Genesis 28:17

KJV1611 – Modern English

And he was afraid, and said, How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

וַיִּירָא֙ וַיֹּאמַ֔ר מַה־נּוֹרָ֖א הַמָּק֣וֹם הַזֶּ֑ה אֵ֣ין זֶ֗ה כִּ֚י אִם־בֵּ֣ית אֱלֹהִ֔ים וְזֶ֖ה שַׁ֥עַר הַשָּׁמָֽיִם

Transliteration

wə-yîrāʾ wə-yōʾmar how-nôrāʾ the-māqôm the-this not this except-bêt ʾĕlōhîm and-this šaʿar the-šāmāyim

Grammar Details

• *wə-yîrāʾ*: waw consecutive + qal imperfect 3rd masculine singular - and he feared
• *wə-yōʾmar*: waw consecutive + qal imperfect 3rd masculine singular - and he said
• *nôrāʾ*: niphal participle masculine singular - fearful/awesome
• *māqôm*: noun, masculine singular + definite article - the place
• *bêt*: noun, masculine singular construct - house of
• *ʾĕlōhîm*: noun, masculine plural - God
• *šaʿar*: noun, masculine singular construct - gate of
• *šāmāyim*: noun, masculine dual + definite article - the heavens

Word Meanings

• *yîrāʾ*: feared/was afraid/was in awe
• *yōʾmar*: said/declared/spoke
• *nôrāʾ*: fearful/awesome/terrible/dreadful
• *māqôm*: place/location/site
• *bêt*: house/dwelling/abode of
• *ʾĕlōhîm*: God/divine beings (plural form with singular meaning)
• *šaʿar*: gate/entrance/doorway
• *šāmāyim*: heavens/sky

Other Translations

• Linguistic Bible Translation from Source Texts

  He was afraid and said, 'How amazing is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.'

• King James Version 1769 (Standard Version)

  And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.

• American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

  And he was afraid,{H3372} and said,{H559} How dreadful{H3372} is this place!{H4725} this is none other than the house{H1004} of God,{H430} and this is the gate{H8179} of heaven.{H8064}

• King James Version with Strong's Numbers

  And he was afraid{H3372}{(H8799)}, and said{H559}{(H8799)}, How dreadful{H3372}{(H8737)} is this place{H4725}! this is none other but the house{H1004} of God{H430}, and this is the gate{H8179} of heaven{H8064}.

• Tyndale Bible (1526/1534)

  And he was afrayde and sayde how fearfull is this place? it is none other but euen the house of God and the gate of heaue.

• Coverdale Bible (1535)

  And he was afraied, and sayde: How fearfull is this place? here is nothinge els but an house of God, & a gate vnto heaue.

• Geneva Bible (1560)

  And he was afraid, & said, How fearefull is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heauen.

• Bishops' Bible (1568)

  And he was a frayde, and saide: howe dreadefull is this place? it is none other but euen the house of God, & it is the gate of heauen.

• Authorized King James Version (1611)

  And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful [is] this place! this [is] none other but the house of God, and this [is] the gate of heaven.

• Webster's Bible (1833)

  He was afraid, and said, "How dreadful is this place! This is none other than God's house, and this is the gate of heaven."

• Young's Literal Translation (1862/1898)

  and he feareth, and saith, `How fearful `is' this place; this is nothing but a house of God, and this a gate of the heavens.'

• American Standard Version (1901)

  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.

• American Standard Version (1901)

  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.

• Bible in Basic English (1941)

  And fear came on him, and he said, This is a holy place; this is nothing less than the house of God and the doorway of heaven.

• World English Bible (2000)

  He was afraid, and said, "How dreadful is this place! This is none other than God's house, and this is the gate of heaven."

• NET Bible® (New English Translation)

  He was afraid and said,“What an awesome place this is! This is nothing else than the house of God! This is the gate of heaven!”

Referenced Verses

• Gen 35:1-9 : 1 And God said to Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel, and live there: and make there an altar to God, who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau your brother. 2 Then Jacob said to his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the foreign gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your clothes: 3 And let us arise, and go up to Bethel; and I will make there an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went. 4 And they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods which were in their hands, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem. 5 And they journeyed: and the fear of God was upon the cities that were around them, and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob. 6 So Jacob came to Luz, which is in the land of Canaan, that is, Bethel, he and all the people that were with him. 7 And he built there an altar, and called the place Elbethel: because there God appeared to him, when he fled from the face of his brother. 8 But Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died, and she was buried beneath Bethel under an oak: and its name was called Allonbachuth. 9 And God appeared to Jacob again, when he came out of Padanaram, and blessed him. 10 And God said to him, Your name is Jacob: your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name: and he called his name Israel. 11 And God said to him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be from you, and kings shall come from your body; 12 And the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to you I will give it, and to your descendants after you I will give the land. 13 And God went up from him in the place where he talked with him.
• Exod 3:6 : 6 Moreover he said, I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God.
• Judg 13:22 : 22 And Manoah said to his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God.
• 2 Chr 5:14 : 14 So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of God.
• Eccl 5:1 : 1 Keep your foot when you go to the house of God, and be more ready to hear than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they do evil.
• 1 Tim 3:15 : 15 But if I delay, that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.
• Luke 2:9 : 9 And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.
• Luke 8:35 : 35 Then they went out to see what was done; and came to Jesus, and found the man, out of whom the demons had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.
• Heb 10:21 : 21 And having a high priest over the house of God,
• 1 Pet 4:17 : 17 For the time has come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begins with us, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?
• Rev 1:17 : 17 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand on me, saying to me, Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last:
• Matt 17:6 : 6 And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were very afraid.
• Gen 28:22 : 22 And this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that you give me I will surely give the tenth to you.