Lux Domini
And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni: but his father called him Benjamin.

What does Genesis 35:18 mean?

Rachel had passionately said, Give me children, or else I die; and now that she had children, she died! The death of the body is but the departure of the soul to the world of spirits.

Key themes

HopeCreationFallCovenant

Read with

Keep this verse inside Genesis 35:16-20 and alongside a few nearby related passages.

Commentary on Genesis 35:18

And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, for she died,....

Key words

pass

And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, for she died,.

departing

And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, for she died,.

died

And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, for she died,.

Context in Genesis 35

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Genesis 35 belongs to the middle movement of the book, especially the section often described as the family line through Isaac and Jacob. Genesis opens the whole Bible with creation, fall, flood, Babel, and the long patriarchal story that carries the reader from Eden to Egypt. Read this chapter with the wider themes of creation, fall, and covenant in view so the individual verses keep their proper weight.

creationfallcovenantpromise

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Bible verses about hope

A collection of passages on hope under pressure, future inheritance, resurrection expectation, and confidence in God’s final faithfulness.

Glossary

Benjamin Person

Son of my right hand. (1. ) The younger son of Jacob by Rachel ( Gen. 35:18 ). His birth took place at Ephrath, on the road between Bethel and Bethlehem, at a short distance from the latter place.