Jacob’s Dream
Jacob’s Dream
Image by Jeff Jacobs from Pixabay
Stairway to Heaven
Jacob left Beersheba. As he headed toward Harran, he came to a certain place. The sun had set, so he spent the night there. He lay down, resting his head against a stone.
Then Jacob started to dream. There was a stairway reaching from earth up to heaven! And God’s angels traveled up and down it! And there was Yahweh standing over him!
“I am Yahweh, the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give the land where you are lying to you and your offspring. Your offspring will be as numerous as the dust on the earth and will spread out to the north, south, east, and west. Through you and your offspring, every family on earth will be blessed.
“See? I am with you and will protect you wherever you go. Then I will bring you back to this land. I will not abandon you but will accomplish everything I have said.”
Image by Jeff Jacobs from Pixabay
Jacob obeyed his father and began the trip to find his uncle in Harran. He left Beersheba in southern Canaan and traveled north. A couple of days later, he reached the hill country of central Canaan. When the sun set, he was still on the road, forcing him to spend the night where he happened to be. So he laid his head against a stone and fell asleep.
Jacob began to dream. The Hebrew emphasizes his surprise at each element of the dream. First, he saw a stairway linking heaven and earth. Then he noticed angels (literally “messengers”) walking up and down the stairs. These emissaries were either setting out on errands throughout the earth or returning to report to Yahweh.1 Finally, Jacob noticed that Yahweh himself stood over him as he slept.2
For the first time, Jacob encountered the God of his father and grandfather. So Yahweh began by identifying himself. Then he affirmed the blessing Isaac had passed to Jacob. Jacob’s offspring would possess the land of Canaan and spread throughout it. And the blessing of the nations would come through him.
Yahweh then explained the vision of the stairway. In the ancient Near East, most people believed the gods each held sway over a limited territory. Jacob may have feared that by leaving Canaan, he would leave Yahweh’s sphere of influence. But Yahweh’s power was not limited to Canaan. His many servants move throughout the world. The vision represented his power to protect Jacob wherever he may go—even in Harran. Then one day Yahweh would bring Jacob safely back to Canaan.
Bethel
Then Jacob woke up. “Yahweh is here in this place, but I didn’t realize it,” he said, afraid. “This place is terrifying. It must be God’s house, the very gate of heaven!”
Early the next morning, Jacob took the stone he had rested his head on and set it upright as a sacred pillar. Then he poured olive oil over it. He named that place Bethel, though the town was previously called Luz.
Image by Siggy Nowak from Pixabay
When Jacob woke up from his dream, he felt afraid. He thought he had accidentally fallen asleep in a sacred place. He recognized Yahweh’s presence there with him on the side of the road, but he did not yet understand that Yahweh is everywhere. Because he had seen the stairway leading to heaven there, he named the place Bethel (beth-ʾel), which means “house of God.”
In the morning, Jacob took the stone he had laid his head against and set it upright like a pillar. He poured olive oil on it to consecrate it as sacred. Such stone pillars commonly served as memorials of important people or events.3 Here the stone marked the location where God spoke to Jacob in a dream. It also served as the sign for the vow that followed.
Jacob’s Vow
Then Jacob vowed, “If God will be with me to protect me on this journey, provide me with food and clothing, and bring me back to my father’s house in peace—if Yahweh will be my God—then this stone I have set up as a sacred pillar will be God’s house, and I will return to you a tenth of everything you give me.”
Image by Mohamed Hassan from Pixabay
Jacob responded to his dream by swearing a solemn oath concerning what he would do after Yahweh fulfilled his promise. Once safely back in Canaan, Jacob would treat the sacred pillar he had set up as God’s house, a sanctuary where he would worship Yahweh. At that time, Jacob would return to God a tenth of whatever he received while in Harran. Like his grandfather before him, Jacob would acknowledge God’s protection and provision through tithing.4
Jacob listed several stipulations for his vow, but he didn’t ask for anything God hadn’t already promised. God had said he would protect him and bring him back to Canaan. Though God hadn’t explicitly mentioned food or clothing, providing for these basic needs would be implied in his protection. Jacob didn’t ask for riches or even success in finding a wife. He asked for only what he needed on his journey.
The fourth stipulation reveals the depth of Jacob’s faith. “Yahweh will be my God” is usually translated as the first of Jacob’s promises, making it sound like he would worship Yahweh only if he got what he wanted first. But that’s not what he said. In Hebrew, the form of the verb shows that this was the last of Jacob’s stipulations.5 Indeed it summarizes the other three. If Yahweh would show himself to be Jacob’s God by protecting him, providing for him, and bringing him back home, Jacob would worship him by the sacred pillar.
Jacob didn’t put conditions on whether Yahweh would be his God. He asked Yahweh to be his God. In all his scheming, Jacob had one goal—to obtain Abraham’s blessing.6 He wanted to be chosen as his father and grandfather had been. Instead he found himself fleeing the land God had promised Abraham and Isaac. But now the dream had restored Jacob’s hope.
- See Job 1:6–7.
- The Hebrew could also mean Yahweh stood at the top of the stairs. But since he spoke to Jacob, not the angels, it’s more likely he stood near Jacob.
- Genesis 31:44–52; 35:19–20; Exodus 24:3–4; 2 Samuel 18:18.
- See Melchizedek.
- Hamilton, Book of Genesis: Chapters 18–50, 248.
- See Esau’s Birthright.