Bible Commentaries
Genesis 28

Verses 1-22

Jacob Left Canaan

Isaac agreed with Rebekah in the matter of a wife for Jacob. He sent him to Laban's house to find a wife. Isaac also gave Jacob the blessing of Abraham from God. When Esau realized how unhappy his parents were with his marriages, he immediately married a daughter of Ishmael ( Gen_28:1-9 ).

On his way to Haran, Jacob spent the night at Luz. In a dream, he saw angels going up and down a ladder which reached up into heaven. God repeated the promised blessing which he had given Abraham. Jacob's seed would receive the promised land. They would be numberless. In his seed, all nations of the earth would be blessed.

When Jacob awakened, he realized the Lord was in that place. He renamed it Bethel, which means House of God. Jacob vowed he would make the Lord his God if God would provide for him and bring him back in peace to his father's house. He also set up the stone he had used for a pillow to be a pillar in a true house of God. Further, he promised to give a tenth of all his blessings to the Lord ( Gen_28:10-22 ).