Genesis 29:20

Summary

The verse states that Jacob served seven years to obtain Rachel, and that this period seemed to him like only a few days because of his love for her. The sentence is built as two clauses joined by narrative sequence, contrasting the objective duration (seven years) with Jacob's subjective perception of it.

Key words

• ya.'a.Vod ("he served", H5647G) — qal narrative verb, marks the main action opening the verse: Jacob's labor as bride-service.
• be.ra.Chel ("for Rachel", H7354 with H9003) — the preposition be attached to the name indicates the purpose or "price" of the service, not mere location.
• be.'ei.Nav ("in his eyes", H5869I + H9023) — dual construct noun with pronominal suffix; literally "in his two eyes," idiomatic for subjective perception/judgment.
• ya.mim 'a.cha.Dim ("days, one/few", H3117G + H0259) — plural noun followed by a plural form of "one," an idiom meaning "a few days," used as the standard of comparison for how short the seven years felt.
• be.'a.ha.va.To ("in his love", H0160 + H9023) — construct noun with suffix, giving the causal ground ("because of his love") for the preceding comparison.

What the text says

The verse divides into two narrative clauses linked by the vav-consecutive pattern common in Biblical Hebrew narration (va-yiqtol). The first clause, va-ya'avod Ya'aqov be-Rachel sheva' shanim ("and Jacob served for Rachel seven years"), states the objective fact: a service lasting seven years, with be-Rachel marking Rachel as the object for whom the labor was rendered rather than a location.

The second clause, va-yihyu ve-'einav ke-yamim achadim be-ahavato otah ("and they were in his eyes like a few days, in his love for her"), shifts to Jacob's internal perception. The verb yihyu ("they were") is plural, agreeing with shanim ("years") from the first clause — the years are the grammatical subject of "were." The phrase be-'einav ("in his eyes") is a dual construct noun with a possessive suffix, an idiom for subjective judgment rather than literal sight. The comparison ke-yamim achadim ("like a few days") uses the plural of "one" (achadim) in an idiomatic sense of a small, indefinite number, contrasting sharply with the seven years just mentioned. The final phrase be-ahavato otah ("in his love for her") supplies the stated cause for this subjective shortening of time; otah is the direct object marker with a feminine suffix, referring back to Rachel and confirming her as the object of ahavato ("his love").

Differences between versions

The Vulgate renders the causal phrase as præ amoris magnitudine ("because of the greatness of love"), introducing the word "magnitude," which has no separate lexical counterpart in the Hebrew be-ahavato otah ("in his love for her"); the Hebrew states the cause simply as his love, without a term for its size or intensity. The LXX text given is fragmentary, ending after ἑπτὰ ἣ ("seven, which"), so no comparison can be made for the second clause from that source.