Genesis 37:1
in Genesis 37Now Jacob lived in the land where his father had resided, the land of Canaan.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Jacob dwelt in the land of his father’s sojournings, in the land of Canaan.
KJV
And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan.
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This verse in Genesis 37
Commentary
7 notes on this verseMoses confirms what he had before declared, that, by the departure of Esau, the land was left to holy Jacob as its sole possessor. Although in appearance he did not obtain a single clod; yet, contented with the bare sight of the land, he exercised his faith; and Moses expressly compares him with his father, who had been a stranger in that land all his life.
This site's exposition
the land where his father had resided
Jacob settles in Canaan, the land God promised him, and the verse calls it the land where his father had resided. Isaac had lived there all his life and owned none of it. The only ground the three patriarchs ever bought is the cave at Machpelah in Genesis 23 and a plot at Shechem in Genesis 33. Eleven verses later the brothers pasture flocks on that plot.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger,.... And this stands opposed unto, and is distinguished from the case and circumstances of Esau and his posterity, expressed in the preceding chapter, who dwelt in the land of their possession, not as strangers and sojourners, as Jacob and his seed, but as lords and proprietors; and so these words may be introduced and read in connection with the former history; "but Jacob dwelt", &c. (a); and this verse would better conclude the preceding chapter than begin a new one.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger--that is, "a sojourner"; "father" used collectively. The patriarch was at this time at Mamre, in the valley of Hebron (compare Ge 35:27); and his dwelling there was continued in the same manner and prompted by the same motives as that of Abraham and Isaac (Heb 11:13).
Wherein his father was a stranger - מגורי אביו megurey abiv, Jacob dwelt in the land of his father’s sojournings, as the margin very properly reads it. The place was probably the vale of Hebron, see Gen 37:14.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
- Joseph Was Sold into Egypt 17. דתין dotayı̂n Dothain, “two wells?” (Gesenius) 25. נכאת neko't “tragacanth” or goat’s-thorn gum, yielded by the “astragalus gummifer”, a native of Mount Lebanon. צרי tsērı̂y “opobalsamum,” the resin of the balsam tree, growing in Gilead, and having healing qualities. לט loṭ, λῆδον lēdon, “ledum, ladanum,” in the Septuagint στακτή staktē. The former is a gum produced from the cistus rose. The latter is a gum resembling liquid myrrh.
Modern Voices1 voice
Numbers in dreams generally represent the identical number in waking life. However, the number will probably be linked to something that needs to be interpreted symbolically. For example, when Joseph dreamed of eleven stars, the eleven was literal but the stars were symbolic and actually represented his brothers.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
The meaning of the verse is that since Scripture had said that the chiefs of Esau dwelt in the land of their possessions. Above,:43, the concluding verse in the previous Sedra.
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. 4 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
7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֵּ֣שֶׁב | vaiyeshev | and he dwelt | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| יַעֲקֹ֔ב | yaako | Jacob | H3290 → | 350 times |
| בְּאֶ֖רֶץ | beeretz | in [the] land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| מְגוּרֵ֣י | megurei | [the] sojournings of | H4033 → | 11 times |
| אָבִ֑יו | ʾaviv | father his | H1 → | 1212 times |
| בְּאֶ֖רֶץ | beeretz | in [the] land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| כְּנָֽעַן׃ | kenaan | Canaan | H3667 → | 94 times |
וַיֵּ֣שֶׁבand he dwelt
vaiyeshevH3427 →1079 times
יַעֲקֹ֔בJacob
yaakoH3290 →350 times
בְּאֶ֖רֶץin [the] land of
beeretzH776 →2504 times
מְגוּרֵ֣י[the] sojournings of
megureiH4033 →11 times
אָבִ֑יוfather his
ʾavivH1 →1212 times
בְּאֶ֖רֶץin [the] land of
beeretzH776 →2504 times
כְּנָֽעַן׃Canaan
kenaanH3667 →94 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 17:8And to you and your descendants I will give the land where you are residing—all the land of Canaan—as an eternal possession; and I will be their God.”
it leads to
- Genesis 12:7
Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring.” So Abram built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Leviticus 26:12
I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be My people.
- Psalms 105:11
“I will give you the land of Canaan as the portion of your inheritance.”
- Exodus 6:7
I will take you as My own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of…
- Genesis 12:7
Through
Genesis 36:7For their possessions were too great for them to dwell together; the land where they stayed could not support them because of their livestock.
it leads to
- Genesis 17:8
And to you and your descendants I will give the land where you are residing—all the land of Canaan—as an eternal possession; and I will be their God.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 13:6
But the land was unable to support both of them while they stayed together, for they had so many possessions that they were unable to coexist.
- Genesis 17:8
Through
Genesis 23:4“I am a foreigner and an outsider among you. Give me a burial site among you so that I can bury my dead.”
it leads to
- Hebrews 11:9
By faith he dwelt in the promised land as a stranger in a foreign country. He lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Hebrews 11:9
Through
Genesis 28:4And 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.”
it leads to
- Galatians 3:14
He 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.
- Galatians 3:14
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
On this verse
About Genesis
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Calvin, Commentary on Genesis; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Mark Virkler, Understanding Your Prophetic Dreams! (Elijah List article).