Jacob's Ladder, Genesis 28:16 Landscape Wall Art

What is painted

On a grassy slope scattered with rocks and wildflowers, a spreading tree throws its shade. At its foot a man in a rust-colored cloak lies on his back, head propped on a round stone, fast asleep. Below him a wide valley opens toward a winding river, dark cypresses and far blue mountains.

The sun sits low on the horizon, and straight above it a staircase of pale light rises through the clouds, step after step, until it disappears into brightness. Underneath, in a flowing script: “Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not”, and Genesis 28:16. The palette is olive, amber and soft violet, with the edges of the scene dissolving into the paper.

Jacob's dream at Bethel

Jacob is on the run. He has taken his brother Esau's blessing by deceit, and his mother sends him away to her family in Haran. On the first night, at sundown, he takes one of the stones of that place for his pillow and lies down to sleep.

He dreams of a ladder set up on the earth, its top reaching to heaven, with the angels of God ascending and descending on it. The LORD stands above it and repeats to Jacob the promise made to Abraham: the land, descendants like the dust of the earth, and the words “I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest.”

Verse 16 is his reaction on waking. He had thought he was alone in an empty place, and God had been there all along. In the morning he sets up the stone as a pillar, pours oil on it and calls the place Bethel, house of God. Centuries later Jesus tells Nathanael he will see the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man (John 1:51).

A verse for new beginnings

Because the story is about God meeting someone on a journey, this religious wall art is often given for a move, a new job, a graduation or a baptism. It suits a living room, an entryway or a guest room, anywhere people arrive and leave. As Christian wall art it is less a decoration than a reminder that ordinary places can be holy.

The landscape is rich enough to hold the eye from across a room, and the soft edges keep it light. As a Christian poster it is printed to order in the US on heavy archival matte paper, shipped free within the US without a frame, with a border of paper around it. Sizes run from 5x7 to 24x36, plus metric and A sizes, or as a digital file.