Genesis 13:17 kjv
Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.
Genesis 13:17 nkjv
Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you."
Genesis 13:17 niv
Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you."
Genesis 13:17 esv
Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you."
Genesis 13:17 nlt
Go and walk through the land in every direction, for I am giving it to you."
Genesis 13 17 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Gen 12:1-3 | "Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country...and I will show thee; and I will make of thee a great nation..." | Initial land promise, call to Abram. |
| Gen 12:7 | "And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land..." | First explicit land promise in Canaan. |
| Gen 15:7 | "And he said unto him, I am the Lord that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it." | God identifying as the giver of the land. |
| Gen 15:18-21 | "In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates..." | Formal covenant and boundary description. |
| Gen 17:8 | "And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God." | Everlasting nature of the land possession. |
| Gen 26:3 | "Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries..." | Reaffirmation of land promise to Isaac. |
| Gen 28:13-15 | "I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father...the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed...I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of." | Reaffirmation of land promise to Jacob (Beth-el). |
| Num 34:2-12 | "Command the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land of Canaan; (this is the land that shall fall unto you for an inheritance...)" | Detailed boundaries for Israel's inheritance. |
| Deut 1:8 | "Behold, I have set the land before you: go in and possess the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give unto them and to their seed after them." | Command to possess the promised land. |
| Deut 11:24 | "Every place whereon the soles of your feet shall tread shall be yours..." | Similar command: physical traversing signifies possession. |
| Josh 1:3 | "Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses." | Joshua's commission echoing Deut 11:24. |
| Josh 14:9 | "And Moses sware on that day, saying, Surely the land whereon thy feet have trodden shall be thine inheritance, and thy children's for ever..." | Caleb's inheritance based on God's promise. |
| Neh 9:7-8 | "Thou art the Lord the God, who didst choose Abram...and gavest him the name Abraham; And foundest his heart faithful before thee, and madest a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanites..." | God's faithfulness in fulfilling the land covenant. |
| Ps 105:8-11 | "He hath remembered his covenant for ever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations...saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance." | God's eternal covenant for the land. |
| Acts 7:5 | "And he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on: yet he promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him..." | Stephen's sermon notes the deferred fulfillment to Abraham. |
| Rom 4:13 | "For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith." | Inheritance (spiritual and physical) is through faith. |
| Rom 4:16 | "Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed..." | Grace and faith underpin God's sure promise. |
| Heb 4:1-11 | "Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it..." | The promised land as a type of God's rest (spiritual inheritance). |
| Heb 6:13-15 | "For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee...And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise." | God's unchangeable promise guaranteed by His oath. |
| Heb 11:8-9 | "By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed...By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country..." | Abraham's faith demonstrated through obedience and sojourning. |
| Heb 11:13 | "These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them..." | Believers looking forward to unseen promises. |
| 1 Pet 1:4 | "To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you..." | Spiritual inheritance for New Covenant believers. |
Genesis 13 verses
Genesis 13 17 Meaning
Genesis 13:17 is a divine command given by God to Abram (Abraham) after Lot's separation. It instructs Abram to actively traverse the promised land, emphasizing its entire expanse, from one end to the other. The command is immediately followed by a divine declaration, confirming that this vast territory will be irrevocably given to Abram and his descendants, serving as both an action of faith for Abram and a reaffirmation of God's covenant promise.
Genesis 13 17 Context
Genesis 13 opens with Abram returning to Bethel from Egypt, wealthy with livestock and silver and gold. His nephew Lot also possesses great herds, leading to contention between their herdsmen. To prevent strife, Abram nobly offers Lot the choice of land, and Lot chooses the fertile, well-watered Jordan valley, unknowingly heading towards Sodom. After Lot's departure, God immediately speaks to Abram in Genesis 13:14-17. This direct divine communication serves to comfort Abram, reaffirm his position as the sole heir of the promise, and re-establish the covenant after the physical separation from Lot. Abram's walking through the land in verse 17 is a symbolic, responsive action to God's renewed promise, an act of faith demonstrating his acceptance and God's secure grant of the entire territory. Historically, traversing land or its boundaries was a common way in the ancient Near East to lay or assert a claim, though in this divine context, it serves as a response of obedient faith to a gift.
Genesis 13 17 Word analysis
- Arise (קוּם -
qum): A command indicating urgency and an immediate shift from a static posture to active readiness. It implies rising to the occasion, being prepared to act, not merely standing physically but responding promptly to the divine instruction. It signals the initiation of a purposeful journey. - walk through (הִתְהַלֵּךְ -
hithallek): From the roothalak(to walk), the Hithpael stem denotes intensive, deliberate, or repetitive action. This is not a casual stroll but an active, meditative, and symbolic "taking possession" by covering the vastness of the territory. It suggests surveying, claiming, and establishing a spiritual presence, walking in the reality of the promised inheritance. - the land (אֶרֶץ -
eretz): Refers specifically to the region of Canaan, the geographical center of God's covenantal promises to Abram and his descendants. It is the designated space for the future nation of Israel. - in the length and in the breadth of it (לָאָרֶךְ וְלָרֹחַב -
la'orekh v'laroḥav): Emphasizes the entire, unreserved extent of the land. No portion is excluded from the divine grant. It communicates totality and vastness, reinforcing the grandeur of the promise. This isn't a small parcel but an extensive domain. - for (כִּי -
ki): A conjunction indicating causality or reason. It connects Abram's action to God's ultimate intention. It underscores that Abram's walk is not to earn the land but because God will give it. This highlights God's sovereignty and the unconditional nature of the promise. - I will give it unto thee (אֶתְּנֶנָּה לְךָ -
etnenna lekha): The divine declaration using the first person ("I") stresses God as the sole Giver and guarantor of the promise. The future tense verb indicates a certain, sure future fulfillment. "Unto thee" specifies Abram and by extension his offspring, as the designated recipients. This is the foundation and guarantee of the preceding command.
Words-Group Analysis:
- "Arise, walk through": These two imperatives signify an active, obedient response to God's will. Abram is called not just to hear, but to act, solidifying the promise through physical engagement. This active posture demonstrates faith.
- "walk through the land in the length and in the breadth of it": This phrase details the scope and nature of the action. It implies a thorough exploration and symbolic claiming of the entirety of the vast, promised territory. This physical traversal acts as a prophetic deed, claiming a land already promised, much like a surveyor.
- "for I will give it unto thee": This is the divine bedrock for Abram's obedient walk. It reveals the sovereign power and unwavering commitment of God. The "for" indicates that the giving is not conditional on the walking (Abram isn't earning the land), but the walking is a faith-filled response because God has promised to give it. God's declaration makes the promise secure and irrevocable.
Genesis 13 17 Bonus section
The divine instruction for Abram to "walk through" the land can be understood as an early form of "stepping into" the promise. It underscores the active, experiential component of faith – it's not just believing intellectually, but living out that belief in tangible ways. While the full realization of the land promise occurred generations later with Joshua and the Israelites, Abram's walk established the divine right and commitment, linking the physical terrain to the covenantal promise. This concept of physically embodying or demonstrating faith in the face of unfulfilled promise is a recurrent theme in the Bible. Abram lived his entire life in the land as a sojourner, owning only a burial plot (Gen 23), yet his "walk" in this verse symbolized a complete, total, and irreversible claim that would come to fruition.
Genesis 13 17 Commentary
Genesis 13:17 is a pivotal verse that reaffirms and deepens the land aspect of the Abrahamic covenant immediately after Abram's separation from Lot. God's command for Abram to "arise" and "walk through the land in the length and in the breadth of it" is not merely physical instruction, but a profound call to faith and symbolic appropriation. This deliberate traversing of the land represents Abram's personal "seeing" and embracing of God's promised gift, in contrast to Lot who chose land based on sight and self-interest (Gen 13:10-11). Abram's walk is an act of trust, embodying the principle that one walks by faith, not by sight (2 Cor 5:7).
The divine declaration, "for I will give it unto thee," unequivocally establishes God's initiative and the unconditional nature of the land promise. Abram's action does not earn the land, but rather is an obedient response to an already-secured divine pledge. This promise is extended to Abram's countless descendants (seed), foreshadowing Israel's eventual inheritance of Canaan. This concept applies practically: like Abram, believers today are called to "walk in" or live out the realities of their spiritual inheritance in Christ, not to earn salvation or spiritual blessings, but as a faithful response to what God has already freely given through grace. Just as Abram physically possessed his promised land through faith-filled movement, we spiritually "possess" the riches of Christ by walking in obedience and trust.