In Genesis 28:16-17, after Jacob had the dream of a ladder reaching to heaven with angels ascending and descending on it, he woke up and said:

"Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it...This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven."

Jacob named the place Bethel, which means "House of God," because he believed that the place was the gate of heaven—a connection point between heaven and earth, where God's presence was revealed to him in a powerful way.