Genesis 24:57

Summary

The verse records the response of Rebekah's family to a request (implied by context) to let her depart immediately. They propose instead to summon the young woman and consult her directly before deciding.

Key words

yo'meru ("they said", H0559) — qal imperfect with narrative vav, marking the next event in the story's sequence: "and they said."

niqra' ("let us summon/call", H7121) — qal imperfect, first person plural (cohortative sense), expressing a proposal: "let us call."

na'ara ("young woman", H5291) — feminine singular noun with the article attached via the preposition la-, referring to Rebekah as "the girl."

nish'ala ("let us ask", H7592) — qal form, first person plural, paired with the previous verb to form a two-part proposal: "and let us ask."

pi-ha ("her mouth", H6310 + H9024) — construct noun pi ("mouth of") plus pronominal suffix -ha ("her"), forming the idiom "her mouth," i.e., what she herself will say.

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence is built on two parallel cohortative-type verbs, niqra' ("let us summon") and nish'ala ("let us ask"), joined by the conjunction ve- ("and"). This structure presents the family's decision as a two-step plan: first call the girl, then ask her. The object of the second verb is not phrased as "ask her" directly but as et-pi-ha, literally "her mouth" — the construct noun pi ("mouth of") combined with the suffix -ha ("her"). This idiom treats her mouth as the object to be consulted, meaning that her own spoken word or decision is being sought.

The verse contains no independent subject noun for "they said" — the plural verb form yo'meru alone indicates that a group (previously identified in the narrative as Rebekah's brother and mother) is speaking. The passage is compact: seven Hebrew words carry the entire proposal, relying on the construct chain pi-ha to convey the idea of personal consent rather than stating it with a separate abstract noun for "opinion" or "will."

Differences between versions

The Hebrew idiom et-pi-ha ("her mouth") is rendered differently across versions. The LXX translates it literally as to stoma autēs ("her mouth"), preserving the Hebrew idiom. The Vulgate shifts to an abstract noun, ipsius voluntatem ("her will/wish"), interpreting the idiom rather than translating it word-for-word. Modern versions follow the Vulgate's interpretive approach: BSB has "ask her opinion" and SBLIBRE reads "ver qué opina ella" ("see what she thinks"), both moving from the concrete body-part idiom to an abstract rendering of intention or opinion.