Genesis 28

28So Isaac called for Jacob, blessed him, and said, "You must not marry any of these Canaanite women.H3327H7121H3290H1288H6680H559H3947H802H1323H36672Instead, go at once to Paddan-aram, to the house of your grandfather Bethuel, and marry one of your uncle Laban's daughters.H6965H3212H6307H1004H1328H517H1H3947H802H1323H3837H517H2513May God Almighty

bless you and give you many children. And may your descendants multiply and become many nations!H410H7706H1288H6509H7235H6951H59714May God pass on to you and your descendants

the blessings he promised to Abraham. May you own this land where you are now living as a foreigner, for God gave this land to Abraham."H5414H1293H85H2233H3423H776H4033H430H5414H855So Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Paddan-aram to stay with his uncle Laban, his mother's brother, the son of Bethuel the Aramean.H3327H7971H3290H3212H6307H3837H1121H1328H761H251H7259H3290H6215H5176Esau knew that his father, Isaac, had blessed Jacob and sent him to Paddan-aram to find a wife, and that he had warned Jacob, "You must not marry a Canaanite woman."H6215H7200H3327H1288H3290H7971H6307H3947H802H1288H6680H559H3947H802H1323H36677He also knew that Jacob had obeyed his parents and gone to Paddan-aram.H3290H8085H1H517H3212H63078It was now very clear to Esau that his father did not like the local Canaanite women.H6215H7200H1323H3667H5869H7451H3327H19So Esau visited his uncle Ishmael's family and married one of Ishmael's daughters, in addition to the wives he already had. His new wife's name was Mahalath. She was the sister of Nebaioth and the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham's son.H3212H6215H3458H3947H802H4258H1323H3458H85H1121H269H5032H802

Jacob’s Dream at Bethel

10Meanwhile, Jacob left Beersheba and traveled toward Haran.H3290H3318H884H3212H277111At sundown he arrived at a good place to set up camp and stopped there for the night. Jacob found a stone to rest his head against and lay down to sleep.H6293H4725H3885H8121H935H3947H68H4725H7760H4763H7901H4725H790112As he slept, he dreamed of a stairway that reached from the earth up to heaven. And he saw the angels of God going up and down the stairway.H2492H5551H5324H776H7218H5060H8064H4397H430H5927H338113At the top of the stairway stood the LORD, and he said, "I am the LORD, the God of your grandfather Abraham, and the God of your father, Isaac. The ground you are lying on belongs to you. I am giving it to you and your descendants.H3068H5324H559H3068H430H85H1H430H3327H776H7901H5414H223314Your descendants will be as numerous as the dust of the earth! They will spread out in all directions—to the west and the east, to the north and the south. And all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants.H2233H6083H776H6555H3220H6924H6828H5045H2233H4940H127H128815What's more, I am with you, and I will protect you wherever you go. One day I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have finished giving you everything I have promised you."H8104H834H3212H7725H127H5800H834H6213H169616Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I wasn't even aware of it!"H3290H3364H8142H559H403H3068H3426H4725H304517But he was also afraid and said, "What an awesome place this is! It is none other than the house of God, the very gateway to heaven!"H3372H559H3372H4725H1004H430H8179H806418The next morning Jacob got up very early. He took the stone he had rested his head against, and he set it upright as a memorial pillar. Then he poured olive oil over it.H3290H7925H1242H3947H68H7760H4763H7760H4676H3332H8081H721819He named that place Bethel (which means "house of God"), although it was previously called Luz.H7121H8034H4725H1008H199H8034H5892H3870H722320Then Jacob made this vow: "If God will indeed be with me and protect me on this journey, and if he will provide me with food and clothing,H3290H5087H5088H559H430H8104H1870H1980H5414H3899H398H899H384721and if I return safely to my father's home, then the LORD will certainly be my God.H7725H1H1004H7965H3068H43022And this memorial pillar I have set up will become a place for worshiping God, and I will present to God a tenth of everything he gives me."H68H7760H4676H430H1004H5414H6237H6237