Genesis 34:19

Summary

The verse reports that the young man (Shechem) acted without delay to carry out the circumcision requested of him, explaining his motive — his desire for Jacob's daughter — and noting his elevated social standing within his father's household.

Key words

• 'e.Char ("he delayed", H0309) — piel perfect verb negated by lo'; the piel stem intensifies the notion of "delaying," so the negated form stresses immediate action rather than mere absence of delay.
• na'ar ("young man", H5288) — masculine singular noun with definite article, the grammatical subject of the sentence.
• chafetz ("he delighted", H2654A) — qal perfect verb introduced by the subordinating particle ki ("for"), giving the reason for his haste; it takes the preposition be- ("in") before its object, a construction meaning "to delight/desire in something."
• nikhbad ("honored", H3513G) — niphal participle, a passive/reflexive form describing a state ("being honored") rather than a completed action; it functions almost adjectivally, describing the young man's status.
• mi.Kol ("more than all", H9006 + H3605) — preposition min plus the construct noun kol, forming a comparative structure ("from/more than all") that produces a superlative sense without a dedicated superlative verb form in Hebrew.

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence opens with a negated verb-subject clause: lo' 'echar hanna'ar la'asot hadavar ("the young man did not delay to do the thing"), using the piel form of 'echar to intensify the negation — emphasizing swift compliance rather than simple absence of procrastination. The causal clause introduced by ki ("for") explains this haste: chafetz bevat-Ya'aqov ("he delighted in the daughter of Jacob"), where chafetz with the preposition be- expresses an inward inclination toward its object.

The final clause, joined by ve- ("and"), shifts from narrated action to a descriptive state using the niphal participle nikhbad ("being honored"), paired with the comparative construction mikkol beit 'aviv ("more than all the household of his father"). This comparative phrase, built from min ("more than") plus the construct chain kol beit 'avi ("all the house of my father"), conveys a superlative meaning — the young man's preeminence — through syntax rather than through a distinct superlative verb or adjective form.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders chafetz ("he delighted", H2654A) with enekeito ("he was set upon/urgently pressed toward"), a more forceful verb than the Hebrew's simple perfect of desire. The Vulgate instead uses amabat ("he loved"), shifting the semantic field from delight/desire to love. For nikhbad ("honored", H3513G), the LXX supplies an explicit superlative, endoxotatos ("most glorious"), while the Hebrew achieves this sense only through the comparative min construction; the Vulgate's inclytus ("renowned") conveys distinction without a superlative marker.