You shall answer and say before Yahweh your God, “My father was a Syrian ready to perish. He went down into Egypt, and lived there, few in number. There he became a great, mighty, and populous nation. The Egyptians mistreated us, afflicted us, and imposed hard labor on us. Then we cried to Yahweh, the God of our fathers. Yahweh heard our voice, and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. Yahweh brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, with great terror, with signs, and with wonders; and he has brought us into this place, and has given us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. Now, behold, I have brought the first of the fruit of the ground, which you, Yahweh, have given me.” You shall set it down before Yahweh your God, and worship before Yahweh your God.
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Deuteronomy 26:5-10 sits inside this longer paragraph.
It shall be, when you have come in to the land which Yahweh your God gives you for an inheritance, possess it, and dwell in it, that you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you shall bring in from your land that Yahweh your God gives you. You shall put it in a basket, and shall go to the place which Yahweh your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there. You shall come to the priest who shall be in those days, and tell him, “I profess today to Yahweh your God, that I have come to the land which Yahweh swore to our fathers to give us.” The priest shall take the basket out of your hand, and set it down before Yahweh your God’s altar. You shall answer and say before Yahweh your God, “My father was a Syrian ready to perish. He went down into Egypt, and lived there, few in number. There he became a great, mighty, and populous nation. The Egyptians mistreated us, afflicted us, and imposed hard labor on us. Then we cried to Yahweh, the God of our fathers. Yahweh heard our voice, and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. Yahweh brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, with great terror, with signs, and with wonders; and he has brought us into this place, and has given us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. Now, behold, I have brought the first of the fruit of the ground, which you, Yahweh, have given me.” You shall set it down before Yahweh your God, and worship before Yahweh your God. You shall rejoice in all the good which Yahweh your God has given to you, and to your house, you, and the Levite, and the foreigner who is among you.
Parallel Translations
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You shall answer and say before Yahweh your God, “My father was a Syrian ready to perish. He went down into Egypt, and lived there, few in number. There he became a great, mighty, and populous nation.
The Egyptians mistreated us, afflicted us, and imposed hard labor on us.
Then we cried to Yahweh, the God of our fathers. Yahweh heard our voice, and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression.
Yahweh brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, with great terror, with signs, and with wonders;
and he has brought us into this place, and has given us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.
Now, behold, I have brought the first of the fruit of the ground, which you, Yahweh, have given me.” You shall set it down before Yahweh your God, and worship before Yahweh your God.
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And thou shalt speak and say before the LORD thy God, A Syrian ready to perish was my father, and he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there with a few, and became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous:
And the Egyptians evil entreated us, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage:
And when we cried unto the LORD God of our fathers, the LORD heard our voice, and looked on our affliction, and our labour, and our oppression:
And the LORD brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders:
And he hath brought us into this place, and hath given us this land, even a land that floweth with milk and honey.
And now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land, which thou, O LORD, hast given me. And thou shalt set it before the LORD thy God, and worship before the LORD thy God:
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And thou shalt speak and say before the LORD thy God: 'A wandering Aramean was my father, and he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there, few in number; and he became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous.
And the Egyptians dealt ill with us, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage.
And we cried unto the LORD, the God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our voice, and saw our affliction, and our toil, and our oppression.
And the LORD brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders.
And He hath brought us into this place, and hath given us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.
And now, behold, I have brought the first of the fruit of the land, which Thou, O LORD, hast given me.' And thou shalt set it down before the LORD thy God, and worship before the LORD thy God.
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Commandments (1)
The laws of the Torah, each cited and shown as a primary source.
Cross-references (81)
- Genesis 46:27 (v5) The sons of Joseph, who were born to him in Egypt, were two souls. All the souls of the house of Jacob, who came into Egypt, were seventy.
- Deuteronomy 10:22 (v5) Your fathers went down into Egypt with seventy persons; and now Yahweh your God has made you as the stars of the sky for multitude.
- Genesis 31:20 (v5) Jacob deceived Laban the Syrian, in that he didn’t tell him that he was running away.
- Genesis 43:1-2 (v5) The famine was severe in the land. When they had eaten up the grain which they had brought out of Egypt, their father said to them, “Go…
- Deuteronomy 4:34 (v8) Or has God tried to go and take a nation for himself from among another nation, by trials, by signs, by wonders, by war, by a mighty hand,…
Show all 81 cross-references
- Genesis 31:24 (v5) God came to Laban the Syrian in a dream of the night, and said to him, “Be careful that you don’t speak to Jacob either good or bad.”
- Genesis 43:12 (v5) and take double money in your hand, and take back the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks. Perhaps it was an oversight.
- Genesis 45:7 (v5) God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant in the earth, and to save you alive by a great deliverance.
- Genesis 45:11 (v5) There I will provide for you; for there are yet five years of famine; lest you come to poverty, you, and your household, and all that you…
- Exodus 1:11 (v6) Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their burdens. They built storage cities for Pharaoh: Pithom and Raamses.
- Exodus 2:23–3:4 (v7) In the course of those many days, the king of Egypt died, and the children of Israel sighed because of the bondage, and they cried, and…
- Exodus 3:8 (v9) I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and large land, to a…
- Genesis 24:4 (v5) But you shall go to my country, and to my relatives, and take a wife for my son Isaac.”
- Genesis 25:20 (v5) Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Paddan Aram, the sister of Laban the Syrian, to be…
- Exodus 1:14 (v6) and they made their lives bitter with hard service in mortar and in brick, and in all kinds of service in the field, all their service, in…
- Exodus 3:9 (v7) Now, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to me. Moreover I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them.
- Psalms 105:23-24 (v5) Israel also came into Egypt. Jacob lived in the land of Ham. He increased his people greatly, and made them stronger than their adversaries.
- Isaiah 51:1-2 (v5) “Listen to me, you who follow after righteousness, you who seek Yahweh. Look to the rock you were cut from, and to the quarry you were dug…
- Hosea 12:12 (v5) Jacob fled into the country of Aram, and Israel served to get a wife, and for a wife he tended flocks and herds.
- Acts 7:15 (v5) Jacob went down into Egypt and he died, himself and our fathers,
- Ephesians 3:20-21 (v7) Now to him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to him be the…
- Genesis 27:41 (v5) Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed him. Esau said in his heart, “The days of mourning for my father are…
- Genesis 28:5 (v5) Isaac sent Jacob away. He went to Paddan Aram to Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob’s and Esau’s mother.
- Genesis 31:40 (v5) This was my situation: in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep fled from my eyes.
- Genesis 46:1-7 (v5) Israel traveled with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father, Isaac. God spoke to Israel in…
- Genesis 47:27 (v5) Israel lived in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen; and they got themselves possessions therein, and were fruitful, and multiplied…
- Exodus 1:5 (v5) All the souls who came out of Jacob’s body were seventy souls, and Joseph was in Egypt already.
- Exodus 1:7 (v5) The children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and grew exceedingly mighty; and the land was filled with…
- Exodus 1:12 (v5) But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and the more they spread out. They started to dread the children of Israel.
- Exodus 4:31 (v7) The people believed, and when they heard that Yahweh had visited the children of Israel, and that he had seen their affliction, then they…
- Exodus 6:5 (v7) Moreover I have heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage, and I have remembered my covenant.
- Deuteronomy 7:7 (v5) Yahweh didn’t set his love on you nor choose you, because you were more in number than any people; for you were the fewest of all peoples;
- 1 Samuel 9:16 (v7) “Tomorrow about this time I will send you a man out of the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him to be prince over my people Israel.…
- Psalms 50:15 (v7) Call on me in the day of trouble. I will deliver you, and you will honor me.”
- Psalms 103:1-2 (v7) Praise Yahweh, my soul! All that is within me, praise his holy name! Praise Yahweh, my soul, and don’t forget all his benefits,
- Psalms 116:1-4 (v7) I love Yahweh, because he listens to my voice, and my cries for mercy. Because he has turned his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as…
- Psalms 119:132 (v7) Turn to me, and have mercy on me, as you always do to those who love your name.
- Jeremiah 33:2 (v7) “Yahweh who does it, Yahweh who forms it to establish it—Yahweh is his name, says:
- Exodus 1:16 (v6) and he said, “When you perform the duty of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them on the birth stool, if it is a son, then you shall…
- Exodus 1:22 (v6) Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, “You shall cast every son who is born into the river, and every daughter you shall save alive.”
- Exodus 5:9 (v6) Let heavier work be laid on the men, that they may labor in it. Don’t let them pay any attention to lying words.”
- Exodus 5:23 (v6) For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble on this people. You have not rescued your people at all!”
- Exodus 12:37 (v8) The children of Israel traveled from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot who were men, in addition to children.
- Exodus 12:41 (v8) At the end of four hundred thirty years, to the day, all of Yahweh’s armies went out from the land of Egypt.
- Exodus 12:51 (v8) That same day, Yahweh brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their armies.
- Exodus 13:3 (v8) Moses said to the people, “Remember this day, in which you came out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand Yahweh…
- Exodus 14:16-31 (v8) Lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. Then the children of Israel shall go into the middle of the sea on…
- Exodus 22:29 (v10) “You shall not delay to offer from your harvest and from the outflow of your presses. “You shall give the firstborn of your sons to me.
- Numbers 18:11-13 (v10) “This is yours, too: the wave offering of their gift, even all the wave offerings of the children of Israel. I have given them to you, and…
- Deuteronomy 4:20 (v6) But Yahweh has taken you, and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be to him a people of inheritance, as it is today.
- Deuteronomy 5:15 (v8) You shall remember that you were a servant in the land of Egypt, and Yahweh your God brought you out of there by a mighty hand and by an…
- Deuteronomy 6:10-13 (v10) It shall be, when Yahweh your God brings you into the land which he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you,…
- Deuteronomy 18:4 (v10) You shall give him the first fruits of your grain, of your new wine, and of your oil, and the first of the fleece of your sheep.
- Deuteronomy 26:2 (v10) that you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you shall bring in from your land that Yahweh your God gives…
- Deuteronomy 26:4 (v10) The priest shall take the basket out of your hand, and set it down before Yahweh your God’s altar.
- Deuteronomy 26:17 (v10) You have declared today that Yahweh is your God, and that you would walk in his ways, keep his statutes, his commandments, and his…
- Joshua 23:14 (v9) “Behold, today I am going the way of all the earth. You know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one thing has failed of all…
- 1 Samuel 7:12 (v9) Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and called its name Ebenezer, saying, “Yahweh helped us until now.”
- 2 Samuel 16:12 (v7) It may be that Yahweh will look on the wrong done to me, and that Yahweh will repay me good for the cursing of me today.”
- 1 Chronicles 29:14 (v10) But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly as this? For all things come from you, and we have given…
- Psalms 22:27 (v10) All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to Yahweh. All the relatives of the nations shall worship before you.
- Psalms 22:29 (v10) All the rich ones of the earth shall eat and worship. All those who go down to the dust shall bow before him, even he who can’t keep his…
- Psalms 78:12-13 (v8) He did marvelous things in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan. He split the sea, and caused them to…
- Psalms 86:9 (v10) All nations you have made will come and worship before you, Lord. They shall glorify your name.
- Psalms 95:6 (v10) Oh come, let’s worship and bow down. Let’s kneel before Yahweh, our Maker,
- Psalms 102:19-20 (v7) For he has looked down from the height of his sanctuary. From heaven, Yahweh saw the earth; to hear the groans of the prisoner; to free…
- Psalms 105:27-38 (v8) They performed miracles among them, and wonders in the land of Ham. He sent darkness, and made it dark. They didn’t rebel against his…
- Psalms 105:44 (v9) He gave them the lands of the nations. They took the labor of the peoples in possession,
- Psalms 106:7-10 (v8) Our fathers didn’t understand your wonders in Egypt. They didn’t remember the multitude of your loving kindnesses, but were rebellious at…
- Psalms 107:7-8 (v9) he led them also by a straight way, that they might go to a city to live in. Let them praise Yahweh for his loving kindness, for his…
- Proverbs 3:9 (v10) Honor Yahweh with your substance, with the first fruits of all your increase:
- Isaiah 66:23 (v10) It shall happen that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, all flesh will come to worship before me,” says Yahweh.
- Ezekiel 20:6 (v9) in that day I swore to them, to bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, flowing with milk and…
- Ezekiel 20:15 (v9) Moreover also I swore to them in the wilderness, that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and…
- Acts 26:22 (v9) Having therefore obtained the help that is from God, I stand to this day testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the…
- Romans 2:1 (v10) Therefore you are without excuse, O man, whoever you are who judge. For in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself. For you who…
- 1 Corinthians 10:31 (v10) Whether therefore you eat, or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
- 1 Peter 4:10-11 (v10) As each has received a gift, employ it in serving one another, as good managers of the grace of God in its various forms. If anyone speaks,…
- Revelation 22:9 (v10) He said to me, “See you don’t do it! I am a fellow bondservant with you and with your brothers, the prophets, and with those who keep the…
- Exodus 5:19 (v6) The officers of the children of Israel saw that they were in trouble when it was said, “You shall not diminish anything from your daily…
- Isaiah 63:12 (v8) Who caused his glorious arm to be at Moses’ right hand? Who divided the waters before them, to make himself an everlasting name?
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (16 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv5, 7, 10 Meaning, Jacob, who served 20 years in Syria.
Meaning, Jacob, who served 20 years in Syria.
Only by God’s mercy, and not by their fathers’ deservings.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On v5 Deu 26:5 And thou shalt speak and say before…
Deu 26:5 And thou shalt speak and say before the LORD thy God, A Syrian ready to perish [was] my father, and he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there with a few, and became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous:
Ver. 5. A Syrian ready to perish.] Jacob, whose original was from Haran in Syria, {Gen 11:31} and whose abode had been with Laban the Syrian, in much poverty, affliction, and misery. {Hos 12:12} How low and mean were we of this nation at first! Brith signifies blue-coloured, sc., with woad: hence we were called Britons. Instead of fine clothes our ancestors dyed their skins, and painted upon them sundry sorts of birds and beasts: for food they had barks of trees, &c. This should never be forgotten.
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And became there a nation.] Consider we likewise what we were by nature, and should have been; what we are by grace, and shall be; and then take we up that most modest speech of that noble Athenian captain, Iphicrates, in the midst of all his glory, εξ οιων εις οια; {a} from how great baseness and misery, to what great blessedness and glory are we advanced; being "raised up together, and made to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus" {Eph 2:9; Eph 2:11-13} {See Trapp on "Eph 2:11"} {See Trapp on "Eph 2:12"} {See Trapp on "Eph 2:13"} What was there in us, said Tamerlane to Bajazet the great Turk, now his prisoner, that God should set us over two great empires of Turks and Tartars, to command many more worthy than ourselves, you being blind of one eye, and I lame of a leg, &c.? {b} Peter Martyr told Queen Elizabeth in an epistle, that princes must be doubly thankful to God: (1.) As men; (2.) As eminent men, exalted above others. So must all God’s servants, who being his firstborn, are in that respect "higher than the kings of the earth," {Psa 89:27} and being "the firstfruits of his revenue," are therefore "holiness to the Lord." {Jer 2:3}
{a} Arist., Rhetor., lib, v. cap. 9.
{b} Leonclav., Annal. Turc.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv5, 10 Jacob was a
Jacob was a
Syrian, partly, by his original, as being born of Syrian parents, as were Abraham and Rebekah, both of Chaldea or Mesopotamia, which was a part of Syria largely so called, as is confessed by Strabo, b. 16. and by Pliny, b. 5. c. 12; partly, by his education and conversation, for which reason Christ is called a Nazarene, and a Capernaite; and partly, by his relations, his wives being such, and his children too by their mothers. Ready to perish; either through want and poverty; see Gen 28:11,20; 32:10; or through the rage of his brother Esau, and the treachery and cruelty of his father-in-law Laban.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv5–10 And thou shalt speak and say before the Lord…
And thou shalt speak and say before the Lord thy God,.... Speak with a loud voice, lifting up the voice, as Jarchi interprets it; or "answer" (e), to the question the priest will ask, saying, what is this thou hast brought? as Aben Ezra remarks; and this being said in the tabernacle, and before the priest of the Lord, and as in the presence of the Lord, is represented as said before him, which is as follows:
a Syrian ready to perish was my father; meaning Jacob, who though born in Canaan, his mother was a Syrian, and his grandfather Abraham was of Chaldea, a part of Syria; and Jacob married two wives in Syria, and all his children were born there but Benjamin, and where he lived twenty years; and sometimes persons are denominated, as from the place of their birth, so from the place of their dwelling, as Christ was called a Nazarene from Nazareth, where he dwelt, though he was born at Bethlehem, Mat 2:23; and Jether, though an Israelite, as Aben Ezra observes, is called an Ishmaelite, perhaps because he dwelt some time among that people, Ch1 2:17. Now Jacob might be said to be ready to perish when he fled for his life from his brother Esau, and was poor and penniless when he came to Laban; so the last mentioned writer interprets this phrase; to which may be added, that when in his service he was exposed to cold and heat, and had his wages frequently changed, and afterwards, when obliged to flee from Laban, was pursued by him with an intention to do him mischief, had not the Lord prevented him. The reason of this part of the confession was to show that it was not owing to the greatness of their ancestors from whence they sprung, whose condition was mean, but to the gift of God, and his goodness, that they enjoyed the land of Canaan. So every sensible soul, when he brings his sacrifice of praise to God for his mercies, especially spiritual ones, frankly acknowledges his lost perishing condition by nature, of which he is sensible; and that in order to magnify the riches of the grace of God in his salvation, to endear Christ as a Saviour the more, and to keep humble, and make thankful:
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and he went down into Egypt; not directly, but some years after his former afflicted circumstances; so the Targum of Jonathan expresses it,"after these things he went down into Egypt;''after he had been in perishing circumstances in Syria, and when he was sore pressed with famine in Canaan:
and sojourned there with a few; with seventy souls, as Jarchi:
and became there a great nation, mighty and populous; insomuch that the king of Egypt was jealous of them, lest through their strength and numbers they should get away from them, when any favourable incident happened; they being when they came out from thence six hundred thousand men able to bear arms, besides women and children.
(e) "et respondebis", Montanus, Vatablus; "et respondens dices", Munster.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv5, 10 A Syrian - So Jacob was, partly by his…
A Syrian - So Jacob was, partly by his original, as being born of Syrian parents, as were Abraham and Rebecca, both of Chaldea or Mesopotamia, which was a part of Syria largely so called, partly by his education and conversation; and partly by his relations, his wives being such, and his children too by their mother's. Ready to perish - Either through want and poverty; (See Gen. xxviii, 11, 20; xxxii, 10,) or through the rage of his brother Esau, and the treachery of his father-in-law Laban.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv5, 8 Verse 5. A Syrian ready to perish was my…
Verse 5. A Syrian ready to perish was my father] This passage has been variously understood, both by the ancient versions and by modern commentators. The Vulgate renders it thus: Syrus persequebatur patrem meum, "A Syrian persecuted my father." The Septuagint thus: Συριαν απεβαλεν ὁ πατηρ μου, "My father abandoned Syria." The Targum thus: לבן ארמאה בעא לאובדא ית אבא Laban arammaah bea leobada yath abba, "Laban the Syrian endeavoured to destroy my father." The Syriac: "My father was led out of Syria into Egypt." The Arabic: "Surely, Laban the Syrian had almost destroyed my father." The Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel: "Our father Jacob went at first into Syria of Mesopotamia, and Laban sought to destroy him."
Father Houbigant dissents from all, and renders the original thus: Fames urgebat patrem meum, qui in AEgyptum descendit, "Famine oppressed my father, who went down into Egypt." This interpretation Houbigant gives the text, by taking the י yod from the word ארמי arammi, which signifies an Aramite or Syrian, and joining it to יאבד yeabud, the future for the perfect, which is common enough in Hebrew, and which may signify constrained; and seeking for the meaning of ארם aram in the Arabic [Arabic] arama, which signifies famine, dearth, &c., he thus makes out his version, and this version he defends at large in his notes. It is pretty evident, from the text, that by a Syrian we are to understand Jacob, so called from his long residence in Syria with his father-in-law Laban. And his being ready to perish may signify the hard usage and severe labour he had in Laban's service, by which, as his health was much impaired, so his life might have often been in imminent danger.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv5, 10 Deu 26:5. A Syrian was my father — That…
Deu 26:5. A Syrian was my father — That is, Jacob; for though born in Canaan, he was a Syrian by descent, his mother Rebecca, and his grandfather Abraham, being both of Chaldea or Mesopotamia, which in Scripture is comprehended under the name of Syria. His wives and children, by their mothers’ side, and his relations, were Syrians, and he himself had lived twenty years in Syria with Laban. Ready to perish — Through want and poverty, or through the rage of his brother Esau, and the treachery of his father-in-law Laban: see Gen 28:11; Gen 28:20; Gen 32:10.
Or perhaps this refers to the state of Jacob a little before he went down into Egypt, when he and his family were in danger of perishing by famine, had he not been sustained by his son.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On v5 A Syrian ready to perish was my father -…
A Syrian ready to perish was my father - The reference is shown by the context to be to Jacob, as the ancestor in whom particularly the family of Abraham began to develop into a nation (compare Isa 43:22, Isa 43:28, etc.). Jacob is called a Syrian (literally, Aramaean), not only because of his own long residence in Syria with Laban Gen. 29–31, as our Lord was called a Nazarene because of his residence at Nazareth Mat 2:23, but because he there married and had his children (compare Hos 12:12); and might be said accordingly to belong to that more than to any other land.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv5, 8, 10 The Syrian. Laban. See Genesis xxvii. (Challoner) --- Hebrew,…
The Syrian. Laban. See Genesis xxvii. (Challoner) --- Hebrew, "My father was a Syrian, poor, (or ready to perish) and he went down," &c. The ancestors of Jacob had, in effect, come from beyond the Euphrates, and he had dwelt in Mesopotamia for twenty years. But the translation of the Septuagint seems preferable, "My father abandoned (apebalen) Syria." (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On v5 thou shalt say . . . A Syrian ready…
thou shalt say . . . A Syrian ready to perish was my father--rather, "a wandering Syrian." The ancestors of the Hebrews were nomad shepherds, either Syrians by birth as Abraham, or by long residence as Jacob. When they were established as a nation in the possession of the promised land, they were indebted to God's unmerited goodness for their distinguished privileges, and in token of gratitude they brought this basket of first-fruits.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv5, 8, 10 5. A Syrian ready to perish — Rather, a…
5. A Syrian ready to perish — Rather, a wandering Syrian. Jacob is here referred to. He is called an Aramaean, or Syrian. For in Aramaea he lived for a long period. Here he served Laban. Here he married his wives. Here most of his children were born.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv5–10 5. answer] testify, as in Deu_5:20, Deu_19:16; Deu_19:18, Deu_21:7,…
5. answer] testify, as in Deu_5:20, Deu_19:16; Deu_19:18, Deu_21:7, Deu_25:9.
A nomad Aramean was my father] Jacob-Israel, the son of an Aramean (Gen_24:10, cp. Deu_24:4), himself a nomad shepherd in Aram (Hos_12:12, Genesis 29-31), with Aramean mothers to his children. EVV. ready to perish and R.V. marg. wandering or lost are all possible transl. of the Heb. ’ôbed, used of lost or ‘wandered’ beasts, Deu_22:3, 1Sa_9:3; 1Sa_9:20, Eze_34:4; Eze_34:16, Psa_119:176; and of men perishing, Deu_4:26, Deu_7:20, Deu_8:19 f., Deu_28:20, 2Sa_1:27, Job_6:18 and frequently. Here no doubt intended to mark the nomad origins of Israel in contrast to their present state as cultivators of their own land.
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Dillm. ‘verlorner oder verkommender,’ Dri. ‘ready to perish,’ Steuern. ‘dem Untergang naher,’ Berth. ‘dem Untergang zugehend,’ Marti, ‘umherirrender.’ The LXX, at a time when Aramean = heathen, avoided such a reproach to Israel by differently dividing the two words (’Aram yo’bed) and producing the renderings ‘threw off’ or ‘lost’ and ‘forsook’ or ‘recovered (!) Syria’: Συρίαν ἀπέβαλεν (LXX B), ἀπέλιπεν (N, etc.), ἀπέλαβεν (A, F).
went down] So always from Palestine to Egypt, e.g. JE, Num_20:15.
sojourned] Was a gçr, cp. Deu_23:7 (8).
few in number] Deu_10:22.
great, and mighty, and populous] So Sam., Vulg., etc. J, Exo_1:9, more and mightier than we (Egyptians), 12, 20, multiplied, waxed mighty.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv5, 6, 8, 10 A Syrian ready to perish was my father. The…
A Syrian ready to perish was my father. The reference is to Jacob, the stem-father of the twelve tribes, tie is here called a Syrian, or Aramaean, because of his long residence in Mesopotamia (Genesis 29-31), whence Abraham had originally come, (Gen_11:31) and because there the family of which he was the head was founded. The translation "ready to perish" fairly represents the Hebrew; the verb dba means not merely to stray or wander, but also to lose one"s self, to perish, to be in danger of perishing. (cf. Deu_4:26; Job_29:13; Pro_31:6, etc.) Different renderings of this clause have been given. The Targum, Vulgate, Luther, etc., have, "The Aramaean (i.e . Laban) oppressed my father;" The LXX, Surian ajpelipen oJ pathr mou ("My father left Syria"); others, "To the Aramaean my father wandered." But these either follow another reading than that of the received text, or they are expedients to soften down the apparent ignominy of the description. The probable allusion to the wandering, nomadic life of the patriarch, however, is not to be lost sight of. With a few; literally, in men of few; i.e. consisting of few men, as a small company; the father and head of the tribe is named for those belonging to him. (cf. Gen_34:30 Gen_46:27) A great nation, etc. (cf. Exo_1:7, Exo_1:9)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v5 A Syrian ready to perish was my father.
Deu_26:5
A Syrian ready to perish was my father.
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Humiliation in connection with gratitude
Such was the confession required of every priest of Israel when he presented, before the altar, the offering of first-fruits. It was, therefore, in the midst of abundance, a memorial of former destitution, and an acknowledgment of utter unworthiness, under circumstances of peculiar obligation. The text is capable of divers renderings; but take whichever we may, the lesson is the same. It teaches us, that when the Divine promises are all fulfilled, and our salvation is complete, we are still to remember the past (Isa_51:1). The connection between acceptable thanksgiving and profound humiliation is a fact which none but a Pharisee would dare to disregard, and which it behoves the Christian to bear in mind in all his devout meditations and religious exercises. Should pride ever rise within his bosom--Who maketh thee to differ? is a consideration which may suffice to put it down: nor will he, if walking in the fear of God, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, when, by virtue of his royal priesthood, he has boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, forget to say there--A Syrian ready to perish was my father. The natural philosopher may rejoice that he is not a brute, and a pagan may glory in the attributes peculiar to man, but the devout student learns some very humbling facts concerning the position of our race. Among the rest is this, that, of intelligent beings, man is probably the lowest in the scale. That angels excel us in strength is obvious from everything we know concerning them; and that devils have far greater intellectual power than belongs to man, none acquainted with their devices will be disposed to question. To boast of our mental superiority, then, is but to mingle ignorance with pride. The humiliation which these considerations may be supposed to engender is deepened by the recollection, that our case is not one of poverty alone, but of degradation. Whatever may have been mans original glory, that glory has long since departed. His boast of heraldry is vain; traced back to its earliest antiquity, it bespeaks his ruin. His crest is an inverted crown. And this is his motto--Man that was in honour abode not. The grace of God works wonders. It copes with depravity, and subdues it. It rescues the sinner from his degradation, and renders him meet to be a partaker of the inheritance of the saints in light. But it also teaches him never to forget, even amidst the splendours of the heavenly temple, to which it ultimately introduces him, the ancient acknowledgment of the adoring Israelite--A Syrian ready to perish was my father. (D. E. Ford.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv5, 6, 8, 10 General Information:
General Information:
Moses speaks to the Israelites as if they were one man, so the words "you" and "your" here are singular. (See: Forms of You)
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My ancestor was a wandering Aramean
This is the beginning of the statement that the Israelite male should make when bringing his basket.
a wandering Aramean
This refers to Jacob, who was the ancestor of all the Israelites. He lived for many years in Aram-Nahairam, a region located in Syria.
stayed there
"lived the rest of his life there"
There he became
The word "he" is a metonym for "Jacob's descendants." (See: Metonymy)
a great, mighty
These words mean basically the same thing. They emphasize that Israel became a large and powerful nation. AT: "very great" (See: Doublet)
translationWords
Aram
Egypt
people group
might
nation
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v5 26:5 Jacob’s mother (Rebekah) was an Aramean (Gen 24:10;…
26:5 Jacob’s mother (Rebekah) was an Aramean (Gen 24:10; 25:20, 26), and Jacob also lived in Aram for many years (Gen 31:41-42). His lifestyle was seminomadic (wandering). • few in number: Jacob and his family totaled only seventy when they went to Egypt (see Gen 46:27; Exod 1:5).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.