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Genesis 28

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1 And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, saying: Take not a wife of the stock of Chanaan:

2 But go, and take a journey to Mesopotamia of Syria, to the house of Bathuel thy mother's father, and take thee a wife thence of the daughters of Laban thy uncle.

3 And God almighty bless thee, and make thee to increase, and multiply thee: that thou mayst be a multitude of people.

4 And give the blessings of Abrabam to thee, and to thy seed after thee: that thou mayst possess the land of thy sojournment, which he promised to thy grandfather.

5 And when Isaac had sent him away, he took his journey and went to Mesopotamia of Syria to Laban the son of Bathuel the Syrian, brother to Rebecca his mother.

6 And Esau seeing that his father had blessed Jacob, and had sent him into Mesopotamia of Syria, to marry a wife thence; and that after the blessing he had charged him, saying: Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Chanaan:

7 And that Jacob obeying his parents was gone into Syria:

8 Experiencing also that his father was not well pleased with the daughters of Chanaan:

9 He went to Ismael, and took to wife, besides them he had before, Maheleth the daughter of Ismael, Abraham's son, the sister of Nabajoth.

10 But Jacob being departed from Bersabee, went on to Haran.

11 And when he was come to a certain place, and would rest in it after sunset, he took of the stones that lay there, and putting under his head, slept in the same place.

12 And he saw in his sleep a ladder standing upon the earth, and the top thereof touching heaven: the angels also of God ascending and descending by it;

13 And the Lord leaning upon the ladder, saying to him: I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac; the land, wherein thou sleepest, I will give to thee and to thy seed.

14 And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth: thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and IN THEE and thy seed all the tribes of the earth SHALL BE BLESSED.

15 And I will be thy keeper whithersoever thou goest, and will bring thee back into this land: neither will I leave thee, till I shall have accomplished all that I have said.

16 And when Jacob awaked out of sleep, he said: Indeed the Lord is in this place, and I knew it not.

17 And trembling he said: How terrible is this place! this is no other but the house of God, and the gate of heaven.

18 And Jacob, arising in the morning, took the stone, which he had laid under his head, and set it up for a title, pouring oil upon the top of it.

19 And he called the name of the city Bethel, which before was called Luza.

20 And he made a vow, saying: If God shall be with me, and shall keep me in the way by which I walk, and shall give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on,

21 And I shall return prosperously to my father's house: the Lord shall be my God:

22 And this stone, which I have set up for a title, shall called the house of God: and of all things that thou shalt give to me, I will offer tithes to thee.

   

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Bethel

  
Fresco depicting Jacob's Dream in Palazzo Farnese, Caprarola

When Jacob had his famous dream, of a staircase leading to heaven, he named the place "Bethel," which is Hebrew for "the house of God."

That literal meaning is reflected in the spiritual meaning: The Writings tell us that "Bethel" represents the knowledge and understanding we can have about the Lord's divine love, the perfect love which He has for all of us, the perfect love which is His essence. When we know about the Lord's love and have some understanding of it, that gives it a "house" inside us, a way for it to grow inside us and affect our own loves.

In Genesis 28:17, Bethel signifies the Lord's kingdom in the lowermost order. (Arcana Coelestia 3720)

In Amos 3:14, Bethel signifies the divine good. (Arcana Coelestia 2832[10])

"Bethel" has the opposite sense later in the Old Testament, after Jeroboam set up golden calves there and made it a center of idol-worship. Then it represented worship springing from evil loves.

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Arcana Coelestia # 3697

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3697. Verses 12-15 And he dreamed, and behold, a stairway set up on the earth, and its top reaching to heaven; and behold, the angels of God going up and coming down on it. And behold, Jehovah was standing above it, and He said, I am Jehovah, the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac; the land on which you are lying I will give to you and to your seed. And your seed will be as the dust of the earth, and you will break forth towards the sea, and towards the east, and towards the north, and towards the south; and in you will all the families of the ground be blessed - and in your seed. And behold, I am with you, and will guard you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this ground; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken about to you.

'He dreamed' means foresight. 'And behold, a stairway set up on the earth' means a communication of lowest truth and of good derived from this truth. 'And its top reaching to heaven' means with the Divine. 'And behold, the angels of God going up and coming down on it' means an infinite and eternal communication and the consequent joining together - a going up, so to speak, from what is lowest, and after that, when order has been inverted, a coming down to it. 'And behold, Jehovah was standing above it' means the Lord at the highest point. 'And He said, I am Jehovah, the God of Abraham your father' means the Lord in whom that good originated. 'And the God of Isaac' means the Lord's Divine Human. 'The land on which you are lying I will give to you' means that the good on which the Natural rested was His own in origin. 'And to your seed' means truth also. 'And your seed will be as the dust of the earth' means that Divine natural Truth would be as natural good. 'And you will break forth towards the sea, and towards the east' means infinite extension of good, while 'and towards the north, and towards the south' means infinite extension of truth - thus every state of good and truth. 'And in you will all the families of the ground be blessed' means that all truths taught by doctrine which look to good will be joined to good. 'And in your seed' means and to truth. 'And behold, I am with you' means the Divine. 'And will guard you wherever you go' means Divine Providence. 'And will bring you back to this ground' means conjunction with doctrine that is Divine. 'For I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken about to you' means that nothing would be missing to prevent its actually happening.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.