Genesis 28

A Dream on the Journey

10Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran. 11He came to a place and spent the night there because the sun had set. He took one of the stones there, placed it by his head, and lay down to sleep in that place.

12He dreamed: there was a stairway standing on the earth, its top reaching the heavens. And there were God’s messengers, going up and coming down on it. 13And there was the LORD, standing above it. He said, “I am the LORD, the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give the land you are lying on to you and your descendants.

14Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth. You will spread out to the west and east, to the north and south. Through you and your descendants all the families of the earth will be blessed. 15Look, I am with you. I will guard you wherever you go and bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I promised you.”

16Jacob woke from sleep and said, “The LORD really is in this place, and I did not know it!”

17He was afraid. “How fearsome this place is!” he said. “This is nothing less than God’s house, the gate of the heavens!”

The Stone and the Vow

18Early in the morning Jacob took the stone he had placed by his head and set it upright as a pillar. He poured oil over its top.

19He named the place Bethel, though the city had formerly been called Luz.