Genesis 28:12

Jacob’s Vow at Bethel

10 Now Jacob ^awent out from Beersheba and went toward ^bHaran.

11 So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head, and he lay down in that place to sleep.

12 Then he ^adreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there ^bthe angels of God were ascending and descending on it.

13 ^aAnd behold, the Lord stood above it and said: ^b“I am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; ^cthe land on which you lie I will give to you and your ^ddescendants.

14 Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad ^ato the west and the east, to the north and the south; and ^bin you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

15 Behold, ^aI am with you and will ^bkeep you wherever you go, and will ^cbring you back to this land; for ^dI will not leave you ^euntil I have done what I have spoken to you.”

16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in ^athis 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 Then Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put at his head, ^aset it up as a pillar, ^band poured oil on top of it.

19 And he called the name of ^athat place Bethel; but the name of that city had been Luz previously.

20 ^aThen Jacob made a vow, saying, “If ^bGod will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me ^cbread to eat and clothing to put on,

21 so that ^aI come back to my father’s house in peace, ^bthen the Lord shall be my God.

22 And this stone which I have set as a pillar ^ashall be God’s house, ^band of all that You give me I will surely give a¹ tenth to You.”

Commentaries:

Forerunner Commentary
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What Does Genesis 28:12 Mean?

Genesis 28:12-17

Jacob entered this encounter with God as a result of taking the birthright and blessing from his brother Esau through deceitful chicanery. Esau was so indignant, he let it be known that there was a contract on Jacob's life: He was going to kill him.

So Jacob did what anybody would do in that situation—he fled. He decided to go to his mother's relatives, to Laban in Syria. On the way, he stopped at the place described in verses 12-17. Here he encountered God.

Jacob saw a ladder in a dream stretching into heaven, with angels ascending and descending. Verse 13 is very important: "And behold, the LORD stood above it."

"The LORD stood above it" is a mistranslation. The Revised Standard Version, the Revised English Bible, and the New International Version all translate this to say that God stood beside him. God stood by Jacob at the foot of the ladder, not above it.

In other words, God came down the ladder; He revealed Himself as being there. This is why Jacob said, "God is in this place," and why he named it Bethel, meaning "this is God's house." Not that God is in heaven, but that Jacob's God was right there—that was His house. Consequently, Bethel became a shrine in later years.

Jacob did not merely have an encounter with God, but something happened to Jacob himself. He arrived a man with a price on his head and the guilt of many deceitful tricks. He was guilty of stealing, and in one sense of the word, guilty of a sin that was worthy of death. God in no way condoned his actions, yet He had chosen Jacob even before he was born, while he and Esau were still in the womb.

At Bethel, God confirmed that He had chosen Jacob and that He would follow through with him nonetheless. Jacob arrived a man with a price on his head and no future. He was transformed so that he had a future and a hope with which he could live. He was so encouraged that he promised that he would tithe to God all of his days.

John W. Ritenbaugh
Prayer and Seeking God

Other Forerunner Commentary entries containing Genesis 28:12:

Genesis 31:8-13
Amos 4:4-5
Amos 5:4-12
Amos 5:5-6
Amos 5:21-24

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Genesis 28:13 >>

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Jacob’s Vow at Bethel

What Does Genesis 28:12 Mean?

A Verse and a Thought,Every Morning

A Verse and a Thought,
Every Morning