Genesis 28:9-19

9 and Esau went to Ishmael, and married *, ¹besides 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 ²Beersheba and went toward ³Haran.

11 He came to a ⁴certain place and spent the night there, because the sun had set; and he took one of the stones of the place and put it under his head, and lay down in that place.

12 ⁵He had a dream, and behold, a ladder was set on the earth with its top reaching to heaven; and behold, ⁶the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.

13 And behold, ⁷the LORD stood above it and said, "I am the LORD, ⁸the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie, I will give it ⁹to you and to ¹⁰your descendants.

14 "Your descendants will also be like ¹¹the dust of the earth, and you will spread out ¹²to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and ¹³in you and in your descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

15 "Behold, ¹⁴I am with you and ¹⁵will keep you wherever * you go, and ¹⁶will bring you back to this land; for ¹⁷I will not leave you until * I have done what I have promised you."

16 Then Jacob ¹⁸awoke from his sleep and said, "¹⁹Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it."

17 He was afraid and said, "²⁰How awesome is this place! This is none other than * the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven."

18 So Jacob rose early in the morning, and took ²¹the stone that he had put under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on its top.

19 He called the name of that place ²²Bethel; however, previously the name of the city had been ²³Luz.

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Genesis 28:9-19 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.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Cross References 23

1. Genesis 26:34; Genesis 36:2
2. Genesis 26:23
3. Genesis 12:4, 5; Genesis 27:43
4. Genesis 28:19
5. Genesis 41:1; Numbers 12:6
6. John 1:51
7. Genesis 35:1; Amos 7:7
8. Genesis 26:3, 24
9. Genesis 13:15, 17; Genesis 26:3
10. Genesis 12:7; Genesis 15:18
11. Genesis 13:16; Genesis 22:17
12. Genesis 13:14, 15
13. Genesis 12:3; Genesis 18:18; Genesis 22:18; Genesis 26:4
14. Genesis 26:3, 24; Genesis 31:3
15. Numbers 6:24; Ps 121:5, 7, 8
16. Genesis 48:21; Deuteronomy 30:3
17. Numbers 23:19; Deuteronomy 7:9; Deuteronomy 31:6, 8
18. 1 Kings 3:15; Jeremiah 31:26
19. Exodus 3:4-6; Joshua 5:13-15; Psalms 139:7-12
20. Psalms 68:35
21. Genesis 28:11; Genesis 35:14
22. Judges 1:23
23. Genesis 35:6; Genesis 48:3

Footnotes 13

[a]. Lit "took for his wife"
[b]. Lit "lighted on"
[c]. Lit "the place"
[d]. Lit "at his head-place"
[e]. Or "beside him"
[f]. Lit "seed"
[g]. Lit "seed"
[h]. Lit "break through"
[i]. Lit "seed"
[j]. Lit "spoken to"
[k]. Lit "at his head-place"
[l]. I.e. the house of God
[m]. Lit "at the first"