Genesis 31:9

Summary

The verse reports Jacob's words explaining that God took away the livestock belonging to his father-in-law and gave it to him instead. It is a direct-speech statement using two sequential narrative verbs describing a completed divine action with a resulting transfer.

Key words

• va-yatzel ("and he took away", H5337) — hiphil (causative) narrative verb: God is the one who causes the removal of the livestock, not merely observes it.
• Elohim ("God", H0430G) — plural noun functioning as the subject; grammatically plural but referring to a single agent in this sentence.
• miqneh ("livestock of", H4735) — masculine singular noun in construct state, meaning it must be linked to the following word ("livestock of ___").
• avikhem ("your father", H0001G + H9026) — construct noun with 2nd person masculine plural suffix, specifying whose livestock is meant ("your" referring to more than one addressee).
• va-yiten-li ("and he gave to me", H5414G + H9005 + H9030) — qal narrative verb with prepositional suffix, marking the recipient of the action as "me."

What the text says

The sentence is built on two sequential narrative verbs joined by the vav consecutive construction (va-), a typical structure in Hebrew narrative that presents one action following directly upon another: "and he took away... and he gave." The first verb, va-yatzel (H5337), is in the hiphil stem, which is causative — it presents the action as something actively brought about, not simply a passive loss. The subject is Elohim (H0430G), grammatically plural in form though functioning as singular subject in this clause.

The object of the taking is marked by the untranslated direct object marker 'et (H0853), followed by the construct chain miqneh avikhem (H4735 + H0001G + H9026): "the livestock of your father." The construct state means miqneh cannot stand alone — it must attach to what follows, forming a single possessive unit. The suffix -khem (H9026) is plural, meaning the statement addresses more than one listener even though it concerns one father-in-law's property.

The second clause, va-yiten-li (H5414G + H9005 + H9030), uses the qal (simple, non-causative) stem for "he gave," with the preposition li ("to me") attached as a suffix, indicating Jacob as the recipient. The construction places the removal and the giving in immediate narrative sequence, without any intervening description of process.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders miqneh avikhem ("livestock of your father") as πάντα κτήνη τοῦ πατρὸς ὑμῶν, adding "all" (πάντα) before "livestock," a quantifier not present in the Hebrew construct phrase. The Vulgate's substantiam patris vestri ("the substance/property of your father") uses a broader term than the Hebrew miqneh, which specifically denotes livestock/cattle rather than property in general.