Genesis 48 · Verse 21

Genesis 48:21

And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die: but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers.
Genesis 48:21, King James Version

Genesis 48:21 in other translations

BSBThen Israel said to Joseph, “Look, I am about to die, but God will be with you and bring you back to the land of your fathers.
WEBIsrael said to Joseph, “Behold, I am dying, but God will be with you, and bring you again to the land of your fathers.
ASVAnd Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die: but God will be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers.
YLTAnd Israel saith unto Joseph, ‘Lo, I am dying, and God hath been with you, and hath brought you back unto the land of your fathers;
DARBYAnd Israel said to Joseph, Behold, I die; and God will be with you, and bring you again to the land of your fathers.
BBEThen Israel said to Joseph, Now my death is near; but God will be with you, guiding you back to the land of your fathers.
WebsterAnd Israel said to Joseph, Behold, I die; but God shall be with you, and bring you again to the land of your fathers.

What does Genesis 48:21 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
21. Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die--The patriarch could speak of death with composure, but he wished to prepare Joseph and the rest of the family for the shock. but God shall be with you--Jacob, in all probability, was not authorized to speak of their bondage--he dwelt only on the certainty of their restoration to Canaan.

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 21 Behold, I die - With what composure is this most awful word expressed! Surely of Jacob it might be now said, "He turns his sight undaunted on the tomb;" for though it is not said that he was full of days, as were Abraham and Isaac, yet he is perfectly willing to bid adieu to earthly things, and lay his body in the grave. Could any person act as the patriarchs did in their last moments, who had no hopes of eternal life, no belief in the immortality of the soul? Impossible! With such a conviction of the being of God, with such proofs of his tenderness and regard, with such experience of his providential and miraculous interference in their behalf, could they suppose that they were only creatures of a day, and that God had wasted so much care, attention, providence, grace, and goodness, on creatures who were to be ultimately like the beasts that perish? The supposition that they could have no correct notion of the immortality of the soul is as dishonorable to God as to themselves. But what shall we think of Christians who have formed this hypothesis into a system to prove what? Why, that the patriarchs lived and died in the dark! That either the soul has no immortality, or that God has not thought proper to reveal it. Away with such an opinion! It cannot be said to merit serious refutation.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Genesis 48:8-22

The two good men own God in their comforts. Joseph says, They are my sons whom God has given me. Jacob says, God hath showed me thy seed. Comforts are doubly sweet to us when we see them coming from God's hand. He not only prevents our fears, but exceeds our hopes. Jacob mentions the care the Divine providence had taken of him all his days. A great deal of hardship he had known in his time, but God kept him from the…

Read the full comment on Genesis 48:8-22 →

Genesis 48:21 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.

וַיֹּ֤אמֶרvai.Yo.merand he saidH559
יִשְׂרָאֵל֙Yis.ra.'ElIsraelH3478
אֶל\־'el-toH413
יוֹסֵ֔ףyo.SefJosephH3130
הִנֵּ֥הhi.Nehhere!H2009
אָנֹכִ֖י'a.no.KhiIH595
מֵ֑תMet[am] about to dieH4191
וְהָיָ֤הve.ha.Yahand he will beH1961
אֱלֹהִים֙'E.lo.HimGodH430
עִמָּכֶ֔ם'i.ma.Khemwith youH5973
וְהֵשִׁ֣יבve.he.Shivand he will bring backH7725
אֶתְכֶ֔ם'et.Khem<obj.> youH853
אֶל\־'el-toH413
אֶ֖רֶץ'E.retz[the] land ofH776
אֲבֹתֵיכֶֽם\׃'a.vo.tei.Khemfathers yourH1

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

Cross references for Genesis 48:21

  • Genesis 46:4

    I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up again: and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes.

  • Genesis 50:24

    And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.

  • Genesis 28:15

    And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.

  • Genesis 26:3

    Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father;

  • Hebrews 7:23-25

    And they truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death: But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.

  • Hebrews 7:3

    Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually.

  • 2 Timothy 4:6

    For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.

  • Genesis 12:5

    And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.

  • Joshua 1:9

    Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

  • 2 Peter 1:14

    Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me.

  • Joshua 1:5

    There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

  • 1 Kings 2:2-4

    I go the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and shew thyself a man; And keep the charge of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself: That the Lord may continue his word which he spake concerning me, saying, If thy children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee (said he) a man on the throne of Israel.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Behold.
50:24; 1Ki 2:2-4; Ps 146:3,4; Zec 1:5,6; Lu 2:29; Ac 13:36; 2Ti 4:6
Heb 7:3,8,23-25; 2Pe 1:14
God.
15:14; 28:15; 46:4; De 1:1-46; 31:8; Jos 1:5,9; 3:7; 23:14; 24:1-33
Ps 18:46
land.
12:5; 26:3; 37:1

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

Context

  • Genesis 48:20

    And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh.

  • Genesis 48:21

    And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die: but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers.

  • Genesis 48:22

    Moreover I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.

Read all of Genesis 48

Genesis 48:21 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Y dijo Israel á José: He aquí, yo muero, mas Dios será con vosotros, y os hará volver á la tierra de vuestros padres.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Et Israël dit à Joseph: Voici, je meurs; et Dieu sera avec vous, et vous fera retourner dans le pays de vos pères.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Und Israel sprach zu Joseph: Siehe, ich sterbe; und Gott wird mit euch sein und euch in das Land eurer Väter zurückbringen.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Et ait ad Joseph filium suum: En ego morior, et erit Deus vobiscum, reducetque vos ad terram patrum vestrorum.