Genesis 47:18

Summary

The verse narrates the end of a year and the arrival of the Egyptians before Joseph in the following year, in which they declare that they can hide nothing from him: their money is spent and their livestock already belongs to him, so nothing remains except their bodies and their land.

Key words

• ti.Tom ("it was finished", H8552) — qal narrative form of the same root that reappears later as tam ("it has been finished", H8552) in perfect aspect; the repetition of this root frames the passage: first the year "is finished," then the money "is finished."
• ne.kha.Ched ("we will hide", H3582) — piel imperfect, first person plural; the piel stem gives an intensive nuance ("to conceal completely"), and the imperfect marks an action presented as ongoing or about to happen — the people declare they will not (continue to) conceal anything.
• nish.'Ar ("it is left", H7604) — niphal perfect, third person masculine singular; the niphal stem marks a passive/resultative sense ("that which remains"), describing the state of what is left after the money and livestock are gone.
• bil.Ti ("except", H1115) — a noun used adverbially to introduce an exception, reinforced by 'im ("if", H0518J) immediately after it, forming the double exceptive expression "except if."
• ge.vi.ya.Te.nu ("our body", H1472 + H9025) — feminine singular noun in construct with the first-person plural suffix "our," paired with 'ad.ma.Te.nu ("our land", H0127G + H9025) in the same construct pattern, listing the only two things left to offer.

What the text says

The verse opens with two consecutive narrative vav clauses: va-ti.Tom ("and it was finished") and va-i.ya.Vo.'u ("and they came"), which is the standard Hebrew way of advancing the storyline — first marking the close of the first year, then the arrival of the people in the second year, both anchored by the noun sha.Nah ("year", H8141) repeated with the article. This repetition ("the year," "the second year") frames a temporal structure that situates the following speech precisely one year after the events described earlier in the chapter.

The direct speech is built on a series of negated statements. lo'-ne.kha.Ched ("we will not hide", H3808 + H3582) is followed by a ki 'im construction (H3588B + H0518B), which functions here as an emphatic "except that" or "but rather," introducing the reason for their declaration: tam ha-Ke.sef ("the money is finished," H8552 + H3701G) and mik.Neh ha-be.he.Mah ("the livestock of the cattle," H4735 + H0929) belongs already to the lord. The second negation, lo' nish.'Ar ("it is not left," H3808 + H7604), is likewise followed by the exceptive pairing bil.Ti 'im (H1115 + H0518J), isolating the only two remaining possessions: ge.vi.ya.Tenu ("our body") and 'ad.ma.Tenu ("our land"), both nouns in construct form with a possessive suffix, listed in parallel as the final resources the speakers can still offer.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders ge.vi.ya.Tenu ("our body", H1472) as τὸ ἴδιον σῶμα ("the/our own body," singular), matching the Hebrew singular form used collectively. The Vulgate uses the plural corporibus ("bodies"), diverging from the Hebrew singular noun. The LXX also renders the double negative-exceptive structure (lo'... bil.Ti 'im) with εἰ γὰρ ("for if") and ἀλλ' ἢ ("but only"), spreading the Hebrew's compact exceptive particles across two separate Greek clauses.