Genesis 28:3 - Printer Friendly

ESV: God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may become a company of peoples.

NIV: May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and increase your numbers until you become a community of peoples.

NASB: May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, so that you may become a multitude of peoples.

CSB: May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you so that you become an assembly of peoples.

NLT: May God Almighty bless you and give you many children. And may your descendants multiply and become many nations!

KJV: And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people;

NKJV: “May God Almighty bless you, And make you fruitful and multiply you, That you may be an assembly of peoples;

After telling Jacob to travel to Paddan-aram, to the house of Rebekah's father Bethuel, to find a wife, Isaac now gives to Jacob an even more complete blessing than he had before when he thought he was blessing Esau (Genesis 27:27–29). This is the full blessing of the covenant between God and Abraham's descendants. Perhaps even Isaac thought the full covenant blessing was inappropriate for Esau, given his disposition and intermarriage with Canaanite women (Genesis 25:29–34; 26:34–35).

In any case, Isaac begins here by asking God Almighty to bless Jacob by multiplying him with descendants. He prays for Jacob to become a company—or "community"—of peoples. This language is similar to the promise God made to Abraham, that he would become a great nation. Jacob's offspring will now become the next generations in the millions of people God promised would come from Abraham.

Genesis 28:1–5 describes how Isaac sent Jacob to Rebekah's brother Laban, in Paddan-aram in Mesopotamia, to find a wife. Jacob must not marry a Canaanite woman. Rebekah wants Jacob sent away so he won't be killed by his jealous brother, Esau. Esau's rage is due to Jacob tricking Isaac and stealing a blessing. Apparently having made some level of peace with Jacob's deception, Isaac gives Jacob the full blessing of the covenant promises of Abraham.

Isaac sends Jacob away from his household to find a wife in Mesopotamia, in Paddan-aram, where Rebekah's brother lives. First, though, he gives to Jacob the full blessing of the promises of Abraham. Esau marries one of the daughters of Ishmael to try to please Isaac. The Lord appears to Jacob in a dream, giving to him the promises of Abraham personally, along with the assurance that He will be with Jacob to Mesopotamia and back again. Jacob vows that if the Lord does this, he will make the Lord his God and will worship Him and tithe to Him.

The previous chapter concluded with Rebekah urging Jacob to run for his life to her brother's household in Mesopotamia to escape the wrath of Esau. Now Isaac, too, sends Jacob to Laban, except to find a non-Canaanite wife. Hearing this, Esau marries one of the daughters of Ishmael. On the road to Mesopotamia, the Lord appears to Jacob in a dream. God personally delivers the covenant promises of Abraham and assurances to be with Jacob. In awe and fear, Jacob renames the place Bethel, ''house of God,'' and vows to worship the Lord as his God. In the next chapter, Jacob will get a taste of his own deceptive medicine, as he seeks a wife.

The book of Genesis establishes fundamental truths about God. Among these are His role as the Creator, His holiness, His hatred of sin, His love for mankind, and His willingness to provide for our redemption. We learn not only where mankind has come from, but why the world is in its present form. The book also presents the establishment of Israel, God's chosen people. Many of the principles given in other parts of Scripture depend on the basic ideas presented here in the book of Genesis. Within the framework of the Bible, Genesis explains the bare-bones history of the universe leading up to the captivity of Israel in Egypt, setting the stage for the book of Exodus.

Accessed 4/29/2024 9:52:16 PM