Genesis 22:12

Summary

The speaker (identified in context as the angel) tells Abraham not to harm the boy, stating that he now knows Abraham fears God, because Abraham did not withhold his son, his only son, from him. The verse combines two prohibitive commands with a causal clause explaining the reason for them.

Key words

• tishLach ("you stretch out", H7971K) — qal jussive form following the negation 'al ("may not", H0408), producing a direct prohibition: "do not stretch out."
• na'ar ("lad", H5288) — masculine singular noun with definite article, designating the boy as the object toward which the hand must not extend.
• yare' ("[one] fearing", H3373) — adjective in construct form, linked to 'Elohim ("God", H0430G), forming the phrase "fearer of God" rather than a finite verb.
• chasakhta ("you have withheld", H2820) — qal perfect, marking a completed action, negated by lo' ("not", H3808).
• yechidkha ("your only [son]", H3173) — adjective in construct form modifying binkha ("your son", H1121A), both preceded by the object marker 'et (H0853).

What the text says

The verse opens with the narrative va-yo'mer ("and he said", H9001+H0559), introducing direct speech. Two parallel prohibitions follow, each built with 'al + jussive verb: 'al-tishlach yadekha ("do not stretch out your hand") and ve-'al-ta'as lo me'umah ("and do not do to him anything"). Both commands are jussive rather than simple imperative forms, a construction the Hebrew uses for negative commands.

The causal particle ki (H3588A) introduces the reason for the prohibition: 'attah yada'ti ("now I know", H6258+H3045), using the qal perfect to mark the knowledge as newly completed. A second ki introduces the content of what is known: yare' 'Elohim 'attah ("fearer of God [are] you"). Here yare' is not a finite verb but a construct adjective, so the Hebrew phrase literally reads "fearer of-God you are," a nominal-type clause without a copula.

The final clause, ve-lo' chasakhta et-binkha et-yechidkha mimenni ("and you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me"), uses the qal perfect chasakhta to describe completed action. The object binkha ("your son") is restated in apposition with yechidkha ("your only [son]"), each preceded by the object marker 'et (H0853), emphasizing the son's status through repetition rather than a single compound phrase.

Differences between versions

The Hebrew text attributes the speech simply to an unspecified "he" (va-yo'mer), continuing the narrative voice from the preceding verses. The LXX (καὶ εἶπεν) and Vulgate (Dixitque ei) likewise leave the subject implicit within the verb form, while the BSB and SBLIBRE translations explicitly insert "the angel" as the speaker, a clarification not present as a separate noun in the Hebrew, LXX, or Vulgate of this verse itself.