Limitless Word
God appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Paddan Aram, and blessed him.
Genesis 35:9 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV And God appeared unto Jacob again, when he came out of Padanaram, and blessed him.
  • BSB After Jacob had returned from Paddan-aram, God appeared to him again and blessed him.
  • NKJV Then God appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Padan Aram, and blessed him.
  • NASB Then God appeared to Jacob again when he came from Paddan-aram, and He blessed him.
  • NLT Now that Jacob had returned from Paddan-aram, God appeared to him again at Bethel. God blessed him,

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

God appears to Jacob again at Bethel and blesses him after his return from Paddan Aram.

Overview

God graciously reaffirms His relationship with Jacob through a renewed appearance and blessing. This theophany confirms that the covenant promises still stand despite Jacob's years of struggle and his family's failures. God's faithful initiative, not Jacob's merit, secures the blessing, pointing to the grace fully revealed in Christ.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 15

  • Gen 26:2Yahweh appeared to him, and said, “Don’t go down into Egypt. Live in the land I will tell you about.
  • Gen 18:1Yahweh appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day.
  • Gen 35:1God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel, and live there. Make there an altar to God, who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau your brother.”
  • Gen 12:7Yahweh appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring.” He built an altar there to Yahweh, who had appeared to him.
  • Gen 17:1When Abram was ninety-nine years old, Yahweh appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty. Walk before me, and be blameless.
  • Gen 31:11–13The angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob,’ and I said, ‘Here I am.’
  • Gen 32:24–30Jacob was left alone, and wrestled with a man there until the breaking of the day.
  • Jer 31:3Yahweh appeared of old to me, saying, “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love. Therefore I have drawn you with loving kindness.
  • Gen 28:13Behold, Yahweh stood above it, and said, “I am Yahweh, the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac. The land whereon you lie, to you will I give it, and to your offspring.
  • Gen 48:3–4Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me,
  • Gen 32:1Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.
  • Gen 31:3Yahweh said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers, and to your relatives, and I will be with you.”
  • Gen 46:2–3God spoke to Israel in the visions of the night, and said, “Jacob, Jacob!” He said, “Here I am.”
  • Acts 7:2He said, “Brothers and fathers, listen. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran,
  • Hos 12:4Indeed, he struggled with the angel, and prevailed; he wept, and made supplication to him. He found him at Bethel, and there he spoke with us,

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Genesis videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Genesis 35:9YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on GenesisMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.

How Genesis 35:9 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.