Now Jacob dwelt in the land where his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan.
Parallel translations
- WEB Jacob lived in the land of his father’s travels, in the land of Canaan.
- KJV And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan.
- BSB Now Jacob lived in the land where his father had resided, the land of Canaan.
- NASB Now Jacob lived in the land where his father had lived as a stranger, in the land of Canaan.
- NLT So Jacob settled again in the land of Canaan, where his father had lived as a foreigner.
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
This shifts focus to Jacob, who lived in Canaan, the land of his fathers. It marks the return to the covenant line after Esau's genealogy.
Overview
In contrast to Esau, who settled in Edom, Jacob dwelt in Canaan, the land of promise where his fathers had sojourned as strangers. This deliberate contrast highlights that Jacob, not Esau, was the heir of God's covenant with Abraham. The verse sets the stage for the Joseph narrative, in which God works through Jacob's family to preserve the line that leads to Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Gen 17:8I will give to you, and to your offspring after you, the land where you are traveling, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession. I will be their God.”
- Gen 23:4“I am a stranger and a foreigner living with you. Give me a possession of a burying-place with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.”
- Gen 36:7For their substance was too great for them to dwell together, and the land of their travels couldn’t bear them because of their livestock.
- Gen 28:4and give you the blessing of Abraham, to you, and to your offspring with you, that you may inherit the land where you travel, which God gave to Abraham.”
- Heb 11:9–16By faith, he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a land not his own, dwelling in tents, with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 37:1 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
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