Jacob’s ladder as a cross

In Judeo-Christian theology, as in Hellenistic Christianity, the cross of Jesus was a fundamental problem. Until the time of Constantine in the Imperial community it was a sign of disgrace. For Christians the cross was a sign of salvation. The theological problem was caused by the inclusion of the cross as a positive symbol in a general and religious sense. In Judeo-Christian theology a method of typology was used which was known also in Jewish exegesis. The cross as a symbol of salvation was predicted among others by „Jacob’s ladder” (cf. Genesis 28,12). Christians understood it as a cosmic cross on which Logos (the Son of God) had descended to earth, and as a path to salvation for people ascending to heaven. From „Jacob’s ladder” only certain details were chosen for the exegesis: „the wood of the ladder/cross”, the motif of descent and ascent. In this way the typology of the „ladder of the cross” allowed the meaning of the cross as a symbol of the shame of Jesus’ death sentence to win out