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Pentateuch · WORLD ENGLISH BIBLE

Genesis 28

Beginnings, creation, human rebellion, covenant, and the family of Abraham.

Old Testament

Genesis 28

1Isaac called Jacob, blessed him, and commanded him, “You shall not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan.

2Arise, go to Paddan Aram, to the house of Bethuel your mother’s father. Take a wife from there from the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother.

3May God Almighty bless you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, that you may be a company of peoples,

4and give you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your offspring with you, that you may inherit the land where you travel, which God gave to Abraham.”

5Isaac sent Jacob away. He went to Paddan Aram to Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob’s and Esau’s mother.

6Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan Aram, to take him a wife from there, and that as he blessed him he gave him a command, saying, “You shall not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan;”

7and that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother, and was gone to Paddan Aram.

8Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan didn’t please Isaac, his father.

9So Esau went to Ishmael, and took, in addition to the wives that he had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebaioth, to be his wife.

10Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran.

11He came to a certain place, and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. He took one of the stones of the place, and put it under his head, and lay down in that place to sleep.

12He dreamed and saw a stairway set upon the earth, and its top reached to heaven. Behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.

13Behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, “I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac. I will give the land you lie on to you and to your offspring.

14Your offspring will be as the dust of the earth, and you will spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south. In you and in your offspring, all the families of the earth will be blessed.

15Behold, I am with you, and will keep you, wherever you go, and will bring you again into this land. For I will not leave you until I have done that which I have spoken of to you.”

16Jacob awakened out of his sleep, and he said, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I didn’t know it.”

17He was afraid, and said, “How awesome this place is! This is none other than God’s house, and this is the gate of heaven.”

18Jacob 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 on its top.

19He called the name of that place Bethel, but the name of the city was Luz at the first.

20Jacob 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 clothing to put on,

21so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, and the LORD will be my God,

22then this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, will be God’s house. Of all that you will give me I will surely give a tenth to you.”

READ IN CONTEXT

Before applying this chapter

Beginnings, creation, human rebellion, covenant, and the family of Abraham. Read Genesis 28 within the complete Genesis overview, and use the contextual Bible reading guide before forming a personal application. Chapter divisions aid navigation, but the literary unit may begin earlier or continue into the next chapter.

Observe first

Mark repeated words, changes of speaker, commands, promises, contrasts, questions, and the relationship between paragraphs.

Apply responsibly

Distinguish description from command and immediate audience from later readers before forming a personal application.

TEXT-DERIVED READING NOTES

What to notice in Genesis 28

Genesis 28 contains 22 verses and about 568 words in this translation. These observations come from the chapter itself; they are prompts for close reading, not claims about its only possible meaning.

The opening movement

Verse 1 begins: “Isaac called Jacob, blessed him, and commanded him, “You shall not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan.” Ask what situation, voice, image, or argument this opening establishes for everything that follows.

The closing movement

Verse 22 closes: “then this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, will be God’s house. Of all that you will give me I will surely give a tenth to you.”” Compare the ending with the opening and note what changed, resolved, intensified, or remained open.

Vocabulary worth tracing

Recurring or prominent content words include will, jacob, place, isaac, wife, give. Follow where each word appears and whether its meaning shifts with the speaker or setting.

COMMON QUESTIONS

About Genesis 28

Which Bible translation is shown here?+

This page reproduces the World English Bible Protestant edition (WEBP), a modern-English translation dedicated to the public domain.

How should I cite a specific verse?+

Use the book, chapter, and verse—for example, Genesis 28:1—and name the World English Bible if the wording matters. Each verse number above is a direct anchor link.

Does the chapter number define the complete literary unit?+

Not always. Chapter and verse numbers were added for navigation. Check the paragraphs, scenes, poetic stanzas, or argument before and after this chapter.

A SMALL NEXT STEP

You do not have to have everything figured out.

Begin with one honest question, one passage read carefully, and one faithful next step.

Start with prayer