Genesis 18:17

Summary

The verse opens a divine monologue in which Yehovah (H3068G) poses a rhetorical question to himself, asking whether he should conceal from Abraham what he is about to do. The sentence is built entirely on an interrogative construction using a participle, marking deliberation rather than a settled statement.

Key words

'a.Mar ("he said", H0559) — qal perfect, third person masculine singular, marking a completed act of speech that introduces the following question as direct discourse.

ha ("¿", H9008) — the interrogative particle attached to the next word, converting the sentence into a yes/no question; it has no independent meaning but signals that what follows is being asked, not asserted.

m.kha.Seh ("[be] concealing", H3680) — piel participle, masculine singular, of a root denoting covering or hiding. The piel stem intensifies the action (active concealment, not mere absence of disclosure), and the participle form presents it as an ongoing or contemplated state rather than a single completed act.

'a.Ni ("I", H0589) — personal pronoun repeated twice in the verse (once after the interrogative participle, once before the final participle), reinforcing the first-person subject in both clauses of the sentence.

'o.Seh ("[am] about to do", H6213A) — qal participle, masculine singular, describing an action in the process of being carried out or planned, paired with the relative 'a.Sher ("[that] which", H0834A) to form the clause "that which I am doing/about to do."

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence has two clauses joined by the relative particle 'a.Sher. The first clause is a question formed with the interrogative ha prefixed to the participle m.kha.Seh, followed by the pronoun 'a.Ni and the phrase me.'av.ra.Ham ("from Abraham"). Because m.kha.Seh is a participle rather than a finite verb, the Hebrew does not simply state "I will hide" but frames the action as a state under consideration — closer to "am I one who conceals" or "am I concealing." The second clause, introduced by 'a.Sher, repeats the pronoun 'a.Ni and uses another participle, 'o.Seh, to describe the action itself: "that which I am doing." The repetition of 'a.Ni in both clauses gives emphasis to the first-person subject in each part of the sentence, a feature not always visible in translation, where a single "I" often suffices.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders the question with a subjunctive-like construction, "Μὴ κρύψω ἐγὼ ἀπὸ Ἀβραὰμ τοῦ παιδός μου" ("shall I hide from Abraham my servant"), adding "τοῦ παιδός μου" ("my servant"), a descriptive addition not present in the Hebrew text given. The Vulgate uses "Num celare potero" ("shall I be able to hide"), introducing the notion of ability/capacity ("potero") which is not explicit in the Hebrew participle construction. The Hebrew itself expresses the question through a participial form without any verb of ability, framing it as a matter of intention or habitual disposition rather than capacity.