Albert Barnes Commentary Genesis 28:1-22

"And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan. Arise, go to Paddan-aram, to the house of Bethuel thy mother`s father. And take thee a wife from thence of the daughters of Laban thy mother`s brother. And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a company of peoples. And give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee. That thou mayest inherit the land of thy sojournings, which God gave unto Abraham. And Isaac sent away Jacob. And he went to Paddan-aram unto Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob`s and Esau`s mother. Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan-aram, to take him a wife from thence. And that as he blessed him he gave him a charge, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan. And that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother, and was gone to Paddan-aram. And Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan pleased not Isaac his father. And Esau went unto Ishmael, and took, besides the wives that he had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Abraham`s son, the sister of Nebaioth, to be his wife. And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba, and went toward Haran. And he lighted upon 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. And he dreamed. And behold, a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God ascending and descending on it. And, behold, Jehovah stood above it, and said, I am Jehovah, the God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac. The land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed. And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south. And in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee, whithersoever thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land. For I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of. And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely Jehovah is in this place. And I knew it not. And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. And Jacob rose up 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 upon the top of it. And he called the name of that place Beth-el. But the name of the city was Luz at the first. 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 raiment to put on, so that I come again to my father`s house in peace, and Jehovah will be my God, then this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God`s house. And of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee." — Genesis 28:1-22 (ASV)

קהל qâhāl — “congregation.”

מחלת māchălat — Machalath, “sickness, or a harp.”

לוּז lûz — Luz, “almond.”

The blessing of his sons was the last event in the active life of Isaac, after which he retired from the scene. Jacob now becomes the leading figure in the sacred history. His spiritual character has not yet fully come into view. But even now we can discern the general distinction in the lives of the three patriarchs: Abraham’s is a life of authority and decision, Isaac’s of submission and acquiescence, and Jacob’s of trial and struggle.

Concerning Genesis 28:1-5: Isaac has now become aware of Jacob’s real destiny. He therefore calls for him to bless him and give him a command. The command is to take a wife, not from Canaan, but from his mother's relatives.

The blessing comes from “God Almighty” (Genesis 17:1). It is the blessing belonging to the chosen seed, “the blessing of Abraham.” It embraces a numerous offspring, the land of promise, and all else that is included in the blessing of Abraham.

A congregation of peoples is mentioned. This refers to the word “congregation” (קהל qâhāl), which is afterward applied to the assembled people of God, and to which the Greek ἐκκλησία ekklēsia—“ecclesia,” corresponds.

Jacob complies with his mother’s advice and his father’s command. At the same time, he reaps the bitter fruit of his fraud against his brother in the hardship and treachery of a twenty-year exile. The aged Isaac is not without his share in the unpleasant consequences of attempting to go against the will of God.

Regarding Genesis 28:6-9: Esau is induced by his parents’ instruction to Jacob, Jacob’s compliance with their wishes, and their obvious dislike of the daughters of Canaan, to take Mahalath, a daughter of Ishmael, in addition to his former wives.

The phrase Went unto Ishmael means he went to the family or tribe of Ishmael, as Ishmael himself had been dead for thirteen years by then. Esau’s hunting and roving career had brought him into contact with this family, and we will soon find him settled in a neighboring territory.

The account in Genesis 28:10-22 covers Jacob’s dream and vow. Setting out on the way to Haran, he was overtaken by night and slept in the field. He was far from any dwelling, or perhaps he did not wish to enter a stranger's house. He dreams.

A ladder or stairway is seen reaching from earth to heaven, on which angels ascend and descend. This is a medium of communication between heaven and earth, by which messengers pass back and forth on errands of mercy. Heaven and earth have been separated by sin, but this ladder has re-established contact.

It is therefore a beautiful emblem of what mediates and reconciles (John 1:51). It serves here to bring Jacob into communication with God and teaches him the emphatic lesson that he is accepted through a mediator. The Lord stood above it, and Jacob, the object of His mercy, was beneath.

God reveals Himself to the sleeping Jacob in three ways:

1. He reveals Himself as “the Lord” (Genesis 2:4), the God of Abraham thy father, and of Isaac. It is remarkable that Abraham is called Jacob's father—that is, his actual grandfather and covenant father.

2. He renews the promise of the land, of the seed, and of the blessing in that seed for the whole human race. Westward, eastward, northward, and southward are they to break forth. This expression points to the worldwide universality of the kingdom of the seed of Abraham, when it will become the fifth monarchy that will subdue all that came before and endure forever. This transcends the destiny of the natural descendants of Abraham.

3. He then promises Jacob personally to be with him, protect him, and bring him back in safety.

This is the third announcement of the blessing seed to the third in the line of descent (Genesis 12:2–3; Genesis 22:18; Genesis 26:4).

In Genesis 28:16-19, Jacob awakes and exclaims, Surely the Lord is in this place, and I knew it not. He knew God's omnipresence but did not expect a special manifestation of the Lord in this location, far from his father's sanctuaries.

He is filled with solemn awe when he finds himself in what he calls the house of God and the gate of heaven. The pillar is the monument of the event. The pouring of oil on it is an act of consecration to God, who appeared to him there (Numbers 7:1).

He calls the name of the place Bethel, meaning the house of God. This is not the first time it received this name. Abraham also worshiped God here and encountered the name already existing (see commentary on Genesis 12:8; Genesis 13:3; Genesis 25:30).

Genesis 28:20–22 describes Jacob’s vow. A vow is a solemn engagement to perform a certain duty, the obligation of which is felt at the time to be especially binding. It partakes, therefore, of the nature of a promise or a covenant. However, it involves in its obligation only one party and is the spontaneous act of that party.

Here, then, Jacob appears to take a step in advance of his predecessors. Until now, God had taken the initiative in every promise, and the everlasting covenant rests solely on His eternal purpose. Abraham had responded to God's call, believed in the Lord, walked before Him, entered into communion with Him, made intercession with Him, and given up his only son to Him at His demand. In all this, there is an acceptance by the creature of the supremacy of the merciful Creator.

But now the spirit of adoption prompts Jacob to a spontaneous movement toward God. This is no ordinary vow, referring to some special or occasional resolve.

It is the grand and solemn expression of the soul’s free, full, and perpetual acceptance of the Lord to be its own God. This is the most frank and open utterance of newborn spiritual liberty from the human heart that has yet appeared in the divine record.

When Jacob says, If God will be with me, this is not a condition upon which he will accept God in a mercenary spirit. It is merely the echo and thankful acknowledgment of the divine assurance, I am with thee, which was given immediately before. It is the son's response to the Father's assurance: “Will you indeed be with me? You shall be my God.”

His declaration, This stone...shall be God’s house, establishes it as a monument to God’s presence among His people and a symbol of His Spirit's indwelling in their hearts. Its mention here signalizes the grateful and loving welcome and hospitality God receives from His saints.

Furthermore, Jacob vows, A tenth will I surely give unto thee. The honored guest is treated as one of the family. Ten represents the whole, so a tenth is a share of the whole. The Lord of all receives one share as an acknowledgment of His sovereign right to all. Here it is represented as the full share given to the King who condescends to dwell with His subjects.

Thus, Jacob opens his heart, his home, and his treasure to God. These are the simple elements of a theocracy—a national establishment of the true religion. The spirit of power, love, and a sound mind has begun to reign in Jacob.

As the Father is prominently manifested in the regenerate Abraham, and the Son in Isaac, so also is the Spirit in Jacob.