創世記 28
Chinese Contemporary Bible (Traditional)
28 以撒把雅各叫來，給他祝福，又囑咐他說：「你不要娶迦南的女子為妻。 2 馬上去巴旦·亞蘭，到你外祖父彼土利家，在你舅父拉班的女兒中選一個做妻子。 3 願全能的上帝賜福給你，使你的子孫眾多，成為許多民族。 4 願上帝把賜給亞伯拉罕的福氣賜給你和你的後代，讓你承受你寄居之地為產業，就是上帝賜給亞伯拉罕的地方。」 5 以撒讓雅各前往巴旦·亞蘭，去亞蘭人彼土利的兒子拉班那裡。拉班是雅各和以掃的舅父。
6 以掃看見父親給雅各祝福，讓他到巴旦·亞蘭娶妻，叮囑他不要娶迦南的女子， 7 又看見雅各聽從父母到巴旦·亞蘭去了， 8 就知道父親以撒不喜歡迦南的女子。 9 他便到亞伯拉罕的兒子以實瑪利那裡，娶了以實瑪利的女兒、尼拜約的妹妹瑪哈拉為妻。他娶瑪哈拉以前已經有兩個妻子了。
雅各的夢
10 雅各離開別示巴，前往哈蘭。 11 到了一個地方，太陽已經下山，他便在那裡過夜。他枕著一塊石頭睡覺， 12 夢中看見有個梯子立在地上，直通到天上，梯子上有上帝的天使上上下下。 13 耶和華站在梯子上[a]對雅各說：「我是耶和華，是你祖父亞伯拉罕的上帝，也是以撒的上帝。我要把你現在躺臥的地方賜給你和你的後代。 14 你的後代必多如地上的塵沙，遍佈四方，地上萬族必因你和你的後代而蒙福。 15 我與你同在，無論你去哪裡，我都會保護你，領你返回這片土地。我必實現對你的應許，決不離棄你。」
16 雅各一覺醒來，說：「耶和華居然在這裡，我卻不知道。」 17 他就害怕起來，說：「這地方何等可畏！這裡是上帝的家，是通天的大門。」
18 雅各清早起來，把枕的那塊石頭立成柱子作記號，在上面澆上油。 19 他稱那地方為伯特利[b]，那地方以前叫路斯。 20 雅各許願說：「如果上帝與我同在，在路上保護我，供給我衣食， 21 帶領我平安地回到父親的家，我就一定敬奉耶和華為我的上帝。 22 我立為柱子的這塊石頭必成為上帝的殿。凡你賜給我的，我必把十分之一獻給你。」
Genesis 28
The Voice
28 Isaac called Jacob to him, blessed him again, and instructed him.
Isaac: You are not to marry one of the Canaanite women. 2 Get up and pack your things, go to Paddan-aram to the house of Bethuel (your mother’s father), and find a wife there among Laban’s daughters. (Laban is your mother’s brother.) 3 May the All-Powerful God[a] bless you, make you fruitful, and multiply your descendants so that you will give rise to nation after nation! 4 May God give to you and to your children in this inheritance all of the blessings of Abraham, so that you might someday possess the land where you now live as a foreigner—a land that was promised by God to Abraham.
When the Lord told Abraham to leave Haran and travel to Canaan, most of his relatives remained in Northern Mesopotamia in towns between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. The area southwest of Haran becomes known as Paddan-aram (the plain of Aram). Abraham and some of the other patriarchs continue to see this land and its people as their own. This is why Jacob and his family are known as Arameans (Deuteronomy 26:5).
5 So Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Paddan-aram to Laban, son of Bethuel the Aramean and brother of Rebekah (Jacob and Esau’s mother).
6 Now Esau saw that his father, Isaac, had again blessed Jacob and sent him to Paddan-aram to find a wife there, instructing him not to marry any of the Canaanite women. 7 He learned, too, that Jacob had gone there just as his father and mother both wanted. 8 So, realizing his father did not like his Canaanite wives, 9 Esau went to see Ishmael and took Mahalath, the daughter of Ishmael (Abraham’s other son) and the sister of Nebaioth, to be his wife in addition to the two others.
10 Meanwhile Jacob left Beersheba and traveled toward Haran. 11 As dusk approached one day, he came to a place where he could stay for the night. He saw stones scattered all around and put one of them under his head; then he lay down to sleep. 12 During the night, God gave him a dream. He saw a ladder set up on the earth, and its top reached to the heavens. He saw some messengers of God ascending and descending on it. 13 At the very top stood the Eternal One.
Eternal One: I am the Eternal One, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you are now lying is the land I have promised to give to you and your descendants. 14 Your descendants will be as many as there are specks of dust on the earth. You will spread out to the west, east, north, and south. Through your descendants, all the families of the earth will find true blessing. 15 Know I am with you, and I will watch over you no matter where you go. One day I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done all I have promised you.
Dreams are a bit mysterious. There are many theories about what dreams are and why we dream, but no one knows for sure. What is sure is that at times in the Scriptures God uses dreams to reveal Himself to His covenant partners. Certainly not everyone has revelatory dreams, and not all dreams are revelatory. But sometimes, on special occasions, when it suits God’s purposes, dreams can be a vehicle to see, hear, and experience reality as God knows it. It happens here with Jacob, who has not yet fully embraced the Eternal as his God; and it continues to happen in both testaments with Joseph, Daniel, Peter, and others.
16 The dream ended, and Jacob woke up from his sleep.
Jacob (to himself): There is no doubt in my mind that the Eternal One is in this place—and I didn’t even know it!
17 But even as he said this, a bit of fear came over him.
Jacob: This place is absolutely awesome! It can be none other than the house of God and the gateway into heaven!
18 So early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had put under his head, set it up as a pillar, and then poured oil on top of it to commemorate his experience with God. 19 He named that place Bethel, which means “house of God.” Before that the name of the city had been called Luz. 20 Then Jacob made a vow.
Jacob: If God is going to be with me, keeping me safe on this journey and giving me bread to eat and clothing to wear 21 so that I return to my father’s house in peace, then the Eternal will be my God. 22 And this stone I have made into a pillar will be the first stone laid in God’s house. And Lord, of everything You give me, I will give one-tenth always back to You!
Footnotes
- 28:3 Hebrew, El Shaddai
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.