Genesis 28:1-5·~1 min

Jacob’s Departure

Isaac blesses Jacob, forbids a Canaanite marriage, and sends him to Paddan-aram. He places on Jacob the promise of fruitfulness and the blessing first given to Abraham, and Jacob departs accordingly.

S¹o Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. “Do not take a wife from the Canaanite women,” he commanded. ²“Go at once to Paddan-aram, to the house of your mother’s father Bethuel, and take a wife from among the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother. ³May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, so that you may become a company of peoples. ⁴And may He give the blessing of Abraham to you and your descendants, so that you may possess the land where you dwell as a foreigner, the land God gave to Abraham.” ⁵So Isaac sent Jacob to Paddan-aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, who was the mother of Jacob and Esau.

Section summaryIsaac sends Jacob to his mother’s family to find a wife and speaks over him the blessing of Abraham. The departure is not only practical; it places Jacob’s journey under the promise of fruitfulness, peoplehood, and land.

Role in the chapterThis opening section resets Jacob’s flight as a covenant movement rather than a mere escape. It confirms that the family promise now rests on him and sends him toward the next stage of the story.