Genesis 47:31
in Genesis 47“Swear to me,” Jacob said. So Joseph swore to him, and Israel bowed in worship at the head of his bed.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he said, Swear unto me: and he sware unto him. And Israel bowed himself upon the bed’s head.
KJV
And he said, Swear unto me. And he sware unto him. And Israel bowed himself upon the bed’s head.
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This verse in Genesis 47
Commentary
7 notes on this verse(Chapter 47, Verse 31) And he said to him, swear to me. And he swore to him: and Israel worshipped against the top of his staff. And in this place, some falsely simulate that Jacob worshipped the top of Joseph's scepter, because he honored his son and worshipped his power, when in Hebrew it is read very differently: And Israel worshipped, he said, at the head of the bed: which means, after his son had sworn to him confidently about the request he had made, he worshipped God against the head of his bed.
This site's exposition
Israel bowed in worship
Jacob asks Joseph to swear, Joseph swears, and Israel worships at the head of his bed. The Hebrew here turns on three consonants pointed as either bed or staff. Jerome read a bed, with Jacob worshipping God at its head, and the Greek Old Testament read a staff, which Hebrews 11:21 follows. Israel worships as soon as the oath is sworn.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And he said, swear unto me,....
Nothing will better help to make a death-bed easy than the certain prospect of a rest in Canaan after death. (3.) When this was done Israel bowed himself upon the bed's head, yielding himself, as it were, to the stroke of death ("Now let it come, and it shall be welcome"), or worshipping God, as it is explained, Heb. xi.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
And Israel bowed himself upon the bed’s head - Jacob was now both old and feeble, and we may suppose him reclined on his couch when Joseph came; that he afterwards sat up erect (see Gen 48:2) while conversing with his son, and receiving his oath and promise; and that when this was finished he bowed himself upon the bed’s head - exhausted with the conversation, he again reclined himself on his bed as before. This seems to be the simple meaning, which the text unconnected with any religious system or prejudice, naturally proposes.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Israel bowed himself upon the bed's head--Oriental beds are mere mats, having no head, and the translation should be "the top of his staff," as the apostle renders it (Heb 11:21).
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
His address to Joseph--"if now I have found grace in thy sight," that is, as the vizier of Egypt--his exacting a solemn oath that his wishes would be fulfilled and the peculiar form of that oath, all pointed significantly to the promise and showed the intensity of his desire to enjoy its blessings (compare Nu 10:29).
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֗אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הִשָּֽׁבְעָה֙ | hishaveah | swear an oath ! | H7650 → | 186 times |
| לִ֔י | li | to me | ||
| וַיִּשָּׁבַ֖ע | vaiyishava' | and he swore an oath | H7650 → | 186 times |
| ל֑וֹ | lo | to him | ||
| וַיִּשְׁתַּ֥חוּ | vaiyishtachu | and he bowed down | H7812 → | 172 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| רֹ֥אשׁ | rosh | [the] head of | H7218 → | 599 times |
| הַמִּטָּֽה׃ פ | hamitah | the bed | H4296 → | 29 times |
וַיֹּ֗אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
הִשָּֽׁבְעָה֙swear an oath !
hishaveahH7650 →186 times
לִ֔יto me
li
וַיִּשָּׁבַ֖עand he swore an oath
vaiyishava'H7650 →186 times
ל֑וֹto him
lo
וַיִּשְׁתַּ֥חוּand he bowed down
vaiyishtachuH7812 →172 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֖לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
רֹ֥אשׁ[the] head of
roshH7218 →599 times
הַמִּטָּֽה׃ פthe bed
hamitahH4296 →29 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 24:3and I will have you swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites…
it leads to
- Genesis 26:34–35
When Esau was forty years old, he took as his wives Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite and Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite.
- 2 Corinthians 6:14–17
Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership can righteousness have with wickedness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness?
- Deuteronomy 7:3–4
Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons,
- Genesis 28:8
And seeing that his father Isaac disapproved of the Canaanite women,
- Genesis 26:34–35
Through
Genesis 24:26Then the man bowed down and worshiped the LORD,
it leads to
- Genesis 24:48
Then I bowed down and worshiped the LORD; and I blessed the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who led me on the right road to take the granddaughter of my master’s brother…
- Genesis 24:52
When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he bowed down to the ground before the LORD.
- Exodus 4:31
and they believed. And when they heard that the LORD had attended to the Israelites and had seen their affliction, they bowed down and worshiped.
- Genesis 24:48
Through
1 Kings 1:47The king’s servants have also gone to congratulate our lord King David, saying, ‘May your God make the name of Solomon more famous than your own name, and may He make his throne greater…
it leads to
- 1 Kings 1:37
Just as the LORD was with my lord the king, so may He be with Solomon and make his throne even greater than that of my lord King David.”
- 1 Kings 1:37
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; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Hebrew Questions on Genesis; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.