God made a promise to Jacob in a dream

10 Meanwhile, Jacob left Beersheba and started walking along the road to Haran. 11 When he arrived at a certain place, he stopped there, because the sun had gone down. He took one of the stones there and put it under his head to use as a pillow. Then he lay down and slept there. 12 While he was sleeping, he had a dream, in which he was surprised to see a stairway. The bottom of the stairway was on the earth and the top was in the sky. Jacob also saw that God’s angels were going up and down the stairway. 13 And he was surprised to see Yahweh standing at the top of the stairway, saying “I am Yahweh God, whom your grandfather Abraham worshiped, and whom Isaac worships. I will give to you and to your descendants the land on which you are lying. 14 Your descendants will be as numerous as the particles of dirt that are on the earth, and their territory will be very large. It will extend in all directions, to the east and to the west, to the north and to the south. And people of all people-groups on earth will receive blessings because of what happens to you and to your descendants. 15 I will help you and protect you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you; I will continue to do for you all that I have promised to do.”

16 During the night, when Jacob woke up from sleeping, he thought, “Surely Yahweh is in this place, and until now I was not aware of it!” 17 He was afraid, and he said, “This place is very awesome! This is surely the place where God lives, and this is the entrance to heaven!” 18 In the morning Jacob got up and took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up on its end to show that the place was a holy place. He poured some olive oil on top of the stone to dedicate it to God. 19 He named that place Bethel, which means ‘house of God’. Previously its name was Luz.

20 Jacob solemnly promised God, saying, “God, if you will help me and protect me while I am taking this journey, and if you give me enough food to eat and clothes to wear, 21 in order that I can later return safely to my father’s house, then you, Yahweh, will be the God that I will worship. 22 This stone that I have set up will mark the place where people can worship you. And I will give back to you a tenth of everything that you give to me.”