Genesis 49:33
in Genesis 49When Jacob had finished instructing his sons, he pulled his feet into the bed and breathed his last, and he was gathered to his people.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And when Jacob made an end of charging his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people.
KJV
And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people.
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This verse in Genesis 49
Commentary
8 notes on this verseHe gathered up his feet into the bed - It is very probable that while delivering these prophetic blessings Jacob sat upon the side of his bed, leaning upon his staff; and having finished, he lifted up his feet into the bed, stretched himself upon it, and expired! And was gathered unto his people - The testimony that this place bears to the immortality of the soul, and to its existence separate from the body, should not be lightly regarded.
This site's exposition
he pulled his feet into the bed
He finishes the instruction, pulls his feet into the bed, and breathes his last. A man sets his house in order and then lies down. Jacob dies in Egypt with his last order pointing the family back to Canaan. Genesis 50 is the procession that carries him there.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
3 Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power: 4 Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father's bed; then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch. The preface to the prophecy, in which, 1. The congregation is called together (
quarantine:debris,scripture (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens; scripture-overlap:82%@v2-4
And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons,.... Had given all the proper directions and instructions concerning his interment in the land of Canaan: he gathered up his feet into the bed; on which he sat while he blessed his sons, and gave orders to them about his burial; but now he gathered up his feet into the bed, laid himself along, and composed himself in a proper posture to die.
I will lay me down, and sleep. He freely resigned his spirit into the hand of God, the Father of spirits: He yielded up the ghost. His separated soul went to the assembly of the souls of the faithful, which, after they are delivered from the burden of the flesh, are in joy and felicity: he was gathered to his people.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
JACOB did not yield up the ghost until he had delivered the last sentence of admonition and benediction to his 12 sons. He was immortal till his work was done. So long as God had another sentence to speak by him, death could not paralyze his tongue. Yet, after all, the strong man was bowed down, and he who had journeyed with unwearied foot full many a mile, was now obliged to gather up his feet into the bed to die.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons--It is probable that he was supernaturally strengthened for this last momentous office of the patriarch, and that when the divine afflatus ceased, his exhausted powers giving way, he yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
JACOB did not yield up the ghost until he had delivered the last sentence of admonition and benediction to his 12 sons. He was immortal till his work was done. So long as God had another sentence to speak by him, death could not paralyze his tongue. Yet, after all, the strong man was bowed down, and he who had journeyed with unwearied foot full many a mile, was now obliged to gather up his feet into the bed to die. His life had been eventful in the highest degree, but that dread event now came upon him which is common to us all. He had deceived his blind father in his youth, but no craftiness of Jacob could deceive the grave. He had fled from Esau, his angry brother, but a swifter and surer foot was now in pursuit from which there was no escape. He had slept with a stone for his pillow and had seen Heaven opened, but he was to find that it was only to be entered by the ordinary gate. He had wrestled with the Angel at the brook Jabbok, and he had prevailed—but this time he was to wrestle with an angel against whom there was no prevalence. He had dwelt in Canaan in tents, in the midst of enemies and the Lord had said, "Touch not My anointed, and do My prophets no harm," and therefore he had been secure in the midst of a thousand ills. But now he must fall by the hand of the last enemy, and feel the great avenger's sword. It was appointed to the Patriarch to die as meaner men must do. From the wording of the text it appears very clearly that Israel did not dispute the irrevocable decree, nor did his soul murmur against it. He had long before learned that few and evil were his days, and now that they came to an end he joyfully accepted their conclusion. He was not like a bull dragged to the slaughter, but he gathered up his feet by a voluntary act of submission, and then, bowing his head, he yielded up the ghost.
The words behind it
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְכַ֤ל | vaykhal | and he finished | H3615 → | 208 times |
| יַעֲקֹב֙ | yaako | Jacob | H3290 → | 350 times |
| לְצַוֹּ֣ת | letzavot | to command | H6680 → | 494 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בָּנָ֔יו | banav | sons his | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| וַיֶּאֱסֹ֥ף | vaiyeesof | and he gathered | H622 → | 200 times |
| רַגְלָ֖יו | raglav | feet his | H7272 → | 247 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | into | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַמִּטָּ֑ה | hamitah | the bed | H4296 → | 29 times |
| וַיִּגְוַ֖ע | vaiyigva' | and he expired | H1478 → | 24 times |
| וַיֵּאָ֥סֶף | vaiyeasef | and he was gathered | H622 → | 200 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| עַמָּֽיו׃ | ʾamav | peoples his | H5971 → | 1873 times |
וַיְכַ֤לand he finished
vaykhalH3615 →208 times
יַעֲקֹב֙Jacob
yaakoH3290 →350 times
לְצַוֹּ֣תto command
letzavotH6680 →494 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
בָּנָ֔יוsons his
banavH1121 →4930 times
וַיֶּאֱסֹ֥ףand he gathered
vaiyeesofH622 →200 times
רַגְלָ֖יוfeet his
raglavH7272 →247 times
אֶל־into
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הַמִּטָּ֑הthe bed
hamitahH4296 →29 times
וַיִּגְוַ֖עand he expired
vaiyigva'H1478 →24 times
וַיֵּאָ֥סֶףand he was gathered
vaiyeasefH622 →200 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
עַמָּֽיו׃peoples his
ʾamavH5971 →1873 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 25:8And at a ripe old age he breathed his last and died, old and contented, and was gathered to his people.
it leads to
- Genesis 15:15
You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a ripe old age.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 35:28–29
And Isaac lived 180 years.
- 1 Chronicles 29:28
He died at a ripe old age, full of years, riches, and honor, and his son Solomon reigned in his place.
- Genesis 47:8–9
“How many years have you lived?” Pharaoh asked.
- Genesis 15:15
Through
Genesis 15:5And 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.”
it leads to
- Hebrews 11:12
And so from one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.
- Romans 4:18
Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.”
- Deuteronomy 1:10
The LORD your God has multiplied you, so that today you are as numerous as the stars in the sky.
- Exodus 32:13
Remember Your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, to whom You swore by Your very self when You declared, ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will…
- Hebrews 11:12
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; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 783: “Sermons From Saintly Deathbeds No. 783” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.