Genesis 28:5-15

5 Thus Isaac sent Jacob away. And he went to Paddan-aram, to Laban, the son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob's and Esau's mother.

Esau Marries an Ishmaelite

6 Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan-aram to take a wife from there, and that as he blessed him he directed him, "You must not take a wife from the Canaanite women,"
7 and that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and gone to Paddan-aram.
8 So when Esau saw 1that the Canaanite women did not please Isaac his father,
9 Esau went to Ishmael and took as his wife, besides the wives he had, 2Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham's son, the sister of 3Nebaioth.

Jacob's Dream

10 Jacob left 4Beersheba and went toward 5Haran.
11 And he came to a certain place and stayed there that night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep.
12 And he 6dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder[a] set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, 7the angels of God were ascending and descending on it!
13 And behold, 8the LORD stood above it[b] and said, 9"I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. 10The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring.
14 Your offspring shall be like 11the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and 12your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
15 Behold, 13I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and 14will bring you back to this land. For I will 15not leave you until I have done what I have promised you."

Genesis 28:5-15 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS 28

In this chapter an account is given of the charge Isaac gave to Jacob not to marry a Canaanitess, but to go to Padanaram, and take a wife from his mother's family, and of his blessing him before he sent him away, Ge 28:1-5; of the notice that Esau took of this blessing and charge, which led him to take a wife of the family of Ishmael, Ge 28:6-9; of the dream of the ladder, which Jacob had in his way to Haran, Ge 28:10-12; of the blessing which God conferred upon him there, Ge 28:13-15; of the awfulness of the place upon his awaking, and of his erecting a pillar in it, and giving a name to it, Ge 28:16-19; and of the vow he made to God, should he be supplied with the necessaries of life, and be kept in safety by him, Ge 28:20-22.

Cross References 15

  • 1. Genesis 24:3; Genesis 26:35
  • 2. [Genesis 36:3]
  • 3. Genesis 25:13; Genesis 36:3
  • 4. Genesis 21:31; Genesis 26:33
  • 5. [Acts 7:2]
  • 6. [Numbers 12:6; Job 33:15, 16]
  • 7. [John 1:51]
  • 8. [Genesis 35:1; Genesis 48:3]
  • 9. Genesis 26:24
  • 10. Genesis 35:12; See Genesis 13:14-16
  • 11. See Genesis 13:16
  • 12. See Genesis 12:3
  • 13. Genesis 26:24; Genesis 31:3
  • 14. Genesis 35:6
  • 15. 1 Kings 8:57

Footnotes 2

The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.