UST GEN chapter 28

28 So Isaac summoned Jacob, blessed him and told him, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman. 2 Instead you must go right away to the region of Paddan Aram, to the home of your mother’s father, Bethuel, and marry one of your uncle Laban’s daughters. 3 I pray that God, who is all-powerful, will bless you and give you many children and increase the number of your descendants, so that you become the ancestor of many people groups. 4 I also pray that he will bless you and your descendants the same way that he blessed Abraham, so that you will own this land where you have been living as a foreigner, the same land which God gave to him.” 5 Then Isaac sent Jacob on his way, so Jacob started traveling to Laban’s house which was in the region of Paddan Aram. Laban was the son of Bethuel the Aramean and also the brother of Rebekah, who was Jacob and Esau’s mother.

Esau Marries Another Wife

28:6-9

6 Now Esau had seen Isaac bless Jacob and send him to the region of Paddan Aram to marry a woman from there. As Isaac was blessing him, Esau heard him tell Jacob to not marry a Canaanite woman. 7 Esau also saw that Jacob obeyed their father and mother and started traveling to Paddan Aram. 8 That is when Esau realized that his father Isaac did not approve of his sons marrying Canaanite women. 9 So in addition to the two wives he already had, Esau went to the family of Abraham’s son Ishmael and married Ishmael’s daughter Mahalath, whose brother was Nebaioth.

Jacob Dreams about a Stairway to Heaven

28:10-22

10 After Jacob left from his family’s home in the city of Beersheba, he started traveling to the city of Haran. 11 That evening he reached a good place to sleep, so he stopped there for the night because the sun had set. He chose one of the stones that was there and used it as a pillow. Then he lay down and went to sleep. 12 While he was dreaming, he saw a stairway. The bottom of the stairway was on the ground and its top reached up to heaven, and he saw God’s angels going up and coming down on the stairway. 13 And there standing at the top of the stairway was Yahweh, and he said to Jacob, “I am Yahweh, the God whom your ancestors Abraham and Isaac serve. I will give you and your descendants this land that you are lying on. 14 They will be as numerous as the dust specks on the ground, so that they live throughout this land in every direction. Because of you and your descendants, I will bless all the families in the world. 15 Remember that I will always be with you. I will protect you wherever you go, and I will lead you back to this land. In fact, I will never leave you and I will do everything that I have promised you that I will do.”

16 Suddenly Jacob woke up from his dream and exclaimed to himself, “Yahweh definitely lives in this place, but I did not know it before now!” 17 He was afraid, so he also exclaimed, “This is a terrifying place! This can only be God’s house! It must be the entrance to heaven!”

18 Early the next morning Jacob got up, took the stone that he had used as a pillow and set it up on its end to mark the place where God had appeared to him. Then he poured some olive oil on top of the stone to dedicate the place to God. 19 He named that place Bethel, which means “house of God.” Previously the name of that town had been Luz.

20 Then Jacob made a vow to God and said, “God, if you will stay with me and protect me as I travel on this journey and if you provide me food to eat and clothes to wear, 21 so that I return safely to my father’s home, then Yahweh, you will be the God whom I serve. 22 This stone that I have set up will be your house and mark the place that you appeared to me, and I will give back to you a tenth of everything that you give to me.”

UST GEN Chapter 28