Genesis 24:64

Summary

This verse narrates three consecutive actions by Rebekah: she raises her eyes, sees Isaac, and dismounts from the camel. The three verbs form a rapid narrative sequence marking the moment of her first visual encounter with her future husband.

Key words

• ti.Sa' ("she lifted up", H5375M) — qal narrative verb, third person feminine; opens the sequence of actions with the standard "and then she..." narrative chain.
• 'ei.Nei. + ha ("eyes" + "her", H5869A) — feminine dual noun in construct with a possessive suffix; the dual form reflects the paired body part (both eyes), and the construct links it directly to the suffixed pronoun "her."
• Te.re' ("she saw", H7200G) — second qal narrative verb, continuing the chain begun by ti.Sa'; the sequence "lift eyes → see" is a common Hebrew narrative pattern for a character's visual perception.
• ti.Pol ("she fell", H5307G) — third qal narrative verb; literally "she fell," describing her descent from the animal.
• ga.Mal ("camel", H1581) — singular common-gender noun with the definite article ha ("the", H9009), preceded by the compound preposition me'al ("from upon", H9006+H5921A).

What the text says

The verse is built on three narrative verbs joined by the vav-consecutive construction (va-, H9001), each introducing a new action in sequence: ti.Sa' ("she lifted up"), Te.re' ("she saw"), and ti.Pol ("she fell"). This chaining is typical of Biblical Hebrew narrative prose, where the vav-consecutive marks sequential events rather than mere addition.

The phrase ti.Sa' ... 'et-'einei.ha ("she lifted up her eyes") uses the dual noun 'einei.ha ("her eyes", H5869A) with a possessive suffix, a common Hebrew idiom for the act of looking or noticing something for the first time. The direct object marker 'et (H0853) appears twice (before "her eyes" and before "Isaac"), marking both as grammatical objects without adding independent meaning in translation.

The final verb ti.Pol ("she fell", H5307G) is modified by the compound expression me'al ha-gamal ("from upon the camel"), combining the preposition me ("from", H9006) with 'al ("on", H5921A) and the definite noun ha-gamal ("the camel", H1581+H9009). The Hebrew verb root H5307 literally denotes "falling," though its use here describes a controlled dismount rather than an accidental fall, as the surrounding narrative context indicates a deliberate action.

Differences between versions

The Hebrew verb ti.Pol ("she fell", H5307G) is rendered differently across versions: the LXX uses κατεπήδησεν ("she leaped/jumped down"), the Vulgate uses descendit ("she descended"), and modern translations like BSB and SBLIBRE use "got down" or "se bajó" ("she got off"). All these renderings interpret the literal sense of "falling" as a controlled dismounting action, differing from a strictly literal translation of the Hebrew root H5307.