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And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die: but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers.
Genesis 48:21 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am dying, but God will be with you, and bring you again to the land of your fathers.
  • BSB Then Israel said to Joseph, “Look, I am about to die, but God will be with you and bring you back to the land of your fathers.
  • NKJV Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am dying, but God will be with you and bring you back to the land of your fathers.
  • NASB Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am about to die, but God will be with you, and bring you back to the land of your fathers.
  • NLT Then Jacob said to Joseph, “Look, I am about to die, but God will be with you and will take you back to Canaan, the land of your ancestors.

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

Jacob assures Joseph that, though he is dying, God will be present and return them to Canaan.

Overview

Facing death, Jacob rests not in his own continued presence but in God's covenant promise to bring his offspring back to the land of their fathers. This is faith looking beyond the grave to God's faithfulness across generations, the same hope that sustained the patriarchs (Hebrews 11:21-22). It points forward to the God who is 'with us' in Christ, Immanuel, and who keeps every promise He makes to His people.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 25

  • Gen 46:4I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up again: and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes.
  • Gen 50:24And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
  • Gen 28:15And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.
  • Gen 26:3Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father;
  • Heb 7:3Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually.
  • Heb 7:23–25And they truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death:
  • Deut 31:8And the LORD, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.
  • Zech 1:5–6Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they live for ever?
  • Deut 1:1–46These be the words which Moses spake unto all Israel on this side Jordan in the wilderness, in the plain over against the Red sea, between Paran, and Tophel, and Laban, and Hazeroth, and Dizahab.
  • Josh 3:7And the LORD said unto Joshua, This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee.
  • Josh 1:5There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
  • Josh 24:1–33And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves before God.
  • Josh 1:9Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
  • Gen 12:5And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.
  • Gen 15:14And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.
  • 2 Tim 4:6For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.
  • Ps 18:46The LORD liveth; and blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted.
  • Luke 2:29Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word:
  • Gen 37:1And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan.
  • Heb 7:8And here men that die receive tithes; but there he receiveth them, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth.
  • Acts 13:36For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption:
  • Ps 146:3–4Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.
  • 2 Pet 1:14Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me.
  • 1 Kgs 2:2–4I go the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and shew thyself a man;
  • Josh 23:14And, behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth: and ye know in all your hearts and in all your souls, that not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the LORD your God spake concerning you; all are come to pass unto you, and not one thing hath failed thereof.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

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 48:21YouTube · 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 48:21 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.