Genesis 29:21

Summary

Jacob addresses Laban directly, demanding that his wife be given to him, stating that the agreed time of service has been completed and that he wishes to go in to her. The verse marks the moment when Jacob claims fulfillment of his seven-year commitment for Rachel.

Key words

• haVa ("give", H3051) — qal imperative with paragogic he (the extra he on the imperative form), giving the command added emphatic force: "give, now!"
• ishti ("my wife", H0802H + H9020) — feminine singular noun in construct with the 1st person suffix "my," marking Jacob's claim of possession/relationship.
• mal'u ("they have been completed", H4390) — qal perfect, 3rd person plural, describing the days as a completed action from Jacob's viewpoint.
• yamai ("my days", H3117G + H9020) — masculine plural noun in construct with the 1st person suffix, referring to the specific period of service agreed upon.
• avo'ah ("I may go", H0935G) — a qal form of the verb "to come/go" marked in the data as expressing purpose ("to do/in doing"), following the conjunction ve ("so", H9002), indicating the intended result of the wife being given.

What the text says

The verse opens with the narrative formula va-yomer ("and he said," H0559, H9001), a standard marker introducing direct speech, here spoken by Ya'aqov ("Jacob," H3290) el ("to," H0413) Laban ("Laban," H3837A). Jacob's speech consists of two linked clauses joined by ki ("for/that," H3588A): a command, haVa et-ishti ("give my wife"), followed by the justification "for my days have been completed." The imperative haVa carries the paragogic he, which in the grammatical notes signals emphasis, giving the request a forceful, direct tone rather than a soft appeal.

The second half of the verse, introduced by ve-avo'ah eleiha ("so I may go into her"), expresses the purpose behind the request: access to Rachel as wife. The construct chains ishti ("wife of me") and yamai ("days of me") both attach the 1st person suffix to nouns already in construct form, a common Hebrew way of marking possession without a separate possessive word.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders haVa et-ishti as Apodos moi tēn gynaika mou ("give back to me my wife"), using a verb implying restitution, where the Hebrew haVa simply means "give" without that specific nuance. The Vulgate's Da mihi uxorem meam follows the Hebrew more directly with "give me my wife," and adds jam tempus impletum est ("the time is already fulfilled"), an interpretive expansion not explicit in the Hebrew mal'u yamai ("my days are completed").