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Genesis 28:21

in Genesis 28

so that I may return safely to my father’s house, then the LORD will be my God.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, and Jehovah will be my God,

KJV

So that I come again to my father’s house in peace; then shall the Lord be my God:

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This verse in Genesis 28

Commentary

4 notes on this verse

This site's exposition

Then Jacob made a vow

on Genesis 28:20-21

Jacob asks for what verse 15 had promised him without a condition. He asks for food to eat and clothes to wear, and Henry marks the modesty of that request in an heir to the whole land. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read the if as since, a statement of faith.

This site's exposition

then the LORD will be my God

The vow turns on a safe return to his father's house. John Wesley reads the vow as Jacob's answer to the covenant God had just renewed with him. Adam Clarke thinks he vowed for his descendants too, as verses 13 to 15 promise them the land.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

So that I come again to my father's house in peace,....

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

Jacob had now had a gracious visit from heaven. God had renewed his covenant with him, and the covenant is mutual. When God ratifies his promises to us, it is proper for us to repeat our promises to him.

The words behind it

9 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וְשַׁבְתִּ֥יand I will return

    veshavtiH7725 →1056 times

  • בְשָׁל֖וֹםin peace

    veshalomH7965 →236 times

  • אֶל־to

    ʾel-H413 →5510 times

  • בֵּ֣ית[the] house of

    beitH1004 →2046 times

  • אָבִ֑יfather my

    ʾaviH1 →1212 times

  • וְהָיָ֧הand he will become

    vehayahH1961 →3559 times

  • יְהוָ֛הYahweh

    yahwehH3068 →6520 times

  • לִ֖יfor <the> me

    li

  • לֵאלֹהִֽים׃<into> God

    lelohimH430 →2601 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

10 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Deuteronomy 26:17Today you have proclaimed that the LORD is your God and that you will walk in His ways, keep His statutes and commandments and ordinances, and listen to His voice.8 worksJudges 11:31then whatever comes out the door of my house to greet me on my triumphant return from the Ammonites will belong to the LORD, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering.”8 worksExodus 15:2The LORD is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise Him, my father’s God, and I will exalt Him.5 works2 Samuel 15:8For your servant made a vow while dwelling in Geshur of Aram, saying: ‘If indeed the LORD brings me back to Jerusalem, I will worship the LORD in Hebron.’”4 worksGenesis 49:25by the God of your father who helps you, and by the Almighty who blesses you, with blessings of the heavens above, with blessings of the depths below, with blessings of the breasts and womb.4 worksGenesis 31:18and he drove all his livestock before him, along with all the possessions he had acquired in Paddan-aram, to go to his father Isaac in the land in Canaan.3 works
The other 4 cross-references, with their words ▾
Luke 20:37Even Moses demonstrates that the dead are raised, in the passage about the burning bush. For he calls the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’3 works2 Samuel 19:30And Mephibosheth said to the king, “Instead, since my lord the king has safely come to his own house, let Ziba take it all!”2 works2 Samuel 19:24Then Mephibosheth, Saul’s grandson, went down to meet the king. He had not cared for his feet or trimmed his mustache or washed his clothes from the day the king had left until the day he returned safely.2 works2 Kings 5:17“If you will not,” said Naaman, “please let me, your servant, be given as much soil as a pair of mules can carry. For your servant will never again make a burnt offering or a sacrifice to any other god but the LORD.1 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    Exodus 15:2

    The LORD is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise Him, my father’s God, and I will exalt Him.

    it leads to

    • Isaiah 12:2

      Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. For the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and He also has become my salvation.”

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Psalms 118:14

      The LORD is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation.

    • Psalms 18:46

      The LORD lives, and blessed be my Rock! And may the God of my salvation be exalted—

    • Psalms 59:17

      To You, O my strength, I sing praises, for You, O God, are my fortress, my God of loving devotion.

    • Isaiah 25:1

      O LORD, You are my God! I will exalt You; I will praise Your name. For You have worked wonders—plans formed long ago—in perfect faithfulness.

  • Through

    2 Samuel 15:8

    For your servant made a vow while dwelling in Geshur of Aram, saying: ‘If indeed the LORD brings me back to Jerusalem, I will worship the LORD in Hebron.’”

    it leads to

    • 1 Samuel 1:11

      And she made a vow, pleading, “O LORD of Hosts, if only You will look upon the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, not forgetting Your maidservant but giving her a son, then…

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • 2 Samuel 13:37–38

      Now Absalom fled and went to Talmai son of Ammihud, the king of Geshur. But David mourned for his son every day.

  • Through

    Deuteronomy 26:17

    Today you have proclaimed that the LORD is your God and that you will walk in His ways, keep His statutes and commandments and ordinances, and listen to His voice.

    it leads to

    • Exodus 24:7

      Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people, who replied, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.”

Where this verse is studied

About Genesis

Jacob's Dream — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
Jacob's Dream — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
Genesis: the study guide →Read Genesis 28 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; 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.

Read on in Genesis 28 →