Genesis 28
Isaac Sends Jacob Away to Find a Wife
So Isaac called Jacob back and blessed him, saying,
“Don’t marry a girl from Canaan [modern-day Israel]. Instead, go to Bethuel’s house in Paddan-aram. [Bethuel was Rebekah’s dad and Paddan-aram was a region of Syria]. Marry one of your cousins there from Laban’s family [Laban was Rebekah’s brother]. May the ultimate God bless you, make you propserous, and multiply you so that you become a number of countries. May he also give Abraham’s blessing to you and your descendants so that you gain possession of the region you live in which God gave to Abraham.”
Then Isaac sent Jacob to Paddan-aram where Laban lived. [Laban was Rebekah’s brother. Bethuel the Syrian was their dad.]
When Esau saw that Isaac sent Jacob somewhere else to find a wife, he realized that the Canaanite women displeased his dad. So Esau went to where Ishmael’s family lived and married Ishmael’s daughter Mahalath in addition to Esau’s other wives. [Mahalath was Nebaioth’s sister.]
God Visits Jacob in a Dream
Then Jacob left Beersheba [well of seven oaths] and traveled toward Haran [which is where Abraham migrated to when God called him to a new land]. One night when the sun went down, Jacob stopped to spend the night. He laid down and rested his head on a stone like a pillow. That night he dreamed that a ladder went from the ground all the way up to heaven and that God’s representatives were climbing up and down it. The Existing One was there and said,
“I am the Existing One, the God of your grandfather Abraham and of Isaac. I’ll take the ground you’re lying on now and give it to you and your descendants. Your descendants will spread out like dust on the ground extending to the north, south, east, and west. Every country in the world will be blessed in you and your descendants. I’ll be with you and protect you wherever you go, and I’ll bring you back to this place. I won’t leave you until I fulfill this promise to you.”
Then Jacob woke up and fear gripped his heart. He said,
“The Existing One is definitely here even though I didn’t realize it. I’m so in awe—This place is nothing less than God’s house. This is the entrance gate to heaven.”
Jacob Vows Allegiance to God if God Protects Him
So Jacob got up early that morning and took the stone he used as a pillow and set it up like a monument and poured oil on top of it. He named that place Bethel [which means “God’s house”], even though it had formerly been known as Luz [which means “almond tree”]. Then Jacob vowed,
“If God will be with me on this journey, protect me, give me food, give me clothes, and bring me safely back to Isaac’s house, then the Existing One will be my God. This stone that I put up as a monument will be God’s house. I will give you a tenth of everything that you give me.”
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