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Genesis 28

28
Isaac's instructions to Jacob
1Isaac called in Jacob, then gave him a blessing, and said:
Don't marry any of those Canaanite women. 2Go at once to your mother's father Bethuel in northern Syria#28.2 northern Syria: See the note at 24.10. and choose a wife from one of the daughters of Laban, your mother's brother. 3I pray that God All-Powerful will bless you with many descendants and let you become a great nation. 4May he bless you with the land he gave Abraham, so that you will take over this land where we now live as foreigners.#Gn 17.4-8.
5Isaac then sent Jacob to stay with Rebekah's brother Laban, the son of Bethuel the Aramean.
Esau marries the daughter of Ishmael
6Esau found out that his father Isaac had blessed Jacob and had warned him not to marry any of the Canaanite women. He also learnt that Jacob had been sent to find a wife in northern Syria#28.6 northern Syria: See the note at 24.10. 7and that he had obeyed his father and mother. 8Esau already had several wives, but he realized at last how much his father hated the Canaanite women. 9So he married Ishmael's daughter Mahalath, who was the sister of Nebaioth#28.9 Nebaioth: Ishmael's eldest son (see 25.13). and the granddaughter of Abraham.
Jacob and his family
Jacob's dream at Bethel
10Jacob left the town of Beersheba and started out for Haran. 11At sunset he stopped for the night and went to sleep, resting his head on a large rock. 12In a dream he saw a ladder#28.12 ladder: Or “stairway”. that reached from earth to heaven, and God's angels were going up and down on it.#Jn 1.51.
13The LORD was standing beside the ladder#28.13 the ladder: Or “Jacob” or “the stairway” (see the note at 28.12). and said:#Gn 13.14,15.
I am the LORD God who was worshipped by Abraham and Isaac. I will give to you and your family the land on which you are now sleeping. 14Your descendants will spread over the earth in all directions and will become as numerous as the specks of dust. Your family will be a blessing to all people.#28.14 Your family…people: Or “All people will ask me to bless them as I have blessed your family.”#Gn 12.3; 22.18. 15Wherever you go, I will watch over you, then later I will bring you back to this land. I won't leave you—I will do all I have promised.
16Jacob woke up suddenly and thought, “The LORD is in this place, and I didn't even know it.” 17Then Jacob became frightened and said, “This is a fearsome place! It must be the house of God and the ladder#28.17 ladder: See the note at 28.12. to heaven.”
18When Jacob got up early the next morning, he took the rock that he had used for a pillow and stood it up for a place of worship. Then he poured olive oil on the rock to dedicate it to God, 19and he named the place Bethel.#28.19 Bethel: In Hebrew “Bethel” means “House of God”. Before that it had been named Luz.
20Jacob solemnly promised God, “If you go with me and watch over me as I travel, and if you give me food and clothes 21and bring me safely home again, you will be my God. 22This rock will be your house, and I will give back to you a tenth of everything you give me.”

Genesis 28

28
1#Ge 24:3; 27:46Then Isaac called Jacob and ­blessed him. Then he charged him and said to him, “You must not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan. 2#Ge 25:20; Hos 12:12Arise, 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. 3#Ge 35:11; 48:3May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, so that you may become a multitude of people. 4#Ge 12:7; Ps 39:12May He give you the blessing of Abraham, to you and your descendants with you, that you may inherit the land where you are a stranger, which God gave to Abraham.” 5Then Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Paddan Aram to Laban, the son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob’s and Esau’s mother.
6Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan Aram to take for himself a wife from there, and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge, saying, “You must not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan,” 7and that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother and had gone to Paddan Aram. 8#Ge 24:3; 26:34–35Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan did not please Isaac his father. 9#Ge 36:3So Esau went to Ishmael and took as his wife Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebaioth, in addition to the wives he had.
Jacob’s Dream at Bethel
10#Ge 11:31; Ac 7:2Then Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Harran. 11He came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. He took one of the stones of that place and put it under his head, and lay down in that place to sleep. 12#Jn 1:51; Nu 12:6He dreamed and saw a ladder set up on the earth with the top of it reaching to heaven. The angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13#Ge 13:15; 26:24The Lord stood above it and said, “I am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie, to you will I give it and to your descendants. 14#Ge 12:3; 13:14Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and in your descendants all the families of the earth will be blessed. 15#Ge 26:24; 31:3Remember, I am with you, and I will protect you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I promised you.”
16#Ex 3:5; Jos 5:15Jacob awoke out of his sleep, and he said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” 17He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”
18#Ge 35:14; 31:13So Jacob rose up early in the morning and took the stone that he had put under his head, set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on top of it. 19#Ge 48:3He called the name of that place Bethel, but previously the name of the city was called Luz.
20#Ge 31:13; 2Sa 15:8Jacob vowed a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will protect me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, 21#Dt 26:17; Jdg 11:31so that I return to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord will be my God. 22#Ge 14:20; 35:7Then this stone, which I have set for a pillar, will be the house of God, and from all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.”