Genesis 28:14
A plain-spoken deep dive on this verse. Read the chapter →
Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and east and north and south. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.
Commentaries
Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.
We have here, I. Jacob parting with his parents, to go to Padanaram; the charge his father gave him (Gen 28:1, Gen 28:2), the blessing he sent him away with (Gen 28:3, Gen 28:4), his obedience to the orders given him (Gen 28:5, Gen 28:10), and the influence this had upon Esau (Gen 28:6-9). II. Jacob meeting with God, and his communion with him by the way. And there, 1. his vision of the ladder (Gen 28:11, Gen 28:12). 2. The gracious promises God made him (Gen 28:13-15). 3. The impression this made upon him (Gen 28:16-19). 4. The vow he made to God, upon this occasion (Gen 28:20, etc.).
Open source ↗28:14 Jacob inherited Abraham’s entire covenant (see 22:17), which confirmed Isaac’s blessing (28:3-4) and stipulated a temporary exile (28:15; see 15:12-16).
Open source ↗Cross-references
Other passages the community most often connects to this one. Tap to read.
I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”
And through your offspring all nations of the earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”
Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and through him all the nations of the earth will be blessed.
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,
I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if one could count the dust of the earth, then your offspring could be counted.
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.’
After Lot had departed, the LORD said to Abram, “Now lift up your eyes from the place where you are, and look to the north and south and east and west,
The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and foretold the gospel to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.”
The 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.
When the LORD your God expands your territory as He has promised, and you crave meat and say, “I want to eat meat,” you may eat it whenever you want.