There are too many details in this chapter to cover them all.
“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.’ … After Jacob returned [to Bethel] from Paddan Aram, God appeared to him again and blessed him. God said to him, ‘Your name is Jacob, but you will no longer be called Jacob; your name will be Israel.’ So he named him Israel.” (v1,9)
It is here we learn Jacob’s new name for the second time (the first was when he wrestled with the angel of the Lord in 32:22-32), though this time he is actually referred to by “Israel” going forward. Why is he only called Israel now, when he could have been called Israel since ch32? V1 offers insight into that: “Then God said… ‘build an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau’ ” (referring back to 28:10-22). The way God’s command is worded, leads me to believe that Jacob had forgotten who God was, and needed a reminder. It’s more than likely he wasn’t following God (consistently) up until this point, and now going forward God knows he will be more obedient, so he will have earned his new name. In Bible tradition, when people received their new names, they had grow into them (Abram into Abraham, Simon into Peter, Saul into Paul, etc.) If Jacob wasn’t consistently following God, that may explain some of his behavior up to this point (including why he allowed his sons to destroy an entire city out of revenge).
“Then they moved on from Bethel. While they were still some distance from Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem), Rachel began to give birth and had great difficulty. …the midwife said to her, ‘Don’t despair, for you have another son.’ As she breathed her last – for she was dying – she named her son Ben-Oni. But his father named him Benjamin.” (v16-18 abr)
Rachel dies in childbirth as Jacob’s/Israel’s twelfth and final son, Benjamin, is born. Now all twelve future tribes have their patriarchs. [Side note: I never noticed before that Bethlehem is mentioned all the way back in Genesis. It’s amazing what I learn when I actually read vs. skim]
“Jacob came home to his father Isaac in Mamre, near Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had stayed. Isaac lived a hundred and eighty years. Then he breathed his last and died and was gathered to his people, old and full of years. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.”
As far as I know, their father’s funeral is the last time Jacob and Esau are mentioned as being in the same place at the same time, and it’s barely even mentioned (if you blink you miss it).
The biggest takeaway for me is Jacob’s repentance and return to God. “So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, ‘Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes. Then come, let us go up to Bethel, where I will build an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone.’ ” (v2-3) Jacob acknowledges that God has always been with him, yet he and his household have not always followed Him. He repents, throws out the foreign gods, listens to the God of his father and grandfather, and receives his new name in full.
El-Shaddai, God Almighty, please hear my prayer of repentance. If there are any foreign gods in my household, please reveal them so that we may cast them out and return to You, our one true God. May I learn to obey only You, and by You living within me, may others also learn to obey only You. Jesus, I wish to receive my new name which You promise in Your word: ” ‘I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.’ ” (Rev 2:17c) I look forward to that day.
~ Conqueror in Training