Jacob’s ladder in genesis

It symbolizes the relationship between heaven and earth

May 29th 2025

The relationship between heaven and earth is symbolized, in Genesis, by Jacob’s ladder: ‘Jacob came to a certain place and stayed there for the night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place. And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And the Lord stood beside him.’
A ladder—or scale—is an interesting subject for reflection, for it expresses not only the idea of an intermediary between above and below, but also that of hierarchy. We speak of a social ladder to express a difference of rank in the positions people have in society. We also speak of a scale of values, a scale of colours, and so on. Everything in life points to the need for ladders or scales, if only as a way to get up on the roof! You will say that there are other ways of getting to the roof. Yes, but whatever the means, they are always the equivalent of a ladder: they allow you to go up and down.*
* Related reading:

Angels and other Mysteries of The Tree of Life

We often use the image of the scale to express not only the idea of intermediary between the bottom and the top, but also that of hierarchy: social scale, scale of values, scale of colors, etc. Likewise there is an angelic hierarchy which makes the link between man and God, is symbolized by...