Genesis 32:26

Summary

Genesis 32:26 records an exchange of two brief speeches: one figure demands to be released because dawn has come, and the other (identified in context, though not explicitly named in this verse) refuses to release him unless he receives a blessing. The verse turns on a single repeated root meaning "to send away/let go," used first as a command and then negated as a refusal.

Key words

• sha.le.Che.ni ("let go", H7971H) — piel imperative with 1st-person suffix "me"; the piel stem gives an intensive/causative sense to the basic idea of sending, hence "release, let go" rather than a neutral "send."
• 'a.Lah ("it has come up", H5927L) — qal perfect, marking the dawn's rising as a completed action, the stated reason for the request.
• 'a.sha.le.cha.kha ("I will let go you", H7971H) — same piel root as word 3, now imperfect 1st-person with 2nd-person suffix, negated by lo' ("not", H3808); the repetition of the root across the two speeches creates a direct verbal echo between demand and refusal.
• ki...'im ("that...except", H3588B + H0518B) — a two-part subordinating construction functioning together as "unless/except that," distinct from the causal ki ("for", H3588A) in the first line.
• be.rakh.Ta.ni ("you have blessed me", H1288) — piel perfect with 1st-person suffix; the completed-aspect verb frames the blessing as the condition that must be fulfilled before release is granted.

What the text says

The verse is built as two parallel narrative clauses, each introduced by va-yomer ("and he said", H0559), without the Hebrew text naming the speakers directly — the subjects are supplied by context outside this verse. The first speech consists of a command, shalcheni ("let go me"), followed by a causal clause introduced by the first ki ("for", H3588A), giving the reason: alah ha-shachar, "the dawn has come up," using the qal perfect to present the sunrise as already accomplished.

The second speech negates the same verbal root used in the command: lo' 'ashalechakha, "I will not let you go," using the piel imperfect instead of the imperative, which shifts the verb from a request into a stated future refusal. This refusal is qualified by the compound particle ki im ("except/unless", H3588B + H0518B), introducing the sole condition under which the refusal will be lifted: berakhtani, "you have blessed me," a piel perfect expressing the blessing as something to be completed before the release occurs.

Differences between versions

The Hebrew leaves the speakers unmarked, using only repeated va-yomer. The LXX supplies αὐτῷ ("to him") on the first verb, and the BSB and SBLIBRE further supply explicit subjects ("the man," "Jacob") not present in the Hebrew wording of this verse. The first ki is rendered causally in all versions (γάρ, enim, "que"/"for"), while the second ki im is rendered as a conditional exception (ἐὰν μὴ, nisi, "si no"/"unless"), reflecting the same two-fold function of ki seen in the Hebrew tagging (H3588A vs. H3588B).