Verse Lens · Context pointer
Genesis 35:16 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 16. 16And they journeyed from Beth-el; and there was but a little way to come to Ephrath: and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labour.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Role in This Section
Israel's household leaves Bethel, and Rachel enters severe labor before the travelers reach Ephrath. The verse begins the birth-and-death scene but does not complete it.
Read It With
- Genesis 35:16–22
Read verses 16–18 together. Verse 16 introduces the dangerous labor, verse 17 reports the midwife's encouragement and another son, and verse 18 records Rachel's death and the child's two names. Verse 16 alone cannot identify a diagnosis or outcome.
Why It Needs Context
This verse stops inside the labor scene. Reading through verse 18 is necessary to understand both the birth and Rachel's death.
Read Genesis 35:16–18 together
Why these verses belong together: Severe labor, the midwife's encouragement, another son's birth, Rachel's death, and the two names form one continuous scene.
Verse 16. 16 And they journeyed from Beth-el; and there was but a little way to come to Ephrath: and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labour.
Verse 17. 17 And it came to pass, when she was in hard labour, that the midwife said unto her, Fear not; thou shalt have this son also.
Verse 18. 18 And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Ben-oni: but his father called him Benjamin.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Genesis 35:16–22 — Rachel Dies and Reuben Violates His Father's HouseholdSources used for this context pointer
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Displayed wording, unit boundary, labor, birth, names, death, burial, pillar, journey, Reuben and Bilhah, Israel hearing, twelve-son transition, tomb traditions, and later consequence.
Exact location: Genesis 35:16–22 in the pinned eng-kjv2006 source; compared with Genesis 29:29; 30:1–8, 22–24; 35:23–29; 37:2; 49:3–4; 1 Samuel 10:2; Jeremiah 31:15; and 1 Chronicles 5:1–2
Open source ↗hebrew text morphology and lemma data
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible — Genesis
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible Project
Open Scriptures, Version 2.2 released 2021; repository inspected 2026
Supports: Hebrew action sequence, idioms, names, social terminology, sexual-act grammar, textual layout, and lexical uncertainty.
Exact location: Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible, wlc/Gen.xml, Genesis 35:16–22; forms and syntax for distance, hard labor, life departing, Ben-oni, Benjamin, Ephrath, pillar, Migdal-eder, concubine, lay with, heard, the mid-verse break, and twelve
Open source ↗