Lectionary Calendar
Saturday, November 23rd, 2024
the Week of Proper 28 / Ordinary 33
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Read the Bible

New King James Version

Genesis 28:20

Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on,

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Blessing;   Consecration;   Covenant;   Decision;   Jacob;   Religion;   Stones;   Vows;   Thompson Chain Reference - Covenants and Vows;   Jacob;   Prayer;   Vows;   The Topic Concordance - Tithe;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Garments;   Prayer;   Providence of God, the;   Vows;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Bethel;   Bread;   Vow;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Bethel;   Giving;   Jacob;   Tithes;   Yahweh;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Building;   Prayer;   Providence of God;   Worship;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Prayer;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Absalom;   Jacob;   Tithes;   Vow;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Bethel;   Gift, Giving;   Jacob;   Peace, Spiritual;   Pilgrimage;   Stone;   Temple of Jerusalem;   Vows;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Marriage;   Nebaioth;   Pillar;   Prayer;   Sacrifice and Offering;   Tithes;   Vows;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Altar ;   Dream;   Transfiguration (2);   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Dreams;   Laban;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Canaan (2);   Smith Bible Dictionary - Vows;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Jacob;   Word;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Prayer;   Vow;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Altar;   Aquila (Βλώμβσ);   Didache;   High Place;   Memra;   Rebekah;  

Parallel Translations

English Standard Version
Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear,
Update Bible Version
And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on,
New Century Version
Then Jacob made a promise. He said, "I want God to be with me and to protect me on this journey. I want him to give me food to eat and clothes to wear
New English Translation
Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God is with me and protects me on this journey I am taking and gives me food to eat and clothing to wear,
Webster's Bible Translation
And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on,
World English Bible
Jacob vowed a vow, saying, "If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and clothing to put on,
Amplified Bible
Then Jacob made a vow (promise), saying, "If God will be with me and will keep me on this journey that I take, and will give me food to eat and clothing to wear,
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Also he auowide a vow, and seide, If God is with me, and kepith me in the weie in which Y go, and yyueth to me looues to ete, and clothis to be clothid,
Young's Literal Translation
And Jacob voweth a vow, saying, `Seeing God is with me, and hath kept me in this way which I am going, and hath given to me bread to eat, and a garment to put on --
Berean Standard Bible
Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me and watch over me on this journey, and if He will provide me with food to eat and clothes to wear,
Contemporary English Version
Jacob solemnly promised God, "If you go with me and watch over me as I travel, and if you give me food and clothes
Complete Jewish Bible
Ya‘akov took this vow: "If God will be with me and will guard me on this road that I am traveling, giving me bread to eat and clothes to wear,
American Standard Version
And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on,
Bible in Basic English
Then Jacob took an oath, and said, If God will be with me, and keep me safe on my journey, and give me food and clothing to put on,
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And Iacob vowed a vowe, saying: Yf God wyll be with me, and wyll kepe me in this iourney in which I go, and wyll geue me bread to eate, and clothes to put on:
Darby Translation
And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and keep me on this road that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and a garment to put on,
Easy-to-Read Version
Then Jacob made a promise. He said, "If God will be with me, and if he will protect me on this trip, and if he gives me food to eat and clothes to wear,
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And Jacob vowed a vow, saying: 'If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on,
King James Version (1611)
And Iacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keepe me in this way that I goe, and will giue me bread to eate, and raiment to put on,
King James Version
And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on,
New Life Bible
Then Jacob made a promise. He said, "If God will be with me and take care of me as I go, and if He will give me food to eat and clothes to wear,
New Revised Standard
Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear,
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, - If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way whereon, I, am going, and give me bread to eat and raiment to put on;
Geneva Bible (1587)
Then Iaakob vowed a vowe, saying, If God will be with me, and will keepe me in this iourney which I go, & wil giue me bread to eate, and clothes to put on:
George Lamsa Translation
And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me and will protect me in this way that I go, and will give me food to eat and clothing to wear
Good News Translation
Then Jacob made a vow to the Lord : "If you will be with me and protect me on the journey I am making and give me food and clothing,
Douay-Rheims Bible
And he made a vow, saying: If God shall be with me, and shall keep me in the way, by which I walk, and shall give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on,
Revised Standard Version
Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear,
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If the Lord God will be with me, and guard me throughout on this journey, on which I am going, and give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on,
English Revised Version
And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on,
Christian Standard Bible®
Then Jacob made a vow: “If God will be with me and watch over me during this journey I’m making, if he provides me with food to eat and clothing to wear,
Hebrew Names Version
Ya`akov vowed a vow, saying, "If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and clothing to put on,
Lexham English Bible
And Jacob made a vow saying, "If God will be with me and protect me on this way that I am going, and gives me food to eat and clothing to wear,
Literal Translation
And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God is with me and keeps me in this way which I am going, and gives to me bread to eat and clothing to wear,
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And Iacob made a vowe, and sayde: Yf God wyll be with me, and kepe me in this iourney yt I go & geue me bred to eate, and clothinge to put on,
THE MESSAGE
Jacob vowed a vow: "If God stands by me and protects me on this journey on which I'm setting out, keeps me in food and clothing, and brings me back in one piece to my father's house, this God will be my God. This stone that I have set up as a memorial pillar will mark this as a place where God lives. And everything you give me, I'll return a tenth to you."
New American Standard Bible
Jacob also made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me and will keep me on this journey that I take, and give me food to eat and garments to wear,
New Living Translation
Then Jacob made this vow: "If God will indeed be with me and protect me on this journey, and if he will provide me with food and clothing,
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me and will keep me on this journey that I take, and will give me food to eat and garments to wear,
Legacy Standard Bible
Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me and will keep me on this journey on which I am going, and will give me food to eat and garments to wear,

Contextual Overview

16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it." 17 And he was afraid and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!" 18 Then Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put at his head, set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on top of it. 19 And he called the name of that place Bethel; [fn] but the name of that city had been Luz previously. 20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, 21 so that I come back to my father's house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God. 22 And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God's house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

vowed: Genesis 31:13, Leviticus 27:1-34, Numbers 6:1-20, Numbers 21:2, Numbers 21:3, Judges 11:30, Judges 11:31, 1 Samuel 1:11, 1 Samuel 1:28, 1 Samuel 14:24, 2 Samuel 15:8, Nehemiah 9:1 - Nehemiah 10:39, Psalms 22:25, Psalms 56:12, Psalms 61:5, Psalms 61:8, Psalms 66:13, Psalms 76:11, Psalms 116:14, Psalms 116:18, Psalms 119:106, Psalms 132:2, Ecclesiastes 5:1-7, Isaiah 19:21, John 1:16, Acts 18:18, Acts 23:12-15

If God: Genesis 28:15

will give: 1 Timothy 6:8

Reciprocal: Genesis 31:3 - Return Genesis 35:3 - was with Genesis 48:15 - fed me Leviticus 22:21 - to accomplish Leviticus 27:2 - When Numbers 30:2 - vow a vow Deuteronomy 12:26 - thy vows Deuteronomy 23:21 - General Ruth 1:6 - in giving Psalms 66:14 - when Proverbs 30:8 - feed Ecclesiastes 5:2 - not rash Ecclesiastes 5:4 - vowest Jonah 1:16 - made Philippians 4:11 - I have

Cross-References

Genesis 28:1
Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him, and charged him, and said to him: "You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.
Genesis 28:2
Arise, go to Padan Aram, to the house of Bethuel your mother's father; and take yourself a wife from there of the daughters of Laban your mother's brother.
Genesis 28:3
"May God Almighty bless you, And make you fruitful and multiply you, That you may be an assembly of peoples;
Genesis 28:7
and that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and had gone to Padan Aram.
Genesis 28:10
Now Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Haran.
Genesis 28:12
Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.
Genesis 28:15
Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you."
Genesis 28:20
Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on,
Genesis 31:13
I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed the pillar and where you made a vow to Me. Now arise, get out of this land, and return to the land of your family."'
1 Samuel 1:11
Then she made a vow and said, "O LORD of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head."

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And Jacob vowed a vow,.... Which is the first vow we read of in Scripture:

saying, if God will be with me; the word if is not a sign of doubting, but is either an adverb of time, and may be rendered, "when God shall be with me" t; or as a supposition, expressive of an inference or conclusion drawn, "seeing God will be with me" u; which he had the utmost reason to believe he would, since he had not only promised it, but had so lately granted him his presence in a very singular and remarkable manner, referring to the promise of God, Genesis 28:15:

and will keep me in this way that I go; as he had said he would, and as hitherto he had, and for the future he had reason to believe he still would:

and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on; which is included in that clause, "I will not leave thee", c. Genesis 28:15, even not without food and raiment which is all men can desire or use, and therefore with them should be content.

t אם "quum", Junius Tremellius so Ainsworth. u Quandoquidem, Tigurine version.

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 28:20. Vowed a vow — A vow is a solemn, holy promise, by which a man bound himself to do certain things in a particular way, time, c., and for power to accomplish which he depended on God hence all vows were made with prayer.

If God will be with me, c. — Jacob seems to make this vow rather for his posterity than for himself, as we may learn from Genesis 28:13-15 for he particularly refers to the promises which God had made to him, which concerned the multiplication of his offspring, and their establishment in that land. If, then, God shall fulfil these promises, he binds his posterity to build God a house, and to devote for the maintenance of his worship the tenth of all their earthly goods. This mode of interpretation removes that appearance of self-interest which almost any other view of the subject presents. Jacob had certainly, long ere this, taken Jehovah for his God; and so thoroughly had he been instructed in the knowledge of Jehovah, that we may rest satisfied no reverses of fortune could have induced him to apostatize: but as his taking refuge with Laban was probably typical of the sojourning of his descendants in Egypt, his persecution, so as to be obliged to depart from Laban, the bad treatment of his posterity by the Egyptians, his rescue from death, preservation on his journey, re-establishment in his own country, &c., were all typical of the exodus of his descendants, their travels in the desert, and establishment in the promised land, where they built a house to God, and where, for the support and maintenance of the pure worship of God, they gave to the priests and Levites the tenth of all their worldly produce. If all this be understood as referring to Jacob only, the Scripture gives us no information how he performed his vow.


 
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