The In-Dept Study of the Bible
Genesis 28
1 Isaac called Jacob, blessed him, and
commandedhim, “Youshallnottake a wife
of the daughters of Canaan.
2 Arise, go to Paddan Aram, to the house
of Bethuel your mother’s father. Take a
wife from there from the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother.
3 May God Almighty bless you, and make
you fruitful, and multiply you, that you
may be a company of peoples,
4 and give you the blessing of Abraham,
to you and to your offspring with you, that
you may inherit the land where you travel,
which God gave to Abraham.”
5 Isaac sent Jacob away. He went to
Paddan Aram to Laban, son of Bethuel the
Syrian,thebrother ofRebekah,Jacob’s and
Esau’s mother.
6 Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed
Jacob and sent him away to Paddan Aram,
to take him a wife from there, and that as
he blessed him he gave him a command,
saying, “You shall not take a wife of the
daughters of Canaan;”
7 and that Jacob obeyed his father and
his mother, and was gone to Paddan Aram.
8 Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan
didn’t please Isaac, his father.
9 So Esau went to Ishmael, and took, in
addition to the wives that he had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s
son, the sister of Nebaioth, to be his wife.
10 Jacob went out from Beersheba, and
went toward Haran.
11 He came to a certain place, and stayed
there all night, because the sun had set.
He took one of the stones of the place, and
put it under his head, and lay down in that
place to sleep.
12 He dreamed and saw a stairway set
upon the earth, and its top reached to
heaven. Behold, the angels of God were
ascending and descending on it.
13 Behold, Yahweh stood above it, and
said, “I am Yahweh, the God of Abraham
your father, and the God of Isaac. I will
give the land you lie on to you and to your
offspring.
14 Your offspring will be as the dust ofthe
earth, and you will spread abroad to the
west, and to the east, and to the north, and
to the south. In you and in your offspring,
all the families of the earth will be blessed.
15 Behold, I am with you, and will keep
you, wherever you go, and will bring you
again into this land. For I will notleave you
until I have done that which I have spoken
of to you.”
16 Jacob awakened out of his sleep, and
he said, “Surely Yahweh is in this place,
and I didn’t know it.”
17 He was afraid, and said, “How awesome this place is! This is none other than
God’shouse, andthis is the gate ofheaven.”
18 Jacob rose up early in the morning,
and took the stone that he had put under
his head, and set it up for a pillar, and
poured oil on its top.
19 He called the name of that place
Bethel, but the name of the city was Luz at
the first.
20 Jacob vowed a vow, saying, “If God will
be with me, and will keep me in this way
that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and
clothing to put on,
21 so that I come again to my father’s
house in peace, and Yahweh will be myGod,
22 then this stone, which I have set up for
a pillar, will be God’s house. Of all that you
will give me I will surely give a tenth to
you.”