For their riches were more than that they might dwell together; and the land wherein they were strangers could not bear them because of their cattle.
Parallel translations
- WEB For their substance was too great for them to dwell together, and the land of their travels couldn’t bear them because of their livestock.
- BSB For their possessions were too great for them to dwell together; the land where they stayed could not support them because of their livestock.
- NKJV For their possessions were too great for them to dwell together, and the land where they were strangers could not support them because of their livestock.
- NASB For their possessions had become too great for them to live together, and the land where they resided could not support them because of their livestock.
- NLT There was not enough land to support them both because of all the livestock and possessions they had acquired.
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
Their possessions were too great for them to dwell together, so the land could not support both.
Overview
Like Abraham and Lot before them, Esau and Jacob part because their combined flocks and herds were too numerous for the land. The explanation shows God's providence in giving each brother his own territory. Jacob remains in the promised land while Esau settles elsewhere, each prospering in his appointed place.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Gen 13:6And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together.
- Gen 17:8And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.
- Gen 28:4And give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art a stranger, which God gave unto Abraham.
- Gen 13:11Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other.
- Heb 11:9By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:
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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 36:7 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.