Genesis 27:43
וְעַתָּה בְנִי שְׁמַע בְּקֹלִי וְקוּם בְּרַח־לְךָ אֶל־לָבָן אָחִי חָרָֽנָה׃
✦ Hebrew interlinear
Tap a word to see its entry
✦ The same verse in five languages
וְעַתָּ֥ה בְנִ֖י שְׁמַ֣ע בְּקֹלִ֑י וְק֧וּם בְּרַח־לְךָ֛ אֶל־לָבָ֥ן אָחִ֖י חָרָֽנָה׃
νῦν οὖν, τέκνον, ἄκουσόν μου τῆς φωνῆς, καὶ ἀναστὰς ἀπόδραθι εἰς τὴν Μεσοποταμίαν πρὸς Λαβὰν τὸν ἀδελφόν μου εἰς Χαρράν·
Greek text from Swete's edition, CC BY-SA 4.0
Latin (Vulgate)
Nunc ergo, fili mi, audi vocem meam, et consurgens fuge ad Laban fratrem meum in Haran:
Así que, hijo mío, escúchame bien: prepárate y huye de inmediato a Jarán, a la casa de mi hermano Labán.
Classic Spanish (Reina-Valera 1909)
Ahora pues, hijo mío, obedece á mi voz; levántate, y húyete á Labán mi hermano, á Harán;
So now, my son, obey my voice and flee at once to my brother Laban in Haran.
✦ What the text says
Summary
Rebekah instructs her son to listen to her voice and flee immediately to her brother Laban in Haran. The verse combines a call to obedience with a double imperative of urgent action: rising and fleeing.
Key words
- shema' ("listen", H8085H) — qal imperative masculine singular; a direct command to heed, paired with be-qoli ("to my voice").
- qum ("arise", H6965B) — qal imperative masculine singular; the first of two consecutive imperatives expressing urgency.
- berach ("flee", H1272) — qal imperative masculine singular; follows qum directly, forming a hendiadys-like pair ("rise, flee" = "flee at once").
- lekha ("for yourself", H9031) — pronominal suffix attached to the preposition le, reinforcing the imperative berach with a reflexive nuance ("flee for your own sake").
- charanah ("to Haran", H2771A + H9011) — the place name Haran with the directional he suffix, indicating motion toward that location without needing a separate preposition.
What the text says
The verse opens with ve-'attah ("and therefore/now", H9002 + H6258), a discourse marker signaling a shift from the preceding narrative to a direct command. Rebekah addresses Jacob as veni ("my son", H1121A + H9020, construct form "son of me"), then issues the first imperative: shema' be-qoli — literally "listen to my voice," using the construct noun qol ("voice") with the first-person suffix.
The second half of the verse stacks two consecutive qal imperatives, qum ("arise") and berach ("flee"), a common Biblical Hebrew construction where the first verb intensifies or frames the second as urgent and immediate action rather than two separate acts. The suffixed preposition lekha attached to berach adds a reflexive or benefactive nuance, sometimes rendered as "flee for yourself" or "get away."
The destination is marked twofold: first through the preposition 'el ("to") governing Lavan 'achi ("Laban my brother," construct 'ach + suffix), and then the place name Charanah, where the he directional suffix (H9011) indicates motion "toward Haran" without requiring an additional preposition before the place name itself.
Differences between versions
The LXX renders the destination with two elements not present as such in the Hebrew: εἰς τὴν Μεσοποταμίαν ("to Mesopotamia") in addition to εἰς Χαρράν ("to Haran"), effectively naming both the region and the city, where the Hebrew text mentions only Charanah ("to Haran"). The Vulgate follows the Hebrew more closely with "in Haran," without the added regional name found in the LXX.
This explanation describes the text using linguistic data; it adds no doctrine or confessional interpretation.