Genesis Chapter 47 verse 31 Holy Bible
And he said, Swear unto me: and he sware unto him. And Israel bowed himself upon the bed's head.
read chapter 47 in ASV
And he said, Take an oath to me; and he took an oath to him: and Israel gave worship on the bed's head.
read chapter 47 in BBE
And he said, Swear to me; and he swore to him. And Israel worshipped on the bed's head.
read chapter 47 in DARBY
And he said, Swear unto me. And he sware unto him. And Israel bowed himself upon the bed's head.
read chapter 47 in KJV
And he said, Swear to me: and he swore to him. And Israel bowed himself upon the bed's head.
read chapter 47 in WBT
He said, "Swear to me," and he swore to him. Israel bowed himself on the bed's head.
read chapter 47 in WEB
and he saith, `Swear to me;' and he sweareth to him, and Israel boweth himself on the head of the bed.
read chapter 47 in YLT
Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 31. - And he (i.e. Jacob) said, Swear unto me (in the manner indicated in ver. 29). And he (i.e. Joseph) sware unto him. And (having concluded this touching and impressive ceremonial) Israel bowed himself upon the bed's head. Though supported by many eminent authorities (Chaldee Pard. phrase, Symmachus, Vulgate, Calvin, Willet, Rosenmüller, Delitzsch, Keil, Kalisch, etc., etc.), the present rendering is not entirely free from difficulty, since not until the next chapter is there any mention of Jacob's sickness; while in favor of the reading, "And Israel bowed himself on the top of his staff" (LXX.), it may be urged (1) that it is adopted by the writer to the Hebrews (Hebrews 11:21), (2) that the Hebrew words for staff and bed differ only in the punctuation, and (3) that the action of leaning on his staff was quite as suitable to Jacob's circumstances as turning over and bowing on his bed's head. . . .
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(31) Israel bowed himself upon the bed's head.--The LXX., followed by the Epistle to the Hebrews (Genesis 11:21) and the Syriac, read, "on the top of his staff." The word in the Hebrew, without vowels, may mean either bed or staff, and as we have mentioned above (Genesis 22:14), the points indicating the vowels were added in later times, and while valuable as representing a very ancient tradition, are nevertheless not of final authority. The rendering, however, of the Authorised Version is the most satisfactory. It was scarcely worth mentioning that Jacob bowed before Joseph, leaning on his staff; but the picture of the aged patriarch leaning back upon his bed, content and happy in his son's promise, and giving thanks to God for the peace of his approaching end, is one full of pathos and dignity.
