Genesis 28:10–22

Jacob’s First Encounter with God

¹⁰Jacob left Beersheba and traveled toward Haran. ¹¹When he came to a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had gone down. He took one of the stones from that place, put it under his head, and lay down there. ¹²He had a dream in which he saw a stairway set up on the earth with its top reaching up to heaven. He saw the angels of God going up and coming down on it. ¹³The Lord was standing above it, saying, “I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give the land on which you are lying to you and your descendants. ¹⁴Your descendants will be like the dust on the earth. You will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. Through you and through your descendant every family on earth will be blessed. ¹⁵Remember, I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go. I will also bring you back to this land because I will not leave you until I do what I’ve promised you.” 

¹⁶Then Jacob woke up from his sleep and exclaimed, “Certainly, the Lord is in this place, and I didn’t know it!” ¹⁷Filled with awe, he said, “How awe-inspiring this place is! Certainly, this is the house of God and the gateway to heaven!” 

¹⁸Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had put under his head. He set it up as a marker and poured olive oil on top of it. ¹⁹He named that place Bethel ^[House of God^[. Previously, the name of the city was Luz. 

²⁰Then Jacob made a vow: “If God will be with me and will watch over me on my trip and give me food to eat and clothes to wear, ²¹and if I return safely to my father’s home, then the Lord will be my God. ²²This stone that I have set up as a marker will be the house of God, and I will surely give you a tenth of everything you give me.”