Genesis 32:6

Summary

The messengers sent by Jacob return and report to him that they reached Esau, who is now coming to meet Jacob accompanied by four hundred men. The verse combines a narrative report with direct speech quoting the messengers' words.

Key words

• va-yyashuvu ("and they returned", H7725) — qal narrative verb, third person masculine plural, marking the next event in the story sequence.
• mal'akhim ("messengers", H4397) — masculine plural noun with the definite article ha- ("the"), identifying the subject as "the messengers" previously mentioned.
• ba'nu ("we went/came", H0935) — qal perfect, first person plural, expressing a completed action reported by the messengers themselves ("we came").
• holekh ("coming/going", H1980) — qal participle, masculine singular, describing Esau's action as ongoing/present ("he is coming") rather than completed.
• liqra't-kha ("to meet you", H7122) — infinitive construct with preposition le- and second-person suffix -kha ("you"), expressing purpose ("in order to meet you").

What the text says

The verse opens with a narrative vav-consecutive construction, va-yyashuvu ha-mal'akhim ("and the messengers returned"), continuing the story sequence from the previous verse. The messengers' report is introduced by the infinitive le'mor ("saying", H0559), a standard formula marking direct speech.

Within the reported speech, the verb tense shift is notable: ba'nu ("we came", H0935) is a qal perfect, presenting the messengers' journey to Esau as a completed fact. By contrast, holekh ("coming", H1980) is a participle, which in Hebrew narrates an action in progress or imminent — here describing Esau's approach as currently happening, not yet completed. This grammatical contrast (perfect vs. participle) conveys that the messengers' errand is finished while Esau's approach is ongoing at the moment of speaking.

The phrase arba' me'ot ish ("four hundred men", H0702 + H3967 + H0376) uses the construct number pattern typical of Hebrew numerals, followed by ish in the singular collective sense ("man" used distributively for "men"). The final phrase immo ("with him", H5973 + H9033) attaches the pronominal suffix directly to the preposition, a common Hebrew construction to express accompaniment without a separate pronoun.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders holekh ("coming", a participle) with the Greek present ἔρχεται ("he comes/is coming"), preserving the sense of an action in progress, consistent with the Hebrew participle. The Vulgate adds "ecce" ("behold") before "properat" ("he hastens"), an element not present in the Hebrew text, which only has ve-gam holekh ("and also he is coming") without any equivalent to "behold." The Vulgate's "properat" ("hastens, hurries") also intensifies the verb beyond the neutral Hebrew participle "coming."