Genesis 35:1-7

Complete Jewish Bible

35 God said to Ya‘akov, “Get up, go up to Beit-El and live there, and make there an altar to God, who appeared to you when you fled ‘Esav your brother.” ² Then Ya‘akov said to his household and all the others with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods that you have with you, purify yourselves, and put on fresh clothes. ³ We’re going to move on and go up to Beit-El. There I will build an altar to God, who answered me when I was in such distress and stayed with me wherever I went.” ⁴ They gave Ya‘akov all the foreign gods in their possession and the earrings they were wearing, and Ya‘akov buried them under the pistachio tree near Sh’khem. ⁵ While they were traveling, a terror from God fell upon the cities around them, so that none of them pursued the sons of Ya‘akov.

⁶ Ya‘akov and all the people with him arrived at Luz (that is, Beit-El) in the land of Kena‘an. ⁷ He built there an altar and called the place El-Beit-El [God of Beit-El], because it was there that God was revealed to him, at the time when he was fleeing from his brother.