Add parallel Print Page Options

Jacob Searches for a Wife

28 Isaac called Jacob and blessed him and commanded him [L and said to him], “You must not marry a ·Canaanite woman [L daughter of Canaan]. ·Go [L Get up and go] to the house of Bethuel, your mother’s father, in ·northwestern Mesopotamia [L Paddan-aram; 25:20]. Laban, your mother’s brother, lives there. Marry one of his daughters. May God Almighty bless you and ·give you many children [L make you fruitful and multiply you; 1:22], and may you become a ·group [assembly; congregation; company] of many peoples. May he give you and your ·descendants [L seed] the blessing of Abraham so that you may ·own [possess] the land ·where you are now living as a stranger [L of your wandering/sojourn/alien status], the land God gave to Abraham.” So Isaac sent Jacob to ·northwestern Mesopotamia [L Paddan-aram], to Laban the brother of Rebekah. Bethuel the Aramean was the father of Laban and Rebekah, and Rebekah was the mother of Jacob and Esau.

Esau ·learned [L saw] that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him to ·northwestern Mesopotamia [L Paddan-aram] to find a wife there. He also ·learned [L saw] that Isaac had commanded Jacob not to marry a ·Canaanite woman [L daughter of Canaan] and that Jacob had ·obeyed [listened to] his father and mother and had gone to ·northwestern Mesopotamia [L Paddan-aram]. So Esau saw that ·his father Isaac did not want his sons to marry Canaanite women [C the daughters of Canaan were bad/evil in the eyes of his father Isaac]. Now Esau already had wives, but he went to Ishmael son of Abraham, and he married Mahalath, Ishmael’s daughter. Mahalath was the sister of Nebaioth.

Jacob’s Dream at Bethel

10 Jacob left Beersheba [21:14] and set out for Haran [11:31]. 11 When he came to a place, he spent the night there because the sun had set. He found a stone and laid his head on it ·to go to sleep [L and lay down in that place]. 12 Jacob dreamed that there was a ·ladder [or stairway; or ramp] resting on the earth and reaching up into heaven, and he saw ·angels [messengers] of God ·going up and coming down [ascending and descending on] ·the ladder [L it; John 1:51]. 13 Then Jacob saw the Lord standing above the ladder [28:12], and he said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your grandfather, and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your ·descendants [L seed] the ·land [ground] on which you are now ·sleeping [lying; 12:1–3]. 14 Your ·descendants [L seed] will be as many as the dust of the earth [13:16]. They will spread west and east, north and south, and all the ·families [clans] of the earth will ·be blessed [or bless themselves] through you and your ·descendants [seed]. 15 I am with you and will ·protect [guard] you everywhere you go and will bring you back to this land. I will not ·leave [abandon; forsake] you until I have done what I have promised you.”

16 Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, but I did not know it.” 17 He was afraid and said, “This place frightens me! It is surely the house of God and the gate of heaven.”

18 Jacob rose early in the morning and took the stone ·he had slept on [L which was under his head] and set it up ·on its end [L as a pillar; 31:13, 45; 35:14, 20; Ex. 24:4; C a practice later prohibited because similar to Canaanite religion (Ex. 23:24; 34:13; Deut. 12:3)]. Then he poured olive oil on the top of it. 19 ·At first [Formerly], the name of that city was Luz, but Jacob named it Bethel [C “house of God”].

20 Then Jacob ·made a promise [L vowed a vow]. He said, “I want God to be with me and to ·protect [guard] me on this journey. I want him to give me food to eat and clothes to wear 21 so I will be able to return ·in peace [or safely] to my father’s house. If the Lord does these things, he will be my God. 22 This stone which I have set up ·on its end [L as a pillar] will be the house of God. And I will give God ·one-tenth [a tithe] of all he gives me.”

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