Genesis 47:31

Summary

Jacob asks Joseph to swear an oath, Joseph swears it, and Jacob (called here "Israel") bows down at the head of his bed. The verse closes a scene of a solemn promise sealed by a physical gesture of respect or submission.

Key words

• hishava'ah ("swear an oath", H7650) — niphal imperative with paragogic he (הׄ), giving the command extra emphatic force: "swear!"
• yishava' ("he swore an oath", H7650) — same root in niphal, but narrative form ("and then he swore"), marking the fulfillment of the command just given.
• yishtachu ("he bowed down", H7812) — hishtaphel narrative form; describes a bodily bowing motion, without a stated object of the bowing in the Hebrew clause itself.
• rosh ("head of", H7218A) — masculine singular noun in construct state, linking it to the following word to form "head of the bed."
• mittah ("bed", H4296) — feminine singular noun, the physical object at whose "head" (rosh) Israel bows.

What the text says

The verse is built on three short narrative clauses joined by the narrative vav (H9001), giving the typical Hebrew storytelling rhythm of "and... and... and...". The first clause is direct speech: Jacob's command hishava'ah li ("swear to me"), using the niphal imperative of shava' (H7650) with a paragogic he that intensifies the request. The same root reappears immediately in the niphal narrative form yishava' ("he swore"), creating a clear verbal echo between command and compliance — the text mirrors the request with its fulfillment using the identical verb.

The final clause, yishtachu Yisra'el 'al-rosh ha-mittah, uses yishtachu (H7812), a verb describing a bowing gesture, followed by the subject "Israel" and a prepositional phrase locating the action "on/at the head of the bed" (rosh ha-mittah, construct chain H7218A + H4296). The Hebrew clause states only the physical orientation of the bow — toward the head of the bed — without specifying an object of the bowing (no direct object marker or explicit recipient appears in the Hebrew).

Differences between versions

The LXX renders the final phrase as ἐπὶ τὸ ἄκρον τῆς ῥάβδου αὐτοῦ ("upon the top of his staff") where the Hebrew has rosh ha-mittah ("head of the bed") — the same consonantal skeleton (מטה) can be read as "bed" (mittah) or "staff" (matteh), producing this divergence in the object of the bowing gesture. The Vulgate adds an explicit object not present in the Hebrew clause, stating "adoravit Israël Deum" ("Israel worshipped God"), whereas the Hebrew verb yishtachu has no stated direct object in this verse.