# Genesis 28 đź“–: Jacob's Dream at Bethel
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> [!info] Table of Contents
> [[#đź“ś Scripture Text (NET)]]
> [[#đź“– Verse-by-Verse Commentary]]
> [[#🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]]
> [[#🧠Chapter Summary]]
> [[#✝️ Christ in This Chapter]]
> [[#🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application]]
> [[#đź’¬ Discussion Questions]]
> [[#✍️ Key Verses to Remember]]
> [[#đź”— Related Passages/Cross Reference]]
> [[#🙏 Devotional Reflection]]
> [[#đź“‚ Internal Notes]]
## đź“ś Scripture Text (NET)
(The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005)
[[#Verse 01.]] So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. Then he commanded him, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman!Â
[[#Verse 02.]] Leave immediately for Paddan Aram! Go to the house of Bethuel, your mother’s father, and find yourself a wife there, among the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother.Â
[[#Verse 03.]] May the Sovereign God bless you! May he make you fruitful and give you a multitude of descendants! Then you will become a large nation.
[[#Verse 04.]] May he give you and your descendants the blessing he gave to Abraham so that you may possess the land God gave to Abraham, the land where you have been living as a temporary resident.”Â
[[#Verse 05.]]Â So Isaac sent Jacob on his way, and he went to Paddan Aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean and brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.
[[#Verse 06.]] Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him off to Paddan Aram to find a wife there. As he blessed him, Isaac commanded him, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman.”Â
[[#Verse 07.]] Jacob obeyed his father and mother and left for Paddan Aram.
[[#Verse 08.]] Then Esau realized that the Canaanite women were displeasing to his father Isaac.
[[#Verse 09.]] So Esau went to Ishmael and married Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Abraham’s son Ishmael, along with the wives he already had.
### Jacob’s Dream at Bethel
[[#Verse 10.]]Â Meanwhile Jacob left Beer Sheba and set out for Haran.Â
[[#Verse 11.]] He reached a certain place where he decided to camp because the sun had gone down. He took one of the stones and placed it near his head. Then he fell asleep in that placeÂ
[[#Verse 12.]] and had a dream. He saw a stairway erected on the earth with its top reaching to the heavens. The angels of God were going up and coming down itÂ
[[#Verse 13.]] and the Lord stood at its top. He said, “I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of your father Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the ground you are lying on.Â
[[#Verse 14.]] Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west, east, north, and south. And so all the families of the earth may receive blessings through you and through your descendants.Â
[[#Verse 15.]] I am with you! I will protect you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I promised you!”
[[#Verse 16.]] Then Jacob woke up and thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, but I did not realize it!”Â
[[#Verse 17.]] He was afraid and said, “What an awesome place this is! This is nothing else than the house of God! This is the gate of heaven!”
[[#Verse 18.]] Early in the morning Jacob took the stone he had placed near his head and set it up as a sacred stone. Then he poured oil on top of it.Â
[[#Verse 19.]] He called that place Bethel, although the former name of the town was Luz.Â
[[#Verse 20.]] Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God is with me and protects me on this journey I am taking and gives me food to eat and clothing to wear,
[[#Verse 21.]] and I return safely to my father’s home, then the Lord will become my God.
[[#Verse 22.]] Then this stone that I have set up as a sacred stone will be the house of God, and I will surely give you back a tenth of everything you give me.”
## đź“– Verse-by-Verse Commentary
###### Overall.
###### Verse 01.
###### Verse 02.
###### Verse 03.
###### Verse 04.
###### Verse 05.
###### Verse 06.
###### Verse 07.
###### Verse 08.
###### Verse 09.
###### Verse 10.
###### Verse 11.
###### Verse 12.
###### Verse 13.
###### Verse 14.
###### Verse 15.
###### Verse 16.
###### Verse 17.
###### Verse 18.
###### Verse 19.
###### Verse 20.
###### Verse 21.
###### Verse 22.
## 🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights
1. Isaac sent Jacob to Paddan Aram to find a wife from Rebekah's family (28:2).
2. Paddan Aram was the region around Haran in northern Mesopotamia.
3. The Hebrew word for "stairway" (28:12) appears only here. It may picture a ramp like the steps of a ziggurat.
4. Luz was the old name of the town Jacob renamed Bethel, "house of God" (28:19).
5. Jacob set up his stone pillow as a pillar and poured oil on it (28:18).
6. Bethel later became a center of false worship when Jeroboam set up a golden calf there (1 Kings 12:28-29).
7. Esau married a daughter of Ishmael to please his father (28:9).
8. God's promise to Jacob repeats the blessing given to Abraham and Isaac (28:13-14).
9. The trip from Beersheba to Haran was roughly 500 miles.
10. Jacob's vow is the first vow recorded in the Bible (28:20).
## 🧠Chapter Summary
> [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way.
## ✝️ Christ in This Chapter
Christ is the stairway between heaven and earth. Jacob saw angels going up and down a stairway (28:12), and Jesus said the angels of God would ascend and descend on the Son of Man (John 1:51).
## 🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application
> [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way.
## đź’¬ Discussion Questions
1. God met Jacob while he was running away (28:10-15). What does that teach you about God's grace?
2. Jacob said the Lord was in this place and he did not realize it (28:16). Where might God be present in your life that you have not noticed?
3. Jacob promised to give a tenth (28:22). How does gratitude lead to generosity?
## ✍️ Key Verses to Remember
- đź“– verse 12: Jacob dreams of a stairway reaching to heaven.
- đź“– verse 15: God promises to be with Jacob and protect him wherever he goes.
- đź“– verse 16: Surely the Lord is in this place, and Jacob did not realize it.
## đź”— Related Passages/Cross Reference
- đź”— [[John 01#Verse 47.|John 1:47-51]] - Angels ascending and descending on the Son of Man.
- đź”— [[Genesis 12#Verse 01.|Genesis 12:1-3]] - The promise to Abraham.
- đź”— [[Hebrews 13#Verse 05.|Hebrews 13:5]] - I will never leave you.
- đź”— [[Psalm 139#Verse 07.|Psalm 139:7-10]] - God is present everywhere.
- đź”— [[Genesis 35#Verse 01.|Genesis 35:1-15]] - Jacob returns to Bethel.
## 🙏 Devotional Reflection
đź“ť SOAP: [[Genesis 28- SOAP|Set Up Ways to Remember]]
## đź“‚ Internal Notes