ESV Global Study Bible :: Footnotes for Genesis 28

Gen. 28:1–2 Abraham issued similar instructions in 24:3–4. Canaanite women is a broader designation that would have included the Hittites (see note on 10:6–20).

Gen. 28:3–4 Isaac anticipates that Jacob will return to Canaan to take possession of the land divinely given to Abraham. make you fruitful and multiply you. See note on 1:28. A company of peoples echoes the idea of Abraham as the father of many nations (see 17:4–6). It is repeated in 35:11.

Gen. 28:6–9 Esau seeks to make amends for having taken Canaanite wives by marrying one of Ishmael’s daughters. However, he still retains his two Canaanite wives.

Gen. 28:10–22 The Lord uses an extraordinary dream to confirm that the divine promises to Abraham will be fulfilled through Jacob. A similar event will take place upon Jacob’s return to Canaan (32:22–32).

Gen. 28:10 Jacob sets out to travel the 550 miles (900 km) to Haran (see note on 11:31).

Gen. 28:12 ladder set up on the earth. What matters most is not the exact shape of this structure but its purpose. It provides a bridge between heaven and earth, showing that God is still committed to making the earth his dwelling place. Jesus identifies himself as the ladder linking earth and heaven (John 1:51). While human beings want to ascend to heaven (as reflected in the Tower of Babel story, Genesis 11), God is interested in making the earth his temple-city.

Gen. 28:13–15 The Lord stood above it (v. 13) could also be translated “the Lord stood beside him” (esv footnote). The Lord’s words loudly echo his promises to Abraham (12:3; 7; 13:14–16; 17:7–8; 18:18; 22:17–18) and Isaac (26:4).

Gen. 28:16–17 Believing that the Lord is in this place, Jacob describes it as the house of God. The presence of God on earth is clearly central in Jacob’s thinking.

Gen. 28:18 Jacob marks this special event at Bethel (see v. 19) by setting up a pillar and consecrating it with oil, but he does not build an altar. This indicates that he has not yet fully accepted the Lord as his God. While setting up pillars was common in Canaanite worship, Deut. 16:22 prohibits it. Years later, after his faith-transforming encounter with God at Penuel (Gen. 32:22–32), Jacob returns to Bethel to construct an altar (35:1–7).

Gen. 28:19 the name of the city was Luz at the first. The city’s name continued to be “Luz” until the Israelites occupied Canaan many centuries later (see 35:6; 48:3; Judg. 1:23). The actual location called “Bethel” by Jacob probably lay outside the city of Luz (see Josh. 16:2).

Gen. 28:20–21 If God will be with me . . . , then the Lord shall be my God. The conditional nature of Jacob’s vow reveals that he is still not fully committed to the Lord (see note on v. 18).

Gen. 28:22 I will give a full tenth to you. Centuries later, Israelite worshipers give a tenth of their income (a “tithe”) to God as an expression of their commitment to him.