Genesis 28:11

He lighted upon. certain place.

The place he had reached was Bethel, then called Luz, formerly an encampment and place of worship of Abraham. It is not impossible that Jacob may have known how hallowed the spot was in the history of his grandfather. It was about 48 miles from Beersheba and twelve miles north of Jerusalem.

Tarried... because the sun was set.

"The night gathered round; he was on the central thoroughfare, on the hard backbone of the mountains of Palestine; the ground was strewn with wide sheets of bare rock; here and there stood up isolated fragments, like ancient Druid monuments. On the hard ground he lay down for rest, and in the visions of the night the rough stones formed themselves into. vast staircase, reaching into the depth of the wide and open sky, which, without any interruption of tent or tree, was stretched over the sleeper's head."-- Stanley. He may have been too late to enter the gates of the city, which it was the custom to close at night, or he may not have chosen to cast himself upon the hospitality of strangers. It was common to sleep out of doors, and often greatly to be preferred during the dry, warm summer.