Jacob

===Jacob's ladder===
{{main|Jacob's Ladder}}
[[File:Blake jacobsladder.jpg|right|thumb|''Jacob's Dream'' by [[William Blake]] ({{circa|1800}}, British Museum, London)]]
Near [[Luz (biblical place)|Luz]] en route to Haran, Jacob experienced a vision of a ladder, or staircase, reaching into heaven with angels going up and down it, subsequently referred to in popular culture as "[[Jacob's ladder]]." He heard the voice of God, who repeated many of the blessings upon him, coming from the top of the ladder.

According to [[Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer]], the ladder signified the exiles that the Jewish people would suffer before the coming of the [[Jewish messianism|Jewish Messiah]]: the angels that represented the exiles of Babylonia, Persia, and Greece each climbed up a certain number of steps, paralleling the years of the exile, before they "fell down"; but the angel representing the last exile, that of [[Edom]], kept climbing higher and higher into the clouds. Jacob feared that his descendants would never be free of Esau's domination, but God assured him that at the End of Days, Edom too would come falling down.<ref>[https://www.sefaria.org/Pirkei_DeRabbi_Eliezer.35.6 Pirkei Derabbi Eliezer 35]</ref>

In the morning, Jacob awakened and continued on his way to Haran, after naming the place where he had spent the night "[[Bethel]]", "God's house."