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28 ¶ Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him and charged him, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan.

Arise, go to Padanaram to the house of Bethuel, thy mother’s father, and take thee a wife from there of the daughters of Laban, thy mother’s brother.

And may God Almighty bless thee and make thee fruitful and multiply thee that thou may be a congregation of peoples

and give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee and to thy seed with thee; that thou may inherit the land in which thou art a stranger, which God gave unto Abraham.

Thus Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Padanaram unto Laban, son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob’s and Esau’s mother.

¶ And Esau saw how Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Padanaram, to take a wife from there for himself, and that as he blessed him, he gave him a charge, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan,

and that Jacob had hearkened unto his father and his mother and had gone to Padanaram;

and Esau, seeing that the daughters of Canaan did not please Isaac his father,

Esau went unto Ishmael and took unto the wives which he had, Mahalath, the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife.

10 ¶ And Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Haran.

11 And he found a certain place and slept there all night because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place and put them for his pillows and lay down in that place to sleep.

12 And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven; and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.

13 And, behold, the LORD stood above it and said, I AM the God of Abraham, thy father, and the God of Isaac; the land upon which thou dost lie, to thee will I give it and to thy seed;

14 and thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt multiply to the west and to the east and to the Aquilon and to the Negev; and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

15 And, behold, I am with thee and will keep thee in all places where thou goest and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.

16 ¶ And Jacob awakened out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the LORD is in this place, and I knew it not.

17 And he was afraid and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.

18 And Jacob rose up early in the morning and took the stone that he had put for his pillows and set it up for a pillar and poured oil upon the top of it.

19 And he called the name of that place Bethel, since the name of that city was called Luz at first.

20 And Jacob 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

21 so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then shall the LORD be my God;

22 and this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God’s house; and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth part unto thee.

28 So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed(A) him. Then he commanded him: “Do not marry a Canaanite woman.(B) Go at once to Paddan Aram,[a](C) to the house of your mother’s father Bethuel.(D) Take a wife for yourself there, from among the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother.(E) May God Almighty[b](F) bless(G) you and make you fruitful(H) and increase your numbers(I) until you become a community of peoples. May he give you and your descendants the blessing given to Abraham,(J) so that you may take possession of the land(K) where you now reside as a foreigner,(L) the land God gave to Abraham.” Then Isaac sent Jacob on his way,(M) and he went to Paddan Aram,(N) to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean,(O) the brother of Rebekah,(P) who was the mother of Jacob and Esau.

Now Esau learned that Isaac had blessed Jacob and had sent him to Paddan Aram to take a wife from there, and that when he blessed him he commanded him, “Do not marry a Canaanite woman,”(Q) and that Jacob had obeyed his father and mother and had gone to Paddan Aram. Esau then realized how displeasing the Canaanite women(R) were to his father Isaac;(S) so he went to Ishmael(T) and married Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth(U) and daughter of Ishmael son of Abraham, in addition to the wives he already had.(V)

Jacob’s Dream at Bethel

10 Jacob left Beersheba(W) and set out for Harran.(X) 11 When he reached a certain place,(Y) he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head(Z) and lay down to sleep. 12 He had a dream(AA) in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.(AB) 13 There above it[c] stood the Lord,(AC) and he said: “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac.(AD) I will give you and your descendants the land(AE) on which you are lying.(AF) 14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you(AG) will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south.(AH) All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.[d](AI) 15 I am with you(AJ) and will watch over you(AK) wherever you go,(AL) and I will bring you back to this land.(AM) I will not leave you(AN) until I have done what I have promised you.(AO)(AP)

16 When Jacob awoke from his sleep,(AQ) he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” 17 He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place!(AR) This is none other than the house of God;(AS) this is the gate of heaven.”

18 Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head(AT) and set it up as a pillar(AU) and poured oil on top of it.(AV) 19 He called that place Bethel,[e](AW) though the city used to be called Luz.(AX)

20 Then Jacob made a vow,(AY) saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me(AZ) on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear(BA) 21 so that I return safely(BB) to my father’s household,(BC) then the Lord[f] will be my God(BD) 22 and[g] this stone that I have set up as a pillar(BE) will be God’s house,(BF) and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.(BG)

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 28:2 That is, Northwest Mesopotamia; also in verses 5, 6 and 7
  2. Genesis 28:3 Hebrew El-Shaddai
  3. Genesis 28:13 Or There beside him
  4. Genesis 28:14 Or will use your name and the name of your offspring in blessings (see 48:20)
  5. Genesis 28:19 Bethel means house of God.
  6. Genesis 28:21 Or Since God … father’s household, the Lord
  7. Genesis 28:22 Or household, and the Lord will be my God, 22 then