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.
Study Helps
Interpretation
The comfort the saints have in holy ordinances, is not so much from Beth-el, the house of God, as from El-beth-el, the God of the house. The ordinances are empty things, if we do not meet with God in them.
Glossary
- Bethel Place
- House of God. (1. ) A place in Central Palestine, about 10 miles north of Jerusalem, at the head of the pass of Michmash and Ai. It was originally the royal Canaanite city of Luz ( Gen. 28:19 ). Modern identification: Beitin.
- El-bethel Place
- Biblical altar. Modern identification: Beitin.