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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Genesis 28:16-22

God manifested himself and his favour to Jacob when he was asleep and purely passive; for the spirit, like the wind, blows when and where he listeth, and God's grace, like the dew, tarrieth not for the sons of men, Mic. 5:7. But Jacob applied himself to the improvement of the visit God had made him when he was awake; and we may well think he awaked, as the prophet did (Jer. 31:26), and behold his sleep was sweet to him. Here is much of Jacob's devotion on this occasion. I. He expressed a great... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 28:19

And he called the name of that place Bethel ,.... The house of God, which he took this place to be: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first ; which signifies an almond or hazel nut, Genesis 30:37 ; perhaps from the number of this sort of trees that grew there, under which Jacob might lay himself down, which was probably in the field of Luz; and being at night, he might not know there was a city so near, until the morning. Though Josephus F18 Antiqu. l. 1. c. 19.... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 28:19

He called the name of that place Beth-el - That is, the house of God; for in consequence of his having anointed the stone, and thus consecrated it to God, he considered it as becoming henceforth his peculiar residence; see on the preceding verse. This word should be always pronounced as two distinct syllables, each strongly accented, Beth-El. Was called Luz at the first - The Hebrew has לוז אולם Ulam Luz , which the Roman edition of the Septuagint translates Ουλαμλουζ Oulamlouz ;... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 28:19

Verse 19 19.And he called the name of that place Beth-el. It may appear absurd that Moses should speak of that place as a city, respecting which he had a little while before said that Jacob had slept there in the open air; for why did not he seek an abode, or hide himself in some corner of a house? But the difficulty is easily solved, because the city was not yet built; neither did the place immediately take the name which Jacob had assigned, but lay long concealed. Even when a town was... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 28:10-22

Jacob at Bethel, or heaven opened. I. THE LONELY SLEEPER . 1. His desolate condition . Exiled from home, fleeing from the murderous resentment of a brother, o'er-canopied by the star-lit firmament, remote from human habitation, and encompassed by a heathen population, on the bleak summit of the Bethel plateau, upwards of sixty miles from Beersheba, the wandering son of Isaac makes his evening couch with a stone slab for his pillow, an emblem of many another footsore and... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 28:10-22

Jacob's dream. Where revelations had been vouchsafed it was supposed that they would be repeated. The stony pillow on which the weary head rested may be changed by the visitation of Divine grace into the meeting-place of heaven and earth. The morning beams breaking in upon the shadowy refuge of the night are transfigured into a dream of covenant blessing. The ladder set up on the earth, the top of it reached to heaven. Angels of God on the way of mediation, ascending, descending, carrying... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 28:18-22

The grateful retrospect and the consecrated prospect. I. THE TRUE LIFE is that which starts from the place of fellowship with God and commits the future to him. We can always find a pillar of blessed memorial and consecration. The Bethel . 1. Providential care. 2. Religious privilege. 3. Special communications of the Spirit. God with us as a fact. Our pilgrimage a Bethel all through. II. THE TRUE TESTIMONY that which erects a stone of witness, a Bethel , ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 28:19

And he called the name of that place Bethel —i.e. a house of God. Rosenmüller and Kalisch find a connection between Bethel and Baetylia, the former regarding Beetylia as a corruption of Bethel, and the latter viewing Bethel as the Hebraised form of Beetylion. Keil objects to both that the interchange of τ in βαιτύλιον, and Θ in βαιθήλ), would be perfectly inexplicable. On the site of Bethel (Beitin) vide Genesis 12:8 . But the name of that city was called Luz at the first. ... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Genesis 28:1-22

- Jacob’s Journey to Haran3. קהל qâhāl, “congregation.”9. מחלת māchălat, Machalath, “sickness, or a harp.”19. לוּז lûz, Luz, “almond.”The blessing of his sons was the last passage in the active life of Isaac, after which he retires from the scene. Jacob now becomes the leading figure in the sacred history. His spiritual character has yet come out to view. But even now we can discern the general distinction in the lives of the three patriarchs. Abraham’s is a life of authority and decision;... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Genesis 28:19

Genesis 28:19. It had been called Luz, an almond-tree, but he will have it henceforward called Beth-el, the house of God. This gracious appearance of God to him made it more remarkable than all the almond-trees that flourished there. read more

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