PENd
Duplications in the Pentateuch
First, we should observe that the Pentateuch contains numerous duplicate accounts. Here is a sampling, arranged according to their theorized sources.
The Pentateuch contains separate, duplicate accounts of the naming of certain sites and figures.
Naming. The Pentateuch contains a number of instances where a site or person is newly named or renamed on two or more separate occasions. None of the later passages refer to or seem aware of the previous occasion. Rather, the second accounts present this as the first time this place or person has received this new name.
Beersheba.
At that time Abimelech, with Phicol the commander of his army, said to Abraham, “God is with you in all that you do; now therefore swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me or with my offspring or with my posterity, but as I have dealt loyally with you, you will deal with me and with the land where you have resided as an alien.” And Abraham said, “I swear it.” When Abraham complained to Abimelech about a well of water that Abimelech’s servants had seized, Abimelech said, “I do not know who has done this; you did not tell me, and I have not heard of it until today.” So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two men made a covenant. Abraham set apart seven ewe lambs of the flock. And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs that you have set apart?” He said, “These seven ewe lambs you shall accept from my hand, in order that you may be a witness for me that I dug this well.” Therefore that place was called Beer-sheba; because there both of them swore an oath. When they had made a covenant at Beer-sheba, Abimelech, with Phicol the commander of his army, left and returned to the land of the Philistines (Gen 21:22–32, NRSV).
26 Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his adviser and Phicol the commander of his army. 27 Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me, seeing that you hate me and have sent me away from you?” 28 They said, “We see plainly that the Lord has been with you; so we say, let there be an oath between you and us, and let us make a covenant with you 29 so that you will do us no harm, just as we have not touched you and have done to you nothing but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of the Lord.” 30 So he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. 31 In the morning they rose early and exchanged oaths; and Isaac set them on their way, and they departed from him in peace. 32 That same day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well that they had dug, and said to him, “We have found water!” 33 He called it Shibah; therefore the name of the city is Beer-sheba to this day (Gen 26:26–33, NRSV).
The city of Beersheba is named twice in the ancestral narratives, with neither narrative referring to the other. In both accounts the biblical ancestor has a dispute with Abimelech, whose commander is Phicol. He explicitly acknowledges that God is with the biblical ancestor. In each case there is an issue over a well dug by the ancestor. (Both passages share a rare prepositional phrase in Hebrew: “about the well” [‘al-’odowth be’er].) A water source is obviously an essential, though often disputed, commodity in such an arid region. Conflict, either real or potential, is resolved by means of a covenant and oath, in order to ensure that they show mutual loyalty and refrain from harm. Beersheba is named by a Hebrew word play. “Beer-” means “well” and “-sheba” is related to the covenant ceremony. In the Abraham story it is related to the “seven” (sheva‘) ewe lambs, but in the Isaac story to “Shibah” or “oath” (shevu‘ah). These parallel narratives raise the obvious question, if Beersheba is named in Abraham’s generation, why does it need to be named again in Isaac’s? It would seem, the Abraham of Genesis 21 did not inform the Isaac of Genesis 26.
Bethel.
The book of Genesis contains double namings for both the site of Bethel and the ancestor Jacob. In one strand these occur in two discrete passages (Gen 28:10–22; Gen 32:22–32); in another they are combined in a single, much briefer passage (Gen 35:9–15).
10 Jacob left Beer-sheba and went toward Haran. 11 He came to a certain place and stayed there for the night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place. 12 And he dreamed that there was a ladder [or rather “staircase”] set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 And the Lord stood beside him [or rather “above it,” i.e., the staircase] and said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring; 14 and your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and in your offspring. 15 Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” 16 Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place—and I did not know it!” 17 And he was afraid, and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God [beth ’elohim], and this is the gate of heaven.” 18 So Jacob rose early in the morning, and he took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. 19 He called that place Bethel; but the name of the city was Luz at the first. 20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, 21 so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God, 22 and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house; and of all that you give me I will surely give one-tenth to you.” (Gen 28:10–22, NRSV)
6 Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him…. 9 God appeared to Jacob again when he came from Paddan-aram, and he blessed him. 13 Then God went up from him at the place where he had spoken with him. 14 Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he had spoken with him, a pillar of stone; and he poured out a drink offering on it, and poured oil on it. 15 So Jacob called the place where God had spoken with him Bethel. (Gen 35:6, 9, 13–15, NRSV)
26 Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his adviser and Phicol the commander of his army. 27 Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me, seeing that you hate me and have sent me away from you?” 28 They said, “We see plainly that the Lord has been with you; so we say, let there be an oath between you and us, and let us make a covenant with you 29 so that you will do us no harm, just as we have not touched you and have done to you nothing but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of the Lord.” 30 So he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. 31 In the morning they rose early and exchanged oaths; and Isaac set them on their way, and they departed from him in peace. 32 That same day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well that they had dug, and said to him, “We have found water!” 33 He called it Shibah; therefore the name of the city is Beer-sheba to this day (Gen 26:26–33, NRSV).
In both of these parallel accounts Jacob changes the name of the Canaanite city of “Luz” to “Bethel,” which means “house of God/El.” To commemorate God’s appearance (theophany) he sets up a pillar (lit. “standing stone”) and pours oil upon it. During the appearance God promises the land to Jacob and his offspring (for the second account, see below).
Israel.
22 The same night he got up and took his two wives, his two maids, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23 He took them and sent them across the stream, and likewise everything that he had. 24 Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket; and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. 26 Then he said, “Let me go, for the day is breaking.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go, unless you bless me.” 27 So he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” 28 Then the man said, “You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans, and have prevailed.” 29 Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. 30 So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved.” 31 The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip. 32 Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the thigh muscle that is on the hip socket, because he struck Jacob on the hip socket at the thigh muscle. (Gen 32:22–32, NRSV)
9 God appeared to Jacob again when he came from Paddan-aram, and he blessed him. 10 God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; no longer shall you be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name.” So he was called Israel. 11 God said to him, “I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall spring from you. 12 The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give the land to your offspring after you.” (Gen 35:9–12, NRSV)
In both of these parallel accounts God blesses Jacob and changes his name to Israel. But in the first account this event takes place at Peniel/Penuel east of the Jordan River (along the Jabbok River, west of Mahanaim [Gen 32:2] and east of Succoth [Gen 33:17]), and in the second combined account it takes place at a different location, Bethel. The second combined account is much briefer. It lacks any etymological explanation for the new names. The first accounts explain Bethel (beth-’el) as “the house of God” (beth ’elohim) and Israel (yiśrāʾēl) in connection with “for you have striven [śārîtā] with God and with humans, and have prevailed.” They are also much more graphic in their physical descriptions of divine figures. In the dream account Yahweh is described as “standing” (Gen 28:13), and in the wrestling account the figure who blesses and names him is described as a “man” (Gen 32:24).