Gen-28
Author and Date:
- Traditionally Moses
- Dating unknown, traditionally during the Exodus period (circa 1440–1400 BC)
Audience:
- Israelites
Setting and Main Storyline:
- Setting: Jacob travels from Beersheba to Haran
- Main Storyline: Isaac blesses Jacob and sends him to Haran to find a wife from Laban’s family. Jacob dreams of a ladder to heaven, and God renews the covenant promise made to Abraham.
Where and When:
- Beersheba (modern-day southern Israel)
- Haran (modern-day southeastern Turkey)
- Time: Patriarchal period, approximately 2000 BC
Characters and People Groups
- Jacob,
- Isaac
- Rebekah
- Esau
- Laban
- Bethuel
- Canaanites
- Hittites
Symbolic Roles:
- Deceiver: Jacob
- Deceived: Isaac
- Savior: God
Genesis 28
← Genesis 27 | Genesis | Genesis 29 →
v1
Isaac called Jacob, blessed him, and commanded him, "You shall not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan.
v2
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.
v3
May God Almighty bless you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, [1]that you may be a company of peoples,
v4
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."
v5
Isaac sent Jacob away. He went to Paddan Aram to Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob's and Esau's mother.
v6
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;"
v7
and that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother, and was gone to Paddan Aram.
v8
Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan didn't please Isaac, his father.
v9
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.
v10
Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran.
v11
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.
v12
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.
v13
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. [2]
v14
Your offspring will be as the dust of the earth, and you will spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south. [3]In you and in your offspring, all the families of the earth will be blessed.
v15
Behold, [4]I am with you, and will keep you, wherever you go, and will bring you again [5]into this land. For I will not leave you until I have done that which I have spoken of to you."
v16
Jacob awakened out of his sleep, and he said, "Surely Yahweh is in this place, and I didn't know it."
v17
He was afraid, and said, "How awesome this place is! This is none other than [6]God's house, and this is the gate of heaven."
v18
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.
v19
He called the name of that place Bethel, but the name of the city was Luz at the first.
v20
Jacob [7]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,
v21
so that I come again to my father's house in peace, and Yahweh will be my God,
v22
then [8]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 [9]give a tenth to you."
Repeated Words
- bless/blessed/blessing: 5
- land: 5
Connections
- Gen-12:1-3: God’s initial covenant with Abraham, promising land, descendants, and blessing, which is renewed with Jacob in Genesis 28:13-15.
- Gen-13:14-17: God reiterates the promise of land and offspring to Abraham, paralleling the land promise to Jacob in Genesis 28:13-14.
- Gen-15:5-7: God’s covenant with Abraham, emphasizing numerous descendants and the land, echoed in Genesis 28:3-4, 13-14.
- Gen-24:3-4: Abraham instructs his servant to find a wife for Isaac from his own people, not Canaanites, similar to Isaac’s instruction to Jacob in Genesis 28:1-2.
- Gen-26:2-5: God renews the covenant with Isaac, promising land and descendants, akin to the promise to Jacob in Genesis 28:13-15.
- Gen-35:1-15: God commands Jacob to return to Bethel, where he reaffirms the covenant and renames Jacob as Israel, directly connecting to the Bethel event in Genesis 28:16-22.
- Deut-26:5: Refers to Jacob as a “wandering Aramean,” relating to his journey to Haran in Genesis 28:10.
- Hos-12:12: Mentions Jacob’s flight to Aram (Haran) and his service for a wife, referencing the events following Genesis 28:10.
- John-01:51: Jesus references Jacob’s ladder (Genesis 28:12), describing angels ascending and descending on the Son of Man, connecting the dream to Christ.
← Genesis 27 | Genesis | Genesis 29 →
Key Concepts
Abrahamic A company of peoples, blessing of Isaac to Jacob ↩︎
Jacobiac Yah-God is making this covenant directly with Jacob now. ↩︎
Blessing Yah says in Jacob and his offspring all the families of the earth will be blessed. ↩︎
Favor Yah-God will keep Jacob and bring him into the land again. ↩︎
Inheritance Yah reiterates the inheritance of the land and offspring. ↩︎
Idiom The phrases “house of God” and “gate of heaven” are idiomatic, signifying a sacred place of divine encounter. ↩︎
Jacobiac Jacob has accepted the covenant Yah-God has offered. ↩︎
Idiom - Setting up a pillar was a cultural practice but also idiomatically represented a memorial or commitment to God, symbolizing a covenantal agreement. ↩︎