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Bible Notes - Tabernacle Commentaries
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Genesis 33:17
Comments
Jacob journeyed to Succoth – although the place only received its name as a result of what he did after he arrived there. Succoth means booths or huts, which Jacob built for his cattle, presumably to shelter them from the sun. Its location is not known for sure, but it seems to have been to the east of Jordan.McClintock and Strong offer an alternative translation of verse 18 which treats Shalem not as a place name, but according to its literal meaning: ‘Jacob came safe to the city of Shechem’. Shechem (later called Sychar and now Nablus) is to the west of Jordan, opposite the Jabbok, the tributary of Jordan coming in from the east previously mentioned, so that he had now crossed over into the promised land as God had told him to do, travelling on from Peniel. This was well away from Beersheba where Isaac had settled years before, and Aalders suggests was at a sufficient distance from his father to avoid them competing for adequate grazing.Jacob intended to settle permanently in the area, for he bought land from the Canaanites, from Hamor, whose son, Shechem, is mentioned because he is to feature in the next chapter. The city of the same name appears to be named after him. Like Abraham before him, Jacob conducted proper and honest transactions with the existing occupants of the land. Jacob wanted to own land because he wanted to worship God, and he did not want anyone to challenge his right to do so. If the altar was built on his own land, no one could question his right to worship the Lord. This was the first significant thing he did after coming back to the promised land, and clearly it was something he had been thinking about and wanting to do for a long time. The name he gave to the altar reflected the deep significance of what had taken place at Peniel. There God had given him the new name, Israel, and so now he calls the altar, ‘God is the God of Israel’. He worships God as the new person that God has made him to be. He is full of thanks for God’s transforming work in his life.
Application
We too set up memorials in our lives: not literal altars, but memorials in our hearts that recognise the great things God has done for us. He may heal us from a serious illness; he may guide us to a new avenue of service; made lead us to the spouse we are to spend our lives with, or he may give us a signal victory over some sin. We remember his great blessings in our lives.
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