Genesis 26:14

Summary

The verse reports that Isaac accumulated livestock — flocks, herds — and a large labor force, which led the Philistines to envy him. It functions as a narrative summary explaining the cause of the conflict described in the following verses.

Key words

• mikneh ("livestock of", H4735) — masculine singular construct, repeated twice to link possession to two different animal categories ("livestock of flock," "livestock of herd").
• tzon ("flock", H6629G) — construct-bound noun naming the small livestock (sheep/goats) possessed.
• baqar ("herd", H1241) — absolute noun naming cattle, paired with tzon through the repeated construct mikneh.
• avuddah ("service", H5657) — feminine singular noun; abstract term for labor, service, or workforce, modified by the adjective rabbah.
• y'kanu ("they envied", H7065) — piel (intensive) verb, narrative form ("and then they envied"), marking the resulting action of the Philistines.

What the text says

The clause opens with the narrative verb yehi ("it be[long]ed", H1961) followed by the preposition lo ("to him," H9005+H9033), producing the idiomatic construction "and there came to be for him," a common Hebrew way of expressing possession without a verb "to have." The possessed items are listed through paired construct chains: mikneh-tzon ("livestock of flock") and mikneh baqar ("livestock of herd"), joined by the conjunction u ("and", H9002). This construct repetition ties each type of livestock to the head noun mikneh, rather than using a single plural noun for "livestock" with two objects.

A third item, avuddah rabbah ("much service", H5657 + H7227A), extends the list beyond animals to an abstract noun denoting labor or workforce, intensified by the adjective rabbah ("much/many"). The verse then shifts to a new narrative clause with the vav-consecutive verb y'kanu ("they envied", H7065, piel), whose subject Pelishtim ("Philistines", H6430G) is placed at the very end of the clause, after the object marker oto ("him", H0853+H9033). This word order — verb, object, subject — is typical of Hebrew narrative syntax and places emphasis on the identity of the envious party as the final, climactic element of the sentence.

Differences between versions

The Hebrew avuddah rabbah ("much service/labor force") is rendered variously: the LXX has geōrgia polla ("many agricultural works/farms"), the Vulgate has familiae plurimum ("a very great household"), while RV1909 uses "grande apero" (equipment/tools) and BSB/SBLIBRE render it as "servants." These reflect different interpretations of the abstract noun avuddah, ranging from agricultural output, to household staff, to livestock equipment.