What does Genesis 28:17 mean?
Jacob, upon waking from a dream in which the Lord offered promises to be with him, and to extend to him the promises made to Abraham (Genesis 28:10–15), makes a powerful connection between God's holiness and the place where the dream took place. In the previous verse, Jacob exclaims that he did not know the Lord was in that place. Now he pronounces the place "awesome," calling it "the house of God" and "the gate of heaven." He will soon name the place "Bethel," which means "house of God."We're also told that Jacob is afraid. Such fear is a common and usually healthy response among people in the Bible who find themselves in the presence of God. Overwhelmed with God's power and holiness and a deep awareness of their own sinfulness and fragility, a worshipful fear emerges. In Jacob's case, that fear will provoke him to worship God by honoring the place at which God visited him.