Genesis 32 · Verse 9

Genesis 32:9

And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the Lord which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee:
Genesis 32:9, King James Version

Genesis 32:9 in other translations

BSBThen Jacob declared, “O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, the LORD who told me, ‘Go back to your country and to your kindred, and I will make you prosper,’
WEBJacob said, “God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the LORD, who said to me, ‘Return to your country, and to your relatives, and I will do you good,’
ASVAnd Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, O Jehovah, who saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will do thee good:
YLTAnd Jacob saith, ‘God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, Jehovah who saith unto me, Turn back to thy land, and to thy kindred, and I do good with thee:
DARBYAnd Jacob said,God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, Jehovah, who saidst unto me: Return into thy country and to thy kindred, and I will do thee good,
BBEThen Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, the God of my father Isaac, the Lord who said to me, Go back to your country and your family and I will be good to you:
WebsterAnd Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the LORD who saidst to me, Return to thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee;

What does Genesis 32:9 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 32:9-12
9-12. Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham--In this great emergency, he had recourse to prayer. This is the first recorded example of prayer in the Bible. It is short, earnest, and bearing directly on the occasion. The appeal is made to God, as standing in a covenant relation to his family, just as we ought to put our hopes of acceptance with God in Christ. It pleads the special promise made to him of a safe return; and after a most humble and affecting confession of unworthiness, it breathes an earnest desire for deliverance from the impending danger. It was the prayer of a kind husband, an affectionate father, a firm believer in the promises.

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 9 O God of my father Abraham, etc. - This prayer is remarkable for its simplicity and energy; and it is a model too for prayer, of which it contains the essential constituents: - 1. Deep self-abasement. 2. Magnification of God's mercy. 3. Deprecation of the evil to which he was exposed. 4. Pleading the promises that God had made to him. And, 5. Taking encouragement from what God had already wrought.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Genesis 32:9-23
Times of fear should be times of prayer: whatever causes fear, should drive us to our knees, to our God. Jacob had lately seen his guards of angels, but in this distress he applied to God, not to them; he knew they were his fellow-servants, Re 22:9. There cannot be a better pattern for true prayer than this. Here is a thankful acknowledgement of former undeserved favours; a humble confession of unworthiness; a plain statement of his fears and distress; a full reference of the whole affair to the Lord, and resting all his hopes on him. The best we can say to God in prayer, is what he has said to us. Thus he made the name of the Lord his strong tower, and could not but be safe. Jacob's fear did not make him sink into despair, nor did his prayer make him presume upon God's mercy, without the use of means. God answers prayers by teaching us to order our affairs aright. To pacify Esau, Jacob sent him a present. We must not despair of reconciling ourselves to those most angry against us.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

Genesis 32:9 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.

וַיֹּאמֶר֮vai.yo.Merand he saidH559
יַעֲקֹב֒ya.'a.KoJacobH3290
אֱלֹהֵי֙'e.lo.HeiO God ofH430
אָבִ֣י'a.Vifather myH1
אַבְרָהָ֔ם'av.ra.HamAbrahamH85
וֵאלֹהֵ֖יve.lo.Heiand [the] God ofH430
אָבִ֣י'a.Vifather myH1
יִצְחָ֑קyitz.ChakIsaacH3327
יְהוָ֞הYah.wehO YahwehH3068
הָאֹמֵ֣רha.'o.Merwho saidH559
אֵלַ֗י'e.Laito meH413
שׁ֧וּבshuvreturnH7725
לְאַרְצְךָ֛le.'ar.tze.Khato land yourH776
וּלְמוֹלַדְתְּךָ֖u.le.mo.lad.te.Khaand to kindred yourH4138
וְאֵיטִ֥יבָהve.'ei.Ti.vahso let me do goodH3190
עִמָּֽךְ\׃'i.Makhwith youH5973

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

Cross references for Genesis 32:9

  • Genesis 31:42

    Except the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely thou hadst sent me away now empty. God hath seen mine affliction and the labour of my hands, and rebuked thee yesternight.

  • Psalms 34:4-6

    I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.

  • Genesis 31:3

    And the Lord said unto Jacob, Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred; and I will be with thee.

  • Genesis 28:13

    And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed;

  • Genesis 31:13

    I am the God of Beth–el, where thou anointedst the pillar, and where thou vowedst a vow unto me: now arise, get thee out from this land, and return unto the land of thy kindred.

  • Genesis 31:53

    The God of Abraham, and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge betwixt us. And Jacob sware by the fear of his father Isaac.

  • Psalms 50:15

    And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.

  • Psalms 91:15

    He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.

  • 1 Samuel 30:6

    And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.

  • Philippians 4:6-7

    Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

  • Genesis 31:29

    It is in the power of my hand to do you hurt: but the God of your father spake unto me yesternight, saying, Take thou heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad.

  • Genesis 17:7

    And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jacob.
1Sa 30:6; 2Ch 20:6,12; 32:20; Ps 34:4-6; 50:15; 91:15; Php 4:6,7
O God.
17:7; 28:13; 31:29,42,53; Ex 3:6
the Lord.
31:3,13

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

Context

  • Genesis 32:8

    And said, If Esau come to the one company, and smite it, then the other company which is left shall escape.

  • Genesis 32:9

    And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the Lord which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee:

  • Genesis 32:10

    I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands.

Read all of Genesis 32

Genesis 32:9 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y dijo Jacob: Dios de mi padre Abraham, y Dios de mi padre Isaac, Jehová, que me dijiste: Vuélvete á tu tierra y á tu parentela, y yo te haré bien;
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		et il dit: Si Ésaü vient à l’une des bandes et la frappe, la bande qui restera pourra échapper.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und Jakob sprach: Gott meines Vaters Abraham und Gott meines Vaters Isaak, Jehova, der du zu mir geredet hast: Kehre zurück in dein Land und zu deiner Verwandtschaft, und ich will dir wohltun!
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Dixitque Jacob: Deus patris mei Abraham, et Deus patris mei Isaac: Domine qui dixisti mihi: Revertere in terram tuam, et in locum nativitatis tuæ, et benefaciam tibi: