Patriarchs
Epoch 22 · c. 1929 BC
Jacob's Ladder at Bethel
Fleeing from Esau, Jacob sees heaven open and hears God's promise to remain with him and bless the nations through his line.
Header image source: Unsplash search: desert camp
Bible references
Scripture in full
The passages connected to this timeline moment are shown in full below.
Genesis 28:10-22
Then Jacob went out from Beersheba and went to Haran. And he arrived at 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 slept at that place. And he dreamed, and behold, a stairway was set on the earth, and its top touched the heavens. And behold, angels of God were going up and going down on it. And behold, Yahweh was standing beside him, and he said, “I am Yahweh, the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac. The ground on which you were sleeping I will give to you and to your descendants. Your descendants shall 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 all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and through your descendants. Now behold, I am with you, and I will keep you wherever you go. And I will bring you to this land, for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised to you.” Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely Yahweh is indeed in this place and I did not know!” Then he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is nothing else than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!” And Jacob rose early in the morning, and he took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up as a stone pillar, and poured oil on top of it. And he called the name of that place Bethel; however, the name of the city was formerly Luz. And Jacob made a vow saying, “If God will be with me and protect me on this way that I am going, and gives me food to eat and clothing to wear, and if I return in peace to the house of my father, then Yahweh will become my God. And this stone that I have set up as a pillar shall be the house of God, and of all that you give to me I will certainly give a tenth to you.”
LEB via Biblia API
Why this moment matters
Bethel shows that God is present even in exile and transition. The promise to Abraham is explicitly reaffirmed to Jacob.
About this section
God narrows the promise through Abraham's family, forming the covenant line that will bless the nations.
Further study
Previous epoch
Epoch 21 · c. 2006 BC
Jacob and Esau Contend
Next epoch
Epoch 23 · c. 1915 BC
Jacob's Household and the Twelve Sons
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