Genesis 30:21

Summary

The verse reports that after previous events, a daughter was born and named Dinah. The Hebrew text uses a simple narrative structure: a temporal marker, a verb of birth, and a verb of naming, both referring to the same female subject.

Key words

• 'aChar ("after", H0310A) — marks temporal sequence, connecting this birth to what preceded it in the narrative.
• Yal.dah ("she bore", H3205) — qal perfect, third person feminine singular, indicating a completed action; the subject is implied by context, not stated in this verse.
• Bat ("a daughter", H1323G) — feminine singular noun, the direct object of the birth, unmarked by the object marker since it follows the verb directly as an indefinite noun.
• tikra' ("she called", H7121H) — qal narrative form (vav-consecutive), continuing the story sequence "and then she called."
• sheMah ("her name", H8034) — construct form with pronominal suffix -h ("her", H9024), literally "name-of-her," referring to the daughter.

What the text says

The verse opens with the conjunction ve ("and", H9002) attached to 'aChar ("after", H0310A), establishing a temporal link to the preceding narrative without specifying what event is being referenced beyond "after this." The verb Yal.dah ("she bore", H3205) is a qal perfect form, marking a completed action; Hebrew narrative often omits the subject when it is clear from context, so the identity of the mother is not explicit within this verse alone. The object Bat ("a daughter", H1323G) follows without the direct object marker 'et (H0853), which is typical for indefinite nouns in Biblical Hebrew.

The second clause is joined by the narrative vav va (H9001), which chains sequential actions in Hebrew storytelling ("and then"). The verb tikra' ("she called", H7121H) takes this narrative form, followed by the direct object marker 'et (H0853) — used here because the following noun phrase, sheMah ("her name", H8034), is definite due to the possessive suffix. The construct phrase sheMah + suffix -h ("her", H9024) literally means "name-of-her," a common Hebrew construction for expressing possession without a separate possessive word. The final word, diNah ("Dinah", H1783), is the proper name given, appearing in apposition to "her name."

Differences between versions

The LXX adds a phrase not present in the Hebrew: καὶ ἔστη τοῦ τίκτειν ("and she ceased bearing children"), extending beyond what the Hebrew text of this verse states. The Vulgate condenses the two Hebrew verbs (Yal.dah, "she bore"; tikra', "she called") into a single clause structure ("Post quem peperit filiam, nomine Dinam"), naming the daughter through an ablative phrase ("nomine Dinam," "by the name Dinah") rather than a separate verb of naming as in the Hebrew and LXX.