Genesis 31:13

Summary

The verse records God's self-identification to Jacob as "the God of Bethel," recalling the anointing of a pillar and a vow Jacob made there, followed by a command to leave the current land and return to the land of his birth.

Key words

• 'Anokhi ("I", H0595) — independent personal pronoun placed first for emphasis, marking the speaker's self-identification before any predicate.
• ha-'El Beit-'El ("the God of Bethel", H0410/H1008) — construct chain: 'El governs the place name Beit-'El, literally "God of [the] House of God/El," identifying the deity by association with that location.
• mashachta ("you anointed", H4886) — qal perfect, 2nd person masculine singular, marking a completed past action performed by the addressee (Jacob).
• nadarta ("you vowed", H5087) — qal perfect, 2nd masculine singular, paralleling mashachta in form, both introduced by the relative particle 'asher ("where/that", H0834A).
• kum tze' ("arise, go out", H6965B/H3318G) — two qal imperatives in sequence, giving the command structure that shifts the verse from recollection to directive.

What the text says

The verse opens with the independent pronoun 'Anokhi followed by the construct phrase ha-'El Beit-'El, a compact self-designation in which the divine name is bound directly to the place name via construct syntax rather than a separate preposition. This is followed by two parallel relative clauses, each introduced by 'asher ("where") and each closing with the adverb sham ("there", H8033G): the first describes the anointing of a matzevah ("pillar", H4676), the second the making of a neder ("vow", H5088). Both verbs, mashachta and nadarta, are qal perfects in the second person masculine singular, giving the clauses a matching grammatical shape that ties Jacob's past actions to the specific location "there."

After 'attah ("now", H6258) marks the transition, the text moves into a chain of qal imperatives — kum, tze', and later shuv ("return", H7725G) — issuing the command to leave "this land" (ha-'aretz ha-zot) and return to "the land of your kindred" ('eretz moladtekha, H4138 with 2ms suffix), the final noun in construct form specifying the destination as tied to Jacob's own origin.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders ha-'El Beit-'El as "ὁ θεὸς ὁ ὀφθείς σοι ἐν τῷ τόπῳ" ("the God who appeared to you in the place"), replacing the construct place-name identification with a descriptive clause about a prior appearance, differing from the Hebrew's direct link to "Bethel." The Vulgate's "Deus Bethel" more closely mirrors the Hebrew construct form. The LXX also adds "καὶ μετὰ σοῦ" ("and with you") at the end, an addition not present in the Hebrew text. The Vulgate translates matzevah as "lapidem" ("stone") where the Hebrew specifies a matzevah ("pillar", H4676), a more specific term than the Latin's general "stone."