Genesis 49:32

Summary

The verse identifies the field and the cave within it — mentioned in the preceding context as a burial site — as property acquired from the sons of Heth (the Hittites). Grammatically, it is a nominal clause without a finite verb, listing the objects (field, cave) and their source of acquisition.

Key words

• mik.Neh ("[the] livestock of / property of", H4735) — construct noun; here functions as "the purchase/acquisition of," governing "the field" as its construct partner.
• sa.Deh ("field", H7704G) — absolute noun following the construct, completing the phrase "the acquisition of the field."
• me.'a.Rah ("cave", H4631) — feminine singular noun joined by the conjunction ve ("and", H9002) to "the field," forming a compound object.
• 'a.Sher ("which/that", H0834A) — relative particle introducing a clause that locates the cave "in it" (bo, H9033, "in it").
• be.nei-Chet ("sons of Heth", H1121G + H2845) — construct chain naming the group from whom the property came, introduced by the compound preposition me'et ("from with", H9006+H0854).

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence has no verb of its own; it is a nominal continuation that depends on context from the surrounding verses (the burial notice). It reads literally: "the acquisition of the field and the cave that is in it, from [with] the sons of Heth." The construct chain mik.Neh ha.Sa.deh ("the acquisition of the field") sets up the first object, and ve.ha.me.'a.Rah ("and the cave") is added as a second object sharing the same construct relationship. The relative clause 'a.sher-bo ("which is in it") specifies that the cave is located within the field just named, using the preposition be ("in", H9003) with the third-person suffix o ("it/him", H9033).

The final phrase me.'et be.nei-Chet ("from with the sons of Heth") uses a doubled preposition (min + 'et) to mark the source from which the property was obtained, and be.nei-Chet is itself a construct phrase, "sons of Heth," naming the group.

Differences between versions

The Vulgate text supplied for this reference (Genesis 49:32) does not match the Hebrew content of this verse; it instead describes Jacob gathering his feet onto the bed and dying, which corresponds to material found in verse 33. No comparison between the Hebrew and the Vulgate rendering of this specific verse's content is possible from the data given. The LXX renders the construct "acquisition of the field" as κτήσει τοῦ ἀγροῦ ("by purchase of the field"), and adds ἐκεῖ ἔθαψαν Λείαν ("there they buried Leah"), a clause not present in the Hebrew text supplied.