Genesis 24:39

Summary

This verse records the servant of Abraham recalling a hypothetical objection he raised to his master: the possibility that the woman chosen for Isaac might refuse to follow him back. It is reported speech embedded within a larger narrative retelling.

Key words

• 'oMar ("I said", H0559) — qal verb in narrative form (vav-consecutive), marking the next event in the servant's retelling: "and I said."
• 'aDoni ("my master", H0113) — construct noun with 1st person suffix, referring to Abraham as the one addressed.
• 'uLai ("perhaps", H0194) — adverb introducing a hypothetical or doubtful condition, setting up the servant's concern.
• teLekh ("she will go", H1980N) — qal imperfect, 3rd feminine singular, denoting a future or potential action ("she will go / would go").
• 'achaRai ("after me", H0310A + H9030) — construct form with 1st person suffix, literally "behind me," indicating accompaniment or following.

What the text says

The verse opens with the narrative vav on 'oMar ("and I said"), continuing the servant's first-person account to Laban and Bethuel's household. The phrase 'el-'aDoni ("to my master") identifies the addressee as Abraham, using the construct form 'aDoni with a possessive suffix, literally "my lord."

The core of the servant's speech is introduced by 'uLai ("perhaps"), an adverb that frames the following clause as a hypothetical concern rather than a statement of fact. The clause lo'-teLekh ha'ishShah 'achaRai — "not will-go the-woman after-me" — uses the qal imperfect teLekh, which in Biblical Hebrew can express future or potential action; combined with the negation lo' ("not"), it conveys the sense "she may not go" or "she may not be willing to go." The subject ha'ishShah ("the woman") is marked with the definite article, referring back to the woman previously specified in the narrative context. The final word, 'achaRai ("after me"), is a construct form with a 1st person suffix, literally meaning "behind me," expressing the idea of following or accompanying.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders the clause with a subjunctive-like construction, Mē pote ou poreuthē ("lest perhaps she should not go"), which shifts the Hebrew's simple negated imperfect into a purpose/fear clause typical of Greek syntax. The Vulgate translates with Quid si noluerit venire mecum ("What if she should not wish to come with me"), introducing the verb noluerit ("to be unwilling"), which adds a nuance of volition not explicitly present in the Hebrew teLekh ("she will go"), where the Hebrew simply states the action of going, not an internal disposition to refuse.