Genesis 28: Jacob's ladder
At Bethel Jacob sees a ladder to heaven, and the LORD renews Abraham's promises and pledges His presence.
Where Genesis 28 sits
- In the story
- Act III, Promise: Genesis 12–50; Job
- In the Bible
- Old Testament · The Law · chapter 28 of 50 in Genesis
- In Genesis
- Isaac's line: Jacob, 25:19–35:29 · part of One family
- Before
- Genesis 27: The stolen blessing
- After
- Genesis 29: Leah and Rachel
Genesis 28 summary
Isaac blesses Jacob, forbids a Canaanite wife, and prays that God Almighty will give him the blessing of Abraham; Jacob leaves for Paddan-aram, and Esau marries a daughter of Ishmael. On the road Jacob sleeps with a stone for a pillow and dreams of a ladder reaching up to heaven with angels going up and down. The LORD at its top promises him the land, offspring like the dust, blessing for all families through him and his offspring, and His presence until He brings him back; Jacob wakes in awe, names the place Bethel, and vows that the LORD will be his God.
Genesis 28 in context
- Speaking
- Moses, narrating; Isaac blesses, the LORD speaks from the top of the ladder, and Jacob vows
- Written for
- Israel, whose sanctuary at Bethel would become famous, learning that heaven was opened to their father by grace alone
- Around it
- Jacob flees after the stolen blessing (ch. 27); he arrives at Laban's well next (ch. 29)
How Genesis 28 points to Christ
Jesus says His disciples will see heaven open and God's angels ascending and descending on the Son of Man (John 1:51): He is the true meeting place of heaven and earth
The sections of Genesis 28
- The blessing of Abraham28:1–5
Isaac blesses Jacob with the blessing of Abraham and sends him to Paddan-aram for a wife from Laban's daughters.
- Esau tries to please28:6–9
Seeing that Canaanite wives displease his father, Esau adds a wife from Ishmael's family.
- The ladder to heaven28:10–15
Jacob dreams of a ladder to heaven with God's angels, and the LORD renews Abraham's promises and pledges His presence.
- The house of God28:16–22
Jacob wakes in awe at the house of God and gate of heaven, names it Bethel, and vows the LORD will be his God.
Read Genesis 28
Jacob’s Departure
1So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. “Do not take a wife from the Canaanite women,” he commanded. 2“Go at once to Paddan-aram, to the house of your mother’s father Bethuel, and take a wife from among the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother. 3May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, so that you may become a company of peoples. 4And may He give the blessing of Abraham to you and your descendants, so that you may possess the land where you dwell as a foreigner, the land God gave to Abraham.”
5So Isaac sent Jacob to Paddan-aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, who was the mother of Jacob and Esau.
Esau Marries Mahalath
6Now Esau learned that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him to Paddan-aram to take a wife there, commanding him, “Do not marry a Canaanite woman,” 7and that Jacob had obeyed his father and mother and gone to Paddan-aram.
8And seeing that his father Isaac disapproved of the Canaanite women, 9Esau went to Ishmael and married Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Abraham’s son Ishmael, in addition to the wives he already had.
Jacob’s Ladder
10Meanwhile Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran. 11On reaching a certain place, he spent the night there because the sun had set. And taking one of the stones from that place, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep.
12And Jacob had a dream about a ladder that rested on the earth with its top reaching up to heaven, and God’s angels were going up and down the ladder. 13And there at the top the LORD was standing and saying, “I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you now lie. 14Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and east and north and south. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. 15Look, I am with you, and I will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
16When Jacob woke up, he said, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was unaware of it.” 17And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven!”
The Stone of Bethel
18Early the next morning, Jacob took the stone that he had placed under his head, and he set it up as a pillar. He poured oil on top of it, 19and he called that place Bethel, though previously the city had been named Luz.
20Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and watch over me on this journey, and if He will provide me with food to eat and clothes to wear, 21so that I may return safely to my father’s house, then the LORD will be my God. 22And this stone I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give You a tenth.”
Berean Standard Bible, 22 verses. The BSB is in the public domain.
Around Genesis 28
Also in Isaac's line: Jacob
- Genesis 25
- Genesis 26
- Genesis 27
- Genesis 29
- Genesis 30
- Genesis 31
- Genesis 32
- Genesis 33
- Genesis 34
- Genesis 35
Places
- Beersheba
- Bethel
- Paddan-aram
- Haran
Read alongside
- John 1:51 Angels ascending and descending on the Son of Man.
- Genesis 35:1–15 God brings Jacob back to Bethel.
- Genesis 32:1–2 The angels of God meet him again on the way home.
Chapters that point here
How Genesis 28 connects
- The Temple Line · Genesis 28:17 · “The house of God … the gate of heaven”: heaven and earth meet. (John 1:51)
- Blessing · Genesis 28:4 · “The blessing of Abraham,” the phrase Paul uses for what comes to the Gentiles in Christ. (Galatians 3:14)
- Blessing · Genesis 28:14 · All families of the earth blessed, now promised through Jacob and his offspring (12:3).
- Promise · Genesis 28:12–14, kept in John 1:51
- Promise · Genesis 28:15, kept in Genesis 33:18; Genesis 35:6
- Type · The ladder linking heaven and earth, with God's angels upon it pictures The Son of Man, on whom heaven is opened (John 1:51)
- Covenant with Abraham · Genesis 28:3–4; Genesis 28:13–15 · The promises to Abraham passed to Jacob: land, offspring and blessing for all families.
Doctrines Genesis 28 teaches
- Providence · Genesis 28:15
- Worship and the Lord's Day · Genesis 28:16–19
- Oaths and vows · Genesis 28:20–22
Questions on Genesis 28
Where does Jacob see the ladder, and what does he name the place?
Show the answer
At a certain place on the road from Beersheba to Haran, where he sleeps with a stone under his head (28:10–12). He calls it Bethel, for it is “the house of God,” though the city was earlier named Luz (28:17–19).
Which saying of Jesus picks up Jacob's dream?
Show the answer
John 1:51, where Jesus says His disciples will see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man. He is the true meeting place of heaven and earth (28:12).
What does the LORD promise Jacob personally in 28:15?
Show the answer
God is with him and will watch over him wherever he goes, will bring him back to this land, and will not leave him until He has done what He has promised (28:15).
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