Genesis 35:11
in Genesis 35And God told him, “I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply. A nation—even a company of nations—shall come from you, and kings shall descend from you.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins;
KJV
And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins;
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This verse in Genesis 35
Commentary
4 notes on this verseTwo things are promised him which we have met with often before:-- (1.) That he should be the father of a great nation, great in number-- a company of nations shall be of thee (every tribe of Israel was a nation, and all the twelve a company of nations), great in honour and power-- kings shall come out of thy loins.
This site's exposition
I am God Almighty
on Genesis 35:11-12
Isaac had sent him out at Genesis 28:3 with God Almighty's blessing, to be fruitful and multiply, and God now says it to him in person. El Shaddai is the name used in the covenant with Abraham at Genesis 17:1, where a change of name and kings descending stand in the same order. The land goes to Jacob and his descendants, and the family holds a cave in it.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
The land that was given to Abraham and Isaac is here entailed on Jacob and his seed. These two promises had also a spiritual signification, which we may suppose Jacob himself had some notion of: for without doubt Christ is the promised seed, and heaven is the promised land; the former is the foundation, and the latter the top-stone of all God's favours.
And God said unto him, I am God Almighty,....
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
This is a blessing as in the account of the Creation. 6 Cf. I.E.’s comments on Gen.:26.
2 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
G-d is saying, “Now you are still called Jacob even though the lord of Esau has changed your name. Above,:29. See Rashi, ibid., Verse, that it was “the lord of Esau” who strove with Jacob and then finally blessed him.
“As I have given it to them so will I give it to you.” This alludes to an oath, for the land was given to them with an oath so that sin should not cause annulment of the gift, but to Jacob it was originally given without an oath.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּאמֶר֩ | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| ל֨וֹ | lo | to <the> him | ||
| אֱלֹהִ֜ים | ʾelohim | God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| אֲנִ֨י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| אֵ֤ל | ʾel | [am] God | H410 → | 241 times |
| שַׁדַּי֙ | shadai | Almighty | H7706 → | 48 times |
| פְּרֵ֣ה | pereh | be fruitful | H6509 → | 29 times |
| וּרְבֵ֔ה | ureveh | and multiply | H7235 → | 227 times |
| גּ֛וֹי | goy | a nation | H1471 → | 561 times |
| וּקְהַ֥ל | ukehal | and a company of | H6951 → | 123 times |
| גּוֹיִ֖ם | goyim | nations | H1471 → | 561 times |
| יִהְיֶ֣ה | yihyeh | it will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| מִמֶּ֑ךָּ | mimeka | from you | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| וּמְלָכִ֖ים | umelakhim | and kings | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| מֵחֲלָצֶ֥יךָ | mechalatzeikha | from loins your | H2504 → | |
| יֵצֵֽאוּ׃ | yetzeu | they will come out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
וַיֹּאמֶר֩and he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
ל֨וֹto <the> him
lo
אֱלֹהִ֜יםGod
ʾelohimH430 →2601 times
אֲנִ֨יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
אֵ֤ל[am] God
ʾelH410 →241 times
שַׁדַּי֙Almighty
shadaiH7706 →48 times
פְּרֵ֣הbe fruitful
perehH6509 →29 times
וּרְבֵ֔הand multiply
urevehH7235 →227 times
גּ֛וֹיa nation
goyH1471 →561 times
וּקְהַ֥לand a company of
ukehalH6951 →123 times
גּוֹיִ֖םnations
goyimH1471 →561 times
יִהְיֶ֣הit will be
yihyehH1961 →3559 times
מִמֶּ֑ךָּfrom you
mimekaH4480 →1188 times
וּמְלָכִ֖יםand kings
umelakhimH4428 →2525 times
מֵחֲלָצֶ֥יךָfrom loins your
mechalatzeikhaH2504 →
יֵצֵֽאוּ׃they will come out
yetzeuH3318 →1067 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 17:1When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty. Walk before Me and be blameless.
it leads to
- Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.
- Ephesians 3:20
Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us,
- Luke 1:6
Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and decrees of the Lord.
- Genesis 18:14
Is anything too difficult for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you—in about a year—and Sarah will have a son.”
- Genesis 6:9
This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation; Noah walked with God.
- Philippians 4:13
Through
Genesis 22:17I will surely bless you, and I will multiply your descendants like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will possess the gates of their enemies.
it leads to
- Genesis 15:5
And the LORD took him outside and said, “Now look to the heavens and count the stars, if you are able.” Then He told him, “So shall your offspring be.”
- Jeremiah 33:22
As the hosts of heaven cannot be counted and as the sand on the seashore cannot be measured, so too will I multiply the descendants of My servant David and the Levites who minister…
- Genesis 15:5
Through
Exodus 6:3I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by My name the LORD I did not make Myself known to them.
it leads to
- Psalms 83:18
May they know that You alone, whose name is the LORD, are Most High over all the earth.
- Psalms 83:18
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Genesis
This page draws on John Calvin, Commentary on Genesis; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.