Then Rebekah took some clothes belonging to Esau and put them upon Jacob; and she put the skin of the kids that he had brought her upon his hands and upon the smooth of his neck. Then Jacob knelt before his father, whose eyes were dimmed with old age, and said, "Bless me, my father." And Isaac said, "Who art thou, my son?" And Jacob said, "I am Esau, thy first born." Then Isaac said to Jacob, "Come near, that I may feel whether thou be my very son Esau or not." So Jacob went near to his father, and the father felt of him; and he said, "The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau." Then Isaac, thinking it was Esau who knelt, blessed him as his first-born, and said, "The Lord bless thee, and give thee plenty of corn and wine. Let the people serve thee; and be thou lord over all thy brethren." And all this came to pass; for Jacob's children came into possession of the rich land of Canaan. By and by, Esau entered the tent and knelt beside his father. "Thy blessing, O father Isaac," he said. The old man stretched out his hands. "Who art thou?" he cried. "I am Esau, your first-born. Know you not that I am Esau?" "Who was it then that came just now and received my blessing?" Isaac asked. Then Esau knew that to him was lost the blessing as an eldest son. The old man wailed. "Alas! alas! my son," he said, "much wealth can I yet bestow upon thee; still the greater honors are now with Jacob." Now Esau's heart was filled with rage. He would have slain his brother; but Rebekah, knowing this, sent Jacob away. When night came on Jacob lay down upon the cold ground and placed a stone beneath his head. And as he slept God sent a beautiful vision to bless him. He saw a ladder set upon the earth, whose top reached to Heaven. Holy angels were going up and down the ladder, and, above them all, stood God. [Illustration: JACOB'S DREAM.] 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. [Illustration: JACOB WRESTLING WITH THE ANGEL.]