and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I gave Esau Mount Seir to possess, but Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt.
Parallel translations
- WEB I gave to Isaac Jacob and Esau: and I gave to Esau Mount Seir, to possess it. Jacob and his children went down into Egypt.
- KJV And I gave unto Isaac Jacob and Esau: and I gave unto Esau mount Seir, to possess it; but Jacob and his children went down into Egypt.
- NKJV To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. To Esau I gave the mountains of Seir to possess, but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt.
- NASB To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau, and to Esau I gave Mount Seir, to possess it; but Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt.
- NLT To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. To Esau I gave the mountains of Seir, while Jacob and his children went down into Egypt.
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 gave Isaac the sons Jacob and Esau, assigned Seir to Esau, and Jacob's family went down to Egypt. It traces God's guiding hand through the generations.
Overview
The recital continues with God's distribution of inheritance to Esau and the descent of Jacob's family into Egypt. Every step of the patriarchs' story unfolds under God's providence and according to His promise. This sweep of history sets the stage for the great deliverance from Egypt that follows.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Gen 36:8So Esau (that is, Edom) settled in the area of Mount Seir.
- Deut 2:5Do not provoke them, for I will not give you any of their land, not even a footprint, because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as his possession.
- Gen 25:24–26When her time came to give birth, there were indeed twins in her womb.
- Acts 7:15So Jacob went down to Egypt, where he and our fathers died.
- Gen 32:3Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom.
- Ps 105:23Then Israel entered Egypt; Jacob dwelt in the land of Ham.
- Gen 46:1–7So Israel set out with all that he had, and when he came to Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Joshua — the same name as Jesus, 'the LORD saves' — leads God's people into their inheritance, a shadow of the greater Joshua who brings us into the true rest and the promised land that remains.
How Joshua 24:4 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.