The City of God · Chapter
Of Jacob’s mission to Mesopotamia to get a wife, and of the vision which he saw in a dream by the way, and of his getting four women when he sought one wife. explained
Jacob is sent by his parents to Mesopotamia to take a wife from the daughters of Laban, not from the Canaanites.
What happens
Jacob is sent by his parents to Mesopotamia to take a wife from the daughters of Laban, not from the Canaanites. His father Isaac blesses him with the blessing of Abraham, signifying that the seed of Jacob is the seed of the city of God, distinct from Esau. On the journey, Jacob dreams of a ladder reaching to heaven with angels ascending and descending, and the Lord standing above it, renewing the promise of land and blessing. Jacob anoints a stone as a memorial and names the place Bethel. Later, Jacob ends up with four women—Leah, Rachel, and their handmaids—and fathers twelve sons and a daughter, all without unlawful desire, solely for the purpose of multiplying offspring. Eventually, through Joseph, Jacob's family enters Egypt.
Themes in this chapter
Divine Providence and History
God's providential guidance of Jacob's journey and the fulfillment of the promise to Abraham through Jacob's seed.
True Worship and the One God
Jacob's anointing of the stone is not idolatrous but prophetic, pointing to Christ; the place is called Bethel, the house of God.
Characters to notice
- Jacob
Sent by his parents to Mesopotamia to take a wife; receives the blessing of Abraham and a prophetic dream of a ladder; fathers twelve sons and a daughter by four women.
- Isaac
Jacob's father, who blesses him and sends him to Mesopotamia to take a wife, conferring the blessing of Abraham.
- Abraham
Mentioned as the father whose blessing is passed to Jacob; his seed is the city of God.
- Jesus Christ
Referenced in the interpretation of Jacob's ladder: the angels ascending and descending upon the Son of man, and the anointing of the stone as a type of Christ.
Key passages
“And Jacob went out from the well of the oath, and went to Haran. And he came to a place, and slept there, for the sun was set; and he took of the stones of the place, and put them at his head, and slept in that place, and dreamed. And behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven; and the angels of God ascended and descended by it.”
Jacob left Beersheba and traveled toward Haran. At sunset he stopped at a certain place, used a stone for a pillow, and slept. In a dream he saw a ladder stretching from earth to heaven, with angels going up and down on it.
This dream is a theophany and a prophetic vision of the connection between heaven and earth, later interpreted by Christ as referring to Himself.
“And Jacob awoke out of his sleep, and said, Surely the Lord is in this place, and I knew it not. 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.”
When Jacob woke up, he realized that God was present in that place, though he had not known it. Filled with awe, he declared that this spot was the house of God and the entrance to heaven.
Jacob names the place Bethel, meaning 'house of God,' and his response shows reverence and recognition of divine presence.