Genesis 46:2
in Genesis 46And that night God spoke to Israel in a vision: “Jacob, Jacob!” He said. “Here I am,” replied Jacob.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, Here am I.
KJV
And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, Here am I.
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This verse in Genesis 46
Commentary
7 notes on this verseNOTICE in this passage the two names which are mentioned. "Israel took his journey and God spoke unto Israel in the visions of the night and said, Jacob, Jacob." "Jacob" was the name of his weakness—"Israel" was the title of his strength. "Jacob" was the name of his birth-nature—"Israel" was the name of his new and spiritual nature. When Israel set out to go down into Egypt and see his son Joseph, he started in great vigor and strength for an old man—faith made him full of force. Therefore we read, "Israel took his journey."
This site's exposition
he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac
on Genesis 46:1-2
Beersheba is the last town in the land on the road to Egypt, and Israel stops to sacrifice before he crosses out of it. The ground is his father's, where the LORD appeared to Isaac at 26:24 and named himself the God of Abraham. God speaks that night in a vision and calls the old name twice, Jacob, Jacob. He answers, Here I am.
This site's exposition
God spoke to Israel in a vision
God calls Israel by his old name twice, as the angel of the LORD called Abraham at 22:11 and God called Moses at Exodus 3:4. Jacob answers as his grandfather did, here I am. These are the last words God speaks in Genesis, given the night before the family goes down to Egypt.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
God called him by name, by his old name, Jacob, Jacob, to remind him of his low estate; his present fears did scarcely become an Israel. Jacob, like one well acquainted with the visions of the Almighty, and ready to obey them, answers, " Here I am, ready to receive orders:" and what has God to say to him?
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
God spake unto Israel--Here is a virtual renewal of the covenant and an assurance of its blessings. Moreover, here is an answer on the chief subject of Jacob's prayer and a removal of any doubt as to the course he was meditating.
NOTICE in this passage the two names which are mentioned. "Israel took his journey and God spoke unto Israel in the visions of the night and said, Jacob, Jacob." "Jacob" was the name of his weakness—"Israel" was the title of his strength. "Jacob" was the name of his birth-nature—"Israel" was the name of his new and spiritual nature. When Israel set out to go down into Egypt and see his son Joseph, he started in great vigor and strength for an old man—faith made him full of force. Therefore we read, "Israel took his journey." I see the old man revived and stirred up to a high degree of hopeful energy. He traveled some few miles on the first day and reached the well of Beersheba. It was the border town, where stood the well of the oak—after passing Beersheba he would be out of the land of promise and on his way to Egypt. And at the remembrance of this fact, the old trembling came over him and he became Jacob, as at some prior time. When he was to take the decisive step to leave Canaan and make his journey into Egypt, then he suddenly felt himself a Jacob and began to halt upon his thigh. And the Lord in the visions of the night addressed him by the name which was most suitable to his condition, saying to him, "Jacob, Jacob." He did not call him "Israel." He came to him in his infirmity and trial and suited His speech to his condition. The Lord met the weakness of His servant's faith, and sent him consolations fitted rather for Jacob than for Israel. Dear Friends, I am afraid that the lives of many of the Lord's chosen people alternate between "Israel" and "Jacob." Sometimes we are "strong in the Lord and in the power of His might," and at another time we cry, "Who is sufficient for these things?" Like princes we prevail with God and are true Israels. But perhaps before the sun has gone down we limp with Jacob and though the spirit is willing, the flesh is weak.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
After G-d had told him, Thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name, 172 Above,:10. it would be proper that He call him by this glorious name, and so he is indeed mentioned three times in this section.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
The duty of honoring one’s father is more imperative than that of honoring one’s grandfather. Therefore the sacrifices are associated with the name of Isaac, and not with that of Abraham. Thus the language of Rashi.
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
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֨אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֱלֹהִ֤ים׀ | ʾelohim | God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| לְיִשְׂרָאֵל֙ | leyisrael | to Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| בְּמַרְאֹ֣ת | bemarot | in [the] visions of | H4759 → | |
| הַלַּ֔יְלָה | halaylah | the night | H3915 → | 233 times |
| וַיֹּ֖אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יַעֲקֹ֣ב׀ | yaako | O Jacob | H3290 → | 350 times |
| יַעֲקֹ֑ב | yaako | Jacob | H3290 → | 350 times |
| וַיֹּ֖אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הִנֵּֽנִי׃ | hineni | here [am] I | H2009 → | 843 times |
וַיֹּ֨אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אֱלֹהִ֤ים׀God
ʾelohimH430 →2601 times
לְיִשְׂרָאֵל֙to Israel
leyisraelH3478 →2507 times
בְּמַרְאֹ֣תin [the] visions of
bemarotH4759 →
הַלַּ֔יְלָהthe night
halaylahH3915 →233 times
וַיֹּ֖אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
יַעֲקֹ֣ב׀O Jacob
yaakoH3290 →350 times
יַעֲקֹ֑בJacob
yaakoH3290 →350 times
וַיֹּ֖אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
הִנֵּֽנִי׃here [am] I
hineniH2009 →843 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 15:1After these events, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.”
it leads to
- Isaiah 41:10
Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My right hand…
- Psalms 119:114
You are my hiding place and my shield; I put my hope in Your word.
- Psalms 84:11
For the LORD God is a sun and a shield; the LORD gives grace and glory; He withholds no good thing from those who walk with integrity.
- Hebrews 13:5–6
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, for God has said: “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.”
- Genesis 26:24
and that night the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your…
- Isaiah 41:10
Through
Acts 9:4He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?”
it leads to
- Zechariah 2:8
For this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “After His Glory has sent Me against the nations that have plundered you—for whoever touches you touches the apple of His eye—
- 1 Corinthians 12:12
The body is a unit, though it is composed of many parts. And although its parts are many, they all form one body. So it is with Christ.
- Isaiah 63:9
In all their distress, He too was afflicted, and the Angel of His Presence saved them. In His love and compassion He redeemed them; He lifted them up and carried them all the days…
- Zechariah 2:8
About Genesis
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2116: “The Unchanging God Cheering Jacob in His Change of Dwelling Place” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentary on Genesis; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.