“May God enlarge Japheth, And may he live in the tents of Shem; And may Canaan be his servant.”
Parallel translations
- WEB May God enlarge Japheth. Let him dwell in the tents of Shem. Let Canaan be his servant.”
- KJV God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.
- BSB May God expand the territory of Japheth; may he dwell in the tents of Shem, and may Canaan be his servant.”
- NKJV May God enlarge Japheth, And may he dwell in the tents of Shem; And may Canaan be his servant.”
- NLT May God expand the territory of Japheth! May Japheth share the prosperity of Shem, and may Canaan be his servant.”
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
Noah asked God to enlarge Japheth and let him share in Shem's blessing. The nations are invited to dwell within the sphere of God's favor.
Overview
Noah prays that Japheth's descendants would be enlarged and find a place in the tents of Shem, hinting that Gentiles will one day share in the blessings given to Shem's line. This is a quiet foreshadowing of the gospel reaching the nations. In Christ, Gentiles are brought near and made fellow heirs with the people of promise.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Rom 11:12Now if their fall is the riches of the world, and their loss the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fullness?
- Rom 15:12Again, Isaiah says, “There will be the root of Jesse, he who arises to rule over the Gentiles; in him the Gentiles will hope.”
- Eph 2:13–14But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off are made near in the blood of Christ.
- Heb 11:9–10By 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.
- Eph 3:6that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of his promise in Christ Jesus through the Good News,
- Eph 3:13Therefore I ask that you may not lose heart at my troubles for you, which are your glory.
- Eph 2:19So then you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God,
- Hos 2:14“Therefore behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her.
- Isa 11:10It will happen in that day that the nations will seek the root of Jesse, who stands as a banner of the peoples; and his resting place will be glorious.
- Mal 1:11For from the rising of the sun even to the going down of the same, my name is great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering: for my name is great among the nations,” says Yahweh of Armies.
- Acts 17:14Then the brothers immediately sent out Paul to go as far as to the sea, and Silas and Timothy still stayed there.
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 9:27 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.