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The Death of Jacob
Genesis 49:29–33 — The Death of Jacob. Each verse below carries the full apparatus: the Berean Standard Bible, the vocalized original (tap any word), and a parsed breakdown of every term transcribed from the interlinear. Synthesized commentary, canonical threads, and the reading of Christ gather at the end, over the whole unit.
29Then Jacob instructed them, “I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite.
Berean Standard Bible · CC0
Hebrew — tap a word ↓
way·ṣaw ’ō·w·ṯām way·yō·mer ’ă·nî ne·’ĕ·sāp̄ ’ă·lê·hem ‘am·mî qiḇ·rū ’ō·ṯî ’el- ’ă·ḇō·ṯāy ’el- ’el- ham·mə·‘ā·rāh ’ă·šer biś·ḏêh ‘ep̄·rō·wn ha·ḥit·tî
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And-he-charged them, and-he-said unto-them, "I am-being-gathered unto my-people; bury me with my-fathers, unto the-cave which is in-the-field of-Ephron the-Hittite.
Where the English smooths the original
Though death separate us from our children, and our people in this world, it gathers us to our fathers and to our people in the other world. Perhaps Jacob useth this expression concerning death, as a reason why his sons should bury him in Canaan
in mentioning his wishes now and rehearsing all the circumstances connected with the purchase of Machpelah, he wished to declare, with his latest breath, before all his family, that he died in the same faith as Abraham.
I am to be gathered unto my people; the people of God, the spirits of just men made perfect, the souls of all the saints who before this time had departed this life, and were in a state of happiness and bliss
In Canaan. Whereby he designed to withdraw their minds from Egypt, and fix them upon Canaan.Poole's whole note for the verse; pointed but complete.
30The cave is in the field of Machpelah near Mamre, in the land of Canaan. This is the field Abraham purchased from Ephron the Hittite as a burial site.
Berean Standard Bible · CC0
Hebrew — tap a word ↓
bam·mə·‘ā·rāh ’ă·šer biś·ḏêh ham·maḵ·pê·lāh ’ă·šer ‘al- pə·nê- mam·rê bə·’e·reṣ kə·nā·‘an ’ă·šer haś·śā·ḏeh ’aḇ·rā·hām ’eṯ- qā·nāh mê·’êṯ ‘ep̄·rōn ha·ḥit·tî qā·ḇer la·’ă·ḥuz·zaṯ-
Literal — word-for-word from the original
in-the-cave which is in-the-field of-Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in-the-land of-Canaan, which Abraham bought with the-field from Ephron the-Hittite for-a-possession of-a-burial-site.
Where the English smooths the original
This is so exactly described, that there might be no mistake about the place
He describes it so particularly, both for their direction, because they had been some years absent thence; and to express how much his heart was set upon this matter; and thereby to oblige them to the more careful performance of his command.
After the blessing, Jacob again expressed to his twelve sons his desire to be buried in the sepulchre of his fathers
31There Abraham and his wife Sarah are buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah are buried, and there I buried Leah.
Berean Standard Bible · CC0
Hebrew — tap a word ↓
’eṯ- šām·māh ’aḇ·rā·hām wə·’êṯ ’iš·tōw śā·rāh qā·ḇə·rū šām·māh yiṣ·ḥāq wə·’êṯ ’iš·tōw riḇ·qāh qā·ḇə·rū ’eṯ- wə·šām·māh qā·ḇar·tî ’eṯ- lê·’āh
Literal — word-for-word from the original
There they-buried Abraham and his-wife Sarah; there they-buried Isaac and his-wife Rebekah; and-there I buried Leah.
Where the English smooths the original
we have no other account of the death of Rebekah, and her burial, but here; it is probable she died before Isaac
See, for the burial of Sarah, Genesis 23:19 ; of Abraham, Genesis 25:9-10 ; of Isaac, Genesis 35:29 . The burials of Rebekah and Leah are not recorded.Editorial note: the Cambridge editor means "not recorded elsewhere" — this verse is itself the record.
He spoke about his burial-place, from a principle of faith in the promise of God, that Canaan should be the inheritance of his seed in due time.
32The field and the cave that is in it were purchased from the Hittites.”
Berean Standard Bible · CC0
Hebrew — tap a word ↓
haś·śā·ḏeh wə·ham·mə·‘ā·rāh ’ă·šer- bōw mê·’êṯ miq·nêh bə·nê- ḥêṯ
Literal — word-for-word from the original
The-purchase of-the-field and the-cave that is in-it was from the-sons-of-Heth.
Where the English smooths the original
the children of Heth were witnesses of the bargain, and of the payment of the money, and by whom the estate was made sure to Abraham; all which might be urged, if any controversy should arise about it
Kalisch connects the present verse with the 30th, and reads ver. 31 as a parenthesis.
The purchase of the field and of the cave that is therein was from the children of Heth.The Geneva note here simply re-renders the verse; given verbatim as the period English witness.
33When Jacob had finished instructing his sons, he pulled his feet into the bed and breathed his last, and he was gathered to his people.
Berean Standard Bible · CC0
Hebrew — tap a word ↓
ya·‘ă·qōḇ way·ḵal lə·ṣaw·wōṯ ’eṯ- bā·nāw way·ye·’ĕ·sōp̄ raḡ·lāw ’el- ham·miṭ·ṭāh way·yiḡ·wa‘ way·yê·’ā·sep̄ ’el- ‘am·māw
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And-Jacob finished instructing his-sons, and-he-gathered his-feet unto the-bed, and-he-breathed-out, and-he-was-gathered unto his-people.
Where the English smooths the original
having sat upon the bed-side to bless his sons, the spirit of prophecy bringing fresh oil to his expiring lamp, when that work was done, he gathered up his feet into the bed
He gathered up his feet into the bed, not only as one patiently submitting to the stroke, but as one cheerfully composing himself to rest, now that he was weary. He freely gave up his spirit into the hand of God, the Father of spirits.
ויּגוע instead of ויּמת indicates that the patriarch departed from this earthly life without a struggle.The Hebrew shorthand is Keil's: way·yiḡwaʻ ("breathed out") rather than way·yāmoṯ ("died").
And now that all was over, wearied with what must have sorely exercised both his feelings and his physical powers, he gathered himself together upon the bed, and probably soon afterwards peaceably passed away to his eternal rest.
he {x} gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people. (x) By which is signified how quietly he died.The Geneva gloss (x) is a genuine interpretive note, not a bare re-render: the gesture signifies a quiet, composed death — the same reading Keil grounds in the verb choice.
The verse-by-verse work is done. What follows gathers the whole unit. All three layers below are machine-generated (⚙). Weigh them; they have no authority.
AI synthesis — woven from the public-domain voices above and the original text; generated and fallible.
The death-scene opens with a verb of command. The Hebrew is way·ṣaw (H6680), the same root used for covenant stipulations and royal decrees — Jacob does not ask to be buried in Canaan, he charges it, and lays the obligation on all twelve sons at once. Jamieson, Fausset & Brown read the rehearsal of the tomb's pedigree as deliberate testimony: Jacob "wished to declare, with his latest breath, before all his family, that he died in the same faith as Abraham." Matthew Poole sees the same aim turned toward his sons' hearts — naming Canaan "to withdraw their minds from Egypt, and fix them upon Canaan." The dying man is steering a family that has grown comfortable in Goshen back toward the land of promise. (Provenance: JFB and Poole verbatim; the grammatical note on tsâvâh is the machine layer.)
Twice the unit uses a phrase the burial cannot exhaust. "I am being gathered (ne·’ĕ·sāp̄, H622) unto my people" (v. 29) is fulfilled in v. 33 — "he was gathered (way·yê·’ā·sep̄) unto his people" — yet the funeral in Canaan is still seventy days off (ch. 50). John Gill takes the phrase as plain testimony to the life of the soul: "the people of God, the spirits of just men made perfect, the souls of all the saints who before this time had departed this life… this shows that the souls of men are immortal." The Cambridge Bible, more cautiously, insists the gathering is "not burial in the ancestral place of sepulture… but the soul's departure to the gathering-place of the deceased members of the family, i.e. Sheôl." Both agree it is something other than the burial that follows; they differ on its content. (Provenance: Gill and Cambridge verbatim, in honest tension; the ’âçaph wordplay across vv. 29 and 33 is the machine layer.)
The middle of the unit is, in effect, a property deed recited from a deathbed. The cave is fixed by purchase (qā·nāh, H7069), by place ("Machpelah… before Mamre, in the land of Canaan"), and by seller ("from the sons of Heth"). John Gill catches the legal nerve of the repetition: the detail is preserved "if any of the successors of Ephron, or any of the Hittites, should lay any claim unto it," the Hittites standing "witnesses of the bargain… by whom the estate was made sure to Abraham." The Pulpit Commentary notes Kalisch's reading of v. 31 as a parenthesis inside the title-recital. And v. 31 quietly preserves what no other text records — Gill observes of Rebekah and Leah, "we have no other account of the death… but here." The grave is the patriarchs' only owned ground in the land of promise; reciting its title is an act of faith. (Provenance: Gill and Pulpit/Kalisch verbatim; the reading of vv. 30–32 as a legal deed is the machine layer.)
The end is told in four verbs, and the Hebrew chooses each with care. Jacob finished (way·ḵal) his charge — the work done before the worker rests. He gathered (way·ye·’ĕ·sōp̄) his feet into the bed, having sat upright to bless (Ellicott, drawing the scene from 48:2: "now that all was over, wearied… he gathered himself together upon the bed"). He breathed out — and here Keil notes the lexical choice: "ויּגוע instead of ויּמת indicates that the patriarch departed from this earthly life without a struggle." Matthew Henry reads the posture as the soul's: "not only as one patiently submitting to the stroke, but as one cheerfully composing himself to rest… He freely gave up his spirit into the hand of God, the Father of spirits." The verb of gathering his feet and the verb of his being gathered to his people are the same root — a wordplay the English cannot carry, but the very signature of the scene. (Provenance: Ellicott, Keil, Henry verbatim; the four-verb structure and the ’âçaph pun are the machine layer.)
Held against the rule that Scripture alone is the final authority, three things stand out in this small unit — offered as a reading to be tested, not a verdict to be trusted. First, the grave is a confession of faith. The patriarchs owned exactly one parcel of Canaan — a tomb — and Jacob spends his last breath securing his place in it. To be buried in the land God swore, while Egypt offered a far grander sepulchre, is to stake everything on a promise not yet kept. Matthew Henry names it exactly: Jacob spoke of his burial "from a principle of faith in the promise of God, that Canaan should be the inheritance of his seed in due time." Second, the text testifies past the grave. "Gathered to his people" is said before any burial happens; the phrase asks to mean more than interment. The Word here gestures toward a hope the funeral does not contain — though, Berean-fashion, we should weigh how far the text itself presses that and not import more than it says. Third, a finished testimony precedes a peaceful death. Jacob completes his charge, then composes himself and breathes out without a struggle. The order is instructive: the work first, then the rest.
The only land the patriarchs ever owned in Canaan was a grave — and they clung to it as the first deed of a promise God had not yet paid in full.
AI-generated connections. Each carries a verification badge with a recorded basis; contested links are flagged.
The charge given here is carried out word-for-word in Genesis 50:13: Joseph and his brothers bury Jacob "in the cave of the field of Machpelah… which Abraham bought… from Ephron the Hittite." The Verifier records the link on three rare, shared lexemes — Ephron (‘Ephrôwn, only 12 verses), the cave (mᵉʻârâh), and the Hittite (Chittîy), with the burial verb qâbar — so the connection is verbal, not merely thematic: 50:13 quotes back the very terms of 49:29–32.
Genesis 49:29 · Genesis 49:30 · Genesis 50:13
basis: shared rare lexemes: H6085 ʻEphrôwn (12 vv), H4631 mᵉʻârâh (36 vv), H2850 Chittîy (47 vv); plus H6912 qâbar — 50:13 reproduces the title-deed language of 49:29–32
Every clause of vv. 30–32 reaches back to Abraham's purchase in Genesis 23. The strongest verbal anchor is 49:30 → 23:17, which share the cluster of names that occur almost nowhere else: Machpelah (Makpêlâh, only 6 verses), Mamre (Mamrêʼ, 10 verses), Ephron, and the cave (mᵉʻârâh). The burial-recital of v. 31 also leans on 23:19 (Sarah, Abraham, the burial verb qâbar), there as a shared motif rather than quotation. Jacob is, in Gill's words, reciting the deed so the title "made sure to Abraham" cannot be disputed.
Genesis 49:30 · Genesis 49:32 · Genesis 23:17 · Genesis 23:19
basis: 49:30↔23:17 share rare lexemes H4375 Makpêlâh (6 vv), H4471 Mamrêʼ (10 vv), H6085 ʻEphrôwn (12 vv), H4631 mᵉʻârâh; 49:31↔23:19 is the same purchase recalled (H85, H8283, H6912)
When Jacob asks to lie "with my fathers" (v. 29) in the cave bought "from Ephron the Hittite," he is asking to be laid where Abraham himself was laid. Genesis 25:9 records that Isaac and Ishmael buried Abraham "in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron… the Hittite, which is before Mamre" — and the Verifier returns the same rare cluster that makes 49:30 → 23:17 a quotation: Machpelah (Makpêlâh, only 6 verses), Mamre (Mamrêʼ, 10 verses), Ephron (12 verses), and the cave (mᵉʻârâh). The terms are not generic; they identify one parcel. Jacob's charge thus closes a circle the narrative opened generations earlier: the patriarch who began the line by buying a grave is joined in it by the patriarch who ends the Genesis story.
Genesis 49:29 · Genesis 49:30 · Genesis 25:9
basis: 49:30↔25:9 share the rare title-cluster H4375 Makpêlâh (6 vv), H4471 Mamrêʼ (10 vv), H6085 ʻEphrôwn (12 vv), H4631 mᵉʻârâh (36 vv) — 25:9 names the same identified plot where Abraham was buried
Jacob's dying word in v. 29 and its fulfillment in v. 33 belong to a fixed formula used of Abraham (Genesis 25:8) and Isaac (Genesis 35:29). The Verifier confirms both links on the shared idiom gâvaʻ ("breathed out," H1478) + ’âçaph ("gathered," H622) + ‘am ("people") — the same three words for the same event (35:29 adds the shared name Yaʻăqôb itself). This is a structural/thematic link, not a quotation: it is a recurring narrative pattern marking the peaceful death of a covenant patriarch, distinct (as Cambridge stresses) from the act of burial. The relative rarity of gâvaʻ (23 verses) keeps the pattern tight, but it remains a formula reused, not a passage cited.
Genesis 49:29 · Genesis 49:33 · Genesis 25:8 · Genesis 35:29
basis: shared death-formula lexemes H1478 gâvaʻ (23 vv), H622 ʼâçaph, H5971 ʻam — Verifier confirms both 49:33↔25:8 and 49:33↔35:29 (the latter also shares H3290 Yaʻăqôb); a recurring patriarchal pattern, not a verbal citation
In Acts 7:15–16 Stephen says Jacob "died, he and our fathers," and were "carried over into Shechem, and laid in the sepulchre that Abraham bought" — a New-Testament recollection of the very burials catalogued here. Because this is a Greek text recalling a Hebrew one, no shared Strong's number can be computed; the link is structural (a shared subject: the patriarchs' burial in a bought sepulchre), and it is genuinely contested — Stephen names Shechem and Abraham as buyer, whereas Genesis assigns Machpelah/Hebron to Abraham and the Shechem plot to Jacob (Genesis 33:19; Joshua 24:32). The discrepancy is much debated. Flagged so the difficulty is shown, not smoothed.
Genesis 49:29 · Genesis 49:31 · Acts 7:15 · Acts 7:16
basis: cross-Testament (Greek↔Hebrew): no shared Strong's possible; same theme (patriarchs buried in a bought tomb) but Acts 7:16 names Shechem/Abraham against Genesis' Machpelah-and-Jacob — a recognized textual crux, left flagged
AI-generated reading; weigh it against the text.
Hebrews 11:13 says of these very patriarchs that they "all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off," confessing themselves "strangers and pilgrims on the earth." Jacob's insistence on burial in Canaan — clinging to a deed for a grave while the inheritance lay future — is read by the writer of Hebrews as faith looking past death to "a better country, that is, an heavenly" (11:16), and to the resurrection in Christ that secures it. Jacob "when he was a dying… blessed" his sons and "worshipped" (11:21); his deathbed is held up as a monument of faith. As a cross-Testament reading this is figural rather than verbal — no shared lexeme — but it is the New Testament's own interpretation of the scene.
Genesis 49:29 · Genesis 49:33 · Hebrews 11:13 · Hebrews 11:21 · Hebrews 11:22
The formula "gathered to his people" treats death as a homecoming to a living company, not an extinction — the very hope Gill draws here ("the souls of all the saints… in a state of happiness and bliss"). The ancient and widely-held Christian reading carries this forward to Christ, "the firstfruits of them that slept" (1 Corinthians 15:20), in whom the death of the saints is no extinction but a sleep awaiting His harvest. Jacob's peaceful expiry — breathing out his spirit "into the hand of God" (so Henry) — foreshadows the death of the One who, dying, said "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit" (Luke 23:46), a resonance the church has long heard. The further reading that connects "gathered to his people" with Christ's purpose to "gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad" (John 11:52) is a catchword link of the English ("gather"), homiletically apt but not a Hebrew↔Greek verbal one — offered as the more tentative of the two, to be weighed and not leaned on. All of this is typological, not a verbal quotation; test it against the text.
Genesis 49:29 · Genesis 49:33 · Luke 23:46 · 1 Corinthians 15:20 · John 11:52
The biblical text is the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain (CC0). Hebrew/Greek text, transliteration, morphology and Strong’s are transcribed from the Berean interlinear (CC0) + Strong’s lexicons (PD); the literal renderings, divergence notes, word notes and all synthesis are this tool’s own work (⚙) — fallible; verify them.
Named voices, quoted verbatim from public-domain works:
Several voices in this unit are shared-block commentaries: Matthew Henry, Barnes, Keil & Delitzsch, and JFB repeat one note across vv. 29–33 (Henry and Barnes treat 49:28–33 as a single section). Each excerpt is drawn verbatim from the block as it appears on the verse's own page; the repetition is the source's, not an error. Poole and the Pulpit Commentary are silent on some verses ("No text from Poole on this verse"), so voice selection narrows there. The Geneva and Cambridge notes occasionally only re-render the verse text — quoted as the period English witness, with that limitation flagged in the editorial note. The Hebrew shorthand in the Keil excerpt (way·yiḡwaʻ vs. way·yāmoṯ) is the source's own. The one cross-Testament thread left flagged — Acts 7:16 — is flagged not because the link is weak but because the discrepancy between Stephen's Shechem/Abraham and Genesis' Machpelah/Jacob is a real, long-debated crux; the Verifier cannot compute Greek↔Hebrew lexeme overlap, so all NT links here are tiered structural or typological, never verbal. "Search the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so." (Acts 17:11)
✦ = human, public-domain source, quoted and named. ⚙ = machine synthesis, to be verified. Flagged cross-references are left visible on purpose — the verifier working in the open. “Search the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11)