God spoke to Israel in the visions of the night, and said, “Jacob, Jacob!” He said, “Here I am.”
Parallel translations
- KJV And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, Here am I.
- BSB And that night God spoke to Israel in a vision: “Jacob, Jacob!” He said. “Here I am,” replied Jacob.
- NKJV Then God spoke to Israel in the visions of the night, and said, “Jacob, Jacob!” And he said, “Here I am.”
- NASB And God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, “Jacob, Jacob.” And he said, “Here I am.”
- NLT During the night God spoke to him in a vision. “Jacob! Jacob!” he called. “Here I am,” Jacob replied.
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 speaks to Israel in a night vision, calling 'Jacob, Jacob,' and he answers, 'Here I am.' God meets him at the threshold of his journey.
Overview
God addresses the patriarch in a vision, repeating his name with intimate urgency, and Jacob responds in ready obedience. This personal encounter assures Jacob that the move to Egypt accords with God's will. The familiar call and response echoes other moments of divine commissioning in Scripture.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 19
- Gen 15:1After these things Yahweh’s word came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Don’t be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”
- Job 33:14–15For God speaks once, yes twice, though man pays no attention.
- Exod 3:3–4Moses said, “I will turn aside now, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.”
- 1 Sam 3:10Yahweh came, and stood, and called as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak; for your servant hears.”
- 1 Sam 3:4Yahweh called Samuel; and he said, “Here I am.”
- 2 Chr 26:5He set himself to seek God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the vision of God; and as long as he sought Yahweh, God made him prosper.
- Job 4:13In thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falls on men,
- Dan 2:19Then was the secret revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.
- Acts 10:3At about the ninth hour of the day, he clearly saw in a vision an angel of God coming to him, and saying to him, “Cornelius!”
- Acts 9:4He fell on the earth, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
- Acts 16:9A vision appeared to Paul in the night. There was a man of Macedonia standing, begging him, and saying, “Come over into Macedonia and help us.”
- Acts 9:10Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias!” He said, “Behold, it’s me, Lord.”
- Gen 22:11Yahweh’s angel called to him out of the sky, and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” He said, “Here I am.”
- Gen 22:1After these things, God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” He said, “Here I am.”
- Gen 31:11The angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob,’ and I said, ‘Here I am.’
- Num 24:4he says, who hears the words of God, who sees the vision of the Almighty, falling down, and having his eyes open:
- Num 12:6He said, “Now hear my words. If there is a prophet among you, I, Yahweh, will make myself known to him in a vision. I will speak with him in a dream.
- Gen 15:13He said to Abram, “Know for sure that your offspring will live as foreigners in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them. They will afflict them four hundred years.
- Acts 10:13A voice came to him, “Rise, Peter, kill and eat!”
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 46:2 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.