They gave to Jacob all the foreign gods which were in their hands, and the rings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem.
Parallel Translations
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They gave to Jacob all the foreign gods which were in their hands, and the rings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem.
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And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem.
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And they gave unto Jacob all the foreign gods which were in their hand, and the rings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the terebinth which was by Shechem.
Cross-references (10)
Passages linked to Genesis 35:4 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Judges 9:6 All the men of Shechem assembled themselves together with all the house of Millo, and went and made Abimelech king by the oak of the pillar that was in Shechem.
- Exodus 32:2-4 Aaron said to them, “Take off the golden rings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them to me.” All the people took off the golden rings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron. He received what they handed him, fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made it a molded calf. Then they said, “These are your gods, Israel, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt.”
- Exodus 32:20 He took the calf which they had made, and burned it with fire, ground it to powder, and scattered it on the water, and made the children of Israel drink it.
- Deuteronomy 7:25 You shall burn the engraved images of their gods with fire. You shall not covet the silver or the gold that is on them, nor take it for yourself, lest you be snared in it; for it is an abomination to Yahweh your God.
- Judges 8:24-27 Gideon said to them, “I do have a request: that you would each give me the earrings of his plunder.” (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.) They answered, “We will willingly give them.” They spread a garment, and every man threw the earrings of his plunder into it. The weight of the golden earrings that he requested was one thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold, in addition to the crescents, and the pendants, and the purple clothing that was on the kings of Midian, and in addition to the chains that were about their camels’ necks. Gideon made an ephod out of it, and put it in Ophrah, his city. Then all Israel played the prostitute with it there; and it became a snare to Gideon and to his house.
- Isaiah 30:22 You shall defile the overlaying of your engraved images of silver, and the plating of your molten images of gold. You shall cast them away as an unclean thing. You shall tell it, “Go away!”
- Isaiah 2:20 In that day, men shall cast away their idols of silver and their idols of gold, which have been made for themselves to worship, to the moles and to the bats,
- Hosea 2:13 I will visit on her the days of the Baals, to which she burned incense, when she decked herself with her earrings and her jewels, and went after her lovers, and forgot me,” says Yahweh.
- Deuteronomy 7:5 But you shall deal with them like this: you shall break down their altars, dash their pillars in pieces, cut down their Asherah poles, and burn their engraved images with fire.
- Joshua 24:25-26 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made for them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem. Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God; and he took a great stone, and set it up there under the oak that was by the sanctuary of Yahweh.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (15 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 4. And they gave unto Jacob. Though the holy…
4. And they gave unto Jacob. Though the holy man had his house in suitable subordination; yet as all yielded such prompt obedience to his command by casting away their idols, I doubt not that they were influenced by the fear of danger. Whence also we infer how important it is for us to be aroused from slumber by suffering. For we know how pertinacious and rebellious is superstition. If, in a peaceful and joyous state of affairs, Jacob had given any such command, the greater part of his family would have fraudulently concealed their idols: some, perhaps, would have obstinately refused to surrender them; but now the hand of God urges them, and with ready minds they quickly repent. It is also probable, that, according to the circumstances of the time, Jacob preached to them concerning the righteous judgment of God, to inspire them with fear. When he commands them to cleanse themselves, it is as if he had said, Hitherto ye have been defiled before the Lord; now, seeing that he has regarded us so mercifully, wash out this filth, lest he should again avert his face from us. It seems, however, absurd, that Jacob should have buried the idols under an oak, and not rather have broken them in pieces and consumed them in the fire, as we read that Moses did with the golden calves, (Exodus 32:20,) and Hezekiah with the brazen serpent, (2 Kings 18:4.) The fact is not thus related without reason: but the infirmity of Jacob is touched upon, because he had not been sufficiently provident against the future. And perhaps the Lord punished his previous excessive connivance and want of firmness, by depriving him of prudence or courage. Yet God accepted his obedience, although it had some remainder of defect, knowing that it was the design of the holy man to remove idols from his family, and, in token of his detestation, to bury them in the earth. The earrings were doubtless badges of superstition; as at this day innumerable trifles are seen in the Papacy, by which impiety displays itself.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain For therein was some sign of superstition, as in…
For therein was some sign of superstition, as in tablets and Agnus deis.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Gen 35:4 And they gave unto Jacob all the…
Gen 35:4 And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which [were] in their hand, and [all their] earrings which [were] in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which [was] by Shechem.
Ver. 4. And they gave unto Jacob.] Now they were in danger of destruction, they would do anything. So those false Israelites, when God "slew them, then they sought him." {Psa 78:34} So many, when they are deadly sick, are wondrous good; as William Rufus, who vowed, upon his recovery, to see all vacancies furnished. {a} In the sweating sickness, so long as the ferventness of the plague lasted, there was crying, Peccavi, peccavi: the ministers were sought for in every corner - You must come to nay lord, you must come to my lady, &c. {b} The walnut tree is most fruitful when most beaten. Fish thrive best in cold and salt waters. The most plentiful summer follows upon the hardest winter. David was never so tender as when hunted like a partridge; nor Jonah so watchful, prayerful, as in the whale’s belly. {c} When men suffer for their sin, {Lam 3:39; Lam 3:41} hands and hearts and all are lift up to heaven, that before were as "without God in the world," and thought they could do well enough without him. A lethargy is commonly cured by a fever; worms killed with aloes; so are crawling lusts by bitter afflictions. Israel under the cross, will "defile" the idols that they had deified; {Isa 30:22} and after that they were captives in Babylon, they could never be drawn to that sin, whatever they suffered for their refusal, as under Antiochus. I end, with St Ambrose: Beata anima, quae est instar domus Iacobi, in qua nulla simulachra, nulla effigies vanitatis: Blessed is that soul, that, like Jacob’s house, hath no idol in it.
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{a} Daniel’s Chro., fol. 58.
{b} Dike, Of Deceitf., p. 217.
{c} Vigilabat in ceto, qui stertebat in navi.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Either because they had been abused to idolatry and…
Either because they had been abused to idolatry and superstition at Shechem, or elsewhere, and therefore were to be destroyed according to God's command, now signified to Jacob, and afterwards delivered to his posterity, Deu 7:5; 12:3; or for fear they should be so abused. For the Scripture seems to insinuate, and other writers expressly affirm, that divers heathen people did wear earrings for the honour of their idols, and with the representations or ensigns of their idols engraven upon them. See Jdg 8:24. After he had melted or broken them, (which seems probable from parallel instances, as Exo 32:20; 2Ki 18:4),
Jacob hid them under a certain oak, though not known to his family which it was. He chose that place, either as most proper to put monuments of idolatry under those trees which were so much and so generally abused to idolatry, as oaks especially were, Isa 1:29; or as the safest place, where they were likely to remain longest hid, because the heathen had a veneration for oaks, and therefore would not cut them down, nor dig them up, nor do any thing which had a tendency that way.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain They gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which…
They gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hands,.... Whether in the hands of his servants or of the captives taken at Shechem, or in the hands of his sons, who had them along with the spoil they took there; so the Targum of Jonathan,"they delivered, into the hand of Jacob all the idols of the people which were in their hands, which they had took of the idols of Shechem:"
and all their earrings which were in their ears; not the earrings that women wore in common, such as Abraham's servant gave to Rebekah, and which Jacob's wives might wear, for such were not unlawful; but either which were worn in the ears of the strange gods or idols; for such used, it seems, according to some writers, to be decorated and ornamented after that manner; or rather in the ears of the idolaters themselves, worn by them in a superstitious way, having the images of these idols on them: so the Targum of Jonathan,"and the earrings which were in the ears of the inhabitants of the city of Shechem, in which were formed the likeness of their idols:"
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and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem; that is, the idols, which, after he had broke to pieces, perhaps, he dug a hole under an oak, and there buried them, that they might be no more made use of in an idolatrous way; and he chose to put them under an oak, because it is a tree which often stands many years before it is cut down, and besides was used for religious purposes, and had in great veneration, and therefore seldom felled. Those idols seem not to be made of anything valuable, perhaps of wood or stone, for had they been of gold or silver, Jacob would doubtless have melted them, and converted them to other uses, and not have buried them under ground. The Jews (t) say, that the idol Jacob hid under the oak was in the form of a dove, which the Samaritans after some time found, and set it on the top of Mount Gerizim. Some take this oak to be the same with that mentioned in Jos 24:26; but of that there can be no certainty, since Jacob, as it is highly probable, laid these images alone, and never intended any should know anything of them where they were.
(t) Shalshalet Hakabala, fol. 3. 2.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain And they gave to Jacob - His servants, and…
And they gave to Jacob - His servants, and even the retainers to his family, gave him all the strange gods, and the ear-rings they wore either as charms, or to the honour of their gods. Jacob took care to bury their images, we may suppose, in some place unknown to them, that they might not afterwards find and return to them.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 4. And - ear-rings which were in their…
Verse 4. And - ear-rings which were in their ears] Whether these rings were in the ears of the gods, or in those of Jacob's family, we may rest assured that they were not mere ornaments, but served for superstitious purposes. Ear-rings were certainly worn as amulets and charms, first consecrated to some god, or formed under some constellation, on which magical characters and images were drawn. A very ancient and beautiful one of this kind brought from Egypt, cut out of a solid piece of cornelian, now lies before me. It was evidently intended for the ear, as the opening is too small for any human finger; and it is engraved all over with strange characters and images, which prove that it was intended for a talisman or amulet. It seems to be such a one as St. Augustine describes, Epist. 73, which was suspended from the tip of the ears both of men and women, not for the purpose of ornament, but through an execrable superstition, for the service of demons. "Execranda superstitio ligaturarum, in quibus etiam inaures virorum in summis ex una parte auriculis suspensae deputantur, non ad placendum hominibus, sed ad serviendum daemonibus." See Clarke on Ge 24:22.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Gen 35:4. They gave unto Jacob all the strange…
Gen 35:4. They gave unto Jacob all the strange gods — Rather, the gods of the stranger; and all their ear-rings — Either because they had been abused to idolatry and superstition, and were therefore to be destroyed, (Deuteronomy 7:57 and Deu 12:3,) or for fear they should be so abused.
For the Holy Scriptures insinuate, and other writers expressly affirm, that divers heathen nations did wear ear-rings for the honour of their idols, and with the representations or ensigns of their idols engraven upon them, such as the rings and vessels mentioned by Maimonides, marked with the image of the sun and moon. Jacob hid them under the oak — In a place only known to himself. It is probable they were first melted or broken.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain And the ear-rings. Hebrew, hanezamim; such as had been…
And the ear-rings. Hebrew, hanezamim; such as had been consecrated to some idol, and adorned the ears of those false but gaudy deities. (Menochius) --- Men and women used them likewise, as phylacteries or talismans, to which many superstitious virtues were attributed. (St. Augustine, ep. 73, ad Posid. 9, iii. in Gen.; Ezechiel xvi. 12; Proverbs xxv.; Exodus xxxv.; Judges viii. (Calmet) --- The turpentine tree; or "an oak tree," as the Hebrew haela means also. Septuagint adds, "and he destroyed them till this present day;" which seems intended to refute the story of their being found and adored by the Samaritans, or employed by Solomon when he built the temple. Jacob buried them privately. (Calmet) See Deuteronomy vii. 5.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods .…
they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods . . . and earrings--Strange gods, the "seraphim" (compare Gen 31:30), as well, perhaps, as other idols acquired among the Shechemite spoil--earrings of various forms, sizes, and materials, which are universally worn in the East, and, then as now, connected with incantation and idolatry (compare Hos 2:13). The decided tone which Jacob now assumed was the probable cause of the alacrity with which those favorite objects of superstition were surrendered.
Jacob hid them under the oak--or terebinth--a towering tree, which, like all others of the kind, was a striking object in the scenery of Palestine; and beneath which, at Shechem, the patriarch had pitched his tent. He hid the images and amulets, delivered to him by his Mesopotamian dependents, at the root of this tree. The oak being deemed a consecrated tree, to bury them at its root was to deposit them in a place where no bold hand would venture to disturb the ground; and hence it was called from this circumstance--"the plain of Meonenim"--that is, "the oak of enchantments" (Jdg 9:37); and from the great stone which Joshua set up--"the oak of the pillar" (Jdg 9:6).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 4. Earrings — These appear to have been used…
4. Earrings — These appear to have been used as amulets and charms, and used with superstitious reverence, even as the teraphim.
Hid them under the oak — Perhaps the same ancient tree or grove mentioned in Gen_12:6. This was ever regarded as a sacred spot in Israel. Comp. Jos_24:26. The proper disposal of these strange gods was to bury them as dead nothings. Isa_41:24; 1Co_8:4.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 4. in their hand] i.e. in their possession.
4. in their hand] i.e. in their possession.
the rings … ears] The rings mentioned were probably not simple earrings as in Gen_24:22, but rings worn as charms, and amulets, having symbols of heathen deities. Cf. Hos_2:13.
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the oak] R.V. marg. terebinth. It is noteworthy that Joshua, under the same “oak” of Shechem (Jos_24:26), testified against the primitive worship of strange gods; cf. Jos_24:2; Jos_24:14; Jos_24:23. For the “terebinth,” cf. Gen_12:6. The same sacred tree is possibly mentioned in Jdg_9:6.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (4) Earrings.—Earrings seem to have been worn not so…
(4) Earrings.—Earrings seem to have been worn not so much for ornament as for superstitious purposes, being regarded as talismans or amulets. Hence it was from their earrings that Aaron made the golden calf (Exo_32:2-4).
The oak.—Not Abraham’s oak-grove (Gen_12:6), referred to probably in Jdg_9:6; Jdg_9:37—the Hebrew word in these three places being êlôn—but that under which Joshua set up his pillar of witness (Jos_24:26), the tree being in both these places called allâh, or êlâh, a terebinth.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain And they gave mate Jacob all the strange gods…
And they gave mate Jacob all the strange gods Rosenm thinks these must have been many, since the historian would not otherwise have used the term lKowhich were in their hand (i.e. which they possessed), and all their earrings which were in their ears; i.e. those employed for purposes of idolatrous worship, which were often covered with allegorical figures and mysterious sentences, and supposed to be endowed with a talismanic virtue (Jud_1:8:21; Isa_3:20; Hos_2:13) and Jacob hid them having probably first destroyed them, since they do not appear to have been ever after sought for or resumed by the parties who gave them up (Hughes)under the oak which was by Shechem. Whether the oak, or terebinth, under which Abraham once pitched his tent, (Gen_12:6) that beneath whose shade Joshua afterwards erected his memorial pillar, (Jos_24:26) the oak of the sorcerers, (Jud_1:9:37) and the oakof the pillar at Shechem (Jud_1:9:6) were all the tree under which Jacob buried the images and earrings cannot with certainty be determined, though the probability is that they were.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 So they gave
So they gave
"so everyone in Jacob's household gave" or "so all of his family and servants gave"
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that were in their hand
Here "in their hand" stands for what they own. AT: "that were in their possession" or "that they had" (See: Metonymy)
the rings that were in their ears
"their earrings." Possible meanings are 1) the gold in the earrings could have been used to make more idols or 2) they took these earrings from the city of Shechem after they attacked it and killed all the people. The earrings would have reminded them of their sin.
God made panic to fall on the cities
God causing the people of the cities to be afraid of Jacob and his family is spoken of as if panic were an object that fell on the cities. The abstract noun "panic" can be stated as "afraid." AT: "God made the people in the surrounding cities afraid of Jacob and those with him" (See: Metaphor and Abstract Nouns)
on the cities
Here "cities" stands for the people who live in the cities. (See: Metonymy)
the sons of Jacob
It is implied that no one attacked anyone in Jacob's family. But two of the sons, Simeon and Levi had attacked the Canaanites relatives of Shechem after he seized and slept with Jacob's daughter. Jacob was afraid they would seek revenge in Genesis 34:30. AT: "Jacob's family" or "Jacob's household" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
translationWords
Jacob
false god
bury
oak
Shechem
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.