Berreshit 28:15-22 – Yaakov's vow after waking up from his great dream: On the run

Bereshit 28:15 record that when Yaakov was running away from Esav, he had a dream in the middle of the night in which G-d promised to watch over him and ensure that he would return safely to the land of Israel. 28:20-22 then records that Yaakov made a vow that if G-d would protect him and if he would return safely home, then he would make a “house of G-d.” Yaakov’s vow is surprising since it repeats some aspects of G-d’s promise in the dream. Why did Yaakov make this vow after he had already been promised the conditions of the vow?

Bereshit Rabbah 70:4 quotes two approaches to understanding the vow from R. Aibu and R. Jonathan. One opinion maintains that the narrative is recorded out of order, that really Yaakov made the vow before he heard the dream, while the other opinion suggests that Yaakov was worried that he would sin and then he would not be worthy of receiving the promises of the dream.

Abravanel proposes a third answer that because the promises were conveyed in a dream, Yaakov was not sure if the promises were a real prophecy or a regular dream that had no meaning. Thus, the conditions of the vow were to learn that the promises were a prophecy and not a dream.

There are two proofs for Abravanel’s approach. One, J.P. Fokkelman (1991, pp. 66,67) points out that in the morning Yaakov was attempting to recreate the dream. Yaakov built a masseva, pillar, 28:18, and not an altar, since in the dream the sullam was depicted as being musav towards the land, 28:12. Furthermore, Yaakov poured oil on the top of the masseva since in the dream the top of the sullam reached the heavens. These attempts to recreate the dream were to actualize it that it was not just a dream.

A second proof is that Yaakov really had two reactions to the dream. 28:16,17 record that Yaakov woke up immediately from this powerful dream and he stated that he was in a place of G-d. Afterwards, 28:18 records that he got up in the morning, built the pillar and made the vow. It seems that the dream startled Yaakov. He woke up in the middle of night immediately after hearing/ seeing the dream, and then he was sure that the dream was a true prophecy. However as it was nighttime, there was nothing for him to do, so he probably stayed awake for a while thinking about the dream. After several hours, he began to doze off, and then in the morning when he woke up a second time, he was no longer sure whether the dream was a true prophecy or just a regular dream. 

A possible reason why Yaakov was in doubt concerning the prophecy is because he doubted whether he was really worthy of receiving his father’s blessings. After he tricked his father and had to run away, he might have thought that really Esav was to be the chosen brother. The last element of the conditions of the vow was that G-d would be his G-d, 28:21. Yaakov was in doubt whether G-d accepted him, and hence the fulfillment of the conditions of the vow would tell Yaakov that he was truly the chosen brother and that G-d had accepted him.

Bibliography:

Abravanel, Yitzhak (1437-1508), 2007, Commentary on Bereshit, Jerusalem: Horev.

Fokkelman, J.P. 1991, Narrative Art in Genesis: Specimens of Stylistic and Structural Analysis, second Edition, JSOT Press.