Genesis 28:12 | 67
27:40 z 2Sa 8:14 a Ge 25:23
b 2Ki 8:20‐22
27:41 c Ge 37:4 d Ge 32:11 e Ge 50:4, 10
f Ob 1:10
27:43 g ver 8 h Ge 24:29 i Ge 11:31
27:44 j Ge 31:38, 41
27:45 k ver 35 27:46 l Ge 26:35 28:1 m Ge 24:3 28:2 n Ge 25:20
28:3 o Ge 17:1 p Ge 17:6
28:4 q Ge 12:2, 3 r Ge 17:8
28:5 s Hos 12:12 t Ge 24:29
28:6 u ver 1
28:8 v Ge 24:3 w Ge 26:35
28:9 x Ge 25:13 y Ge 26:34
28:10 z Ge 11:31 28:12 a Ge 20:3
40 You will live by the sword and you will serve z your brother. a
But when you grow restless, you will throw his yoke from off your neck. b”
41 Esau held a grudge c against Jacob d be cause of the bless ing his fa ther had given him. He said to him self,“ The days of mourn ing e for my fa ther are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob.” f
42 When Re bekah was told what her older son Esau had said, she sent for her youn ger son Ja cob and said to him,“ Your brother Esau is plan ning to avenge him self by kill ing you. 43 Now then, my son, do what I say: g Flee at once to my brother La ban h in Har ran. i 44 Stay with him for a while j un til your broth er’ s fury sub sides. 45 When your brother is no lon ger an gry with you and for gets what you did to him, k I’ ll send word for you to come back from there. Why should I lose both of you in one day?”
46 Then Re bekah said to Isaac,“ I’ m dis gusted with liv ing be cause of these Hit tite women. If Ja cob takes a wife from among the women of this land, from Hit tite women like these, my life will not be worth liv ing.” l So Isaac called for Ja cob and blessed him. Then he com manded him:“ Do not marry
28 a Canaanite woman. m
2 Go at once to Pad dan Aram, a to the house of your moth er’ s father Bethuel. n
Take a wife for your self there, from among the daugh ters of La ban, your mother’ s brother. 3 May God Almighty b o bless you and make you fruit ful p and in crease your
numbers until you become a community of peoples. 4 May he give you and your de scendants the bless ing given to Abra ham, q so that you may take pos ses sion of the land where you now re side as a for eigner, r the land God gave to Abra ham.” 5 Then Isaac sent Ja cob on his way, and he went to Pad dan Aram, s to La ban son of Be thuel the Ar a mean, the brother of Rebekah, t who was the mother of Ja cob and Esau.
6 Now Esau learned that Isaac had blessed Ja cob and had sent him to Pad dan Aram to take a wife from there, and that when he blessed him he com manded him,“ Do not marry a Ca naan ite woman,” u
7 and that Ja cob had obeyed his fa ther and mother and had gone to Paddan Aram. 8 Esau then realized how displeasing the Canaanite women v were to his father Isaac; w
9 so he went to Ish mael and mar ried Ma ha lath, the sis ter of Ne ba ioth x and daugh ter of Ish mael son of Abra ham, in ad di tion to the wives he al ready had. y
Jacob’ s Dream at Bethel
10 Ja cob left Be er sheba and set out for Har ran. z 11 When he reached a cer tain place, he stopped for the night be cause the sun had set. Tak ing one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. 12 He had a dream a in which he saw a stair way rest ing
a 2 That is, Northwest Mesopotamia; also in verses 5, 6 and 7 b 3 Hebrew El-Shaddai
Esau’ s descendants. In the light of this, later history reveals that the relationship between Jacob’ s descendants( the Israelites) and Esau’ s descendants( the Edomites) was sometimes anything but brotherly( see Obad 1 – 21). 27:41 – 45 Unwilling to forgive his brother, Esau plots to kill Jacob once his father is dead. When Rebekah learns of Esau’ s intention, she tells Jacob to take refuge with her brother Laban in Harran( 24:29). 27:46 Having decided that Jacob should flee to Harran, Rebekah looks to persuade Isaac that this would be best by highlighting the difficulties Esau’ s Hittite wives created( see 26:34 – 35). life will not be worth living. Rebekah bluntly states how devastated she would be if Jacob also were to marry a native of Canaan.
28:1 – 2 Because he also dislikes Esau’ s wives( 26:35), Isaac instructs Jacob to go to Paddan Aram in order to find a wife. While Abraham had sent a servant to do this on behalf of Isaac( 24:2 – 4), Jacob himself must go. 28:1 Canaanite woman. Whereas Rebekah speaks of“ Hittite women”( 27:46), Isaac uses the broader designation“ Canaanite woman.” On the basis of 10:15, Hittites were considered to be a subgroup of Canaanites( see note on 23:3).
28:2 Paddan Aram. See note on 25:20. 28:3 – 4 The second half of Isaac’ s speech abounds with expressions that recall God’ s promises to Abraham, whom Isaac names twice. Strikingly, Isaac stresses the divine promises of numerous descendants and possession of the land of Canaan. These promises take on added significance in the light of Esau’ s threat to kill his brother and Jacob’ s departure to Paddan Aram to find a wife. The fulfillment of the promises anticipates Jacob’ s safe return to the land of Canaan. Throughout the patriarchal stories, the promises of numerous descendants and possession of the land of Canaan connect to 1:28. Through the patriarchs and their descendants, God will eventually fulfill his purpose in creating people to inhabit the earth. By stating that Jacob will become a“ community of peoples”( v. 3; see 35:11), Isaac alludes to the covenant involving circumcision, in which God promised that Abraham would become the father of many nations( 17:4 – 6). While the creation of Israel as a nation fulfills God’ s promises to the patriarchs, that is not the sole purpose for which God chose Abraham and his descendants. Through all that occurs, God desires to bless all the families / nations of the earth.
28:6 – 9 In a belated attempt to gain his parent’ s approval, Esau marries a daughter of“ Ishmael son of Abraham”( v. 9; see 16:15). Ironically, Esau’ s link with the family of Ishmael— Nebaioth( Esau’ s brother-in-law) is Ishmael’ s firstborn son( 25:13)— further signals that God will not fulfill his promises through Esau, for God passed over Ishmael in favor of Isaac. 28:8 Canaanite women. See note on v. 1. 28:10 – 22 Jacob’ s Dream at Bethel. Jacob experiences two encounters with God that occur at significant points in his life:( 1) in this nighttime experience when he is about to leave the land of Canaan and( 2) when he returns to Canaan( 32:22 – 32). God’ s speech to Jacob recalls his earlier promises to Abraham and Isaac, and he concludes by promising to protect Jacob. The whole experience transforms Jacob’ s understanding of God and is part of the process by which God changes him. 28:10 Harran. See note on 11:31. 28:12 stairway. While the Hebrew term sullām is often translated“ ladder,” it probably denotes here a flight of stairs like those constructed on ancient ziggurats. Linking heaven to earth, this stairway vividly reminds Jacob that God intends to reside on the earth, so Jacob calls the location Bethel( see NIV text note on v. 19). See note on John 1:51.