Genesis 28:18-22

"And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put under his head, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it. And he called the name of that place Bethel; but the name of the city was Luz at the first. And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, if God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, so that I come again to my father's house in peace, and Jehovah will be my God, then this stone, which I have set up as a pillar, shall be God's house: and all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee."

"The stone that he had put under his head ..." It is of interest that all kinds of traditions about this stone have been alleged. It was supposed to have been taken to Jerusalem, to Spain, to Ireland, and to Scotland, upon which, "The Kings of Scotland sat to be crowned!"[8] It is not at all likely that any truth lies behind the tradition. Dummelow pointed out that, Edward I of England removed it from Scotland to Westminster Abbey, but he observed that the "Stone under the coronation chair in the Abbey is common granite, whereas all the stone in the area of Bethel is limestone!"[9]

The text seems to say that Jacob anointed the stone "as the house of God," but this is merely metonymy for the "place." Note: "God is in this place," (Genesis 28:16), not "in this stone." He called the name "of the place" Bethel (Genesis 28:19). "How dreadful is this place," not "how dreadful is this stone" (Genesis 28:17). Such emphasis leaves no doubt that "the place," not the rock was considered holy by Jacob. The setting up of the pillar as a marker in order for him to be able to later identify "the place" is the thing in view here.

As is easily understood, all kinds of superstitions arose over the stone, with allegations that God dwelt "in such things," such pagan notions being at least partially derived from a misunderstanding of this passage. The Canaanite pagans indeed had such conceptions. Later on, it was necessary for God to forbid such practices. "The O.T. often condemns the use of pillars in worship because they were associated with pagan rites (Leviticus 26:1; Deuteronomy 12:3; 16:22; 1 Kings 14:23; Hosea 10:1-2; Micah 5:13, etc."[10] There are a number of passages (especially Genesis 31) where cairns of stones, or in some instances a pillar, were raised as memorials, or evidence of agreements, but those were not instances in which God approved "the worship" of pillars. That was a pagan practice altogether.

"Bethel ..." means "the place of God," not "the stone of God."

"I will surely give the tenth unto thee ..." The conditional nature of Jacob's vow in this place should not be overly stressed. True, it is phrased conditionally, but Jacob considered the fulfillment of that condition as being certain, founded upon the unchanging Word of God, and thus his vow is in effect a promise to give one-tenth of all to God's service.

This is the second time that tithing in the O.T. has been mentioned, the other being in the instance of Abraham's tithes to Melchizedek. Perhaps this is not the place for a discussion of whether or not Christians should give "a tenth" to the work of God. For a dissertation on this, the reader is referred to my commentary on Hebrews 7:8. Note that Jacob did not originate or invent the conception of tithing. It was apparently an accepted understanding even among the remnant of monotheistic peoples prior to Abraham, with reference to the duties of devout worshippers of God to support holy religion by generous giving. The question to be faced today is whether or not we, who have been blessed so superabundantly above all the blessings received by Jacob, should be content to give less than he vowed to give.