Genesis 47:31 BSB — MannaFest

Genesis 47:31

“Swear to me,” Jacob said. So Joseph swore to him, and Israel bowed in worship at the head of his bed.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

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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Commentary

3 voices

Jerome

Hebrew Questions on Genesis (420)

(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.

The record, by era

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible (1832)

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.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

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).

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

10 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
וַיֹּ֗אמֶר	vai.Yo.mer	and he said	H559 →
הִשָּֽׁבְעָה֙	hi.sha.ve.'Ah	swear an oath !	H7650 →
לִ֔י	Li	to me
וַיִּשָּׁבַ֖ע	vai.yi.sha.Va'	and he swore an oath	H7650 →
ל֑וֹ	lo	to him
וַיִּשְׁתַּ֥חוּ	vai.yish.Ta.chu	and he bowed down	H7812 →
יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל	Yis.ra.'El	Israel	H3478 →
עַל־	'al-	on	H5921 →
רֹ֥אשׁ	rosh	[the] head of	H7218 →
הַמִּטָּֽה׃ פ	ha.mi.Tah	the bed	H4296 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Genesis 24:3
and 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…
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,
Through
Genesis 24:26
Then the man bowed down and worshiped the LORD,
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.
Through
1 Kings 1:47
The 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…
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.”

About Genesis

The Creation of Light — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain

Genesis: the study guide →Read chapter 47 →The featured study →

Continue: Genesis 47 →

01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

06About Genesis

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

About Genesis