28 1 Isaac forbiddeth Jacob to take a wife of the Canaanites. 6 Esau taketh a wife of the daughters of Ishmael against his father’s will. 12 Jacob in the way to Haran seeth a ladder reaching to heaven. 14 Christ is promised.

Then Isaac called Jacob and [a]blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, take not a wife of the daughters of Canaan.

Arise, (A)get thee to (B)Padan Aram to the house of Bethuel thy mother’s father, and thence take thee a wife of the daughters of Laban thy mother’s brother.

And God all [b]sufficient bless thee, and make thee to increase, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people,

And give thee the blessing of Abraham, even to thee and to thy seed with thee, that thou mayest inherit the land (wherein thou art a [c]stranger,) which God gave unto Abraham.

Thus Isaac sent forth Jacob, and he went to Padan Aram unto Laban son of Bethuel the Aramite, brother to Rebekah, Jacob’s and Esau’s mother.

¶ When Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob, and sent him to Padan Aram, to fetch him a wife thence, and given him a charge when he blessed him, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan,

And that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother, and was gone to Padan Aram:

Also Esau seeing that the daughters of Canaan displeased Isaac his father,

Then went Esau to Ishmael, and took [d]unto the wives which he had, Mahalath the daughter of [e]Ishmael Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife.

10 ¶ Now Jacob departed from Beersheba, and went to Haran,

11 And he came unto a certain place, and tarried there all night because the sun was down, and took of the stones of the place, and laid under his head and slept in the same place.

12 Then he dreamed, and behold, there stood a [f]ladder upon the earth, and the top of it reached up to heaven: and lo, the Angels of God went up and down by it.

13 (C)And behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land, upon the which thou sleepest, [g]will I give thee and thy seed.

14 And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad (D)to the West, and to the East, and to the North, and to the South, and in thee and in thy seed shall all the (E)families of the earth be blessed.

15 And lo, I am with thee, and will keep thee whithersoever thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land: for I will not forsake thee until I have performed that, that I have promised thee.

16 ¶ Then Jacob awoke out of his sleep and said, Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware.

17 And he was [h]afraid, and said, How fearful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.

18 Then Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had laid under his head, and [i]set it up as (F)a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it.

19 And he called the name of that place [j]Bethel: notwithstanding the name of that city was at the first called Luz.

20 Then Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If [k]God will be with me, and will keep me in this journey which I go, and will give me bread to eat, and clothes to put on:

21 So that I come again unto my father’s house in safety, then shall the Lord be my God.

22 And this stone, which I have set up as a pillar, shall be God’s house: and of all that thou shalt give me, will I give the tenth unto thee.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 28:1 This second blessing was to confirm Jacob’s faith, lest he should think that his father had given it without God’s motion.
  2. Genesis 28:3 Or, almighty.
  3. Genesis 28:4 The godly fathers were put in mind continually, that they were but strangers in this world: to the intent they should lift up their eyes to the heavens where they should have a sure dwelling.
  4. Genesis 28:9 Or, beside his wives.
  5. Genesis 28:9 Thinking hereby to have reconciled himself to his father, but all in vain: for he taketh not away the cause of the evil.
  6. Genesis 28:12 Christ is the ladder whereby God and man are joined together, and by whom the Angels minister unto us: all graces by him are given unto us, and we by him ascend into heaven.
  7. Genesis 28:13 He felt the force of this promise only by faith: for all his lifetime he was but a stranger in this land.
  8. Genesis 28:17 He was touched with a godly fear and reverence.
  9. Genesis 28:18 To be a remembrance only of the vision showed unto him.
  10. Genesis 28:19 Or, house of God.
  11. Genesis 28:20 He bindeth not God under this condition, but acknowledgeth his infirmity, and promiseth to be thankful.

28 So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed(A) him. Then he commanded him: “Do not marry a Canaanite woman.(B) Go at once to Paddan Aram,[a](C) to the house of your mother’s father Bethuel.(D) Take a wife for yourself there, from among the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother.(E) May God Almighty[b](F) bless(G) you and make you fruitful(H) and increase your numbers(I) until you become a community of peoples. May he give you and your descendants the blessing given to Abraham,(J) so that you may take possession of the land(K) where you now reside as a foreigner,(L) the land God gave to Abraham.” Then Isaac sent Jacob on his way,(M) and he went to Paddan Aram,(N) to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean,(O) the brother of Rebekah,(P) who was the mother of Jacob and Esau.

Now Esau learned that Isaac had blessed Jacob and had sent him to Paddan Aram to take a wife from there, and that when he blessed him he commanded him, “Do not marry a Canaanite woman,”(Q) and that Jacob had obeyed his father and mother and had gone to Paddan Aram. Esau then realized how displeasing the Canaanite women(R) were to his father Isaac;(S) so he went to Ishmael(T) and married Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth(U) and daughter of Ishmael son of Abraham, in addition to the wives he already had.(V)

Jacob’s Dream at Bethel

10 Jacob left Beersheba(W) and set out for Harran.(X) 11 When he reached a certain place,(Y) he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head(Z) and lay down to sleep. 12 He had a dream(AA) in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.(AB) 13 There above it[c] stood the Lord,(AC) and he said: “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac.(AD) I will give you and your descendants the land(AE) on which you are lying.(AF) 14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you(AG) will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south.(AH) All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.[d](AI) 15 I am with you(AJ) and will watch over you(AK) wherever you go,(AL) and I will bring you back to this land.(AM) I will not leave you(AN) until I have done what I have promised you.(AO)(AP)

16 When Jacob awoke from his sleep,(AQ) he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” 17 He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place!(AR) This is none other than the house of God;(AS) this is the gate of heaven.”

18 Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head(AT) and set it up as a pillar(AU) and poured oil on top of it.(AV) 19 He called that place Bethel,[e](AW) though the city used to be called Luz.(AX)

20 Then Jacob made a vow,(AY) saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me(AZ) on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear(BA) 21 so that I return safely(BB) to my father’s household,(BC) then the Lord[f] will be my God(BD) 22 and[g] this stone that I have set up as a pillar(BE) will be God’s house,(BF) and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.(BG)

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 28:2 That is, Northwest Mesopotamia; also in verses 5, 6 and 7
  2. Genesis 28:3 Hebrew El-Shaddai
  3. Genesis 28:13 Or There beside him
  4. Genesis 28:14 Or will use your name and the name of your offspring in blessings (see 48:20)
  5. Genesis 28:19 Bethel means house of God.
  6. Genesis 28:21 Or Since God … father’s household, the Lord
  7. Genesis 28:22 Or household, and the Lord will be my God, 22 then