Genesis 27 · Verse 28

Genesis 27:28

Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine:
Genesis 27:28, King James Version

Genesis 27:28 in other translations

BSBMay God give to you the dew of heaven and the richness of the earth— an abundance of grain and new wine.
WEBGod give you of the dew of the sky, of the fatness of the earth, and plenty of grain and new wine.
ASVAnd God give thee of the dew of heaven, And of the fatness of the earth, And plenty of grain and new wine:
YLTand God doth give to thee of the dew of heaven, and of the fatness of the earth, and abundance of corn and wine;
DARBYAnd God give thee of the dew of heaven, And of the fatness of the earth, And plenty of corn and new wine.
BBEMay God give you the dew of heaven, and the good things of the earth, and grain and wine in full measure:
WebsterTherefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine:

What does Genesis 27:28 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

Ge 27:28-46. The Blessing.

28. God give thee of the dew of heaven--To an Oriental mind, this phraseology implied the highest flow of prosperity. The copious fall of dew is indispensable to the fruitfulness of lands, which would be otherwise arid and sterile through the violent heat; and it abounds most in hilly regions, such as Canaan, hence called the "fat land" (Ne 9:25, 35). plenty of corn and wine--Palestine was famous for vineyards, and it produced varieties of corn, namely, wheat, barley, oats, and rye.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 28 God give thee of the dew of heaven - Bp. Newton's view of these predictions is so correct and appropriate, as to leave no wish for any thing farther on the subject. "It is here foretold, and in Gen 27:39, of these two brethren, that as to situation, and other temporal advantages, they should be much alike. It was said to Jacob: God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine; and much the same is said to Esau, Gen 27:39 : Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above. The spiritual blessing, or the promise of the blessed seed, could be given only to One; but temporal good things might be imparted to both. Mount Seir, and the adjacent country, was at first in the possession of the Edomites; they afterwards extended themselves farther into Arabia, and into the southern parts of Judea. But wherever they were situated, we find in fact that the Edomites, in temporal advantages, were little inferior to the Israelites. Esau had cattle and beasts and substance in abundance, and he went to dwell in Seir of his own accord; but he would hardly have removed thither with so many cattle, had it been such a barren and desolate country as some would represent it. The Edomites had dukes and kings reigning over them, while the Israelites were slaves in Egypt. When the Israelites, on their return, desired leave to pass through the territories of Edom, it appears that the country abounded with Fruitful Fields and Vineyards: Let us pass, I pray thee, through thy country; we will not pass through the fields, or through the vineyards, neither will we drink of the water of the wells; Num 20:17. And the prophecy of Malachi, which is generally alleged as a proof of the barrenness of the country, is rather a proof of the contrary: I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness, Mal 1:3; for this implies that the country was fruitful before, and that its present unfruitfulness was rather an effect of war, than any natural defect in the soil. If the country is unfruitful now, neither is Judea what it was formerly." As there was but little rain in Judea, except what was termed the early rain, which fell about the beginning of spring, and the latter rain, which fell about September, the lack of this was supplied by the copious dews which fell both morning and evening, or rather through the whole of the night. And we may judge, says Calmet, of the abundance of those dews by what fell on Gideon's fleece, Jdg 6:38, which being wrung filled a bowl. And Hushal compares an army ready to fall upon its enemies to a dew falling on the ground, 2Sam 17:12, which gives us the idea that this fluid fell in great profusion, so as to saturate every thing. Travellers in these countries assure us that the dews fall there in an extraordinary abundance. The fatness of the earth - What Homer calls ουθαρ αρουρης, Ilias ix., 141, and Virgil uber glebae, Aeneid i., 531, both signifying a soil naturally fertile. Under this, therefore, and the former expressions, Isaac wishes his son all the blessings which a plentiful country can produce; for, as Le Clerc rightly observes, if the dews and seasonable rains of heaven fall upon a fruitful soil, nothing but human industry is wanting to the plentiful enjoyment of all temporal good things. Hence they are represented in the Scripture as emblems of prosperity, of plenty, and of the blessing of God, Deu 33:13, Deu 33:28; Mic 5:7; Zac 8:12; and, on the other hand, the withholding of these denotes barrenness, distress, and the curse of God; 2Sam 1:21. See Dodd.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Genesis 27:18-29

Jacob, with some difficulty, gained his point, and got the blessing. This blessing is in very general terms. No mention is made of the distinguishing mercies in the covenant with Abraham. This might be owing to Isaac having Esau in his mind, though it was Jacob who was before him. He could not be ignorant how Esau had despised the best things. Moreover, his attachment to Esau, so as to disregard the mind of God…

Read the full comment on Genesis 27:18-29 →

Genesis 27:28 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וְיִֽתֶּן\־ve.yi.ten-and may he giveH5414
לְךָ֙le.Khato <the> you
הָאֱלֹהִ֔יםha.'E.lo.Him<the> GodH430
מִטַּל֙mi.Talsome of [the] dew ofH2919
הַשָּׁמַ֔יִםha.sha.Ma.yimthe heavensH8064
וּמִשְׁמַנֵּ֖יu.mish.ma.Neiand some of [the] fatness<es> ofH4924
הָאָ֑רֶץha.'A.retzthe earthH776
וְרֹ֥בve.Roand abundance ofH7230
דָּגָ֖ןda.GangrainH1715
וְתִירֹֽשׁ\׃ve.ti.Roshand new wineH8492

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Genesis 27:28

  • Deuteronomy 33:28

    Israel then shall dwell in safety alone: the fountain of Jacob shall be upon a land of corn and wine; also his heavens shall drop down dew.

  • Deuteronomy 33:13

    And of Joseph he said, Blessed of the Lord be his land, for the precious things of heaven, for the dew, and for the deep that coucheth beneath,

  • Psalms 133:3

    As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.

  • Hosea 14:5-7

    I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon. His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon. They that dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall revive as the corn, and grow as the vine: the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon.

  • Psalms 65:9-13

    Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it: thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God, which is full of water: thou preparest them corn, when thou hast so provided for it. Thou waterest the ridges thereof abundantly: thou settlest the furrows thereof: thou makest it soft with showers: thou blessest the springing thereof. Thou crownest the year with thy goodness; and thy paths drop fatness. They drop upon the pastures of the wilderness: and the little hills rejoice on every side. …

  • Deuteronomy 7:13

    And he will love thee, and bless thee, and multiply thee: he will also bless the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy land, thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep, in the land which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee.

  • 2 Samuel 1:21

    Ye mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew, neither let there be rain, upon you, nor fields of offerings: for there the shield of the mighty is vilely cast away, the shield of Saul, as though he had not been anointed with oil.

  • Zechariah 8:12

    For the seed shall be prosperous; the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground shall give her increase, and the heavens shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things.

  • Deuteronomy 32:2

    My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass:

  • Joel 2:19

    Yea, the Lord will answer and say unto his people, Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith: and I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen:

  • Psalms 36:8

    They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures.

  • 1 Kings 17:1

    And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
of the dew.
De 11:11,12; 32:2; 33:13,28; 2Sa 1:21; 1Ki 17:1; Ps 65:9-13; 133:3
Isa 45:8; Jer 14:22; Ho 14:5-7; Mic 5:7; Heb 11:20
the fatness.
39; 45:18; 49:20; Nu 13:20; Ps 36:8; Ro 11:17
plenty.
De 7:13; 8:7-9; 33:28; Jos 5:6; 1Ki 5:11; 2Ch 2:10; Ps 65:9,13
Ps 104:15; Joe 2:19; Zec 9:17

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Genesis 27:27

    And he came near, and kissed him: and he smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said, See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the Lord hath blessed:

  • Genesis 27:28

    Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine:

  • Genesis 27:29

    Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee: be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother’s sons bow down to thee: cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee.

Read all of Genesis 27

Genesis 27:28 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Dios, pues, te dé del rocío del cielo, y de las grosuras de la tierra, y abundancia de trigo y de mosto.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Que Dieu te donne de la rosée des cieux et de la graisse de la terre, et une abondance de froment et de moût!
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und Gott gebe dir vom Tau des Himmels und von der Fettigkeit der Erde, und Fülle von Korn und Most!
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Det tibi Deus de rore cæli et de pinguedine terræ abundantiam frumenti et vini.