the Week of Proper 28 / Ordinary 33
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Easy-to-Read Version
Genesis 28:3
Bible Study Resources
Concordances:
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- InternationalParallel Translations
God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may become a company of peoples.
And God Almighty bless you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, that you may be a company of peoples.
May God Almighty bless you and give you many children, and may you become a group of many peoples.
May the sovereign God bless you! May he make you fruitful and give you a multitude of descendants! Then you will become a large nation.
And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people;
May God Almighty bless you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, that you may be a company of peoples,
"May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, so that you may become a [great] company of peoples.
Sotheli Almyyti God blesse thee, and make thee to encreesse, and multiplie thee, that thou be in to cumpanyes of puplis;
and God Almighty doth bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and thou hast become an assembly of peoples;
May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, so that you may become a company of peoples.
I pray that God All-Powerful will bless you with many descendants and let you become a great nation.
May El Shaddai bless you, make you fruitful and increase your descendants, until they become a whole assembly of peoples.
And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a company of peoples;
And may God, the Ruler of all, give you his blessing, giving you fruit and increase, so that you may become an army of peoples.
And God almyghtie blesse thee, and make thee to encrease, & multiplie thee, that thou mayest be a number of people:
And the Almighty God bless thee, and make thee fruitful and multiply thee, that thou mayest become a company of peoples.
And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a congregation of peoples;
And God Almighty blesse thee, and make thee fruitfull, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people:
And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people;
May the All-powerful God bring good to you and give you many children until you become many nations.
May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and numerous, that you may become a company of peoples.
And, GOD Almighty, bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, so shalt thou become a multitude of peoples.
And God all sufficient blesse thee, and make thee to encrease, and multiplie thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people,
May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may become a multitude of peoples;
May Almighty God bless your marriage and give you many children, so that you will become the father of many nations!
And God almighty bless thee, and make thee to increase and multiply thee: that thou mayst be a multitude of people.
God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may become a company of peoples.
And may my God bless thee, and increase thee, and multiply thee, and thou shalt become gatherings of nations.
And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a company of peoples;
May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you so that you become an assembly of peoples.
May El Shaddai bless you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, that you may be a company of peoples,
Now, may El-Shaddai bless you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, so that you become an assembly of peoples.
And may God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful, and add to you; and may you become an assembly of nations.
And the Allmightie God blesse the, and make the frutefull, and multiplye the, (that thou mayest be a multitude of people)
"And may The Strong God bless you and give you many, many children, a congregation of peoples; and pass on the blessing of Abraham to you and your descendants so that you will get this land in which you live, this land God gave Abraham."
"May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, so that you may become a multitude of peoples.
"May God Almighty bless you, And make you fruitful and multiply you, That you may be an assembly of peoples;
May God Almighty bless you and give you many children. And may your descendants multiply and become many nations!
"May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may become a company of peoples.
May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may become an assembly of peoples.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
God: Genesis 17:1-6, Genesis 22:17, Genesis 22:18, Genesis 35:11, Genesis 43:14, Genesis 48:3, Exodus 6:3, Psalms 127:1, 2 Corinthians 6:18, Revelation 21:22
and make: Genesis 1:28, Genesis 9:1, Genesis 13:16, Genesis 24:60, Genesis 41:52, Psalms 127:3-5, Psalms 128:1-6
a multitude: Heb. an assembly
Reciprocal: Genesis 10:15 - Heth Genesis 12:2 - General Genesis 26:22 - be fruitful Genesis 27:4 - that my Genesis 27:33 - yea Genesis 28:1 - blessed Genesis 32:29 - blessed Genesis 35:12 - the land Genesis 48:4 - Behold I Genesis 48:9 - bless them Genesis 48:15 - blessed Genesis 48:20 - Israel bless Genesis 49:26 - have prevailed Exodus 1:7 - fruitful Leviticus 26:9 - make you Numbers 6:23 - General 2 Samuel 19:39 - blessed Malachi 1:2 - yet I Romans 4:17 - I have Hebrews 11:20 - General Revelation 1:8 - the Almighty
Cross-References
God blessed them and said to them, "Have many children. Fill the earth and take control of it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the air. Rule over every living thing that moves on the earth."
God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, "Have many children. Fill the earth with your people.
I will make your people so many that they will be like the dust of the earth. If people could count all the particles of dust on earth, they could count your people.
While Rebekah was leaving they said to her, "Our sister, may you be the mother of millions of people, and may your descendants defeat their enemies and take their cities."
Isaac called Jacob and blessed him. Then Isaac gave him a command and said, "You must not marry a Canaanite woman.
Esau learned that his father Isaac blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan Aram to find a wife there. He also learned that Isaac commanded Jacob not to marry a Canaanite woman.
Jacob was afraid and said, "This is a very great place. This is the house of God. This is the gate to heaven."
Jacob got up very early in the morning. He took the rock he had slept on and set it up on its edge. Then he poured oil on the rock. In this way he made it a memorial to God.
God said to him, "I am God All-Powerful, and I give you this blessing: Have many children and grow into a great nation. Other nations and other kings will come out of you.
Joseph named the second son Ephraim. Joseph gave him this name because he said, "I had great troubles, but God has made me successful in everything."
Gill's Notes on the Bible
And God Almighty bless thee,.... This is not a new blessing, distinct from that in Genesis 28:1, but the same; there it is expressed in general, here the particulars of it are given; and by which it appears, that Isaac's blessing Jacob was a prayer, wishing a blessing from God upon him, and was the prayer of faith, delivered out under the spirit of prophecy; and they are blessed indeed that are blessed of God, and they must needs be blessed who are blessed by the Almighty; for what is it he cannot do or give? The Targum of Jonathan adds,
"with much riches;''
but no doubt all kind of blessings are included, both temporal and spiritual:
and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee; with a numerous offspring:
that thou mayest be a multitude of people; or an "assembly" or "congregation" g of them; which may all unite in one body and make one nation, as the twelve tribes descending from Jacob did.
g לקהל "in Coetum", Pagninus, Montanus, &c.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
- Jacob’s Journey to Haran
3. קהל qâhāl, “congregation.”
9. מחלת māchălat, Machalath, “sickness, or a harp.”
19. לוּז lûz, Luz, “almond.”
The blessing of his sons was the last passage in the active life of Isaac, after which he retires from the scene. Jacob now becomes the leading figure in the sacred history. His spiritual character has yet come out to view. But even now we can discern the general distinction in the lives of the three patriarchs. Abraham’s is a life of authority and decision; Isaac’s, of submission and acquiescence; and Jacob’s, of trial and struggle.
Genesis 28:1-5
Isaac has now become alive to the real destiny of Jacob. He therefore calls for him to bless him, and give him a command. The command is to take a wife, not from Kenaan, but from the kindred of his parents. The blessing comes from “God Almighty” (Genesis 17:1). It is that belonging to the chosen seed, “the blessing of Abraham.” It embraces a numerous offspring, the land of promise, and all else that is included in the blessing of Abraham. “A congregation of peoples.” This is the word “congregation” (קהל qâhāl) which is afterward applied to the assembled people of God, and to which the Greek ἐκκλησία ekklēsia, “ecclesia,” corresponds. Jacob complies with his mother’s advice and his father’s command, and, at the same time, reaps the bitter fruit of his fraud against his brother in the hardship and treachery of an exile of twenty years. The aged Isaac is not without his share in the unpleasant consequences of endeavoring to go against the will of God.
Genesis 28:6-9
Esau is induced, by the charge of his parents to Jacob, the compliance of the latter with their wishes, and by their obvious dislike to the daughters of Kenaan, to take Mahalath, a daughter of Ishmael, in addition to his former wives. “Went unto Ishmael;” that is, to the family or tribe of Ishmael, as Ishmael himself was now thirteen years dead. Esau’s hunting and roving career had brought him into contact with this family, and we shall presently find him settled in a neighboring territory.
Genesis 28:10-22
Jacob’s dream and vow. Setting out on the way to Haran, he was overtaken by night, and slept in the field. He was far from any dwelling, or he did not wish to enter the house of a stranger. He dreams. A ladder or stair is seen reaching from earth to heaven, on which angels ascend and descend. This is a medium of communication between heaven and earth, by which messengers pass to and fro on errands of mercy. Heaven and earth have been separated by sin. But this ladder has re-established the contact. It is therefore a beautiful emblem of what mediates and reconciles John 1:51. It here serves to bring Jacob into communication with God, and teaches him the emphatic lesson that he is accepted through a mediator. “The Lord stood above it,” and Jacob, the object of his mercy, beneath. First. He reveals himself to the sleeper as “the Lord” Genesis 2:4, “the God of Abraham thy father, and of Isaac.” It is remarkable that Abraham is styled his father, that is, his actual grandfather, and covenant father. Second. He renews the promise of the land, of the seed, and of the blessing in that seed for the whole race of man. Westward, eastward, northward, and southward are they to break forth. This expression points to the world-wide universality of the kingdom of the seed of Abraham, when it shall become the fifth monarchy, that shall subdue all that went before, and endure forever. This transcends the destiny of the natural seed of Abraham. Third. He then promises to Jacob personally to be with him, protect him, and bring him back in safety. This is the third announcement of the seed that blesses to the third in the line of descent Genesis 12:2-3; Genesis 22:18; Genesis 26:4.
Genesis 28:16-19
Jacob awakes, and exclaims, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I knew it not.” He knew his omnipresence; but he did not expect a special manifestation of the Lord in this place, far from the sanctuaries of his father. He is filled with solemn awe, when he finds himself in the house of God and at the gate of heaven. The pillar is the monument of the event. The pouring of oil upon it is an act of consecration to God who has there appeared to him Numbers 7:1. He calls the name of the place Bethel, “the house of God.” This is not the first time it received the name. Abraham also worshipped God here, and met with the name already existing (see on Genesis 12:8; Genesis 13:3; Genesis 25:30.)
Genesis 28:20-22
Jacob’s vow. A vow is a solemn engagement to perform a certain duty, the obligation of which is felt at the time to be especially binding. It partakes, therefore, of the nature of a promise or a covenant. It involves in its obligation, however, only one party, and is the spontaneous act of that party. Here, then, Jacob appears to take a step in advance of his predecessors. Hitherto, God had taken the initiative in every promise, and the everlasting covenant rests solely on his eternal purpose. Abraham had responded to the call of God, believed in the Lord, walked before him, entered into communion with him, made intercession with him, and given up his only son to him at his demand. In all this there is an acceptance on the part of the creature of the supremacy of the merciful Creator. But now the spirit of adoption prompts Jacob to a spontaneous movement toward God. This is no ordinary vow, referring to some special or occasional resolve.
It is the grand and solemn expression of the soul’s free, full, and perpetual acceptance of the Lord to be its own God. This is the most frank and open utterance of newborn spiritual liberty from the heart of man that has yet appeared in the divine record. “If God will be with me.” This is not the condition on which Jacob will accept God in a mercenary spirit. It is merely the echo and the thankful acknowledgment of the divine assurance, “I am with thee,” which was given immediately before. It is the response of the son to the assurance of the father: “Wilt thou indeed be with me? Thou shalt be my God.” “This stone shall be God’s house,” a monument of the presence of God among his people, and a symbol of the indwelling of his Spirit in their hearts. As it comes in here it signalizes the grateful and loving welcome and entertainment which God receives from his saints. “A tenth will I surely give unto thee.” The honored guest is treated as one of the family. Ten is the whole: a tenth is a share of the whole. The Lord of all receives one share as an acknowledgment of his sovereign right to all. Here it is represented as the full share given to the king who condescends to dwell with his subjects. Thus, Jacob opens his heart, his home, and his treasure to God. These are the simple elements of a theocracy, a national establishment of the true religion. The spirit of power, and of love, and of a sound mind, has begun to reign in Jacob. As the Father is prominently manifested in regenerate Abraham, and the Son in Isaac, so also the Spirit in Jacob.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Genesis 28:3. That thou mayest be a multitude of people — לקהל עמים likhal ammim. There is something very remarkable in the original words: they signify literally for an assembly, congregation, or church of peoples; referring no doubt to the Jewish Church in the wilderness, but more particularly to the Christian Church, composed of every kindred, and nation, and people, and tongue. This is one essential part of the blessing of Abraham. See Genesis 28:4.
