Genesis 28
28
1 So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. Then he commanded him, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman!#tn Heb “you must not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.” 2 Leave immediately#tn Heb “Arise! Go!” The first of the two imperatives is adverbial and stresses the immediacy of the departure. for Paddan Aram! Go to the house of Bethuel, your mother’s father, and find yourself a wife there, among the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother. 3 May the sovereign God#tn Heb “El Shaddai.” See the extended note on the phrase “sovereign God” in Gen 17:1. bless you! May he make you fruitful and give you a multitude of descendants!#tn Heb “and make you fruitful and multiply you.” See Gen 17:6, 20 for similar terminology. Then you will become#tn The perfect verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here indicates consequence. The collocation הָיָה + preposition לְ (hayah + lÿ) means “become.” a large nation.#tn Heb “an assembly of peoples.” 4 May he give you and your descendants the blessing he gave to Abraham#tn Heb “and may he give to you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your offspring with you.” The name “Abraham” is an objective genitive here; this refers to the blessing that God gave to Abraham. so that you may possess the land#tn The words “the land” have been supplied in the translation for clarity. God gave to Abraham, the land where you have been living as a temporary resident.”#tn Heb “the land of your sojournings,” that is, the land where Jacob had been living as a resident alien, as his future descendants would after him. 5 So Isaac sent Jacob on his way, and he went to Paddan Aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean and brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.
6 Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him off to Paddan Aram to find a wife there.#tn Heb “to take for himself from there a wife.” As he blessed him,#tn The infinitive construct with the preposition and the suffix form a temporal clause. Isaac commanded him, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman.”#tn Heb “you must not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.” 7 Jacob obeyed his father and mother and left for Paddan Aram. 8 Then Esau realized#tn Heb “saw.” that the Canaanite women#tn Heb “the daughters of Canaan.” were displeasing to#tn Heb “evil in the eyes of.” his father Isaac. 9 So Esau went to Ishmael and married#tn Heb “took for a wife.” Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Abraham’s son Ishmael, along with the wives he already had.
Jacob’s Dream at Bethel
10 Meanwhile Jacob left Beer Sheba and set out for Haran. 11 He reached a certain place#tn Heb “the place.” The article may indicate simply that the place is definite in the mind of the narrator. However, as the story unfolds the place is transformed into a holy place. See A. P. Ross, “Jacob’s Vision: The Founding of Bethel,” BSac 142 (1985): 224-37. where he decided to camp because the sun had gone down.#tn Heb “and he spent the night there because the sun had gone down.” He took one of the stones#tn Heb “he took from the stones of the place,” which here means Jacob took one of the stones (see v. 18). and placed it near his head.#tn Heb “and he put [it at] the place of his head.” The text does not actually say the stone was placed under his head to serve as a pillow, although most interpreters and translators assume this. It is possible the stone served some other purpose. Jacob does not seem to have been a committed monotheist yet (see v. 20-21) so he may have believed it contained some spiritual power. Note that later in the story he anticipates the stone becoming the residence of God (see v. 22). Many cultures throughout the world view certain types of stones as magical and/or sacred. See J. G. Fraser, Folklore in the Old Testament, 231-37. Then he fell asleep#tn Heb “lay down.” in that place 12 and had a dream.#tn Heb “and dreamed.” He saw#tn Heb “and look.” The scene which Jacob witnessed is described in three clauses introduced with הִנֵּה (hinneh). In this way the narrator invites the reader to witness the scene through Jacob’s eyes. J. P. Fokkelman points out that the particle goes with a lifted arm and an open mouth: “There, a ladder! Oh, angels! and look, the Lord himself” (Narrative Art in Genesis [SSN], 51-52). a stairway#tn The Hebrew noun סֻלָּם (sullam, “ladder, stairway”) occurs only here in the OT, but there appears to be an Akkadian cognate simmiltu (with metathesis of the second and third consonants and a feminine ending) which has a specialized meaning of “stairway, ramp.” See H. R. Cohen, Biblical Hapax Legomena (SBLDS), 34. For further discussion see C. Houtman, “What Did Jacob See in His Dream at Bethel? Some Remarks on Genesis 28:10-22,” VT 27 (1977): 337-52; J. G. Griffiths, “The Celestial Ladder and the Gate of Heaven,” ExpTim 76 (1964/65): 229-30; and A. R. Millard, “The Celestial Ladder and the Gate of Heaven,” ExpTim 78 (1966/67): 86-87. erected on the earth with its top reaching to the heavens. The angels of God were going up and coming down it 13 and the Lord stood at its top. He said, “I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of your father Isaac.#tn Heb “the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac.” The Hebrew word for “father” can typically be used in a broader sense than the English word, in this case referring to Abraham (who was Jacob’s grandfather). For stylistic reasons and for clarity, the words “your father” are supplied with “Isaac” in the translation. I will give you and your descendants the ground#tn The Hebrew term אֶרֶץ (’erets) can mean “[the] earth,” “land,” “region,” “piece of ground,” or “ground” depending on the context. Here the term specifically refers to the plot of ground on which Jacob was lying, but at the same time this stands by metonymy for the entire land of Canaan. you are lying on. 14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth,#tn This is the same Hebrew word translated “ground” in the preceding verse. and you will spread out#tn The verb is singular in the Hebrew; Jacob is addressed as the representative of his descendants. to the west, east, north, and south. All the families of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another#tn Theoretically the Niphal stem can be translated either as passive or reflexive/reciprocal. (The Niphal of “bless” is only used in formulations of the Abrahamic covenant. See Gen 12:2; 18:18; 28:14.) Traditionally the verb is taken as passive here, as if Jacob were going to be a channel or source of blessing. But in other formulations of the Abrahamic covenant (see Gen 22:18; 26:4) the Hitpael replaces this Niphal form, suggesting a translation “will bless (i.e., pronounce blessings upon) themselves/one another.” The Hitpael of “bless” is used with a reflexive/reciprocal sense in Deut 29:18; Ps 72:17; Isa 65:16; Jer 4:2. Gen 28:14 predicts that Jacob will be held up as a paradigm of divine blessing and that people will use his name in their blessing formulae (see Gen 12:2 and 18:18 as well, where Abram/Abraham receives this promise). For examples of blessing formulae utilizing an individual as an example of blessing see Gen 48:20 and Ruth 4:11. using your name and that of your descendants.#tn Heb “and they will pronounce blessings by you, all the families of the earth, and by your offspring.” 15 I am with you!#tn Heb “Look, I [am] with you.” The clause is a nominal clause; the verb to be supplied could be present (as in the translation) or future, “Look, I [will be] with you” (cf. NEB). I will protect you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I promised you!”
16 Then Jacob woke up#tn Heb “woke up from his sleep.” This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons. and thought,#tn Heb “said.” “Surely the Lord is in this place, but I did not realize it!” 17 He was afraid and said, “What an awesome place this is! This is nothing else than the house of God! This is the gate of heaven!”
18 Early#tn Heb “and he got up early…and he took.” in the morning Jacob#tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity. took the stone he had placed near his head#tn See the note on this phrase in v. 11. and set it up as a sacred stone.#tn Heb “standing stone.”sn Sacred stone. Such a stone could be used as a boundary marker, a burial stone, or as a shrine. Here the stone is intended to be a reminder of the stairway that was “erected” and on which the Lord “stood.” (In Hebrew the word translated “sacred stone” is derived from the verb translated “erected” in v. 12 and “stood” in v. 13. Since the top of the stairway reached the heavens where the Lord stood, Jacob poured oil on the top of the stone. See C. F. Graesser, “Standing Stones in Ancient Palestine,” BA 35 (1972): 34-63; and E. Stockton, “Sacred Pillars in the Bible,” ABR 20 (1972): 16-32. Then he poured oil on top of it. 19 He called that place Bethel,#tn The name Bethel means “house of God” in Hebrew (see v. 17).map For location see Map4-G4; Map5-C1; Map6-E3; Map7-D1; Map8-G3. although the former name of the town was Luz. 20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God is with me and protects me on this journey I am taking and gives me food#tn Heb “bread,” although the term can be used for food in general. to eat and clothing to wear, 21 and I return safely to my father’s home,#tn Heb “and I return in peace to the house of my father.” then the Lord will become my God. 22 Then this stone#tn The disjunctive clause structure (conjunction + noun/subject) is used to highlight the statement. that I have set up as a sacred stone will be the house of God, and I will surely#tn The infinitive absolute is used before the finite verb for emphasis. give you back a tenth of everything you give me.”#tn Heb “and all which you give to me I will surely give a tenth of it to you.” The disjunctive clause structure (conjunction + noun/object) highlights this statement as well.
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Genesis 28
28
Jacob Flees to Laban
1Before Jacob left, Isaac called for him, blessed him, and gave him these instructions: “I forbid you to marry any Canaanite woman. 2Leave at once for the land of your grandfather Bethuel in Paddan-Aram and find one of the young women there to marry, one of your uncle Laban’s daughters. # 28:2 Marriage with a cousin was acceptable in that day and continues to be common among people in the Near East today. 3May the God who is always more than enough # 28:3 Or “El Shaddai.” See second footnote on Gen. 17:1. bless you abundantly. May he make you fruitful and multiply your descendants until you become many tribes! 4May he impart to you and your seed the blessing of Abraham so that you may possess the land where you now live as a foreigner—the land God gave to Abraham.”
5Then Isaac sent Jacob on his way # 28:5 Jacob was in his seventies when he fled from his brother Esau, and the journey was about five hundred miles. to Paddan-Aram, the land of his grandfather Bethuel the Aramean, to the home of Laban, Bethuel’s son and the brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.
Esau Takes Another Wife
6Esau had learned that Isaac had blessed Jacob and had sent him away to Paddan-Aram to find a wife there, and that while blessing him, Isaac had instructed him, “Don’t marry a Canaanite woman.” 7Furthermore, Esau found out that Jacob had obeyed his parents and fled to Paddan-Aram. 8Esau, knowing that his father Isaac disapproved of Canaanite women, 9went to Ishmael’s clan and chose a woman named Mahalath to be one of his wives. She was the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, and sister of Nebaioth. # 28:9 Nebaioth was the firstborn of Ishmael (see Gen. 25:13) and is identified with Nabaiti, the possible ancestor of the later Nabateans.
The Stairway of Eternity
10Jacob left Beersheba and journeyed toward Haran. 11He encountered a certain place # 28:11 In the twilight, Jacob set up camp at Bethel. The Hebrew implies that it is “the Place,” a special place, or holy place. Indeed, it was, for God had also manifested himself there to Abraham (see Gen. 12:7–8). In Jacob’s helpless, lonely condition, a new revelation would be given to him. at sunset and camped there for the night. He took a stone # 28:11 Perhaps this was one of the stones of the altar erected by Jacob’s grandfather, Abraham. Jesus is the anointed Stone on whom we lay our heads. To lay your head (thoughts and dreams) on him is to discover the beauty of God (see Isa. 33:17–22). When the anointing of Jesus fills our heads (minds), we will see heaven opened with fresh revelation and perceive the visions of God. Jesus is the Chief Cornerstone, the Stone that killed Goliath, and the Stone of Daniel that conquers kingdoms (see Dan. 2:34, 45). from there, made it his pillow, and lay down to sleep. 12He had a dream # 28:12 Dreams are a valid form of divine communication in the Bible. God frequently spoke to people through dreams. See Gen. 41:1–7; Judg. 7:13–15; 1 Kings 3:5–14; Dan. 2:28; Matt. 2:12–13; 27:19. On the Day of Pentecost, Peter quoted the promise of Joel that those who received the Spirit would “experience dreams” (Acts 2:17; see Joel 2:28). of a stairway securely fixed on the earth and reaching into heaven. And there were messengers of God ascending and descending on the stairway. # 28:12 The steps of this stairway go up into the heavenly realm where our true riches are found. Each step is a progressive revelation of God’s purpose for our lives found in Jesus Christ. The stairway goes both ways, touching heaven and touching earth. Jesus Christ can be thought of as the Stairway that reaches from earth (his human nature) to heaven (his heavenly nature). Jesus spoke to Nathanael using the same terminology (see John 1:51). Jesus is the only valid entry into the spirit-realm, the true way into the heavenly realm. By him, we ascend and leave our lower life. This Jesus-Stairway was filled with messengers ascending and descending. Who are these messengers? Note the order: they ascended first. It does not say they were descending and ascending, which would be true if they were the angels in heaven. If they ascended first, they were leaving earth to go to heaven. These messengers might have been people or divine beings. If people, they were intercessors and promise-claimers. The Hebrew word translated “angel” is malak, which can also be translated “ambassador,” “deputy,” “messenger,” or “prophet.” The Greek word used in the New Testament for “angel” is angelos or “messenger.” It can refer either to a person or to a heavenly being. Paul wrote to the Galatians that they had welcomed him in their midst as if he were an “angel [messenger]” from God (Gal. 4:14). In Rev. 2–3, John was instructed to write to the seven churches and to the seven angelos of those churches. The angels were the human overseers of those churches. In Gen. 18:2, three angels came to Abraham and are described as “three men” (cf. Gen. 19:1). We are like angel-ambassadors who ascend and descend upon the Jesus-Stairway. See Isa. 35:8–9; 57:14–15; 62:10; Eph. 2:6; Heb. 12:22–24. 13And Yahweh stood beside him # 28:13 Or “above it [the stairway].” and said to him, “I am Yahweh, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. You are lying on the very ground that I will give to you and your descendants. 14They will become as numerous as the specks of dust on the earth, and they will extend their territory in all directions. Through you and your descendants, I will bless the whole world. # 28:14 See Gen. 12:3; Matt. 8:11; 28:19–20; Acts 15:17–18. 15Never forget—I am always with you and will protect you wherever you go. And one day I will bring you back to this land, for I will neither leave you nor fail to fulfill every word I have promised you.” # 28:15 What did God tell Jacob? Did he scold him for being a crafty deceiver? Did he rebuke him for his lack of faith? Not at all. He revealed himself to Jacob as the One who would never leave or forsake him. This revelation of grace was a steady stream of assurances that washed over wayward Jacob! The Lord gave these promises to Jacob while he still was unbroken, unreliable, and a deceiver. Our God is a confident, capable God who can subdue and conquer the most difficult of men. Our future blessing and usefulness depend on God’s strength, not ours. When God brought Jacob back to Bethel twenty years later, he was changed. God will change you. Your transformation may take more than a year, even more than ten or twenty, but your God will finish the work of changing you into the image of his Son (see Phil. 1:6). You will be his look-alike. You will carry the blessings of God to the next generation!
16When Jacob awoke from his dream, he was overcome with awe and said, “Yahweh is here! He is in this place and I didn’t realize it!” # 28:16 How many times have we been led to an uncomfortable place in life, only to encounter the Lord? Have you said, looking back over your life, “Truly, the Lord really was in all I went through, and I didn’t even know it!” We often discover that he is where we did not think he would be. You may have a divine visitation anywhere! Ordinary places can become holy places. 17Terrified and overwhelmed, he said, “How awesome is this place! I have stumbled right into the House of God! This place is a portal, the very gate of heaven!”
18Early in the morning, Jacob took the stone he had under his head, set it up as a pillar and anointed it by pouring oil over the top of it. # 28:18 Jacob built a pillar from his pillow. The church is described by Paul as the “pillar and firm foundation of the truth” (1 Tim. 3:15). By pouring oil on the stone, Jacob consecrated the pillar as a memorial to God. See Lev. 8:10–11. 19He named that place Bethel; # 28:19 Bethel means “House of God.” Jacob could see in a heap of stones the House of God that would arise. This is the first mention of God’s house in the Scriptures. The House of God was filled with his presence, a gateway to heaven, a stairway with angels, and revelation. One day, the House of God would be born among us, born of a virgin. Jesus came to be an example of the House of God, the dwelling place of God and men under one roof, living in one body. Jesus is the God-Man, the House of God. As the House, he invites us to dwell as one with the Father. But Jesus was the initial fulfillment of the House of God, not the ultimate fulfillment, which would include others incorporated into Jesus. Today, the House of God, the gate to heaven, is also a description of the church. We are God’s house (see 1 Cor. 3:16), for the Lord dwells among us as his people. And we become a gateway for others to come to God through our message of new life in Christ. though the city was once called Luz. # 28:19 Luz means “separation” or “departure.” God calls us to separate ourselves to himself, and when we do, we become the House of God.
20Then Jacob committed himself to God, saying, “If you will always be with me and protect me on this long journey, and if you give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, 21and if I return safely to my father’s house, then Yahweh, you will be my God! 22See! I have set up this sacred stone pillar and it will be your house, God. I promise to set aside a tenth of all that you give me as my gift to you.”
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