Genesis 29:27

Summary

Laban instructs Jacob to complete the bridal week of Leah ("this one"), after which Rachel ("this other one") will be given to him as well, in exchange for an additional seven years of service. The verse structures a legal/customary exchange: finish the current obligation, then a second one begins.

Key words

• maLe' ("complete", H4390) — Piel imperative, giving the sentence its commanding force: Jacob must "fill up" or complete the week, not merely wait it out.
• shevu'a ("week of", H7620H) — construct noun, bound to zot ("this one," H2063), forming "the week of this [woman]," i.e., the bridal week associated with Leah.
• nittenah ("let us give" / "she will be given", H5414O) — the verbal form tagged here as qal infinitive but rendered with cohortative/passive sense ("let us give"); it carries the pivot of the sentence, promising the transfer of the second woman.
• 'avodah ("service", H5656G) — feminine singular noun naming the labor-exchange that structures the whole arrangement between Laban and Jacob.
• ta'avod ("you will serve", H5647G) — qal imperfect, marking ongoing/future action: the service is not yet completed but projected across the coming seven years.

What the text says

The verse opens with a direct command, maLe' shevu'a zot — "complete the week of this one" — using the construct chain to link the noun "week" to the demonstrative "this one," implicitly Leah, without naming her. The narrative vav on nitte'nah connects the completion of the week to the subsequent action: once the week is filled, "this one also" (gam et-zot, referring to Rachel) is to be given. The clause ba'avodah 'asher ta'avod 'immadi ("for the service which you will serve with me") uses the relative particle 'asher to attach a description of the future labor to the noun "service," and the qal imperfect ta'avod projects this labor forward in time — it has not yet occurred but is being contracted. The final phrase, 'od sheva' shanim 'acherot ("again seven years, other ones"), doubles the marker of repetition ('od, "again," plus 'acherot, "other") to emphasize that this is a second, distinct term of service matching the first.

Differences between versions

The Hebrew verb nittenah is glossed here as "let us give," suggesting a plural or cohortative sense. The LXX renders this with dōsō ("I will give," first-person singular), and the Vulgate similarly uses dabo ("I will give," first-person singular) — both making Laban the sole grammatical subject giving Rachel. The English BSB reflects the plural sense with "we will give," aligning with the Hebrew's apparent plural/cohortative form rather than the singular verbs of the LXX and Vulgate.