Genesis 28 - ESV - Bible Reading / Study Notes

Genesis 28

Jacob Sent to Laban

28:1 Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him and directed him, “You must not take a wife from the Canaanite women. 2 Arise, go to Paddan-aram to the house of Bethuel your mother’s father, and take as your wife from there one of the daughters of Laban your mother’s brother. 3 God Almighty¹ bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may become a company of peoples. 4 May he give the blessing of Abraham to you and to your offspring with you, that you may take possession of the land of your sojournings that God gave to Abraham!” 5 Thus Isaac sent Jacob away. And he went to Paddan-aram, to Laban, the son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob’s and Esau’s mother.

Esau Marries an Ishmaelite

6 Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan-aram to take a wife from there, and that as he blessed him he directed him, “You must not take a wife from the Canaanite women,” 7 and that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and gone to Paddan-aram. 8 So when Esau saw that the Canaanite women did not please Isaac his father, 9 Esau went to Ishmael and took as his wife, besides the wives he had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebaioth.

Jacob’s Dream

10 Jacob left Beersheba and went toward Haran. 11 And he came to a certain place and stayed there that night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep. 12 And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder² set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it! 13 And behold, the LORD stood above it³ and said, “I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. 14 Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15 Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” 16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.” 17 And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”

18 So early in the morning Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. 19 He called the name of that place Bethel,⁴ but the name of the city was Luz at the first. 20 Then Jacob made 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 wear, 21 so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God, 22 and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.”

Footnotes

[1] 28:3 Hebrew El Shaddai
[2] 28:12 Or a flight of steps
[3] 28:13 Or beside him
[4] 28:19 Bethel means the house of God

Commentary

v1-5: Jacob, like Isaac, has to marry in the family of Bethuel, see 24.3. The line from Abraham has to remain distinctive, by genealogy, and by lifestyle. Isaac recognises that the blessing does pass to Jacob, not to Esau; he explicitly prays for the "blessing given to Abraham." This includes fruitfulness, and the inheritance of the land.

v6-9: Esau responds to his parents' disapproval, having married Canaanite women. He therefore marries one of Ishmael's family, to gain favour with his parents, rather than a desire to obey God. There may be some softening of his conscience, some partial reformation.

Essentially, Esau is "profane," refusing to submit to the ways of God, and rebelling against the wishes of his godly parents. Even when the opportunity comes for obedience, his motives are less than pure.

v10-12: Jacob arrives in Haran, retracing Abraham's steps towards Mesopotamia. The more direct route would take him across inhospitable desert, a route which people did not take. It seems that Jacob has to be separated from Esau before the promises of God are made real to him.

Jacob's dream of the stairway to heaven; angels ascending and descending. Echoed in John 1.51. Jacob seemed not to relaise that the angels were already with him.

v13-15: The promises to Abraham and Isaac have now passed to Jacob, and they are delivered directly by the Lord God. There are no conditions, for the Lord asks nothing of Jacob. Such is God's mercy that He does not mention Jacob's sins.

The promises are wide in their extent;

that Jacob's descendants will inherit the land;
that his descendants will spread far beyond the land;
that all peoples of the earth will be blessed through them; and
that God will personally watch over Jacob, and bring him back to the land.

v16-17: Jacob's first realisation of God's presence; we are not always sensitive to God's presence.

v18-19: Jacob erected a pillar, just as Abraham raised up altars. Here is testimony of God meeting with His people.

v20-22: Jacobs' response; trusting himself into God's hands for the journey to and from Haran. The Lord has already promised these things (v16). Jacob here asks for less than God is willing to give; only later, in chapter 32, do we see his greater request.

Jacob's request addresses the basic needs of life; food to eat, clothing to wear; and his father's house. Compare 1 Tim 6.8.