Genesis 29:5

Summary

Jacob asks the shepherds at the well whether they know Laban ("Laban", H3837A), identified as ben Nachor ("son of Nahor", H1121G/H5152H). They answer that they know him, using the same verb he used to ask.

Key words

• ha ("¿", H9008) — interrogative particle prefixed directly to the verb, turning a statement into a yes/no question; it has no independent lexical meaning, only a grammatical function.
• yeda'tem ("do you know", H3045) — qal perfect, 2nd person masculine plural. The perfect aspect marks a completed/established state ("have you come to know / do you know"), not an ongoing action.
• ben ("son of", H1121G) — masculine singular noun in construct state, linking directly to the following name to form the phrase "son of Nahor."
• va-yomeru ("and they said", H0559) — narrative (vav-consecutive) form, 3rd person masculine plural, continuing the chain of narrated events after Jacob's question.
• yada'nu ("we know [him]", H3045) — qal perfect, 1st person plural, the same root and aspect as Jacob's question, creating a direct grammatical echo between question and answer.

What the text says

The verse is built as a short question-and-answer exchange framed by two occurrences of the narrative verb va-yomer/va-yomeru ("he said" / "they said", H0559), both from the same root, which structurally mirrors the dialogue: one speaker asks, several answer. The question itself is formed by attaching the interrogative particle ha (H9008) directly onto the perfect verb yeda'tem (H3045), a common way in Biblical Hebrew to construct a yes/no question without a separate question word.

The object of the question, et Lavan ben Nachor ("Laban, son of Nahor"), uses the construct chain ben (H1121G) + Nachor (H5152H) to specify identity through genealogy — literally "son of Nahor," a formula of filial descent rather than a fixed title. The reply yada'nu (H3045) reuses the identical root as the question, in the perfect 1st plural, producing a terse, symmetrical answer: the same verb form the question used to ask, is used to affirm.

Differences between versions

The Hebrew construct phrase ben Nachor ("son of Nahor") is rendered in the LXX as τὸν υἱὸν Ναχώρ ("the son of Nahor"), matching the Hebrew literally. The Vulgate likewise gives filium Nachor ("son of Nahor"). Modern versions diverge here: the BSB renders this as "the grandson of Nahor" rather than "son," and the SBLIBRE similarly gives "el nieto de Nacor" ("the grandson of Nahor"), interpreting the genealogical relation differently from the literal Hebrew wording of ben ("son of", H1121G), while RV1909 follows the literal "hijo de Nachôr" ("son of Nahor").