Genesis 30:26

Summary

Jacob asks Laban to give him his wives and children, for whom he has served him, so that he may depart. He grounds the request by reminding Laban that Laban himself knows the extent of the service Jacob has rendered.

Key words

• te.Na ("give", H5414G) — qal imperative, second person masculine, with a paragogic he (H9012) attached, which adds emphasis to the command rather than changing its basic meaning.
• na.Sha ("wives", H0802H) — masculine plural construct noun, "wives of," bound to the following suffix -i ("my"), producing "my wives."
• 'a.Vad.ti ("I have served", H5647G) — qal perfect, first person singular, marking completed action; the same root appears again in 'a.vad.Ti near the end of the verse.
• 'e.Le.khah ("I may go", H1980G) — glossed here as infinitive but functioning as a first-person cohortative form of halakh, expressing purpose or intention ("so that I may go").
• ya.Da'.ta ("you know", H3045) — qal perfect, second person masculine singular, completed action, used to assert Laban's existing knowledge.

What the text says

The verse opens with the imperative te.Na ("give"), strengthened by the paragogic he, directed at Laban. The objects of this command are marked twice by the untranslated direct object marker 'et (H0853): first nashay ("my wives"), then yeladay ("my children"), both plural construct nouns bound to the first-person suffix -i. The relative particle 'asher ("whom", H0834A) introduces a clause describing these wives and children as the ones for whom Jacob has served ('avadti) Laban — the object marker 'otekha ("you") plus the phrase bahen ("in/for them," referring back to the wives and children via the preposition ba with the feminine suffix hen) specifies the terms of the service.

The clause continues with the conjunction ve- ("and/so") attached to 'elekhah, expressing Jacob's resulting intention: "and I may go." The particle ki (H3588A) then introduces a subordinate clause functioning as grounds or justification ("for/that"), followed by the independent pronoun 'atah ("you") placed before the verb yada'ta ("you know") — a construction that places emphasis on Laban as the one who possesses this knowledge. The final clause repeats the root 'avad a third time as the noun 'avodati ("my service", H5656G, feminine singular construct) modified again by 'asher... 'avadtikha ("which I have served you"), reinforcing the theme of service through triple repetition of the same root across the verse.

Differences between versions

The Hebrew bahen ("in/for them," referring to the wives) has no clearly corresponding element in the LXX (περὶ ὧν σοι, "concerning whom to you," which appears elliptical) or in the Vulgate (pro quibus servivi tibi, "for whom I have served you"), where the phrase is folded into the general relative clause about service rather than kept as a distinct prepositional element.