Genesis 28
Jacob Sent to Laban
Then Isaac called Jacob aand blessed him and directed him, b“You must not take a wife from the Canaanite women. 2 aArise, go to Paddan-aram to the house of bBethuel your mother’s father, and take as your wife from there one of the daughters of Laban your mother’s brother. 3 aGod Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may become a company of peoples. 4 May he give athe blessing of Abraham to you and to your offspring with you, that you may take possession of bthe 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 athat the Canaanite women did not please Isaac his father, 9 Esau went to Ishmael and took as his wife, besides the wives he had, aMahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, the sister of bNebaioth.
Jacob’s Dream
10 Jacob left aBeersheba and went toward bHaran. 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 adreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, bthe angels of God were ascending and descending on it! 13 And behold, athe Lord stood above it and said, b“I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. cThe land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. 14 Your offspring shall be like athe 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 byour offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15 Behold, aI am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and bwill bring you back to this land. For I will cnot leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” 16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is ain 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 afor a pillar band poured oil on the top of it. 19 He called the name of that place aBethel, but the name of the city was Luz at the first. 20 Then Jacob amade 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 aso that I come again to my father’s house in peace, bthen the Lord shall be my God, 22 and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, ashall be God’s house. And bof all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.”
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway,
a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.