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We have here, I. Jacob parting with his parents, to go to Padanaram; the charge his father gave him (Gen 28:1, Gen 28:2), the blessing he sent him away with (Gen 28:3, Gen 28:4), his obedience to the orders given him (Gen 28:5, Gen 28:10), and the influence this had upon Esau (Gen 28:6-9). II. Jacob meeting with God, and his communion with him by the way. And there, 1. his vision of the ladder (Gen 28:11, Gen 28:12). 2. The gracious promises God made him (Gen 28:13-15). 3. The impression this made upon him (Gen 28:16-19). 4. The vow he made to God, upon this occasion (Gen 28:20, etc.).

INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS 28 In this chapter an account is given of the charge Isaac gave to Jacob not to marry a Canaanitess, but to go to Padanaram, and take a wife from his mother's family, and of his blessing him before he sent him away, Gen 28:1; of the notice that Esau took of this blessing and charge, which led him to take a wife of the family of Ishmael, Gen 28:6; of the dream of the ladder, which Jacob had in his way to Haran, Gen 28:10; of the blessing which God conferred upon him there, Gen 28:13; of the awfulness of the place upon his awaking, and of his erecting a pillar in it, and giving a name to it, Gen 28:16; and of the vow he made to God, should he be supplied with the necessaries of life, and be kept in safety by him, Gen 28:20.

And Jacob vowed a vow,.... Which is the first vow we read of in Scripture: saying, if God will be with me; the word if is not a sign of doubting, but is either an adverb of time, and may be rendered, "when God shall be with me" (t); or as a supposition, expressive of an inference or conclusion drawn, "seeing God will be with me" (u); which he had the utmost reason to believe he would, since he had not only promised it, but had so lately granted him his presence in a very singular and remarkable manner, referring to the promise of God, Gen 28:15, and will keep me in this way that I go; as he had said he would, and as hitherto he had, and for the future he had reason to believe he still would: and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on; which is included in that clause, "I will not leave thee", &c. Gen 28:15, even not without food and raiment; which is all men can desire or use, and therefore with them should be content. (t) "quum", Junius & Tremellius; so Ainsworth. (u) Quandoquidem, Tigurine version.

Isaac directs Jacob to take a wife from the family of Laban, Gen 28:1, Gen 28:2; blesses and sends him away, Gen 28:3, Gen 28:4. Jacob begins his journey, Gen 28:5. Esau, perceiving that the daughters of Canaan were not pleasing to his parents, and that Jacob obeyed them in going to get a wife of his own kindred, Gen 28:6-8, went and took to wife Mahalath, the daughter of Ishmael his father's brother, Gen 28:9. Jacob, in his journey towards Haran, came to a certain place, (Luz, Gen 28:19), where he lodged all night, Gen 28:10, Gen 28:11. He sees in a dream a ladder reaching from earth to heaven, on which he beholds the angels of God ascending and descending, Gen 28:12. God appears above this ladder, and renews those promises which he had made to Abraham and to Isaac, Gen 28:13, Gen 28:14; promises Jacob personal protection and a safe return to his own country, Gen 28:15. Jacob awakes, and makes reflections upon his dream, Gen 28:16, Gen 28:17. Sets up one of the stones he had for his pillow, and pours oil on it, and calls the place Beth-el, Gen 28:18, Gen 28:19. Makes a vow that if God will preserve him in his journey, and bring him back in safety, the stone should be God's house, and that he would give him the tenths of all that he should have, Gen 28:20-22.

Vowed a vow - A vow is a solemn, holy promise, by which a man bound himself to do certain things in a particular way, time, etc., and for power to accomplish which he depended on God; hence all vows were made with prayer. If God will be with me, etc. - Jacob seems to make this vow rather for his posterity than for himself, as we may learn from Gen 28:13-15; for he particularly refers to the promises which God had made to him, which concerned the multiplication of his offspring, and their establishment in that land. If, then, God shall fulfill these promises, he binds his posterity to build God a house, and to devote for the maintenance of his worship the tenth of all their earthly goods. This mode of interpretation removes that appearance of self-interest which almost any other view of the subject presents. Jacob had certainly, long ere this, taken Jehovah for his God; and so thoroughly had he been instructed in the knowledge of Jehovah, that we may rest satisfied no reverses of fortune could have induced him to apostatize: but as his taking refuge with Laban was probably typical of the sojourning of his descendants in Egypt, his persecution, so as to be obliged to depart from Laban, the bad treatment of his posterity by the Egyptians, his rescue from death, preservation on his journey, re-establishment in his own country, etc., were all typical of the exodus of his descendants, their travels in the desert, and establishment in the promised land, where they built a house to God, and where, for the support and maintenance of the pure worship of God, they gave to the priests and Levites the tenth of all their worldly produce. If all this be understood as referring to Jacob only, the Scripture gives us no information how he performed his vow.

JACOB'S DEPARTURE. (Gen. 28:1-19) Isaac called Jacob and blessed him--He entered fully into Rebekah's feelings, and the burden of his parting counsel to his son was to avoid a marriage alliance with any but the Mesopotamian branch of the family. At the same time he gave him a solemn blessing--pronounced before unwittingly, now designedly, and with a cordial spirit. It is more explicitly and fully given, and Jacob was thus acknowledged "the heir of the promise."

JACOB'S VOW. (Gen 28:20-22) Jacob vowed a vow--His words are not to be considered as implying a doubt, far less as stating the condition or terms on which he would dedicate himself to God. Let "if" be changed into "since," and the language will appear a proper expression of Jacob's faith--an evidence of his having truly embraced the promise. How edifying often to meditate on Jacob at Beth-el. Next: Genesis Chapter 29

Lastly, Jacob made a vow: that if God would give him the promised protection on his journey, and bring him back in safety to his father's house, Jehovah should be his God (והיה in Gen 28:21 commences the apodosis), the stone which he had set up should be a house of God, and Jehovah should receive a tenth of all that He gave to him. It is to be noticed here, that Elohim is used in the protasis instead of Jehovah, as constituting the essence of the vow: if Jehovah, who had appeared to him, proved Himself to be God by fulfilling His promise, then he would acknowledge and worship Him as his God, by making the stone thus set up into a house of God, i.e., a place of sacrifice, and by tithing all his possessions. With regard to the fulfilment of this vow, we learn from Gen 35:7 that Jacob built an altar, and probably also dedicated the tenth to God, i.e., offered it to Jehovah; or, as some have supposed, applied it partly to the erection and preservation of the altar, and partly to burnt and thank-offerings combined with sacrificial meals, according to the analogy of Deu 14:28-29 (cf. Gen 31:54; Gen 46:1).