Genesis 37:1

Genesis 37:1

 

And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan.

a. ASV:  And Jacob dwelt in the land of his father’s sojournings, in the land of Canaan. [Thomas Nelson & Sons first published the American Standard Version in 1901. This translation of the Bible is in the public domain.]

b. YLT: And Jacob dwelleth in the land of his father's sojournings -- in the land of Canaan.  [The Young's Literal Translation was translated by Robert Young, who believed in a strictly literal translation of God's word. This version of the Bible is in the public domain.]

c. Amplified Bible Classic: So Jacob dwelt in the land in which his father had been a stranger and sojourner, in the land of Canaan. [Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation]

d. Septuagint: And Jacob dwelt in the land where his father sojourned, in the land of Chanaan.

e. Stone Edition Torah/Prophets/Writings: Jacob settled in the land of his father’s sojournings, in the land of Canaan. [The Artscroll Series/Stone Edition, THE TANACH--STUDENT SIZE EDITION Copyright 1996, 1998 by Mesorah Publications, Ltd.]

1. “And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger…”

a. [And] Jacob [Strong: 3290 Yaʻăqôb, yah-ak-obe'; from H6117; heel-catcher (i.e. supplanter); Jaakob, the Israelitish patriarch:—Jacob.]

b. dwelt [Strong: 3427 yâshab, yaw-shab'; a primitive root; properly, to sit down (specifically as judge. in ambush, in quiet); by implication, to dwell, to remain; causatively, to settle, to marry:—(make to) abide(-ing), continue, (cause to, make to) dwell(-ing), ease self, endure, establish, × fail, habitation, haunt, (make to) inhabit(-ant), make to keep (house), lurking, × marry(-ing), (bring again to) place, remain, return, seat, set(-tle), (down-) sit(-down, still, -ting down, -ting (place) -uate), take, tarry.]

c. [in the] land [Strong: 776 ʼerets, eh'-rets; from an unused root probably meaning to be firm; the earth (at large, or partitively a land):—× common, country, earth, field, ground, land, × natins, way, + wilderness, world.]

d. [wherein his] father [Strong: 1 ʼâb, awb; a primitive word; father, in a literal and immediate, or figurative and remote application:—chief, (fore-) father(-less), × patrimony, principal. Compare names in 'Abi-'.]

e. [was a] stranger [Strong: 4033 mâgûwr, maw-goor'; or מָגֻר mâgur; from H1481 in the sense of lodging; a temporary abode; by extension, a permanent residence:—dwelling, pilgrimage, where sojourn, be a stranger.] 

2. “...in the land of Canaan.”

a. [in the] land [Strong: 776 ʼerets, eh'-rets; from an unused root probably meaning to be firm; the earth (at large, or partitively a land):—× common, country, earth, field, ground, land, × natins, way, + wilderness, world.]

b. [of] Canaan [Strong: 3667 Kᵉnaʻan, ken-ah'-an; from H3665; humiliated; Kenaan, a son a Ham; also the country inhabited by him:—Canaan, merchant, traffick.]

1). We know that where Jacob lived at this point in his life was not far from where Abraham and Isaac lived because when Jacob sent Joseph to check on his brothers at Shechem, the Biblical record says Joseph left out of the vale of Hebron.

a). Genesis 37:14 And he said to him, Go, I pray thee, see whether it be well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks; and bring me word again. So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.

2). The plains of Mamre where Abraham lived is the same area as Hebron and Kirjath-arba.

b). Genesis 35:27 And Jacob came unto Isaac his father unto Mamre, unto the city of Arbah, which is Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac sojourned.

3). Henry M. Morris, The Genesis Record: This, we believe, constitutes the concluding statement and the signature of Jacob’s long record, beginning with genesis 25:19b. Although he had trusted for years in God’s promise that he would inherit the land, the same as God promised Abraham and Isaac, he, like they, continued to live as a “foreigner” in the land of canaan. They did not yet own the land, only certain very small portions that they had purchased. Nevertheless, God had indeed blessed them materially with great possessions, and they believed that the complete promise would surely be fulfilled in God’s own time “By faith [Abraham] sojourned in the land of promise as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise...These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth” (Hebrews 11:9, 13).