Genesis 35:20 (WEB)
Jacob set up a pillar on her grave. The same is the Pillar of Rachel’s grave to this day.
As quoted in the map (KJV)
Genesis 35:20 (KJV)
And Jacob set a pillar upon her grave: that is the pillar of Rachel’s grave unto this day.
Key words
- מַצֵּבָהmatsevah · Hebrew
- 'a pillar' — the standing stone Jacob sets on Rachel's grave.
- עַד־הַיּוֹםad-hayyom · Hebrew
- 'unto this day' — the site was still known when Genesis was written, and Demetrius (3rd c. BC) and Matthew still place it at Bethlehem.
Why it matters
Jacob marks Rachel's grave with a pillar that Genesis says stands 'unto this day.' Pitre points out that Rachel alone among the matriarchs is not buried in the family tomb but on the road near Bethlehem, and that the site's location was preserved in memory (pp 144–145). That is why Jeremiah can picture her weeping from her grave as the exiles pass, and why Matthew quotes that lament at Bethlehem.
Fathers and councils · 1
“…wrestling with the angel at the brook Jabbok, he began to limp, because the great muscle of his thigh was withered, he at once gained the name of Israel.Then the wife whom he once loved, and for whom he had served, was slain by the son of sorrow near Bethlehem which was destined to be the birthplace of our Lord,…” — editor's note: Gen. xxxv. 16, 20.
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