Book of Genesis: Jacob’s Dream of the Ladder
We meet Jacob in chapter 25 of the book of Genesis. He is born together with his twin brother Esau to Rebecca and Isaac, the second patriarch of the Hebrew faith after Abraham. While Esau is a hunter and outdoorsman, Jacob is mild and contemplative, preferring a life in camp. Because of his physical prowess, Esau is favored by his father while Jacob, the more feminine son, is favored by his mother. Before the birth, as Jacob and Esau struggled in Rebecca’s womb, God revealed that the two boys would represent two different nations and that the people of Jacob would be the mightier. The nation of Esau would serve the nation of Jacob. Jacob, God makes clear, is God’s chosen son.
The prenatal conflict between Jacob and Esau continues after birth. Jacob exploits Esau’s appetite to convince him to renounce his birthright. Jacob, the trickster, then conspires with Rebecca to steal Esau’s blessing from their dying father. The theft of the blessing enrages Esau: “Let but the mourning period of my father come,” he says to himself, “and I will kill my brother Jacob.” Rebecca overhears Esau and again plots with Jacob, this time for him to escape. She sends him to her brother Laban’s camp and then reports to Isaac that she has sent the boy away so that he will not marry a local “Hittite woman” but rather a woman of tribal blood. As Jacob travels from Isaac’s camp in Beer-sheba to Laban’s camp in Haran, he has the following dream:
He came upon a certain place and stopped there for the night, for the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of that place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place. He had a dream; a stairway [or ladder] was set on the ground and its top reached to the sky, and angels of God were going up and down on it. And the Lord was standing beside him and He said, “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac: the ground on which you are lying I will assign to you and to your offspring. Your descendents shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All the families of the earth shall bless themselves by you and your descendents. Remember, I am with you: I will protect you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
The dream contains two parts. The first is the central image of the dream – the staircase/ladder set on the ground and reaching into the sky. The second part contains God’s statement or message to Jacob. When Jacob wakes up from sleep, he proclaims the result of his divine revelation:
Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is present in this place, and I did not know it!” Shaken, he said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the abode of God, and that is the gateway to heaven.” Early in the morning, Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. He named the site Bethel; but previously the name of the city had been Luz.
The knowledge Jacob receives in the dream provokes him to consecrate the land. He fixes his deal with God:
Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God remains with me, if He protects me on this journey that I am making, and gives me bread to eat and clothing to wear, and if I return safe to my father’s house – the Lord shall be my God. And this stone, which I have set up as a pillar, shall be God’s abode; and of all that You give me, I will set aside a tithe for You.”
Key Documents:
Additional Resources:
| Previous page on path | Dreams and Revelations, page 4 of 16 | Next page on path |
Discussion of "Book of Genesis: Jacob’s Dream of the Ladder"
Add your voice to this discussion.
Checking your signed in status ...