Sacred & Secular

Sacred & Secular

The Detail in Jacob's Ladder I Never Noticed

The overlooked detail that completely changed how I read one of the Bible’s most famous stories.

Paul Ian Clarke's avatar
Paul Ian Clarke
Jul 13, 2026
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Seventeenth-century painting by José de Ribera depicting Jacob asleep in the wilderness beneath a tree, resting his head on a stone. The quiet, earthy scene emphasises his vulnerability before his dream of heaven and God's presence at Bethel.
Jacob's Dream (1639), by José de Ribera. Rather than portraying Jacob's achievement, the painting captures his vulnerability, the moment before he awakens to discover that God has been nearer than he ever imagined. Image: Wikimedia Commons.

Welcome to Monday’s reflection.

Each weekday, paid subscribers receive an exclusive reflection designed to offer a thoughtful pause amid ordinary life. My prayer is that these brief pieces create a little space for curiosity, contemplation and wonder amid the noise of the day.

If you’ve recently joined us, you may also be interested in my new book, Sacred & Secular: Find God in the Ordinary, which brings together some of the most popular and thought-provoking essays from this journey so far.

I thought I knew the story of Jacob’s ladder. After all, I’d heard it countless times growing up. Then I discovered one tiny detail that made me realise I may have been picturing the whole scene wrongly.

If someone had asked me to describe it in my younger years, I would have answered without hesitation. Jacob falls asleep in the wilderness. He dreams of a ladder stretching from earth to heaven. Angels climb up and down. God stands at the top. The message seems obvious enough: heaven is somewhere above us, and Jacob is being shown the way.

Or so I thought.

Then I stumbled across a detail I had never noticed before. It was one of those moments that makes you put the Bible down for a minute and simply stare into space.

Because it turns out the story may not be saying what I had always imagined.

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