Jacob sees a ladder to heaven in a dream [Jacob’s Ladder]. Artist: Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld. Engraver: unknown. Source: Die Bibel in Bildern, Plate 32. Click on image to enlarge it.
And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed;. [Genesis 28: 12-13; King James Bible.]
Jacob's dream of a stairway to heaven which angels descended and ascended was one of many Old Testament passages understood to be a type, or divinely intended prefiguration of Christ and his dispensation. This particular plate is notable for its lovely landscape and for the sleeping youth, who seems to have come from a Roman statue.
You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the Hathi Digital Trust Library and the Columbia University Library and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.
Bibliography
Die Bibel in Bildern [Picture Bible] von Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld. Leipzig: Georg Wigands, 1860. Hathi Digital Trust Library online version of a copy in the Columbia University Library. Web. 25 June 2016. — George P. Landow.
Last modified 27 June 2016