Genesis 22:17

American Standard Version (1901)

that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heavens, and as the sand which is upon the seashore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

כִּֽי־בָרֵ֣ךְ אֲבָרֶכְךָ֗ וְהַרְבָּ֨ה אַרְבֶּ֤ה אֶֽת־זַרְעֲךָ֙ כְּכוֹכְבֵ֣י הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וְכַח֕וֹל אֲשֶׁ֖ר עַל־שְׂפַ֣ת הַיָּ֑ם וְיִרַ֣שׁ זַרְעֲךָ֔ אֵ֖ת שַׁ֥עַר אֹיְבָֽיו׃

Transliteration

that-bārēk ʾăbārekəkā wə-harbāh ʾarbeh ʾet-zarʿăkā as-kôkəbê the-šāmayim and-as-the-ḥôl ʾăšer upon-śəpat the-yām wə-yiraš zarʿăkā ʾēt šaʿar ʾōyəbāyw

Grammar Details

• *bārēk*: Piel infinitive absolute - blessing
• *ʾăbārekəkā*: Piel imperfect, 1st person singular + 2nd masculine singular object suffix - I will bless you
• *wə-harbāh*: conjunction + Hiphil infinitive absolute - and multiplying
• *ʾarbeh*: Hiphil imperfect, 1st person singular - I will multiply
• *zarʿăkā*: masculine singular noun + 2nd masculine singular possessive suffix - your seed/offspring
• *kôkəbê*: masculine plural construct noun - stars of
• *šāmayim*: masculine plural noun with definite article - the heavens
• *ḥôl*: masculine singular noun with definite article - the sand
• *śəpat*: feminine singular construct noun - shore/lip of
• *yām*: masculine singular noun with definite article - the sea
• *wə-yiraš*: conjunction + Qal imperfect, 3rd masculine singular - and he shall possess
• *šaʿar*: masculine singular construct noun - gate of
• *ʾōyəbāyw*: masculine plural Qal participle + 3rd masculine singular possessive suffix - his enemies

Word Meanings

• *bārēk ʾăbārekəkā*: surely bless you/greatly bless you/indeed bless you
• *harbāh ʾarbeh*: surely multiply/greatly multiply/indeed multiply
• *zarʿăkā*: your seed/your offspring/your descendants
• *yiraš*: shall possess/shall inherit/shall take possession of
• *šaʿar*: gate/city/territory

Referenced Verses

• Gen 15:5 : 5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and number the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.
• Gen 13:16 : 16 And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then may thy seed also be numbered.
• Gen 24:60 : 60 And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Our sister, be thou [the mother] of thousands of ten thousands, and let thy seed possess the gate of those that hate them.
• Gen 26:4 : 4 and I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these lands; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;
• Jer 33:22 : 22 As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured; so will I multiply the seed of David my servant, and the Levites that minister unto me.
• Dan 2:44-45 : 44 And in the days of those kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, nor shall the sovereignty thereof be left to another people; but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. 45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.
• Mic 1:9 : 9 For her wounds are incurable; for it is come even unto Judah; it reacheth unto the gate of my people, even to Jerusalem.
• Luke 1:68-75 : 68 Blessed [be] the Lord, the God of Israel; For he hath visited and wrought redemption for his people, 69 And hath raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of his servant David 70 (As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets that have been from of old), 71 Salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; 72 To show mercy towards, our fathers, And to remember his holy covenant; 73 The oath which he spake unto Abraham our father, 74 To grant unto us that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies Should serve him without fear, 75 In holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
• 1 Cor 15:57 : 57 but thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
• Eph 1:3 : 3 Blessed [be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly [places] in Christ:
• Rev 11:15 : 15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there followed great voices in heaven, and they said, The kingdom of the world is become [the kingdom] of out Lord, and of his Christ: and he shall reign for ever and ever.
• Gen 12:2 : 2 and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make they name great; and be thou a blessing:
• Gen 17:6 : 6 And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.
• Gen 27:28-29 : 28 And God give thee of the dew of heaven, And of the fatness of the earth, And plenty of grain and new wine: 29 Let peoples serve thee, And nations bow down to thee: Be lord over thy brethren, And let thy mother's sons bow down to thee: Cursed be every one that curseth thee, And blessed be every one that blesseth thee.
• Gen 28:3 : 3 And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a company of peoples;
• Gen 28:14-22 : 14 and thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15 And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee whithersoever 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. 16 And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely Jehovah is in this place; and I knew it not. 17 And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. 18 And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put under his head, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it. 19 And he called the name of that place Beth-el: but the name of the city was Luz at the first. 20 And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, 21 so that I come again to my father's house in peace, and Jehovah will be my God, 22 then this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.
• Gen 32:12 : 12 And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.
• Gen 49:25-26 : 25 Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee, And by the Almighty, who shall bless thee, With blessings of heaven above, Blessings of the deep that coucheth beneath, Blessings of the breasts, and of the womb. 26 The blessings of thy father Have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors Unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: They shall be on the head of Joseph, And on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.
• Num 24:17-19 : 17 I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not nigh: There shall come forth a star out of Jacob, And a sceptre shall rise out of Israel, And shall smite through the corners of Moab, And break down all the sons of tumult. 18 And Edom shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a possession, [who were] his enemies; While Israel doeth valiantly. 19 And out of Jacob shall one have dominion, And shall destroy the remnant from the city.
• Deut 1:10 : 10 Jehovah your God hath multiplied you, and, behold, ye are this day as the stars of heaven for multitude.
• Deut 21:19 : 19 then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place;
• Deut 28:2-9 : 2 and all these blessings shall come upon thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of Jehovah thy God. 3 Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. 4 Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy beasts, the increase of thy cattle, and the young of thy flock. 5 Blessed shall be thy basket and thy kneading-trough. 6 Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out. 7 Jehovah will cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thee: they shall come out against thee one way, and shall flee before thee seven ways. 8 Jehovah will command the blessing upon thee in thy barns, and in all that thou puttest thy hand unto; and he will bless thee in the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee. 9 Jehovah will establish thee for a holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee; if thou shalt keep the commandments of Jehovah thy God, and walk in his ways. 10 And all the peoples of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of Jehovah; and they shall be afraid of thee. 11 And Jehovah will make thee plenteous for good, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which Jehovah sware unto thy fathers to give thee. 12 Jehovah will open unto thee his good treasure the heavens, to give the rain of thy land in its season, and to bless all the work of thy hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow. 13 And Jehovah will make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if thou shalt hearken unto the commandments of Jehovah thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do [them] ,
• Josh 1:1-9 : 1 Now it came to pass after the death of Moses the servant of Jehovah, that Jehovah spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying, 2 Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. 3 Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, to you have I given it, as I spake unto Moses. 4 From the wilderness, and this Lebanon, even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your border. 5 There 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. 6 Be strong and of good courage; for thou shalt cause this people to inherit the land which I sware unto their fathers to give them. 7 Only be strong and very courageous, to observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest have good success whithersoever thou goest. 8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt meditate thereon day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. 9 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of good courage; be not affrighted, neither be thou dismayed: for Jehovah thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. 10 Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying,
• 2 Sam 8:1-9 : 1 And after this it came to pass, that David smote the Philistines, and subdued them: and David took the bridle of the mother city out of the hand of the Philistines. 2 And he smote Moab, and measured them with the line, making them to lie down on the ground; and he measured two lines to put to death, and one full line to keep alive. And the Moabites became servants to David, and brought tribute. 3 David smote also Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, as he went to recover his dominion at the River. 4 And David took from him a thousand and seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen: and David hocked all the chariot horses, but reserved of them for a hundred chariots. 5 And when the Syrians of Damascus came to succor Hadadezer king of Zobah, David smote of the Syrians two and twenty thousand men. 6 Then David put garrisons in Syria of Damascus; and the Syrians became servants to David, and brought tribute. And Jehovah gave victory to David whithersoever he went. 7 And David took the shields of gold that were on the servants of Hadadezer, and brought them to Jerusalem. 8 And from Betah and from Berothai, cities of Hadadezer, king David took exceeding much brass. 9 And when Toi king of Hamath heard that David had smitten all the host of Hadadezer, 10 then Toi sent Joram his son unto king David, to salute him, and to bless him, because he had fought against Hadadezer and smitten him: for Hadadezer had wars with Toi. And [Joram] brought with him vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and vessels of brass: 11 These also did king David dedicate unto Jehovah, with the silver and gold that he dedicated of all the nations which he subdued; 12 of Syria, and of Moab, and of the children of Ammon, and of the Philistines, and of Amalek, and of the spoil of Hadadezer, son of Rehob, king of Zobah. 13 And David gat him a name when he returned from smiting the Syrians in the Valley of Salt, even eighteen thousand men. 14 And he put garrisons in Edom; throughout all Edom put he garrisons, and all the Edomites became servants to David. And Jehovah gave victory to David whithersoever he went. 15 And David reigned over all Israel; and David executed justice and righteousness unto all his people. 16 And Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the host; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder; 17 and Zadok the son of Ahitub, and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, were priests; and Seraiah was scribe; 18 and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada [was over] the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David's sons were chief ministers.
• 2 Sam 10:1-9 : 1 And it came to pass after this, that the king of the children of Ammon died, and Hanun his son reigned in his stead. 2 And David said, I will show kindness unto Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father showed kindness unto me. So David sent by his servants to comfort him concerning his father. And David's servants came into the land of the children of Ammon. 3 But the princes of the children of Ammon said unto Hanun their lord, Thinkest thou that David doth honor thy father, in that he hath sent comforters unto thee? hath not David sent his servants unto thee to search the city, and to spy it out, and to overthrow it? 4 So Hanun took David's servants, and shaved off the one half of their beards, and cut off their garments in the middle, even to their buttocks, and sent them away. 5 When they told it unto David, he sent to meet them; for the men were greatly ashamed. And the king said, Tarry at Jericho until your beards be grown, and then return. 6 And when the children of Ammon saw that they were become odious to David, the children of Ammon sent and hired the Syrians of Beth-rehob, and the Syrians of Zobah, twenty thousand footmen, and the king of Maacah with a thousand men, and the men of Tob twelve thousand men. 7 And when David heard of it, he sent Joab, and all the host of the mighty men. 8 And the children of Ammon came out, and put the battle in array at the entrance of the gate: and the Syrians of Zobah and of Rehob, and the men of Tob and Maacah, were by themselves in the field. 9 Now when Joab saw that the battle was set against him before and behind, he chose of all the choice men of Israel, and put them in array against the Syrians: 10 And the rest of the people he committed into the hand of Abishai his brother; and he put them in array against the children of Ammon. 11 And he said, If the Syrians be too strong for me, then thou shalt help me; but if the children of Ammon be too strong for thee, then I will come and help thee. 12 Be of good courage, and let us play the man for our people, and for the cities of our God: and Jehovah do that which seemeth him good. 13 So Joab and the people that were with him drew nigh unto the battle against the Syrians: and they fled before him. 14 And when the children of Ammon saw that the Syrians were fled, they likewise fled before Abishai, and entered into the city. Then Joab returned from the children of Ammon, and came to Jerusalem. 15 And when the Syrians saw that they were put to the worse before Israel, they gathered themselves together. 16 And Hadarezer sent, and brought out the Syrians that were beyond the River: and they came to Helam, with Shobach the captain of the host of Hadarezer at their head. 17 And it was told David; and he gathered all Israel together, and passed over the Jordan, and came to Helam. And the Syrians set themselves in array against David, and fought with him. 18 And the Syrians fled before Israel; and David slew of the Syrians [the men of] seven hundred chariots, and forty thousand horsemen, and smote Shobach the captain of their host, so that he died there. 19 And when all the kings that were servants to Hadarezer saw that they were put to the worse before Israel, they made peace with Israel, and served them. So the Syrians feared to help the children of Ammon any more.
• 1 Kgs 9:26 : 26 And king Solomon made a navy of ships in Ezion-geber, which is beside Eloth, on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom.
• Ps 2:8-9 : 8 Ask of me, and I will give [thee] the nations for thine inheritance, And the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. 9 Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.
• Ps 72:8-9 : 8 He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, And from the River unto the ends of the earth. 9 They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; And his enemies shall lick the dust.
• Jer 32:22 : 22 and gavest them this land, which thou didst swear to their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey;