Genesis 32:9

Summary

Jacob addresses his prayer to the God of his ancestors, invoking him by three designations — "God of my father Abraham," "God of my father Isaac," and "Yehovah" — before quoting back to God the command that had been given him: to return to his land and his kindred, with an accompanying promise of good treatment.

Key words

• va-yomer ("and he said", H0559) — qal verb with narrative vav, opening the speech and marking a new sequential action in the story.
• 'elohei ("God of", H0430G) — masculine plural noun in construct state, meaning it must attach to a following noun ("father"); the plural form is standard for the divine title despite referring to a single deity.
• 'avi ("my father", H0001G) — masculine singular noun in construct with a 1st-person suffix (-i, H9020), repeated for both Abraham and Isaac, showing each patriarch given his own possessive link to "father."
• ha-'omer ("the one saying", H0559) — qal participle with definite article, functioning as a relative clause ("who says/said") describing Yehovah as the one who previously spoke to Jacob.
• shuv ("return", H7725G) — qal imperative, a direct command form, quoted by Jacob as the words originally spoken to him.
• 'eitivah ("let me do good", H3190) — hiphil form (causative stem), expressing an action of causing benefit; here presented as part of the quoted promise "with you."

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence structure builds a chain of divine titles before reaching the main verb. Jacob's address consists of three appositional phrases: 'elohei 'avi 'avraham ("God of my father Abraham", H0430G/H0001G/H0085), 'elohei 'avi yitzchak ("God of my father Isaac", H0430G/H0001G/H3327), and YHWH ("Yehovah", H3068G). Each "God of" phrase is a construct chain requiring the following word to complete its meaning, and the repetition of 'avi ("my father") for both patriarchs treats Abraham and Isaac as separately linked ancestors rather than a single combined phrase.

The clause ha-'omer 'elai ("the one who said to me", H0559 + H0413/H9030) uses a participle with the definite article to function like a relative clause, identifying Yehovah as the same one who previously issued a command. That command is then quoted directly: the imperative shuv ("return", H7725G) followed by two destinations, le-'artzekha ("to your land", H0776G) and u-le-moladtekha ("to your kindred", H4138), each in construct with a 2nd-person suffix. The final clause uses the hiphil verb 'eitivah ("let me do good", H3190), a causative form indicating an action producing benefit, joined with 'immakh ("with you", H5973A + H9032).

Differences between versions

The Hebrew text names three distinct designations — "God of my father Abraham," "God of my father Isaac," and "Yehovah" — connected by conjunctions (va-, ve-). The LXX renders the third element as κύριε ("lord"), a vocative rather than a separate proper name marker, and gives the second title without the additional conjunction before κύριε that the Hebrew places before YHWH. The Vulgate similarly reads "Domine" for the third title, paralleling the LXX's vocative form rather than reproducing a distinct connective structure. The Hebrew moladtekha ("your kindred", H4138) is rendered in the LXX as τῆς γενέσεώς σου ("of your birth/origin"), and in the Vulgate as "locum nativitatis tuæ" ("the place of your birth"), both shifting from a term for kin/relatives toward a term emphasizing birth or origin.