Genesis 11:22

Summary

The verse states that Serug lived thirty years and then fathered Nahor. It follows the standard genealogical formula of the Genesis 11 lineage list, marking age at the birth of the named descendant.

Key words

• va-yechi ("and he lived", H2421) — qal narrative verb with prefixed vav; opens the clause with a sequential "and then he lived," setting the temporal frame before the birth notice.
• Serug (H8286) — proper name, masculine singular, the subject of both verbs in the verse.
• shelishim ("thirty", H7970) — cardinal number, masculine plural, modifying shanah.
• shanah ("year[s]", H8141) — feminine singular noun; despite the plural number "thirty," the noun itself is grammatically singular, a common pattern in Hebrew numeral constructions.
• va-yoled ("and he fathered", H3205) — hiphil (causative) narrative verb with prefixed vav; the causative stem conveys "caused to be born," i.e., "begot."

What the text says

The verse is built from two verbal clauses joined by the narrative vav construction (va-), which chains events in sequence: first va-yechi ("and he lived") establishes Serug's age, then va-yoled ("and he fathered") reports the birth of his son. Both verbs share Serug as their implicit subject, named explicitly only after the first verb (Serug, H8286). The object of the second clause, Nachor (H5152G), is marked by the untranslated direct object particle 'et (H0853), which signals that Nahor is the recipient of the action rather than another subject.

The numeral phrase shelishim shanah ("thirty years") uses a plural cardinal number, H7970, with a singular noun for "year," H8141 — a standard Hebrew pattern where the noun following a numeral above ten typically remains singular. The hiphil stem of yoled (H3205) is notable grammatically: the causative form frames fathering a child as "causing [a child] to be born," distinct from a simple active verb "to bear."

Differences between versions

The Septuagint text given (LXXSWETE) reads Serug's age as "ἑκατὸν τριάκοντα" ("one hundred thirty") years, where the Hebrew (TAHOT) has only shelishim ("thirty", H7970) without any equivalent to "hundred." The Vulgate (VULCLEM) and the modern translations (RV1909, BSB, SBLIBRE) all follow the Hebrew figure of thirty years, matching the Masoretic number rather than the higher figure found in the Greek text supplied.