Charles Ellicott Commentary Genesis 35:15

"And Jacob called the name of the place where God spake with him, Beth-el." — Genesis 35:15 (ASV)

Jacob called ... — See Genesis 28:19. The name had, of course, remained unknown and unused, as what had then occurred had been confined to Jacob’s own inward consciousness. He now teaches the name to his family, explains the reason why he first gave it, and requires them to use it. But with so grand a beginning, the town was debased to unholy uses, and from being Beth-el, the house of God, it became Bethaven, the house of iniquity (Hosea 10:5).