John Calvin Commentary Genesis 35:11

"And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins;" — Genesis 35:11 (ASV)

I am God Almighty. God here, as elsewhere, proclaims His own might, so that Jacob may more certainly rely on His faithfulness. He then promises that He will cause Jacob to increase and multiply, not only into one nation but into a multitude of nations. When He speaks of “a nation,” He no doubt means that the offspring of Jacob would become sufficiently numerous to acquire the body and the name of one great people.

But what follows concerning “nations” may appear absurd. For if we wish it to refer to the nations which, by gratuitous adoption, are inserted into the race of Abraham, the form of expression is improper. But if it is understood of sons by natural descent, then it would be a curse rather than a blessing that the Church, whose safety depends on its unity, would be divided into many distinct nations.

But to me it appears that the Lord, in these words, comprehended both these benefits. For when, under Joshua, the people were apportioned into tribes, as if the seed of Abraham were propagated into so many distinct nations, yet the body was not thereby divided. It is called an assembly of nations for this reason: because in connection with that distinction, a sacred unity still flourished.

The language also is not improperly extended to the Gentiles, who, having previously been dispersed, are collected into one congregation by the bond of faith. And although they were not born of Jacob according to the flesh, yet, because faith was to them the commencement of a new birth, and the covenant of salvation, which is the seed of spiritual birth, flowed from Jacob, all believers are rightly reckoned among his sons, according to the declaration, I have constituted thee a father of many nations.

And kings shall come out of thy loins. This, in my judgment, should properly be referred to David and his posterity. For God did not approve of the kingdom of Saul, and therefore it was not established; and the kingdom of Israel was but a corruption of the legitimate kingdom. I truly acknowledge that, sometimes, those things which have sprung from evil sources are numbered among God’s benefits. But because here the simple and pure benediction of God is spoken of, I willingly understand it to refer only to David’s successors. Finally, Jacob is constituted the lord of the land, as the sole heir of his grandfather Abraham and of his father Isaac. For the Lord manifestly excludes Esau from the holy family when He transfers the dominion of the land, by hereditary right, to the posterity of Jacob alone.