Table of Contents

Genesis 28 Discussion

Genesis 28

Isaac forbiddeth Jacob to take a wife of the Canaanites.

1 And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, “You shall not take a wife from among the daughters of Canaan.

2 Arise, go to Paddan-aram, to the house of Bethuel your mother’s father; and take a wife from there from among the daughters of Laban, thy mother’s brother.

3 And God Almighty[a] bless you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, that you may be a company of peoples;

4 and give you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your seed with you; that you may inherit the land of your sojournings, which God gave unto Abraham.”

5 And Isaac sent away Jacob: and he went to Paddan-aram unto Laban, son of Bethuel the [b]Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob’s and Esau’s mother.

Esau taketh a wife of the daughters of Ishmael against his father’s will.

6 Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan-aram, to take a wife there; and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge, saying, ‘You shall not take a wife from among the daughters of Canaan;’

7 and that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother, and was gone to Paddan-aram;

8 and Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan did not please Isaac his father;

9 and Esau went unto Ishmael, and took, besides the wives that he had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebaioth, to be his wife.

10 And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba, and went toward Haran.

11 And he came upon a certain place, and camped there for the night, because the sun was set; and he took one of the stones of the place, and put it under his head, and lay down in that place to sleep.

Jacob in the way to Haran seeth a ladder reaching to heaven.

12 And he dreamed; and, behold, a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven; and he saw the angels of God ascending and descending on it.

13 And, behold, the LORD stood above it and said, “I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac; the land where you now rest, to you I will give it, and to your seed;

14 and your seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and you shall [e]spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south; and in you and in your seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

15 And know that I am with you, and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you again into this land; for I will not leave you until I have done that which I have spoken.”

16 And Jacob awoke out of his sleep, and he said, “Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not.”

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

18 And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put under his head, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it.

19 And he called the name of that place Beth-el[f]; but the name of the city was Luz at the first.

20 And Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me, and will keep me in the way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and clothes to wear,

21 such that I come again to my father’s house in peace, and the LORD will be my God,

22 then this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house; and of all that you shall give me I will surely give a tenth unto you.”

Notes

[1] See Genesis 26:34 and 27:46.

[3] Hebrew El Shaddai.

[5] Hebrew Aramean.

[11] Hebrew the place.

[14] Hebrew break forth.

[14] This is another 'zara' passage where some say the Messiah is promised. Dealt with in commentary.

[19] That is, The house of God.