Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments:

GENESIS 35:2KJV
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Genesis 35:2 (KJV)

What does Genesis 35:2 mean?

Genesis 35:2 describes Jacob instructing everyone in his household and all who were with him to get rid of any foreign gods they possessed, to purify themselves, and to change their clothes. Jacob is calling for a complete break from any lingering foreign religious practices as he prepares his family to approach God.

In this verse, Jacob is speaking to his family and all those traveling with him as they prepare to go to Bethel, a place with deep spiritual significance for Jacob. The command to "put away the strange gods" (foreign idols) and to "be clean" and "change your garments" signals a fresh start and a renewed commitment to worshiping the God of Israel alone. This moment comes after a period of turmoil, and Jacob wants his household to be spiritually ready for what lies ahead.

The Hebrew behind Genesis 35:2

  • The word for "strange" is נֵכָר (nekar), meaning "foreign" or "alien." This emphasizes that the gods Jacob refers to are not just different, but truly outside the worship of Israel’s God.
  • The word for "gods" is אֱלֹהִים (elohim), which can mean gods in general, not just the God of Israel. Here, it clearly refers to idols or deities from other cultures.
  • The word for "be clean" is טָהֵר (taher), which often means to purify oneself, not just physically but also spiritually. This suggests more than washing—it’s about being ritually and morally prepared.
  • The word for "change" is חָלַף (chalaf), meaning to change or replace, and "garments" is שִׂמְלָה (simlah), meaning clothing. Changing garments was a symbolic act of leaving behind the old way of life and starting anew.

Why Genesis 35:2 matters

  • This verse clears up that even within Jacob’s household, there were still foreign idols present, showing that total devotion to the God of Israel was not yet fully established.
  • The emphasis on both inner (being clean) and outer (changing garments) preparation highlights that approaching God involves both heart and actions.
  • Genesis 35:2 connects to the wider story by showing a turning point for Jacob’s family, marking a renewed dedication before a significant encounter with God at Bethel.

Where else these words appear

“change” Hebrew H2498 · used in 27 verses

  • Genesis 31:7 And your father hath deceived me, and changed my wages ten times; but God suffered him not to hurt me.
  • Job 9:11 Lo, he goeth by me, and I see him not: he passeth on also, but I perceive him not.
  • Song of Solomon 2:11 For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone;

“garments” Hebrew H8071 · used in 28 verses

  • Genesis 9:23 And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father's nakedness.
  • Exodus 19:14 And Moses went down from the mount unto the people, and sanctified the people; and they washed their clothes.
  • Judges 8:25 And they answered, We will willingly give them. And they spread a garment, and did cast therein every man the earrings of his prey.

“strange” Hebrew H5236 · used in 35 verses

  • Genesis 17:12 And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed.
  • 2 Samuel 22:45 Strangers shall submit themselves unto me: as soon as they hear, they shall be obedient unto me.
  • Psalms 144:11 Rid me, and deliver me from the hand of strange children, whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood:

“clean” Hebrew H2891 · used in 79 verses

  • Leviticus 11:32 And upon whatsoever any of them, when they are dead, doth fall, it shall be unclean; whether it be any vessel of wood, or raiment, or skin, or sack, whatsoever vessel it be, wherein any work is done, it must be put into water, and it shall be unclean until the even; so it shall be cleansed.
  • Leviticus 14:48 And if the priest shall come in, and look upon it, and, behold, the plague hath not spread in the house, after the house was plaistered: then the priest shall pronounce the house clean, because the plague is healed.
  • 2 Chronicles 34:3 For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David his father: and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images.