Jacob’s ladder

Genesis 28: In which Jacob is sent on a journey to acquire a non-Canaanite wife, and dreams of a stairway to heaven.

Isaac, determined that Jacob shouldn’t marry a Canaanite wife, sends him to the house of Bethuel in Paddan-Aran. There he is to take as wife one of the daughters of Laban, his mother’s brother. Isaac blesses Jacob, and also bestows the patriarchal blessing on him:

May [God] give you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your offspring with you, so that you may take possession of the land where you now live as an alien – land that God gave to Abraham.

Esau meanwhile, seeing that Canaanite women displease his father, goes to Ishmael and takes one of his daughters, Mahalath, as wife.

What is interesting about the patriarchal blessing Jacob receives is that this time he receives it without any subterfuge. As the Notes say, here it seems as if Esau is not eligible because of his Hittite wives. He tries to rectify it by adding a wife from the patriarchal line, but he remains married to his first wives. Also, Ishmael’s lineage does not culminate in God’s chosen’s people. At any rate, now Rebekah and Jacob are blameless, and Esau is the black sheep, as opposed to the J story in Genesis 27.

So Jacob sets off to Haran, and along the way comes to a “certain place” (”place” also meaning “shrine” in Hebrew) where he sleeps. He has a dream in which he sees a great ladder reaching up to heaven, with angels going up and down it. God appears in the dream and gives him the patriarchal blessing in person, confirming that he is the next chosen patriarch. He is promised the land he lives in for himself and his children, that God will be with him and keep him forever, and that he will be brought back to the promised land, “for I will not leave you until I have done what I promised you”.

Upon awakening he takes the stone he had used as a pillow and sets it up as a pillar, anointing it with oil. He calls the place Bethel, the “house of God” (bet-el). He makes a vow of his own:

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 wear, so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God, and this stone, which I have set up as a pillar, shall be God’s house; and of all that you give me I will surely give one-tenth to you.

Points to ponder

It’s a bit strange that Jacob makes his vow conditional on God’s actions. In the dream God promised all those things Jacob now sets as conditions. It does remind me of something I heard a lot in my childhood – you’re not allowed to bargain with God: that is, “I will be good if you do this and that for me”. Maybe things are different for patriarchs. The Notes don’t indicate that anything is amiss with Jacob’s vow, so I guess it’s not meant that way. On the other hand, at this point his vow does make it seem as if there is a partnership between him and God, with both parties having to fulfil certain conditions.

The patriarchal line skips Esau and continues with Jacob. After this chapter it seems that the continuation of the patriarchal line is now unblemished by deceit – Jacob is chosen by God and Isaac, and Esau never had a chance.

Note

• “A similar stairway to heaven that gods traverse is known from Mesopotamian texts.” Ziggurats or temple towers “are also described as linking heaven and earth”. (Notes)

Image: Jacob’s Dream, by Giovan Battista Tiepolo (1696 – 1770)

~ by tamfuwing on July 2, 2008.