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.
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.”
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Sign up to receive news and updates about the ESV: