281 So Isaac called Jacob and blessed him and charged him, and said to him, " You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan . 2 "Arise , go to Paddan-aram , to the house of Bethuel your mother's father ; and from there take to yourself a wife from the daughters of Laban your mother's brother . 3 "May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may become a company of peoples . 4 "May He also give you the blessing of Abraham , to you and to your descendants with you, that you may possess the land of your sojournings , which God gave to Abraham ." 5 Then Isaac sent Jacob away , and he went to Paddan-aram to Laban , son of Bethuel the Aramean , the brother of Rebekah , the mother of Jacob and Esau .
6 Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan-aram to take to himself a wife from there , and that when he blessed him he charged him, saying , " You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan ," 7 and that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and had gone to Paddan-aram . 8 So Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan displeased his father Isaac ; 9 and Esau went to Ishmael , and married e , besides the wives that he had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael , Abraham's son , the sister of Nebaioth .
10 Then Jacob departed from Beersheba and went toward Haran . 11 He came to a certain place and spent the night there , because the sun had set ; and he took one of the stones of the place and put it under his head , and lay down in that place . 12 He had a dream , and behold , a ladder was set on the earth with its top reaching to heaven ; and behold , the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 And behold , the Lord stood above it and said , "I am the Lord , the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac ; the land on which you lie , I will give it to you and to your descendants . 14 "Your descendants will also be like the dust of the earth , and you will spread out to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south ; and in you and in your descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed . 15 "Behold , I am with you and will keep you wherever e you go , and will bring you back to this land ; for I will not leave you until e I have done what I have promised you."
16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said , " Surely the Lord is in this place , and I did not know it." 17 He was afraid and said , " How awesome is this place ! This is none other than e the house of God , and this is the gate of heaven ." 18 So Jacob rose early in the morning , and took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on its top . 19 He called the name of that place Bethel ; however , previously the name of the city had been Luz .
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Genesis 28:1-19
Commentary on Genesis 28:1-5
(Read Genesis 28:1-5)
Jacob had blessings promised both as to this world and that which is to come; yet goes out to a hard service. This corrected him for the fraud on his father. The blessing shall be conferred on him, yet he shall smart for the indirect course taken to obtain it. Jacob is dismissed by his father with a solemn charge. He must not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan: those who profess religion, should not marry with those that care not for religion. Also with a solemn blessing. Isaac had before blessed him unwittingly; now he does it designedly. This blessing is more full than the former; it is a gospel blessing. This promise looks as high as heaven, of which Canaan was a type. That was the better country which Jacob and the other patriarchs had in view.
Commentary on Genesis 28:6-9
(Read Genesis 28:6-9)
Good examples impress even the profane and malicious. But Esau thought, by pleasing his parents in one thing, to atone for other wrong doings. Carnal hearts are apt to think themselves as good as they should be, because in some one matter they are not so bad as they have been.
Commentary on Genesis 28:10-15
(Read Genesis 28:10-15)
Jacob's conduct hitherto, as recorded, was not that of one who simply feared and trusted in God. But now in trouble, obliged to flee, he looked only to God to make him to dwell in safety, and he could lie down and sleep in the open air with his head upon a stone. Any true believer would be willing to take up with Jacob's pillow, provided he might have Jacob's vision. God's time to visit his people with his comforts, is, when they are most destitute of other comforts, and other comforters. Jacob saw a ladder which reached from earth to heaven, the angels going up and coming down, and God himself at the head of it. This represents, 1. The providence of God, by which there is a constant intercourse kept up between heaven and earth. This let Jacob know that he had both a good guide and a good guard. 2. The mediation of Christ. He is this ladder; the foot on earth in his human nature, the top in heaven in his Divine nature. Christ is the Way; all God's favours come to us, and all our services go to him, by Christ, John 1:51. By this way, sinners draw near to the throne of grace with acceptance. By faith we perceive this way, and in prayer we approach by it. In answer to prayer we receive all needful blessings of providence and grace. We have no way of getting to heaven but by Christ. And when the soul, by faith, can see these things, then every place will become pleasant, and every prospect joyful. He will never leave us, until his last promise is accomplished in our everlasting happiness. God now spake comfortably to Jacob. He spake from the head of the ladder. All the glad tidings we receive from heaven come through Jesus Christ. The Messiah should come from Jacob. Christ is the great blessing of the world. All that are blessed, are blessed in him, and none of any family are shut out from blessedness in him, but those that shut out themselves. Jacob had to fear danger from his brother Esau; but God promises to keep him. He had a long journey before him; to an unknown country; but, Behold, I am with thee, and God promises to bring him back again to this land. He seemed to be forsaken of all his friends; but God gives him this assurance, I will not leave thee. Whom God loves, he never leaves.
Commentary on Genesis 28:16-19
(Read Genesis 28:16-19)
God manifested himself and his favour, to Jacob, when he was asleep. The Spirit, like the wind, blows when and where it listeth, and God's grace, like the dew, tarrieth not for the sons of men. Jacob sought to improve the visit God had made him. Wherever we are, in the city or in the desert, in the house or in the field, in the shop or in the street, we may keep up our intercourse with Heaven, if it is not our own fault. But the more we see of God, the more cause we see for holy trembling before him.