The First Book of Moses: Genesis

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- Chapter 28 -

And so Isaac called for Jacob, and he blessed him, and he instructed him, saying: “Do not be willing to accept a mate from the family of Canaan.

But go, and journey to Mesopotamia of Syria, to the house of Bethuel, your mother’s father, and there accept for yourself a wife from the daughters of Laban, your maternal uncle.

And may God almighty bless you, and may he cause you to increase and also to multiply, so that you may be influential among the people.(a)

And may he give the blessings of Abraham to you, and to your offspring after you, so that you may possess the land of your sojourning, which he promised to your grandfather.”

And when Isaac had dismissed him, setting out, he went to Mesopotamia of Syria, to Laban, the son of Bethuel, the Syrian, the brother to Rebekah, his mother.

Esau Marries Mahalath

But Esau, seeing that his father had blessed Jacob and had sent him into Mesopotamia of Syria, to take a wife from there, and that, after the blessing, he had instructed him, saying: ‘You shall not accept a wife from the daughters of Canaan,’

and that Jacob, obeying his parents, had gone into Syria,

having evidence also that his father did not look with favor upon the daughters of Canaan,

he went to Ishmael, and he took as a wife, beside those he had before, Mahalath, the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebaioth.

Jacob’s Ladder

Meanwhile Jacob, having departed from Beersheba, continued on to Haran.

And when he had arrived at a certain place, where he would rest after the setting of the sun, he took some of the stones that lay there, and placing them under his head, he slept in the same place.

And he saw in his sleep: a ladder standing upon the earth, with its top touching heaven, also, the Angels of God ascending and descending by it,

and the Lord, leaning upon the ladder, saying to him: “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac. The land, in which you sleep, I will give to you and to your offspring.

And your offspring will be like the dust of the earth. You will spread abroad to the West, and to the East, and to the North, and to the Meridian. And in you and in your offspring, all the tribes of the earth shall be blessed.(b)

And I will be your guardian wherever you will journey, and I will bring you back into this land. Neither will I dismiss you, until I have accomplished all that I have said.”

And when Jacob had awakened from sleep, he said, “Truly, the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.”

And being terrified, he said: “How terrible this place is! This is nothing other than the house of God and the gateway of heaven.”

The Stone of Bethel

Therefore, Jacob, arising in the morning, took the stone which he had placed under his head, and he set it up as monument, pouring oil over it.

And he called the name of the city, ‘Bethel,’ which before was called Luz.(c)

And then he made a vow, saying: “If God will be with me, and will guard me along the way by which I walk, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear,

and if I will return prosperously to my father’s house, then the Lord will be my God,

and this stone, which I have set up as a monument, will be called ‘the House of God.’ And from all the things that you will give to me, I will offer tithes to you.”

Footnotes

(a)28:3 The word ‘turbas’ generally refers to a commotion or disturbance, but in some contexts it means ‘influential,’ in other words, able to stir things up or able to cause a commotion. Cf. Esther 9:27, CPDV.(Conte)

(b)28:14 Or, ‘you will spread to the Setting, and the Rising, and the Seven Oxen (or the Seven Stars), and the Meridian.’ The word ‘septentrionem’ literally means ‘seven plough-oxen,’ but is an expression used to refer to a constellation of seven stars. The Meridian is the South, or rather, from a modern point of view, south of Mesopotamia, i.e. towards the equator.(Conte)

Isaac called Jacob, blessed him, and commanded him, “You shall not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan.

Arise, go to Paddan Aram, to the house of Bethuel your mother’s father. Take a wife from there from the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother.

May God Almighty bless you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, that you may be a company of peoples,

and give you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your offspring with you, that you may inherit the land where you travel, which God gave to Abraham.”

Isaac sent Jacob away. He went to Paddan Aram to Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob’s and Esau’s mother.

Esau Marries Mahalath

Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan Aram, to take him a wife from there, and that as he blessed him he gave him a command, saying, “You shall not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan;”

and that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother, and was gone to Paddan Aram.

Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan didn’t please Isaac, his father.

So Esau went to Ishmael, and took, in addition to the wives that he had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebaioth, to be his wife.

Jacob’s Ladder

Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran.

He came to a certain place, and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. He took one of the stones of the place, and put it under his head, and lay down in that place to sleep.

He dreamed and saw a stairway set upon the earth, and its top reached to heaven. Behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.

Behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, “I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac. I will give the land you lie on to you and to your offspring.

Your offspring will be as the dust of the earth, and you will spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south. In you and in your offspring, all the families of the earth will be blessed.

Behold, I am with you, and will keep you, wherever you go, and will bring you again into this land. For I will not leave you until I have done that which I have spoken of to you.”

Jacob awakened out of his sleep, and he said, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I didn’t know it.”

He was afraid, and said, “How awesome this place is! This is none other than God’s house, and this is the gate of heaven.”

The Stone of Bethel

Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put under his head, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil on its top.

He called the name of that place Bethel, but the name of the city was Luz at the first.

Jacob vowed a vow, saying, “If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and clothing to put on,

so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, and the LORD will be my God,

then this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, will be God’s house. Of all that you will give me I will surely give a tenth to you.”