58 | Genesis 28:14
I will give you and your de scen dants the land on which you are ly ing . 14 Your de scen dants will be like the dust of the earth , and you will spread out to the west and to the east , to the north and to the south . All peo ples on earth will be blessed through you and your off spring . a 15 I am with you and will watch over you wher ev er you go , and I will bring you back to this land . I will not leave you un til I have done what I have prom ised you .”
16
When Ja cob awoke from his sleep , he thought , “ Sure ly the Lord is in this place , and I was not aware of it .” 17 He was afraid and said , “ How awesome is this place ! This is none oth er than the house of God ; this is the gate of heav en .”
18
Ear ly the next morn ing Ja cob took the stone he had placed un der his head and set it up as a pil lar and poured oil on top of it . 19 He called that place Beth el , b though the city used to be called Luz .
20
Then Ja cob made a vow , say ing , “ If God will be with me and will watch over me on this jour ney I am tak ing and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear 21 so that I re turn safe ly to my fa ther ’ s household , then the Lord c will be my God 22 and d this stone that I have set up as a pil lar will be God ’ s house , and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth .”
Jacob Arrives in Paddan Aram
Then Ja cob con tin ued on his jour ney and
29 came to the land of the east ern peo ples .
2
There he saw a well in the open coun try , with three flocks of sheep ly ing near it be cause the flocks were wa tered from that well . The stone over the mouth of the well was large . 3 When all the flocks were gath ered there , the shep herds would roll the stone away from the well ’ s mouth and wa ter the sheep . Then they would re turn the stone to its place over the mouth of the well .
4
Ja cob asked the shep herds , “ My broth ers , where are you from ?” “ We ’ re from Har ran ,” they re plied .
5
He said to them , “ Do you know La ban , Na hor ’ s grand son ?” “ Yes , we know him ,” they an swered .
6
Then Ja cob asked them , “ Is he well ?” “ Yes , he is ,” they said , “ and here comes his daugh ter Ra chel with the sheep .”
7
“ Look ,” he said , “ the sun is still high ; it is not time for the flocks to be gath ered . Wa ter the sheep and take them back to pas ture .”
8
“ We can ’ t ,” they re plied , “ un til all the flocks are gath ered and the stone has been rolled away from the mouth of the well . Then we will wa ter the sheep .”
9
While he was still talk ing with them , Ra chel came with her fa ther ’ s sheep , for she was a shepherd . 10 When Ja cob saw Ra chel daugh ter of his uncle La ban , and La ban ’ s sheep , he went over
a
14 Or will use your name and the name of your offspring in blessings ( see 48:20 ) b
19 Bethel means house of God . c
20,21 Or Since God . . . father ’ s household , the Lord d
21,22 Or household , and the Lord will be my God , 22 then as “ beside him ” or “ beside it ” then Yahweh is on the ground standing next to Jacob as he gazed at the cosmic stairway ; if translated “ above it ,” then Yahweh is visible at the top of the stairway . See the table “ Covenants in the Old Testament ” on p . 469 . 28:15 I will not leave you Jacob ’ s actions have been factored into a providential plan ( 25:19 – 28 ). Jacob will have to make amends for his sins ( 32:1 – 21 ; 33 ), but Yahweh will still fulfill his will through Jacob ’ s life . 28:16 Surely the Lord is in this place Unlike Abraham ’ s and Isaac ’ s divine encounters within the land of promise , Jacob ’ s encounter was at a location not yet associated with divine appearances . His astonishment highlights the belief in cosmic geography — that certain places were associated with divine appearances . 28:17 house of God The Hebrew phrase used here , beth elohim , is typically used of a temple . Temples were both divine abodes and places where divine activity , as it pertained to humanity , could be witnessed or experienced . 28:18 as a pillar This refers to a sacred standing stone . The OT contains numerous references to their use as religious objects , most often in the context of idolatry . When erected for the worship of false gods — rivals to Yahweh — these stones were to be torn down ( e . g ., Ex 23:24 ; Dt 7:5 ; 16:21 – 22 ). Here , Jacob erects one in honor of Yahweh . Other contexts in Israelite religion where they were permissible include memorials for the dead ( Ge 35:20 ), treaties ( 31:45 – 54 ) and other important events ( Jos 24:27 ). poured oil The anointing of the pillar with oil likely indicates a holy status . 28:19 Bethel The earlier used Hebrew phrase beth elohim is here shortened to beth el , meaning “ house of
God .” See note on Ge 28:17 . Luz Bethel and Luz are distinguished in Jos 16:2 . Though the two are identified with each other here and elsewhere ( Ge 35:6 ; Jos 18:13 ; Jdg 1:23 ), the term Bethel seems to have been originally applied to a religious area outside the city .
28:20 – 22 Jacob ’ s vow follows a pattern seen elsewhere in the OT ( 1Sa 1:11 ; 2Sa 15:8 ). His promise to God is a response to divine providence in his own life . All the desired conditions Jacob mentions have already been articulated in God ’ s covenant promises ( see Ge 28:15 ).
29:1 – 30 Jacob ’ s experience in Harran begins much the same as Abraham ’ s servant ’ s experience ( 24:1 – 61 ). Abraham ’ s servant met Rebekah — Jacob ’ s mother — at a well ; Jacob meets Rachel — his future wife — at a well . Both Abraham ’ s servant and Jacob deal with Laban , Rebekah ’ s brother and Rachel ’ s father and thus Jacob ’ s uncle . Whereas Abraham ’ s servant returns quickly with Rebekah , Jacob spends 20 years in Harran ( 31:41 ), despite having planned a much shorter stay ( 27:43 – 45 ). Rachel and Leah are Jacob ’ s cousins — it seems that marriage among cousins ( called endogamy ) was a normal occurrence in the ancient Near East .
29:1 eastern The Hebrew word used here , qedem , is often a generic designation for any location to the east of the promised land of Canaan ( beyond the border of the Jordan River ). It also occurs with respect to territory in other directions outside of Canaan . 29:6 Rachel In Hebrew , the word rachel is also the word for an ewe lamb ( 31:38 ; 32:14 ), making this line a conceptual wordplay .