Genesis 35:5 - Exposition

And they journeyed (from Shechem, after the work of reformation just described): and the terror of God —meaning not simply a great terror, as in Genesis 23:6 ; Genesis 30:8 (Dathe, Bush), but either a supernatural dread inspired by Elohim (Ainsworth, Clericus, Rosenmüller, Keil, Kalisch, and others), or a fear of Elohim, under whose care Jacob manifestly bad been taken (Murphy, Quarry)— was upon the cities that were round about them ,—literally, in their circuits , i.e. wherever they went— and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob —as might have been expected.