Jacob leaves Beer-sheba alone, fleeing from Esau, heading toward Haran. He stops for the night at an unnamed place and sleeps on the ground with stones for a pillow. He dreams of a staircase reaching to heaven with angels ascending and descending. God stands at the top and repeats the covenant promises — the land, the seed, the blessing to all nations. Jacob wakes terrified: 'Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.' He sets up the stone as a pillar, pours oil on it, names the place Bethel, and makes a vow: if God will be with me and bring me back safely, then the LORD will be my God.