Genesis 45:10

Summary

Joseph tells his father (in this reported speech) that he will settle in the land of Goshen and remain close to him, together with his sons, grandsons, and all his livestock and possessions. The verse lists the household members and property that will accompany the move.

Key words

• ya.shav.Ta ("you will dwell", H3427) — qal sequential perfect, second person masculine singular, continuing the narrative chain begun by the preceding verses; it expresses a future action presented as the logical continuation of what precedes.
• ha.Yi.ta ("you will be", H1961) — same sequential perfect pattern as ya.shav.Ta, linking the state of "being near" as a consequence following the act of dwelling.
• ka.rOv ("near", H7138) — masculine singular adjective describing the resulting proximity to the speaker, completed by the preposition 'e.La ("to", H0413) with the first-person suffix i ("me", H9030).
• va.Nei.kha ("your children", H1121A + H9021) — construct plural noun with pronominal suffix, part of a chain of construct forms (bene banekha, "children of your children") that specifies successive generations.
• tzo.ne.kha / ve.kar.kha ("your sheep" / H6629G, "your cattle" / H1241) — construct nouns with second-person suffixes, listing livestock as part of the enumerated possessions.

What the text says

The verse is built on two sequential perfect verbs, ya.shav.Ta and ha.Yi.ta, both continuing a narrative sequence begun earlier in the speech: first "you will dwell," then "you will be near." This grammatical form (sequential perfect after a preceding verb) presents the two actions as parts of one continuous plan rather than as isolated statements. After stating the condition of nearness (ka.rOv... 'e.La.i, "near to me"), the text adds the independent pronoun 'a.Tah ("you") to emphasize the subject before listing who accompanies him.

The list that follows uses a chain of construct nouns joined by ve ("and", H9001/H9002): sons, "sons of sons" (grandsons), sheep, cattle, and finally the general clause khol 'a.Sher-la.kh ("all that belongs to you"), formed with the relative particle 'a.Sher and the preposition la plus suffix. This final clause functions as a catch-all category encompassing anything not already named, closing the enumeration begun with the specific family and livestock terms.

Differences between versions

The LXX adds a geographic qualifier not present in the Hebrew: "γῇ Γέσεμ Ἀραβίας" ("the land of Goshen of Arabia"), where the Hebrew simply reads 'e.retz-Go.shen ("land of Goshen"). The Vulgate follows the Hebrew structure closely with "terra Gessen" and "erisque juxta me," without the added regional qualifier found in the LXX.