Bible Strands
Genesis 35:27
Jacob returned to his father Isaac at Mamre, near Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had stayed.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator records Jacob’s arrival at his father Isaac’s residence after concluding a list of Jacob’s sons born in Paddan-aram. This moment closes Jacob’s return journey from Mesopotamia to the patriarchal homeland.
The words — The Hebrew verb וַיָּבֹא (va/yāḇōʾ) literally means “and he came,” denoting Jacob’s physical arrival. The toponym מַמְרֵא (mamrē) anchors the narrative to a specific plot of land near Kiriath-arba that the text explicitly identifies as Hebron.
The thread — The location Mamre near Hebron appears in Genesis 13:18 when Abram moves his tent there after separating from Lot. Genesis 23:19 records it as the site where Abraham buried Sarah, and Genesis 18:1 notes it as the place where the Lord appeared to Abraham.
Why it lands — The verse functions as a geographical and genealogical checkpoint, confirming Jacob’s physical return to the patriarchal inheritance site. It requires the reader to track the continuity of the family line and the repeated settlement patterns of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the same region.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And Jacob came unto Isaac his father unto Mamre, unto the city of Arbah, which is Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac sojourned.
Cross-references
- Genesis 13:18 So Abram moved his tent and went to live near the Oaks of Mamre at Hebron, where he built an altar to the LORD.
- Genesis 23:19 After this, Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave of the field at Machpelah near Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan.
- Genesis 18:1 Then the LORD appeared to Abraham by the Oaks of Mamre in the heat of the day, while he was sitting at the entrance of his tent.
- Genesis 23:2 She died in Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went out to mourn and to weep for her.
- Joshua 15:13 According to the LORD’s command to him, Joshua gave Caleb son of Jephunneh a portion among the sons of Judah—Kiriath-arba, that is, Hebron. (Arba was the forefather of Anak.)
- Genesis 14:13 Then an escapee came and reported this to Abram the Hebrew. Now Abram was living near the Oaks of Mamre the Amorite, a brother of Eshcol and Aner, all of whom were bound by treaty to Abram.
- Genesis 27:43 So now, my son, obey my voice and flee at once to my brother Laban in Haran.
- Genesis 28:5 So Isaac sent Jacob to Paddan-aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, who was the mother of Jacob and Esau.
- Joshua 14:12 Now therefore give me this hill country that the LORD promised me on that day, for you yourself heard then that the Anakim were there, with great and fortified cities. Perhaps with the LORD’s help I will drive them out, as the LORD has spoken.”
- Joshua 21:11 They gave them Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), with its surrounding pasturelands, in the hill country of Judah. (Arba was the father of Anak.)