01 Gen-28 Yada Yada

#TorahLawofMoses #YadaYadaPauses #G

Author and Date:

Traditionally Moses
Dating unknown, traditionally during the Exodus period (circa 1440–1400 BC)

Audience:

Israelites

Setting and Main Storyline:

Setting: Jacob travels from Beersheba to Haran
Main Storyline: Isaac blesses Jacob and sends him to Haran to find a wife from Laban’s family. Jacob dreams of a ladder to heaven, and God renews the covenant promise made to Abraham.

Where and When:

Beersheba (modern-day southern Israel)
Haran (modern-day southeastern Turkey)
Time: Patriarchal period, approximately 2000 BC

Characters and People Groups

Symbolic Roles:

Deceiver: Jacob
"Abel": Jacob
Deceived: Isaac
"Cain": Esau
Savior: God

Genesis 28 Gen-28

← Genesis 27 | Genesis | Genesis 29 →

Isaac called
- Jacob,
  - blessed him,
  - and commanded him,
    - "You shall not take a wife
      - of the daughters
        
        of Canaan.
  - Arise,
    - 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.
  - May God Almighty bless you,
  - and make you fruitful,
  - and multiply you, ^[1]
    - that you may be a company of peoples, //Jacobiac Covenant//
  - and 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."
Isaac sent //northeast//
- Jacob away.
  - He went to Paddan Aram
    - to 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 there,
  - and that as he blessed him
    - he gave him a command, saying,
      - "You shall not take a wife
        
        of the daughters
        
        of Canaan;"
- and that Jacob
  - obeyed
    - his father
    - and his mother,
  - and was gone
    - to Paddan Aram.
Esau saw that
- the daughters
  - of Canaan
  - didn't please Isaac,
    - his father.
  - So 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.

Esau saw and took - Eden language

company of peoples 01 Gen-32 Yada Yada

Jacob went out
- from Beersheba,
- and went toward Haran.
- He 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.
  - He
    - dreamed
    - and saw
      - a stairway set upon the Earth,
      - and its top reached to Heaven.
      - Behold, the angels //Messenger// of God
        
        were ascending
        
        and descending on it.
      - Behold, Yahweh stood above it,
        
        and said, "I am Yahweh,
        
        the God of Abraham
        
        your father, //inheritance-symbolic, Isaac is natural father of Jacob//
        
        and the God of Isaac.
        
        I will give the land you lie on
        
        to you
        
        and to your offspring. ^[2]
        
        Your 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. ^[3]
        
        In you and in your offspring,
        
        all the families of the earth
        
        will be blessed. //"new" covenant with Jacob//
        
        Behold, ^[4]I am with you,
        
        and will keep you,
        
        wherever you go,
        
        and will bring you again ^[5]
        
        into this land.
        
        For I will not leave you
        
        until I have done
        
        that which I have spoken of
        
        to you."

Fulfillment of the blessing from Isaac.

New covenant made with Jacob

Sounds like: I will not leave nor forsake Deut-31#v6 and Heb-13#v5

Reaching into heaven in heaven, only one other structure described the same way - Gen-11#v4 Tower of Babel.

Jacob awakened
- out of his sleep,
- and he said,
  - "Surely Yahweh
    - is in this place,
      - and I didn't know it."
    - He was afraid, and said,
      - "How awesome this place is!
      - This is none other than ^[6]God's house, //Heaven//
      - and this is the gate of heaven."
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 on its top.
- He called the name of that place
  - Bethel,
    - but the name of the city
      - was Luz at the first.
- Jacob ^[7]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,
      - so that I come again
        
        to my father's house
        
        in peace,
    - and Yahweh will be my God,
  - then ^[8]
    - 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 ^[9]give a tenth 10
        
        to you."

The earliest biblical example of pouring oil. It foreshadows a practice of anointing objects to dedicate them to God, seen later in the Bible (e.g., Exodus 30:25-29, where oil is used to consecrate tabernacle items). Pouring oil on the stone signifies setting it apart as Holy.

Luz (almond or almond tree) renamed Bethel (House of God). This is the first record of a place being renamed.

This is the first mention of giving a tenth to Yah. In Genesis 14:20: Abraham gives a tenth of everything to Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of God Most High, after rescuing Lot and receiving a blessing.

Repeated Words

bless/blessed/blessing: 5
land: 5

Connections

Gen-12:1-3: God’s initial covenant with Abraham, promising land, descendants, and blessing, which is renewed with Jacob in Genesis 28:13-15.
Gen-13:14-17: God reiterates the promise of land and offspring to Abraham, paralleling the land promise to Jacob in Genesis 28:13-14.
Gen-15:5-7: God’s covenant with Abraham, emphasizing numerous descendants and the land, echoed in Genesis 28:3-4, 13-14.
Gen-24:3-4: Abraham instructs his servant to find a wife for Isaac from his own people, not Canaanites, similar to Isaac’s instruction to Jacob in Genesis 28:1-2.
Gen-26:2-5: God renews the covenant with Isaac, promising land and descendants, akin to the promise to Jacob in Genesis 28:13-15.
Gen-35:1-15: God commands Jacob to return to Bethel, where he reaffirms the covenant and renames Jacob as Israel, directly connecting to the Bethel event in Genesis 28:16-22.
Deut-26:5: Refers to Jacob as a “wandering Aramean,” relating to his journey to Haran in Genesis 28:10.
Hos-12:12: Mentions Jacob’s flight to Aram (Haran) and his service for a wife, referencing the events following Genesis 28:10.
John-01:51: Jesus references Jacob’s ladder (Genesis 28:12), describing angels ascending and descending on the Son of Man, connecting the dream to Christ.

← Genesis 27 | Genesis | Genesis 29 →

Connections

01 Gen-24 Yada Yada#Setting

Key Concepts

Abrahamic A company of peoples, blessing of Isaac to Jacob ↩︎
Jacobiac Yah-God is making this covenant directly with Jacob now. ↩︎
Blessing Yah says in Jacob and his offspring all the families of the earth will be blessed. ↩︎
Favor Yah-God will keep Jacob and bring him into the land again. ↩︎
Inheritance Yah reiterates the inheritance of the land and offspring. ↩︎
Idiom The phrases “house of God” and “gate of heaven” are idiomatic, signifying a sacred place of divine encounter. ↩︎
Jacobiac Jacob has accepted the covenant Yah-God has offered. ↩︎
Idiom - Setting up a pillar was a cultural practice but also idiomatically represented a memorial or commitment to God, symbolizing a covenantal agreement. ↩︎
Offerings Jacob vows to give a tenth to God. ↩︎