Genesis 35:4Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

They presented Jacob with foreign deities, as these items did not belong to them, along with the earrings they wore; possibly these too were emblematic of idolatry, which is why they were brought to Jacob alongside the idols. Jacob then buried them beneath an oak tree located near Shechem. It is stated that he concealed them, eradicating their presence to ensure that the servants of falsehood might be freed from their delusions, preventing any further harm from such influences.

The wives who accompanied Jacob also removed their earrings. Even those who approach the house of God forgo worldly adornments and let their hair hang loose, symbolically shedding the burden of vanity. I believe this signifies that the wives discarded the ornaments that adorned their ears.

And they concealed me beneath the terebinth so that I would not become a stumbling block to the offspring of Jacob.

Earrings should not merely be viewed as a decorative accessory traditionally worn by women; rather, they can be understood as a form of charm or protective amulet. Blessed Augustine refers to them as "idolorum philasteria," which translates to "vaults of idols." The terebinth, unlike the oak, denotes a type of resilient tree that can designate significant locations. This site was later revered by the Israelites as noted in Scripture (Num. 24:26, Judg. 9:6). The significance of these locations has remained hidden even to this day. Notably, these phrases do not appear in either the Hebrew or Samaritan texts.