilty of incest; of a lustful deed of impiety, which occasioned his loss of the birthright (Gen 49:4). The characteristic weakness of Reuben, which appears in its praiseworthy aspect in other cases (see history of Joseph), here exposes him to the force of temptation.And Israel heard it.As if he was absent. Was he at Hebron, and does Reuben, as the temporary head of the household, assume special privileges to himself? Israel heard it, that he might reprove it in a suitable way, in his spiritual maturity, quiet, and dignity.Now the sons of Jacob were twelve.Jacobs sons must also become sons of Israel through a divine discipline and training. They are, however, the rich blessing of the promise, with which he returns to his father, and are here enumerated by name after their several mothers, as if in presenting them to their grandfather. As a whole, they are said to have been born in Padan-aram; although this was not strictly true of Benjamin. We are thus prepared already, and introduced to Isaacs point of view, for whom, it is true, Jacob brings all his sons from a strange land. Thus the exile Jacob returns home to his father Isaac, laden with the richest blessing of the promise. The dark days of this patriarch are followed by this joyful reappearance of the exile.

Gen 35:27-29.Unto Mamre (see history of Abraham, above).Isaac has thus changed his residence to Hebron during the absence of Jacob.An hundred and fourscore years.With the conclusion of the life of Isaac, the narrative hastens to the immediately following events (Genesis 37). Jacob was born in the sixtieth year of Isaacs life (Gen 25:26), and was thus one hundred and twenty years old when Isaac died. But when he was presented to Pharaoh in Egypt, he was one hundred and thirty years old (Gen 47:9). Of this time there were seven fruitful and two unfruitful years since Josephs exaltation in Egypt (Gen 45:6), and thirteen years between the selling of Joseph and his exaltation, for he was sold when seventeen (Gen 37:2), and was thirty when he was raised to honor and power. Hence we must take twenty-three years from the one hundred and thirty years of Jacob, to determine his age at the time Joseph was sold; which is thus one hundred and seven. Isaac, therefore, shared the grief of Jacob over the loss of his son for thirteen years. In a similar way, Abraham had witnessed and sympathized with the long unfruitful marriage of Isaac. But Isaac could see in these sorrows of Jacob the hand of God, who will not allow that any one should anticipate him in a self-willed preference of a favorite son.Old and full of days.He recognized the close of his life-experiences and trials, and, like Abraham, departed in peace.And Esau and Jacob buried him.It is a beautiful, genuine historic feature, that Esau here precedes Jacob, while Isaac is mentioned before Ishmael at the burial of Abraham. Could we draw any inference from this, as to the external inheritance, the assertion of Keil, that Jacob heired the earthly goods of Isaac, is far too strong and confident. It is certain, indeed, that Esau received a considerable portion, and in external affairs merely he took a prominent part, to which the homage Jacob rendered him had given him an indirect claim. A certain degree of separation had already been made between the spiritual and earthly birthright. Isaac was buried in the cave of Machpelah (Gen 49:31).

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL

1. Jacobs last station at the tower of Edar is also marked by a new heart-sorrow.
2. Reubens crime probably occasioned by his authority over the household during his fathers absence with Isaac at Hebron. The cause of his forfeiture of the right of the first-born (Genesis 49).

3. The number, twelve, of the sons of Jacob, in its typical significance. Twelve, the number of a life completed, or expanded to its full limits and development. Thus in the house of Ishmael and of Esau, but in a higher sense in the house of Israel. Hence the twelve sons are the types of the twelve tribes (Genesis 49; Deuteronomy 33), and the twelve tribes of the theocracy types of the twelve apostles of Christ, and these, again, types of the twelve fundamental forms of the New Testament Church (Rev 21:12 f.). That the number four is a factor of the number twelve, is here intimated by the four mothers; four is the number of the world, three the number of the sanctuary and of the spirit; and thus twelve is the number of a fulness or completeness, consecrated to God.

4. Jacobs return to Isaac with his sons, the last ray of sunlight for the aged and blinded patriarch. This belonged to the complete satisfaction of the old mans life, after which he could go to his people full of days, or satisfied. Thus Jacobs soul was once more revived, when he saw the wagons sent by Joseph.
5. The brotherly union of Jacob and Esau at the burial of Isaac, a beautiful token of peace and reconciliation at his end. [Esau and Jacob having shaken hands over the corpse of their father, their paths diverge to meet no more. Delitzsch.A. G.]

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL

See Doctrinal paragraphs. Isaacs long and patient waiting for Jacobs return home, during the night of his blindness.Light at the evening-time.Isaac and Simeon (Luke 2).Esau and Jacob, or the reconciling, peace-making efficacy of death and the grave.Starke: Gen 35:22. (The Jewish Rabbis make this a small crime, and say Reuben overthrew the bed, when he saw that, after Rachels death, it was not borne into his mother Leahs tent, but into that of Bilhah; because he inferred that Jacob loved Bilhah more than Leah).Osiander: In the true Church also there arise at times great scandals.Gerlach: Comp. 2Sa 16:22. Calwer Handbuch: Isaac reached the greatest age among the three patriarchs.Schrder: Bilhah proved unfaithful; Reuben committed incest.Jacobs painful silence.When he departed, nothing; when he returned, all (Drechsler).Details as to the number twelve, also in regard to Jacob.[Wordsworth: The record of these sins in the history is an evidence of the veracity of the historian. If it had been a human composition, designed to do honor to the Hebrew nation, assuredly it would have said little of these flagrant iniquities of Simeon, Levi, Dinah, and Reuben.A. G.]

Footnotes:

[6][Gen 35:22.The break in the MS. here, and the Masoretic note, that there is a hiatus in the middle of the verse, suits the sense better than the division into verses. It may have been, as Wordsworth suggests, designed to express the unutterable feelings of Jacob when he heard of this horrible act of his eldest son.A. G.]

Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange

Still you see journeying. Heb 11:8-10 .

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

Gen 35:21 And Israel journeyed, and spread his tent beyond the tower of Edar.

Ver. 22. Reuben went and lay with Bilhah. ] A foul fault, in so good a family: but so it sometimes falls out, by the malice of Satan, for the discrediting of religion. Such ugly incest was committed at Corinth, as was hardly a “heard of among heathen, that a man should have his father’s wife.” 1Co 5:1 Some such there were among the kings of Egypt; but not many. Ethelbald, king of West Saxons, with great infamy marrying his father’s widow Judith, enjoyed his kingdom but two years and a half. b But how hateful is that Spanish incest, by Papal dispensation! King Philip of Spain might call the Archduke Albert, both brother, cousin, nephew, and son: for all this was he unto him, either by blood or affinity; being uncle to himself, first cousin to his father, husband to his sister, and father to his wife. c Abhorred filth!

And Israel heard it. ] And held his peace, because he saw God in it, chastising him for his polygamy. The punishment is sometimes so like the sin, that a man may boldly say, Such a sin was the mother of such a misery. And here is a pause in the Hebrew, to show Jacob’s great amazement at this sad tidings. Dolores ingentes stupent. He was even “dumb, and opened not his mouth, because God was in it.” Psa 39:9

a Seleucus, Syriae rex, tradidit filio Antiocho novercam Stratonicen, cuius amore ille decumbebat. – Appian, in Syriacis.

b Dan., Chron., p. 12.

c Sandys’s Relation of West. Religion.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)