Genesis 26:4

Translations

Modern

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,

Traditional

And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;

Literal

And I will multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens, and I will give to your seed all these lands. And in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed,

Latin

Et multiplicabo semen tuum sicut stellas cæli: daboque posteris tuis universas regiones has: et benedicentur in semine tuo omnes gentes terræ,

Original

Hebrew

English

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,

Notes

Genesis 26:2–5

The Lord assured Isaac that the covenant promises (compare 12:2–3; 15:5–8; 17:3–8; 22:15–18; 28:13–14) would pass to him because Abraham faithfully listened to God and obeyed all his requirements, commands, decrees, and instructions. These terms were later used in Deuteronomy to describe God’s full legal covenant with Israel.

An Israelite would immediately think of the complete Torah when hearing these words and be prompted to obey God’s law as Abraham did, though Abraham had only a few commands from the Lord. Through these words, the text emphasizes that Abraham would have obeyed the later commands if he had had them, because he was an obedient servant of the Lord.

Genesis 26:1–35

This section pauses Jacob’s story to focus on Isaac. Isaac’s success and wealth in chapter 26 show that God’s blessing had passed to him (compare 25:11), even though he sometimes failed to trust God.

Theme notes and profiles

Abraham Isaac Symbolic Numbers

Related verses

Acts 3:25
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.’
Genesis 15:5
And the LORD took him outside and said, “Now look to the heavens and count the stars, if you are able.” Then He told him, “So shall your offspring be.”
Genesis 12:2–3
I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.
Galatians 3:8
The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and foretold the gospel to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.”
Genesis 22:17–18
I will surely bless you, and I will multiply your descendants like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will possess the gates of their enemies.
Genesis 13:16
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.
Exodus 32:13
Remember Your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, to whom You swore by Your very self when You declared, ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give your descendants all this land that I have promised, and it shall be their inheritance forever.’”
Psalm 72:17
May his name endure forever; may his name continue as long as the sun shines. In him may all nations be blessed; may they call him blessed.
Galatians 3:16
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.
Genesis 17:4–8
“As for Me, this is My covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations.
Genesis 18:18
Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and through him all the nations of the earth will be blessed.
Hebrews 11:2
This is why the ancients were commended.

Genesis 26:4

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