Genesis 28:13

13 And behold, 1the LORD stood above it and said, "I am the LORD, 2the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie, I will give it 3to you and to 4your descendants.

Genesis 28:13 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 28:13

And behold, the Lord stood above it
Ordering, directing, and overruling all things in Providence, for the glory of his name and the good of his people; and may signify, as the ladder may be a figure of Christ, that Jehovah the Father, is above him, as man and Mediator, and makes himself known in and by him, and delivers out all his blessings and promises through him, both temporal and spiritual, and such as follow: and said, I [am] the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of
Isaac:
their covenant God and Father in Christ, who had made promises unto them, and bestowed blessings upon them; and the same was and would continue to be the God of Jacob, which is strongly intimated: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed;
meaning not that small pittance of land only on which his body then lay, and which it covered, but all the land of which it was a part, even the whole land of Canaan; hereby entailing it on him and his seed, and so explaining and confirming the blessing of his father Isaac; and by which it appears, that all that had been done was under a divine direction, and according to the will of God.

Genesis 28:13 In-Context

11 He came to a certain place and spent the night there, because the sun had set; and he took one of the stones of the place and put it under his head, and lay down in that place.
12 He had a dream, and behold, a ladder was set on the earth with its top reaching to heaven; and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.
13 And behold, the LORD stood above it and said, "I am the LORD , the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie, I will give it to you and to your descendants.
14 "Your descendants will also 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 in you and in your descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
15 "Behold, 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 promised you."

Cross References 4

  • 1. Genesis 35:1; Amos 7:7
  • 2. Genesis 26:3, 24
  • 3. Genesis 13:15, 17; Genesis 26:3
  • 4. Genesis 12:7; Genesis 15:18

Footnotes 2

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