Caesarius of Arles : When the lesson was read just now, dearly beloved, we heard that in reply to holy Rebekah's plea Isaac called his son Jacob and told him to proceed to Mesopotamia of Syria and take a wife from there. Jacob departed in humble obedience to his father and on the way came to a certain place where he put a stone under his head and went to sleep. In his slumber he saw a ladder extending to heaven with angels of God ascending and descending on it, while the Lord leaned on the ladder and said to him, "Jacob, Jacob, do not be afraid, I am with you, and I will be the companion of your journey." Now when blessed Isaac directed his son to Mesopotamia, dearly beloved, Isaac represented a type of God the Father, while Jacob signified Christ the Lord. Disregarding the women of the region in which he lived, blessed Isaac sent his son into a distant country to take a wife, because God the Father would reject the synagogue of Jews and send his only-begotten Son to form a church out of the Gentiles. This was fulfilled in truth when the apostles said to the Jews, "It was necessary that the Word of God should be spoken to you first, but since you judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we now turn to the Gentiles." — SERMON 87.1 Augustine of Hippo : THEY WERE NOT IGNORED BY ISAAC. — Where the Latin manuscripts have these words of Isaac to his son: Go to Mesopotamia, to the house of Bathuel, the father of your mother, and take from there a wife . The Greek manuscripts do not have the word “go”, but “flee”, that is to say, ἀπόδραθι. It is also seen here that Isaac knew what his son Esau said within himself about his brother. [ — QUESTIONS ON GENESIS, Q. 81 (tr. J. Litteral, draft)