Genesis 35 · Verse 4

Genesis 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.
Genesis 35:4, King James Version

Genesis 35:4 in other translations

BSBSo they gave Jacob all their foreign gods and all their earrings, and Jacob buried them under the oak near Shechem.
WEBThey 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.
ASVAnd 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 oak which was by Shechem.
YLTAnd they give unto Jacob all the gods of the stranger that are in their hand, and the rings that are in their ears, and Jacob hideth them under the oak which is by Shechem;
DARBYAnd they gave to Jacob all the strangegods that were in their hand, and the rings that were in their ears, and Jacob hid them under the terebinth that is by Shechem.
BBEThen they gave to Jacob all the strange gods which they had, and the rings which were in their ears; and Jacob put them away under the holy tree at Shechem.
WebsterAnd they gave to Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and the ear-rings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem.

What does Genesis 35:4 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
4. they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods ... and earrings--Strange gods, the "seraphim" (compare Ge 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 Ho 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" (Jud 9:37); and from the great stone which Joshua set up--"the oak of the pillar" (Jud 9:6).

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
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 Gen 24:22 (note).

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Genesis 35:1-5

Chapter Outline God commands Jacob to go to Beth-el, He puts away idols from his family. (1-5) Jacob builds an altar, Death of Deborah, God blesses Jacob. (6-15) Death of Rachel. (16-20) Reuben's crime, The death of Isaac. (21-29) Verses 1-5 Beth-el was forgotten. But as many as God loves, he will remind of neglected duties, one way or other, by conscience or by providences. When we have vowed a vow to God, it is…

Read the full comment on Genesis 35:1-5 →

Genesis 35:4 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיִּתְּנ֣וּvai.yi.te.Nuand they gaveH5414
אֶֽל\־'el-toH413
יַעֲקֹ֗בya.'a.KoJacobH3290
אֵ֣ת'et<obj.>H853
כָּל\־kol-allH3605
אֱלֹהֵ֤י'e.lo.Hei[the] gods ofH430
הַנֵּכָר֙ha.ne.Khar<the> foreignnessH5236
אֲשֶׁ֣ר'a.SherwhichH834
בְּיָדָ֔םbe.ya.Dam[were] in hand theirH3027
וְאֶת\־ve.'Etand <obj.>H853
הַנְּזָמִ֖יםha.ne.za.Mimthe ringsH5141
אֲשֶׁ֣ר'a.SherwhichH834
בְּאָזְנֵיהֶ֑םbe.'a.ze.nei.Hem[were] in ears theirH241
וַיִּטְמֹ֤ןvai.yit.Monand he hidH2934
אֹתָם֙'o.Tam<obj.> themH853
יַעֲקֹ֔בya.'a.KoJacobH3290
תַּ֥חַתTa.chatunderH8478
הָאֵלָ֖הha.'e.Lahthe oakH424
אֲשֶׁ֥ר'a.SherwhichH834
עִם\־'im-[was] nearH5973
שְׁכֶֽם\׃she.KhemShechemH7927

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Genesis 35:4

  • Judges 9:6

    And all the men of Shechem gathered together, and all the house of Millo, and went, and made Abimelech king, by the plain of the pillar that was in Shechem.

  • Isaiah 30:22

    Ye shall defile also the covering of thy graven images of silver, and the ornament of thy molten images of gold: thou shalt cast them away as a menstruous cloth; thou shalt say unto it, Get thee hence.

  • Exodus 32:20

    And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it.

  • Judges 8:24-27

    And Gideon said unto them, I would desire a request of you, that ye would give me every man the earrings of his prey. (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.) And they answered, We will willingly give them. And they spread a garment, and did cast therein every man the earrings of his prey. And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was a thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold; beside ornaments, and collars, and purple raiment that was on the kings of Midian, and beside the chains that were about their camels’ necks. And Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his city, even in Ophrah: and all Israel went thither a whoring after it: which thing became a snare unto Gideon, and to his house.

  • Exodus 32:2-4

    And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me. And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

  • Deuteronomy 7:25

    The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire: thou shalt not desire the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therein: for it is an abomination to the Lord thy God.

  • Isaiah 2:20

    In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats;

  • Hosea 2:13

    And I will visit upon her the days of Baalim, wherein she burned incense to them, and she decked herself with her earrings and her jewels, and she went after her lovers, and forgat me, saith the Lord.

  • Deuteronomy 7:5

    But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire.

  • Joshua 24:25-26

    So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem. And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and took a great stone, and set it up there under an oak, that was by the sanctuary of the Lord.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
ear-rings.These rings were not worn as mere ornaments, but for superstitious purposes; perhaps as amulets or charms, first consecrated to some false god, or formed under some constellation, and stamped with magical characters. Maimonides mentions rings and jewels of this kind, with the image of the sun, moon, etc., impressed upon them; and Augustine describes them (Epist. 73,) as used for this execrable purpose.
Ex 32:2-4; Jud 8:24-27; Ho 2:13
hid them.
Ex 32:20; De 7:5,25; Isa 2:20; 30:22
the oak.
Jos 24:25,26; Jud 9:6

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Genesis 35:3

    And let us arise, and go up to Beth–el; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went.

  • Genesis 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.

  • Genesis 35:5

    And they journeyed: and the terror of God was upon the cities that were round about them, and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob.

Read all of Genesis 35

Genesis 35:4 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Así dieron á Jacob todos los dioses ajenos que había en poder de ellos, y los zarzillos que estaban en sus orejas; y Jacob los escondió debajo de una encina, que estaba junto á Sichêm.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et ils donnèrent à Jacob tous les dieux étrangers qui étaient en leurs mains, et les anneaux qui étaient à leurs oreilles, et Jacob les cacha sous le térébinthe qui était près de Sichem.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und sie gaben Jakob alle fremden Götter, die in ihrer Hand, und die Ringe, die in ihren Ohren waren, und Jakob vergrub sie unter der Terebinthe, die bei Sichem ist.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Dederunt ergo ei omnes deos alienos quos habebant, et inaures quæ erant in auribus eorum: at ille infodit ea subter terebinthum, quæ est post urbem Sichem.