1Isaac called Jacob, blessed him, and commanded him, "You must not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan. 2Arise, go to Paddan Aram, to the house of Bethuel your mother's father. Take a wife from there from the daughters of Laban, your mother's brother. 3May El Shaddai bless you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, that you may be a company of peoples, 4and give you the blessing of Abraham, to you, and to your descendants with you, that you may inherit the land where you travel, which God gave to Abraham." 5Isaac sent Jacob away. He went to Paddan Aram to Laban, son of Bethuel the Aramean, Rebekah's brother, Jacob's and Esau's mother.

6Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan Aram, to take for himself a wife from there, and that as he blessed him he gave him a command, saying, "You must not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan," 7and that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother, and left for Paddan Aram. 8Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan did not please Isaac, his father. 9Esau went to Ishmael, and took, besides the wives that he had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham's son, the sister of Nebaioth, to be his wife.

10Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran. 11He came to a certain place, and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. He took one of the stones of the place, and put it under his head, and lay down in that place to sleep. 12And he dreamed. And look, a stairway was set upon the earth, and its top reached to heaven. And look, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13And God stood above it, and said, "I am the God of Abraham your grandfather, and the God of Isaac. The land on which you are lying I will give to you and to your descendants. 14Your descendants will be as the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south. And through you and through your descendants will all the families of the earth be blessed. 15And look, I am with you, and will watch over you wherever you go, and will bring you again into this land. For I will not leave you, until I have done that which I have spoken of to you." 16Then Jacob woke up from his sleep, and said, "Surely God is in this place, and I did not know it." 17He was afraid, and said, "How awesome is this place. This is none other than God's house, and this is the gate of heaven."

18And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put under his head, and set it up as a standing-stone, and poured oil on top of it. 19He called the name of that place Bethel, though previously the city was named Luz. 20Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me, and will watch over me on this journey I am taking, and will give me food to eat, and clothing to put on, 21so that I come again to my father's house in peace, then he will be my God, 22then this stone, which I have set up as a standing-stone, will be God's house. Of all that you will give me I will surely give the tenth to you."