Genesis 46:3

Summary

Genesis 46:3 records a divine speech to Jacob, in which God identifies himself, tells Jacob not to fear going down to Egypt, and promises to make him into a great nation there. The verse combines self-identification, a reassurance formula, and a promise of national growth.

Key words

• ha'El ("the God", H0410G) — carries the definite article ha (H9009), marking a specific identification: "I am the God," not merely "a god."
• 'elohei ("God of", H0430G) — construct form, linking directly to 'avikha ("your father", H0001G) with the possessive suffix -kha (H9021), forming "the God of your father."
• tira' ("you be afraid", H3372G) — jussive form after the negation 'al (H0408), producing a prohibition of immediate, specific application ("do not be afraid" in this instance), distinct from a general prohibition using lo.
• redah ("going down", H3381) — infinitive construct governed by the preposition me ("from", H9006), forming "from going down," i.e., the object of the fear being negated.
• 'asimkha ("I will make you", H7760A) — imperfect first-person verb with pronominal suffix -kha (H9031), expressing a future/ongoing divine action directed at Jacob personally.

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence opens with the narrative verb vayo'mer ("and he said", H0559), followed by the divine self-identification anokhi ha'El 'elohei 'avikha — "I [am] the God, the God of your father." The repetition of "God" (once with the article, once in construct with "your father") reinforces continuity between the deity speaking and the deity known to Jacob's father, rather than introducing a new or different divine figure.

The prohibition 'al-tira' uses the jussive form after the particle 'al, which in Biblical Hebrew grammar marks a specific, situational command rather than an absolute law (this contrasts with the more categorical lo tira' construction). The object of the fear is expressed through the infinitive redah ("going down") governed by me ("from"), literally "do not fear from going down to Egypt," with the directional he suffix on mitzraymah (H9011) marking motion "toward" Egypt.

The final clause begins with ki (H3588A), functioning here as a causal or explanatory particle ("for" / "because"), introducing the promise le-goy gadol 'asimkha sham — "into a great nation I will make you there." The imperfect 'asimkha expresses a future action, with the adverb sham ("there", H8033G) tying the promised transformation specifically to the location of Egypt.

Differences between versions

The Vulgate renders ha'El as "fortissimus Deus" ("the strongest God"), adding an emphasis on divine power not explicitly present in the Hebrew noun 'El itself, which here is simply marked definite by the article rather than modified by an adjective. The provided LXX text of this verse appears truncated ("ὁ θεὸς τῶν οὐ"), lacking a clear equivalent to "your father," so no full comparison of that phrase can be made from the given Greek. The directional sense of "toward Egypt" (via the Hebrew suffixed he) is preserved in the Greek εἰς Αἴγυπτον and Vulgate in Aegyptum, both using prepositions of motion.