Genesis 24:7
יְהוָה׀ אֱלֹהֵי הַשָּׁמַיִם אֲשֶׁר לְקָחַנִי מִבֵּית אָבִי וּמֵאֶרֶץ מֽוֹלַדְתִּי וַאֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר־לִי וַאֲשֶׁר נִֽשְׁבַּֽע־לִי לֵאמֹר לְזַרְעֲךָ אֶתֵּן אֶת־הָאָרֶץ הַזֹּאת הוּא יִשְׁלַח מַלְאָכוֹ לְפָנֶיךָ וְלָקַחְתָּ אִשָּׁה לִבְנִי מִשָּֽׁם׃
✦ Hebrew interlinear
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✦ The same verse in five languages
יְהוָ֣ה׀ אֱלֹהֵ֣י הַשָּׁמַ֗יִם אֲשֶׁ֨ר לְקָחַ֜נִי מִבֵּ֣ית אָבִי֮ וּמֵאֶ֣רֶץ מֽוֹלַדְתִּי֒ וַאֲשֶׁ֨ר דִּבֶּר־לִ֜י וַאֲשֶׁ֤ר נִֽשְׁבַּֽע־לִי֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר לְזַ֨רְעֲךָ֔ אֶתֵּ֖ן אֶת־הָאָ֣רֶץ הַזֹּ֑את ה֗וּא יִשְׁלַ֤ח מַלְאָכוֹ֙ לְפָנֶ֔יךָ וְלָקַחְתָּ֥ אִשָּׁ֛ה לִבְנִ֖י מִשָּֽׁם׃
Κύριος ὁ θεὸς τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ ὁ θεὸς τῆς γῆς, ὃς ἔλαβέν με ἐκ τοῦ οἴκου τοῦ πατρός μου καὶ ἐκ τῆς γῆς ἧς ν, ὃς ἐλάλησέν μοι καὶ ὤμοσέν· μοι λέγων Σοὶ δώσω τὴν γῆν D καὶ τῷ σπέρματί σου· αὐτὸς ἀποστελεῖ τὸν ἄγγελον αὐτοῦ σου, καὶ λήμψῃ γυναῖκα τῷ υἱῷ μου Ἰσαὰκ ἐκεῖθεν.
Greek text from Swete's edition, CC BY-SA 4.0
Latin (Vulgate)
Dominus Deus cæli, qui tulit me de domo patris mei, et de terra nativitatis meæ, qui locutus est mihi, et juravit mihi, dicens: Semini tuo dabo terram hanc: ipse mittet angelum suum coram te, et accipies inde uxorem filio meo:
Yehová, el Dios del cielo, que me sacó de la casa de mi padre y de la tierra de mis familiares, me prometió y me juró: ‘A tu descendencia le daré esta tierra’. Él enviará a su ángel delante de ti para que puedas traer de allá una esposa para mi hijo.
Classic Spanish (Reina-Valera 1909)
Jehová, Dios de los cielos, que me tomó de la casa de mi padre y de la tierra de mi parentela, y me habló y me juró, diciendo: A tu simiente daré esta tierra; él enviará su ángel delante de ti, y tú tomarás de allá mujer para mi hijo.
The LORD, the God of heaven, who brought me from my father ’s house and my native land, who spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, ‘ To your offspring I will give this land ’— He will send His angel before you so that you can take a wife for my son from there.
✦ What the text says
Summary
The servant of Abraham invokes Yehovah ("Yehovah", H3068G), described as 'elohei ha-shamayim ("God of the heavens", H0430G), through a series of relative clauses recalling that this God took him from his father's house, spoke to him, and swore an oath promising the land to his offspring. The verse closes with two sequential future actions: God will send his angel before the addressee, and the addressee will take a wife for "my son" from that place.
Key words
- 'elohei ("God of", H0430G) — masculine plural noun in construct state, forming the title "God of the heavens" with the following noun.
- leqachani ("he took me", H3947G) — qal perfect with 1st-person suffix (-ni, H9030), marking a completed past action performed on the speaker.
- nishba' ("he swore an oath", H7650) — niphal perfect, a stem often carrying reflexive/passive nuance, here expressing the act of oath-taking.
- yishlach ("he will send", H7971G) — qal imperfect, denoting a future or ongoing action, introducing the divine promise of guidance.
- ve-laqachta ("and you will take", H3947G) — sequential perfect with narrative vav (H9001), continuing the chain of future actions begun by yishlach.
What the text says
The Hebrew sentence is built on three parallel relative clauses, each introduced by 'asher ("who/that", H0834A): the God "who took me" (leqachani), "who spoke to me" (dibber, piel perfect of H1696G, an intensive stem), and "who swore to me" (nishba', niphal perfect of H7650). This triple structure piles up divine actions before the main clause of the oath's content is even introduced. The oath itself is introduced by the infinitive le'mor ("saying", H0559), a common formula marking direct speech.
The two clauses at the end of the verse are linked by grammatical sequence: yishlach ("he will send", imperfect) sets up a future action, and ve-laqachta ("and you will take", sequential perfect with narrative vav) continues that same future timeline as a result or continuation. This verbal chaining shows the sending of the angel and the taking of a wife as connected events in a single unfolding sequence, not two independent statements.
Differences between versions
The Hebrew text names God only as 'elohei ha-shamayim ("God of the heavens"). The LXX renders this as "Κύριος ὁ θεὸς τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ ὁ θεὸς τῆς γῆς" ("the Lord, God of heaven and God of the earth"), adding a second title, "God of the earth," not present in the Hebrew. The Vulgate's "Dominus Deus cæli" ("Lord God of heaven") matches the Hebrew's single title. Additionally, the LXX explicitly names "Ἰσαὰκ" ("Isaac") where the Hebrew only has li-veni ("for my son", H1121A) without naming him.
This explanation describes the text using linguistic data; it adds no doctrine or confessional interpretation.