Discovery BoxGenesis 28:4 
Context28:4 May he give you and your descendants the blessing he gave to Abraham 1 so that you may possess the land 2 God gave to Abraham, the land where you have been living as a temporary resident.” 3
Genesis 28:13-14
Context28:13 and the Lord stood at its top. He said, “I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of your father Isaac. 4 I will give you and your descendants the ground 5 you are lying on. 28:14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, 6 and you will spread out 7 to the west, east, north, and south. All the families of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another 8 using your name and that of your descendants. 9
1 tn Heb “and may he give to you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your offspring with you.” The name “Abraham” is an objective genitive here; this refers to the blessing that God gave to Abraham.
2 tn The words “the land” have been supplied in the translation for clarity.
3 tn Heb “the land of your sojournings,” that is, the land where Jacob had been living as a resident alien, as his future descendants would after him.
4 tn Heb “the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac.” The Hebrew word for “father” can typically be used in a broader sense than the English word, in this case referring to Abraham (who was Jacob’s grandfather). For stylistic reasons and for clarity, the words “your father” are supplied with “Isaac” in the translation.
5 tn The Hebrew term אֶרֶץ (’erets) can mean “[the] earth,” “land,” “region,” “piece of ground,” or “ground” depending on the context. Here the term specifically refers to the plot of ground on which Jacob was lying, but at the same time this stands by metonymy for the entire land of Canaan.
6 tn This is the same Hebrew word translated “ground” in the preceding verse.
7 tn The verb is singular in the Hebrew; Jacob is addressed as the representative of his descendants.
8 tn Theoretically the Niphal stem can be translated either as passive or reflexive/reciprocal. (The Niphal of “bless” is only used in formulations of the Abrahamic covenant. See Gen 12:2; 18:18; 28:14.) Traditionally the verb is taken as passive here, as if Jacob were going to be a channel or source of blessing. But in other formulations of the Abrahamic covenant (see Gen 22:18; 26:4) the Hitpael replaces this Niphal form, suggesting a translation “will bless (i.e., pronounce blessings upon) themselves/one another.” The Hitpael of “bless” is used with a reflexive/reciprocal sense in Deut 29:18; Ps 72:17; Isa 65:16; Jer 4:2. Gen 28:14 predicts that Jacob will be held up as a paradigm of divine blessing and that people will use his name in their blessing formulae (see Gen 12:2 and 18:18 as well, where Abram/Abraham receives this promise). For examples of blessing formulae utilizing an individual as an example of blessing see Gen 48:20 and Ruth 4:11.
9 tn Heb “and they will pronounce blessings by you, all the families of the earth, and by your offspring.”
