And a voice said, "I am the God of Abraham and of Jacob. I will give the land where thou liest to be a possession to thy children. I am with thee and will keep thee in all thy places, and bring thee again into thy land."
Then Jacob awoke. "This is God's place," he said, "and I knew it not. This is the House of God and the Gate of Heaven."
Then he took a stone and poured oil upon it and blessed it. "This place shall be called Bethel," he said; "Bethel, which means the House of God, for here God appeared unto me."
From Bethel Jacob went on to the land of his uncle Laban; and there he dwelt for many years, keeping the sheep.
But the time came when Laban looked with jealousy upon Jacob. The Lord came again to Jacob and bade him take his wife, Rachael, and his children and go back to Canaan. Jacob obeyed, and, driving his great flocks before him, he set out again for his old home.
JACOB WRESTLING WITH THE ANGEL.
As he neared the village of Seir, where Esau dwelt, he sent messengers ahead to tell Esau that he was returning, and to beg him to forgive the past that they might meet each other in brotherly love.
The servants came back and told him that Esau was coming to meet him with four hundred men. Then Jacob was in great fear, for he thought Esau meant to kill him.