What is the story of Jacob's ladder?

Answer 1

A:

Strange things happened at Bethel. In Genesis 12:8, Abraham had pitched his tent to the east of Bethel and built an altar. Later, in verse 13:3, he returned to Bethel and to the sacred altar. Yet in Genesis 28:11-22, his grandson Jacob slept in a certain place and dreamed of a ladder going up to heaven, where stood the Lord, who renewed his covenant with Abraham and Isaac. Jacob used a stone for a pillow and after waking put it on a pillar and poured oil on it. Then he named that place Bethel, but before then it had been called Luz.

The dream has symbolism at two levels. At the basic level, it symbolised God's renewal of his covenant. At a deeper level, it symbolised something about Israelite beliefs long before the coming of monotheism. It has long been known that there was a West Semitic deity named Bethel, associated with the veneration of sacred stones, thus the previous passages point to the city being named after the god Bethel. The Jewish Encyclopedia tells us that the worship of sacred stones constituted one of the most general and ancient forms of religion; but among no other people was this worship so important as among the Semites. Sacred stones are mentioned with great frequency in the Old Testament, with at least ten of these references associated with Jacob.

Answer 2

A:

Strange things happened at Bethel. In Genesis 12:8, Abraham had pitched his tent to the east of Bethel and built an altar. Later, in verse 13:3, he returned to Bethel and to the sacred altar. Yet in Genesis 28:11-22, his grandson Jacob slept in a certain place and dreamed of a ladder going up to heaven, where stood the Lord, who renewed his covenant with Abraham and Isaac. Jacob used a stone for a pillow and after waking put it on a pillar and poured oil on it. Then he named that place Bethel, but before then it had been called Luz.

It has long been known that there was a West Semitic deity named Bethel, associated with the veneration of sacred stones, thus the previous passages point to the city being named after the god Bethel. The Jewish Encyclopedia tells us that the worship of sacred stones constituted one of the most general and ancient forms of religion; but among no other people was this worship so important as among the Semites. Sacred stones are mentioned with great frequency in the Old Testament, with at least ten of these references associated with Jacob.