Genesis 24:22

Summary

The verse describes the moment when the camels finished drinking, at which point the man (Abraham's servant) took out a gold nose-ring and two gold bracelets, specifying their weights, and placed them on the woman.

Key words

• nezem ("ring of", H5141) — construct noun, singular, linked to zahav ("gold", H2091); the Hebrew text specifies one ring, not multiple.
• beqa' ("beka", H1235) — a specific weight-unit noun functioning as a predicate nominal after nezem zahav, giving the ring's weight directly.
• mishqalo ("its weight", H4948 + H9023) — construct noun with 3ms possessive suffix, literally "the weight of it," reinforcing the beqa' value just stated.
• tzemidim ("bracelets", H6781A) — plural noun preceded by shenei ("two of", H8147), a dual-form construct number, marking exactly two bracelets.
• asarah ("ten of", H6235) — cardinal number standing alone before zahav and mishqalam ("their weight," H4948 + H9028), giving the bracelets' combined weight without stating the unit explicitly.

What the text says

The sentence opens with the formula va-yehi ka'asher ("and it was, as/when," H9001+H1961+H9004+H0834D), a common Hebrew narrative construction marking a temporal clause: "and it happened, just as the camels had finished (killu, piel perfect, H3615G) drinking." The piel form of killu stresses the completion of the action before the main clause proceeds with va-yiqqach ("and he took," H3947G), a narrative wayyiqtol verb.

The two objects taken are described with parallel but distinct constructions. The first, nezem zahav ("ring of gold"), is followed by beqa' mishqalo — literally "a beka [was] its weight" — where beqa' functions as a weight-standard placed in apposition, and mishqalo repeats "weight" with a pronominal suffix referring back to the ring. The second object, shenei tzemidim ("two of bracelets"), uses the numeral in construct form before the plural noun, and its weight is given at the end of the verse as asarah zahav mishqalam — "ten, gold, [was] their weight" — where asarah ("ten") stands without an explicit unit-word in the Hebrew, unlike the beqa' stated for the ring.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders nezem ("ring", singular) as ἐνώτια χρυσᾶ, plural "golden ear-ornaments," and the Vulgate similarly uses inaures aureas, plural "golden earrings" — both diverging from the Hebrew singular nezem. For the weight of the ring, the LXX gives δραχμὴν ("a drachm"), and the Vulgate gives siclos duos ("two shekels"), where the Hebrew states only beqa' without converting it to shekels. For the bracelets' weight, the Hebrew's asarah ("ten") lacks an explicit unit, while the LXX and Vulgate, along with modern translations like BSB, supply "shekels" not present in the Hebrew wording itself.