Genesis 35:5
And they journeyed: and the terror of God was upon the cities that were round about them, and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob. And they journeyed: and the terror of God was upon the cities that were round about them, and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob.
The slaughter at Shechem committed by Jacob's sons left Jacob's household in grave danger of revenge from the surrounding peoples. Jacob feared that the neighboring peoples, provoked by the wrong his sons had done, would combine against him and destroy his family. The danger was that the inhabitants of the cities round about would pursue his sons to avenge the slaughter.
Before the deliverance came, Jacob led his whole household to put away their idols and make themselves ready to worship God at Bethel. Then, as they journeyed from Shechem to Bethel, God Himself put fear upon the surrounding cities and peoples. That terror of God restrained them so that they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob, though vengeance for Shechem was to be expected. Thus the household traveled the exposed road to Bethel without being harmed.
The same divine restraint guarded Israel in a later generation when the people crossed through enemy territory to gather at Shechem. They passed unmolested through hostile country so long as they remained faithful to God.