Genesis 28:12 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Genesis 28:12
And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.
properly · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
ladder
סֻלָּם֙su.Lam
H5551
a stair-case · noun, common masculine singular absolute
up
מֻצָּ֣בmu.Tzav
H5324
to station · verb, hophal passive participle, masculine singular absolute
earth
אַ֔רְצָה'Ar.tzah
H776
the earth (at large · noun, common feminine singular absolute + directional suffix
it
וְרֹאשׁ֖וֹve.ro.Sho
H7218
the head (as most easily shaken) · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
reached
מַגִּ֣יעַma.Gi.a'
H5060
properly · verb, hiphil active participle, masculine singular absolute
heaven
הַשָּׁמָ֑יְמָהha.sha.Ma.ye.mah
H8064
the sky (as aloft · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute + directional suffix
angels
מַלְאֲכֵ֣יmal.'a.Khei
H4397
a messenger · noun, common masculine plural construct
God
אֱלֹהִ֔ים'E.lo.Him
H430
gods in the ordinary sense · noun, common masculine plural absolute
ascending
עֹלִ֥ים'o.Lim
H5927
to ascend · verb, qal active participle, masculine plural absolute
descending
וְיֹרְדִ֖יםve.yo.re.Dim
H3381
to descend (literally · conjunction + verb, qal active participle, masculine plural absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
John 1:51 And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending up…
Genesis 32:1-2 And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.
Numbers 12:6 And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto…
Job 33:15-16 In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed;
Genesis 15:1 After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great rewar…
Genesis 37:5-11 And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more.
2 Timothy 4:16-17 At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge.
Genesis 15:12 And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Genesis 28:10-15
We have here Jacob upon his journey towards Syria, in a very desolate condition, like one that was sent to seek his fortune; but we find that, though he was alone, yet he was not alone, for the Father was with him, Joh 16:32. If what is here recorded happened (as it should seem it did) the first night, he had made a long day's journey from Beersheba to Bethel, above forty miles. Providence brought him to a convenient place, probably shaded with trees, to rest himself in that night; and there he had,
I. A hard lodging (Gen 28:11), the stones for his pillows, and the heavens for his canopy and curtains. As the usage then was, perhaps this was not so bad as it seems how to us; but we should thi…
he dreamed . . . and behold a ladder--Some writers are of opinion that it was not a literal ladder that is meant, as it is impossible to conceive any imagery stranger and more unnatural than that of a ladder, whose base was on earth, while its top reached heaven, without having any thing on which to rest its upper extremity. They suppose that the little heap of stones, on which his head reclined for a pillow, being the miniature model of the object that appeared to his imagination, the latter was a gigantic mountain pile, whose sides, indented in the rock, gave it the appearance of a scaling ladder. There can be no doubt that this use of the original term was common among the early Hebrews;…
He dreamed, and behold a ladder - A multitude of fanciful things have been spoken of Jacob's vision of the ladder, and its signification. It might have several designs, as God chooses to accomplish the greatest number of ends by the fewest and simplest means possible. 1. It is very likely that its primary design was to point out the providence of God, by which he watches over and regulates all terrestrial things; for nothing is left to merely natural causes; a heavenly agency pervades, actuates, and directs all. In his present circumstances it was highly necessary that Jacob should have a clear and distinct view of this subject, that he might be the better prepared to meet all occurrences wi…
The Church Fathers
Jacob set out and slept—evidence of tranquility of spirit—and saw angels of God ascending and descending. This means he foresaw Christ on earth; the band of angels was descending to Christ and ascending to him, so as to render service to their rightful master in loving servitude.
Our father Jacob too prayed at Bethel and saw the gate of heaven opened, with a ladder going up on high. This is a symbol of our Savior that Jacob saw; the gate of heaven is Christ, in accordance with what he said, "I am the gate of life; every one who enters by me shall live for ever." David too said, "This is the gate of the Lord, by which the righteous enter." Again, the ladder that Jacob saw is a symbol of our Savior, in that by means of him the just ascend from the lower to the upper realm. The ladder is also a symbol of our Savior's cross, which was raised up like a ladder, with the Lord standing above it.
Listen and see the sublimity of the fact that Jacob asleep and the Lord leaning on the ladder prefigured Christ. Indeed, when our Savior in speaking of Nathanael had named blessed Jacob, he said, "Behold, an Israelite in whom there is no guile." Continuing, he said, "Presently you shall see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man." In the Gospels our Lord preached concerning himself what Jacob had seen prefigured in his sleep: "You shall see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man." If the angels of God were descending to the Son because he was on earth, how is it that those same angels were ascending to the Son of man except because he is in heaven? Therefore he himself was sleeping in Jacob, and from heaven he likewise called to Jacob.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Angel — A word signifying, both in the Hebrew and Greek, a “messenger,” and hence employed to denote any agent God sends forth to execute his purposes. It is used of an ordinary messenger (Job 1:14: 1 Sam.…
Bethel — House of God. (1.) A place in Central Palestine, about 10 miles north of Jerusalem, at the head of the pass of Michmash and Ai. It was originally the royal Canaanite city of Luz (Gen. 28:19). The…
Dream — God has frequently made use of dreams in communicating his will to men. The most remarkable instances of this are recorded in the history of Jacob (Gen. 28:12; 31:10), Laban (31:24), Joseph…
Ladder — Occurs only once, in the account of Jacob’s vision (Gen. 28:12).
Vows — Voluntary promises which, when once made, were to be kept if the thing vowed was right. They were made under a great variety of circumstances (Gen. 28: 18-22; Lev. 7:16; Num. 30:2-13; Deut. 23:18;…
Beth-El · .The place where Jacob saw the vision of the lad — .The place where Jacob saw the vision of the lad
Dream · .Of Jacob, concerning the lad — .Of Jacob, concerning the lad
Dreams · Mentioned in scripture of: Jacob — Mentioned in scripture of: Jacob
Gates · Illustrative: (Of heaven,) of access to God — Illustrative: (Of heaven,) of access to God
Jacob · His vision of the lad — His vision of the lad
Jews, The · Promises respecting made to: Jacob — Promises respecting made to: Jacob
And he dreamed,.... As he slept; not a common dream, but under divine direction and influence:
and, behold, a ladder set upon the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: denoting either the providence of God, and the various steps of it, bringing about his own glory and the good of his people; and which is steady, firm, and sure, and reaches to all things here on earth; and in an especial manner is concerned about the people of God, their protection and safety; and is directed and governed according to the will, counsels, and purposes of God in heaven; a view of which must be very encouraging to Jacob in his present circumstances: or else the incarnation and mediation of Christ, who in…
And he dreamed. Moses here teaches how opportunely, and (as we may say) in the critical moment, the Lord succoured his servant. For who would not have said that holy Jacob was neglected by God, since he was exposed to the incursion of wild beasts, and obnoxious to every kind of injury from earth and heaven, and found nowhere any help or solace? But when he was thus reduced to the last necessity, the Lord suddenly stretches out his hand to him, and wonderfully alleviates his trouble by a remarkable oracle. As, therefore, Jacob's invincible perseverance had before shone forth, so now the Lord gives a memorable example of his paternal care towards the faithful. Three things are here to be notic…
Jacob's Dream at Bethel. - As he was travelling from Beersheba, where Isaac was then staying (Gen 26:25), to Haran, Jacob came to a place where he was obliged to stop all night, because the sun had set. The words "he hit (lighted) upon the place," indicate the apparently accidental, yet really divinely appointed choice of this place for his night-quarters; and the definite article points it out as having become well known through the revelation of God that ensued. After making a pillow with the stones (מאשׁת, head-place, pillow), he fell asleep and had a dream, in which he saw a ladder resting upon the earth, with the top reaching to heaven; and upon it angels of God going up and down, and J…
The point of the vision was that God and his angels were with Jacob on his journey. God reiterated to Jacob the covenant promises made to Abraham and Isaac, promising him land, descendants numerous as the dust (cp. 13:16; 22:17), and universal blessing through him (cp. 12:2-3; 15:5, 18; 17:3-8; 22:15-18; 35:11-12). God also promised to be with Jacob and watch over him until he returned.
28:12-13 stairway (traditionally ladder): This word occurs nowhere else in Scripture. The imagery probably reminded readers of a staircase or ramp up the front of a ziggurat that signified communication between heaven and earth (see study note on 11:4). God initiated a divine communication between heaven and…
עלים וירדים ASCENDING AND DESCENDING — It states first ascending and afterwards descending! Those angels who accompanied him in the land of Israel were not permitted to leave the Land: they ascended to Heaven and angels which were to minister outside the Land descended to accompany him (Genesis Rabbah 68:12).
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
