Genesis 28:17 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”

NIV: He was afraid and said, 'How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.'

NASB: And he was afraid and said, 'How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!'

CSB: He was afraid and said, "What an awesome place this is! This is none other than the house of God. This is the gate of heaven."

NLT: But he was also afraid and said, 'What an awesome place this is! It is none other than the house of God, the very gateway to heaven!'

KJV: 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.

NKJV: And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!”

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.

Genesis 28:10–22 describes the Lord's appearance in a dream, given to Jacob while on the road to Haran in Mesopotamia, the region where Rebekah's brother Laban lives. Forced by nightfall to sleep on the ground with a rock for a pillow, Jacob dreams of a ladder, connecting earth to heaven, and full of angels going in both directions. Atop the ladder, the Lord stands and gives to Jacob the very promises He gave to Abraham. He also promises to be with Jacob on his journey from and back to the land of promise. Jacob wakes up and worships the Lord, vowing to make the Lord his God.

Isaac sends Jacob away from his household to find a wife in Mesopotamia, in Paddan-aram, where Rebekah's brother lives. First, though, he gives to Jacob the full blessing of the promises of Abraham. Esau marries one of the daughters of Ishmael to try to please Isaac. The Lord appears to Jacob in a dream, giving to him the promises of Abraham personally, along with the assurance that He will be with Jacob to Mesopotamia and back again. Jacob vows that if the Lord does this, he will make the Lord his God and will worship Him and tithe to Him.

The previous chapter concluded with Rebekah urging Jacob to run for his life to her brother's household in Mesopotamia to escape the wrath of Esau. Now Isaac, too, sends Jacob to Laban, except to find a non-Canaanite wife. Hearing this, Esau marries one of the daughters of Ishmael. On the road to Mesopotamia, the Lord appears to Jacob in a dream. God personally delivers the covenant promises of Abraham and assurances to be with Jacob. In awe and fear, Jacob renames the place Bethel, ''house of God,'' and vows to worship the Lord as his God. In the next chapter, Jacob will get a taste of his own deceptive medicine, as he seeks a wife.

The book of Genesis establishes fundamental truths about God. Among these are His role as the Creator, His holiness, His hatred of sin, His love for mankind, and His willingness to provide for our redemption. We learn not only where mankind has come from, but why the world is in its present form. The book also presents the establishment of Israel, God's chosen people. Many of the principles given in other parts of Scripture depend on the basic ideas presented here in the book of Genesis. Within the framework of the Bible, Genesis explains the bare-bones history of the universe leading up to the captivity of Israel in Egypt, setting the stage for the book of Exodus.

Accessed 5/2/2024 9:46:19 AM