Genesis 28:11

A certain place. At the close of the second day Jacob reached the vicinity of the city of Luz (v. 19), some 50 mi. to the north of Beersheba. He chose not to spend the night within the city itself for fear of the Canaanites. Hatred for them, suggested by Josephus as the reason for Jacob’s not entering the city, is probably of less importance (Antiquities i. 19. 1).

His pillows. Literally, “the region of his head” or “the place where the head is.” Jacob therefore took a stone and put it “under his head” or “as a headrest.” A pillow in our sense of the word seems to have been unknown to the ancients. In many Oriental lands people used headrests made of wood, clay, stone, or metal, and still do. Many ancient examples of these have been preserved in Egypt. Since they were all made of hard material, it was unnecessary for a traveler to carry a pillow with him. A smooth stone would suffice. It was therefore no hardship for Jacob to sleep with his head on a stone. The stone is mentioned here in anticipation of the use made of it later on in the narrative (v. 22).