From Dream to Real Life: Jacob at Bethel
For many modern Bible readers, the words “dream” and “vision” are equivalent, which is unsurprising as the Bible itself often uses these terms in parallel. But the two are not the same. While visions can be generated externally, dreams, however influenced, emerge from the dreamer’s subconscious. This is not merely a Freudian discovery; it stands to reason that the ancient Israelites understood that dreamers share a role in the formation of their own dreams. Of course, dreams can carry messages for the dreamer. But in such instances the message of a dream develops or focuses some hope, desire, or fear that already exists in the dreamer’s subconscious.
One of the most famous biblical dreams is the dream of Jacob, found in Gen 28:10-22. This dream is theologically important because in it Yahweh repeats a promise that he had made to Jacob’s grandfather and father, Abraham and Isaac, to greatly multiply and spread their descendants, making them a blessing to the peoples of the earth.[1] As with Jacob’s forbears, Yahweh’s promise comes early in Jacob’s story, well before Jacob has had the opportunity to earn Yahweh’s good will. Yahweh’s favor is not a reward for service, but instead is an undeserved gift.
The location of the dream, Bethel, is especially salient for Jacob’s Israelite descendants. The Old Testament references Bethel more than any city besides Jerusalem, and Bethel becomes a notorious place of idol worship. During the time of the divided monarchy, the border between the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah was between Bethel and Jerusalem. According to 1 Kings 12:26–30 the first king of Israel set up an idol in Bethel so that residents of the north might remain in the north to worship, rather than cross the border to get to Jerusalem (and perhaps remain there). Centuries later, the exemplary King Josiah of Judah captured Bethel and destroyed this idol.[2] The Israelites’ easy acceptance of Bethel as a place of worship and the attention that the author of Kings gives to Josiah’s treatment of the Bethel idol point to Bethel’s enduring legacy as a cultic site.
Genesis explains the origin of Bethel’s cultic significance by linking it to Jacob. Not only does Jacob experience his life-altering dream there, but later, Yahweh (called Elohim at this juncture) brings Jacob back to Bethel and commands him to build an altar and pillar so that Jacob and his descendants might always remember the place at which Jacob began to follow Yahweh.[3]
But at Genesis 28:12 we do not yet know how Jacob’s story will play out. At this point, Yahweh promises to make him great, just as Yahweh made similar promises to Abraham and Isaac, but the promise comes in Jacob’s dream. (Since Genesis does not tell us how Yahweh had communicated with Abraham and Isaac, we often assume that his mode of communication with them was more objective.) This raises the question: was the dream a bona fide message from Yahweh, or did it merely emerge from Jacob’s subconscious? While it is convenient to think that Yahweh’s appearance in the dream was entirely Yahweh’s doing, we cannot just assume this. We need to take a further look at the dream and its place in Jacob’s life.
Up to the point of his dream, Genesis gives no hint that to Jacob Yahweh is anything more than a theoretical abstraction. Yahweh and Jacob have not yet sought each other out. Of course, after we have read Jacob’s entire story we may conclude that at various points Yahweh has been working behind the scenes for Jacob’s benefit. Perhaps divine intervention played a part in enabling Jacob to acquire the birthright and blessing originally due his older brother Esau, and Yahweh may also have been involved in the drama that led to Jacob’s flight from his father’s household to the land of his uncle Laban. Some readers even detect traces of Jacob’s search for Yahweh in Genesis 25-27. But any contact whatsoever between Yahweh and Jacob existed outside of Jacob’s consciousness – if it existed at all. Jacob knows of Yahweh, of course: Yahweh had communicated personally with both Abraham and Isaac, so we expect that Jacob knows the history of Genesis 12–25. But hearing about God in history, even family history, is never the same as experiencing God’s presence for oneself.
In his dream Jacob sees a stepped structure rising from earth to heaven. Following the King James Version, English translations usually depict this as a “ladder” (the NIV’s “staircase” is an interesting exception). Most likely, Jacob sees something like a ziggurat, a pyramid structure common in ancient Mesopotamia with steps from bottom to top. (Keep in mind that throughout the period of time covered by the Old Testament, the residents of ancient Israel enjoyed substantial trade with its neighbors to the northeast, so the author of Genesis would have been familiar with Mesopotamian ziggurats.) The presence of angels ascending and descending marks Bethel as an axis mundi, a place at which earth meets heaven.
It is significant that in verse 13 Yahweh is close to Jacob when speaking with him, rather than atop the ziggurat. (Not all English versions agree, but this is the best way to understand the Hebrew grammar.) Heavenly declarations can be powerful, but this face-to-face message makes more of an impact. Verse 15 is especially relational: Yahweh promises to remain with Jacob no matter where he is, no matter what is going on in his life. Even though Jacob is on the run from his brother Esau who is intent on killing him,[4] Yahweh promises that Jacob will return to the land promised his family.
Jacob wakes up afraid (v.17) despite the non-threatening nature of Yahweh’s words and behavior. Within the scope of the Old Testament, this is a good sign, as the best of Yahweh’s servants become fearful when Yahweh speaks to them. Jacob’s fear tells us that he is taking his dream seriously enough to permit it to impact the course of his life.
As so often happens with dreams, the immediate relevance of this one is unclear. Broad promises are wonderful, but Jacob has immediate concerns: he is running for his life, estranged from his father’s household, unsure of acquiring even basic necessities. So Jacob names specific conditions that speak to his circumstances. He promises to serve and tithe to Yahweh if Yahweh will provide food and clothing and will restore him to his family. Jacob then marks his promise by setting up a matzebah (translated “pillar” by the NRSV). This likely required a mighty effort from Jacob, even superhuman strength, since the typical matzebah in the ancient Near East was often more than six feet tall![5]
It appears that after Jacob finds material security and is restored to the good graces of his family (especially his brother Esau) he keeps his promise to be a faithful servant of Yahweh. Genesis does not tell us specifically that Jacob tithed, but since Jacob is in Yahweh’s good graces from the time he returns to Bethel, we can be sure that Yahweh had no tithing complaint about Jacob. Jacob’s path to becoming the third of the patriarchs is different from those of Abraham and Isaac, but he is a worthy member of that trio.
Was Jacob’s dream given to him by Yahweh, was it created by his own subconscious, or was it a joint effort? That the text does not clarify this point should not surprise us: Old Testament authors frequently leave compelling questions unanswered (textual “gaps”) to get readers to think more deeply.[6] By retaining the mystery of the dream’s origin, this text is much more relatable to our own experience: while many of us have had dreams that we think may have come from God, we can never be 100% sure. Yet, like Jacob, we do get to control our response to our dreams. In the end, the origin of Jacob’s dream is of only minor importance. More critical is what he does the next day, making a commitment to serve Yahweh, and setting up a memorial to mark the occasion. Likewise, we too can respond to Yahweh’s call by taking steps to memorialize striking dreams and using them to renew our commitment to follow God.
[1] Gen 28: 13–15; see Gen 12:1–3 and 26:3–4)
[2] 2 Kgs 23:15
[3] Gen 35:1–15
[4] Gen 27:41–46
[5] Gerhard Von Rad, Genesis: A Commentary, Revised Ed., OTL (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1972), 285.
[6] The classic description of textual “gaps” in Old Testament narrative is explained by Meir Steinberg, The Poetics of Biblical Narrative (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1987), 186–229.
