Chapter 28

Chapter 28

1 So Isaac summoned Jacob, bestowed the power of life upon him, and issued a strict charge, saying, “You must absolutely not take a woman from the daughters of Canaan.

2 Arise, travel immediately to Paddan-aram, to the house of Bethuel your mother’s father, and take a woman for yourself from there, from the daughters of Laban your mother’s brother.

3 And may The Almighty Sustainer endow you with the power of life, make you fruitful, and multiply your numbers so that you become a vast assembly of peoples.

4 May He extend the bestowal of the power of life given to Abraham to you and to your offspring along with you, so that you may legally possess the land of your temporary travels, which The All-Powerful One granted directly to Abraham.”

5 Then Isaac sent Jacob away, and he journeyed toward Paddan-aram, to Laban the son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah—the mother of both Jacob and Esau.

6 Now Esau observed that Isaac had bestowed the power of life upon Jacob and sent him away to Paddan-aram to take a woman for himself from there, and that as he bestowed the power of life upon him, he charged him, saying, “You must not take a woman from the daughters of Canaan,”

7 and that Jacob had listened closely to his father and his mother and had departed for Paddan-aram.

8 So Esau realized that the daughters of Canaan were completely wrong in the eyes of his father Isaac.

9 So Esau went directly to Ishmael and took Mahalath, the daughter of Abraham’s son Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth, to be his secondary woman, in addition to the women he already had.

10 Jacob departed from Beersheba and traveled toward Haran.

11 He arrived at a certain place and stopped there for the night, because the sun had set. He took one of the stones from the place, placed it under his head, and lay down to sleep there.

12 In his dream, he saw a ladder set up on the land with its top reaching the sky, and look! The messengers of The All-Powerful One were ascending and descending on it.

13 The Self-Existent stood above it and said, “I am The Self-Existent, The All-Powerful One of your father Abraham and the All-Powerful One of Isaac. The land on which you are lying, I will give to you and to your offspring.

14 Your offspring shall be like the dust of the land, and you shall spread out to the west, to the east, to the north, and to the south; and through you and your offspring, all the families of the earth shall find the power of life for themselves.

15 I am with you and will protect you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land; look! I will not abandon you until I have executed what I have promised you.”

16 Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, 'The Self-Existent is actually in this place, and I did not know it!'

17 He was afraid and said, 'This place is terrifying! This is none other than the house of The All-Powerful One, and this is the gateway to the sky.'

18 Jacob rose early in the morning, took the stone he had placed under his head, set it up as a memorial pillar, and poured oil on its top.

19 He named that place Bethel (House of The All-Powerful); however, the name of the city was previously Luz.

20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, 'If The All-Powerful One will be with me and protect me on this journey that I am taking, and give me bread to eat and clothing to wear,

21 so that I return in peace to my father’s house, then The Self-Existent will be my All-Powerful One.

22 And this stone, which I have set up as a memorial pillar, shall be the house of The All-Powerful One; and of all that You give me, I will surely give a tenth to You.'