And that night God spoke to Israel in a vision: “Jacob, Jacob!” He said. “Here I am,” replied Jacob.
Parallel translations
- WEB God spoke to Israel in the visions of the night, and said, “Jacob, Jacob!” He said, “Here I am.”
- KJV And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, Here am I.
- 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 events, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.”
- Job 33:14–15For God speaks in one way and in another, yet no one notices.
- Exod 3:3–4So Moses thought, “I must go over and see this marvelous sight. Why is the bush not burning up?”
- 1 Sam 3:10Then the LORD came and stood there, calling as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel answered, “Speak, for Your servant is listening.”
- 1 Sam 3:4Then the LORD called to Samuel, and he answered, “Here I am.”
- 2 Chr 26:5He sought God throughout the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God. And as long as he sought the LORD, God gave him success.
- Job 4:13In disquieting visions in the night, when deep sleep falls on men,
- Dan 2:19During the night, the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision, and he blessed the God of heaven
- Acts 10:3One day at about the ninth hour, he had a clear vision of an angel of God who came to him and said, “Cornelius!”
- Acts 9:4He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?”
- Acts 16:9During the night, Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and pleading with him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”
- Acts 9:10In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord spoke to him in a vision, “Ananias!” “Here I am, Lord,” he answered.
- Gen 22:11Just then the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, “Abraham, Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied.
- Gen 22:1Some time later God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he answered.
- Gen 31:11In that dream the angel of God said to me, ‘Jacob!’ And I replied, ‘Here I am.’
- Num 24:4the prophecy of one who hears the words of God, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who bows down with eyes wide open:
- Num 12:6He said, “Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, will reveal Myself to him in a vision; I will speak to him in a dream.
- Gen 15:13Then the LORD said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years.
- Acts 10:13Then a voice said to him: “Get up, 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.