Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

b-hebrew - RE: Gen 12:8 Beth'el

b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Biblical Hebrew Forum

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: "Dave Washburn" <dwashbur AT nyx.net>
  • To: Biblical Hebrew <b-hebrew AT franklin.metalab.unc.edu>
  • Subject: RE: Gen 12:8 Beth'el
  • Date: Mon, 19 Aug 2002 10:21:25 -0600


> This passage seems to make the view even foggier:
> Ge 35:7 And he built there an altar, and called the
> place Elbethel: because there God appeared unto him,
> when he fled from the face of his brother.
>
> Perhaps I should contemplate two questions.
> 1. Is there assumed a building at the place called
> Bethel?

I don't see any reference to a building. We have the altar Jacob
built, essentially out of the rock he used for a pillow, and in Gen
28:19 we're told that he named the place Bethel, though it was
previously called Luz. That may indicate a settlement of some sort,
but if so, why was Jacob sleeping on the ground? In any case, it
seems to me that the reference to Bethel in chapter 13 could be an
anachronistic reference (especially in conjunction with Ai) to help the
reader locate the action. That is, a reader hundreds of years later
wouldn't have any idea where "Luz" was, and its association with the
later name Bethel isn't mentioned until the Jacob story, so the writer
inserted "Bethel" as a point of reference. I see the same thing
happening in chapter 14 with the reference to Dan.

> 2. Is the God associated with the place YHWH before
> and after Abraham?
>
Impossible to tell. We know Abraham worshiped YHWH, and he
lived in the area for a while, but since it wasn't actually called Bethel
until Jacob renamed it (at least according to the text), and since it
was clearly a Canaanite city by the time of Joshua, it's not really
likely that we can determine whether or not there was ever an
extended place of formal YHWH worship there.

My two pistoozas' worth.
Dave Washburn
http://www.nyx.net/~dwashbur






Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page