Genesis 33:20Plain English VersionThen Jacob piled up stones there to make a special table with a flat top, so that he could burn animals to show respect to God. And Jacob called it The God of Israel is God. See the chapter |
This story is about what happened to Jacob’s family in the town called Shekem, in Canaan country. The big boss of that town was called Hamor, and he was from the Hiv tribe. And Hamor had a son called Shekem. Jacob and Leah’s daughter was called Dinah, and she was a young woman. One day, she went out to visit some other women that lived in that place. But that man Shekem, he saw Dinah, and he wanted to have her for himself. So he grabbed Dinah and he made her sleep with him, like a woman sleeps with her husband. Shekem really shamed Dinah.
Then Jacob piled up stones to make a table with a flat top, so that he could burn animals to show respect to God. And Jacob gave that place a new name. He called it El Bethel. That name means God is in Bethel. A long time before this, when Jacob ran away from his brother Esau, God came and talked to Jacob in that place. That’s the reason why Jacob gave it that name.