Genesis 28

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

2 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.

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

4 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.”

5 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.

6 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;”

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

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

9 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.

10 Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran.

11 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.

12 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.

13 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.

14 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.

15 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.”

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

17 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.”

18 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.

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

20 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,

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

22 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.”

Around Genesis 28

Context

Context for this book is being written. A note appears here only once it names its sources.

AI explanation

Genesis 28 · Written by an AI model · Not reviewed by a theological reader

This explanation was written by an AI model to help you get started. It names no sources and can contain mistakes. Scripture comes first, and context with sources is shown separately on this page.

What this chapter says

Isaac blesses Jacob and sends him to Paddan Aram, to the family of Laban. Jacob leaves Beersheba toward Haran.

Night falls, and he stops where he is. He takes one of the stones of the place for a pillow and lies down. He dreams: a stairway is set on the earth, its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God are going up and down on it. The LORD stands above it. He is the God of Abraham and Isaac, and the land under Jacob will be his. His offspring will be like the dust of the earth, and all the families of the earth will be blessed. “I am with you, and will keep you, wherever you go,” and he will bring Jacob back.

Jacob wakes. “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I didn’t know it.” He sets up the stone as a pillar, names the place Bethel. Then he makes a vow.

Background

Jacob is a fugitive from his brother’s anger, and this is the first time in Genesis that God speaks to him. The stairway has been pictured in art for centuries; the Gospel of John echoes it in John 1. The promise given to Abraham is now repeated to Jacob. The vow to give a tenth is one of the earliest mentions of tithing in the Bible.

About this explanation

Written by Claude Sonnet 5.5, an AI model, on 21 October 2026. It draws on the WEB text and general knowledge and was not checked against sources by a person. Every quotation from Scripture is checked automatically against the WEB text.

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World English Bible. Public-domain source and edition notes