Genesis 28
Chapter 28
1 So Isaac called for Jacob, blessed him, and said, “You must not marry any of these Canaanite women.2 Instead, go at once to Paddan-aram, to the house of your grandfather Bethuel, and marry one of your uncle Laban’s daughters.3 May God Almightyt bless you and give you many children. And may your descendants multiply and become many nations!
4 May God pass on to you and your descendantst the blessings he promised to Abraham. May you own this land where you are now living as a foreigner, for God gave this land to Abraham.”
5 So Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Paddan-aram to stay with his uncle Laban, his mother’s brother, the son of Bethuel the Aramean.
6 Esau knew that his father, Isaac, had blessed Jacob and sent him to Paddan-aram to find a wife, and that he had warned Jacob, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman.”7 He also knew that Jacob had obeyed his parents and gone to Paddan-aram.8 It was now very clear to Esau that his father did not like the local Canaanite women.
9 So Esau visited his uncle Ishmael’s family and married one of Ishmael’s daughters, in addition to the wives he already had. His new wife’s name was Mahalath. She was the sister of Nebaioth and the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son.
Jacob’s Dream at Bethel
10 Meanwhile, Jacob left Beersheba and traveled toward Haran.11 At sundown he arrived at a good place to set up camp and stopped there for the night. Jacob found a stone to rest his head against and lay down to sleep.
12 As he slept, he dreamed of a stairway that reached from the earth up to heaven. And he saw the angels of God going up and down the stairway.
13 At the top of the stairway stood the LORD, and he said, “I am the LORD, the God of your grandfather Abraham, and the God of your father, Isaac. The ground you are lying on belongs to you. I am giving it to you and your descendants.14 Your descendants will be as numerous as the dust of the earth! They will spread out in all directions—to the west and the east, to the north and the south. And all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants.
15 What’s more, I am with you, and I will protect you wherever you go. One day I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have finished giving you everything I have promised you.”
16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I wasn’t even aware of it!”
17 But he was also afraid and said, “What an awesome place this is! It is none other than the house of God, the very gateway to heaven!”
18 The next morning Jacob got up very early. He took the stone he had rested his head against, and he set it upright as a memorial pillar. Then he poured olive oil over it.
19 He named that place Bethel (which means “house of God”), although it was previously called Luz.
20 Then Jacob made this vow: “If God will indeed be with me and protect me on this journey, and if he will provide me with food and clothing,21 and if I return safely to my father’s home, then the LORD will certainly be my God.
22 And this memorial pillar I have set up will become a place for worshiping God, and I will present to God a tenth of everything he gives me.”
GENESIS 28
Isaac's Instructions //to Jacob
1 Isaac called in Jacob, then gave him a blessing, and said:
Don't marry any of those Canaanite women. 2 Go at once to your mother's father Bethuel in northern Syriat and choose a wife from one of the daughters of Laban, your mother's brother. 3 I pray that God All-Powerful will bless you with many descendants and let you become a great nation.
4 t May he bless you with the land he promised Abraham, so that you will take over this land where we now live as foreigners.
5 Isaac then sent Jacob to stay with Rebekah's brother Laban, the son of Bethuel the Aramean.Esau Marries the Daughter //of Ishmael
6 Esau found out that his father Isaac had blessed Jacob and had warned him not to marry any of the Canaanite women. He also learned that Jacob had been sent to find a wife in northern Syriat 7 and that he had obeyed his father and mother. 8 Esau already had several wives, but he now realized how much his father hated the Canaanite women.
9 So he married Ishmael's daughter Mahalath, who was the sister of Nebaiotht and the granddaughter of Abraham.Jacob's Dream at Bethel
10 t Jacob left the town of Beersheba and started out for Haran. 11 At sunset he stopped for the night and went to sleep, resting his head on a large rock.
12 t In a dream he saw a ladder that reached from earth to heaven, and God's angels were going up and down on it.
13 t The [Lord] was standing beside the laddert and said:
I am the [Lord] God who was worshiped by Abraham and Isaac. I will give to you and your family the land on which you are now sleeping. 14 t Your descendants will spread over the earth in all directions and will become as numerous as the specks of dust. Your family will be a blessing to all people.t
15 Wherever you go, I will watch over you, then later I will bring you back to this land. I won't leave you—I will do all I have promised.
16 Jacob woke up suddenly and thought, “The [Lord] is in this place, and I didn't even know it.”
17 Then Jacob became frightened and said, “What a frightening place! It must be the house of God and the gateway to heaven.”
18 When Jacob got up early the next morning, he took the rock that he had used for a pillow and stood it up as a place of worship. Then he poured olive oil on the rock to dedicate it to God,
19 and he named the place Bethel.t Before that it had been named Luz.
20 Jacob solemnly promised God, “If you go with me and watch over me as I travel, and if you give me food and clothes 21 and bring me safely home again, you will be my God. 22 This rock will be your house, and I will give back to you a tenth of everything you give me.”
