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I have a hunch that Jacob's ladder In Genesis 28:12 really should be translated as “tree”. The Hebrew term is “cullam” and only appears this one time in all of scripture, but it comes from the root word “calal” which means to lift up or exalt – once again not really very helpful, but the very reason the term has ever been translated as ladder. Within Jewish tradition, the Kabbalah  associates Jacob's ladder with the sephiroth tree, so there is some existing president to interpreting this term “cullam” as “tree”.

Why is this reliant – it would continue the imagery of “The tree of Life” from Genesis 2 through scripture which would ultimately be fulfilled in the person of Christ - Isiah 11:1,2. It also would give us some idea what Jacob was doing when he was erecting the stone he used as a pillow into a pillar to commemorate the event. The term for pillar used in this passage is “matstsebah”, which can also be translated as “the stump of tree”. We know that the Greek temples reflected a kind of Eden, with the stone colonnades representing trees, and the center of the temple reserved for worshiping their deities being a kind of center of the garden as in Genesis where the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the tree of life resided. Tree worship was also pervasive in the land of Sumeria where Abraham came from, so the pillars Jacob was erecting would have been a symbol of the tree he saw in his vision.

Any thought on the subject, or does anyone know of any other refferences that suggest that Jacob's ladder as a tree?

The word cûllâm, pronounced sûllâm, is translated correctly as meaning a staircase or a ladder. The Hebrew word for tree is ates. So your theory of it's relation to the Tree of Life is not true.

Don't believe even half of what the Kabbalah say. They have been known to be quite qa blasphemous group that have twisted and turned scripture around for there own purposes.

Discuss this with a true Hebrew scholar and not a Kabbalistic cult and you will get told the same thing that I just told you. If you are studying Kabbalah you are treading on dangerous ground.

This information is in accordance to a Hebrew Scholar.

A sullam was not a ladder with rungs on it, as is typically envisioned here.  Rather, it was a stairway like the sloping side of a ziggurat, a Mesopotamian tower that also served as a temple.  It was square at the base and had sloping, terraced or stepped sides that led upward to a small shrine at the top.  People believed that it served as a stairway to heaven, or even heaven's gate.

Besides that it would be difficult for the angels to be ascending and descending on a tree.

After doing a little research in some of the Bible Commentarys and Bible dictionary, this is the information I got, none of this information even hints of a tree,  but rather a gate. See meanings below.



H8179
שׁער
sha‛ar
BDB Definition:
1) gate
1a) gate (of entrance)
1b) gate (of space inside gate, i.e. marketplace, public meeting place)
1b1) city, town
1c) gate (of palace, royal castle, temple, court of tabernacle)
1d) heaven
Part of Speech: noun masculine
A Related Word by BDB/Strong’s Number: from H8176 in its original sense
Same Word by TWOT Number: 2437a


Strong's Dictionary
H8179
שׁער
sha‛ar
shah'-ar
From H8176 in its original sense; an opening, that is, door or gate: - city, door, gate, port (X -er).


Gen 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.


Gen 28:17 - And he was afraid,.... Not with a servile but filial fear; not with a fear of the wrath and displeasure of God, but with a fear of his grace and goodness; not with a fear of distrust of it, of which he had just had such a comfortable assurance; but with an awe of the greatness and glory of God, being conscious of his own unworthiness to receive such favours from him:

and said, how dreadful is this place! not terrible and horrible, being not like Mount Sinai, but like Sion; not as the suburbs of hell, but as the gate of heaven majestic and venerable, because of the glory of God that appeared in it, whose name is holy and reverend and because of the holy angels here present: and so the church, of which this was an emblem, is a solemn assembly, awful and venerable; a city of solemnities, because of the worship of God in it, and his presence there; who is to be feared in the assembly of his saints, and to be had in reverence of all that are about him; and where persons should behave in a serious and solemn manner. The Targum of Jonathan is,"how tremendous and praiseworthy is this place! this is not a common place:"


Gill Commentary

this is none other but the house of God; wherefore he afterwards called it Bethel, which signifies the house of God; and so the church of God is often called, Psa_23:6; which is of God's building, where he dwells, and his family is, of which he is the master and governor; which he beautifies and adorns, fills, repairs, and defends:

and this is the gate of heaven: Mr. Mede renders it "the court of heaven", because of the angels; since in gates justice was administered by kings, attended with their retinue; but royal courts were not kept there, only courts of judicature: this place seems to be so called, because the heavens were opened and the glory of God was seen, attended by his angels, who were passing and repassing, as people through the streets of a city; and was an emblem of the church of Christ, who is figured by the ladder set on earth, whose top reached to heaven, the door, the gate, the way of ascent to it; here he is preached in the word as the way of salvation, the way to heaven and eternal happiness; here he is held forth in the ordinances; here he grants his presence to his people, and indulges them with communion with him, which makes it like and next to heaven unto them: and, generally speaking, though not always, God brings his people to heaven this way, through a Gospel church state, and by means of the word and ordinances; and here angels also attend, 1Co_11:10.


Clarke Commentary

Gen 28:17 -
How dreadful is this place! - The appearance of the ladder, the angels, and the Divine glory at the top of the ladder, must have left deep, solemn, and even awful impressions on the mind of Jacob; and hence the exclamation in the text, How dreadful is this place! This is none other but the house of God - The Chaldee gives this place a curious turn: “This is not a common place, but a place in which God delights; and opposite to this place is the gate of heaven.” Onkelos seems to suppose that the gate or entrance into heaven was actually above this spot, and that when the angels of God descended to earth, they came through that opening into this place, and returned by the same way. And it really appears that Jacob himself had a similar notion.


Barnes Commentary

Gen_28:10-22
Jacob’s dream and vow. Setting out on the way to Haran, he was overtaken by night, and slept in the field. He was far from any dwelling, or he did not wish to enter the house of a stranger. He dreams. A ladder or stair is seen reaching from earth to heaven, on which angels ascend and descend. This is a medium of communication between heaven and earth, by which messengers pass to and fro on errands of mercy. Heaven and earth have been separated by sin. But this ladder has re-established the contact. It is therefore a beautiful emblem of what mediates and reconciles Joh_1:51. It here serves to bring Jacob into communication with God, and teaches him the emphatic lesson that he is accepted through a mediator. “The Lord stood above it,” and Jacob, the object of his mercy, beneath. First. He reveals himself to the sleeper as “the Lord” Gen_2:4, “the God of Abraham thy father, and of Isaac.” It is remarkable that Abraham is styled his father, that is, his actual grandfather, and covenant father. Second. He renews the promise of the land, of the seed, and of the blessing in that seed for the whole race of man. Westward, eastward, northward, and southward are they to break forth. This expression points to the world-wide universality of the kingdom of the seed of Abraham, when it shall become the fifth monarchy, that shall subdue all that went before, and endure forever. This transcends the destiny of the natural seed of Abraham. Third. He then promises to Jacob personally to be with him, protect him, and bring him back in safety. This is the third announcement of the seed that blesses to the third in the line of descent Gen_12:2-3; Gen_22:18; Gen_26:4.
Gen_28:16-19
Jacob awakes, and exclaims, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I knew it not.” He knew his omnipresence; but he did not expect a special manifestation of the Lord in this place, far from the sanctuaries of his father. He is filled with solemn awe, when he finds himself in the house of God and at the gate of heaven. The pillar is the monument of the event. The pouring of oil upon it is an act of consecration to God who has there appeared to him Num_7:1. He calls the name of the place Bethel, “the house of God.” This is not the first time it received the name. Abraham also worshipped God here, and met with the name already existing (see on Gen_12:8; Gen_13:3; Gen_25:30.)

Amen sister. It was a stairway that led to the gates of heaven.

Hello Eprom,

First, Welcome Back!

Everything I have is rendered staircase, but I think there is a deeper meaning here to consider. First, take things down to the most simple: a connection between God and man. This is also a representation to Christ, the only mediator between God and man.

Love In Christ,
Tom

John 10:27-28 NASB  "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.

Amen to the stairway to heaven (not to be confused with Led Zeppelin :) )

I just finished rereading the story of Jacob and it comes from his dream of the stairway to heaven, with angels ascending and descending from the heavens.

Wow, I actually know something! *puts gold star on head*

And the love of Christ in the heart.  ;) ;D

Amen on that bro! Are we not the most blessed people on the face of the earth for such a gift?

God Bless!
Kelly