Genesis 25:20

Hebrew
וַיְהִ֤יplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigהָיָה

hebrew

The word הָיָה means “to exist” or “to be” or “to become” or “to come into being” and occurs 3561 times in the Old Testament.

This is the foundational verb of existence, identity, becoming and occurrence.

* It is used in the creation narrative of Genesis 1, represented by the English words Genesis 1:3Exodus 3:12Ruth 1:1Isaiah 2:2
יִצְחָק֙ בֶּן אַרְבָּעִ֣ים שָׁנָ֔ה בְּקַחְתּ֣וֹ אֶתplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigאֵת

hebrew

The Hebrew אֵת word does not have a corresponding word in English. In Hebrew, it is a marker of the accusative, i.e. the word following it is the object of the sentence. It only ever occurs in conjunction with nouns associated with the definite article הַ.Genesis 1:1
רִבְקָ֗ה בַּת בְּתוּאֵל֙ הָֽאֲרַמִּ֔י מִפַּדַּ֖ן אֲרָ֑ם אֲח֛וֹת לָבָ֥ן הָאֲרַמִּ֖י ל֥וֹ לְאִשָּֽׁה
ESV
and Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to be his wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean.
NIV
and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram and sister of Laban the Aramean.
NLT
When Isaac was forty years old, he married Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan-aram and the sister of Laban the Aramean.
LXX
ἦνplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigεἰμί

greek

εἰμί is the first person singular verb for “to be” (εἶναι [the infinitive form] = “to be”).

It an irregular verb, and, like English, changes significantly between person and tense. For example εἰμί is the word for am and ἦν is the word for was, e.g.
δὲplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigδέ

greek

δέ is a conjunction that can mean “but” or “and” or “also” or “moreover”. It is a word that is used very frequently in the New Testament, and is often unexpressed and not translated in English.
Ισαακ ἐτῶν τεσσαράκοντα ὅτε ἔλαβεν τὴνplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigὁ, ἡ, τό

greek

Meaning:

* The

The definite article.

Forms

Singular Case Masculine Feminine Neuter Nominative ὁ ἡ τό Genitive τοῦ τῆς τοῦ Dative τῷ τῇ
Ρεβεκκαν θυγατέρα Βαθουηλ τοῦplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigὁ, ἡ, τό

greek

Meaning:

* The

The definite article.

Forms

Singular Case Masculine Feminine Neuter Nominative ὁ ἡ τό Genitive τοῦ τῆς τοῦ Dative τῷ τῇ
Σύρου ἐκ τῆςplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigὁ, ἡ, τό

greek

Meaning:

* The

The definite article.

Forms

Singular Case Masculine Feminine Neuter Nominative ὁ ἡ τό Genitive τοῦ τῆς τοῦ Dative τῷ τῇ
Μεσοποταμίας ἀδελφὴν Λαβαν τοῦplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigὁ, ἡ, τό

greek

Meaning:

* The

The definite article.

Forms

Singular Case Masculine Feminine Neuter Nominative ὁ ἡ τό Genitive τοῦ τῆς τοῦ Dative τῷ τῇ
Σύρου ἑαυτῷ γυναῖκα
KJV
And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padanaram, the sister to Laban the Syrian.

Genesis 25:19 ← Genesis 25:20 → Genesis 25:21

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