Genesis 49:29

Summary

Jacob commands his sons and tells them that he is about to be gathered to his people, instructing them to bury him with his fathers in the cave located in the field of Ephron the Hittite. The verse opens the account of Jacob's final instructions regarding his burial place.

Key words

• y.Tzav ("he commanded", H6680) — piel narrative verb, indicating an intensive or causative command action, introduced by the narrative va.
• ne.'e.Saf ("[am] about to be gathered", H0622) — niphal participle, a passive/reflexive form expressing an action done to the subject rather than by him; the participle form conveys an ongoing or imminent state rather than a completed act.
• kiv.Ru ("bury", H6912) — qal imperative plural, a direct command addressed to multiple people ("you all"), contrasting with the singular narrative verbs used for Jacob's own speech.
• 'a.M ("people", H5971B) — construct noun with 1st person suffix ('a.Mi, "my people"), linking Jacob to a collective group he will join.
• 'a.vo.Ta ("fathers", H0001G) — construct feminine plural noun with 1st person suffix ('a.vo.Tai, "my fathers"), specifying whose burial place is meant.

What the text says

The verse contains two narrative verbs in sequence, va-y.Tzav ("and he commanded", H6680) and va-i.Yo.mer ("and he said", H0559), both marked with the narrative va. This structure presents the commanding and the speaking as two linked actions: the first is a general statement that Jacob issued a command, the second introduces the actual content of that command through direct speech.

Within the speech, Jacob uses the personal pronoun 'a.Ni ("I", H0589) followed by the niphal participle ne.'e.Saf ("[am] about to be gathered", H0622). The niphal form marks this as something happening to Jacob rather than an action he performs — he is the recipient of a gathering, not the agent. This shifts to the imperative kiv.Ru ("bury", H6912), a direct command to "you all" (plural), placing the responsibility of burial explicitly on his sons.

The location is specified through a chain of construct phrases: the cave (me.'a.Rah, H4631) that is in the field (s.Deh, H7704G construct) of Ephron ('Ef.ron, H6085G) the Hittite (chi.Ti, H2850), the gentilic marking Ephron's ethnic identity.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders the niphal participle ne.'e.Saf ("about to be gathered") as προστίθεμαι ("I am added/joined"), a present-tense middle-voice verb, differing slightly in aspect from the Hebrew participle. The Vulgate uses congregor ("I am gathered/assembled"), a passive present tense, closer in voice to the Hebrew niphal. The Vulgate adds "duplici" ("double") to describe the cave (spelunca duplici), a detail not present in the Hebrew text or the LXX, which both simply read "the cave" (ha-me'arah / τῷ σπηλαίῳ).