Genesis 32:10
קָטֹנְתִּי מִכֹּל הַחֲסָדִים וּמִכָּל־הָאֱמֶת אֲשֶׁר עָשִׂיתָ אֶת־עַבְדֶּךָ כִּי בְמַקְלִי עָבַרְתִּי אֶת־הַיַּרְדֵּן הַזֶּה וְעַתָּה הָיִיתִי לִשְׁנֵי מַחֲנֽוֹת׃
✦ Hebrew interlinear
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✦ The same verse in five languages
קָטֹ֜נְתִּי מִכֹּ֤ל הַחֲסָדִים֙ וּמִכָּל־הָ֣אֱמֶ֔ת אֲשֶׁ֥ר עָשִׂ֖יתָ אֶת־עַבְדֶּ֑ךָ כִּ֣י בְמַקְלִ֗י עָבַ֙רְתִּי֙ אֶת־הַיַּרְדֵּ֣ן הַזֶּ֔ה וְעַתָּ֥ה הָיִ֖יתִי לִשְׁנֵ֥י מַחֲנֽוֹת׃
ἱκανοῦσαί μοι ἀπὸ πάσης δικαιοσύνης καὶ ἀπὸ πάσης ἁληθείας ἧς ἐποίησας τῷ παιδί σου· ἐν γὰρ τῇ ῥάβδῳ μου διέβην τὸν Ἰορδάνην τοῦτον, νῦν δὲ γέγονα εἰς δύο παρεμβολάς.
Greek text from Swete's edition, CC BY-SA 4.0
Latin (Vulgate)
minor sum cunctis miserationibus tuis, et veritate tua quam explevisti servo tuo. In baculo meo transivi Jordanem istum: et nunc cum duabus turmis regredior.
No soy digno de la inmensa bondad y lealtad que le has mostrado a tu siervo. Cuando crucé este río Jordán, no tenía más que mi bastón, ¡y ahora he llegado a formar dos campamentos!
Classic Spanish (Reina-Valera 1909)
Menor soy que todas las misericordias, y que toda la verdad que has usado para con tu siervo; que con mi bordón pasé este Jordán, y ahora estoy sobre dos cuadrillas.
I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness You have shown Your servant. Indeed, with only my staff I came across the Jordan, but now I have become two camps.
✦ What the text says
Summary
Genesis 32:10 records a statement of self-diminishment addressed to God, in which the speaker declares himself too small for the covenant loyalty and faithfulness shown to him, recalls crossing the Jordan with only a staff, and notes that he has since grown into two camps.
Key words
- ka.To.ne.ti ("I am too insignificant", H6994) — Qal perfect, 1st person: a completed-action verb expressing a state, "I have become/am small," setting the tone of the whole verse.
- cha.sa.Dim ("covenant loyalties", H2617A) — masculine plural noun, preceded by kol ("all", H3605) in construct form, indicating the totality of acts of loyalty received.
- 'e.Met ("faithfulness", H0571G) — feminine singular noun, paired with chasadim via the repeated construction mikkol...u-mikkol ("from all... and from all..."), forming a fixed word-pair.
- mak.Li ("my staff", H4731 + H9020) — construct noun with 1st person suffix, marked by the preposition ve ("with", H9003), emphasizing the minimal equipment carried at the crossing.
- ha.Yi.ti ("I have become", H1961) — Qal perfect, 1st person, marking the shift from the earlier state (crossing alone) to the present state (two camps).
What the text says
The verse divides into two parallel movements marked by perfect-tense verbs describing completed states: first ka.To.ne.ti ("I am too insignificant," H6994) governing the double phrase mikkol ha-chasadim ("from all the covenant loyalties," H3605+H2617A) u-mikkol ha-'emet ("and from all the faithfulness," H3605+H0571G). Both nouns are governed by the same preposition min ("from/for," H9006), repeated for emphasis, and both are further specified by the relative clause 'asher 'asita 'et-'avdekha ("which you have done with your servant," H0834A+H6213A+H5650), where 'avdekha ("your servant") is a construct noun with pronominal suffix, a common way of referring to oneself in address to a superior.
The second movement begins with ki ("for/that," H3588A), introducing the supporting clause: ve-maqli 'avarti ("with my staff I passed over," H4731+H5674A), where the instrumental preposition be ("with," H9003) attaches directly to maqli ("my staff"). The definite direct object marker 'et (H0853) marks ha-Yarden ha-zeh ("this Jordan," H3383+H2088) as the object of the crossing. The verse closes with ve-'attah ("and now," H6258) contrasting the earlier situation with the present: hayiti li-shnei machanot ("I have become into two camps," H1961+H8147+H4264), using the preposition le (H9005) before the construct pair shnei machanot to express transformation into a state ("becoming X").
Differences between versions
The LXX renders chasadim ("covenant loyalties," H2617A) as δικαιοσύνης ("righteousness"), a different semantic field from the Hebrew term for loyalty/kindness. The Vulgate uses miserationibus ("mercies/compassions"), also diverging from the Hebrew's covenantal nuance. Where the Hebrew has ka.To.ne.ti ("I am too insignificant," a stative perfect), the LXX gives ἱκανοῦσαί μοι ("let it suffice for me"), and the Vulgate has minor sum ("I am lesser"), each choosing a distinct grammatical construction to render the Hebrew stative verb.
This explanation describes the text using linguistic data; it adds no doctrine or confessional interpretation.