Jacob names the place "El-beth-el," meaning "The God of Bethel." Commentators explain the significance of this name: true spiritual comfort comes not from a physical place (Bethel, the "house of God"), but from a personal encounter with God Himself (El, the "God of the house"). Jacob's act of building the altar was an act of obedience, fulfilling a vow made decades earlier and publicly declaring his worship of the one true God.