Genesis 28
28
Isaac Sends Jacob Away
1Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. Then he commanded him, “You are not to marry any of the Canaanite women. 2Quick! Go to Paddan Aram. Go to the home of Bethuel, your mother’s father, and get yourself a wife from there from the daughters of your uncle Laban. 3May God Almighty bless you, make you fertile, and increase the number of your descendants so that you will become a community of people. 4May he give to you and your descendants the blessing of Abraham so that you may take possession of the land where you are now living, the land that God gave to Abraham.”
5Isaac sent Jacob to Paddan Aram. Jacob went to live with Laban, son of Bethuel the Aramean and brother of Rebekah. She was the mother of Jacob and Esau.
6Esau learned that Isaac had blessed Jacob and had sent him away to Paddan Aram to get a wife from there. He learned that Isaac had blessed Jacob and had commanded him not to marry any of the Canaanite women. 7He also learned that Jacob had obeyed his father and mother and had left for Paddan Aram. 8Esau realized that his father Isaac disapproved of Canaanite women. 9So he went to Ishmael and married Mahalath, daughter of Abraham’s son Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth, in addition to the wives he had.
Jacob’s First Encounter with God
10Jacob left Beersheba and traveled toward Haran. 11When he came to a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had gone down. He took one of the stones from that place, put it under his head, and lay down there. 12He had a dream in which he saw a stairway set up on the earth with its top reaching up to heaven. He saw the angels of God going up and coming down on it. 13The Lord was standing above it, saying, “I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give the land on which you are lying to you and your descendants. 14Your descendants will be like the dust on the earth. You will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. Through you and through your descendant every family on earth will be blessed. 15Remember, I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go. I will also bring you back to this land because I will not leave you until I do what I’ve promised you.”
16Then Jacob woke up from his sleep and exclaimed, “Certainly, the Lord is in this place, and I didn’t know it!” 17Filled with awe, he said, “How awe-inspiring this place is! Certainly, this is the house of God and the gateway to heaven!”
18Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had put under his head. He set it up as a marker and poured olive oil on top of it. 19He named that place Bethel [House of God]. Previously, the name of the city was Luz.
20Then Jacob made a vow: “If God will be with me and will watch over me on my trip and give me food to eat and clothes to wear, 21and if I return safely to my father’s home, then the Lord will be my God. 22This stone that I have set up as a marker will be the house of God, and I will surely give you a tenth of everything you give me.”
GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.
B'resheet (Gen) 28
28
1So Yitz’chak called Ya‘akov, and, after blessing him, charged him: “You are not to choose a wife from the Hitti women. 2Go now to the home of B’tu’el your mother’s father, and choose a wife there from the daughters of Lavan your mother’s brother. 3May El Shaddai bless you, make you fruitful and increase your descendants, until they become a whole assembly of peoples. 4And may he give you the blessing which he gave Avraham, you and your descendants with you, so that you will possess the land you will travel through, the land God gave to Avraham.”
(vii) 5So Yitz’chak sent Ya‘akov away; and he went to Paddan-Aram, to Lavan, son of B’tu’el the Arami, the brother of Rivkah Ya‘akov’s and ‘Esav’s mother. 6Now ‘Esav saw that Yitz’chak had blessed Ya‘akov and sent him away to Paddan-Aram to choose a wife from there, and that as he blessed him he charged him, “You are not to choose a Kena‘ani woman as your wife,” (Maftir) 7and that Ya‘akov had listened to his father and mother and gone to Paddan-Aram. 8‘Esav also saw that the Kena‘ani women did not please Yitz’chak his father. 9So ‘Esav went to Yishma‘el and took, in addition to the wives he already had, Machalat the daughter of Yishma‘el Avraham’s son, the sister of N’vayot, to be his wife.
Haftarah Tol’dot: Mal’akhi (Malachi) 1:1–2:7
B’rit Hadashah suggested readings for Parashah Tol’dot: Romans 9:6–16; Messianic Jews (Hebrews) 11:20; 12:14–17
Parashah 7: Vayetze (He went out) 28:10 –32:3(2)
10Ya‘akov went out from Be’er-Sheva and traveled toward Haran. 11He came to a certain place and stayed the night there, because the sun had set. He took a stone from the place, put it under his head and lay down there to sleep. 12He dreamt that there before him was a ladder resting on the ground with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of Adonai were going up and down on it. 13Then suddenly Adonai was standing there next to him; and he said, “I am Adonai, the God of Avraham your [grand]father and the God of Yitz’chak. The land on which you are lying I will give to you and to your descendants. 14Your descendants will be as numerous as the grains of dust on the earth. You will expand to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. By you and your descendants all the families of the earth will be blessed. 15Look, I am with you. I will guard you wherever you go, and I will bring you back into this land, because I won’t leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
16Ya‘akov awoke from his sleep and said, “Truly, Adonai is in this place — and I didn’t know it!” 17Then he became afraid and said, “This place is fearsome! This has to be the house of God! This is the gate of heaven!” 18Ya‘akov got up early in the morning, took the stone he had put under his head, set it up as a standing-stone, poured olive oil on its top 19and named the place Beit-El [house of God]; but the town had originally been called Luz.
20Ya‘akov took this vow: “If God will be with me and will guard me on this road that I am traveling, giving me bread to eat and clothes to wear, 21so that I return to my father’s house in peace, then Adonai will be my God; 22and this stone, which I have set up as a standing-stone, will be God’s house; and of everything you give me, I will faithfully return one-tenth to you.”
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