Genesis 28:4
in Genesis 28And may He give the blessing of Abraham to you and your descendants, so that you may possess the land where you dwell as a foreigner, the land God gave to Abraham.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the land of thy sojournings, which God gave unto Abraham.
KJV
And give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art a stranger, which God gave unto Abraham.
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This verse in Genesis 28
Commentary
8 notes on this verseGive thee the blessing of Abraham - May he confirm the inheritance with all its attendant blessings to thee, to the exclusion of Esau; as he did to me, to the exclusion of Ishmael.
This site's exposition
May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful
on Genesis 28:3-4
Isaac now names the blessing outright, the blessing of Abraham, and hands it to the son he knows is in front of him. The same verse calls Jacob a foreigner in the land he is promised. That is how the patriarchs hold Canaan through Genesis. The one plot any of them owns is the cave Abraham bought at 23:16 to bury Sarah.
This site's exposition
the blessing of Abraham to you
Adam Clarke hears Isaac passing the blessing on as it came to him, to the exclusion of Esau as Isaac had been chosen over Ishmael. Matthew Henry reads the promised land as a type of heaven. Those who live most like strangers, he says, have the best enjoyment of the earth.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
See how this good man foretells everything to him and gives Jacob sufficient support for his comfort by forecasting to him his return and possession of the land and the fact that not only will he grow into a multitude but also that a league of nations will come from his descendants. On hearing this the young man carried out his father's wishes and traveled to Meso-potamia to his mother's brother, Laban.… Do you see, dearly beloved, how much perspicacity this loving mother showed in rescuing Jacob from danger by supplying a plausible excuse for his journey, neither highlighting Esau's wickedness nor revealing the reason to the father but giving appropriate advice to her son so that he might be persuaded through fear to accept what was said by her and propose a convincing plan to his father? Hence the good man went along with what she said and sent Jacob on his way after plying him with his blessings.
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
Those that are sojourners now shall be heirs for ever: and, even now, those do most inherit the earth (though they do not inherit most of it) that are most like strangers in it. Those have the best enjoyment of present things that sit most loose to them. This promise looks as high as heaven, of which Canaan was a type.
And give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee,....
Christ is the great blessing of the world. All that are blessed, whatever family they are of, are blessed in him, and none of any family are excluded from blessedness in him, but those that exclude themselves.
It is a gospel blessing, the blessing of church-privileges, that is the blessing of Abraham, which upon the Gentiles through faith, Gal. iii. It is a blessing from God Almighty, by which name God appeared to the patriarchs, Exod. vi.
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְיִֽתֶּן־ | veyiten- | and may he give | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לְךָ֙ | lekha | to <the> you | ||
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בִּרְכַּ֣ת | birkat | [the] blessing of | H1293 → | 69 times |
| אַבְרָהָ֔ם | ʾavraham | Abraham | H85 → | 175 times |
| לְךָ֖ | lekha | to you | ||
| וּלְזַרְעֲךָ֣ | ulezarakha | and to offspring your | H2233 → | 229 times |
| אִתָּ֑ךְ | ʾitakh | with you | H854 → | 929 times |
| לְרִשְׁתְּךָ֙ | lerishtekha | to take possession of you | H3423 → | 231 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֶ֣רֶץ | ʾeretz | [the] land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| מְגֻרֶ֔יךָ | megureikha | sojournings your | H4033 → | 11 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| נָתַ֥ן | natan | he gave | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| אֱלֹהִ֖ים | ʾelohim | God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| לְאַבְרָהָֽם׃ | leavraham | to Abraham | H85 → | 175 times |
וְיִֽתֶּן־and may he give
veyiten-H5414 →2011 times
לְךָ֙to <the> you
lekha
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
בִּרְכַּ֣ת[the] blessing of
birkatH1293 →69 times
אַבְרָהָ֔םAbraham
ʾavrahamH85 →175 times
לְךָ֖to you
lekha
וּלְזַרְעֲךָ֣and to offspring your
ulezarakhaH2233 →229 times
אִתָּ֑ךְwith you
ʾitakhH854 →929 times
לְרִשְׁתְּךָ֙to take possession of you
lerishtekhaH3423 →231 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אֶ֣רֶץ[the] land of
ʾeretzH776 →2504 times
מְגֻרֶ֔יךָsojournings your
megureikhaH4033 →11 times
אֲשֶׁר־which
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
נָתַ֥ןhe gave
natanH5414 →2011 times
אֱלֹהִ֖יםGod
ʾelohimH430 →2601 times
לְאַבְרָהָֽם׃to Abraham
leavrahamH85 →175 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
Ephesians 1:3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms.
it leads to
- 1 Peter 1:3
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
- 2 Corinthians 1:3
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,
- Ephesians 2:6
And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,
- Genesis 22:18
And through your offspring all nations of the earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”
- Revelation 5:9–14
And they sang a new song: “Worthy are You to take the scroll and open its seals, because You were slain, and by Your blood You purchased for God those from every tribe and…
- 1 Peter 1:3
Through
Galatians 3:14He redeemed us in order that the blessing promised to Abraham would come to the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.
it leads to
- Galatians 3:28–29
There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
- 1 Corinthians 12:13
For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free, and we were all given one Spirit to drink.
- Ephesians 2:18
For through Him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
- Galatians 3:28–29
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
On this verse
On this chapter
About Genesis
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, HOMILIES ON GENESIS 54.14-15; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.