Bereshis 28:14

14 And thy zera shall be as the dust of ha’aretz, 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 zera shall kol hamishpochot haadamah be blessed.

Bereshis 28:14 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 28:14

And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth
Innumerable, see ( Genesis 13:16 ) ( Numbers 23:10 ) ; and thou shalt spread abroad to the west;
or "the sea", the Mediterranean sea, which was west of the land of Canaan: and to the east, and to the north, and to the south;
not of the whole world, but of the land of Canaan: the meaning is, that his posterity should be numerous, and break out and spread themselves like a flood of water, and reach to the utmost bounds of the land on all sides: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be
blessed;
that is, in that eminent and principal seed that should spring from him, the Messiah, in whom some of all nations should, as they have been, be blessed with all spiritual blessings, as redemption, peace, pardon, justification, adoption, and eternal life; the same promise had been made to Abraham, was renewed to Isaac, and now confirmed to Jacob, see ( Genesis 22:18 ) ( 26:4 ) .

Bereshis 28:14 In-Context

12 And he had a chalom, and hinei a sullam (ladder, stairway) set up on the ground, and the top of it reached to Shomayim: and hinei the malachim of Elohim ascending and descending on it.
13 And, hinei, Hashem stood above it, and said, I am Hashem Elohei Avraham thy av, and Elohei Yitzchak; ha’aretz whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy zera;
14 And thy zera shall be as the dust of ha’aretz, 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 zera shall kol hamishpochot haadamah be blessed.
15 And, hinei, I am with thee, and will be shomer over thee in all places where thou goest, and will bring thee back into haadamah hazot; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have promised thee.
16 And Ya’akov awoke out of his sleep, and he said, Surely Hashem is in this place! And I had no da’as of it.
The Orthodox Jewish Bible fourth edition, OJB. Copyright 2002,2003,2008,2010, 2011 by Artists for Israel International. All rights reserved.