Genesis 28:10-17

The "ladder" (Genesis 28:12, Heb. sullam) evidently resembled a stairway or ramp. Some interpreters take it as an allusion to a ziggurat while others believe it refers to the slope or ascent of the mountain of Bethel. [Note: See C. Houtman, "What Did Jacob See In His Dream At Bethel?" Vetus Testamentum 27:3 (July 1977):337-51.]

"The ladder was a visible symbol of the real and uninterrupted fellowship between God in heaven and His people upon earth. The angels upon it carry up the wants of men to God, and bring down the assistance and protection of God to men. The ladder stood there upon the earth, just where Jacob was lying in solitude, poor, helpless, and forsaken by men. Above in heaven stood Jehovah, and explained in words the symbol which he saw. Proclaiming Himself to Jacob as the God of his fathers, He not only confirmed to him all the promises of the fathers in their fullest extent, but promised him protection on his journey and a safe return to his home (Genesis 28:13-15). But as the fulfillment of this promise to Jacob was still far off, God added the firm assurance, ’I will not leave thee till I have done (carried out) what I have told thee.’" [Note: Keil and Delitzsch, 1:281-82.]

Other visions of God’s heavenly throneroom appear in 1 Kings 22:19-22; Job 1:6-8; Job 2:1-3; Isaiah 6; Ezekiel 1; Zechariah 1:10; Zechariah 6:5; Revelation 4-5; et al. This was God’s first revelation to Jacob, and it came in a dream (cf. John 1:51). Other passages contain promises of the land (Genesis 12:7; Genesis 13:14-16; Genesis 15:18; Genesis 17:8; Genesis 24:7), but this one (Genesis 28:13-14) is closest in terminology to the one in chapter 13, which also features a Bethel setting.

Jacob was the second person in the Bible to hear the assurance "I am with you" (Genesis 28:15). Isaac was the first (cf. Genesis 26:3; Genesis 26:24). This was a promise that God later repeated to Moses (Exodus 3:12); Joshua (Joshua 1:5), Gideon (Judges 6:16), regarding Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23), and to all Christians (Matthew 28:20; Hebrews 13:5).

Perhaps God’s revelation surprised Jacob because he was preparing to leave the Promised Land (Genesis 28:16-17). He may have felt that God would abandon him since he was leaving the land that God had promised his forefathers.

The "house of God" (Genesis 28:17, Bethel) is the place where God dwells. The "gate of heaven" is the place where Jacob entered heaven (in his dream).

"The term ’fear’ is used in the Bible to describe a mixture of terror and adoration, a worshipful fear (cf. Exodus 19:16)." [Note: Ross, Creation and . . ., p. 491.]

"As Abraham’s vision anticipated narratives from the latter part of the Pentateuch, so Jacob’s vision anticipated the events which were to come in the next several chapters." [Note: Sailhamer, The Pentateuch . . ., p. 193.]