Genesis 28:18

And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
Jacob	יַעֲקֹ֜ב ya.'a.Ko	H3290	Jaakob · proper noun, a man's name
early	וַיַּשְׁכֵּ֨ם vai.yash.Kem	H7925	literally · conjunction + verb, hiphil sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
morning	בַּבֹּ֗קֶר ba.Bo.ker	H1242	properly · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
took	וַיִּקַּ֤ח vai.yi.Kach	H3947	to take (in the widest variety of applications) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
stone	הָאֶ֙בֶן֙ ha.'E.ven	H68	a stone · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
put	שָׂ֣ם sam	H7760	to put (used in a great variety of applications · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
pillows	מְרַֽאֲשֹׁתָ֔יו me.ra.'a.sho.Tav	H4763	properly · noun, common feminine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
up	וַיָּ֥שֶׂם vai.Ya.sem	H7760	to put (used in a great variety of applications · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
pillar	מַצֵּבָ֑ה ma.tze.Vah	H4676	something stationed · noun, common feminine singular absolute
poured	וַיִּצֹ֥ק vai.yi.Tzok	H3332	properly · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
oil	שֶׁ֖מֶן She.men	H8081	grease · noun, common masculine singular absolute
it	רֹאשָֽׁהּ ro.Shah	H7218	the head (as most easily shaken) · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person feminine singular

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

Genesis 35:14 And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he talked with him, even a pillar of stone: and he poured a drink offering thereon, and he pour…
Genesis 31:13 I am the God of Beth-el, where thou anointedst the pillar, and where thou vowedst a vow unto me: now arise, get thee out from this land, and…
Genesis 31:45 And Jacob took a stone, and set it up for a pillar.
Leviticus 8:10-12 And Moses took the anointing oil, and anointed the tabernacle and all that was therein, and sanctified them.
Genesis 22:3 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood…
Genesis 35:20 And Jacob set a pillar upon her grave: that is the pillar of Rachel’s grave unto this day.
Numbers 7:1 And it came to pass on the day that Moses had fully set up the tabernacle, and had anointed it, and sanctified it, and all the instruments t…
Joshua 24:26-27 And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and took a great stone, and set it up there under an oak, that was by the sanctu…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 28:16–end

God manifested himself and his favour to Jacob when he was asleep and purely passive; for the spirit, like the wind, blows when and where he listeth, and God's grace, like the dew, tarrieth not for the sons of men, Mic 5:7. But Jacob applied himself to the improvement of the visit God had made him when he was awake; and we may well think he awaked, as the prophet did (Jer 31:26), and behold his sleep was sweet to him. Here is much of Jacob's devotion on this occasion. I. He expressed a great surprise at the tokens he had of God's special presence with him in that place: Surely the Lord is in this place and I knew it not, Gen 28:16. Note, 1. God's manifestations of himself to his people carry…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 28:18

Jacob set up a stone, etc.--The mere setting up of the stone might have been as a future memorial to mark the spot; and this practice is still common in the East, in memory of a religious vow or engagement. But the pouring oil upon it was a consecration. Accordingly he gave it a new name, Beth-el, "the house of God" (Hos 12:4); and it will not appear a thing forced or unnatural to call a stone a house, when one considers the common practice in warm countries of sitting in the open air by or on a stone, as are those of this place, "broad sheets of bare rock, some of them standing like the cromlechs of Druidical monuments" [STANLEY].

Adam Clarke on Genesis 28:18

And Jacob - took the stone - and set it up for a pillar - He placed the stone in an erect posture, that it might stand as a monument of the extraordinary vision which he had in this place; and he poured oil upon it, thereby consecrating it to God, so that it might be considered an altar on which libations might be poured, and sacrifices offered unto God. See Gen 35:14. The Brahmins anoint their stone images with oil before bathing; and some anoint them with sweet-scented oil. This is a practice which arises more from the customs of the Hindoos than from their idolatry. Anointing persons as an act of homage has been transferred to their idols. There is a foolish tradition that the stone set u…

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The Church Fathers

As for the oil that Jacob poured upon the pillar, he either had it with him or he had brought it out of the village. In the oil that he poured upon the stone, he was depicting the mystery of Christ who was hidden inside it.
— Ephrem the Syrian, COMMENTARY ON GENESIS 26:2

On the other hand the stone also had been erected and honored as a symbol of Christ and had been sprinkled with oil. The Immanuel was anointed by God the Father "with the oil of gladness above his fellows." Then he was raised from the dead, even though he had descended to death voluntarily. And that is, I believe, the meaning of erecting the stone.
— Cyril of Alexandria, GLAPHYRA ON Genesis, 4.4

Since he had been granted wonderful favors by way of the vision, [Jacob] wished to make the place memorable by a name and to keep the memory fresh for future ages. He set up the stone as a monument, poured oil on it (this, after all, was probably all he had with him, traveling as he was like this), and to the loving God he offered a prayer characterized by complete good sense.
— John Chrysostom, HOMILIES ON GENESIS 54.23

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

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…
Bolster — The Hebrew word kebir, rendered “pillow” in 1 Sam. 19:13, 16, but in Revised Version marg. “quilt” or “network,” probably means some counterpane or veil intended to protect the head of the sleeper. A…
Idol — (1.) Heb. aven, “nothingness;” “vanity” (Isa. 66:3; 41:29; Deut. 32:21; 1 Kings 16:13; Ps. 31:6; Jer. 8:19, etc.). (2.) ‘Elil, “a thing of naught” (Ps. 97:7; Isa. 19:3); a word of contempt, used of…
Pillar — Used to support a building (Judg. 16:26, 29); as a trophy or memorial (Gen. 28:18; 35:20; Ex. 24:4; 1 Sam. 15:12, A.V., “place,” more correctly “monument,” or “trophy of victory,” as in 2 Sam.…
Shechem — Shoulder. (1.) The son of Hamor the Hivite (Gen. 33:19; 34). (2.) A descendant of Manasseh (Num. 26:31; Josh. 17:2). (3.) A city in Samaria (Gen. 33:18), called also Sichem (12:6), Sychem (Acts…
Stone — Stones were commonly used for buildings, also as memorials of important events (Gen. 28:18; Josh. 24:26, 27; 1 Sam. 7:12, etc.). They were gathered out of cultivated fields (Isa. 5:2; comp. 2 Kings…
Stones — Besides the ordinary uses to which stones were applied, we may mention that large stones were set up to commemorate any remarkable event. (Genesis 28:18; 35:14; 31:45; Joshua 4:9; 1 Samuel 7:12) Such…
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;…
Anointing, Sacred · Antiquity of — Antiquity of
Beth-El · .The place where Jacob saw the vision of the lad — .The place where Jacob saw the vision of the lad

Genesis 28:18

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 28:16–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 28:18

Adam Clarke on Genesis 28:18

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Genesis 28:18

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 28:16–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 28:18

Adam Clarke on Genesis 28:18

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on Genesis 28:18

John Calvin on Genesis 28:18

Keil & Delitzsch on Genesis 28:18-19

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Genesis 28:18

Rashi on Genesis 28:17