Genesis 47 · Verse 31

Genesis 47:31

And he said, Swear unto me. And he sware unto him. And Israel bowed himself upon the bed’s head.
Genesis 47:31, King James Version

Genesis 47:31 in other translations

BSB“Swear to me,” Jacob said. So Joseph swore to him, and Israel bowed in worship at the head of his bed.
WEBIsrael said, “Swear to me,” and he swore to him. Then Israel bowed himself on the bed’s head.
ASVAnd he said, Swear unto me: and he sware unto him. And Israel bowed himself upon the bed’s head.
YLTand he saith, ‘Swear to me;' and he sweareth to him, and Israel boweth himself on the head of the bed.
DARBYAnd he said, Swear to me; and he swore to him. And Israel worshipped on the bed's head.
BBEAnd he said, Take an oath to me; and he took an oath to him: and Israel gave worship on the bed's head.
WebsterAnd he said, Swear to me: and he swore to him. And Israel bowed himself upon the bed's head.

What does Genesis 47:31 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 47:29-31

29-31. the time drew nigh that Israel must die--One only of his dying arrangements is recorded; but that one reveals his whole character. It was the disposal of his remains, which were to be carried to Canaan, not from a mere romantic attachment to his native soil, nor, like his modern descendants, from a superstitious feeling for the soil of the Holy Land, but from faith in the promises. His address to Joseph--"if…

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Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 31 And Israel bowed himself upon the bed's head - Jacob was now both old and feeble, and we may suppose him reclined on his couch when Joseph came; that he afterwards sat up erect (see Gen 48:2) while conversing with his son, and receiving his oath and promise; and that when this was finished he bowed himself upon the bed's head - exhausted with the conversation, he again reclined himself on his bed as before. This seems to be the simple meaning, which the text unconnected with any religious system or prejudice, naturally proposes. But because שחה shachah, signifies not only to bow but to worship, because acts of religious worship were performed by bowing or prostration, and because מטה mittah, a bed, by the change of the points, only becomes matteh, a staff, in which sense the Septuagint took it, translating the original words thus: Και προσεκυνησεν Ισραηλ επι το ακρον της ῥαβδου αυτου, and Israel worshipped upon the top of his staff, which the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews, Heb 11:21, quotes literatim; therefore some have supposed that Jacob certainly had a carved image on the head or top of his staff, to which he paid a species of adoration; or that he bowed himself to the staff or scepter of Joseph, thus fulfilling the prophetic import of his son's dreams! The sense of the Hebrew text is given above. If the reader prefers the sense of the Septuagint and the Epistle to the Hebrews, the meaning is, that Jacob, through feebleness, supported himself with a staff, and that, when he got the requisite assurance from Joseph that his dead body should be carried to Canaan, leaning on his staff be bowed his head in adoration to God, who had supported him all his life long, and hitherto fulfilled all his promises.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Genesis 47:27-31

At last the time drew nigh that Israel must die. Israel, a prince with God, had power over the Angel, and prevailed, yet must die. Joseph supplied him with bread, that he might not die by famine, but that did not secure him from dying by age or sickness. He died by degrees; his candle gradually burnt down to the socket, so that he saw the time drawing nigh. It is an advantage to see the approach of death, before we…

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Genesis 47:31 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.

וַיֹּ֗אמֶרvai.Yo.merand he saidH559
הִשָּֽׁבְעָה֙hi.sha.ve.'Ahswear an oath !H7650
לִ֔יLito me
וַיִּשָּׁבַ֖עvai.yi.sha.Va'and he swore an oathH7650
ל֑וֹloto him
וַיִּשְׁתַּ֥חוּvai.yish.Ta.chuand he bowed downH7812
יִשְׂרָאֵ֖לYis.ra.'ElIsraelH3478
עַל\־'al-onH5921
רֹ֥אשׁrosh[the] head ofH7218
הַמִּטָּֽה\׃\ \פha.mi.Tahthe bedH4296

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

Cross references for Genesis 47:31

  • 1 Kings 1:47

    And moreover the king’s servants came to bless our lord king David, saying, God make the name of Solomon better than thy name, and make his throne greater than thy throne. And the king bowed himself upon the bed.

  • Genesis 24:3

    And I will make thee swear by the Lord, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell:

  • Hebrews 11:21

    By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff.

  • Genesis 47:29

    And the time drew nigh that Israel must die: and he called his son Joseph, and said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me; bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt:

  • Genesis 24:26

    And the man bowed down his head, and worshipped the Lord.

  • Genesis 48:1-2

    And it came to pass after these things, that one told Joseph, Behold, thy father is sick: and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. And one told Jacob, and said, Behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto thee: and Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed.

  • Genesis 21:23

    Now therefore swear unto me here by God that thou wilt not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor with my son’s son: but according to the kindness that I have done unto thee, thou shalt do unto me, and to the land wherein thou hast sojourned.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Swear.
24:3
And Israel bowed.As {shachah,} which primarily signifies to bow, denotes also to worship; and as {mittah,} a bed, pronounced {matteh,} is a staff; the LXX. have taken the passage in the latter sense, and rendered it [kai prosekunésen Israel epi to akron tés rabdou autou,] "and Israel worshipped upon the top of his staff," which is literally copied by the apostle Paul, in his Epistle to the Hebrews. The present reading is, however, supported by the Masoretic pointing and the Targums; and is most probably correct, as it would appear that Jacob was confined to his bed.
29; 24:26; 48:1,2; 1Ki 1:47; Heb 11:21

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

Context

  • Genesis 47:30

    But I will lie with my fathers, and thou shalt carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their buryingplace. And he said, I will do as thou hast said.

  • Genesis 47:31

    And he said, Swear unto me. And he sware unto him. And Israel bowed himself upon the bed’s head.

Read all of Genesis 47

Genesis 47:31 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y él dijo: Júramelo. Y él le juró. Entonces Israel se inclinó sobre la cabecera de la cama.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et Jacob dit: Jure-le-moi. Et il le lui jura. Et Israël se prosterna sur le chevet du lit.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Da sprach er: Schwöre mir! Und er schwur ihm. Und Israel betete an zu den Häupten des Bettes.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Et ille: Jura ergo, inquit, mihi. Quo jurante, adoravit Israël Deum, conversus ad lectuli caput.