Genesis 26:23-29:1
While Isaac’s family was at Beersheba, Jacob stole Esau’s birthright, and Esau made plans to kill Jacob once his father had passed away. When Rebekah found out about Esau’s plan, she told Jacob to flee to her family in Paddan-aram (also called Aram-naharaim, meaning “Aram of the two rivers”) and garnered Isaac’s support by telling him that she was concerned that Jacob might marry one of the local Canaanite woman. So Isaac sent Jacob to Paddan-aram to find a wife there, much like Abraham had sent his servant Eleazar to this area to find a wife for Isaac (Genesis 24:10). Jacob left Beersheba and headed for Haran in Paddan-aram, and as night fell he stopped at a town called Luz. There he slept with his head resting on a stone and dreamed of a staircase to heaven with angels ascending and descending it. The Lord also spoke to him and reaffirmed his promise to give Canaan to his descendants. The Lord also promised to bring Jacob back to Canaan from Haran. When Jacob woke from his sleep, he declared the place to be the house of God and renamed it Bethel (meaning, “house of God”). Later Bethel appears to have served as an early location of the Ark of the Covenant in the Promised Land (Judges 20; see “The Ark of the Covenant in the Promised Land” map). From Bethel Jacob continued on to the general area of Haran, likely following the same route in reverse that he followed upon his return journey to Canaan from Haran (Genesis 31-35). Sometime before Jacob returned, however, Esau moved away from Canaan and settled in Seir (Genesis 32:3; 36:1-8; ; see “Edom and the Land of Seir” map).
