Genesis 28:12

Bible in Basic English (1941)

And he had a dream, and in his dream he saw steps stretching from earth to heaven, and the angels of God were going up and down on them.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

וֽ͏ַיַּחֲלֹ֗ם וְהִנֵּ֤ה סֻלָּם֙ מֻצָּ֣ב אַ֔רְצָה וְרֹאשׁ֖וֹ מַגִּ֣יעַ הַשָּׁמָ֑יְמָה וְהִנֵּה֙ מַלְאֲכֵ֣י אֱלֹהִ֔ים עֹלִ֥ים וְיֹרְדִ֖ים בּֽוֹ

Transliteration

wə-yaḥălōm and-behold sullām muṣṣāb ʾarṣâ wə-rōʾšô maggîaʿ haššāmāyəmâ and-behold malʾăkê ʾĕlōhîm ʿōlîm wə-yōrədîm in-him

Grammar Details

• *wə-yaḥălōm*: waw consecutive + qal imperfect 3rd masculine singular - and he dreamed
• *sullām*: noun, masculine singular - ladder/stairway
• *muṣṣāb*: hophal participle masculine singular - set up/stationed
• *ʾarṣâ*: noun, feminine singular + directional heh - to the earth
• *wə-rōʾšô*: waw conjunction + noun, masculine singular + 3rd masculine singular suffix - and its top
• *maggîaʿ*: hiphil participle masculine singular - reaching
• *haššāmāyəmâ*: noun, masculine dual + definite article + directional heh - to the heavens
• *malʾăkê*: noun, masculine plural construct - messengers/angels of
• *ʾĕlōhîm*: noun, masculine plural - God
• *ʿōlîm*: qal participle masculine plural - ascending
• *wə-yōrədîm*: waw conjunction + qal participle masculine plural - and descending
• *bô*: preposition + 3rd masculine singular suffix - on it

Word Meanings

• *yaḥălōm*: dreamed/had a dream
• *sullām*: ladder/stairway/ramp
• *muṣṣāb*: set up/erected/placed/stationed
• *ʾarṣâ*: earthward/to the ground/on the earth
• *rōʾšô*: its top/its head/its upper end
• *maggîaʿ*: reaching/touching/extending to
• *haššāmāyəmâ*: heavenward/to the sky/to the heavens
• *malʾăkê*: messengers/angels/divine beings
• *ʾĕlōhîm*: God/divine beings (plural form with singular meaning)
• *ʿōlîm*: ascending/going up
• *yōrədîm*: descending/going down

Referenced Verses

• John 1:51 : 51 And he said to him, Truly I say to you all, You will see heaven opening and God's angels going up and coming down on the Son of man.
• Num 12:6 : 6 And he said, Now give ear to my words: if there is a prophet among you I will give him knowledge of myself in a vision and will let my words come to him in a dream.
• Gen 20:3 : 3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream in the night, and said to him, Truly you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken; for she is a man's wife.
• Job 33:15-16 : 15 In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep comes on men, while they take their rest on their beds; 16 Then he makes his secrets clear to men, so that they are full of fear at what they see;
• Isa 41:10 : 10 Have no fear, for I am with you; do not be looking about in trouble, for I am your God; I will give you strength, yes, I will be your helper; yes, my true right hand will be your support.
• Dan 2:1-9 : 1 In the second year of the rule of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; and his spirit was troubled and his sleep went from him. 2 Then the king gave orders that the wonder-workers, and the users of secret arts, and those who made use of evil powers, and the Chaldaeans, were to be sent for to make clear to the king his dreams. So they came and took their places before the king. 3 And the king said to them, I have had a dream, and my spirit is troubled by the desire to have the dream made clear to me. 4 Then the Chaldaeans said to the king in the Aramaean language, O King, have life for ever: give your servants an account of your dream, and we will make clear to you the sense of it. 5 The king made answer and said to the Chaldaeans, This is my decision: if you do not make clear to me the dream and the sense of it, you will be cut in bits and your houses made waste. 6 But if you make clear the dream and the sense of it, you will have from me offerings and rewards and great honour: so make clear to me the dream and the sense of it. 7 A second time they said in answer, Let the king give his servants an account of his dream, and we will make clear the sense. 8 The king made answer and said, I am certain that you are attempting to get more time, because you see that my decision is fixed; 9 That if you do not make my dream clear to me there is only one fate for you: for you have made ready false and evil words to say before me till the times are changed: so give me an account of the dream, and I will be certain that you are able to make the sense of it clear. 10 Then the Chaldaeans said to the king in answer, There is not a man on earth able to make clear the king's business; for no king, however great his power, has ever made such a request to any wonder-worker or user of secret arts or Chaldaean. 11 The king's request is a very hard one, and there is no other who is able to make it clear to the king, but the gods, whose living-place is not with flesh. 12 Because of this the king was angry and full of wrath, and gave orders for the destruction of all the wise men of Babylon. 13 So the order went out that the wise men were to be put to death; and they were looking for Daniel and his friends to put them to death. 14 Then Daniel gave an answer with wisdom and good sense to Arioch, the captain of the king's armed men, who had gone out to put to death the wise men of Babylon; 15 He made answer and said to Arioch, O captain of the king, why is the king's order so cruel? Then Arioch gave Daniel an account of the business. 16 And Daniel went in and made a request to the king to give him time and he would make clear the sense of his dream to the king. 17 And Daniel went to his house and gave his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah the news: 18 So that they might make a request for the mercy of the God of heaven in the question of this secret; so that Daniel and his friends might not come to destruction with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. 19 Then the secret was made clear to Daniel in a vision of the night. And Daniel gave blessing to the God of heaven. 20 And Daniel said in answer, May the name of God be praised for ever and ever: for wisdom and strength are his: 21 By him times and years are changed: by him kings are taken away and kings are lifted up: he gives wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to those whose minds are awake: 22 He is the unveiler of deep and secret things: he has knowledge of what is in the dark, and the light has its living-place with him. 23 I give you praise and worship, O God of my fathers, who have given me wisdom and strength, and have now made clear to me what we were requesting from you: for you have given us knowledge of the king's business. 24 For this reason Daniel went to Arioch, to whom the king had given orders for the destruction of the wise men of Babylon, and said to him, Do not put to death the wise men of Babylon: take me in before the king and I will make clear to him the sense of the dream. 25 Then Arioch quickly took Daniel in before the king, and said to him, Here is a man from among the prisoners of Judah, who will make clear to the king the sense of the dream. 26 The king made answer and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Are you able to make clear to me the dream which I saw and its sense? 27 Then Daniel said in answer to the king, No wise men, or users of secret arts, or wonder-workers, or readers of signs, are able to make clear to the king the secret he is searching for; 28 But there is a God in heaven, the unveiler of secrets, and he has given to King Nebuchadnezzar knowledge of what will take place in the last days. Your dreams and the visions of your head on your bed are these: 29 As for you, O King, the thoughts which came to you on your bed were of what will come about after this: and the unveiler of secrets has made clear to you what is to come. 30 As for me, this secret is not made clear to me because of any wisdom which I have more than any living man, but in order that the sense of the dream may be made clear to the king, and that you may have knowledge of the thoughts of your heart. 31 You, O King, were looking, and a great image was there. This image, which was very great, and whose glory was very bright, was placed before you: its form sent fear into the heart. 32 As for this image, its head was made of the best gold, its breast and its arms were of silver, its middle and its sides were of brass, 33 Its legs of iron, its feet were in part of iron and in part of potter's earth. 34 While you were looking at it, a stone was cut out, but not by hands, and it gave the image a blow on its feet, which were of iron and earth, and they were broken in bits. 35 Then the iron and the earth, the brass and the silver and the gold, were smashed together, and became like the dust on the floors where grain is crushed in summer; and the wind took them away so that no sign of them was to be seen: and the stone which gave the image a blow became a great mountain, covering all the earth. 36 This is the dream; and we will make clear to the king the sense of it. 37 You, O King, king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the strength, and the glory, 38 Wherever the children of men are living; into whose hands he has given the beasts of the field and the birds of heaven, and has made you ruler over them all, you are the head of gold. 39 And after you another kingdom, lower than you, will come to power; and a third kingdom, of brass, ruling over all the earth. 40 And the fourth kingdom will be strong as iron: because, as all things are broken and overcome by iron, so it will have the power of crushing and smashing down all the earth. 41 And as you saw the feet and toes, part of potter's work and part of iron, there will be a division in the kingdom; but there will be some of the strength of iron in it, because you saw the iron mixed with the potter's earth. 42 And as the toes of the feet were in part of iron and in part of earth, so part of the kingdom will be strong and part of it will readily be broken. 43 And as you saw the iron mixed with earth, they will give their daughters to one another as wives: but they will not be united one with another, even as iron is not mixed with earth. 44 And in the days of those kings, the God of heaven will put up a kingdom which will never come to destruction, and its power will never be given into the hands of another people, and all these kingdoms will be broken and overcome by it, but it will keep its place for ever. 45 Because you saw that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that by it the iron and the brass and the earth and the silver and the gold were broken to bits, a great God has given the king knowledge of what is to take place in the future: the dream is fixed, and its sense is certain. 46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar, falling down on his face, gave worship to Daniel, and gave orders for an offering and spices to be given to him; 47 And the king made answer to Daniel and said, Truly, your God is a God of gods and a Lord of kings, and an unveiler of secrets, for you have been able to make this secret clear. 48 Then the king made Daniel great, and gave him offerings in great number, and made him ruler over all the land of Babylon, and chief over all the wise men of Babylon. 49 And at Daniel's request, the king gave Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego authority over the business of the land of Babylon: but Daniel was kept near the king's person.
• Dan 4:1-9 : 1 Nebuchadnezzar the king, to all the peoples, nations, and languages living in all the earth: May your peace be increased. 2 It has seemed good to me to make clear the signs and wonders which the Most High God has done with me. 3 How great are his signs! and how full of power are his wonders! his kingdom is an eternal kingdom and his rule goes on from generation to generation. 4 I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at rest in my place, and all things were going well for me in my great house: 5 I saw a dream which was a cause of great fear to me; I was troubled by the images of my mind on my bed, and by the visions of my head. 6 And I gave orders for all the wise men of Babylon to come in before me so that they might make clear to me the sense of my dream. 7 Then the wonder-workers, the users of secret arts, the Chaldaeans, and the readers of signs came in to me: and I put the dream before them but they did not make clear the sense of it to me. 8 But at last Daniel came in before me, he whose name was Belteshazzar, after the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods: and I put the dream before him, saying, 9 O Belteshazzar, master of the wonder-workers, because I am certain that the spirit of the holy gods is in you, and you are troubled by no secret; this is the dream which I saw: make clear to me its sense. 10 On my bed I saw a vision: there was a tree in the middle of the earth, and it was very high. 11 And the tree became tall and strong, stretching up to heaven, and to be seen from the ends of the earth: 12 Its leaves were fair and it had much fruit, and in it was food enough for all: the beasts of the field had shade under it, and the birds of heaven were resting in its branches, and it gave food to all living things. 13 In the visions of my head on my bed I saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven, 14 Crying out with a loud voice; and this is what he said: Let the tree be cut down and its branches broken off; let its leaves be taken off and its fruit sent in every direction: let the beasts get away from under it and the birds from its branches: 15 But keep its broken end and its roots still in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass; let him have the young grass of the field for food, and let him be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his part be with the beasts. 16 Let his heart be changed from that of a man, and the heart of a beast be given to him; and let seven times go by him. 17 This order is fixed by the watchers, and the decision is by the word of the holy ones: so that the living may be certain that the Most High is ruler over the kingdom of men, and gives it to any man at his pleasure, lifting up over it the lowest of men. 18 This dream I, King Nebuchadnezzar, saw; and do you, O Belteshazzar, make clear the sense of it, for all the wise men of my kingdom are unable to make the sense of it clear to me; but you are able, for the spirit of the holy gods is in you. 19 Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was at a loss for a time, his thoughts troubling him. The king made answer and said, Belteshazzar, do not be troubled by the dream or by the sense of it. Belteshazzar, answering, said, My lord, may the dream be about your haters, and its sense about those who are against you. 20 The tree which you saw, which became tall and strong, stretching up to heaven and seen from the ends of the earth; 21 Which had fair leaves and much fruit, and had in it food for all; under which the beasts of the field were living, and in the branches of which the birds of heaven had their resting-places: 22 It is you, O King, who have become great and strong: for your power is increased and stretching up to heaven, and your rule to the end of the earth. 23 And as for the vision which the king saw of a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven, saying, Let the tree be cut down and given to destruction; 24 This is the sense of it, O King, and it is the decision of the Most High which has come on my lord the king: 25 That they will send you out from among men, to be with the beasts of the field; they will give you grass for your food like the oxen, and you will be wet with the dew of heaven, and seven times will go by you, till you are certain that the Most High is ruler in the kingdom of men, and gives it to any man at his pleasure. 26 And as they gave orders to let the broken end and the roots of the tree be, so your kingdom will be safe for you after it is clear to you that the heavens are ruling. 27 For this cause, O King, let my suggestion be pleasing to you, and let your sins be covered by righteousness and your evil-doing by mercy to the poor, so that the time of your well-being may be longer. 28 All this came to King Nebuchadnezzar. 29 At the end of twelve months he was walking on the roof of his great house in Babylon. 30 The king made answer and said, Is this not great Babylon, which I have made for the living-place of kings, by the strength of my power and for the glory of my honour? 31 While the word was still in the king's mouth, a voice came down from heaven, saying, O King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is said: The kingdom has gone from you: 32 And they will send you out from among men, to be with the beasts of the field; they will give you grass for your food like the oxen, and seven times will go by you, till you are certain that the Most High is ruler in the kingdom of men, and gives it to any man at his pleasure. 33 That very hour the order about Nebuchadnezzar was put into effect: and he was sent out from among men, and had grass for his food like the oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hair became long as eagles' feathers and his nails like those of birds. 34 And at the end of the days, I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifting up my eyes to heaven, got back my reason, and, blessing the Most High, I gave praise and honour to him who is living for ever, whose rule is an eternal rule and whose kingdom goes on from generation to generation. 35 And all the people of the earth are as nothing: he does his pleasure in the army of heaven and among the people of the earth: and no one is able to keep back his hand, or say to him, What are you doing? 36 At the same time my reason came back to me; and for the glory of my kingdom, my honour and my great name came back to me; and my wise men and my lords were turned to me again; and I was made safe in my kingdom and had more power than before. 37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, give worship and praise and honour to the King of heaven; for all his works are true and his ways are right: and those who go in pride he is able to make low.
• Dan 7:1 : 1 In the first year of Belshazzar, king of Babylon, Daniel saw a dream, and visions came into his head on his bed: then he put the dream in writing.
• Matt 1:20 : 20 But when he was giving thought to these things, an angel of the Lord came to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, son of David, have no fear of taking Mary as your wife; because that which is in her body is of the Holy Spirit.
• Matt 2:12-13 : 12 And it was made clear to them by God in a dream that they were not to go back to Herod; so they went into their country by another way. 13 And when they had gone, an angel of the Lord came to Joseph in a dream, saying, Get up and take the young child and his mother, and go into Egypt, and do not go from there till I give you word; for Herod will be searching for the young child to put him to death.
• Matt 2:19 : 19 But when Herod was dead, an angel of the Lord came in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,
• Gen 20:6-7 : 6 And God said to him in the dream, I see that you have done this with an upright heart, and I have kept you from sinning against me: for this reason I did not let you come near her. 7 So now, give the man back his wife, for he is a prophet, and let him say a prayer for you, so your life may be safe: but if you do not give her back, be certain that death will come to you and all your house.
• Gen 32:1-2 : 1 And on his way Jacob came face to face with the angels of God. 2 And when he saw them he said, This is the army of God: so he gave that place the name of Mahanaim.
• Gen 37:5-9 : 5 Now Joseph had a dream, and he gave his brothers an account of it, which made their hate greater than ever. 6 And he said to them, Let me give you the story of my dream. 7 We were in the field, getting the grain stems together, and my grain kept upright, and yours came round and went down on the earth before mine. 8 And his brothers said to him, Are you to be our king? will you have authority over us? And because of his dream and his words, their hate for him became greater than ever. 9 Then he had another dream, and gave his brothers an account of it, saying, I have had another dream: the sun and the moon and eleven stars gave honour to me. 10 And he gave word of it to his father and his brothers; but his father protesting said, What sort of a dream is this? am I and your mother and your brothers to go down on our faces to the earth before you? 11 And his brothers were full of envy; but his father kept his words in mind.
• Gen 40:1-9 : 1 Now after these things the chief servant who had the care of the wine, and the chief bread-maker in Pharaoh's house, did something against Pharaoh's orders; 2 And Pharaoh was angry with his two servants, with the chief wine-servant and the chief bread-maker; 3 And he put them in prison under the care of the captain of the army, in the same prison where Joseph himself was shut up. 4 And the captain put them in Joseph's care, and he did what was needed for them; and they were kept in prison for some time. 5 And these two had a dream on the same night; the chief wine-servant and the chief bread-maker of the king of Egypt, who were in prison, the two of them had dreams with a special sense. 6 And in the morning when Joseph came to them he saw that they were looking sad. 7 And he said to the servants of Pharaoh who were in prison with him, Why are you looking so sad? 8 Then they said to him, We have had a dream, and no one is able to give us the sense. And Joseph said, Does not the sense of dreams come from God? what was your dream? 9 Then the chief wine-servant gave Joseph an account of his dream, and said, In my dream I saw a vine before me; 10 And on the vine were three branches; and it seemed as if it put out buds and flowers, and from them came grapes ready for cutting. 11 And Pharaoh's cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes and crushing them into Pharaoh's cup, gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand. 12 Then Joseph said, This is the sense of your dream: the three branches are three days; 13 After three days Pharaoh will give you honour, and put you back into your place, and you will give him his cup as you did before, when you were his wine-servant. 14 But keep me in mind when things go well for you, and be good to me and say a good word for me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison: 15 For truly I was taken by force from the land of the Hebrews; and I have done nothing for which I might be put in prison. 16 Now when the chief bread-maker saw that the first dream had a good sense, he said to Joseph, I had a dream; and in my dream there were three baskets of white bread on my head; 17 And in the top basket were all sorts of cooked meats for Pharaoh; and the birds were taking them out of the baskets on my head. 18 Then Joseph said, This is the sense of your dream: the three baskets are three days; 19 After three days Pharaoh will take you out of prison, hanging you on a tree, so that your flesh will be food for birds. 20 Now the third day was Pharaoh's birthday, and he gave a feast for all his servants; and he gave honour to the chief wine-servant and the chief bread-maker among the others. 21 And he put the chief wine-servant back in his old place; and he gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand. 22 But the chief bread-maker was put to death by hanging, as Joseph had said. 23 But the wine-servant did not keep Joseph in mind or give a thought to him.
• 2 Chr 16:9 : 9 For the eyes of the Lord go this way and that, through all the earth, letting it be seen that he is the strong support of those whose hearts are true to him. In this you have done foolishly, for from now you will have wars.
• Job 4:12-21 : 12 A word was given to me secretly, and the low sound of it came to my ears. 13 In troubled thoughts from visions of the night, when deep sleep comes on men, 14 Fear came on me and shaking, and my bones were full of trouble; 15 And a breath was moving over my face; the hair of my flesh became stiff: 16 Something was present before me, but I was not able to see it clearly; there was a form before my eyes: a quiet voice came to my ears, saying: 17 May a man be upright before God? or a man be clean before his Maker? 18 Truly, he puts no faith in his servants, and he sees error in his angels; 19 How much more those living in houses of earth, whose bases are in the dust! They are crushed more quickly than an insect; 20 Between morning and evening they are completely broken; they come to an end for ever, and no one takes note. 21 If their tent-cord is pulled up, do they not come to an end, and without wisdom?
• Gen 15:1 : 1 After these things, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, Have no fear, Abram: I will keep you safe, and great will be your reward.
• Gen 15:12 : 12 Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep came on Abram, and a dark cloud of fear.
• 2 Tim 4:16-17 : 16 At my first meeting with my judges, no one took my part, but all went away from me. May it not be put to their account. 17 But the Lord was by my side and gave me strength; so that through me the news might be given out in full measure, and all the Gentiles might give ear: and I was taken out of the mouth of the lion.
• Heb 1:1 : 1 In times past the word of God came to our fathers through the prophets, in different parts and in different ways;
• Heb 1:14 : 14 Are they not all helping spirits, who are sent out as servants to those whose heritage will be salvation?