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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, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD 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 in all places whither 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 the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not.
And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but 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 for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it.
And he called the name of that place Bethel: but the name of that city was called 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; then shall the LORD be my God:
And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.

New Defender's Study Bible Notes

28:12 reached to heaven. This was a theophany, the first of about eight Jacob would experience. It happened in the form of a remarkable dream. Jacob was assured of God’s intense interest and of his own key role in God’s plan. The great ladder with ascending and descending angels, bridging the gulf between earth and heaven, symbolized Christ Himself (John 1:51; 3:13; Ephesians 4:8-10), as well of assuring Jacob of his own access to God through prayer and obedience.


28:20 If God. The word “if” here should be read with the connotation of “since.” Jacob was not bargaining with God, as some think, but gratefully accepting God’s promised blessing as just outlined by Him (Genesis 28:13-15). He was reciprocating by vowing that the Lord would always be his God and that he would serve Him.


28:22 the tenth. This is the second reference to tithing in the Bible. Abraham had given tithes to Melchizedek, as God’s priest (Genesis 14:20), and Jacob evidently intended to do the same, although it is not clear at this stage in history just how this could be done, since the Aaronic priesthood had not yet been established. Jacob had built an altar here at Bethel (“the house of God”) as his first effort in this direction.


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