New King James Version
Genesis 28:14
14Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
Genesis 28:14 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
- New International Version (NIV)Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
- New Living Translation (NLT)Your descendants will be as numerous as the dust of the earth! They will spread out in all directions—to the west and the east, to the north and the south. And all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants.
Context of Genesis 28:14
12Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13And behold, the Lord stood above it and said: “I am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. 15Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.” 16Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.”
Read all of Genesis 28Genesis 28:14 word by word
וְהָיָ֤ה זַרְעֲךָ֙ כַּעֲפַ֣ר הָאָ֔רֶץ וּפָרַצְתָּ֛ יָ֥מָּה וָקֵ֖דְמָה וְצָפֹ֣נָה וָנֶ֑גְבָּה וְנִבְרֲכ֥וּ בְךָ֛ כָּל־מִשְׁפְּחֹ֥ת הָאֲדָמָ֖ה וּבְזַרְעֶֽךָ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And thy seedזֶ֫רַעzera‛ · seed: childrenH2233
- shall be as the dustעָפָר‛âphâr · dustH6083
- of the earthאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: soilH776
- and thou shalt spread abroadפָּרַץpârats · to break throughH6555
- to the westיָםyâm · sea: westH3220
- and to the eastקֵ֫דֶםqedem qêdmâh · eastH6924
- and to the northצָפוֹןtsâphôn tsâphôn · northH6828
- and to the southנֶ֫גֶבnegeb · southH5045
- shall all the familiesמִשְׁפָּחָהmishpâchâh · familyH4940
- of the earthאֲדָמָה'ădâmâh · land: soilH127
- be blessedבָּרַךְbârak · to blessH1288
Cross-references for Genesis 28:14
- Genesis 13:16And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also could be numbered.
- Genesis 32:12For You said, ‘I will surely treat you well, and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.’ ”
- Genesis 35:11Also God said to him: “I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you, and kings shall come from your body.
- Numbers 23:10“Who can count the dust of Jacob, Or number one-fourth of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, And let my end be like his!”
- Acts 3:25You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’
- Revelation 7:4And I heard the number of those who were sealed. One hundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed:
- Genesis 13:14And the Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: “Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are—northward, southward, eastward, and westward;
- Deuteronomy 12:20“When the Lord your God enlarges your border as He has promised you, and you say, ‘Let me eat meat,’ because you long to eat meat, you may eat as much meat as your heart desires.
- Matthew 8:11And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.
- Genesis 12:3I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
- Genesis 18:18since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?
- Genesis 22:18In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”
- Genesis 26:4And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed;
- Psalms 72:17His name shall endure forever; His name shall continue as long as the sun. And men shall be blessed in Him; All nations shall call Him blessed.
- Galatians 3:8And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.”
- Ephesians 1:3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
Commentaries on Genesis 28:14
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 14Thy seed shall be as the dust - The people that shall descend from thee shall be extremely numerous, and in thee and thy seed - the Lord Jesus descending from thee, according to the flesh, shall all the families of the earth - not only all of thy race, but all the other families or tribes of mankind which have not proceeded from any branch of the Abrahamic family, be blessed; for Jesus Christ by the grace of God tasted death For Every Man, Hebrews 2:9.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1-22Verses 1-22 - Jacob‘s Journey to Haran 3. קהל qâhāl “congregation.” 9. מחלת māchălat Machalath, “sickness, or a harp.” 19. לוּז lûz Luz, “almond.” The blessing of his sons was the last passage in the active life of Isaac, after which he retires from the scene. Jacob now becomes the leading figure in the sacred history. His spiritual character has yet come out to view. But even now we can discern the general distinction in the lives of the three…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 10-15Verses 10-15 Jacob's conduct hitherto, as recorded, was not that of one who simply feared and trusted in God. But now in trouble, obliged to flee, he looked only to God to make him to dwell in safety, and he could lie down and sleep in the open air with his head upon a stone. Any true believer would be willing to take up with Jacob's pillow, provided he might have Jacob's vision. God's time to visit his people with his comforts, is, when they are most…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 14Jacob inherited Abraham’s entire covenant (see 22:17), which confirmed Isaac’s blessing (28:3–4) and showed that Jacob would live away from home for a time (28:15; see 15:12–16).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-191. Isaac called Jacob and blessed him--He entered fully into Rebekah's feelings, and the burden of his parting counsel to his son was to avoid a marriage alliance with any but the Mesopotamian branch of the family. At the same time he gave him a solemn blessing--pronounced before unwittingly, now designedly, and with a cordial spirit. It is more explicitly and fully given, and Jacob was thus acknowledged "the heir of the promise."Read the comment
Topics related to Genesis 28:14
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Genesis 28
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries