A City of GOD

The Hebrew word pronounced
shaw-ar means gate or city. It is
variously translated as such,
sometimes even within the same
verse e.g.

"23:10 And Ephron dwelt
among the children of Heth:
and Ephron the Hittite
answered Abraham in the
audience of the children of
Heth, even of all that went in
at the gate [shaw-ar] of his
city [again, shaw-ar]"
(Genesis
23:10 KJV).

Jacob spoke the same Hebrew
word, shaw-ar, when he used the
(translated into English) term "gate
of heaven," meaning a city, which is
the reason that he renamed the
city (formerly known as Luz) as
Bethel, which means House of The
Lord.

"This is none other but the house
of God and this is the gate of
heaven"

Jacob was on route north to his
uncle Laban (see Jacob and Laban).

When he stopped to camp for the
night, he experienced his famous

"ladder" (sometimes rendered
"stairway") to heaven dream.

"28:10 And Jacob went out
from Beersheba, and went
toward Haran.

28:11 And he
lighted upon a certain place,
and tarried there all night,
because the sun was set; and
he took of the stones of that
place, and put them for his
pillows, and lay down in that
place to sleep.

28:12 And he
dreamed, and behold a ladder
set up on the earth, and the
top of it reached to heaven:
and behold the angels of God
ascending and descending on
it." (Genesis 28:10-12 KJV)

It was more than just a vision; it
was an assurance that The Lord was
with Jacob, not merely for his sake,
but for a far greater purpose in
time, including a family line that led
directly to Jesus Christ through
Jacob's (yet unborn) son Judah.

"28:13 And, behold, the LORD
stood above it, and said, I am
the LORD God of Abraham thy
father, and the God of Isaac:
the land whereon thou liest, to
thee will I give it, and to thy
seed;

28:14 And thy seed shall
be as the dust of the earth,
and thou shalt spread abroad
to the west, and to the east,
and to the north, and to the
south: and in thee and in thy
seed shall all the families of
the earth be blessed.

28:15
And, behold, I am with thee,
and will keep thee in all places
whither thou goest, and will
bring thee again into this land;
for I will not leave thee, until I
have done that which I have
spoken to thee of." (Genesis
28:13-15 KJV)

In the morning, Jacob gave that
place, on this earth (see also Earthly
Cities and Spiritual Cities), the new
name - Bethel, which means,
according to the literal meaning of
the Hebrew word that he spoke,
gate, meaning a city, of God.

"28:16 And Jacob awaked out
of his sleep, and he said,
Surely the LORD is in this
place; and I knew it not.

28:17
And he was afraid, and said,
How dreadful is this place! this
is none other but the house of
God, and this is the gate of
heaven.

28:18 And Jacob rose up early
in the morning, and took the
stone that he had put for his
pillows, and set it up for a
pillar, and poured oil upon the
top of it.

28:19 And he called
the name of that place Bethel:
but the name of that city was
called Luz at the first.

28:20 And Jacob vowed a vow,
saying, If God will be with me,
and will keep me in this way
that I go, and will give me
bread to eat, and raiment to
put on,

28:21 So that I come
again to my father's house in
peace; then shall the LORD be
my God:

28:22 And this stone,
which I have set for a pillar,
shall be God's house: and of all
that thou shalt give me I will
surely give the tenth unto
thee." (Genesis 28:16-22 KJV)