Genesis 12:3
in Genesis 12I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and I will bless them that bless thee, and him that curseth thee will I curse: and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
KJV
And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
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This verse in Genesis 12
Commentary
6 notes on this verseAnd I will bless them that bless thee,.... Not the priests only that should bless his children, the children of Israel, as the Targum of Jonathan, but all men of all nations, and of every age, that speak well of him, commend him for his faith and holiness, and tread in his steps, these are blessed with faithful Abraham, Gal 3:
This site's exposition
Leave your country, your kindred
on Genesis 12:1-3
The command separates Abram from three things in rising order of cost, his country, his kindred, his father's household. The promises answer each loss, a great nation, a great name, and blessing for all the families. Galatians 3:8 takes that last clause as the gospel announced to Abraham in advance.
This site's exposition
I will bless those who bless you
The Targum of Jonathan takes those who bless you as the priests who bless Israel, and Gill reads it of all who bless Abram. Clarke reads blessed through you as blessed through the Messiah, born of Abram's line. The families of the earth are the families scattered at Babel.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
A commentator
Clement of RomeClement's First Letter to the Corinthians, Chapter 10 · Written before 99.
proposed
Abraham, styled "the friend," [Isaiah 41:8] was found faithful, inasmuch as he rendered obedience to the words of God. He, in the exercise of obedience, went out from his own country, and from his kindred, and from his father's house, in order that, by forsaking a small territory, and a weak family, and an insignificant house, he might inherit the promises of God. For God said to him, "Get you out from your country, and from your kindred, and from your father's house, into the land which I shall show you. And I will make you a great nation, and will bless you, and make your name great, and you shall be blessed. And I will bless them that bless you, and curse them that curse you; and in you shall all the families of the earth be blessed." [Genesis 12:1-3] And again, on his departing from Lot, God said to him, "Lift up your eyes, and look from the place where you now are, northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward; for all the land which you see, to you will I give it, and to your seed forever. And I will make your seed as the dust of the earth, [so that] if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall your seed also be numbered." [Genesis 13:14-16] And again [the Scripture] says, "God brought forth Abram, and spoke unto him, Look up now to heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them; so shall your seed be. And Abram believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness." [Genesis 15:5-6] On account of his faith and hospitality, a son was given him in his old age; and in the exercise of obedience, he offered him as a sacrifice to God on one of the mountains which He showed him.
The Medieval Church1 voice
And the Lord said to Abram, "Go out from your land, and from your kindred, and from your father's house to the land that I will show you.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
In thee - In thy posterity, in the Messiah, who shall spring from thee, shall all families of the earth be blessed; for as he shall take on him human nature from the posterity of Abraham, he shall taste death for every man, his Gospel shall be preached throughout the world, and innumerable blessings be derived on all mankind through his death and intercession.
The words behind it
9 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַאֲבָֽרֲכָה֙ | vaavarakhah | so let me bless | H1288 → | 330 times |
| מְבָ֣רְכֶ֔יךָ | mevarekheikha | [those who] bless you | H1288 → | 330 times |
| וּמְקַלֶּלְךָ֖ | umekalelcha | and [one who] disdains you | H7043 → | 82 times |
| אָאֹ֑ר | ʾaor | I will curse | H779 → | 63 times |
| וְנִבְרְכ֣וּ | venivrekhu | and they will be blessed | H1288 → | 330 times |
| בְךָ֔ | vekha | by <the> you | ||
| כֹּ֖ל | kol | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| מִשְׁפְּחֹ֥ת | mishpechot | [the] clans of | H4940 → | 303 times |
| הָאֲדָמָֽה׃ | haadamah | the earth | H127 → | 225 times |
וַאֲבָֽרֲכָה֙so let me bless
vaavarakhahH1288 →330 times
מְבָ֣רְכֶ֔יךָ[those who] bless you
mevarekheikhaH1288 →330 times
וּמְקַלֶּלְךָ֖and [one who] disdains you
umekalelchaH7043 →82 times
אָאֹ֑רI will curse
ʾaorH779 →63 times
וְנִבְרְכ֣וּand they will be blessed
venivrekhuH1288 →330 times
בְךָ֔by <the> you
vekha
כֹּ֖לall
kolH3605 →5413 times
מִשְׁפְּחֹ֥ת[the] clans of
mishpechotH4940 →303 times
הָאֲדָמָֽה׃the earth
haadamahH127 →225 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Genesis 22:18And through your offspring all nations of the earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”
it leads to
- Acts 3:25
And you are sons of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers when He said to Abraham, ‘Through your offspring all the families of the earth will be blessed.’
- Genesis 18:18
Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and through him all the nations of the earth will be blessed.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Galatians 3:16
The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say, “and to seeds,” meaning many, but “and to your seed,” meaning One, who is Christ.
- Genesis 26:4–5
I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations of the earth will be blessed,
- Galatians 3:8–9
The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and foretold the gospel to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.”
- Acts 3:25
Through
Galatians 3:8The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and foretold the gospel to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.”
it leads to
- Genesis 22:18
And through your offspring all nations of the earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”
- Genesis 28:14
Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and east and north and south. All the families of the earth will be blessed through…
- Genesis 22:18
Through
Genesis 27:29May peoples serve you and nations bow down to you. May you be the master of your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you…
it leads to
- Numbers 24:9
He crouches, he lies down like a lion; like a lioness, who dares to rouse him? Blessed are those who bless you and cursed are those who curse you.”
- Numbers 24:9
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies21
On this verse
On this chapter
About Genesis
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bede, Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron); Clement of Rome, Clement's First Letter to the Corinthians, Chapter 10; John Calvin, Commentary on Genesis; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.