And he was afraid: the fear that Jacob experiences is caused by unknowingly being in a sacred spot and being unprepared for what might happen to him. The LORD standing beside him (verse 13) would have added to the fear.

And said may need again to be expressed as “and said to himself,” or idiomatically in many cases, “He said in his heart.”

How awesome is this place!: awesome is literally “to be feared.” Jacob experiences the dread, fear, awesomeness of being in the presence of the LORD. Other words used in English are “awe-inspiring,” “fearsome,” “terrifying.” In some languages it may be necessary to use a figurative expression; for example, “How this place makes my heart quiver,” “This place melts my liver.” In others all of the sense of awe and fear is conveyed by saying “this is a sacred [taboo] place.”

This is none other emphasizes the certainty of Jacob’s conclusion regarding the place he is in. This expression may also be rendered, for example, “This is certainly the place where God lives.”

House of God refers to the house, place, or city where God dwells and not a house that God possesses.

And this is the gate of heaven: this refers to the same place as in the previous sentence. Gate of heaven expresses the idea of the entrance to heaven. Because this was where God had appeared to Jacob, the place of his dream was considered the gate, doorway, entrance to heaven. The whole expression is figurative rather than literal, and so in some languages it is necessary to say “It is just like the gate of heaven.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .