Genesis 28:10-17

Jacob's Dream

10 Then Jacob departed from ¹Beersheba and went toward ²Haran.

11 He came to a ³certain 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 ⁴He had a dream, and behold, a ladder was set on the earth with its top reaching to heaven; and behold, ⁵the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.

13 And behold, ⁶the LORD stood above it and said, "I am the LORD, ⁷the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie, I will give it ⁸to you and to ⁹your descendants.

14 "Your descendants will also be like ¹⁰the dust of the earth, and you will spread out ¹¹to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and ¹²in you and in your descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

15 "Behold, ¹³I am with you and ¹⁴will keep you wherever * you go, and ¹⁵will bring you back to this land; for ¹⁶I will not leave you until * I have done what I have promised you."

16 Then Jacob ¹⁷awoke from his sleep and said, "¹⁸Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it."

17 He was afraid and said, "¹⁹How awesome is this place! This is none other than * the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven."

Genesis 28:10-17 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

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

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit "lighted on"
• [b]. Lit "the place"
• [c]. Lit "at his head-place"
• [d]. Or "beside him"
• [e]. Lit "seed"
• [f]. Lit "seed"
• [g]. Lit "break through"
• [h]. Lit "seed"
• [i]. Lit "spoken to"