Genesis 28:10-22

Jacob's Dream

10 Jacob left ¹Beersheba and went toward ²Haran.

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 ³dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder^[a] set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, ⁴the angels of God were ascending and descending on it!

13 And behold, ⁵the LORD stood above it^[b] and said, ⁶"I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. ⁷The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring.

14 Your offspring shall be like ⁸the 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 ⁹your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

15 Behold, ¹⁰I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and ¹¹will bring you back to this land. For I will ¹²not leave you until I have done what I have promised you."

16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, "Surely the LORD is ¹³in this place, and I did not know it."

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

18 So early in the morning Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up ¹⁴for a pillar ¹⁵and poured oil on the top of it.

19 He called the name of that place ¹⁶Bethel,^[c] but the name of the city was Luz at the first.

20 Then Jacob ¹⁷made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear,

21 ¹⁸so that I come again to my father's house in peace, ¹⁹then the LORD shall be my God,

22 and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, ²⁰shall be God's house. And ²¹of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you."

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Genesis 28:10-22 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 21

1. Genesis 21:31; Genesis 26:33
2. [Acts 7:2]
3. [Numbers 12:6; Job 33:15, 16]
4. [John 1:51]
5. [Genesis 35:1; Genesis 48:3]
6. Genesis 26:24
7. Genesis 35:12; See Genesis 13:14-16
8. See Genesis 13:16
9. See Genesis 12:3
10. Genesis 26:24; Genesis 31:3
11. Genesis 35:6
12. 1 Kings 8:57
13. Exodus 3:5; Joshua 5:15
14. Genesis 31:13, 45; Genesis 35:14; [1 Samuel 7:12; 2 Samuel 18:18]
15. [Leviticus 8:10, 11; Numbers 7:1]
16. Genesis 35:7; Judges 1:23, 26
17. Genesis 31:13
18. [Judges 11:31; 2 Samuel 15:7-9]
19. Deuteronomy 26:17
20. Genesis 35:7, 14
21. Genesis 14:20; Leviticus 27:30-33

Footnotes 3

[a]. Or a flight of steps
[b]. Or beside him
[c]. Bethel means the house of God

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