Why does Jacob use a stone for a pillow? The scriptures tell us “Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran. When he reached a certain place he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep.” (Genesis 28:11) In ancient times headrests, especially in Egypt, were quite hard, sometimes being made out of metal, so a stone would appear to be an appropriate place to rest one’s head. The Hebrews as well as other nomadic tribes were used to sleeping on the ground with a stone as a pillow. It was not an uncommon practice.
