Genesis 28
28
Jacob Sent to Laban
1Then Isaac called Jacob #ver. 6 and blessed him and directed him, #[See ch. 27:46 above]“You must not take a wife from the Canaanite women. 2#Hos. 12:12 Arise, go to Paddan-aram to the house of #ch. 22:23Bethuel your mother’s father, and take as your wife from there one of the daughters of Laban your mother’s brother. 3#See ch. 17:1God Almighty#28:3 Hebrew El Shaddai bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may become a company of peoples. 4May he give #See ch. 12:2, 3 the blessing of Abraham to you and to your offspring with you, that you may take possession of #ch. 17:8; 36:7; 37:1the land of your sojournings that God gave to Abraham!” 5Thus Isaac sent Jacob away. And he went to Paddan-aram, to Laban, the son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob’s and Esau’s mother.
Esau Marries an Ishmaelite
6Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan-aram to take a wife from there, and that as he blessed him he directed him, “You must not take a wife from the Canaanite women,” 7and that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and gone to Paddan-aram. 8So when Esau saw #ch. 24:3; 26:35that the Canaanite women did not please Isaac his father, 9Esau went to Ishmael and took as his wife, besides the wives he had, #[ch. 36:3] Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, the sister of #ch. 25:13; 36:3Nebaioth.
Jacob’s Dream
10Jacob left #ch. 21:31; 26:33 Beersheba and went toward #[Acts 7:2]Haran. 11And he came to a certain place and stayed there that night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep. 12And he #[Num. 12:6; Job 33:15, 16] dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder#28:12 Or a flight of steps set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, #[John 1:51]the angels of God were ascending and descending on it! 13And behold, #[ch. 35:1; 48:3] the Lord stood above it#28:13 Or beside him and said, #ch. 26:24 “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. #ch. 35:12; See ch. 13:14-16The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. 14Your offspring shall be like #See ch. 13:16 the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and #See ch. 12:3your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15Behold, #ch. 26:24; 31:3 I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and #ch. 35:6 will bring you back to this land. For I will #1 Kgs. 8:57not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” 16Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is #Ex. 3:5; Josh. 5:15in this place, and I did not know it.” 17And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”
18So early in the morning Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up #ch. 31:13, 45; 35:14; [1 Sam. 7:12; 2 Sam. 18:18] for a pillar #[Lev. 8:10, 11; Num. 7:1]and poured oil on the top of it. 19He called the name of that place #ch. 35:7; Judg. 1:23, 26Bethel,#28:19 Bethel means the house of God but the name of the city was Luz at the first. 20Then Jacob #ch. 31:13made 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 wear, 21#[Judg. 11:31; 2 Sam. 15:7-9] so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, #Deut. 26:17then the Lord shall be my God, 22and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, #ch. 35:7, 14 shall be God’s house. And #ch. 14:20; Lev. 27:30-33of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.”
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Genesis 28
28
Jacob’s Departure
1So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. “Do not take a wife from the Canaanite women,” he commanded. 2“Go at once to Paddan-aram,#28:2 That is, northwest Mesopotamia; also in verses 5, 6, and 7 to the house of your mother’s father Bethuel, and take a wife from among the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother. 3May God Almighty #28:3 Hebrew El-Shaddai bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, so that you may become a company of peoples. 4And may He give the blessing of Abraham to you and your descendants, so that you may possess the land where you dwell as a foreigner, the land God gave to Abraham.”
5So Isaac sent Jacob to Paddan-aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, who was the mother of Jacob and Esau.
Esau Marries Mahalath
6Now Esau learned that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him to Paddan-aram to take a wife there, commanding him, “Do not marry a Canaanite woman,” 7and that Jacob had obeyed his father and mother and gone to Paddan-aram.
8And seeing that his father Isaac disapproved of the Canaanite women, 9Esau went to Ishmael and married Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Abraham’s son Ishmael, in addition to the wives he already had.
Jacob’s Ladder
10Meanwhile Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran. 11On reaching a certain place, he spent the night there because the sun had set. And taking one of the stones from that place, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep.
12And Jacob had a dream about a ladder that rested on the earth with its top reaching up to heaven, and God’s angels were going up and down the ladder. 13And there at the top #28:13 Or there beside him the Lord was standing and saying, “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you now lie. 14Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and east and north and south. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. 15Look, I am with you, and I will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
16When Jacob woke up, he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was unaware of it.” 17And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven!”
The Stone of Bethel
18Early the next morning, Jacob took the stone that he had placed under his head, and he set it up as a pillar. He poured oil on top of it, 19and he called that place Bethel,#28:19 Bethel means house of God. though previously the city had been named Luz.
20Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and watch over me on this journey, and if He will provide me with food to eat and clothes to wear, 21so that I may return safely to my father’s house, then the Lord will be my God. 22And this stone I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give You a tenth.”
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