Genesis 28:8-18

8 also Esau proved thereby that his father beheld not gladly the daughters of Canaan. (and so Esau understood by this that his father did not approve of the daughters of Canaan.)
9 And (so) Esau went to Ishmael, and wedded a(nother) wife, without these which he had before (in addition to the two whom he had already wed), Mahalath , the daughter of Ishmael, son of Abraham, the sister of Nebajoth.
10 Therefore Jacob went out of Beersheba, and went to Haran. (And so Jacob left Beersheba, and went toward Haran.)
11 And when he had come to some place, and would rest therein after the going down of the sun, he took (some) of the stones that lay there, and he put (them) under his head, and slept in the same place.
12 And he saw in [his] sleep a ladder standing on the earth, and the top thereof touching heaven; and he saw God's angels going up and going down thereby,
13 and the Lord nighed to the ladder, saying to him, I am the Lord God of Abraham, thy father, and (the) God of Isaac; I shall give to thee and to thy seed the land in which thou sleepest.
14 And thy seed shall be as the dust of [the] earth, (and) thou shalt be alarged to the east, and west, and to the north, and south; and all the lineages of [the] earth shall be blessed in thee and in thy seed (and all the families of the earth shall pray to be blessed as thee and thy descendants be blessed/and through thee and thy descendants, I shall bless all the families of the earth).
15 And I shall be thy keeper, whither ever thou shalt go; and I shall lead thee again into this land, and I shall not leave thee, no but I shall fulfill all [the] things which I have said (and I shall not leave thee, until I have fulfilled all the things which I have promised).
16 And when Jacob had waked of [the] sleep, he said, Verily the Lord is in this place, and I knew not. (And when Jacob had awakened from his sleep, he said, Truly the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.)
17 And he said dreading, How fearedful, or worshipful, is this place! Here is none other thing, no but the house of God, and the gate of heaven. (And he said with fear, or with reverence, How fearful, or how worshipful, is this place! This is nothing else, but the House of God, or Bethel, yea, the gateway to heaven/yea, heaven's gate!)
18 Therefore Jacob rose early, and took the stone which he had put under his head, and raised (it) up into a title, or (a) sign, and poured out oil (from) above. (And so Jacob rose up early, and took the stone which he had put under his head, and set it up as a sacred pillar, and poured oil on top of it.)

Genesis 28:8-18 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.

Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.