Genesis 46:1

Summary

The verse narrates Israel (Jacob) departing with everything belonging to him, arriving at Beer-sheba, and offering sacrifices there to the God of his father Isaac. The action unfolds in three consecutive narrative steps marked by sequential verb forms.

Key words

• yissa' ("he set out", H5265) — qal narrative form of the verb, indicating a completed action that begins the sequence: "and then he set out."
• Yisra'El ("Israel", H3478) — the proper name used for Jacob as subject of all three verbs in this verse.
• yavo' ("he came", H0935G) — second narrative verb, continuing the chain of sequential events after the departure.
• yizbach ("he sacrificed", H2076) — third narrative verb; introduces the cultic action performed upon arrival.
• le-Elohei 'avi ("to the God of [my] father", H0430G + H0001G) — construct chain linking "God" to "father," itself further specified by Yitzchak ("Isaac", H3327), producing "the God of his father Isaac."

What the text says

The verse is built on three verbs in sequence, each carrying the narrative vav (va, H9001), which chains events one after another: yissa' ("he set out"), yavo' ("he came"), yizbach ("he sacrificed"). This chain produces a simple temporal progression: departure, arrival, sacrifice, with Israel as the single subject throughout.

The phrase ve-khol 'asher-lo ("and all that [was] to him", H3605 + H0834A + H9005 + H9033) uses the relative particle 'asher with the preposition le plus suffix to express possession — literally "all that belonged to him" — accompanying Israel on the journey.

The place name is written as Be'erah Shava' (H0884), with the directional marker he (H9011) attached to Be'er, indicating motion "toward" Beer-sheba, a common Hebrew construction for expressing direction toward a location.

The final clause contains a double construct chain: zivchei is not present, but le-Elohei 'avi Yitzchak stacks "God of" (construct, H0430G) governing "father" (construct, H0001G), which is itself modified by the suffix "his" (H9023) and the name "Isaac" (H3327). This produces the sense "to the God of his father, [namely] Isaac" — the deity associated specifically with Isaac's relationship to Israel's own father.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders the sacrificial action with a singular thysian ("sacrifice") where the Hebrew has the plural zevachim ("sacrifices", H2077). The Vulgate uses the plural victimis ("victims/sacrifices"), aligning more closely with the Hebrew plural. Additionally, the LXX explicitly states the location of the sacrifice with ekei ("there"), a word not present in the Hebrew text, which relies on the sequence of verbs alone to imply the sacrifice occurred at Beer-sheba.