Genesis 28:14

14 Your descendants shall be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west, and to the east, and to the north and to the south. And all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and through your descendants.

Genesis 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 ) .

Genesis 28:14 In-Context

12 And he dreamed, and behold, a stairway was set on the earth, and its top touched the heavens. And behold, angels of God [were] going up and going down on it.

13 And behold, Yahweh [was] standing beside him, and he said, "I [am] Yahweh, the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac. The ground on which you [were] sleeping I will give to you and to your descendants.

14 Your descendants shall be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west, and to the east, and to the north and to the south. And all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and through your descendants.

15 Now behold, I [am] with you, and I will keep you wherever you go. And I will bring you to this land, for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised to you."

16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, "Surely Yahweh {is indeed} in this place and I did not know!"