Genesis 11:16

Summary

The verse states that Eber lived thirty-four years and then fathered Peleg. It follows the genealogical pattern of Genesis 11, recording age at fatherhood and the name of the son produced.

Key words

• yechi ("he lived", H2421) — qal verb in narrative form (with prefixed va, H9001), marking the sequential opening action of the verse: "and he lived."
• 'Ever ("Eber", H5677G) — proper name, subject of the verb "lived"; the ancestor whose age and offspring are recorded.
• 'arba' ("four", H0702) and shelishim ("thirty", H7970) — cardinal numbers joined by the conjunction u ("and", H9002), together forming "thirty-four," modifying shanah ("year[s]", H8141).
• shanah ("year[s]", H8141) — feminine singular noun used collectively after the compound number to specify the unit of age.
• yolед ("he fathered", H3205) — hiphil (causative) verb in narrative form, indicating that Eber caused Peleg to come into being; followed by 'et (H0853), the untranslated object marker, and Paleg ("Peleg", H6389), the direct object.

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence has two clauses joined by the narrative vav (H9001), producing the typical genealogical sequence: "and he lived... and he fathered..." The first clause, va-yechi 'Ever 'arba' u-shelishim shanah, places the subject 'Ever immediately after the verb, then gives the numerical age. The number itself is constructed as 'arba' ("four") plus u-shelishim ("and thirty"), a standard Hebrew way of forming compound numbers, followed by the noun shanah ("year"), which remains singular even though the quantity is plural — a common feature of Hebrew numeral-noun constructions.

The second clause uses the hiphil verb yoled (H3205), which grammatically expresses causation: Eber is presented as the one who brings about the existence of a son, rather than simply "begetting" in a neutral sense. The direct object marker 'et (H0853) introduces Paleg, marking him explicitly as the object of the action without adding any translatable meaning of its own.

Differences between versions

The Septuagint (LXXSWETE) gives the age as "ἑκατὸν τριάκοντα τέσσερα" (one hundred thirty-four) years, where the Hebrew text records only "thirty-four" ('arba' u-shelishim, H0702/H7970). The Vulgate ("triginta quatuor annis") and the Spanish and English versions listed (RV1909, BSB, SBLIBRE) follow the Hebrew number of thirty-four years, diverging from the Greek figure.