Genesis 48:21
in Genesis 48Then Israel said to Joseph, “Look, I am about to die, but God will be with you and bring you back to the land of your fathers.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die: but God will be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers.
KJV
And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die: but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers.
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This verse in Genesis 48
Commentary
8 notes on this verseBehold, I die - With what composure is this most awful word expressed! Surely of Jacob it might be now said, “He turns his sight undaunted on the tomb;” for though it is not said that he was full of days, as were Abraham and Isaac, yet he is perfectly willing to bid adieu to earthly things, and lay his body in the grave. Could any person act as the patriarchs did in their last moments, who had no hopes of eternal life, no belief in the immortality of the soul? Impossible!
This site's exposition
God will be with you and bring you back
Israel states his own death without ceremony. What he hands over is the one thing his family will need in Egypt, that God will bring them back to the land of their fathers. God had said it to him at Beersheba on the road down, at Genesis 46:3 and 4. A dying man in Egypt speaks of Canaan as their land.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Let us therefore not be anxious to amass money and bequeath it to our children; rather, let us teach them virtue and call down blessing from God on them. This, you see, this is the greatest wealth; this wealth is beyond counting, proof against consumption, leading to greater wealth as each day passes. Nothing in fact is equal to virtue; nothing more potent than it. Even if you were to mention kingship itself and the wearer of the crown, he would be worse off than any pauper clad in rags if he lacked virtue. What good, after all, could the crown or royal purple be to the man betrayed by his own indifference? I mean, surely the Lord has no respect for distinctions based on externals? Surely he is not moved by the fame of prominent people? One thing is to be sought after with him, to be able to find the door opened to confidence with him on the basis of the operation of virtue. The person who enjoys no such confidence will be among the least respected and least entitled to speak.
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
Accordingly, Joseph, when he died, left it with his brethren, ch. l. This assurance was given them, and carefully preserved among them, that they might neither love Egypt too much when it favoured them, nor fear it too much when it frowned upon them.
6 And thy issue, which thou begettest after them, shall be thine, and shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance. 7 And as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan in the way, when yet there was but a little way to come unto Ephrath: and I buried her there in the way of Ephrath; the same is Beth-lehem.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
These words of Jacob furnish us with comfort in reference to the death of our friends: But God shall be with us, and his gracious presence is sufficient to make up the loss. They leave us, but he will never fail us. He will bring us to the land of our fathers, the heavenly Canaan, whither our godly fathers are gone before us.
And Israel said unto Joseph, behold, I die,....
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die--The patriarch could speak of death with composure, but he wished to prepare Joseph and the rest of the family for the shock. but God shall be with you--Jacob, in all probability, was not authorized to speak of their bondage--he dwelt only on the certainty of their restoration to Canaan.
The words behind it
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֤אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יוֹסֵ֔ף | yosef | Joseph | H3130 → | 213 times |
| הִנֵּ֥ה | hineh | here! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| אָנֹכִ֖י | ʾanokhi | I | H595 → | 359 times |
| מֵ֑ת | met | [am] about to die | H4191 → | 839 times |
| וְהָיָ֤ה | vehayah | and he will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| אֱלֹהִים֙ | ʾelohim | God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| עִמָּכֶ֔ם | ʾimakhem | with you | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| וְהֵשִׁ֣יב | veheshiv | and he will bring back | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| אֶתְכֶ֔ם | ʾetkhem | <obj.> you | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אֶ֖רֶץ | ʾeretz | [the] land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| אֲבֹתֵיכֶֽם׃ | ʾavoteikhem | fathers your | H1 → | 1212 times |
וַיֹּ֤אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
יִשְׂרָאֵל֙Israel
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
יוֹסֵ֔ףJoseph
yosefH3130 →213 times
הִנֵּ֥הhere!
hinehH2009 →843 times
אָנֹכִ֖יI
ʾanokhiH595 →359 times
מֵ֑ת[am] about to die
metH4191 →839 times
וְהָיָ֤הand he will be
vehayahH1961 →3559 times
אֱלֹהִים֙God
ʾelohimH430 →2601 times
עִמָּכֶ֔םwith you
ʾimakhemH5973 →1050 times
וְהֵשִׁ֣יבand he will bring back
veheshivH7725 →1056 times
אֶתְכֶ֔ם<obj.> you
ʾetkhemH853 →10935 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
אֶ֖רֶץ[the] land of
ʾeretzH776 →2504 times
אֲבֹתֵיכֶֽם׃fathers your
ʾavoteikhemH1 →1212 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 28:15Look, I am with you, and I will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what…
it leads to
- Joshua 1:5
No one shall stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so will I be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.
- 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…
- Jeremiah 1:19
They will fight against you but will never overcome you, since I am with you to deliver you,” declares the LORD.
- Deuteronomy 31:6
Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid or terrified of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you; He will never leave you nor 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…
- Joshua 1:5
Through
Genesis 26:3Stay in this land as a foreigner, and I will be with you and bless you. For I will give all these lands to you and your offspring, and I will confirm the oath…
it leads to
- Genesis 28:15
Look, I am with you, and I will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 105:9
the covenant He made with Abraham, and the oath He swore to Isaac.
- Genesis 28:15
Through
Genesis 50:24Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but God will surely visit you and bring you up from this land to the land He promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac,…
it leads to
- Exodus 3:16–17
Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—has appeared to me and said: I have surely attended to you…
- Exodus 3:16–17
Where this verse is studied
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 66.14; 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.