Genesis 29:7

Summary

Jacob addresses the shepherds gathered at the well, pointing out that it is still early in the day and too soon to bring the flocks in for the night. He instructs them instead to water the sheep and take them out to pasture.

Key words

• hen ("here!", H2005) — an interjection drawing attention, often rendered "look" or "behold" in English translations.
• 'od ("still", H5750) — indicates continuation, modifying the statement that daylight persists.
• he'aSef ("the being gathered of", H0622) — a niphal (passive/reflexive) infinitive construct after 'et ("time of", H6256), forming the phrase "time of the gathering," i.e., the moment when livestock are brought in.
• hashKu ("water", H8248) — hiphil (causative) imperative, plural "you all," commanding the shepherds to cause the sheep to drink.
• re'U ("pasture [them]", H7462) — qal imperative, plural, the final command to lead the flock to graze.

What the text says

The verse opens with the narrative verb vaYomer ("and he said", H0559), introducing Jacob's direct speech. The interjection hen ("here!", H2005) draws attention to the statement that follows, and 'od hayYom gaDol literally reads "still the day [is] great," using the adjective gaDol ("great", H1419A) to describe the day as long or full, meaning there is ample daylight remaining.

The negated clause lo'-'et he'aSef hammikNeh ("not [the] time of the being gathered of the livestock") uses a construct chain: 'et ("time of", H6256) governs the niphal infinitive he'aSef ("the being gathered of", H0622), which itself governs hammikNeh ("the livestock", H4735). The niphal form places emphasis on the livestock as the entity being gathered, rather than naming an agent who gathers them.

The verse closes with three imperatives in sequence: hashKu ("water", H8248), leKhu ("go", H1980), and re'U ("pasture", H7462), all second-person masculine plural, directing the group of shepherds present. The hiphil stem of hashKu marks it as causative — the shepherds are to cause the sheep to drink, rather than performing the drinking themselves.

Differences between versions

The Hebrew text does not include the name "Jacob" within this verse; the subject is carried by the verb vaYomer ("and he said", H0559) alone, with the speaker identified by prior context. The LXX and Vulgate both insert the name explicitly (Ἰακώβ / Jacob), making the subject explicit within the verse itself. The Vulgate also expands the imagery, rendering the gathering clause as flocks being led "ad caulas" ("to the pens"), a detail not present in the Hebrew wording, which speaks only of the livestock's "gathering" without specifying a destination.