How Many Stones Jacob Took and What Each Number Foretold

"And he took of the stones of the place" (Genesis 28:11). Rabbi Yehudah says: he took twelve stones. He said: thus has the Holy One, blessed be He, decreed, that I am to raise up twelve tribes. Abraham did not raise them up, Isaac did not raise them up; and as for me, if these stones join to one another, I will know that I am to raise up twelve tribes. And when they joined together, he knew that he would raise up twelve tribes. Rabbi Nechemiah says: he took three stones. [He reasoned:] Abraham, the Holy One, blessed be He, caused His name to rest upon him; Isaac, the Holy One, blessed be He, caused His name to rest upon him; as for me, if these join to one another, I will know that the Holy One, blessed be He, will cause His name to rest upon me. And when they joined to one another, he knew that the Holy One, blessed be He, would cause His name to rest upon him. And the Rabbis say: the least number of "stones" is two. He said: from Abraham came forth refuse, Ishmael and the sons of Keturah; from Isaac came forth refuse, Esau and his chiefs; as for me, if they join, I will know that no refuse will come forth from me. And when they joined, he knew that no refuse would come forth from him. He shaped them like a gutter and placed them under his head, for he was afraid of the wild beasts. One verse says, "for behold, the LORD goes forth from His place and comes down and treads upon the high places of the earth, and the mountains melt beneath Him and the valleys split open" (Micah 1:3-4) - one upon whom the Holy One, blessed be He, revealed Himself, how much more so [must be protected]. Rabbi Berechiah in the name of Rabbi Levi said: those stones that our father Jacob placed beneath him became under him like a bed and like a couch. What game did he hunt there? "The beams of our houses are cedars" (Song of Songs 1:17) - these are the righteous men and women, the prophets and prophetesses [destined to descend from him].