Kejadian 35:7-8

35:7 He built an altar there and named the place El Bethel ¹  because there God had revealed himself ²  to him when he was fleeing from his brother. 35:8 (Deborah, ³  Rebekah’s nurse, died and was buried under the oak below Bethel; thus it was named ⁴  Oak of Weeping.) ⁵ 

[35:7]  ¹ sn The name El-Bethel means “God of Bethel.”

[35:7]  ² tn Heb “revealed themselves.” The verb נִגְלוּ (niglu), translated “revealed himself,” is plural, even though one expects the singular form with the plural of majesty. Perhaps אֱלֹהִים (’elohim) is here a numerical plural, referring both to God and the angelic beings that appeared to Jacob. See the note on the word “know” in Gen 3:5.

[35:8]  ³ sn Deborah. This woman had been Rebekah’s nurse, but later attached herself to Jacob. She must have been about one hundred and eighty years old when she died.

[35:8]  ⁴ tn “and he called its name.” There is no expressed subject, so the verb can be translated as passive.

[35:8]  ⁵ tn Or “Allon Bacuth,” if one transliterates the Hebrew name (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV). An oak tree was revered in the ancient world and often designated as a shrine or landmark. This one was named for the weeping (mourning) occasioned by the death of Deborah.