Genesis 28:5
וַיִּשְׁלַח יִצְחָק אֶֽת־יַעֲקֹב וַיֵּלֶךְ פַּדֶּנָֽה אֲרָם אֶל־לָבָן בֶּן־בְּתוּאֵל הָֽאֲרַמִּי אֲחִי רִבְקָה אֵם יַעֲקֹב וְעֵשָֽׂו׃
✦ Hebrew interlinear
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✦ The same verse in five languages
וַיִּשְׁלַ֤ח יִצְחָק֙ אֶֽת־יַעֲקֹ֔ב וַיֵּ֖לֶךְ פַּדֶּ֣נָֽה אֲרָ֑ם אֶל־לָבָ֤ן בֶּן־בְּתוּאֵל֙ הָֽאֲרַמִּ֔י אֲחִ֣י רִבְקָ֔ה אֵ֥ם יַעֲקֹ֖ב וְעֵשָֽׂו׃
καὶ ἀπέστειλεν Ἰσαὰκ τὸν Ἰακώβ· καὶ ἐπορεύθη εἰς τὴν Μεσοποταμίαν πρὸς Λαβὰν τὸν υἱὸν Βαθουὴλ τοῦ Σύρου, ἀδελφὸν δὲ Ῥεβέκκας τῆς μητρὸς μητρὸς καὶ Ἠσαύ.
Greek text from Swete's edition, CC BY-SA 4.0
Latin (Vulgate)
Cumque dimisisset eum Isaac, profectus venit in Mesopotamiam Syriæ ad Laban filium Bathuel Syri, fratrem Rebeccæ matris suæ.
Así fue como Isaac despidió a Jacob, quien se dirigió a Padán Aram, a la casa de Labán, que era hijo de Betuel el arameo y hermano de Rebeca, la madre de Jacob y Esaú.
Classic Spanish (Reina-Valera 1909)
Así envió Isaac á Jacob, el cual fué á Padan-aram, á Labán, hijo de Bethuel Arameo, hermano de Rebeca, madre de Jacob y de Esaú.
So Isaac sent Jacob to Paddan-aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, who was the mother of Jacob and Esau. Esau Marries Mahalath
✦ What the text says
Summary
Genesis 28:5 narrates that Isaac sent Jacob away, and Jacob traveled to Paddan-aram, to Laban, identified through a chain of family relations tracing back to Bethuel the Aramean, Rebekah, and finally to Jacob and Esau as her sons.
Key words
- va-yishlach ("and he sent off", H7971G) — qal narrative verb with vav, marking the first sequential action: Isaac's sending.
- va-yelekh ("and he went", H1980G) — second qal narrative verb, showing Jacob's movement as the resulting next event in the chain.
- ben ("son of", H1121A) — construct noun linking Laban to his father Bethuel, forming a genealogical identifier.
- achi ("brother of", H0251G) — construct noun linking Laban to Rebekah, adding a second relational marker.
- em ("mother of", H0517) — construct noun linking Rebekah to Jacob and Esau, closing the genealogical chain.
What the text says
The verse is built on two narrative verbs joined by the vav-consecutive construction: va-yishlach ("and he sent off", H7971G) and va-yelekh ("and he went", H1980G). This structure presents Isaac's action and Jacob's departure as sequential events, typical of Hebrew narrative prose. The subject of the first verb is Yitzchak ("Isaac", H3327), and the object is marked by the untranslated direct object marker 'et (H0853) before Ya'aqov ("Jacob", H3290).
The destination is expressed with Paddena Aram — the place name Paddan (H6307) carries a directional he suffix (H9011, "towards"), followed by Aram (H0758L), meaning "toward Paddan of Aram." The remainder of the verse identifies Laban through a chain of construct-noun relationships: ben ("son of", H1121A) connects him to Betu'el ("Bethuel", H1328A), who is further specified by the gentilic ha-Arami ("the Aramean", H0761J) with the definite article H9009. Then achi ("brother of", H0251G) connects Laban to Rivqah ("Rebekah", H7259), and em ("mother of", H0517) connects Rebekah to Ya'aqov ("Jacob", H3290) ve-Esav ("and Esau", H6215G). This construct chain accumulates identifying information about Laban's family network in a single compact clause, a common feature of Hebrew genealogical notices.
Differences between versions
The LXX renders Paddena Aram as "Mesopotamia" (Μεσοποταμίαν), a geographic equivalence rather than a transliteration of the Hebrew place name. The LXX also reads "μητρὸς μητρὸς" (mother of mother), an apparent duplication not present in the Hebrew, which has only em ("mother of", H0517) once. The Vulgate similarly renders the place as "Mesopotamiam Syriae" and adds "suae" ("his," referring to Isaac) after "matris," specifying whose mother Rebekah was, a clarification absent in the Hebrew construct chain.
This explanation describes the text using linguistic data; it adds no doctrine or confessional interpretation.