ויטמון אותם יעקב תחת האלה אשר עם שכם, “Yaakov hid them (the alien deities and jewelry) beneath the oak tree near Sh’chem.” According to B’reshit Rabbah 81,3, the deities were images or three-dimensional replicas of pigeons which were found later on Mount Gerizim where people worshipped them. [Seeing that that mountain is near Sh’chem, it sounds very plausible. Ed.]

ותמת דבורה, Deborah, Rivkah’s nursemaid died (near there) the reason why we are told about this at this point may be on account of the prophetess Deborah sitting and holding court near this tree, by the grave of Deborah (Judges, 4.5.)

בן אוני, “son of my sorrow;” she foresaw the tragedy involving the tribe of Benjamin in a civil war described in Judges chapters 19-21.

וישכב את בלהה פלגש אביו, “he lay with Bilhah, the concubine of his father.” According to some commentators (Talmud tractate Shabbat folio 55,) all he did was that he removed her couch from his father’s tent. This occurred before Yaakov had returned to his father’s house. The Torah treats the deed as if Reuben had committed incest with his aunt. Our author points to Job 31,12, [he could have used the entire sequence from verse 1 to there Ed.] as proof that harbouring incestuous thoughts may be considered as if one had carried out what one had fantasized about. Ed.