Jacob Is Sent Away

28 So Isaac called Jacob and (A)blessed him and commanded him, [a]saying to him, “(B)You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan. Arise, go to Paddan-aram, to the house of (C)Bethuel your mother’s father; and from there take to yourself a wife from the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother. May [b](D)God Almighty (E)bless you and (F)make you fruitful and (G)multiply you, so that you may become a (H)multitude of peoples. May He also give you the (I)blessing of Abraham, to you and to your [c]descendants with you, so that you may (J)possess the land where you (K)live as a stranger, which God gave to Abraham.” Then (L)Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Paddan-aram to Laban, 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 to himself a wife from there, and that when he blessed him he commanded him, saying, “(M)You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan,” and that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and had gone to Paddan-aram. So Esau saw that (N)the daughters of Canaan displeased [d]his father Isaac; and Esau went to Ishmael, and [e]married, (O)besides the wives that he had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebaioth.

Jacob’s Dream

10 Then Jacob departed from (P)Beersheba and went toward (Q)Haran. 11 And he [f]happened upon a [g](R)particular place and spent the night there, because the sun had set; and he took one of the stones of the place and made it a support for his head, and lay down in that place. 12 And (S)he had a dream, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth with its top reaching to heaven; and behold, (T)the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 Then behold, (U)the Lord was standing [h]above it and said, “I am the Lord, (V)the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give (W)to you and to (X)your [i]descendants. 14 Your [j]descendants will also be like (Y)the dust of the earth, and you will [k]spread out (Z)to the west and to the east, and to the north and to the south; and (AA)in you and in your [l]descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15 Behold, (AB)I am with you and (AC)will keep you wherever you go, and (AD)will bring you back to this land; for (AE)I will not leave you until I have done what I have [m]promised you.” 16 Then Jacob (AF)awoke from his sleep and said, “(AG)The Lord is certainly in this place, and I did not know it!” 17 And he was afraid and said, “(AH)How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!”

18 So Jacob got up early in the morning, and took (AI)the stone that he had placed as a support for his head, and set it up as a memorial stone, and poured oil on its top. 19 Then he named that place [n](AJ)Bethel; but [o]previously the name of the city had been (AK)Luz. 20 Jacob also (AL)made a vow, saying, “(AM)If God will be with me and will keep me on this journey that I [p]take, and give me [q](AN)food to eat and garments to wear, 21 and (AO)I return to my father’s house in [r]safety, (AP)then the Lord will be my God. 22 And this stone, which I have set up as a memorial stone, (AQ)will be God’s house, and (AR)of everything that You give me I will assuredly give a tenth to You.”

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 28:1 Lit and said to
  2. Genesis 28:3 Heb El Shaddai
  3. Genesis 28:4 Lit seed
  4. Genesis 28:8 Lit in the eyes of his
  5. Genesis 28:9 Lit took for his wife
  6. Genesis 28:11 Lit lighted on
  7. Genesis 28:11 Lit the place
  8. Genesis 28:13 Or beside him
  9. Genesis 28:13 Lit seed
  10. Genesis 28:14 Lit seed
  11. Genesis 28:14 Lit break through
  12. Genesis 28:14 Lit seed
  13. Genesis 28:15 Lit spoken to
  14. Genesis 28:19 I.e., the house of God
  15. Genesis 28:19 Lit at the first
  16. Genesis 28:20 Lit go
  17. Genesis 28:20 Lit bread
  18. Genesis 28:21 Lit peace

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