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 .