Jacob called the place where God had spoken with him Bethel.
He named that place Bethel; though the city was once called Luz.
God said to Jacob, “Arise, go at once to Bethel, and settle there. Build an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau.”
From Bethel, they journeyed on, and as they were approaching Ephrath, Rachel went into very hard and painful labor.
He built an altar there and named it El-Bethel, because it was the place that God had unveiled himself when Jacob was running from his brother.