“And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Beth–el, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother.”
Then God said to Jacob: go up to Bethel and settle there, and build an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau. The divine command to return to Bethel is the command to return to the origin of Jacob's covenant life — the place of the first divine encounter, the pillar, the vow, the name of the place where God is. The application: Bethel is always the place the covenant person needs to return to when the family has sunk into the violence of chapter 34. Go back to the beginning. Build the altar.
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