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 worship of which traces are very widely diffused over the surface of the globe. The characteristic rite of anointing the stone, originally perhaps a sacrifice to the indwelling numen, was familiar to classical writers. The most instructive parallel is the fact mentioned by Pausanias (x. 24, 6), that on a small stone in the sanctuary of Delphi oil was poured every day: we may conjecture that a similar practice was kept up at Bethel long after its original significance was forgotten. Though the monolith of Bethel is not elsewhere explicitly referred to in OT, we may assume that, stripped of its pagan associations and reduced to the rank of a maẓẓēbāh, it was still recognised in historic times as the chief religious symbol of that great centre of Hebrew worship.

XXIX. 1-30.—Jacob's Marriage with Laban's Daughters (JE, P).

Instead of spending a few days (27$3$) as Laban's guest, Jacob was destined to pass 20 years of his life with his Aramæan kinsman. The circumstances which led to this prolonged exile are recorded in the two episodes contained in this section; viz. Jacob's meeting with Rachel at the well ($2$), and the peculiar conditions of his marriage to Leah,