Genesis 21:22

Summary

Genesis 21:22 opens a new narrative unit ("at that time") in which Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, approach Abraham and declare that God is with him in everything he does. The verse is entirely introductory, setting up the speech that follows and establishing the speakers' assessment of Abraham's situation.

Key words

• va-y'hi ("and it was", H9001+H1961) — narrative vav plus qal verb, the standard formula opening a new scene or time-marker in Hebrew narrative.
• ba-'et ha-hiv' ("at that time", H9003+H6256+H1931) — the demonstrative pronoun hiv' ("that/she") modifies 'et ("time"), literally "the time, that one," anchoring the episode temporally without a specific date.
• sar-tzeva'-o ("commander of his army", H8269+H6635A+H9023) — two nouns in construct chain (sar "commander of" governing tzava' "army"), with a third-person suffix -o ("his") attached to the second noun, meaning "the commander of his army."
• le-'mor ("saying", H9005+H0559) — infinitive construct with prefixed preposition le-, the standard formula introducing direct speech, literally "to say."
• 'oseh ("doing", H6213A) — qal participle, masculine singular, describing an ongoing or characteristic action ("the one doing"), used here to express Abraham's continuous conduct rather than a single completed act.

What the text says

The verse begins with the narrative marker va-y'hi ("and it was") followed by the temporal phrase ba-'et ha-hiv' ("at that time"), a formula that shifts the narrative to a new moment without specifying when exactly. The subject of the main verb va-yomer ("and he said", H0559) is compound: Avimelekh and u-Fikhol sar-tzeva'-o ("and Phicol, commander of his army"), joined by the conjunction u- ("and", H9002). The construct chain sar tzeva'-o shows Hebrew's typical way of expressing possession and role through juxtaposition rather than a separate preposition.

The reported speech itself is short: 'Elohim 'immekha be-khol 'asher 'attah 'oseh ("God [is] with you in all that you are doing"). The word 'immekha combines the preposition 'im ("with") with the second-person suffix -kha ("your/you"), forming a single unit meaning "with you." The final verb, 'oseh, is a participle rather than a finite verb, which in Hebrew grammar conveys an ongoing, habitual, or characteristic activity — "in everything you do" as a continuing pattern, not a one-time event.

Differences between versions

The Septuagint introduces a different name for the second speaker: it reads Ochozath ("the paranymph/friend of the bridegroom," ὁ νυμφαγωγὸς) alongside Phicol, where the Hebrew text names only Avimelekh and Fikhol as the two subjects. The Vulgate and the Hebrew agree in naming only Abimelech and Phicol, matching the Masoretic structure with two subjects rather than three.