Commentaire sur La Genèse 35:14

AND JACOB SET UP A PILLAR. Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra explained it as meaning: “And Jacob had previously²⁰⁴See above, 28:18; also Ramban, ibid., Verse 17. set up a pillar, and now he poured out a drink-offering thereon, and poured oil thereon.” This is correct.

ויסך עליו נסך, he poured a libation of wine on it. Thereby he completed paying his vow in which he had vowed to make out of the stone which had served as his pillow a monument, meaning “a house of G’d.” (28,22). By anointing this monument he had, so to speak, laid the foundation of the house of G’d to be built there in the future. What he did here was similar to what David did in his time when he prepared the foundation for the Temple his son Solomon was to build after his death in accordance with what the angel had told him at the threshing ground of Arona the Jebusite.

ויצב, the reason why the Torah repeats once more “in the place where He had spoken to him,” is to tell us that Yaakov had come to realise that that place was singularly suitable for deserving people to receive prophetic insights. Even though Yaakov had already said on the original occasion that this place must be designated as a house of G’d, now that G’d’s promises to him had materialised, seeing that G’d had spoken to him in that very place this was even plainer.

ויצב יעקב מצבה, “Yaakov erected a monument.” According to the plain meaning, Yaakov did this now, after the latest manifestation of G’d to him. Ibn Ezra explains that Yaakov had already erected this monument previously, after he had dreamt the dream of the ladder. At that time he did not have oil and wine with him to anoint it as a sacred altar, something that he made up for now. It is not clear whether the word ויסך refers to a libation of wine or of water. He poured the libation over the altar in order to physically cleanse it, followed by anointing it with oil to sanctify it.

ויצב יעקב מצבה במקום אשר דבר אתו אלוקים, "Yaakov erected a monument in the place where G’d had spoken with him." The Torah repeats the words “where G’d had spoken with him,” with which the last verse had ended. The meaning is that G’d had spoken to Yaakov at that place already on a previous occasion at Bet El. At that time Yaakov had erected a monument. When the Torah makes reference to Yaakov erecting a monument at this point, it meant to tell us that this monument had already been erected by Yaakov many years ago; he did not now erect a second monument (compare Genesis 28,18).
The difference between the meaning of the terms מזבח and מצבה respectively, is that the word מצבה refers to an altar consisting of a single stone, whereas מזבח is an altar consisting of a number of stones. Both structures serve the purpose of offering sacrifices. The מצבה serves the purpose of offering drink-offerings and the anointing with oil, whereas the מזבח is suitable for any kind of offering acceptable to G‘d. Seeing that G’d had just told Yaakov that he would no longer be called Yaakov but Israel, it is surprising that the Torah describes the person erecting the monument as Yaakov instead of as Israel. The fact that the Torah here refers to Yaakov by his original name is further proof that the name Israel was an additional name and not a substitute for the name Yaakov. We will find from now on that the Torah uses both these names on different occasions.

נסך bestand entweder aus Wein, zum Ausdruck, dass man seine höchste Freude Gott verdanke, oder aus Wasser, zum Ausdruck, dass auch jeder gewöhnliche Moment mit allen seinen Lebensbedingungen unmittelbar Gottes ist. — יצק שמן על dürfte die bleibende Weihe des Steines für die Zukunft bedeuten, wie oben Kap.28, 18. Vergl. ויצק השמן על ראשו Sam. I. 9, 6.

מצבת אבן, a different stone, not the one he had anointed at the time, 34 years ago. He added one more stone to the monument he had erected then.

ויסך עליה נסך, a libation consisting of wine.

ויצוק עליה שמן, also intended as a gift offering.