Genesis 32:12

King James Version with Strong's Numbers

And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

הַצִּילֵ֥נִי נָ֛א מִיַּ֥ד אָחִ֖י מִיַּ֣ד עֵשָׂ֑ו כִּֽי־יָרֵ֤א אָנֹכִי֙ אֹת֔וֹ פֶּן־יָב֣וֹא וְהִכַּ֔נִי אֵ֖ם עַל־בָּנִֽים׃

Transliteration

haṣṣîlēnî nāʾ from-hand-of brother-my from-hand-of ʿēśāw for-yārēʾ I ʾōtô pen-yābôʾ wə-hikkanî ʾēm on-children.

Grammar Details

• *haṣṣîlēnî*: Hiphil imperative, masculine singular + 1st common singular suffix - deliver me
• *nāʾ*: particle of entreaty - please
• *yārēʾ*: Qal participle, masculine singular - fearing
• *ʾōtô*: direct object marker + 3rd masculine singular suffix - him
• *pen-yābôʾ*: conjunction + Qal imperfect, 3rd masculine singular - lest he come
• *wə-hikkanî*: waw consecutive + Hiphil perfect, 3rd masculine singular + 1st common singular suffix - and strike me
• *ʾēm*: feminine singular noun - mother

Word Meanings

• *haṣṣîlēnî*: deliver me, rescue me, save me
• *nāʾ*: please, now, I pray
• *yārēʾ*: fearing, afraid of
• *pen-yābôʾ*: lest he come, in case he arrives
• *wə-hikkanî*: and strike me, and attack me, and kill me
• *ʾēm*: mother, with children (idiom for complete destruction)

Referenced Verses

• Gen 28:13-15 : 13 And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; 14 And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15 And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.
• Gen 32:6 : 6 And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, We came to thy brother Esau, and also he cometh to meet thee, and four hundred men with him.
• Gen 46:3-4 : 3 And he said, I am God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation: 4 I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up again: and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes.
• Exod 32:13 : 13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever.
• Num 23:19 : 19 God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?
• 1 Sam 15:29 : 29 And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent.
• Matt 24:35 : 35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
• 2 Tim 2:13 : 13 If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.
• Titus 1:2 : 2 In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;
• Heb 6:17 : 17 Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath:
• Gen 22:17 : 17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;