Bible Commentaries

Jacob meets God at Bethel (Genesis 28:10-22)

Genesis 28:10

‘And Jacob went out from Beersheba and went towards Haran.’

At this stage Isaac and the family tribe are still firmly situated in Beersheba. Twenty years later they will be found in Mamre near Hebron (Genesis 35:27). That the tribe had kept in close touch with the children of Heth, who were connected with Mamre (Genesis 23:17-18), is clear from Genesis 26:34; Genesis 27:46. Perhaps they had outstayed their welcome at Beersheba. That Jacob had kept in touch with his family comes out in that he later knows where to find them.

Jacob would not travel alone. In Genesis 32:10 he refers to crossing the river only having a staff, but that is probably because he did not see those who travelled with him as his own. They and the gifts were Isaac’s. He would almost certainly have servants with him, together with suitable gifts to present to the wider family. (It would seem for example that Rebekah sent with him her own nurse, a typical motherly gesture - see Genesis 35:8). Not to take gifts would be a solecism of the worst kind. But he was without the expensive marriage gifts which would have made his way easier. This omission is quite startling. It suggests Isaac’s displeasure with him. He did not want him back quickly and would be quite happy if he remained in Paddan-aram. Rebekah felt the same for a different reason. She wanted him where he would be safe. Alternately it may indicate a period of relative tribal poverty. It may be that Jacob is to restore the family’s fortunes.

Genesis 28:11

‘And he lighted on a certain place and tarried there all night because the sun was set, and he took one of the stones of the place and put it under his head, and lay down in that place to sleep.’

The coincidental nature of the resting place is stressed. Though he knows it not an invisible hand is guiding him. The stone is mentioned because it will become a sacred pillar (Genesis 28:18).

Genesis 28:12

‘And he dreamed, and behold, a ramp set up on the earth and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God ascending and descending on it.’

The word ‘sullam’ (‘heaped up) suggests a kind of ramp leading upwards. And moving up and down this ramp were angels of God. The general message is clear, that the messengers of God are watching over God’s purposes in the world, and especially as regards Canaan. Compare Genesis 32:1-2 also the angelic messengers in Genesis 19 and Zechariah 1:8-11. But the use of ‘God’ rather than ‘Yahweh’ indicates general activity rather than specific covenant activity. It is Jacob who is being looked after by Yahweh Himself (Genesis 28:15).

We note in passing that there is no idea of these angels as having wings, that is why they need a ramp. In fact angels are never described as having wings. Wings are limited to the cherubim/seraphim.

Genesis 28:13-14

‘And behold Yahweh stood above it (or ‘by him’) and said, “I am Yahweh, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. I will give to you and to your seed the land on which you lie. And your seed will be as the dust of the earth, and you will break forth to the west, and to the east, and to the north and to the south. And in you and in your seed will all the families of the earth be blessed.” ’

Now Jacob has a theophany of Yahweh, as his fathers had had before him. He sees a vision of God in a dream, and God speaks to him directly as the God of his fathers. He confirms the promises made in the covenant. The land is to belong to their children, they will become countless as the dust of the earth, they will spread abroad widely in all directions, and through them the whole world will be blessed. The final purpose of God is always universal blessing. Jacob is now formally accepted as the seed through whom the promises would be fulfilled.

Genesis 28:15

“And behold I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you again to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you of.”

God’s sovereign purpose in Jacob is revealed. It is not because Jacob is worthy but because God purposes it. Yet there is in Jacob that which will respond, and indeed has responded, and while his behaviour leaves much to be desired God will work on him to make him what he ought to be. Thus God will be with him and will keep and guard him, and will bring about His purpose through him. Jacob is Yahweh’s personal concern.

We too may feel unworthy in our walk with God, but it is not our sense of worthiness that matters but the fact that God is at work on our lives and we are responsive. If we are His He will work in us to will and to do of His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13).

Genesis 28:16

‘And Jacob awoke from his sleep, and he said, “Surely Yahweh is in this place, and I did not know it”. And he was afraid and said, “How awe-inspiring is this place. This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven”.’

Jacob awakes, still filled with the dread and awe that his experience has aroused in him. It is possible that he takes what he has seen literally and thinks that this is literally the place where heaven and earth conjoin and where there is a gate (in the sense of a city gate) through which angels can pass. But more likely he sees it as temporary. Yahweh is here, even though he had not been aware of it. And the place has thus become for the time being the dwelling-place of Yahweh, ‘the house of God’ (beth elohim) and the gateway to heaven.

All this must not be over-pressed. Jacob is aware that Yahweh has revealed Himself in a number of places, for example, at Shechem (Genesis 12:6), in various unnamed places (Genesis 15:1 on; Genesis 17:1 on) and in Beersheba (Genesis 26:24). Each is in its own way as sacred as Bethel. And worship of Yahweh is not confined to Palestine (Genesis 24:26; Genesis 24:48; Genesis 24:52. See also Genesis 29:32; Genesis 29:35 which demonstrate that Jacob has introduced his wives to the worship of Yahweh). The fact that Yahweh will be with him wherever he goes, and will not leave him, is a guarantee of that. But for him Bethel will always be special, for here was where he first met God personally and heard His voice speaking to him.

How often God comes to us when we least expect it. Like Jacob we wander to ‘a certain place’ and then God meets us there.

Genesis 28:18

‘And Jacob arose early in the morning and took the stone that he had put under his head, and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it.’

The pouring of oil on the pillar was to sanctify it to God, to set it apart as ‘holy’ (Leviticus 8:10-11; Numbers 7:1). It was to become a sacred pillar, a pillar for a memorial of the covenant renewed with him. Setting up stones was regularly a physical reminder of covenants (compare Genesis 31:45-52; Genesis 35:14; 1 Samuel 7:12; Joshua 4:3; see also 2 Samuel 18:18). The pouring with oil gave it a special significance as a holy memorial.

Generally such stone pillars erected in this way were very large. If that is so here the stone will have been lying sideways when he used it as a pillow, mainly buried in the ground, and he put it up on end, no doubt with the help of his servants. In that case ‘took’ in verse 11 would simply mean ‘selected’.

Genesis 28:19

‘And he called the name of that place Bethel, but the name of the city was Luz at the first.’

Jacob names the place where he is ‘Beth-el’ (the house of God) but the closest city is called Luz. Its name was later changed to Bethel because of this incident. But the name is not static. Joshua 16:2 still distinguishes between Bethel and Luz, although they are clearly very close (Joshua 18:13). The use of Bethel earlier in Genesis is a result of scribal updating. It was not uncommon for ancient names to be updated when documents were copied. This constant changing or re-adaptation of names in Genesis reflects the gradual taking over of the land by the patriarchs.

Genesis 28:20-22

‘And Jacob vowed a vow saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothes to wear, so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then shall Yahweh be my God, and this stone which I have set up for a pillar shall be God’s house, and of all that you will give me I will surely give a tenth to you.” ’

Jacob makes a vow. If God will watch over him as He has promised (Genesis 28:15) then he will indeed be totally dedicated to Yahweh. The vow is threefold. Yahweh will be his God, the place where the stone has been erected will be a cult sanctuary to His worship, and he will give one tenth of all he receives to God.

We note that he says ‘if God will be with me’ where we might expect ‘Yahweh’. The terms were interchangeable. But he is going into a foreign land where Yahweh is not acknowledged and thus thinks in terms of ‘God’ going with him. But if the journey is successful then he will establish His worship as the worship of Yahweh, the God of his fathers. He is not saying that Yahweh will become his God but that he will be reconfirmed as his God.

The verse demonstrates that Jacob sees ‘Elohim’ as firmly equated to ‘Yahweh’. The idea of the reconfirmation of Yahweh as his God parallels other examples where a similar idea is in mind (e.g. Exodus 6:3).

“This --- pillar shall be ‘the house of God” (beth elohim).’ As men approach the pillar they will recognise the presence of God and will engage in worship because it signifies that God appeared there and made his covenant with man. But Jacob does not limit God to a stone. His vision alone has made clear to him the transcendence of God. As Genesis 28:19 demonstrates he calls the area as a whole Bethel.

“A tenth.” A recognised percentage given to one to whom one owes dues, as with Abraham to Melchizedek (Genesis 14:20). It was a principle recognised elsewhere in the Ancient Near East. He is acknowledging God as his overlord. The change from the third person to the first person in the last phrase reflects the depths of Jacob’s personal dedication.

It is quite probable that this section was put in written form immediately as a covenant document, either by himself or one of his men, a guarantee to Jacob that his future is secured by Yahweh.

Jacob’s vow brings home to us the importance of worship and measured Christian giving in response to the goodness of God.