Genesis 30:24

Summary

The verse narrates the naming of Joseph, followed by the explanation of the name in the mother's own words: a wish that Yehovah add another son to her. The name and its explanation are linked by a wordplay on the root meaning "to add."

Key words

• tikra' ("she called", H7121) — qal verb with narrative vav, marking the next event in the story sequence; the subject "she" is embedded in the verb form.
• shem ("name", H8034) — construct noun, "name of," grammatically bound to the following suffix and proper name.
• yosef ("Joseph", H3130) — the proper name given to the child, appearing here as the object of the naming.
• yosef ("may he add", H3254) — hiphil jussive of a different root, expressing a wish ("let him add"); its subject is Yehovah which follows.
• 'acher ("another", H0312) — masculine singular adjective modifying ben ("a son", H1121), specifying that the son requested is an additional one.

What the text says

The verse divides into two parts joined by le'mor ("saying", H0559), an infinitive construct that introduces direct speech. The first part, "va-tikra' et-shemo Yosef" ("and she called his name Joseph"), is a standard Hebrew naming formula: verb + object marker + construct noun "name of" + suffix "his" + the name itself. The second part gives the reported speech that motivates the name: "Yosef Yehovah li ben 'acher" ("may he add, Yehovah, to me, a son, another").

The grammatical link between the name Yosef (H3130) and the verb yosef (H3254) is not identity of root in the data provided — the name carries Strong number H3130 while the verb carries H3254, though both are transliterated identically as yosef. The verb is a hiphil jussive, a causative form expressing a wish or request ("let him cause to add" / "may he add"), with Yehovah as its grammatical subject placed immediately after the verb. The phrase li ("to me", H9005+H9030, preposition + suffix) marks the beneficiary of the addition, and ben 'acher ("a son, another") is the object added, with the adjective 'acher following the noun it modifies, as is typical in Hebrew adjective-noun order.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders the wish with Προσθέτω ὁ θεός ("may God add"), using ὁ θεός ("God") where the Hebrew has Yehovah (H3068) as the divine name. The Vulgate follows the Hebrew more closely with Addat mihi Dominus filium alterum, using Dominus ("the Lord") as its rendering of Yehovah.