Down to Earth But Heavenly Minded

What does Genesis Chapter 28 mean?

Genesis 28 is the story of Jacob leaving home to begin his journey to Mesopotamia. Based on recent events, however, it would be more accurate to describe it as fleeing from his home. Jacob’s brother Esau wants to kill him for cheating him out of Isaac’s blessing (Genesis 27:41). No mention is made of that in this chapter, but this is the context driving Jacob’s flight.

Isaac calls Jacob before him. Apparently, he has made some level of peace with Jacob’s deception. Since Rebekah has appealed to Isaac to send him away (Genesis 27:46), it’s possible that Jacob needed more convincing, not yet understanding just how angry his brother Esau really was. Isaac commands Jacob to go to Rebekah’s brother’s household in Paddan-aram to find a wife. Under no circumstances should Jacob marry a local Canaanite woman (Genesis 28:1–2).

Isaac also blesses Jacob again, this time giving to Jacob the full blessing of Abraham including a version of God’s promises to Abraham (Genesis 28:3–5).

Once Jacob leaves, Esau learns that Isaac commanded Jacob not to marry a Canaanite woman. Esau becomes aware, perhaps for the first time, that his father is not pleased with Esau’s two Canaanite wives from the tribe of the Hittites. Possibly in an attempt to regain some of his father’s approval, Esau takes a third wife, one of the daughters of Isaac’s half brother Ishmael (Genesis 28:6–9).

On the road to Mesopotamia and apparently alone, Jacob is forced by nightfall to bed down on the ground. The Lord appears to Jacob in a dream atop a ladder—or staircase—connecting heaven to earth. On that ladder, angels are ascending and descending. The Lord repeats to Jacob some of the very same promises in the same words He said to Abraham. He will give to Jacob and his descendants the very ground he is sleeping on while dreaming. He will make Jacob’s offspring as the dust of the earth spreading out in every direction. All the peoples of the earth will be blessed through Jacob’s offspring (Genesis 28:10–14). More immediately, the Lord promises to be with Jacob wherever he goes, to keep him safe, and to bring him back to the land of promise. The Lord will not leave Jacob (Genesis 28:15).

Jacob wakes up overwhelmed by awe and fear. He makes a powerful connection between the Lord’s appearance to him and the place where he slept. He calls the place Bethel, which means “house of God,” and sets up a stone pillar to commemorate the spot (Genesis 28:16–19).

Finally, Jacob makes a vow. If God will be with him and provide for his needs and bring him back to his father’s household in peace, Jacob will make the Lord his God. He will worship him at this place, and he will give to the Lord ten percent of all God gives to him (Genesis 28:20–22).

Chapter Context
The previous chapter concluded with Rebekah urging Jacob to run for his life to her brother’s household in Mesopotamia to escape the wrath of Esau. Now Isaac, too, sends Jacob to Laban, except to find a non-Canaanite wife. Hearing this, Esau marries one of the daughters of Ishmael. On the road to Mesopotamia, the Lord appears to Jacob in a dream. God personally delivers the covenant promises of Abraham and assurances to be with Jacob. In awe and fear, Jacob renames the place Bethel, ”house of God,” and vows to worship the Lord as his God. In the next chapter, Jacob will get a taste of his own deceptive medicine, as he seeks a wife.

Verse by Verse

Verse 1. Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him and directed him, “You must not take a wife from the Canaanite women.

This verse begins by stating that Isaac called Jacob and blessed him. This comes after Jacob’s deception, an act of treachery which caused Isaac to literally tremble in a panic (Genesis 27:33). Apparently, Isaac has made peace with those events on some level. He repeats a blessing to Jacob here and in the coming verses, this time knowing exactly who he is talking to.

At the end of the previous chapter, Rebekah became aware of Esau’s vengeful intent to murder Jacob (Genesis 27:41). She first urged Jacob to run away and stay with her brother in Mesopotamia until Esau’s fury passed (Genesis 27:43). Next she seemingly manipulates Isaac to send Jacob away himself by convincing him that it would be a terrible thing for Jacob to marry a local Canaanite woman (Genesis 27:46). They had both been made miserable by Esau’s Hittite wives. Instead, Jacob should find a wife among her brother’s people.

Now we find Isaac acting on Rebekah’s suggestion, probably still unaware of Esau’s plan to kill Jacob. Instead, he has agreed with his wife and also with his own father. Abraham had insisted that Isaac not marry a local Canaanite woman (Genesis 24:3). He did not want Isaac to assimilate into the local population. Now Isaac places a similar requirement on Jacob. It was too late for Esau to not marry locally, but Jacob could still marry from among the women of his mother’s people.

Context Summary
Genesis 28:1–5 describes how Isaac sent Jacob to Rebekah’s brother Laban, in Paddan-aram in Mesopotamia, to find a wife. Jacob must not marry a Canaanite woman. Rebekah wants Jacob sent away so he won’t be killed by his jealous brother, Esau. Esau’s rage is due to Jacob tricking Isaac and stealing a blessing. Apparently having made some level of peace with Jacob’s deception, Isaac gives Jacob the full blessing of the covenant promises of Abraham.

Verse 2. Arise, go to Paddan-aram to the house of Bethuel your mother ‘s father, and take as your wife from there one of the daughters of Laban your mother ‘s brother.

As Abraham did for him, Isaac now insists that Jacob not marry a local, Canaanite woman. His first motivation seems to be that Jacob’s brother Esau had married very poorly, bringing grief to Isaac and Rebekah. However, he may also have in mind Abraham’s motivation that the line of God’s people not be assimilated into the local population. This motivation is spiritual, not racial, and later on God’s people will be explicitly forbidden to marry among the wicked Canaanites (Deuteronomy 7:1–4).

Abraham, old and possibly near death himself, had once sent his servant to find a wife for Isaac in Mesopotamia (Genesis 24:2–4). Isaac, also old and near death, is sending Jacob to find a wife for himself. However, Isaac’s command is much more specific: Jacob is to marry a daughter of Laban, Rebekah’s brother. Though Jacob will do exactly this—twice, in fact—it doesn’t seem to leave much room for him to maneuver. Perhaps Isaac knew of Rachel and Leah already and thought one of them would be a good wife for Jacob.

Verse 3. God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may become a company of peoples.

After telling Jacob to travel to Paddan-aram, to the house of Rebekah’s father Bethuel, to find a wife, Isaac now gives to Jacob an even more complete blessing than he had before when he thought he was blessing Esau (Genesis 27:27–29). This is the full blessing of the covenant between God and Abraham’s descendants. Perhaps even Isaac thought the full covenant blessing was inappropriate for Esau, given his disposition and intermarriage with Canaanite women (Genesis 25:29–34; 26:34–35).

In any case, Isaac begins here by asking God Almighty to bless Jacob by multiplying him with descendants. He prays for Jacob to become a company—or “community”—of peoples. This language is similar to the promise God made to Abraham, that he would become a great nation. Jacob’s offspring will now become the next generations in the millions of people God promised would come from Abraham.

Verse 4. May he give the blessing of Abraham to you and to your offspring with you, that you may take possession of the land of your sojournings that God gave to Abraham!”

Before Jacob heads to Mesopotamia to find a wife, also fleeing the wrath of Esau (Genesis 27:41), Isaac confers on him the covenant promises of God to Abraham. The previous verse included the blessing of many offspring. Now Isaac describes Jacob as possessing the “blessing of Abraham” for his offspring to possess the promised land of Canaan. It’s possible that Isaac didn’t offer this as part of his initial blessing—intended for Esau—because he knew Esau’s temperament and intermarriage made him ineligible for such a promise (Genesis 25:29–34; 26:34–35).

God will be faithful to keep His promises to Abraham through Isaac and now through Jacob and his children. Jacob will leave Isaac’s household with both Isaac’s blessing for wealth and political power and the covenant blessing of God with Abraham for multitudes of offspring and possession of the land.

Verse 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.

Sent away by both his mother and his father, Jacob leaves his home and sets out for household of his mother’s brother Laban. Laban lives in the house of his own father Bethuel, in Paddan-aram in Mesopotamia. Jacob will apparently not return or see his family again for many years. The next time he sees his father, Isaac will be very close to death. Rebekah, though she greatly favors Jacob (Genesis 25:28), seemingly never sees her son again. This is part of the price she pays for her role in deceiving her husband, Isaac (Genesis 27:5–13). Jacob, for his part, will experience a taste of his own deception when he attempts to obtain a wife from his relatives in this new country.

Verse 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,”

The story returns briefly to Esau, who has become something of a pathetic figure. Esau has lost his birthright and the family blessing from Isaac. He has also not been given the blessing of Abraham’s covenant with God. Those covenant promises will flow through Jacob instead. Some of this is absolutely Esau’s own fault—he was willing to foolishly swear to sell his birthright for a bowl of soup (Genesis 27:29–34). At the same time, the blessing Isaac intended for Esau was stolen by Jacob, using a complex disguise arranged by their mother, Rebekah (Genesis 27:6–13).

In addition to losing his blessings, Esau is aware that his marriage to two Hittite women displeases his parents. He has heard about Isaac’s direction to Jacob not to marry from the local Canaanite women and of Jacob’s journey to Mesopotamia to marry one of their uncle’s daughters. In what appears to be an attempt to regain his father’s approval, Esau will take another wife.

Context Summary
Genesis 28:6–9 describes Esau’s reaction to learning that Isaac instructed Jacob not to marry a Canaanite woman. It seems likely that Esau only now realizes how greatly his two Canaanite wives have displeased his father. Apparently to earn Isaac’s approval, Esau marries one of the daughters of Isaac’s step-brother Ishmael. Her name is Mahalath.

Verse 7. and that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and gone to Paddan-aram.

This continues a thought begun in the previous verse. Esau learned that Isaac had directed Jacob not to marry from among the local Canaanite women. Esau had already done just that. He had married two women of the Hittite tribe, and those women greatly displeased his parents (Genesis 26:34–35). Esau knew that Jacob, on the other hand, obeyed his parents and had gone off to Paddan-aram to find a wife from their mother’s family.

So in spite of Jacob’s great and heartbreaking deception of their father Isaac, he seemed to be on a path that was pleasing their parents. Esau was aware that his life choices have caused him to lose some of their approval. He would hatch a plan to fix that.

Verse 8. So when Esau saw that the Canaanite women did not please Isaac his father,

Here begins a thought that will be completed in verse 9. Esau, apparently, had not realized that his choice to marry two Canaanite women did not please his father. This is in spite of Genesis 26:34 indicating that these women made life bitter for Rebekah and Isaac. Later, Rebekah told Isaac that they caused her to hate her life (Genesis 27:46). Some of this might have been exaggeration on Rebekah’s part, since she seems mostly concerned that Jacob flee from his jealous brother’s murderous rage (Genesis 27:41).

We don’t know whether or not Isaac failed to communicate to Esau that he should not marry Canaanite women. Perhaps he had, and Esau simply rebelled against that direction from his parents. Scripture does not say for sure. In any case, the light seems to dawn for Esau when he hears of Isaac’s command to Jacob not to do as Esau had done. One way or another, Esau seems not to have known just how burdensome his parents found his wives. Or, he had not been sensitive enough to pick up on the clues. Given his rash nature (Genesis 27:29–34), this would not be surprising.

Verse 9. Esau went to Ishmael and took as his wife, besides the wives he had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham ‘s son, the sister of Nebaioth.

This concludes the thought begun the previous verse. Esau seems to have become newly aware that his marriage to two Canaanite wives displeased Isaac. Either Isaac had never communicated this to Esau before or after he married the Hittite women, or Esau had rebelled against his parents’ wishes in marrying women from a tribe in the land of Canaan.

Now Esau takes action to try to repair the damage and perhaps earn back his father’s approval. He marries a third wife. This one, however, is not from one of the tribes of Canaan. She is also not from Rebekah’s family in Mesopotamia. Instead, Esau marries the daughter of one of Abraham’s other sons, Ishmael. Her name is Mahalath. It’s likely Ishmael was dead by this time. So in saying Esau was “going to Ishmael,” this passage likely means he went to the people of Ishmael. Some relationship between Ishmael’s offspring and Isaac’s family apparently still existed. It was now made official by this wedding.

We’re not told if Esau’s new marriage pleased Isaac or Rebekah, but it did not change his standing in the family. Esau still bore Isaac’s near-curse. He was still not chosen to carry on the covenant promises of Abraham. In addition, the woman he married was from the daughter of another son not chosen to carry those covenant promises.

Verse 10. Jacob left Beersheba and went toward Haran.

Isaac had settled his household in Beersheba in the land of Canaan promised by God to Abraham. Jacob had grown up there. Now he leaves, heading toward Haran, where Abraham first heard promises from God (Genesis 12:1-3). Haran is the town where Laban, Rebekah’s brother, lives. Jacob had two reasons for leaving. First and foremost, his older twin brother, Esau, had resolved to kill Jacob for tricking their father and stealing a blessing intended for Esau (Genesis 27:41). Second, Jacob had been instructed by his father to return to their ancestral homeland in order to find a suitable wife.

Context Summary
Genesis 28:10–22 describes the Lord’s appearance in a dream, given to Jacob while on the road to Haran in Mesopotamia, the region where Rebekah’s brother Laban lives. Forced by nightfall to sleep on the ground with a rock for a pillow, Jacob dreams of a ladder, connecting earth to heaven, and full of angels going in both directions. Atop the ladder, the Lord stands and gives to Jacob the very promises He gave to Abraham. He also promises to be with Jacob on his journey from and back to the land of promise. Jacob wakes up and worships the Lord, vowing to make the Lord his God.

Verse 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.

This verse raises several questions. Was Jacob not well prepared for this journey? Did he leave in a great hurry? Or was he far from any place where he could more safely spend the night than alone on the ground with a stone for his pillow? It seems somewhat odd that the son of a man as wealthy as Isaac is apparently traveling with no servants or larger company. At least, Scripture gives us no indication of others travelling with him. Previously, Jacob was encouraged to flee his homeland by his mother, to escape the murderous rage of his twin brother Esau (Genesis 27:41). This was then reinforced by his father telling him to return to the family’s ancestral home to seek a wife (Genesis 28:1–2).

Whether through haste, poor planning, or some other circumstance, this passage presents Jacob as a man alone in the desert, vulnerable to what may come. When it gets dark, he is forced to stop for the night. He grabs a stone, lays his head on it, and goes to sleep. He did not yet know that the place he slept would become such a significant place in the story of God’s relationship with Israel.

Verse 12. And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it!

Jacob has fled his home in Canaan, both to escape the wrath of his brother Esau (Genesis 27:41) and to find a wife among his people in Mesopotamia (Genesis 28:1–2). Apparently, Jacob either left too quickly to gather supplies, or simply did not plan well and found himself out in the wilderness at night without aid.

Sleeping with his head on a stone on the ground, Jacob begins to dream. As the Lord did with Abraham (Genesis 15:12), He will now appear to Jacob in a dream. He will reaffirm, in person to Jacob, that all of the covenant promises made to Abraham will be for him, as well.

As the dream begins, Jacob sees a structure connecting earth to heaven. The Hebrew word for this object is sul’lam, which appears only here in the Bible. The term is often translated as “ladder,” but it could possibly be interpreted as a “staircase.” Either way, this construction is occupied by God’s angels ascending and descending. The text states this with a sense of astonishment, perhaps expressing the feelings of Jacob in the dream.

Verse 13. And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring.

Jacob is sleeping in the wilderness, apparently alone, and with only a rock for a pillow. He is on the way to his family’s previous homeland in Mesopotamia, both to escape his enraged brother (Genesis 27:41) and to seek a wife (Genesis 28:1–2). While asleep, Jacob is presented with a powerful, unusual dream. The Lord Himself is using this dream to visit Jacob and deliver a moving and personal message.

First, the Lord identifies Himself from the top of a “ladder” or “staircase” that reaches from earth to heaven. God assures Jacob that He is, in fact, the God of Abraham, and of Jacob’s own father Isaac. He is the same Lord, and He has come to deliver the same words to Jacob as He did to His grandfather.

To begin with, the Lord will give to Jacob and his descendants the very ground on which he is lying. In this way, the Lord acknowledges Jacob’s experience while lying there asleep was both a dream and a genuine visitation from God.

Verse 14. Your offspring shall be like the 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 your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

Jacob has fled his homeland in Canaan, avoiding his enraged brother (Genesis 27:41) and seeking a wife in his family’s ancestral territory (Genesis 28:1–2). While sleeping alone in the wilderness with a rock for a pillow, Jacob experiences a fantastic dream, showing him a ladder, or staircase, full of angels (Genesis 28:10–12). Through this dream, God speaks to Jacob and delivers promises much like those given to Abraham and Isaac.

One has to wonder if Jacob has heard these words before. Had Abraham or Isaac ever quoted to Jacob these promises from God? We don’t know, though Isaac had said somewhat similar things to him in delivering the blessing of Abraham before sending Jacob off on this journey. In any case, the Lord does say to Jacob nearly the exact words He said to Abraham. Jacob’s offspring will become as the dust of the earth (Genesis 13:16). They will spread in every direction across the land. However, they will not only conquer and occupy. Through Jacob’s descendants, all the people of the earth would be blessed (Genesis 12:3).

Many interpreters see this promise—to bless all the people of the earth through the descendants of Abraham and Jacob—as the Lord pointing forward to Jesus Christ. Jesus, the Savor and Messiah, will make it possible for people of every family and nation to become the people of God. Jesus will be one of the direct descendants of Abraham, Jacob, and their offspring.

Verse 15. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

The Lord is communicating with Jacob in a dream, as he rests his head on a rock in the wilderness (Genesis 28:10–14). In the dream, Jacob sees God standing at the top of a ladder-like structure reaching from earth to heaven. In the previous verse, the Lord spoke to Jacob the very same promises He had made to Abraham. He would give Jacob’s descendants this land. Those descendants would be as the dust of the earth spreading out in every direction. And through those descendants, all the peoples of the earth would be blessed.

Now the Lord gives to Jacob promises that are especially for him in this journey he is taking out of the land of Canaan. The Lord promises to personally be with Jacob wherever he goes, even into Mesopotamia. He also promises to bring Jacob back to the land of promise. Finally, the Lord promises never to leave Jacob until His other promises are fulfilled.

It’s easy to read past these “be with you” promises, but the Lord knew that Jacob needed to hear and believe them. Traveling from his home to a strange place to begin a new stage of his life, and seemingly alone, it would have been easy for Jacob to forget the larger purpose of his life and live in fear. The fact that the Lord was with him in every step and had a definite plan for his future should give meaning and confidence to anyone.

In a similar way, God’s promises to never leave or forsake those who trust in Christ should help us to overcome our fearfulness about the future (Hebrews 13:5–6).

Verse 16. Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.”

The Lord has appeared to Jacob in a dream, giving to him the promises of Abraham as well as a vow to be with Jacob wherever he goes and to bring him back to the land of promise (Genesis 28:10–15).

Jacob now wakes up. How will he respond to this visit from the Lord? Emotionally, he feels awe and fear. He also finds ways to worship God as he makes a powerful connection between the place he slept for the night and God’s holiness.

Here Jacob says in surprise that he didn’t realize the Lord was in this place. Modern Christians don’t tend to associate God’s holiness with physical locations. We think of God as being everywhere. Ancient people, especially, believed that certain spots were set aside by God as places to connect with Him. God honored that idea, later instructing Israel how to treat places that contained His presence as special and holy.

Verse 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.”

Jacob, upon waking from a dream in which the Lord offered promises to be with him, and to extend to him the promises made to Abraham (Genesis 28:10–15), makes a powerful connection between God’s holiness and the place where the dream took place. In the previous verse, Jacob exclaims that he did not know the Lord was in that place. Now he pronounces the place “awesome,” calling it “the house of God” and “the gate of heaven.” He will soon name the place “Bethel,” which means “house of God.”

We’re also told that Jacob is afraid. Such fear is a common and usually healthy response among people in the Bible who find themselves in the presence of God. Overwhelmed with God’s power and holiness and a deep awareness of their own sinfulness and fragility, a worshipful fear emerges. In Jacob’s case, that fear will provoke him to worship God by honoring the place at which God visited him.

Verse 18. So early in the morning Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it.

The Lord has visited Jacob in a dream, giving to him the promises of Abraham, as well as reassurance that God will be with him and bring him back to the land of promise (Genesis 28:10–15). When he wakes up, Jacob is overwhelmed by what he identifies as the holiness of the place where he slept. He calls it “the house of God” and “the gateway to heaven” (Genesis 28:16–17).

Now Jacob commemorates the holiness of this place. He takes the stone where his head rested during his dream and sets it up as a pillar. This might mean that Jacob took what was once a long, flat-laying stone and stood it upright on end. He pours oil on the top of the stone as part of this ceremony. This stone should not be confused with an altar. Jacob’s marker here is a post or standing stone, an indication of this holy place which Jacob will formally name in the next verse.

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

While travelling from his homeland in Canaan to Mesopotamia (Genesis 28:1–2), Jacob spends the night sleeping with his head resting on a rock (Genesis 28:10–11). As he sleeps, God appears in a vision of a heavenly staircase, or ladder, filled with angels. In this vision, God passes along to Jacob all of the promises given to Abraham, along with reassurances that God will be with Jacob wherever he goes (Genesis 28:12–18).

Jacob is so convinced of the holiness of the place where the Lord visited him that he decides to rename it. Previously called Luz, the place will now be known as Bethel. The word Bethel means “house of God.” Jacob also sets up the rock on which he slept as a marker, anointing it with oil in some kind of ceremony. This spot will continue to be meaningful well into Israel’s future, as a place where God meets His people.

Verse 20. Then Jacob made 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,

After commemorating the holiness of the place where the Lord visited him in a dream (Genesis 28:12–13), Jacob now acknowledges the content of what the Lord said to him. He does this in the form of a conditional vow, declaring that if the Lord will do these things, Jacob will respond with actions of his own.

Jacob’s vow should be seen not as a testing of the Lord so much as a prayer of faith. Jacob seems to be saying that since the Lord can do these things, and has said He will do these things, Jacob is willing to trust and obey. Specifically, Jacob mentions God being with him and keeping him safe. He also adds two things God did not say explicitly: providing for him bread and clothing. In the following verses, he will mention one more condition and then the commitments he is binding himself to fulfill for God.

Verse 21. so that I come again to my father ‘s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God,

In a dream, the Lord has appeared to Jacob and promised to be with him and bring him back to the land of promise. Now awake, Jacob is responding to that promise. If the Lord will really be with him, and keep me safe, and provide food and clothing, and, bring him back to his father’s household in peace, then the Lord will be his God.

When we think of Jacob’s situation, his emphasis on these things makes sense. Jacob was literally running away from his home to spare his life from his brother’s fury (Genesis 27:41). He is apparently alone in the wilderness, traveling to find a wife among his mother’s relatives (Genesis 28:1–2). Before this visit from the Lord, his future was murky and his path was dangerous. Now, because of God, Jacob has hope that he will be provided for, kept safe, and be able to return home.

It is interesting to note that God has already promised Jacob that He will be with him. The Lord has already made Jacob His man. Jacob doesn’t declare the Lord to be his God in hopes that the Lord will take care of him. Jacob makes that declaration in response to God’s promises and care. His worship and commitment follows God’s gifts of grace, just as our does (Ephesians 2:8–10).

Verse 22. and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God ‘s house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.”

Jacob concludes his vow before the Lord. In the previous verses, he has declared that if God does all He has said He would do for Jacob, then Jacob would make the Lord his God (Genesis 28:20–21). In addition, he now says that the stone he has set up for a commemorative pillar will become God’s house. This stone was the very same one on which Jacob rested his head while sleeping in the wilderness (Genesis 28:16–18). In other words, Jacob would return to this place to worship the Lord.

In a previous verse, Jacob renamed the place “Bethel,” meaning “house of God.” Bethel would continue to be a significant meeting place with God for Israel far into the future.

Jacob completes his vow with a promise to give to God a tenth of all God gives to him. Previously, Jacob’s grandfather Abraham gave to God’s priest Melchizedek such a tithe (Genesis 14:20). Jacob volunteers to worship the Lord in this financial way as well. Giving to God specific tithes and offerings was one of the ways Israel would later demonstrate their obedience to and dependence on the Lord.

End of Chapter 28.

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