16 And Jacob awoke from his sleep, and said, Truly the Lord is present in this place; And I didn't know!

17 And he was afraid, and said, 'How terrible is this place!' it is none other than the house of God, it is the gates of heaven.

18 And Jacob arose early in the morning, and took the stone which he had laid for his head, and set it up as a monument, and poured oil on the top of it.

19 And he called the name of the place Bethel,27 and the former name of that city was Luz.

20 And Jacob made a vow, saying, If God be with me, and keep me in this way in which I go, and give me bread to eat, and clothes to clothe me,

21 And I will return in peace to my father's house, and the Lord shall be my God,

22 then this stone which I have set up as a monument shall be the house of God; and of all that You, O God, give me, I will give You a tenth.

27.34. Esau carelessly sells his birthright to his brother for lentil soup. In this way he ceases to be an heir of the promise. Jacob, on the other hand, believes in the power of the promise and seeks to become Abraham's successor at all costs. His faith, still crude and naïve, determines his election. 28.12. Jacob's dream symbolizes the connection between Heaven and earth. This bond will be realized in posterity and will be manifested in its entirety through the Incarnation (cf. John 1:51). The legend of Jacob's dream is read on the feasts of the Mother of God.

2. Jacob in Mesopotamia (Genesis 29-32, 21)

1 And Jacob arose, and went into the land of the children of the east.

2 And he saw, behold, there was a well in the field, and there were three flocks of flocks lying near it, for out of that well they were watering the flocks. Above the mouth of the well was a large stone.

3 And when all the flocks were gathered thither, they rolled away the stone from the mouth of the well, and watered the sheep; then they put the stone back in its place, at the mouth of the well.

4 And Jacob said unto them, My brethren! Where are you from? And they said, We are from Haran.

5 And he said unto them, 'Do ye know Laban the son of Nahor? They said, "We know."