Add parallel Print Page Options

Jacob Flees to Haran

28 Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him. And he instructed him and said to him, “You must not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan. Arise, go to Paddan-Aram, to the house of Bethuel, your mother’s father, and take for yourself a wife from there, from the daughters of Laban your mother’s brother. Now, may El-Shaddai[a] bless you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, so that you become an assembly of peoples. And may he give you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your descendants with you, that you may take possession of the land of your sojourning, which God gave to Abraham.” Then Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Paddan-Aram, to Laban the son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau. Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan-Aram, to take for himself a wife from there, and[b] he blessed him and instructed him, saying, “You must not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan,” and that Jacob listened to his father and to his mother and went to Paddan-Aram. Then Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan were evil in the eyes of Isaac his father, then Esau went to Ishmael and took Mahalath, the daughter of Ishmael, son of Abraham, sister of Nebaioth, as a wife, in addition to the wives he had.

Jacob’s Dream

10 Then Jacob went out from Beersheba and went to Haran. 11 And he arrived at a certain place and spent the night there, because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of the place and put it under his head and slept at that place. 12 And he dreamed, and behold, a stairway was set on the earth, and its top touched the heavens. And behold, angels of God were going up and going down on it. 13 And behold, Yahweh was standing beside him,[c] and he said, “I am Yahweh, the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac. The ground on which you were sleeping I will give to you and to your descendants. 14 Your descendants shall be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west, and to the east, and to the north and to the south. And all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and through your descendants. 15 Now behold, I am with you, and I will keep you wherever you go. And I will bring you to this land, for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised to you.” 16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely Yahweh is indeed[d] in this place and I did not know!” 17 Then he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is nothing else than the house of God,[e] and this is the gate of heaven!” 18 And Jacob rose early in the morning, and he took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up as a stone pillar, and poured oil on top of it. 19 And he called the name of that place Bethel; however, the name of the city was formerly Luz. 20 And Jacob made a vow[f] saying, “If God will be with me and protect me on this way that I am going, and gives me food to eat and clothing to wear, 21 and if I return in peace to the house of my father, then Yahweh will become my God. 22 And this stone that I have set up as a pillar shall be the house of God, and of all that you give to me I will certainly give a tenth to you.”

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 28:3 Often translated “God Almighty”
  2. Genesis 28:6 Or “when”
  3. Genesis 28:13 Or “above it”
  4. Genesis 28:16 Literally “there is”
  5. Genesis 28:17 Literally “there is not this but the house of God”
  6. Genesis 28:20 Or “vowed a vow”

Isaac Sends Jacob to Paddan-aram

28 Later, Isaac called Jacob and blessed him, instructing him, “Don’t marry a wife from the local Canaanite women. Instead, get up, travel to Paddan-aram,[a] and visit the household of Bethuel, your mother’s father. Marry one of Laban’s daughters, since he’s your mother’s brother. May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful so that your descendants[b] become a whole group of people. May he give you and your descendants the blessings that he gave Abraham. May you possess the land where you have lived[c] that God gave to Abraham.”

So Isaac sent Jacob off toward Paddan-aram[d] to visit Bethuel’s son Laban, the Aramean[e] and brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.

Esau Marries a Canaanite Woman

Esau noticed that after Isaac had blessed Jacob as he was sending him off to Paddan-aram[f] to marry a wife from there, he had instructed Jacob,[g] “Don’t marry a Canaanite woman.” After Jacob had obeyed his father and mother’s instructions to set out for Paddan-aram,[h] Esau realized[i] that Canaan women didn’t please his father Isaac, so he went to Abraham’s son Ishmael and married Ishmael’s daughter Mahalath, who was the sister of Nebaioth.

God Visits Jacob in a Dream

10 Meanwhile, Jacob had left[j] Beer-sheba and was on his way to Haran. 11 He reached a certain place and spent the night there, because the sun was setting. He found a stone there, used it for a pillow,[k] and slept there for the night, 12 when he had a dream! He saw a raised highway that had been built with its ending point on earth and its beginning point in heaven. God’s angels were ascending and descending on it. 13 And there was the Lord, standing above it and telling Jacob, “I am the Lord God of your grandfather Abraham. I’m Isaac’s God, too. I’m giving you and your descendants the ground on which you’re sleeping. 14 Your descendants are going to become like the dust of the earth and spread out to the west, east, north, and south. All the families of the earth[l] will be blessed through you and your descendants. 15 Now pay attention! I’m here with you, and I’m going to be watching over you wherever you go. I’m going to bring you back to this land, because I won’t ever leave you until I’ve accomplished what I’ve promised about you.”

Jacob Worships God in Bethel

16 Then Jacob woke up during the night[m] and told himself,[n] “Surely, the Lord is in this place and I never knew it!” 17 In mounting terror, he cried out, “How scary this place is! This is nothing less than God’s house and the gateway to heaven!” 18 When Jacob got up early the next morning, he took the stone that he had used for his pillow,[o] set it up as a pillar, drenched it with oil, 19 and named[p] the place Beth-el, although previously[q] the city had been named Luz.

20 Then he made this solemn vow:[r] “If God remains with me, watches over me throughout this journey that I’m taking, gives me food to eat and clothes to wear, 21 and returns me safely to my father’s house, then the Lord will be my God, 22 this stone that I’ve erected in the form of a pillar will be God’s house, and I’ll give you a tenth of everything that you give to me.”

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 28:2 Paddan-aram was located in northwest Mesopotamia
  2. Genesis 28:3 Lit. that you
  3. Genesis 28:4 Lit. land of your journeying
  4. Genesis 28:5 Paddan-aram was located in northwest Mesopotamia
  5. Genesis 28:5 In later centuries this region would be called Syria
  6. Genesis 28:6 Paddan-aram was located in northwest Mesopotamia
  7. Genesis 28:6 Lit. him
  8. Genesis 28:7 Paddan-aram was located in northwest Mesopotamia
  9. Genesis 28:8 Lit. saw
  10. Genesis 28:10 Lit. went out from
  11. Genesis 28:11 Lit. for his head.
  12. Genesis 28:14 Or land
  13. Genesis 28:16 Lit. woke from his sleep
  14. Genesis 28:16 The Heb. lacks to himself
  15. Genesis 28:18 Lit. for his head
  16. Genesis 28:19 Lit. called the name of
  17. Genesis 28:19 Lit. at the first
  18. Genesis 28:20 Lit. vowed a vow