Genesis 22:18
in Genesis 22And through your offspring all nations of the earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
KJV
And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
⋯
This verse in Genesis 22
Commentary
11 notes on this verseAnd in thy seed, etc. - We have the authority of St. Paul, Gal 3:8, Gal 3:16, Gal 3:18, to restrain this to our blessed Lord, who was The Seed through whom alone all God’s blessings of providence, mercy, grace, and glory, should be conveyed to the nations of the earth.
This site's exposition
I will multiply your descendants like the stars in the sky
on Genesis 22:17-18
The gates of their enemies is new here. Clarke reads the gate as the whole strength of an enemy, its troops, its counsels and its walled cities. The blessing on all nations was given freely in chapter 12 and is now sealed, because you have obeyed My voice.
This site's exposition
because you have obeyed My voice
The LORD gives Isaac the same ground at 26:5, that Abraham obeyed His voice. Paul at Galatians 3:8 calls the promise to Abraham the gospel announced in advance. Adam Clarke reads the offspring as Christ, through whom the blessing reaches the nations; the test ends on obedience.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
And to Abraham's seed he promised—what? In your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed. His seed is Christ; because from Abraham came Isaac, from Isaac Jacob, from Jacob twelve sons, from these twelve the people of the Jews, from the people of the Jews the Virgin Mary, from the Virgin Mary our Lord Jesus Christ. And what was promised to Abraham we find fulfilled among ourselves. In your seed, it says, shall all the nations of the earth be blessed. He believed this before he had seen anything; he believed, and he never saw what was promised.
God seeks belief from you not death. He thirsts for self-dedication, not blood. He is placated by good will, not by slaughter. God gave proof of this when he asked holy Abraham for his son as a victim.
The Medieval Church2 voices
In the third age of the world, God, testing Abraham's obedience, commanded him to offer to him as a holocaust his one and only son, whom he loved.
For, in all humility, we too belong among those descendants of whom it was said that it shall be an everlasting law for him and for his descendants throughout their generations.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And in thy seed shall all nations of the earth be blessed,....
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And in thy seed shall all nations of the earth be blessed,....
Note, If we exercise faith, God will encourage it. Improve the promises, and God will ratify them. The particular promise here renewed is that of a numerous offspring: Multiplying, I will multiply thee,
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Abraham lifted up his eyes . . . and behold . . . a ram, &c.--No method was more admirably calculated to give the patriarch a distinct idea of the purpose of grace than this scenic representation: and hence our Lord's allusion to it (Joh 8:56).
The words behind it
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהִתְבָּרֲכ֣וּ | vehitbarakhu | and they will bless themselves | H1288 → | 330 times |
| בְזַרְעֲךָ֔ | vezarakha | by offspring your | H2233 → | 229 times |
| כֹּ֖ל | kol | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| גּוֹיֵ֣י | goyei | [the] nations of | H1471 → | 561 times |
| הָאָ֑רֶץ | haaretz | the earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
| עֵ֕קֶב | ʾekev | consequence | H6118 → | |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | that | H834 → | 5497 times |
| שָׁמַ֖עְתָּ | shama'ta | you have listened | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| בְּקֹלִֽי׃ | bekoli | to voice my | H6963 → | 506 times |
וְהִתְבָּרֲכ֣וּand they will bless themselves
vehitbarakhuH1288 →330 times
בְזַרְעֲךָ֔by offspring your
vezarakhaH2233 →229 times
כֹּ֖לall
kolH3605 →5413 times
גּוֹיֵ֣י[the] nations of
goyeiH1471 →561 times
הָאָ֑רֶץthe earth
haaretzH776 →2504 times
עֵ֕קֶבconsequence
ʾekevH6118 →
אֲשֶׁ֥רthat
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
שָׁמַ֖עְתָּyou have listened
shama'taH8085 →1159 times
בְּקֹלִֽי׃to voice my
bekoliH6963 →506 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 12:3I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”
it leads to
- Galatians 3:8
The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and foretold the gospel to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.”
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 26:4
I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations of the earth will be blessed,
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Acts 3:25–26
And you are sons of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers when He said to Abraham, ‘Through your offspring all the families of the earth will be blessed.’
- Genesis 27:29
May peoples serve you and nations bow down to you. May you be the master of your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you…
- Numbers 24:9
He crouches, he lies down like a lion; like a lioness, who dares to rouse him? Blessed are those who bless you and cursed are those who curse you.”
- Galatians 3:8
Through
Galatians 3:16The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say, “and to seeds,” meaning many, but “and to your seed,” meaning One, who is Christ.
it leads to
- Genesis 17:7–8
I will establish My covenant as an everlasting covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.
- Genesis 22:17–18
I will surely bless you, and I will multiply your descendants like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will possess the gates of their enemies.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Romans 4:13
For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world was not given through the law, but through the righteousness that comes by faith.
- Genesis 17:7–8
Where this verse is studied
By subject
Covenant34 verses
Obedience35 verses
On this page
Studies26
On this verse
On this chapter
Show the next 6 titles
About Genesis
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Augustine of Hippo, SERMON 113A.10; Bede, Homilies on the Gospels 1.14; Bede, On the Tabernacle 3.14.13; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Peter Chrysologus, SERMON 108.