Chumash
Fundamentals

for Adults

Volume One פָּרָשַׁת לֶךְ־לְךָ Parshas Lech Lecha · Bereishis 12–17

Shorashim, prefixes and endings taught one at a time, and then the whole parsha, word by word. For adults who can sound out Hebrew but were never taught how a Hebrew word is put together.

Part One

Orientation

What this book is for, what it asks of you, and the one idea that makes Hebrew words stop looking like noise.

Chapter 1

What this book is for, and what it assumes

An honest account of the entry requirements.

The goal of this book

By the end, you should be able to open a Chumash at Parshas Lech Lecha, look at a word you have never studied, take it apart into its pieces, and say out loud what each piece is doing there.

Most adults who want to learn Chumash are not starting from nothing. They can read Hebrew letters. They have heard the stories since childhood. They own a Chumash with a good English translation, and they can follow the narrative perfectly well.

What they cannot do is read the Hebrew and know what it says. The English is on the facing page, so the eye slides across to it, and the Hebrew stays a column of decorative shapes. Years pass. The translation gets read; the text does not.

This book is about closing that gap, and it takes a narrow, stubborn approach to it. It does not try to teach you Hebrew as a language. It teaches you to take Hebrew words apart. That is a much smaller skill, and it is the one that actually unlocks the page.

Here is the reason it works. Hebrew is not built the way English is. An English word is mostly a lump you memorise. A Hebrew word is assembled, in front of you, out of a small number of reusable parts: a three-letter root that carries the meaning, a handful of one-letter prefixes glued to the front, and a handful of endings glued to the back. Learn the parts, there are not many, and a word you have never seen before stops being unknown. It becomes a word you can disassemble.

What this looks like in practice

You will not come out of this book fluent. You will come out able to look at וּמִמּוֹלַדְתְּךָ and say: that is and, plus from, plus a noun built on the root meaning to give birth, plus your, so, and from your birthplace. That is a real skill, it is permanent, and it transfers to every page of Chumash you will ever open.

What this book assumes

It assumes one thing:

You can sound out vowelled Hebrew, even slowly, even with a finger on the page. Every Hebrew word in this book is printed with nikud, and reading the words aloud is part of the method, the pieces of a word are easier to hear than to see.

It assumes nothing else. In particular, not:

Any prior study of Chumash in Hebrew.
Any knowledge of Hebrew grammar. Every grammatical term used here is explained where it first appears and collected in the glossary.
Any vocabulary. Every word of the parsha is glossed in this book, piece by piece.
Any yeshiva or day-school background.
Any experience with Rashi, or with reading Rashi script. Where Rashi appears in this book, he appears in English.

If you cannot yet sound out vowelled Hebrew, that is a different problem from the one this book solves, and a smaller one. It is a few weeks of work, taught constantly to adults, usually free: a beginners' reading course at a shul, a one-to-one learning partner, or a tutor for a handful of sessions. The alef-beis and the vowels are a finite body of material. Get that first, then come back.

How this book is built

There are three parts and a set of appendices.

Part One is orientation: this chapter, and then the single idea the whole method rests on.
Part Two is the toolkit. Roots, then each prefix on its own, then each suffix on its own, then, only then, putting a whole word together. Then two harder matters: letters that vanish from a root, and the system of verb patterns.
Part Three is the text itself: all of Parshas Lech Lecha, Bereishis 12 through 17, pasuk by pasuk, every word broken into its pieces, with the translation, a plain-terms note, and Rashi where he resolves a genuine difficulty.

Work Part Two before Part Three. Part Three is written on the assumption that the color coding, the six prefixes and the endings are already familiar to you; it will be slow going otherwise.

One thing that is not like your Chumash

Where the text has the four-letter Name, this book prints ה׳ in its place. Your Chumash will have the Name itself written out, so the Hebrew on these pages will not match it letter for letter at those points, that is the one deliberate difference, and it is the only place where what you see here is not exactly what is in the sefer.

The reason is practical. A page carrying the Name may not simply be thrown out; it has to be put into geniza. This book is meant to be marked up, carried around, printed and reprinted, so it is set in a way that keeps that from becoming a problem. When you read the pasuk aloud, read the Name as you always would.

One thing about the Hebrew

Every Hebrew word in this book is printed with the vowels and without the cantillation marks (te'amim), the small hooks and wedges above and below the letters that tell a reader how the verse is chanted. They belong to someone who is already reading fluently. While you are still working out which letter is doing what, they are extra marks competing with the vowels, so they are not here. Your own Chumash will have them: that is the one visible difference you will notice between this page and that one.

Review

Answers in Appendix E.

What is the one thing this book assumes you can already do?
What is the difference between reading a translation and reading the text?
Why does the book insist you work Part Two before Part Three?

↑ Contents

Chapter 2

Why Hebrew words are built from roots

The single biggest idea in the book, and the arithmetic that justifies it.

Take four words from the first pasuk of our parsha. They have nothing in common to the eye:

Word	Its pieces	What the pieces mean	Shoresh / milah	Where
מֵאַרְצְךָ	מֵ·אַרְצְ·ךָ	from + the earth + your	ארצ	12:1
וּמִמּוֹלַדְתְּךָ	וּ·מִ·מּוֹלַדְתְּ·ךָ	and + from + birthplace, kindred + your	ילד	12:1
וּמִבֵּית	וּ·מִ·בֵּית	and + from + house	בנה	12:1
אָבִיךָ	אָבִי·ךָ	father, parent + your	אָב	12:1

Look at the fourth column. Each of those words is standing on a three-letter skeleton, and the skeleton is doing the work. The same three letters ילד carry the verb the dictionary glosses to give birth, which is why the noun built on them names the place you were born. The three letters בנה carry both the word for a house and the word for a son, glossed son, builder, because a son builds the family line. You are not memorising four unrelated words. You are recognising three skeletons and a few glued-on pieces.

That is the whole idea. Nearly every Hebrew word of substance is a shoresh (a root) of three letters, wearing a pattern of vowels, sometimes with a one-letter prefix in front and an ending behind. The root supplies the meaning. The vowels and the affixes supply the grammar: who did it, to whom, when, and whether the word is a verb, a noun or something else.

The arithmetic

This would be a nice observation even if it were not efficient. It happens to be extremely efficient, and the numbers are worth seeing, because they explain why so little learning buys so much reading.

The three frequency tables in the appendices were compiled by counting every word in the whole Chumash. They say this:

The top 118 particles and function words, the prefixes, the prepositions, the little connecting words, account for 41.75% of every word in the Chumash.
The top 200 roots account for a further 31.31%.
The top 200 content words (counted as dictionary headwords rather than roots) account for 27.73%.

Read the first line again. Under a hundred and twenty small words and prefixes, most of them one letter long, make up more than two fifths of the Chumash. They are in Appendix C. You could learn the first thirty of them this week.

The same shape shows up in miniature in the perek you are about to study. Counting every word of Bereishis 12 in the analysis this book is generated from:

There are 268 words in the perek, made of 435 pieces: 260 roots-and-stems, 122 prefixes and 53 suffixes.
149 of the 268 words, well over half, carry at least one prefix or one ending. Half of what looks like new vocabulary is old vocabulary in a coat.
The root-bearing words in the perek stand on just 55 different roots, and every one of those 55 is inside the top 200 of the whole Chumash. Ninety-six of those words are built on a root from the top 50.

Nothing in Perek 12 is exotic. The vocabulary of Avram's journey is the ordinary vocabulary of the Chumash: to say, to go, to see, to give, land, house, woman, name, son.

In plain terms

This is why the effort in this book is front-loaded. Part Two looks like a lot of small rules. It is really six prefixes, six endings, and one idea about roots. Once they are in place, they never need to be learned again, they simply keep paying, on every line of every parsha, for the rest of your life.

Review

Answers in Appendix E.

In your own words: what does the root of a Hebrew word supply, and what do the vowels and affixes supply?
The top 118 particles cover what share of the Chumash?
Of the 268 words in Bereishis 12, how many carry a prefix or a suffix?
Why is it significant that all 55 roots in Perek 12 are in the Chumash's top 200?

What you now know

A Hebrew word is assembled from reusable parts, not memorised as a lump.
The three-letter root carries the meaning; vowels and affixes carry the grammar.
The top 118 particles are 41.75% of the Chumash; the top 200 roots a further 31.31%.
Over half the words in Bereishis 12 carry a prefix or an ending.
All 55 roots used in Bereishis 12 are among the 200 commonest roots in the Chumash.

↑ Contents

Part Two

The Toolkit

Roots, then the six prefixes one at a time, then the endings one at a time, and only then the whole word.

Chapter 3

Shorashim: three letters that carry the meaning

What a root is, and how to see one.

A shoresh is a root: three consonants, in a fixed order, carrying a single area of meaning. It is written with the letters joined by a light connector, like ילד, to show that it is an abstraction, not a word you would ever pronounce as it stands. The last letter is always written in its ordinary form, never the final form, for the same reason.

The root never appears bare. It appears dressed: with vowels poured between its letters, and often with something glued to the front or the back. Different clothing, same skeleton.

One root, several words

The clearest way to see this is to take one root and watch it surface as different parts of speech in the same perek.

Word	Its pieces	What the pieces mean	Shoresh / milah	Where
וּמִבֵּית	וּ·מִ·בֵּית	and + from + house	בנה	12:1
בֶּן	בֶּן	son, builder	בנה	12:4
וַיִּבֶן	וַ·יִּבֶן	and + to build	בנה	12:7
בֵּית	בֵּית	house	בנה	12:15

Four words, one shoresh: בנה. A house is a built thing. A son is a builder of the family line, that is not a poetic flourish, it is how the dictionary glosses the word: son, builder. And in pasuk 7 the same three letters are a verb, labeled he, past, and Avram builds an altar.

בֶּן

בֶּןson, builder

a noun on the shoresh of building · Bereishis 12:4 · shoresh בנה

Not every word has a shoresh

Some very common words are simply not built on three letters. A milah is a word in its own right: you learn it as it stands, from the dictionary, and there is nothing to take apart. This is the distinction the children's workbooks draw, and it is worth drawing, because hunting for a root that is not there wastes a great deal of time.

Five milim turn up in this perek: אָב, a father; אָח, a brother; שֵׁם, a name; יָם, a sea (and so also west); and שִׁבְעִים, seventy. None of them is three letters wearing vowels.

In this book the difference is marked on every breakdown in Part Three. A word either says shoresh, followed by three connected letters, or milah, followed by the dictionary word itself. If it says milah, stop looking for a root.

A second example, from the same pasuk

Pasuk 1 gives Avram three things to leave. The second of them is וּמִמּוֹלַדְתְּךָ. Take away the וּ (and), take away the מִ (from), take away the ךָ (your), and what is left stands on the shoresh ילד, the same three letters as the verb glossed to give birth. Your birthplace is where the giving-birth happened.

The shorashim that carry this perek

Here are some of the roots that do the most work in Bereishis 12, each shown through a real word from the text. You are not asked to memorise them. You are asked to notice that they are ordinary.

Word	Its pieces	What the pieces mean	Shoresh / milah	Where
וַיֹּאמֶר	וַ·יֹּאמֶר	and + to say	אמר	12:1
וַיֵּלֶךְ	וַ·יֵּלֶךְ	and + to walk, carry	ילכ	12:4
אַרְאֶךָּ	אַרְאֶ·ךָּ	to see + your	ראה	12:1
אֶתֵּן	אֶתֵּן	to give	נתנ	12:7
וַיִּקַּח	וַ·יִּקַּח	and + to take	לקח	12:5
וַאֲבָרֶכְךָ	וַ·אֲבָרֶכְ·ךָ	and + to bless + your	ברכ	12:2
אִשְׁתּוֹ	אִשְׁתּ·וֹ	woman + his/her/its	אשה	12:5
שְׁמֶךָ	שְׁמֶ·ךָ	name, honor + your	שֵׁם	12:2

In plain terms

Do not go hunting for the root by counting letters. Go the other way round: learn to spot the prefixes and the endings, peel them off, and whatever is left is the root wearing its vowels. That is what the next three chapters train.

Review

Answers in Appendix E.

Why is a shoresh written with connectors between the letters, and never with a final-form letter?
The words for house and son share a shoresh. What idea do those three letters carry?
What is a milah, and how do you tell one from a shoresh?
What is the practical procedure for finding a shoresh inside a word?

↑ Contents

Chapter 4

The six prefixes, one at a time

Six single letters that attach to the front of a word. Learn what each one means before learning how to peel it off.

Six letters in Hebrew can be glued onto the front of a word. Each has its own meaning, and that meaning does not change. They are not decorations and they are not part of the root; they are words in their own right that happen to be written joined on.

In English these six ideas are separate words: and, the, to, in, from, like. In Hebrew they are single letters riding on the front of the next word. That is the only real difference.

Color keyבprefixשroot / stemךsuffix

This chapter takes them one at a time, in order of how often they turn up. For each, the meaning comes first; the examples are all real words from Bereishis 12. Counting every word of the perek, the six prefixes appear 122 times between them.

וַandconjunction65 of the 122
prefixes in Perek 12

By far the commonest letter in the Chumash. It joins one thing to the next: and, and then, and so. In the appendix tables it is the single most frequent item in the whole Chumash at 11.09% of all words.

In a narrative it does most of the storytelling. Look down the left edge of almost any Chumash column and you will see verse after verse starting with it.

Word	Its pieces	What the pieces mean	Shoresh / milah	Where
וַיֹּאמֶר	וַ·יֹּאמֶר	and + to say	אמר	12:1
וַיֵּלֶךְ	וַ·יֵּלֶךְ	and + to walk, carry	ילכ	12:4
וַאֲבָרֶכְךָ	וַ·אֲבָרֶכְ·ךָ	and + to bless + your	ברכ	12:2
וַיֵּצְאוּ	וַ·יֵּצְאוּ	and + to go out, bring out	יצא	12:5
וַיֵּרֶד	וַ·יֵּרֶד	and + to go down	ירד	12:10

לְto, forpreposition20 of the 122
prefixes in Perek 12

Direction or benefit: to somewhere, for somebody. It is the third commonest word in the Chumash at 4.65%.

It also does a job English needs several words for. Put it in front of a verb and it makes an infinitive, to go, to come, to stay.

Word	Its pieces	What the pieces mean	Shoresh / milah	Where
לְךָ	לְ·ךָ	to / for + your		12:1
לְגוֹי	לְ·גוֹי	to / for + foreign nation	גוי	12:2
לְזַרְעֲךָ	לְ·זַרְעֲ·ךָ	to / for + seed, plant, offspring + your	זרע	12:7
לָלֶכֶת	לָ·לֶכֶת	to / for + to walk, carry	ילכ	12:5
לָגוּר	לָ·גוּר	to / for + to sojourn, to stay as a guest	גור	12:10

הָthedefinite article15 of the 122
prefixes in Perek 12

The definite article. Hebrew has no separate word for the; it has this letter, and it usually doubles the first letter of the word it lands on. 6.00% of the Chumash.

It matters more than it looks. In pasuk 1 Avram is sent to the land, a particular one, not any land, and the whole difficulty Rashi raises there hangs on it.

Word	Its pieces	What the pieces mean	Shoresh / milah	Where
הָאָרֶץ	הָ·אָרֶץ	the + the earth	ארצ	12:1
הַנֶּפֶשׁ	הַ·נֶּפֶשׁ	the + living creature	נפש	12:5
הַזֹּאת	הַ·זֹּאת	the + this one		12:7
הָרָעָב	הָ·רָעָב	the + hunger		12:10
הָאִשָּׁה	הָ·אִשָּׁה	the + woman	אשה	12:14

בְin, with, bypreposition11 of the 122
prefixes in Perek 12

Location or instrument: in a place, with a thing, by means of something. 3.13% of the Chumash.

Which of the three English senses is right depends on what follows, and you will usually feel it. In the land is a place; through you in pasuk 3 is the instrument sense.

Word	Its pieces	What the pieces mean	Shoresh / milah	Where
בְךָ	בְ·ךָ	in / with / by + your		12:3
בָּאָרֶץ	בָּ·אָרֶץ	in / with / by + the earth	ארצ	12:6
בְּשֵׁם	בְּ·שֵׁם	in / with / by + name, honor	שֵׁם	12:8
בְּצֵאתוֹ	בְּ·צֵאת·וֹ	in / with / by + to go out, bring out + his/her/its	יצא	12:4
בְחָרָן	בְ·חָרָן	in / with / by + Charan		12:5

מֵfrompreposition8 of the 122
prefixes in Perek 12

Origin: from, out of. 1.31% of the Chumash as a prefix, and there is also a standalone word with the same meaning.

Pasuk 1 uses it three times in a row, and the repetition is the point: from your land, from your birthplace, from your father's house.

Word	Its pieces	What the pieces mean	Shoresh / milah	Where
מֵאַרְצְךָ	מֵ·אַרְצְ·ךָ	from + the earth + your	ארצ	12:1
וּמִמּוֹלַדְתְּךָ	וּ·מִ·מּוֹלַדְתְּ·ךָ	and + from + birthplace, kindred + your	ילד	12:1
וּמִבֵּית	וּ·מִ·בֵּית	and + from + house	בנה	12:1
מֵחָרָן	מֵ·חָרָן	from + Charan		12:4
מִשָּׁם	מִ·שָּׁם	from + then, there		12:8

כַּlike, aspreposition3 of the 122
prefixes in Perek 12

Comparison or timing: like, as. The rarest of the six, at 0.46% of the Chumash, but worth knowing because of the phrase it forms.

Glued to the relative word כַּאֲשֶׁר it gives as or just as, and in pasuk 4 that is exactly what carries the sentence: Avram went just as Hashem had spoken to him.

Word	Its pieces	What the pieces mean	Shoresh / milah	Where
כַּאֲשֶׁר	כַּ·אֲשֶׁר	like / as + who, which, what, that, when, where, how		12:4
כַּאֲשֶׁר	כַּ·אֲשֶׁר	like / as + who, which, what, that, when, where, how		12:11
כְּבוֹא	כְּ·בוֹא	like / as + to bring to, give	בוא	12:14

In plain terms

The vowel under a prefix moves around, sometimes a sheva, sometimes a patach, sometimes a kamatz, and in front of certain letters the prefix lengthens or the following letter doubles. Those shifts are real, and they are governed by rules, but they never change the meaning. For now: recognize the letter, take the meaning, and let the vowel do whatever it likes.

Review

Answers in Appendix E.

Give the meaning of each of the six prefixes, in order of frequency.
Which prefix, placed in front of a verb, produces an infinitive?
What share of the whole Chumash is the prefix meaning and?
Why can the same prefix be translated in, with or by?

↑ Contents

Chapter 5

The endings, one at a time

Possessive endings, and one ending that means “toward”.

Hebrew glues things onto the back of a word as well as the front. The commonest are the possessive endings: little syllables meaning my, your, his, her, their. English needs a separate word for these. Hebrew does not.

So the English your land, two words, is one word in Hebrew: the noun for land, with the ending for your stuck on the end. The same ending can also attach to a preposition, which is how Hebrew says to you, with him, for her in a single word.

Color keyבprefixשroot / stemךsuffix

As with the prefixes: the meaning first. Here is each ending that appears in Bereishis 12, with its meaning and real examples. The endings appear 53 times in the perek.

יmy1st person singular8 times in Perek 12

Attached to a noun it means my; attached to a preposition it means me or to me.

Word	Its pieces	What the pieces mean	Shoresh / milah	Where
אֲחֹתִי	אֲחֹתִ·י	a sister + my		12:13
נַפְשִׁי	נַפְשִׁ·י	living creature + my	נפש	12:13
לִי	לִ·י	to / for + my		12:13
אֹתִי	אֹתִ·י	to + my		12:12
לִּי	לִּ·י	to / for + my		12:18

ךָyour2nd person singular, masculine14 times in Perek 12

The ending addressed to one man. It is everywhere in pasuk 1, because the whole pasuk is Hashem speaking directly to Avram: your land, your birthplace, your father.

Word	Its pieces	What the pieces mean	Shoresh / milah	Where
מֵאַרְצְךָ	מֵ·אַרְצְ·ךָ	from + the earth + your	ארצ	12:1
וּמִמּוֹלַדְתְּךָ	וּ·מִ·מּוֹלַדְתְּ·ךָ	and + from + birthplace, kindred + your	ילד	12:1
אָבִיךָ	אָבִי·ךָ	father, parent + your	אָב	12:1
שְׁמֶךָ	שְׁמֶ·ךָ	name, honor + your	שֵׁם	12:2
לְזַרְעֲךָ	לְ·זַרְעֲ·ךָ	to / for + seed, plant, offspring + your	זרע	12:7

ךְyour2nd person singular, feminine4 times in Perek 12

The same idea, addressed to one woman. It appears in pesukim 12 and 13, where Avram is speaking to Sarai.

Word	Its pieces	What the pieces mean	Shoresh / milah	Where
אֹתָךְ	אֹתָ·ךְ	to + your		12:12
וְאֹתָךְ	וְ·אֹתָ·ךְ	and + to + your		12:12
בַעֲבוּרֵךְ	בַ·עֲבוּרֵ·ךְ	in / with / by + crossed + your	עבר	12:13
בִּגְלָלֵךְ	בִּ·גְלָלֵ·ךְ	in / with / by + on account of + your		12:13

וֹhis, her, its3rd person singular, masculine15 times in Perek 12

The commonest ending in the perek. On a noun: his wife, his brother. On a preposition: with him, to him.

Word	Its pieces	What the pieces mean	Shoresh / milah	Where
אִשְׁתּוֹ	אִשְׁתּ·וֹ	woman + his/her/its	אשה	12:5
אָחִיו	אָחִי·ו	brother, sibling + his/her/its	אָח	12:5
אִתּוֹ	אִתּ·וֹ	with, by, at, among + his/her/its		12:4
אֵלָיו	אֵלָי·ו	near, toward, among + his/her/its		12:4
אָהֳלֹה	אָהֳלֹ·ה	tent + his/her/its	אהל	12:8

הּhis, her, its3rd person singular, feminine4 times in Perek 12

Written with a hei, and marked with a dot inside it. It refers back to Sarai throughout pesukim 15 to 19.

Word	Its pieces	What the pieces mean	Shoresh / milah	Where
אֹתָהּ	אֹתָ·הּ	to + his/her/its		12:15
בַּעֲבוּרָהּ	בַּ·עֲבוּרָ·הּ	in / with / by + crossed + his/her/its	עבר	12:16
אֹתָהּ	אֹתָ·הּ	to + his/her/its		12:19

םtheir3rd person plural, masculineonce in Perek 12

Rare in this perek, it appears exactly once, in the inventory of what Avram's household took out of Charan.

Word	Its pieces	What the pieces mean	Shoresh / milah	Where
רְכוּשָׁם	רְכוּשָׁ·ם	property + their		12:5

Two gaps, stated honestly

Two endings you should know exist but will not meet here: the one meaning our does not appear anywhere in Parshas Lech Lecha, and the one meaning your addressed to a group appears only later in the parsha, not in this perek. The book does not invent examples it does not have; you will meet both soon enough in the text.

An ending that is not possessive: “toward”

One more ending, and it is a different animal. A hei on the end of a place-name or a place-word does not mean her. It means toward, in the direction of. Hebrew has no preposition there at all, the direction is in the ending.

אַרְצָה

אַרְצָthe earthהtoward

“toward the land”, no preposition needed · Bereishis 12:5 · shoresh ארצ

The classic example is in pasuk 5: Avram and his household set out אַרְצָה, toward the land of Canaan. The ending appears seven times in the perek, and once you know it, a whole set of journey-words becomes transparent.

Word	Its pieces	What the pieces mean	Shoresh / milah	Where
אַרְצָה	אַרְצָ·ה	the earth + toward	ארצ	12:5
הָהָרָה	הָ·הָרָ·ה	the + mountain range + toward	הרר	12:8
הַנֶּגְבָּה	הַ·נֶּגְבָּ·ה	the + the south + toward		12:9
מִצְרַיְמָה	מִצְרַיְמָ·ה	Mitzrayim, Egypt + toward		12:10
מִצְרָיְמָה	מִצְרָיְמָ·ה	Mitzrayim, Egypt + toward		12:11

In plain terms

Notice how much this one ending does. Pasuk 10 does not say “he went down to Egypt” with a preposition for to; it says “he went down Egypt-ward” with the direction carried on the end of the name. The same thing happens in pasuk 9 with the south, and in pasuk 8 with the mountain.

Review

Answers in Appendix E.

What does a possessive ending do that English needs a separate word for?
Two different endings in this perek are both translated your. What separates them?
The ending on הַנֶּגְבָּה is a hei. Why does it not mean her?
Which possessive ending appears only once in the whole perek?

↑ Contents

Chapter 6

Putting it together

Prefix + root + suffix, worked slowly, on real words.

You now know the six prefixes and the endings. This chapter is the assembly instruction.

The procedure is always the same, and it runs from the outside in:

Look at the front. Is the first letter one of the six? If so, peel it off and note its meaning. Then look again, there may be a second one underneath.
Look at the back. Is there a possessive ending, or the directional hei? Peel it off and note its meaning.
What is left is the stem. Read it for its three root letters.
Reassemble in English, from the back forward: root, then ending, then prefixes.

Color keyבprefixשroot / stemךsuffix

Worked example one: two prefixes and an ending

The longest word in pasuk 1, and the best possible demonstration, because it has all three kinds of piece at once.

וּמִמּוֹלַדְתְּךָ

וּandמִfromמּוֹלַדְתְּbirthplace, kindredךָyour

four pieces, one word · Bereishis 12:1 · shoresh ילד

Front: a vav, and. Underneath it a mem, from. Back: the ending for your (one man). What is left is a noun standing on the shoresh ילד, the letters of to give birth. Reassembled from the back: birthplace → your birthplace → from your birthplace → and from your birthplace. Four English words in one Hebrew word of four pieces.

Worked example two: a prefix on a verb

בְּצֵאתוֹ

בְּin / with / byצֵאתto go out, bring outוֹhis/her/its

in his going out · Bereishis 12:4 · shoresh יצא

Front: a beis, in. Back: the ending for his. The stem in the middle is a verb form, the data labels it the “to …” form, on the shoresh יצא, glossed to go out, bring out. Literally: in his going out; in English, when he left. Hebrew packs a whole subordinate clause into one word, and it does it constantly.

Worked example three: the article plus a direction

הַנֶּגְבָּה

הַtheנֶּגְבָּthe southהtoward

the-south-ward · Bereishis 12:9

Front: a hei, the. Back: the directional hei, toward. In between, the word for the southern region. Three pieces, and the middle one is the only one you might not know.

Now you

Five words from the perek. Cover the right-hand columns, take each word apart on paper, then check yourself.

Word	Its pieces	What the pieces mean	Shoresh / milah	Where
מֵאַרְצְךָ	מֵ·אַרְצְ·ךָ	from + the earth + your	ארצ	12:1
וַאֲבָרֶכְךָ	וַ·אֲבָרֶכְ·ךָ	and + to bless + your	ברכ	12:2
לְזַרְעֲךָ	לְ·זַרְעֲ·ךָ	to / for + seed, plant, offspring + your	זרע	12:7
הָהָרָה	הָ·הָרָ·ה	the + mountain range + toward	הרר	12:8
לָלֶכֶת	לָ·לֶכֶת	to / for + to walk, carry	ילכ	12:5

In plain terms

Some words have no prefix and no ending at all, proper names, short particles, many verbs. When you peel and find nothing to peel, that is an answer, not a failure. Roughly 119 of the 268 words in this perek are bare stems.

Review

Answers in Appendix E.

State the four-step procedure for taking a word apart.
Why is it easier to work from the outside in than to hunt for the root first?
בְּצֵאתוֹ contains a preposition, a verb and a pronoun. Which piece is which?

What you now know

The six prefixes are peeled off the front, outermost first.
Possessive endings and the directional hei are peeled off the back.
Whatever remains is the stem, standing on a three-letter root.
English is reassembled from the back of the Hebrew word forward.

↑ Contents

Chapter 7

The letters that disappear

Why a three-letter shoresh sometimes shows up with only two letters visible.

Here is the first thing that will genuinely confuse you, so it is worth meeting on purpose rather than by accident.

Four Hebrew letters are unstable: yud, vav, nun and hei. When one of them sits in a shoresh, it sometimes vanishes from the written word altogether. The shoresh is still three letters. The word in front of you only shows two of them.

The very first command of the parsha is an example. לֶךְ is built on the shoresh ילכ. The yud is not there. It has not been mislaid, a yud at the front of a shoresh regularly drops when the verb is a command.

לֶךְ

לֶךְto walk, carry

two letters visible, three in the shoresh · Bereishis 12:1 · shoresh ילכ

Where each of the four goes missing

Every example below is a real word from Bereishis 12, and the shoresh in the third column is the one the data assigns to it. Read across: the word, then the letters you cannot see.

Yud at the front of the shoresh

Word	Shoresh / milah	What the data labels it	Meaning	Where
לֶךְ	ילכ	a command to you	to walk, carry	12:1
וַיֵּלֶךְ	ילכ	he, past	to walk, carry	12:4
לָלֶכֶת	ילכ	the “to …” form	to walk, carry	12:5
בְּצֵאתוֹ	יצא	the “to …” form	to go out, bring out	12:4
וַיֵּרֶד	ירד	he, past	to go down	12:10
וּמִמּוֹלַדְתְּךָ	ילד	noun · the “… of” form	birthplace, kindred	12:1

Notice the last row. The yud has not simply gone, it has turned into a vav. That is the other thing weak letters do: they change into one another.

Nun at the front of the shoresh

A nun at the front of a shoresh does not usually drop out of sight; it collapses into the next letter, which then carries a dagesh (the dot inside a letter) to show that something was absorbed.

Word	Shoresh / milah	What the data labels it	Meaning	Where
אֶתֵּן	נתנ	I, future	to give	12:7
וַיִּסַּע	נסע	he, past	to start a journey	12:9
וַיֵּט	נטה	he, past	to stretch or spread out	12:8

Hei at the end of the shoresh

A hei in third position is the least stable letter in Hebrew. It disappears whenever anything is attached behind it, and often when nothing is.

Word	Shoresh / milah	What the data labels it	Meaning	Where
אַרְאֶךָּ	ראה	I, future · causative	to see	12:1
וַיִּבֶן	בנה	he, past	to build	12:7
וּמִבֵּית	בנה	noun · the “… of” form	house	12:1
וַיְהִי	היה	he, past	to be	12:10
וְאֶעֶשְׂךָ	עשה	I, future	to make	12:2

Vav in the middle of the shoresh

A vav in the middle is usually swallowed by the vowel, which is why these verbs look so short.

Word	Shoresh / milah	What the data labels it	Meaning	Where
לָבוֹא	בוא	the “to …” form	to bring to, give	12:11
לָגוּר	גור	the “to …” form	to sojourn, to stay as a guest	12:10
וַיָּבֹאוּ	בוא	they, past	to bring to, give	12:5

In plain terms

You do not have to predict any of this. Nobody reading a Chumash sits there deriving forms. What you need is the opposite habit: when a word looks two letters short, do not conclude that you have never seen the shoresh before. Ask which of the four unstable letters is hiding, and the word usually turns out to be one you know.

One word in pasuk 8 does it twice over: וַיֵּט stands on the shoresh נטה, and both the nun and the hei have gone, leaving a single visible letter of the shoresh between the prefix and the vowel. That is as extreme as it gets, and it is still the ordinary verb for pitching a tent.

Review

Answers in Appendix E.

Name the four unstable letters.
What happens to a nun at the front of a shoresh, and what marks the place it went?
לֶךְ has how many letters of its shoresh visible?
Why is the practical advice “ask which letter is hiding” rather than “learn the rules”?

What you now know

Yud, vav, nun and hei are unstable inside a shoresh.
A yud at the front often drops, or turns into a vav.
A nun at the front collapses into the next letter, which takes a dagesh.
A hei at the end drops whenever anything is attached behind it.
A vav in the middle is usually absorbed into the vowel.

↑ Contents

Chapter 8

Binyanim and tenses: the verb system

The same three letters, poured into different molds.

A shoresh on its own is an idea, not a verb. To become a verb it has to be poured into a mold, a fixed pattern of vowels and occasional extra letters. Hebrew calls these molds binyanim, “buildings”. The mold decides not what the verb is about, but what kind of action it is: simple, intensified, or caused.

Four binyanim appear in Bereishis 12, and the perek happens to demonstrate the system with unusual clarity, because one shoresh, ראה, turns up in three different molds within seven pesukim.

Word	Shoresh / milah	What the data labels it	Meaning	Where
יִרְאוּ	ראה	they, future	to see	12:12
אַרְאֶךָּ	ראה	I, future · causative	to see	12:1
וַיֵּרָא	ראה	he, past · passive	to see	12:7
הַנִּרְאֶה	ראה	doing it now · passive	to see	12:7

Read those four rows slowly, because they are the whole chapter in miniature.

In the simple mold, Qal, the verb means to see, the plain action.
In the causative mold, Hifil, it means to cause to see, which in English is a different word entirely: to show. That is pasuk 1: “the land that I will show you.”
In Nifal, which is the passive and reflexive mold, it means to be seen, and when the subject is Hashem, that is what English calls appeared.

Same three letters throughout. The mold, not the shoresh, is what changed.

The four molds in this perek

Qal, the simple action

The default. Most verbs you meet are in it.

Word	Shoresh / milah	What the data labels it	Meaning	Where
וַיֹּאמֶר	אמר	he, past	to say	12:1
וַיֵּלֶךְ	ילכ	he, past	to walk, carry	12:4
וַיִּקַּח	לקח	he, past	to take	12:5
יָדַעְתִּי	ידע	I, past	to know	12:11
אֶתֵּן	נתנ	I, future	to give	12:7

Piel, the intensive

Marked by a dagesh in the middle letter of the shoresh. Often intensive, often simply the mold that a particular verb lives in.

Word	Shoresh / milah	What the data labels it	Meaning	Where
וַאֲבָרֶכְךָ	ברכ	I, future · intensive	to bless	12:2
דִּבֶּר	דבר	he, past · intensive	to speak	12:4
וַיְצַו	צוה	he, past · intensive	to order, command	12:20
וַיְנַגַּע	נגע	he, past · intensive	to touch, strike	12:17
וַיְשַׁלְּחוּ	שלח	they, past · intensive	to send away	12:20

Hifil, the causative

Usually marked by a hei in front. It turns an action into causing that action.

Word	Shoresh / milah	What the data labels it	Meaning	Where
אַרְאֶךָּ	ראה	I, future · causative	to see	12:1
הִקְרִיב	קרב	he, past · causative	to bring near	12:11
הִגַּדְתָּ	נגד	you, past · causative	to announce, expose	12:18
הֵיטִיב	יָטַב	he, past · causative	to go well	12:16

Nifal, passive and reflexive

Usually marked by a nun in front, though it hides in some forms.

Word	Shoresh / milah	What the data labels it	Meaning	Where
וַיֵּרָא	ראה	he, past · passive	to see	12:7
וְנִבְרְכוּ	ברכ	they, past · passive	to bless	12:3
הַנִּרְאֶה	ראה	doing it now · passive	to see	12:7

In plain terms

There is a fifth label in this perek. Pasuk 15 has וַתֻּקַּח, which the data marks she, past · passive: Sarai is not taking, she is being taken. It is a passive counterpart of the simple mold, rare enough that many grammars fold it into Nifal, and the narrative turns on it, the verse withholds any agent.

Tense, or something like it

Hebrew verbs do not carry tense the way English verbs do. They carry aspect: whether an action is viewed as finished or unfinished. The data labels each verb with one of a handful of these, and the labels are worth learning because they appear under every verb in Part Three.

perfect, a completed action. Usually translated as English past.
imperfect, an unfinished action. Usually translated as English future, sometimes as a wish or intention.
wayyiqtol, the narrative form: a vav on the front of an imperfect, which flips it into the past and moves the story forward one step. This is the engine of biblical narrative, and it is by far the commonest verb form in this perek.
imperative, a command.
infinitive construct, the to do form, which takes prefixes and endings.
infinitive absolute, a bare, emphatic form, often doubled up with another verb for emphasis or continuousness.
participle, the doing / one who does form, somewhere between a verb and an adjective.

Word	Shoresh / milah	What the data labels it	Meaning	Where
יָדַעְתִּי	ידע	I, past	to know	12:11
אֶתֵּן	נתנ	I, future	to give	12:7
וַיֹּאמֶר	אמר	he, past	to say	12:1
לֶךְ	ילכ	a command to you	to walk, carry	12:1
לָלֶכֶת	ילכ	the “to …” form	to walk, carry	12:5
הָלוֹךְ	הלכ	the emphatic form	to walk	12:9
מְבָרְכֶיךָ	ברכ	doing it now · intensive	to bless	12:3

In plain terms

Pasuk 9 shows the infinitive absolute doing its most characteristic job. Two of them in a row, הָלוֹךְ and וְנָסוֹעַ, are what produces the English “journeyed, travelling steadily” the doubling is how Hebrew says kept on and on.

Review

Answers in Appendix E.

What does a binyan decide about a verb, and what does it leave to the shoresh?
The shoresh ראה appears in three molds in this perek. Give the English meaning of each.
What is a wayyiqtol, and why does narrative Hebrew use so many of them?
What is the difference between the perfect and the imperfect?

What you now know

A binyan is a mold: it decides whether an action is simple, intensive, causative or passive.
Qal is simple, Piel intensive, Hifil causative, Nifal passive or reflexive.
Hebrew verbs carry aspect, finished or unfinished, rather than English tense.
The wayyiqtol is the narrative form and drives almost every sentence in this perek.
Every verb in Part Three carries a plain-English label saying who is acting and when, with its binyan and aspect printed underneath it.

↑ Contents

Part Three

Parshas Lech Lecha

All 126 pesukim, word by word. Everything Part Two taught you, applied to the text itself.

Chapter 9

How to use these pages

The shape of every pasuk in this part, and the method that makes it work.

Each pasuk gets the same things, in the same order.

The full pasuk, in Hebrew with the vowels. Read it aloud first, before you look at anything else, even if you understand none of it.
The breakdown. One card per word, reading right to left, in the order of the pasuk. Inside each card: the word with its pieces colored, then each piece with its meaning, then the shoresh or milah, then the label. The label is in plain English – he, past; a command to you – with the grammarians' name for it printed smaller underneath, because that is what you will meet in any other sefer.
The translation, from the Metsudah Chumash.
In plain terms, a short note on what the pasuk is doing: what it states, what it leaves out, and how it sits against what came before.
Rashi, where he resolves a difficulty in the plain sense, 102 comments across the parsha. On Perek 12 they are selected; from Perek 13 on, his opening comment on the pasuk is given wherever he has one. He is quoted in the Metsudah English, the same house as the translation.

Color keyבprefixשroot / stemךsuffix

A method that works

Work each pasuk in this order: read the Hebrew aloud; try the first two or three words from the breakdown without looking at the translation; then read the translation; then go back and do the rest of the words. Reading the English first is the one habit that will stop this from working.

Two things you will see in the cards

Where a word card says milah rather than shoresh, the word is not built on three letters and there is nothing to take apart, learn it as it stands. And a word with a small dash after it (אֶל־) is joined by a maqqef to the word that follows: the two are read as a single unit.

↑ Contents

Chapter 10

Bereishis Perek 12

The call, the land, and the descent to Egypt

Pasuk 1Bereishis 12:1 · 14 words

וַיֹּאמֶר ה׳ אֶל־אַבְרָם לֶךְ־לְךָ מֵאַרְצְךָ וּמִמּוֹלַדְתְּךָ וּמִבֵּית אָבִיךָ אֶל־הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר אַרְאֶךָּ

וַיֹּאמֶר

וַand
יֹּאמֶרto say

shoresh אמר

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

ה׳

ה׳Hashem

a name

אֶל־

אֶלnear, toward, among

preposition

אַבְרָם

אַבְרָםAvram

a name

לֶךְ־

לֶךְto walk, carry

shoresh ילכ

a command to youQal · imperative

לְךָ

לְto / for
ךָyour

מֵאַרְצְךָ

מֵfrom
אַרְצְthe earth
ךָyour

shoresh ארצ

noun · the “… of” formnoun · both · singular · construct state

וּמִמּוֹלַדְתְּךָ

וּand
מִfrom
מּוֹלַדְתְּbirthplace, kindred
ךָyour

shoresh ילד

noun · the “… of” formnoun · feminine · singular · construct state

וּמִבֵּית

וּand
מִfrom
בֵּיתhouse

shoresh בנה

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

אָבִיךָ

אָבִיfather, parent
ךָyour

milah אָב

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

אֶל־

אֶלnear, toward, among

preposition

הָאָרֶץ

הָthe
אָרֶץthe earth

shoresh ארצ

nounnoun · both · singular · absolute state

אֲשֶׁר

אֲשֶׁרwho, which, what, that, when, where, how

who, which, that

אַרְאֶךָּ

אַרְאֶto see
ךָּyour

shoresh ראה

I, future · causativeHifil · imperfect

Translation

Hashem said to Avram, Go from your land, from your birthplace, and from your father’s house, [and go] to the land that I will show you.

In plain terms

The parsha opens in the middle of a sentence God is speaking. There is no introduction, no account of who Avram is or why he was chosen, only an instruction, and it is an instruction to leave. Notice that it narrows as it goes: your land, then your birthplace, then your father's house. Each step is more personal than the last. The destination is withheld entirely: not a named country, just the land that I will show you.

Rashi on “Go”

[Meaning:] “For your own benefit, for your own good. It is there that I will make you into a great nation, [whereas] here you will not merit having children. Also, I will make your character known to the world.”

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 2Bereishis 12:2 · 8 words

וְאֶעֶשְׂךָ לְגוֹי גָּדוֹל וַאֲבָרֶכְךָ וַאֲגַדְּלָה שְׁמֶךָ וֶהְיֵה בְּרָכָה

וְאֶעֶשְׂךָ

וְand
אֶעֶשְׂto make
ךָyour

shoresh עשה

I, futureQal · imperfect

לְגוֹי

לְto / for
גוֹיforeign nation

shoresh גוי

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

גָּדוֹל

גָּדוֹלgreat, large

shoresh גדל

adjective

וַאֲבָרֶכְךָ

וַand
אֲבָרֶכְto bless
ךָyour

shoresh ברכ

I, future · intensivePiel · imperfect

וַאֲגַדְּלָה

וַand
אֲגַדְּלָהto be large

shoresh גדל

I, future · intensivePiel · imperfect

שְׁמֶךָ

שְׁמֶname, honor
ךָyour

milah שֵׁם

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

וֶהְיֵה

וֶand
הְיֵהto be

shoresh היה

a command to youQal · imperative

בְּרָכָה

בְּרָכָהbenediction

shoresh ברכ

nounnoun · feminine · singular · absolute state

Translation

I will make you into a great nation, I will bless you and make your name great; and you will be a blessing [and you will be blessed].

In plain terms

Three promises, offered as compensation for what pasuk 1 asked him to give up: descendants, blessing, and a name. The last clause turns the direction around, up to now Avram has been receiving; now he is to become a source.

Pasuk 3Bereishis 12:3 · 9 words

וַאֲבָרְכָה מְבָרְכֶיךָ וּמְקַלֶּלְךָ אָאֹר וְנִבְרְכוּ בְךָ כֹּל מִשְׁפְּחֹת הָאֲדָמָה

וַאֲבָרֲכָה

וַand
אֲבָרֲכָהto bless

shoresh ברכ

I, future · intensivePiel · imperfect

מְבָרְכֶיךָ

מְבָרְכֶיto bless
ךָyour

shoresh ברכ

doing it now · intensivePiel · participle

וּמְקַלֶּלְךָ

וּand
מְקַלֶּלְto curse, to treat lightly
ךָyour

doing it now · intensivePiel · participle

אָאֹר

אָאֹרto execrate

I, futureQal · imperfect

וְנִבְרְכוּ

וְand
נִבְרְכוּto bless

shoresh ברכ

they, past · passiveNifal · perfect

בְךָ

בְin / with / by
ךָyour

כֹּל

כֹּלall, every

shoresh כלל

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

מִשְׁפְּחֹת

מִשְׁפְּחֹתfamily, tribe

shoresh שפה

noun · plural · the “… of” formnoun · feminine · plural · construct state

הָאֲדָמָה

הָthe
אֲדָמָהsoil, earth

shoresh אדמ

nounnoun · feminine · singular · absolute state

Translation

I will bless those who bless you, and he who curses you, I will curse; and through you [and because of you], will be blessed all the families of the earth.

In plain terms

The promise widens past Avram and past his family. Whoever treats him well is treated well; whoever does not, is not. And the final clause reaches everybody: all the families of the earth are drawn into what has just been said.

Rashi on “And through you, will be blessed”

There are many Aggadaic interpretations, but this is the simple meaning: A man says to his son, “May you be like Avraham.” This is the meaning every [time the expression] וְנִבְרְכוּ בְךָ [appears] in Tanach. The following [expression] proves this: “Through you shall [the People of] Israel bless, saying: May Elohim make you as Ephraim and Menasheh.”

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 4Bereishis 12:4 · 17 words

וַיֵּלֶךְ אַבְרָם כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר אֵלָיו ה׳ וַיֵּלֶךְ אִתּוֹ לוֹט וְאַבְרָם בֶּן־חָמֵשׁ שָׁנִים וְשִׁבְעִים שָׁנָה בְּצֵאתוֹ מֵחָרָן

וַיֵּלֶךְ

וַand
יֵּלֶךְto walk, carry

shoresh ילכ

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

אַבְרָם

אַבְרָםAvram

a name

כַּאֲשֶׁר

כַּlike / as
אֲשֶׁרwho, which, what, that, when, where, how

who, which, that

דִּבֶּר

דִּבֶּרto speak

shoresh דבר

he, past · intensivePiel · perfect

אֵלָיו

אֵלָיnear, toward, among
וhis/her/its

preposition

ה׳

ה׳Hashem

a name

וַיֵּלֶךְ

וַand
יֵּלֶךְto walk, carry

shoresh ילכ

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

אִתּוֹ

אִתּwith, by, at, among
וֹhis/her/its

preposition

לוֹט

לוֹטLot

a name

וְאַבְרָם

וְand
אַבְרָםAvram

a name

בֶּן־

בֶּןson, builder

shoresh בנה

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

חָמֵשׁ

חָמֵשׁfive years

shoresh חמש

adjective

שָׁנִים

שָׁנִיםyear

shoresh שנה

noun · pluralnoun · feminine · plural · absolute state

וְשִׁבְעִים

וְand
שִׁבְעִיםseventy

milah שִׁבְעִים

adjective · plural

שָׁנָה

שָׁנָהyear

shoresh שנה

nounnoun · feminine · singular · absolute state

בְּצֵאתוֹ

בְּin / with / by
צֵאתto go out, bring out
וֹhis/her/its

shoresh יצא

the “to …” formQal · infinitive construct

מֵחָרָן

מֵfrom
חָרָןCharan

a name

Translation

Avram went as Hashem had told him, and Lot went with him. Avram was seventy-five years old when he left Charan.

In plain terms

The response takes one word. There is no argument, no question, no request for detail, the text simply says he went. The two facts appended are the ones a reader would want: who came with him, and how old he was. Seventy-five is not a young man starting out.

Pasuk 5Bereishis 12:5 · 26 words

וַיִּקַּח אַבְרָם אֶת־שָׂרַי אִשְׁתּוֹ וְאֶת־לוֹט בֶּן־אָחִיו וְאֶת־כׇּל־רְכוּשָׁם אֲשֶׁר רָכָשׁוּ וְאֶת־הַנֶּפֶשׁ אֲשֶׁר־עָשׂוּ בְחָרָן וַיֵּצְאוּ לָלֶכֶת אַרְצָה כְּנַעַן וַיָּבֹאוּ אַרְצָה כְּנָעַן

וַיִּקַּח

וַand
יִּקַּחto take

shoresh לקח

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

אַבְרָם

אַבְרָםAvram

a name

אֶת־

אֶתto

points at the object

שָׂרַי

שָׂרַיSarai

a name

אִשְׁתּוֹ

אִשְׁתּwoman
וֹhis/her/its

shoresh אשה

noun · the “… of” formnoun · feminine · singular · construct state

וְאֶת־

וְand
אֶתto

points at the object

לוֹט

לוֹטLot

a name

בֶּן־

בֶּןson, builder

shoresh בנה

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

אָחִיו

אָחִיbrother, sibling
וhis/her/its

milah אָח

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

וְאֶת־

וְand
אֶתto

points at the object

כָּל־

כָּלall, every

shoresh כלל

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

רְכוּשָׁם

רְכוּשָׁproperty
םtheir

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

אֲשֶׁר

אֲשֶׁרwho, which, what, that, when, where, how

who, which, that

רָכָשׁוּ

רָכָשׁוּto lay up

they, pastQal · perfect

וְאֶת־

וְand
אֶתto

points at the object

הַנֶּפֶשׁ

הַthe
נֶּפֶשׁliving creature

shoresh נפש

nounnoun · both · singular · absolute state

אֲשֶׁר־

אֲשֶׁרwho, which, what, that, when, where, how

who, which, that

עָשׂוּ

עָשׂוּto make

shoresh עשה

they, pastQal · perfect

בְחָרָן

בְin / with / by
חָרָןCharan

a name

וַיֵּצְאוּ

וַand
יֵּצְאוּto go out, bring out

shoresh יצא

they, pastQal · wayyiqtol

לָלֶכֶת

לָto / for
לֶכֶתto walk, carry

shoresh ילכ

the “to …” formQal · infinitive construct

אַרְצָה

אַרְצָthe earth
הtoward

shoresh ארצ

noun · the “… of” formnoun · both · singular · construct state

כְּנַעַן

כְּנַעַןCanaan

a name

וַיָּבֹאוּ

וַand
יָּבֹאוּto bring to, give

shoresh בוא

they, pastQal · wayyiqtol

אַרְצָה

אַרְצָthe earth
הtoward

shoresh ארצ

noun · the “… of” formnoun · both · singular · construct state

כְּנָעַן

כְּנָעַןCanaan

a name

Translation

Avram took his wife Sarai, Lot, his brother’s son, all their possessions they had acquired, and the souls [people] that they had made [converted] in Charan, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan. They came to the land of Canaan.

In plain terms

An inventory of the household that left. Note the last item on the list: not property but people, the souls they had acquired in Charan. The pasuk then says twice that they set out for Canaan and arrived in Canaan, which is the kind of repetition that always repays attention.

Rashi on “That they had made [converted] in Charan”

[Meaning those souls] that he brought under the protective wings of the Divine Presence. Avraham would convert the men and Sarah would convert the women, and the verse considers them as if they had “made” them. But, the plain meaning of the verse is [that this refers to] the slaves and maidservants whom they acquired for themselves, as in the verse, “He acquired all this wealth” [or,] “And Israel acquires wealth,” meaning acquiring and amassing.

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 6Bereishis 12:6 · 12 words

וַיַּעֲבֹר אַבְרָם בָּאָרֶץ עַד מְקוֹם שְׁכֶם עַד אֵלוֹן מוֹרֶה וְהַכְּנַעֲנִי אָז בָּאָרֶץ

וַיַּעֲבֹר

וַand
יַּעֲבֹרto cross over

shoresh עבר

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

אַבְרָם

אַבְרָםAvram

a name

בָּאָרֶץ

בָּin / with / by
אָרֶץthe earth

shoresh ארצ

nounnoun · both · singular · absolute state

עַד

עַדto, until, during

preposition

מְקוֹם

מְקוֹםplace

shoresh קומ

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

שְׁכֶם

שְׁכֶםShechem

a name

עַד

עַדto, until, during

preposition

אֵלוֹן

אֵלוֹןan oak or other strong tree

shoresh אול

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

מוֹרֶה

מוֹרֶהMoreh, a place

a name

וְהַכְּנַעֲנִי

וְand
הַthe
כְּנַעֲנִיa Kenaanite or inhabitant of Kenaan

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

אָז

אָזat that time then

adverb

בָּאָרֶץ

בָּin / with / by
אָרֶץthe earth

shoresh ארצ

nounnoun · both · singular · absolute state

Translation

Avram passed [traveled] through the land until the place of Shechem, until the Plain of Moreh. The Canaanites were then in the land.

In plain terms

Arrival is not possession. He passes through the land, as far as Shechem, and the closing clause quietly notes who is living there already. The land he has just been promised belongs, at this moment, to somebody else.

Rashi on “The Canaanites were then in the land”

He [the Canaanite] gradually conquered Eretz Yisrael from the descendants of Sheim. For it fell to the share of Sheim when Noach apportioned the land to his sons as it is said: “Malki Zedek King of Shaleim.” For this reason, “Hashem said to Avram, ‘to your descendants will I give this land,’” meaning, “In the future I will return it to your children who are descendants of Sheim.”

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 7Bereishis 12:7 · 16 words

וַיֵּרָא ה׳ אֶל־אַבְרָם וַיֹּאמֶר לְזַרְעֲךָ אֶתֵּן אֶת־הָאָרֶץ הַזֹּאת וַיִּבֶן שָׁם מִזְבֵּחַ לַה׳ הַנִּרְאֶה אֵלָיו

וַיֵּרָא

וַand
יֵּרָאto see

shoresh ראה

he, past · passiveNifal · wayyiqtol

ה׳

ה׳Hashem

a name

אֶל־

אֶלnear, toward, among

preposition

אַבְרָם

אַבְרָםAvram

a name

וַיֹּאמֶר

וַand
יֹּאמֶרto say

shoresh אמר

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

לְזַרְעֲךָ

לְto / for
זַרְעֲseed, plant, offspring
ךָyour

shoresh זרע

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

אֶתֵּן

אֶתֵּןto give

shoresh נתנ

I, futureQal · imperfect

אֶת־

אֶתto

points at the object

הָאָרֶץ

הָthe
אָרֶץthe earth

shoresh ארצ

nounnoun · both · singular · absolute state

הַזֹּאת

הַthe
זֹּאתthis one

this, that

וַיִּבֶן

וַand
יִּבֶןto build

shoresh בנה

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

שָׁם

שָׁםthen, there

adverb

מִזְבֵּחַ

מִזְבֵּחַaltar

shoresh זבח

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

לַה׳

לַto / for
ה׳Hashem

a name

הַנִּרְאֶה

הַthe
נִּרְאֶהto see

shoresh ראה

doing it now · passiveNifal · participle

אֵלָיו

אֵלָיnear, toward, among
וhis/her/its

preposition

Translation

Hashem appeared [became revealed] to Avram and said: To your descendants I will give this land. There he built an altar to [before] Hashem Who had appeared [been revealed] to him.

In plain terms

The first appearance, and with it the first specific promise of land, though not to Avram himself. It is promised to his descendants, which is a striking thing to say to a man who has none. His response is to build an altar.

Pasuk 8Bereishis 12:8 · 20 words

וַיַּעְתֵּק מִשָּׁם הָהָרָה מִקֶּדֶם לְבֵית־אֵל וַיֵּט אׇהֳלֹה בֵּית־אֵל מִיָּם וְהָעַי מִקֶּדֶם וַיִּבֶן־שָׁם מִזְבֵּחַ לַה׳ וַיִּקְרָא בְּשֵׁם ה׳

וַיַּעְתֵּק

וַand
יַּעְתֵּקto move on

he, past · causativeHifil · wayyiqtol

מִשָּׁם

מִfrom
שָּׁםthen, there

adverb

הָהָרָה

הָthe
הָרָmountain range
הtoward

shoresh הרר

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

מִקֶּדֶם

מִfrom
קֶּדֶםeast; before

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

לְבֵית־

לְto / for
בֵיתBeis-Eil, a place

a name

אֵל

אֵלBeis-Eil, a place

a name

וַיֵּט

וַand
יֵּטto stretch or spread out

shoresh נטה

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

אָהֳלֹה

אָהֳלֹtent
הhis/her/its

shoresh אהל

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

בֵּית־

בֵּיתBeis-Eil, a place

a name

אֵל

אֵלBeis-Eil, a place

a name

מִיָּם

מִfrom
יָּםlarge body of water

milah יָם

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

וְהָעַי

וְand
הָthe
עַיAi, a city

a name

מִקֶּדֶם

מִfrom
קֶּדֶםeast; before

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

וַיִּבֶן־

וַand
יִּבֶןto build

shoresh בנה

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

שָׁם

שָׁםthen, there

adverb

מִזְבֵּחַ

מִזְבֵּחַaltar

shoresh זבח

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

לַה׳

לַto / for
ה׳Hashem

a name

וַיִּקְרָא

וַand
יִּקְרָאto name

shoresh קרא

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

בְּשֵׁם

בְּin / with / by
שֵׁםname, honor

milah שֵׁם

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

ה׳

ה׳Hashem

a name

Translation

From there he moved [ascended] to the mountain that was east of Beis-Eil and set up his tent. Beis-Eil was to the west and Ai was to the east. There he built an altar to [before] Hashem, and he proclaimed the Name, [and he prayed in the Name,] Hashem.

In plain terms

A second stop and a second altar. The geography is given with care, the mountain, Beis-Eil to the west, Ai to the east, and this time the altar is accompanied by proclaiming the Name. He is not only receiving; he is publishing.

Rashi on “His tent”

It is written אהלה [her tent]. [The reason for this is because] he first pitched his wife’s tent and, afterwards, his own.

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 9Bereishis 12:9 · 5 words

וַיִּסַּע אַבְרָם הָלוֹךְ וְנָסוֹעַ הַנֶּגְבָּה {פ}

וַיִּסַּע

וַand
יִּסַּעto start a journey

shoresh נסע

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

אַבְרָם

אַבְרָםAvram

a name

הָלוֹךְ

הָלוֹךְto walk

shoresh הלכ

the emphatic formQal · infinitive absolute

וְנָסוֹעַ

וְand
נָסוֹעַto start a journey

shoresh נסע

the emphatic formQal · infinitive absolute

הַנֶּגְבָּה

הַthe
נֶּגְבָּthe south
הtoward

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

Translation

Avram journeyed, traveling steadily southward.

In plain terms

One short pasuk covering a long stretch of time. The Hebrew uses two bare verb forms side by side, and the effect is of continuous, unhurried movement southward.

Rashi on “Traveling steadily”

At intervals. He would stay here a month or so, then travel and pitch his tent somewhere else. But, all his travels were southward [aimed at] going to the south of Eretz Yisrael, which is in the direction of Yerushalayim, which is in the territory of Yehudah, who took [his portion] in southern Eretz Yisrael to Mount Moriah which is his [Yehudah’s] possession.

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 10Bereishis 12:10 · 12 words

וַיְהִי רָעָב בָּאָרֶץ וַיֵּרֶד אַבְרָם מִצְרַיְמָה לָגוּר שָׁם כִּי־כָבֵד הָרָעָב בָּאָרֶץ

וַיְהִי

וַand
יְהִיto be

shoresh היה

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

רָעָב

רָעָבhunger

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

בָּאָרֶץ

בָּin / with / by
אָרֶץthe earth

shoresh ארצ

nounnoun · both · singular · absolute state

וַיֵּרֶד

וַand
יֵּרֶדto go down

shoresh ירד

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

אַבְרָם

אַבְרָםAvram

a name

מִצְרַיְמָה

מִצְרַיְמָMitzrayim, Egypt
הtoward

a name

לָגוּר

לָto / for
גוּרto sojourn, to stay as a guest

shoresh גור

the “to …” formQal · infinitive construct

שָׁם

שָׁםthen, there

adverb

כִּי־

כִּיbecause, since

conjunction

כָבֵד

כָבֵדheavy

shoresh כבד

adjective

הָרָעָב

הָthe
רָעָבhunger

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

בָּאָרֶץ

בָּin / with / by
אָרֶץthe earth

shoresh ארצ

nounnoun · both · singular · absolute state

Translation

There was a famine in the land. Avram went down to Egypt to live there temporarily, for the famine was severe in the land.

In plain terms

The first test of the promise. He has been sent to this land, and the land cannot feed him. So he leaves it, temporarily, the pasuk is careful to say, and goes down to Egypt.

Rashi on “Famine in the land”

In that land only. [This was] in order to test him [Avram] whether he will question the words of God who had told him to go to the Land of Canaan and now is forcing him to leave it.

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 11Bereishis 12:11 · 17 words

וַיְהִי כַּאֲשֶׁר הִקְרִיב לָבוֹא מִצְרָיְמָה וַיֹּאמֶר אֶל־שָׂרַי אִשְׁתּוֹ הִנֵּה־נָא יָדַעְתִּי כִּי אִשָּׁה יְפַת־מַרְאֶה אָתְּ

וַיְהִי

וַand
יְהִיto be

shoresh היה

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

כַּאֲשֶׁר

כַּlike / as
אֲשֶׁרwho, which, what, that, when, where, how

who, which, that

הִקְרִיב

הִקְרִיבto bring near

shoresh קרב

he, past · causativeHifil · perfect

לָבוֹא

לָto / for
בוֹאto bring to, give

shoresh בוא

the “to …” formQal · infinitive construct

מִצְרָיְמָה

מִצְרָיְמָMitzrayim, Egypt
הtoward

a name

וַיֹּאמֶר

וַand
יֹּאמֶרto say

shoresh אמר

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

אֶל־

אֶלnear, toward, among

preposition

שָׂרַי

שָׂרַיSarai

a name

אִשְׁתּוֹ

אִשְׁתּwoman
וֹhis/her/its

shoresh אשה

noun · the “… of” formnoun · feminine · singular · construct state

הִנֵּה־

הִנֵּהlook!

demonstrative

נָא

נָאnow please

exhortation

יָדַעְתִּי

יָדַעְתִּיto know

shoresh ידע

I, pastQal · perfect

כִּי

כִּיbecause, since

conjunction

אִשָּׁה

אִשָּׁהwoman

shoresh אשה

nounnoun · feminine · singular · absolute state

יְפַת־

יְפַתbeautiful

adjective

מַרְאֶה

מַרְאֶהa view

shoresh ראה

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

אָתְּ

אָתְּyou

personal pronoun

Translation

As he came near and was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, Behold, I now realize that you are a woman of beautiful appearance.

In plain terms

The tone changes completely. For the first time Avram speaks, and what he says is fearful and practical. The verse is about a danger he can see coming as the border approaches.

Rashi on “Behold, I now realize”

The Aggadaic explanation is: Until now he had not been aware [of her beauty] due to the modesty of both of them. But, now, he became aware of her due to an event. Another explanation: It is usual that due to the hardship of travel a person becomes unattractive, but she had remained with her beauty. But, the simple explanation of this verse is, Behold I now realize [that] the time has come to be concerned over your beauty. I have known for a long time that you are beautiful. But, now we will be coming amongst black and repulsive people, brothers of the Kushim, who are not accustomed to [seeing] a beautiful woman. An example similar to this: “See now my lords, please turn.”

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 12Bereishis 12:12 · 12 words

וְהָיָה כִּי־יִרְאוּ אֹתָךְ הַמִּצְרִים וְאָמְרוּ אִשְׁתּוֹ זֹאת וְהָרְגוּ אֹתִי וְאֹתָךְ יְחַיּוּ

וְהָיָה

וְand
הָיָהto be

shoresh היה

he, pastQal · perfect

כִּי־

כִּיbecause, since

conjunction

יִרְאוּ

יִרְאוּto see

shoresh ראה

they, futureQal · imperfect

אֹתָךְ

אֹתָto
ךְyour

points at the object

הַמִּצְרִים

הַthe
מִּצְרִיםa Mitsrite, or inhabitant of Mitsrajim

noun · pluralnoun · masculine · plural · absolute state

וְאָמְרוּ

וְand
אָמְרוּto say

shoresh אמר

they, pastQal · perfect

אִשְׁתּוֹ

אִשְׁתּwoman
וֹhis/her/its

shoresh אשה

noun · the “… of” formnoun · feminine · singular · construct state

זֹאת

זֹאתthis one

this, that

וְהָרְגוּ

וְand
הָרְגוּto kill

they, pastQal · perfect

אֹתִי

אֹתִto
יmy

points at the object

וְאֹתָךְ

וְand
אֹתָto
ךְyour

points at the object

יְחַיּוּ

יְחַיּוּto live

shoresh חיה

they, future · intensivePiel · imperfect

Translation

It will happen when the Egyptians see you that they will say: This is his wife. They will kill me and let you live.

In plain terms

He spells out the reasoning. The danger is not to her but to him: a husband is an obstacle in a way that a brother is not.

Pasuk 13Bereishis 12:13 · 11 words

אִמְרִי־נָא אֲחֹתִי אָתְּ לְמַעַן יִיטַב־לִי בַעֲבוּרֵךְ וְחָיְתָה נַפְשִׁי בִּגְלָלֵךְ

אִמְרִי־

אִמְרִיto say

shoresh אמר

a command to you (f.)Qal · imperative

נָא

נָאnow please

exhortation

אֲחֹתִי

אֲחֹתִa sister
יmy

noun · the “… of” formnoun · feminine · singular · construct state

אָתְּ

אָתְּyou

personal pronoun

לְמַעַן

לְמַעַןon account of

preposition

יִיטַב־

יִיטַבto go well

he, futureQal · imperfect

לִי

לִto / for
יmy

בַעֲבוּרֵךְ

בַin / with / by
עֲבוּרֵcrossed
ךְyour

shoresh עבר

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

וְחָיְתָה

וְand
חָיְתָהto live

shoresh חיה

she, pastQal · perfect

נַפְשִׁי

נַפְשִׁliving creature
יmy

shoresh נפש

noun · the “… of” formnoun · both · singular · construct state

בִּגְלָלֵךְ

בִּin / with / by
גְלָלֵon account of
ךְyour

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

Translation

Please [Now] say [therefore] that you are my sister, so that it will go well with me for your sake, and my life will be spared because of you [through your words].

In plain terms

The request itself, and he gives two reasons, that it will go well for him, and that he will survive. It is worth sitting with how uncomfortable this pasuk is; the text does not soften it.

Pasuk 14Bereishis 12:14 · 12 words

וַיְהִי כְּבוֹא אַבְרָם מִצְרָיְמָה וַיִּרְאוּ הַמִּצְרִים אֶת־הָאִשָּׁה כִּי־יָפָה הִוא מְאֹד

וַיְהִי

וַand
יְהִיto be

shoresh היה

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

כְּבוֹא

כְּlike / as
בוֹאto bring to, give

shoresh בוא

the “to …” formQal · infinitive construct

אַבְרָם

אַבְרָםAvram

a name

מִצְרָיְמָה

מִצְרָיְמָMitzrayim, Egypt
הtoward

a name

וַיִּרְאוּ

וַand
יִּרְאוּto see

shoresh ראה

they, pastQal · wayyiqtol

הַמִּצְרִים

הַthe
מִּצְרִיםa Mitsrite, or inhabitant of Mitsrajim

noun · pluralnoun · masculine · plural · absolute state

אֶת־

אֶתto

points at the object

הָאִשָּׁה

הָthe
אִשָּׁהwoman

shoresh אשה

nounnoun · feminine · singular · absolute state

כִּי־

כִּיbecause, since

conjunction

יָפָה

יָפָהbeautiful

adjective

הִוא

הִואhe, it, self, this, that

personal pronoun

מְאֹד

מְאֹדvery, greatly

adverb

Translation

And it was when Avram was entering Egypt, that the Egyptians beheld the woman, because she was very beautiful.

In plain terms

What he feared happens at once. The Egyptians see her the moment he enters.

Rashi on “And it was when Avram was entering Egypt”

It should have said, “When they came to Egypt.” But, this teaches that he hid her in a box and when they demanded the customs taxes they opened it and saw her.

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 15Bereishis 12:15 · 12 words

וַיִּרְאוּ אֹתָהּ שָׂרֵי פַרְעֹה וַיְהַלְלוּ אֹתָהּ אֶל־פַּרְעֹה וַתֻּקַּח הָאִשָּׁה בֵּית פַּרְעֹה

וַיִּרְאוּ

וַand
יִּרְאוּto see

shoresh ראה

they, pastQal · wayyiqtol

אֹתָהּ

אֹתָto
הּhis/her/its

points at the object

שָׂרֵי

שָׂרֵיhead person

shoresh שרר

noun · plural · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · plural · construct state

פַרְעֹה

פַרְעֹהPharaoh

a name

וַיְהַלְלוּ

וַand
יְהַלְלוּto be clear

they, past · intensivePiel · wayyiqtol

אֹתָהּ

אֹתָto
הּhis/her/its

points at the object

אֶל־

אֶלnear, toward, among

preposition

פַּרְעֹה

פַּרְעֹהPharaoh

a name

וַתֻּקַּח

וַand
תֻּקַּחto take

shoresh לקח

she, past · passiveQal passive · wayyiqtol

הָאִשָּׁה

הָthe
אִשָּׁהwoman

shoresh אשה

nounnoun · feminine · singular · absolute state

בֵּית

בֵּיתhouse

shoresh בנה

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

פַּרְעֹה

פַּרְעֹהPharaoh

a name

Translation

Pharaoh’s officials saw her and praised her to Pharaoh. The woman was taken to Pharaoh’s house.

In plain terms

It escalates past anything he had planned for. Pharaoh's officials see her, report her, and she is taken, the Hebrew verb is passive, and no one is named as doing the taking.

Pasuk 16Bereishis 12:16 · 12 words

וּלְאַבְרָם הֵיטִיב בַּעֲבוּרָהּ וַיְהִי־לוֹ צֹאן־וּבָקָר וַחֲמֹרִים וַעֲבָדִים וּשְׁפָחֹת וַאֲתֹנֹת וּגְמַלִּים

וּלְאַבְרָם

וּand
לְto / for
אַבְרָםAvram

a name

הֵיטִיב

הֵיטִיבto go well

he, past · causativeHifil · perfect

בַּעֲבוּרָהּ

בַּin / with / by
עֲבוּרָcrossed
הּhis/her/its

shoresh עבר

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

וַיְהִי־

וַand
יְהִיto be

shoresh היה

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

לוֹ

לto / for
וֹhis/her/its

צֹאן־

צֹאןflock of sheep or goats

shoresh צאנ

nounnoun · both · singular · absolute state

וּבָקָר

וּand
בָקָרcattle herd

shoresh בקר

nounnoun · both · singular · absolute state

וַחֲמֹרִים

וַand
חֲמֹרִיםa donkey

shoresh חמר

noun · pluralnoun · both · plural · absolute state

וַעֲבָדִים

וַand
עֲבָדִיםservant

shoresh עבד

noun · pluralnoun · masculine · plural · absolute state

וּשְׁפָחֹת

וּand
שְׁפָחֹתa maidservant

noun · pluralnoun · feminine · plural · absolute state

וַאֲתֹנֹת

וַand
אֲתֹנֹתa female donkey

noun · pluralnoun · feminine · plural · absolute state

וּגְמַלִּים

וּand
גְמַלִּיםa camel

noun · pluralnoun · masculine · plural · absolute state

Translation

He treated Avram well for her sake. He thus acquired sheep, oxen, donkeys, male and female slaves, female donkeys and camels.

In plain terms

The bargain Avram half-anticipated in pasuk 13 comes true in the worst possible way. He is treated well, and the list of what he receives is long and specific, and the reason given is for her sake.

Pasuk 17Bereishis 12:17 · 13 words

וַיְנַגַּע ה׳ אֶת־פַּרְעֹה נְגָעִים גְּדֹלִים וְאֶת־בֵּיתוֹ עַל־דְּבַר שָׂרַי אֵשֶׁת אַבְרָם

וַיְנַגַּע

וַand
יְנַגַּעto touch, strike

shoresh נגע

he, past · intensivePiel · wayyiqtol

ה׳

ה׳Hashem

a name

אֶת־

אֶתto

points at the object

פַּרְעֹה

פַּרְעֹהPharaoh

a name

נְגָעִים

נְגָעִיםto inflict, to strike

shoresh נגע

noun · pluralnoun · masculine · plural · absolute state

גְּדֹלִים

גְּדֹלִיםgreat, large

shoresh גדל

adjective · plural

וְאֶת־

וְand
אֶתto

points at the object

בֵּיתוֹ

בֵּיתhouse
וֹhis/her/its

shoresh בנה

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

עַל־

עַלabove, over, upon

preposition

דְּבַר

דְּבַרword, matter, thing

shoresh דבר

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

שָׂרַי

שָׂרַיSarai

a name

אֵשֶׁת

אֵשֶׁתwoman

shoresh אשה

noun · the “… of” formnoun · feminine · singular · construct state

אַבְרָם

אַבְרָםAvram

a name

Translation

Hashem afflicted Pharaoh with severe plagues [brought severe plagues upon Pharaoh], and also his household, because of Sarai, Avram’s wife.

In plain terms

The resolution comes from outside the story Avram set in motion. Neither Avram nor Sarai acts; Pharaoh and his household are struck, and the pasuk names the reason plainly.

Rashi on “Because of Sarai”

[Meaning:] according to her words, she tells the angel, “Strike [him]!” and he strikes [him].

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 18Bereishis 12:18 · 15 words

וַיִּקְרָא פַרְעֹה לְאַבְרָם וַיֹּאמֶר מַה־זֹּאת עָשִׂיתָ לִּי לָמָּה לֹא־הִגַּדְתָּ לִּי כִּי אִשְׁתְּךָ הִוא

וַיִּקְרָא

וַand
יִּקְרָאto name

shoresh קרא

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

פַרְעֹה

פַרְעֹהPharaoh

a name

לְאַבְרָם

לְto / for
אַבְרָםAvram

a name

וַיֹּאמֶר

וַand
יֹּאמֶרto say

shoresh אמר

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

מַה־

מַהwhat, how, why, whatever

interrogative

זֹּאת

זֹּאתthis one

this, that

עָשִׂיתָ

עָשִׂיתָto make

shoresh עשה

you, pastQal · perfect

לִּי

לִּto / for
יmy

לָמָּה

לָto / for
מָּהwhat, how, why, whatever

interrogative

לֹא־

לֹאnot, no

not

הִגַּדְתָּ

הִגַּדְתָּto announce, expose

shoresh נגד

you, past · causativeHifil · perfect

לִּי

לִּto / for
יmy

כִּי

כִּיbecause, since

conjunction

אִשְׁתְּךָ

אִשְׁתְּwoman
ךָyour

shoresh אשה

noun · the “… of” formnoun · feminine · singular · construct state

הִוא

הִואhe, it, self, this, that

personal pronoun

Translation

Pharaoh summoned Avram and said: What is this that you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she is your wife?

In plain terms

Pharaoh's rebuke, in three questions, and the moral advantage in this exchange is entirely his. The narrative records the reproach without answering it.

Pasuk 19Bereishis 12:19 · 13 words

לָמָה אָמַרְתָּ אֲחֹתִי הִוא וָאֶקַּח אֹתָהּ לִי לְאִשָּׁה וְעַתָּה הִנֵּה אִשְׁתְּךָ קַח וָלֵךְ

לָמָה

לָto / for
מָהwhat, how, why, whatever

interrogative

אָמַרְתָּ

אָמַרְתָּto say

shoresh אמר

you, pastQal · perfect

אֲחֹתִי

אֲחֹתִa sister
יmy

noun · the “… of” formnoun · feminine · singular · construct state

הִוא

הִואhe, it, self, this, that

personal pronoun

וָאֶקַּח

וָand
אֶקַּחto take

shoresh לקח

I, pastQal · wayyiqtol

אֹתָהּ

אֹתָto
הּhis/her/its

points at the object

לִי

לִto / for
יmy

לְאִשָּׁה

לְto / for
אִשָּׁהwoman

shoresh אשה

nounnoun · feminine · singular · absolute state

וְעַתָּה

וְand
עַתָּהat this time

adverb

הִנֵּה

הִנֵּהlook!

demonstrative

אִשְׁתְּךָ

אִשְׁתְּwoman
ךָyour

shoresh אשה

noun · the “… of” formnoun · feminine · singular · construct state

קַח

קַחto take

shoresh לקח

a command to youQal · imperative

וָלֵךְ

וָand
לֵךְto walk, carry

shoresh ילכ

a command to youQal · imperative

Translation

Why did you say, She is my sister, so that I should take her to myself for a wife? Now here is your wife, take [her] and go.

In plain terms

The second half of the rebuke, ending in a dismissal. Take her and go, two imperatives, no courtesy, no offer to stay.

Pasuk 20Bereishis 12:20 · 12 words

וַיְצַו עָלָיו פַּרְעֹה אֲנָשִׁים וַיְשַׁלְּחוּ אֹתוֹ וְאֶת־אִשְׁתּוֹ וְאֶת־כׇּל־אֲשֶׁר־לוֹ

וַיְצַו

וַand
יְצַוto order, command

shoresh צוה

he, past · intensivePiel · wayyiqtol

עָלָיו

עָלָיabove, over, upon
וhis/her/its

preposition

פַּרְעֹה

פַּרְעֹהPharaoh

a name

אֲנָשִׁים

אֲנָשִׁיםman, male person

shoresh איש

noun · pluralnoun · masculine · plural · absolute state

וַיְשַׁלְּחוּ

וַand
יְשַׁלְּחוּto send away

shoresh שלח

they, past · intensivePiel · wayyiqtol

אֹתוֹ

אֹתto
וֹhis/her/its

points at the object

וְאֶת־

וְand
אֶתto

points at the object

אִשְׁתּוֹ

אִשְׁתּwoman
וֹhis/her/its

shoresh אשה

noun · the “… of” formnoun · feminine · singular · construct state

וְאֶת־

וְand
אֶתto

points at the object

כָּל־

כָּלall, every

shoresh כלל

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

אֲשֶׁר־

אֲשֶׁרwho, which, what, that, when, where, how

who, which, that

לוֹ

לto / for
וֹhis/her/its

Translation

Pharaoh assigned men to him and they escorted him and his wife and all that was his.

In plain terms

The episode closes with an escort to the border. Avram leaves Egypt with his wife and everything that was his; the chapter ends where it began, with a man on a road.

↑ Contents

Chapter 11

Bereishis Perek 13

Avram and Lot separate

Pasuk 1Bereishis 13:1 · 11 words

וַיַּעַל אַבְרָם מִמִּצְרַיִם הוּא וְאִשְׁתּוֹ וְכׇל־אֲשֶׁר־לוֹ וְלוֹט עִמּוֹ הַנֶּגְבָּה

וַיַּעַל

וַand
יַּעַלto go up

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

אַבְרָם

אַבְרָםAvram

a name

מִמִּצְרַיִם

מִfrom
מִּצְרַיִםMitzrayim, Egypt

a name

הוּא

הוּאhe, it, self, this, that

personal pronoun

וְאִשְׁתּוֹ

וְand
אִשְׁתּwoman
וֹhis/her/its

shoresh אשה

noun · the “… of” formnoun · feminine · singular · construct state

וְכָל־

וְand
כָלall, every

shoresh כלל

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

אֲשֶׁר־

אֲשֶׁרwho, which, what, that, when, where, how

who, which, that

לוֹ

לto / for
וֹhis/her/its

וְלוֹט

וְand
לוֹטLot

a name

עִמּוֹ

עִמּwith, along with
וֹhis/her/its

shoresh עממ

preposition

הַנֶּגְבָּה

הַthe
נֶּגְבָּthe south
הtoward

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

Translation

Avram went up from Egypt; he, his wife, and all that he had, together with Lot into the south.

In plain terms

Avram comes back up the same road he went down, and the Torah lists the household again, him, his wife, everything he owns, and Lot. The list is almost word for word the one in 12:5, except that now it is a return rather than a departure.

Rashi on “Avram went up … into the south”

[Meaning:] to arrive at the south of Eretz Yisrael, as it was stated above, “traveling steadily southward,” [meaning:] to Mount Moriah. Nevertheless, when one travels from Egypt to the Land of Canaan, he travels from south to north, for Egypt is south of Eretz Yisrael as can be shown by the “journeys” and at the boundaries of Eretz Yisrael.

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 2Bereishis 13:2 · 6 words

וְאַבְרָם כָּבֵד מְאֹד בַּמִּקְנֶה בַּכֶּסֶף וּבַזָּהָב

וְאַבְרָם

וְand
אַבְרָםAvram

a name

כָּבֵד

כָּבֵדto be heavy

shoresh כבד

adjective

מְאֹד

מְאֹדvery, greatly

adverb

בַּמִּקְנֶה

בַּin / with / by
מִּקְנֶהproperty, livestock

shoresh קנה

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

בַּכֶּסֶף

בַּin / with / by
כֶּסֶףsilver, money

shoresh כספ

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

וּבַזָּהָב

וּand
בַin / with / by
זָּהָבgold, yellow

shoresh זהב

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

Translation

Avram was very wealthy in livestock, silver and gold.

In plain terms

One short pasuk of accounting. The wealth he left Egypt with is stated flatly, without praise or unease, and it is the fact that drives everything in this perek: what follows happens because there is now too much to share.

Rashi on “Very wealthy”

[I.e.,] he was laden with baggage.

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 3Bereishis 13:3 · 19 words

וַיֵּלֶךְ לְמַסָּעָיו מִנֶּגֶב וְעַד־בֵּית־אֵל עַד־הַמָּקוֹם אֲשֶׁר־הָיָה שָׁם אׇהֳלֹה בַּתְּחִלָּה בֵּין בֵּית־אֵל וּבֵין הָעָי

וַיֵּלֶךְ

וַand
יֵּלֶךְto walk, carry

shoresh ילכ

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

לְמַסָּעָיו

לְto / for
מַסָּעָיa departure
וhis/her/its

shoresh נסע

noun · plural · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · plural · construct state

מִנֶּגֶב

מִfrom
נֶּגֶבthe south

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

וְעַד־

וְand
עַדto, until, during

preposition

בֵּית־

בֵּיתBeis-Eil, a place

a name

אֵל

אֵלBeis-Eil, a place

a name

עַד־

עַדto, until, during

preposition

הַמָּקוֹם

הַthe
מָּקוֹםplace

shoresh קומ

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

אֲשֶׁר־

אֲשֶׁרwho, which, what, that, when, where, how

who, which, that

הָיָה

הָיָהto be

shoresh היה

he, pastQal · perfect

שָׁם

שָׁםthen, there

adverb

אהלה

אהלtent
הhis/her/its

shoresh אהל

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

אָהֳלוֹ

אָהֳלtent
וֹhis/her/its

shoresh אהל

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

בַּתְּחִלָּה

בַּin / with / by
תְּחִלָּהa commencement

shoresh חלל

nounnoun · feminine · singular · absolute state

בֵּין

בֵּיןbetween, either...or

preposition

בֵּית־

בֵּיתBeis-Eil, a place

a name

אֵל

אֵלBeis-Eil, a place

a name

וּבֵין

וּand
בֵיןbetween, either...or

preposition

הָעָי

הָthe
עָיAi, a city

a name

Translation

He continued on his travels from the south to Beis-Eil, until the place where he originally had [set up] his tent, between Beis-Eil and Ai.

In plain terms

He does not settle where he landed. He retraces his route in stages, back to the exact spot between Beis-Eil and Ai where he had pitched his tent before Egypt, returning to where he was interrupted rather than starting somewhere new.

Rashi on “He continued on his travels”

[This indicates] that when he returned from Egypt to the Land of Canaan he went and lodged in those inns in which he had lodged on his way to Egypt. This teaches that good manners [require] that a person not change his place of lodging. Another explanation: On his return trip he paid the debts he incurred.

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 4Bereishis 13:4 · 12 words

אֶל־מְקוֹם הַמִּזְבֵּחַ אֲשֶׁר־עָשָׂה שָׁם בָּרִאשֹׁנָה וַיִּקְרָא שָׁם אַבְרָם בְּשֵׁם ה׳

אֶל־

אֶלnear, toward, among

preposition

מְקוֹם

מְקוֹםplace

shoresh קומ

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

הַמִּזְבֵּחַ

הַthe
מִּזְבֵּחַaltar

shoresh זבח

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

אֲשֶׁר־

אֲשֶׁרwho, which, what, that, when, where, how

who, which, that

עָשָׂה

עָשָׂהto make

shoresh עשה

he, pastQal · perfect

שָׁם

שָׁםthen, there

adverb

בָּרִאשֹׁנָה

בָּin / with / by
רִאשֹׁנָהfirst, foremost

shoresh ראש

adjective

וַיִּקְרָא

וַand
יִּקְרָאto name

shoresh קרא

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

שָׁם

שָׁםthen, there

adverb

אַבְרָם

אַבְרָםAvram

a name

בְּשֵׁם

בְּin / with / by
שֵׁםname, honor

milah שֵׁם

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

ה׳

ה׳Hashem

a name

Translation

To the site of the altar which he made there at first; and there Avram called [prayed] in the Name of Hashem.

In plain terms

And specifically to the altar. The point of retracing the journey was to come back to the place where he had called in the Name of Hashem, in 12:8. The famine broke off something, and he is resuming it.

Rashi on “Which he made there at first, and he called”

And where “Avram called in the Name of Hashem.” It can also be taken to mean, that “He now called there in the Name of Hashem.”

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 5Bereishis 13:5 · 9 words

וְגַם־לְלוֹט הַהֹלֵךְ אֶת־אַבְרָם הָיָה צֹאן־וּבָקָר וְאֹהָלִים

וְגַם־

וְand
גַםeven, also, too

accusative particle

לְלוֹט

לְto / for
לוֹטLot

a name

הַהֹלֵךְ

הַthe
הֹלֵךְto walk

shoresh הלכ

doing it nowQal · participle

אֶת־

אֶתwith, by, at, among

preposition

אַבְרָם

אַבְרָםAvram

a name

הָיָה

הָיָהto be

shoresh היה

he, pastQal · perfect

צֹאן־

צֹאןflock of sheep or goats

shoresh צאנ

nounnoun · both · singular · absolute state

וּבָקָר

וּand
בָקָרcattle herd

shoresh בקר

nounnoun · both · singular · absolute state

וְאֹהָלִים

וְand
אֹהָלִיםtent

shoresh אהל

noun · pluralnoun · masculine · plural · absolute state

Translation

Lot who accompanied Avram also had sheep, cattle and tents.

In plain terms

Lot's wealth gets its own pasuk. Until now Lot has appeared only as part of Avram's household; here he has flocks and tents of his own. He has become a separate establishment, which is the first sign of what is coming.

Rashi on “Who accompanied Avram”

What brought this about? The fact that he traveled with Avram.

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 6Bereishis 13:6 · 14 words

וְלֹא־נָשָׂא אֹתָם הָאָרֶץ לָשֶׁבֶת יַחְדָּו כִּי־הָיָה רְכוּשָׁם רָב וְלֹא יָכְלוּ לָשֶׁבֶת יַחְדָּו

וְלֹא־

וְand
לֹאnot, no

not

נָשָׂא

נָשָׂאto lift, carry

shoresh נשא

he, pastQal · perfect

אֹתָם

אֹתָto
םtheir

points at the object

הָאָרֶץ

הָthe
אָרֶץthe earth

shoresh ארצ

nounnoun · both · singular · absolute state

לָשֶׁבֶת

לָto / for
שֶׁבֶתto sit, dwell, remain

shoresh ישב

the “to …” formQal · infinitive construct

יַחְדָּו

יַחְדָּוtogether

adverb

כִּי־

כִּיbecause, since

conjunction

הָיָה

הָיָהto be

shoresh היה

he, pastQal · perfect

רְכוּשָׁם

רְכוּשָׁproperty
םtheir

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

רָב

רָבabundant, great

shoresh רבב

adjective

וְלֹא

וְand
לֹאnot, no

not

יָכְלוּ

יָכְלוּto be able

shoresh יכל

they, pastQal · perfect

לָשֶׁבֶת

לָto / for
שֶׁבֶתto sit, dwell, remain

shoresh ישב

the “to …” formQal · infinitive construct

יַחְדָּו

יַחְדָּוtogether

adverb

Translation

The land was unable to support them that they might dwell together, for their wealth was so great that they were unable to dwell together.

In plain terms

The reason given is not bad character but arithmetic: the land could not carry both of them. The pasuk says it twice, they could not dwell together, their wealth was too great, they could not dwell together, closing off any other explanation.

Rashi on “[It] was unable to support them”

[Meaning] It could not provide [enough] pasture for their cattle. The phrase is abbreviated and an additional [word] is needed: “The pasture of the land could not support them.” The text, therefore, reads וְלֹא נָשָׂא in the masculine form.

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 7Bereishis 13:7 · 15 words

וַיְהִי־רִיב בֵּין רֹעֵי מִקְנֵה־אַבְרָם וּבֵין רֹעֵי מִקְנֵה־לוֹט וְהַכְּנַעֲנִי וְהַפְּרִזִּי אָז יֹשֵׁב בָּאָרֶץ

וַיְהִי־

וַand
יְהִיto be

shoresh היה

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

רִיב

רִיבa contest

nounnoun · both · singular · absolute state

בֵּין

בֵּיןbetween, either...or

preposition

רֹעֵי

רֹעֵיpastoral

shoresh רעה

doing it nowQal · participle

מִקְנֵה־

מִקְנֵהproperty, livestock

shoresh קנה

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

אַבְרָם

אַבְרָםAvram

a name

וּבֵין

וּand
בֵיןbetween, either...or

preposition

רֹעֵי

רֹעֵיpastoral

shoresh רעה

doing it nowQal · participle

מִקְנֵה־

מִקְנֵהproperty, livestock

shoresh קנה

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

לוֹט

לוֹטLot

a name

וְהַכְּנַעֲנִי

וְand
הַthe
כְּנַעֲנִיa Kenaanite or inhabitant of Kenaan

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

וְהַפְּרִזִּי

וְand
הַthe
פְּרִזִּיa Perizzite

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

אָז

אָזat that time then

adverb

יֹשֵׁב

יֹשֵׁבto sit, dwell, remain

shoresh ישב

doing it nowQal · participle

בָּאָרֶץ

בָּin / with / by
אָרֶץthe earth

shoresh ארצ

nounnoun · both · singular · absolute state

Translation

There was a quarrel between the herdsmen of Avram’s flocks and the herdsmen of Lot’s flocks. The Canaanites and the Perizzites were then living in the land.

In plain terms

The quarrel is between the herdsmen, not the two men. And the pasuk immediately notes who else is in the land: the Canaanite and the Perizzite were there. A dispute between Avram's people and Lot's is taking place in front of an audience.

Rashi on “There was a quarrel”

Because Lot’s shepherds were wicked and grazed their animals in others’ fields. [When] Avram’s shepherds admonished them for [committing] robbery, they responded: “The land was given to Avram who has no heir. Lot, his nephew, is his heir and, [therefore,] this does not constitute robbery.” But, the verse states: “The Canaanites and Perizzites were then living in the land,” so that Avram did not yet possess it.

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 8Bereishis 13:8 · 18 words

וַיֹּאמֶר אַבְרָם אֶל־לוֹט אַל־נָא תְהִי מְרִיבָה בֵּינִי וּבֵינֶךָ וּבֵין רֹעַי וּבֵין רֹעֶיךָ כִּי־אֲנָשִׁים אַחִים אֲנָחְנוּ

וַיֹּאמֶר

וַand
יֹּאמֶרto say

shoresh אמר

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

אַבְרָם

אַבְרָםAvram

a name

אֶל־

אֶלnear, toward, among

preposition

לוֹט

לוֹטLot

a name

אַל־

אַלnot, nothing

not

נָא

נָאnow please

exhortation

תְהִי

תְהִיto be

shoresh היה

let himQal · jussive

מְרִיבָה

מְרִיבָהquarrel

nounnoun · feminine · singular · absolute state

בֵּינִי

בֵּינִbetween, either...or
יmy

preposition

וּבֵינֶיךָ

וּand
בֵינֶיbetween, either...or
ךָyour

preposition

וּבֵין

וּand
בֵיןbetween, either...or

preposition

רֹעַי

רֹעַpastoral
יmy

shoresh רעה

doing it nowQal · participle

וּבֵין

וּand
בֵיןbetween, either...or

preposition

רֹעֶיךָ

רֹעֶיpastoral
ךָyour

shoresh רעה

doing it nowQal · participle

כִּי־

כִּיbecause, since

conjunction

אֲנָשִׁים

אֲנָשִׁיםman, male person

shoresh איש

noun · pluralnoun · masculine · plural · absolute state

אַחִים

אַחִיםbrother, sibling

milah אָח

noun · pluralnoun · masculine · plural · absolute state

אֲנָחְנוּ

אֲנָחְנוּwe

personal pronoun

Translation

Avram said to Lot: Please [Now], let there not be strife between me and you, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are kinsmen.

In plain terms

Avram speaks first and gives up his position before any argument develops. Note what he appeals to, not who is right, and not his seniority, but that they are kinsmen. He asks for no ruling on the quarrel at all.

Rashi on “We are kinsmen”

[Here meaning:] relatives. The Midrashic explanation is: they had similar facial features.

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 9Bereishis 13:9 · 13 words

הֲלֹא כׇל־הָאָרֶץ לְפָנֶיךָ הִפָּרֶד נָא מֵעָלָי אִם־הַשְּׂמֹאל וְאֵימִנָה וְאִם־הַיָּמִין וְאַשְׂמְאִילָה

הֲלֹא

הֲ(question)
לֹאnot, no

not

כָל־

כָלall, every

shoresh כלל

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

הָאָרֶץ

הָthe
אָרֶץthe earth

shoresh ארצ

nounnoun · both · singular · absolute state

לְפָנֶיךָ

לְto / for
פָנֶיface, before
ךָyour

shoresh פנה

noun · plural · the “… of” formnoun · both · plural · construct state

הִפָּרֶד

הִפָּרֶדto spread out, to burst out

a command to you · passiveNifal · imperative

נָא

נָאnow please

exhortation

מֵעָלָי

מֵfrom
עָלָabove, over, upon
יmy

preposition

אִם־

אִםwhether, if, oh that

conjunction

הַשְּׂמֹאל

הַthe
שְּׂמֹאלdark

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

וְאֵימִנָה

וְand
אֵימִנָהto go to the right

shoresh ימנ

let me · causativeHifil · cohortative

וְאִם־

וְand
אִםwhether, if, oh that

conjunction

הַיָּמִין

הַthe
יָּמִיןthe right hand, the south

shoresh ימנ

nounnoun · feminine · singular · absolute state

וְאַשְׂמְאִילָה

וְand
אַשְׂמְאִילָהto go to the left

let me · causativeHifil · cohortative

Translation

Is not all the land before you? Please [Now] separate from me, if [you go] to the left [north], I [will go] to the right [south], and if [you go] to the right [south], I [will go] to the left [north].

In plain terms

He offers Lot the whole choice and takes whatever is left. "If you go left, I go right; if you go right, I go left." The man who was promised this land is the one who lets the other pick first.

Rashi on “If [you go] to the left, I [will go] to the right”

[Meaning:] wherever you may settle I will not go far from you and I will stand by you [to serve] as a shield and as a help. In the end he, indeed, needed him as it is said, “When Avram heard that his kinsman was taken captive.”

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 10Bereishis 13:10 · 25 words

וַיִּשָּׂא־לוֹט אֶת־עֵינָיו וַיַּרְא אֶת־כׇּל־כִּכַּר הַיַּרְדֵּן כִּי כֻלָּהּ מַשְׁקֶה לִפְנֵי שַׁחֵת ה׳ אֶת־סְדֹם וְאֶת־עֲמֹרָה כְּגַן־ה׳ כְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם בֹּאֲכָה צֹעַר

וַיִּשָּׂא־

וַand
יִּשָּׂאto lift, carry

shoresh נשא

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

לוֹט

לוֹטLot

a name

אֶת־

אֶתto

points at the object

עֵינָיו

עֵינָיeye
וhis/her/its

shoresh עינ

noun · a pair · the “… of” formnoun · both · dual · construct state

וַיַּרְא

וַand
יַּרְאto see

shoresh ראה

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

אֶת־

אֶתto

points at the object

כָּל־

כָּלall, every

shoresh כלל

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

כִּכַּר

כִּכַּרthe plain, the surrounding region

noun · the “… of” formnoun · both · singular · construct state

הַיַּרְדֵּן

הַthe
יַּרְדֵּןthe Yarden

a name

כִּי

כִּיbecause, since

conjunction

כֻלָּהּ

כֻלָּall, every
הּhis/her/its

shoresh כלל

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

מַשְׁקֶה

מַשְׁקֶהcausing to drink

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

לִפְנֵי

לִto / for
פְנֵיface, before

shoresh פנה

noun · plural · the “… of” formnoun · both · plural · construct state

שַׁחֵת

שַׁחֵתto decay

the “to …” form · intensivePiel · infinitive construct

ה׳

ה׳Hashem

a name

אֶת־

אֶתto

points at the object

סְדֹם

סְדֹםSedom

a name

וְאֶת־

וְand
אֶתto

points at the object

עֲמֹרָה

עֲמֹרָהAmorah

a name

כְּגַן־

כְּlike / as
גַןa garden

noun · the “… of” formnoun · both · singular · construct state

ה׳

ה׳Hashem

a name

כְּאֶרֶץ

כְּlike / as
אֶרֶץthe earth

shoresh ארצ

noun · the “… of” formnoun · both · singular · construct state

מִצְרַיִם

מִצְרַיִםMitzrayim, Egypt

a name

בֹּאֲכָה

בֹּאֲto bring to, give
כָהyour

shoresh בוא

the “to …” formQal · infinitive construct

צֹעַר

צֹעַרZoar, a city

a name

Translation

Lot raised his eyes and saw the entire Jordan Plain, that it was [an] abundantly watered [place]; before Hashem destroyed Sedom and Amorah, it was like Hashem’s garden, like the land of Egypt, going towards Zoar.

In plain terms

Lot looks, and the Torah shows us what he saw: well-watered land, like Hashem's garden, like Egypt. Then it adds the detail he could not have seen, this was before Sedom was destroyed. The reader is told how the choice ends before Lot makes it.

Rashi on “That it was abundantly watered”

A land of water streams.

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 11Bereishis 13:11 · 14 words

וַיִּבְחַר־לוֹ לוֹט אֵת כׇּל־כִּכַּר הַיַּרְדֵּן וַיִּסַּע לוֹט מִקֶּדֶם וַיִּפָּרְדוּ אִישׁ מֵעַל אָחִיו

וַיִּבְחַר־

וַand
יִּבְחַרto try

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

לוֹ

לto / for
וֹhis/her/its

לוֹט

לוֹטLot

a name

אֵת

אֵתto

points at the object

כָּל־

כָּלall, every

shoresh כלל

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

כִּכַּר

כִּכַּרthe plain, the surrounding region

noun · the “… of” formnoun · both · singular · construct state

הַיַּרְדֵּן

הַthe
יַּרְדֵּןthe Yarden

a name

וַיִּסַּע

וַand
יִּסַּעto start a journey

shoresh נסע

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

לוֹט

לוֹטLot

a name

מִקֶּדֶם

מִfrom
קֶּדֶםeast; before

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

וַיִּפָּרְדוּ

וַand
יִּפָּרְדוּto spread out, to burst out

they, past · passiveNifal · wayyiqtol

אִישׁ

אִישׁman, male person

shoresh איש

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

מֵעַל

מֵfrom
עַלabove, over, upon

preposition

אָחִיו

אָחִיbrother, sibling
וhis/her/its

milah אָח

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

Translation

Lot chose for himself the entire Jordan Plain; Lot journeyed from the east [before], and they separated one from another.

In plain terms

He takes the whole plain, and the two separate. The wording is deliberately mutual, "a man from his brother", rather than Lot being sent away.

Rashi on “Plain”

[Means] “plain” as the Targum translates.

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 12Bereishis 13:12 · 11 words

אַבְרָם יָשַׁב בְּאֶרֶץ־כְּנָעַן וְלוֹט יָשַׁב בְּעָרֵי הַכִּכָּר וַיֶּאֱהַל עַד־סְדֹם

אַבְרָם

אַבְרָםAvram

a name

יָשַׁב

יָשַׁבto sit, dwell, remain

shoresh ישב

he, pastQal · perfect

בְּאֶרֶץ־

בְּin / with / by
אֶרֶץthe earth

shoresh ארצ

noun · the “… of” formnoun · both · singular · construct state

כְּנָעַן

כְּנָעַןCanaan

a name

וְלוֹט

וְand
לוֹטLot

a name

יָשַׁב

יָשַׁבto sit, dwell, remain

shoresh ישב

he, pastQal · perfect

בְּעָרֵי

בְּin / with / by
עָרֵיcity

shoresh עור

noun · plural · the “… of” formnoun · feminine · plural · construct state

הַכִּכָּר

הַthe
כִּכָּרthe plain, the surrounding region

nounnoun · both · singular · absolute state

וַיֶּאֱהַל

וַand
יֶּאֱהַלto tent

shoresh אהל

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

עַד־

עַדto, until, during

preposition

סְדֹם

סְדֹםSedom

a name

Translation

Avram lived in the land of Canaan; and Lot lived in the cities of the Plain, setting up his tents as far as Sedom.

In plain terms

The two settlements are set side by side: Avram in the land of Canaan, Lot in the cities of the plain. The last clause moves him further, he pitched his tents as far as Sedom.

Rashi on “Setting up his tents”

[Meaning:] he pitched tents for his shepherds and for his cattle as far as Sedom.

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 13Bereishis 13:13 · 6 words

וְאַנְשֵׁי סְדֹם רָעִים וְחַטָּאִים לַה׳ מְאֹד

וְאַנְשֵׁי

וְand
אַנְשֵׁיman, male person

shoresh איש

noun · plural · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · plural · construct state

סְדֹם

סְדֹםSedom

a name

רָעִים

רָעִיםbad or evil

shoresh רעע

adjective · plural

וְחַטָּאִים

וְand
חַטָּאִיםa criminal, or one accounted guilty

shoresh חטא

adjective · plural

לַה׳

לַto / for
ה׳Hashem

a name

מְאֹד

מְאֹדvery, greatly

adverb

Translation

The people of Sedom were wicked [with their property] and sinful [with their bodies] towards [before] Hashem, exceedingly.

In plain terms

Having told us where Lot settled, the Torah tells us what kind of place it was. The verdict is unqualified and is placed immediately after his choice, with no comment connecting the two.

Rashi on “The people of Sedom were wicked”

And yet Lot did not refrain from residing with them. Our Sages learned from here: “The names of the wicked shall rot.”

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 14Bereishis 13:14 · 21 words

וַה׳ אָמַר אֶל־אַבְרָם אַחֲרֵי הִפָּרֶד־לוֹט מֵעִמּוֹ שָׂא נָא עֵינֶיךָ וּרְאֵה מִן־הַמָּקוֹם אֲשֶׁר־אַתָּה שָׁם צָפֹנָה וָנֶגְבָּה וָקֵדְמָה וָיָמָּה

וַה׳

וַand
ה׳Hashem

a name

אָמַר

אָמַרto say

shoresh אמר

he, pastQal · perfect

אֶל־

אֶלnear, toward, among

preposition

אַבְרָם

אַבְרָםAvram

a name

אַחֲרֵי

אַחֲרֵיafter

preposition

הִפָּרֶד־

הִפָּרֶדto spread out, to burst out

the “to …” form · passiveNifal · infinitive construct

לוֹט

לוֹטLot

a name

מֵעִמּוֹ

מֵfrom
עִמּwith, along with
וֹhis/her/its

shoresh עממ

preposition

שָׂא

שָׂאto lift, carry

shoresh נשא

a command to youQal · imperative

נָא

נָאnow please

exhortation

עֵינֶיךָ

עֵינֶיeye
ךָyour

shoresh עינ

noun · a pair · the “… of” formnoun · both · dual · construct state

וּרְאֵה

וּand
רְאֵהto see

shoresh ראה

a command to youQal · imperative

מִן־

מִןfrom, out of

preposition

הַמָּקוֹם

הַthe
מָּקוֹםplace

shoresh קומ

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

אֲשֶׁר־

אֲשֶׁרwho, which, what, that, when, where, how

who, which, that

אַתָּה

אַתָּהyou

personal pronoun

שָׁם

שָׁםthen, there

adverb

צָפֹנָה

צָפֹנָhidden
הtoward

nounnoun · feminine · singular · absolute state

וָנֶגְבָּה

וָand
נֶגְבָּthe south
הtoward

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

וָקֵדְמָה

וָand
קֵדְמָeast; before
הtoward

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

וָיָמָּה

וָand
יָמָּlarge body of water
הtoward

milah יָם

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

Translation

Hashem said to Avram after Lot had separated from him: Raise your eyes and look about from the place where you are, to the north, to the south to the east and to the west.

In plain terms

Hashem speaks the moment Lot is gone, "after Lot had separated from him." Avram is told to raise his eyes and look, the same verb used of Lot in pasuk 10, but in all four directions rather than at one attractive plain.

Rashi on “After Lot had separated”

As long as the wicked person was with him, the Word [of God] withdrew from him. (And above when Lot was [still] with him and [yet] it is written: “And God appeared to Avram,” [we must assume that] at that time he [Lot] was [still righteous]).

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 15Bereishis 13:15 · 12 words

כִּי אֶת־כׇּל־הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר־אַתָּה רֹאֶה לְךָ אֶתְּנֶנָּה וּלְזַרְעֲךָ עַד־עוֹלָם

כִּי

כִּיbecause, since

conjunction

אֶת־

אֶתto

points at the object

כָּל־

כָּלall, every

shoresh כלל

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

הָאָרֶץ

הָthe
אָרֶץthe earth

shoresh ארצ

nounnoun · both · singular · absolute state

אֲשֶׁר־

אֲשֶׁרwho, which, what, that, when, where, how

who, which, that

אַתָּה

אַתָּהyou

personal pronoun

רֹאֶה

רֹאֶהto see

shoresh ראה

doing it nowQal · participle

לְךָ

לְto / for
ךָyour

אֶתְּנֶנָּה

אֶתְּנֶto give
נָּהhis/her/its

shoresh נתנ

I, futureQal · imperfect

וּלְזַרְעֲךָ

וּand
לְto / for
זַרְעֲseed, plant, offspring
ךָyour

shoresh זרע

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

עַד־

עַדto, until, during

preposition

עוֹלָם

עוֹלָםeternity, always

shoresh עלמ

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

Translation

For all the land that you see I give to you and to your descendants forever.

In plain terms

The promise is enlarged. In 12:7 the land was for his descendants; here it is to you and to your descendants, and forever. He has just given away first choice of land, and is told that all of what he can see is his.

Pasuk 16Bereishis 13:16 · 16 words

וְשַׂמְתִּי אֶת־זַרְעֲךָ כַּעֲפַר הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר אִם־יוּכַל אִישׁ לִמְנוֹת אֶת־עֲפַר הָאָרֶץ גַּם־זַרְעֲךָ יִמָּנֶה

וְשַׂמְתִּי

וְand
שַׂמְתִּיto put

shoresh שומ

I, futureQal · sequential perfect

אֶת־

אֶתto

points at the object

זַרְעֲךָ

זַרְעֲseed, plant, offspring
ךָyour

shoresh זרע

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

כַּעֲפַר

כַּlike / as
עֲפַרdust

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

הָאָרֶץ

הָthe
אָרֶץthe earth

shoresh ארצ

nounnoun · both · singular · absolute state

אֲשֶׁר

אֲשֶׁרwho, which, what, that, when, where, how

who, which, that

אִם־

אִםwhether, if, oh that

conjunction

יוּכַל

יוּכַלto be able

shoresh יכל

he, futureQal · imperfect

אִישׁ

אִישׁman, male person

shoresh איש

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

לִמְנוֹת

לִto / for
מְנוֹתto weigh out

the “to …” formQal · infinitive construct

אֶת־

אֶתto

points at the object

עֲפַר

עֲפַרdust

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

הָאָרֶץ

הָthe
אָרֶץthe earth

shoresh ארצ

nounnoun · both · singular · absolute state

גַּם־

גַּםeven, also, too

accusative particle

זַרְעֲךָ

זַרְעֲseed, plant, offspring
ךָyour

shoresh זרע

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

יִמָּנֶה

יִמָּנֶהto weigh out

he, future · passiveNifal · imperfect

Translation

I will make your descendants [numerous] as the dust of the earth; so that if a man can count the dust of the earth, then your descendants too will be countable [just as it is impossible for a man to count the dust of the earth, so too your descendants will not be countable].

In plain terms

The image is dust, not stars, not sand, but the thing he is standing on and being promised. The pasuk defines its own comparison: if a man could count the dust, your descendants could be counted too.

Rashi on “So that if a man can”

Just as it is impossible for dust to be counted so, too, your progeny will not be counted.

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 17Bereishis 13:17 · 8 words

קוּם הִתְהַלֵּךְ בָּאָרֶץ לְאׇרְכָּהּ וּלְרׇחְבָּהּ כִּי לְךָ אֶתְּנֶנָּה

קוּם

קוּםto rise

shoresh קומ

a command to youQal · imperative

הִתְהַלֵּךְ

הִתְהַלֵּךְto walk

shoresh הלכ

a command to you · reflexiveHitpael · imperative

בָּאָרֶץ

בָּin / with / by
אָרֶץthe earth

shoresh ארצ

nounnoun · both · singular · absolute state

לְאָרְכָּהּ

לְto / for
אָרְכָּlength
הּhis/her/its

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

וּלְרָחְבָּהּ

וּand
לְto / for
רָחְבָּwidth
הּhis/her/its

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

כִּי

כִּיbecause, since

conjunction

לְךָ

לְto / for
ךָyour

אֶתְּנֶנָּה

אֶתְּנֶto give
נָּהhis/her/its

shoresh נתנ

I, futureQal · imperfect

Translation

Rise, walk through the land, its length and breadth, for to you I will give it.

In plain terms

He is told to walk the land, its length and its breadth. Not to take it or settle it, to go through it, as an act that acknowledges the gift.

Pasuk 18Bereishis 13:18 · 12 words

וַיֶּאֱהַל אַבְרָם וַיָּבֹא וַיֵּשֶׁב בְּאֵלֹנֵי מַמְרֵא אֲשֶׁר בְּחֶבְרוֹן וַיִּבֶן־שָׁם מִזְבֵּחַ לַה׳ {פ}

וַיֶּאֱהַל

וַand
יֶּאֱהַלto tent

shoresh אהל

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

אַבְרָם

אַבְרָםAvram

a name

וַיָּבֹא

וַand
יָּבֹאto bring to, give

shoresh בוא

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

וַיֵּשֶׁב

וַand
יֵּשֶׁבto sit, dwell, remain

shoresh ישב

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

בְּאֵלֹנֵי

בְּin / with / by
אֵלֹנֵיan oak or other strong tree

shoresh אול

noun · plural · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · plural · construct state

מַמְרֵא

מַמְרֵאMamrei

a name

אֲשֶׁר

אֲשֶׁרwho, which, what, that, when, where, how

who, which, that

בְּחֶבְרוֹן

בְּin / with / by
חֶבְרוֹןChevron

a name

וַיִּבֶן־

וַand
יִּבֶןto build

shoresh בנה

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

שָׁם

שָׁםthen, there

adverb

מִזְבֵּחַ

מִזְבֵּחַaltar

shoresh זבח

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

לַה׳

לַto / for
ה׳Hashem

a name

Translation

Avram set up his tent, and he came and settled in the Plains of Mamrei which are in Chevron, and he built there an altar to [before] Hashem.

In plain terms

The perek ends as it began, with a move and an altar. He settles at Mamrei in Chevron and builds there, the third altar in two perakim, each one marking where he stopped.

Rashi on “Mamrei”

The name of a person.

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

↑ Contents

Chapter 12

Bereishis Perek 14

The war of the kings, and Malki-Tzedek

Pasuk 1Bereishis 14:1 · 14 words

וַיְהִי בִּימֵי אַמְרָפֶל מֶלֶךְ־שִׁנְעָר אַרְיוֹךְ מֶלֶךְ אֶלָּסָר כְּדׇרְלָעֹמֶר מֶלֶךְ עֵילָם וְתִדְעָל מֶלֶךְ גּוֹיִם

וַיְהִי

וַand
יְהִיto be

shoresh היה

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

בִּימֵי

בִּin / with / by
ימֵיday

shoresh יומ

noun · plural · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · plural · construct state

אַמְרָפֶל

אַמְרָפֶלAmraphel, a king

a name

מֶלֶךְ־

מֶלֶךְking

shoresh מלכ

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

שִׁנְעָר

שִׁנְעָרShinar, a kingdom

a name

אַרְיוֹךְ

אַרְיוֹךְAryoch, a king

a name

מֶלֶךְ

מֶלֶךְking

shoresh מלכ

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

אֶלָּסָר

אֶלָּסָרElasar, a kingdom

a name

כְּדָרְלָעֹמֶר

כְּדָרְלָעֹמֶרKedorlaomer, a king

a name

מֶלֶךְ

מֶלֶךְking

shoresh מלכ

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

עֵילָם

עֵילָםEilam, a kingdom

a name

וְתִדְעָל

וְand
תִדְעָלTidal, a king

a name

מֶלֶךְ

מֶלֶךְking

shoresh מלכ

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

גּוֹיִם

גּוֹיִםa nation

shoresh גוי

a name

Translation

This happened in the days of Amraphel, king of Shinar [Babylon], Aryoch, king of Elasar, Kedorlaomer, king of Ailam, and Tidal, king of Goyim [king of peoples].

In plain terms

The parsha suddenly changes register. Four kings are named with their kingdoms, in the manner of a chronicle, and Avram is not mentioned at all. This is the only war narrative in Lech Lecha, and it opens as though from an outside record.

Rashi on “Amraphel”

He is Nimrod who told Avraham, “Jump into the fiery furnace.”

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 2Bereishis 14:2 · 21 words

עָשׂוּ מִלְחָמָה אֶת־בֶּרַע מֶלֶךְ סְדֹם וְאֶת־בִּרְשַׁע מֶלֶךְ עֲמֹרָה שִׁנְאָב מֶלֶךְ אַדְמָה וְשֶׁמְאֵבֶר מֶלֶךְ (צביים) [צְבוֹיִם] וּמֶלֶךְ בֶּלַע הִיא־צֹעַר

עָשׂוּ

עָשׂוּto make

shoresh עשה

they, pastQal · perfect

מִלְחָמָה

מִלְחָמָהa battle

shoresh לחמ

nounnoun · feminine · singular · absolute state

אֶת־

אֶתwith, by, at, among

preposition

בֶּרַע

בֶּרַעBera, a king

a name

מֶלֶךְ

מֶלֶךְking

shoresh מלכ

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

סְדֹם

סְדֹםSedom

a name

וְאֶת־

וְand
אֶתwith, by, at, among

preposition

בִּרְשַׁע

בִּרְשַׁעBirsha, a king

a name

מֶלֶךְ

מֶלֶךְking

shoresh מלכ

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

עֲמֹרָה

עֲמֹרָהAmorah

a name

שִׁנְאָב

שִׁנְאָבShinav, a king

a name

מֶלֶךְ

מֶלֶךְking

shoresh מלכ

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

אַדְמָה

אַדְמָהAdmah, a city

a name

וְשֶׁמְאֵבֶר

וְand
שֶׁמְאֵבֶרShemeiver, a king

a name

מֶלֶךְ

מֶלֶךְking

shoresh מלכ

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

צביים

צבייםTzevoyim, a city

a name

צְבוֹיִים

צְבוֹיִיםTzevoyim, a city

a name

וּמֶלֶךְ

וּand
מֶלֶךְking

shoresh מלכ

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

בֶּלַע

בֶּלַעBela, a city

a name

הִיא־

הִיאhe, it, self, this, that

personal pronoun

צֹעַר

צֹעַרZoar, a city

a name

Translation

They waged war against Bera, king of Sedom, Birsha, king of Amorah, Shinav, king of Admah, Shemeiver, king of Tzevoyim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar.

In plain terms

Five more kings, named against the first four. The cities will matter later, Sedom and Amorah are on this list, and so is the city Lot has just moved toward.

Rashi on “Bera”

He was evil towards God and evil towards mankind.

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 3Bereishis 14:3 · 9 words

כׇּל־אֵלֶּה חָבְרוּ אֶל־עֵמֶק הַשִּׂדִּים הוּא יָם הַמֶּלַח

כָּל־

כָּלall, every

shoresh כלל

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

אֵלֶּה

אֵלֶּהthese or those

this, that

חָבְרוּ

חָבְרוּto join

they, pastQal · perfect

אֶל־

אֶלnear, toward, among

preposition

עֵמֶק

עֵמֶקa valley

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

הַשִּׂדִּים

הַthe
שִּׂדִּיםSiddim, a valley

a name

הוּא

הוּאhe, it, self, this, that

personal pronoun

יָם

יָםlarge body of water

milah יָם

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

הַמֶּלַח

הַthe
מֶּלַחpowder

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

Translation

All these joined together [assembled] at the valley of Siddim [the plain of the fields], which is [now] [the place of] the Salt Sea.

In plain terms

All five allied at the Valley of Siddim. The pasuk pauses to tell the reader what that place is now: the Salt Sea. The landscape of the story no longer exists.

Rashi on “Valley of Siddim”

It was so called because of the many fields that were in it. There are many [other] Midrashic interpretations.

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 4Bereishis 14:4 · 10 words

שְׁתֵּים עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה עָבְדוּ אֶת־כְּדׇרְלָעֹמֶר וּשְׁלֹשׁ־עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה מָרָדוּ

שְׁתֵּים

שְׁתֵּיםtwo

milah שְׁנַיִם

adjective

עֶשְׂרֵה

עֶשְׂרֵהten, teens

shoresh עשר

adjective

שָׁנָה

שָׁנָהyear

shoresh שנה

nounnoun · feminine · singular · absolute state

עָבְדוּ

עָבְדוּto work, serve

shoresh עבד

they, pastQal · perfect

אֶת־

אֶתto

points at the object

כְּדָרְלָעֹמֶר

כְּדָרְלָעֹמֶרKedorlaomer, a king

a name

וּשְׁלֹשׁ־

וּand
שְׁלֹשׁthree

milah שָׁלוֹשׁ

adjective

עֶשְׂרֵה

עֶשְׂרֵהten, teens

shoresh עשר

adjective

שָׁנָה

שָׁנָהyear

shoresh שנה

nounnoun · feminine · singular · absolute state

מָרָדוּ

מָרָדוּto rebel

they, pastQal · perfect

Translation

[For] twelve years they had served Kedorlaomer, and for thirteen years they rebelled.

In plain terms

The cause of the war in one line of bookkeeping: twelve years of service, and in the thirteenth they rebelled. No motive is offered beyond the arithmetic.

Rashi on “[For] twelve years they had served”

These five kings [served] Kedorlaomer.

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 5Bereishis 14:5 · 20 words

וּבְאַרְבַּע עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה בָּא כְדׇרְלָעֹמֶר וְהַמְּלָכִים אֲשֶׁר אִתּוֹ וַיַּכּוּ אֶת־רְפָאִים בְּעַשְׁתְּרֹת קַרְנַיִם וְאֶת־הַזּוּזִים בְּהָם וְאֵת הָאֵימִים בְּשָׁוֵה קִרְיָתָיִם

וּבְאַרְבַּע

וּand
בְin / with / by
אַרְבַּעfour

shoresh רבע

adjective

עֶשְׂרֵה

עֶשְׂרֵהten, teens

shoresh עשר

adjective

שָׁנָה

שָׁנָהyear

shoresh שנה

nounnoun · feminine · singular · absolute state

בָּא

בָּאto bring to, give

shoresh בוא

he, pastQal · perfect

כְדָרְלָעֹמֶר

כְדָרְלָעֹמֶרKedorlaomer, a king

a name

וְהַמְּלָכִים

וְand
הַthe
מְּלָכִיםking

shoresh מלכ

noun · pluralnoun · masculine · plural · absolute state

אֲשֶׁר

אֲשֶׁרwho, which, what, that, when, where, how

who, which, that

אִתּוֹ

אִתּwith, by, at, among
וֹhis/her/its

preposition

וַיַּכּוּ

וַand
יַּכּוּto strike

shoresh נכה

they, past · causativeHifil · wayyiqtol

אֶת־

אֶתto

points at the object

רְפָאִים

רְפָאִיםa giant

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

בְּעַשְׁתְּרֹת

בְּin / with / by
עַשְׁתְּרֹתAshteros Karnayim, a place

a name

קַרְנַיִם

קַרְנַיִםAshteroth-Karnaim

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

וְאֶת־

וְand
אֶתto

points at the object

הַזּוּזִים

הַthe
זּוּזִיםthe Zuzim, a people

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

בְּהָם

בְּin / with / by
הָםHam, a place

a name

וְאֵת

וְand
אֵתto

points at the object

הָאֵימִים

הָthe
אֵימִיםEmim, an early Canaanitish tribe

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

בְּשָׁוֵה

בְּin / with / by
שָׁוֵהShaveh, a valley

a name

קִרְיָתָיִם

קִרְיָתָיִםKiryasayim, a place

a name

Translation

In the fourteenth year, Kedorlaomer came together with the kings that were with him and they defeated the Rephaim [the mighty ones] in Ashteros Karnayim, the Zuzim [the powerful ones] in Ham, the Aimim [the ones that incite fear] at Shaveh Kiryasayim,

In plain terms

The fourteenth year, and the campaign begins, but not against the rebels. Kedorlaomer sweeps through a list of other peoples first, each named with the place he defeated them.

Rashi on “In the fourteenth year”

Of their rebellion.

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 6Bereishis 14:6 · 10 words

וְאֶת־הַחֹרִי בְּהַרְרָם שֵׂעִיר עַד אֵיל פָּארָן אֲשֶׁר עַל־הַמִּדְבָּר

וְאֶת־

וְand
אֶתto

points at the object

הַחֹרִי

הַthe
חֹרִיa Chorite or aboriginal Idumaean

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

בְּהַרְרָם

בְּin / with / by
הַרְרָmountain range
םtheir

shoresh הרר

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

שֵׂעִיר

שֵׂעִירSeir, a hill country

a name

עַד

עַדto, until, during

preposition

אֵיל

אֵילEil Paran, a place

a name

פָּארָן

פָּארָןEil Paran, a place

a name

אֲשֶׁר

אֲשֶׁרwho, which, what, that, when, where, how

who, which, that

עַל־

עַלabove, over, upon

preposition

הַמִּדְבָּר

הַthe
מִּדְבָּרopen field, desert

shoresh דבר

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

Translation

And the Chorites in their hills of Seir, as far as Eil [the Plain of] Paran which borders [is next to] the wilderness.

In plain terms

The sweep continues south and west, as far as the edge of the wilderness. Four pesukim of conquest before the actual quarrel is reached.

Rashi on “In their hills”

[Meaning] in their mountain.

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 7Bereishis 14:7 · 18 words

וַיָּשֻׁבוּ וַיָּבֹאוּ אֶל־עֵין מִשְׁפָּט הִוא קָדֵשׁ וַיַּכּוּ אֶת־כׇּל־שְׂדֵה הָעֲמָלֵקִי וְגַם אֶת־הָאֱמֹרִי הַיֹּשֵׁב בְּחַצְצֹן תָּמָר

וַיָּשֻׁבוּ

וַand
יָּשֻׁבוּto turn back

shoresh שוב

they, pastQal · wayyiqtol

וַיָּבֹאוּ

וַand
יָּבֹאוּto bring to, give

shoresh בוא

they, pastQal · wayyiqtol

אֶל־

אֶלnear, toward, among

preposition

עֵין

עֵיןEin Mishpat, a place

a name

מִשְׁפָּט

מִשְׁפָּטEin Mishpat, a place

a name

הִוא

הִואhe, it, self, this, that

personal pronoun

קָדֵשׁ

קָדֵשׁKadeish, a place

a name

וַיַּכּוּ

וַand
יַּכּוּto strike

shoresh נכה

they, past · causativeHifil · wayyiqtol

אֶת־

אֶתto

points at the object

כָּל־

כָּלall, every

shoresh כלל

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

שְׂדֵה

שְׂדֵהopen space

shoresh שדה

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

הָעֲמָלֵקִי

הָthe
עֲמָלֵקִיan Amalekite or descendants of Amalek

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

וְגַם

וְand
גַםeven, also, too

accusative particle

אֶת־

אֶתto

points at the object

הָאֱמֹרִי

הָthe
אֱמֹרִיan Emorite

shoresh אמר

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

הַיֹּשֵׁב

הַthe
יֹּשֵׁבto sit, dwell, remain

shoresh ישב

doing it nowQal · participle

בְּחַצְצֹן

בְּin / with / by
חַצְצֹןChatzatzon Tamar, a place

a name

תָּמָר

תָּמָרChatzatzon Tamar, a place

a name

Translation

They turned back and came to Ein Mishpat [the plain of compromise] which is Kadeish [Rekem], and they struck all the territory of Amaleik, as well as the Emorites who lived in Chazazon Tamar [Ein Gedi].

In plain terms

They turn back and strike Amalek's territory and the Emorites. The campaign has been a wide arc, and only now does it close on the cities that rebelled.

Rashi on “Ein Mishpat which is Kadeish”

It was so called on account [of the events] of the future. For Moshe and Aharon were destined to be judged there concerning the events of that fountain, which were the waters of Merivah. Onkelos, however, translates it plainly, [i.e.,] “The place where the citizens of the country would gather for all judgments.”

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 8Bereishis 14:8 · 19 words

וַיֵּצֵא מֶלֶךְ־סְדֹם וּמֶלֶךְ עֲמֹרָה וּמֶלֶךְ אַדְמָה וּמֶלֶךְ (צביים) [צְבוֹיִם] וּמֶלֶךְ בֶּלַע הִוא־צֹעַר וַיַּעַרְכוּ אִתָּם מִלְחָמָה בְּעֵמֶק הַשִּׂדִּים

וַיֵּצֵא

וַand
יֵּצֵאto go out, bring out

shoresh יצא

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

מֶלֶךְ־

מֶלֶךְking

shoresh מלכ

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

סְדֹם

סְדֹםSedom

a name

וּמֶלֶךְ

וּand
מֶלֶךְking

shoresh מלכ

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

עֲמֹרָה

עֲמֹרָהAmorah

a name

וּמֶלֶךְ

וּand
מֶלֶךְking

shoresh מלכ

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

אַדְמָה

אַדְמָהAdmah, a city

a name

וּמֶלֶךְ

וּand
מֶלֶךְking

shoresh מלכ

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

צביים

צבייםTzevoyim, a city

a name

צְבוֹיִם

צְבוֹיִםTzevoyim, a city

a name

וּמֶלֶךְ

וּand
מֶלֶךְking

shoresh מלכ

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

בֶּלַע

בֶּלַעBela, a city

a name

הִוא־

הִואhe, it, self, this, that

personal pronoun

צֹעַר

צֹעַרZoar, a city

a name

וַיַּעַרְכוּ

וַand
יַּעַרְכוּto set in a row

they, pastQal · wayyiqtol

אִתָּם

אִתָּwith, by, at, among
םtheir

preposition

מִלְחָמָה

מִלְחָמָהa battle

shoresh לחמ

nounnoun · feminine · singular · absolute state

בְּעֵמֶק

בְּin / with / by
עֵמֶקa valley

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

הַשִּׂדִּים

הַthe
שִּׂדִּיםSiddim, a valley

a name

Translation

The king of Sedom set out, along with the king of Amorah, the king of Admah, the king of Tzevoyim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar, and engaged them in battle in the Valley of Siddim [in the plain of the fields].

In plain terms

The five kings come out to meet them. The Valley of Siddim, named in pasuk 3, is now the battlefield.

Pasuk 9Bereishis 14:9 · 17 words

אֵת כְּדׇרְלָעֹמֶר מֶלֶךְ עֵילָם וְתִדְעָל מֶלֶךְ גּוֹיִם וְאַמְרָפֶל מֶלֶךְ שִׁנְעָר וְאַרְיוֹךְ מֶלֶךְ אֶלָּסָר אַרְבָּעָה מְלָכִים אֶת־הַחֲמִשָּׁה

אֵת

אֵתwith, by, at, among

preposition

כְּדָרְלָעֹמֶר

כְּדָרְלָעֹמֶרKedorlaomer, a king

a name

מֶלֶךְ

מֶלֶךְking

shoresh מלכ

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

עֵילָם

עֵילָםEilam, a kingdom

a name

וְתִדְעָל

וְand
תִדְעָלTidal, a king

a name

מֶלֶךְ

מֶלֶךְking

shoresh מלכ

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

גּוֹיִם

גּוֹיִםa nation

shoresh גוי

a name

וְאַמְרָפֶל

וְand
אַמְרָפֶלAmraphel, a king

a name

מֶלֶךְ

מֶלֶךְking

shoresh מלכ

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

שִׁנְעָר

שִׁנְעָרShinar, a kingdom

a name

וְאַרְיוֹךְ

וְand
אַרְיוֹךְAryoch, a king

a name

מֶלֶךְ

מֶלֶךְking

shoresh מלכ

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

אֶלָּסָר

אֶלָּסָרElasar, a kingdom

a name

אַרְבָּעָה

אַרְבָּעָהfour

shoresh רבע

adjective

מְלָכִים

מְלָכִיםking

shoresh מלכ

noun · pluralnoun · masculine · plural · absolute state

אֶת־

אֶתwith, by, at, among

preposition

הַחֲמִשָּׁה

הַthe
חֲמִשָּׁהfive years

shoresh חמש

adjective

Translation

Against Kedorlaomer, king of Eilam, Sidal, king of Goyim [king of peoples], Amraphel, king of Shinar [Babylon], and Aryoch, king of Elasar; [there were] four kings against the five.

In plain terms

The pasuk counts it for us: four kings against five. The smaller force is the one that has just marched through everyone else.

Rashi on “Four kings, etc”

Yet, the fewer ones were victorious. [This is] to inform you that they were powerful and, yet, Avraham did not refrain from giving chase to them.

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 10Bereishis 14:10 · 14 words

וְעֵמֶק הַשִּׂדִּים בֶּאֱרֹת בֶּאֱרֹת חֵמָר וַיָּנֻסוּ מֶלֶךְ־סְדֹם וַעֲמֹרָה וַיִּפְּלוּ־שָׁמָּה וְהַנִּשְׁאָרִים הֶרָה נָּסוּ

וְעֵמֶק

וְand
עֵמֶקa valley

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

הַשִׂדִּים

הַthe
שִׂדִּיםSiddim, a valley

a name

בֶּאֱרֹת

בֶּאֱרֹתa pit

noun · plural · the “… of” formnoun · feminine · plural · construct state

בֶּאֱרֹת

בֶּאֱרֹתa pit

noun · plural · the “… of” formnoun · feminine · plural · construct state

חֵמָר

חֵמָרbitumen

shoresh חמר

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

וַיָּנֻסוּ

וַand
יָּנֻסוּto flit

they, pastQal · wayyiqtol

מֶלֶךְ־

מֶלֶךְking

shoresh מלכ

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

סְדֹם

סְדֹםSedom

a name

וַעֲמֹרָה

וַand
עֲמֹרָהAmorah

a name

וַיִּפְּלוּ־

וַand
יִּפְּלוּto fall

shoresh נפל

they, pastQal · wayyiqtol

שָׁמָּה

שָׁמָּthen, there
הtoward

adverb

וְהַנִּשְׁאָרִים

וְand
הַthe
נִּשְׁאָרִיםto swell up

doing it now · passiveNifal · participle

הֶרָה

הֶרָmountain range
הtoward

shoresh הרר

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

נָּסוּ

נָּסוּto flit

they, pastQal · perfect

Translation

The Valley of Siddim [The plain of the fields] was [full of] mortar pits [pits from which they raise up mortar]; [and when] the Kings of Sedom and Amorah fled they fell there [into the pits], while the remainder fled to the mountains.

In plain terms

The terrain decides it. The valley was full of mortar pits; the kings of Sedom and Amorah fell into them in flight, and the rest escaped to the hills.

Rashi on “[Full of] mortar pits”

There were many pits from which earth was taken for mortar. The Midrashic explanation is, that the mortar was mixed in them and it was through a miracle that the King of Sedom escaped from there. For among the nations there were some who did not believe that Avraham was saved from Ur Kasdim, from the fiery furnace. But, once he [the king of Sedom] escaped from the mortar, they believed [the event concerning] Avraham retroactively.

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 11Bereishis 14:11 · 10 words

וַיִּקְחוּ אֶת־כׇּל־רְכֻשׁ סְדֹם וַעֲמֹרָה וְאֶת־כׇּל־אׇכְלָם וַיֵּלֵכוּ

וַיִּקְחוּ

וַand
יִּקְחוּto take

shoresh לקח

they, pastQal · wayyiqtol

אֶת־

אֶתto

points at the object

כָּל־

כָּלall, every

shoresh כלל

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

רְכֻשׁ

רְכֻשׁproperty

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

סְדֹם

סְדֹםSedom

a name

וַעֲמֹרָה

וַand
עֲמֹרָהAmorah

a name

וְאֶת־

וְand
אֶתto

points at the object

כָּל־

כָּלall, every

shoresh כלל

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

אָכְלָם

אָכְלָfood
םtheir

shoresh אכל

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

וַיֵּלֵכוּ

וַand
יֵּלֵכוּto walk, carry

shoresh ילכ

they, pastQal · wayyiqtol

Translation

They took [captured] all the wealth of Sedom and Amorah and all their provisions and they went on their way.

In plain terms

The victors take everything from Sedom and Amorah and leave. As far as this pasuk is concerned the episode is over, it reads like the end of the account.

Pasuk 12Bereishis 14:12 · 12 words

וַיִּקְחוּ אֶת־לוֹט וְאֶת־רְכֻשׁוֹ בֶּן־אֲחִי אַבְרָם וַיֵּלֵכוּ וְהוּא יֹשֵׁב בִּסְדֹם

וַיִּקְחוּ

וַand
יִּקְחוּto take

shoresh לקח

they, pastQal · wayyiqtol

אֶת־

אֶתto

points at the object

לוֹט

לוֹטLot

a name

וְאֶת־

וְand
אֶתto

points at the object

רְכֻשׁוֹ

רְכֻשׁproperty
וֹhis/her/its

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

בֶּן־

בֶּןson, builder

shoresh בנה

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

אֲחִי

אֲחִיbrother, sibling

milah אָח

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

אַבְרָם

אַבְרָםAvram

a name

וַיֵּלֵכוּ

וַand
יֵּלֵכוּto walk, carry

shoresh ילכ

they, pastQal · wayyiqtol

וְהוּא

וְand
הוּאhe, it, self, this, that

personal pronoun

יֹשֵׁב

יֹשֵׁבto sit, dwell, remain

shoresh ישב

doing it nowQal · participle

בִּסְדֹם

בִּin / with / by
סְדֹםSedom

a name

Translation

They took [captured] Lot and his wealth. [Lot was] Avram’s nephew. Then they went on their way. He had been living in Sedom.

In plain terms

And then one more item: they took Lot. The pasuk identifies him as Avram's nephew and explains, almost in an aside, that he had been living in Sedom. The war becomes Avram's business in a single clause.

Rashi on “He had been living in Sedom”

[This is to teach:] what caused this to happen to him? [The fact] that he resided in Sedom.

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 13Bereishis 14:13 · 18 words

וַיָּבֹא הַפָּלִיט וַיַּגֵּד לְאַבְרָם הָעִבְרִי וְהוּא שֹׁכֵן בְּאֵלֹנֵי מַמְרֵא הָאֱמֹרִי אֲחִי אֶשְׁכֹּל וַאֲחִי עָנֵר וְהֵם בַּעֲלֵי בְרִית־אַבְרָם

וַיָּבֹא

וַand
יָּבֹאto bring to, give

shoresh בוא

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

הַפָּלִיט

הַthe
פָּלִיטa refugee

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

וַיַּגֵּד

וַand
יַּגֵּדto announce, expose

shoresh נגד

he, past · causativeHifil · wayyiqtol

לְאַבְרָם

לְto / for
אַבְרָםAvram

a name

הָעִבְרִי

הָthe
עִבְרִיan Eberite or descendant of Eber

shoresh עבר

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

וְהוּא

וְand
הוּאhe, it, self, this, that

personal pronoun

שֹׁכֵן

שֹׁכֵןto reside or permanently stay

shoresh שכנ

doing it nowQal · participle

בְּאֵלֹנֵי

בְּin / with / by
אֵלֹנֵיan oak or other strong tree

shoresh אול

noun · plural · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · plural · construct state

מַמְרֵא

מַמְרֵאMamrei

a name

הָאֱמֹרִי

הָthe
אֱמֹרִיan Emorite

shoresh אמר

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

אֲחִי

אֲחִיbrother, sibling

milah אָח

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

אֶשְׁכֹּל

אֶשְׁכֹּלEshkol

a name

וַאֲחִי

וַand
אֲחִיbrother, sibling

milah אָח

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

עָנֵר

עָנֵרAneir

a name

וְהֵם

וְand
הֵםthey emphasize

personal pronoun

בַּעֲלֵי

בַּעֲלֵיa master

noun · plural · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · plural · construct state

בְרִית־

בְרִיתto make a pact

shoresh ברה

noun · the “… of” formnoun · feminine · singular · construct state

אַבְרָם

אַבְרָםAvram

a name

Translation

The one who had escaped came and told Avram the Ivri, who was living in the Plains of Mamrei the Emorite, the brother of Eshkol and Aneir. They were Avram’s allies.

In plain terms

A survivor brings the news. Avram is called ha-Ivri here for the first time, and his allies are named, Mamrei, Eshkol and Aneir, the men whose plains he settled in at the end of the last perek.

Rashi on “The one who had escaped came”

According to the plain meaning, this refers to Og who escaped from the war. This is what is referred to in Tanach “For only Og was left from the remnant of the Rephaim.” This is the meaning of “was left,” that Amrophel and his company did not kill him when they smote the Rephaim in Ashteros Karnayim. [This is based on Midrash] Tanchuma. [However,] the Midrash Ber. Rab. [explains:] This refers to Og who escaped from the Generation of the Flood. And that is [the meaning of:] מִיֶּתֶר הָרְפָאִים as is written, “The giants were upon the land, etc.” It was his [Og’s] intention that Avram be killed so that he might marry Sarah.

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 14Bereishis 14:14 · 17 words

וַיִּשְׁמַע אַבְרָם כִּי נִשְׁבָּה אָחִיו וַיָּרֶק אֶת־חֲנִיכָיו יְלִידֵי בֵיתוֹ שְׁמֹנָה עָשָׂר וּשְׁלֹשׁ מֵאוֹת וַיִּרְדֹּף עַד־דָּן

וַיִּשְׁמַע

וַand
יִּשְׁמַעto hear attentively

shoresh שמע

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

אַבְרָם

אַבְרָםAvram

a name

כִּי

כִּיbecause, since

conjunction

נִשְׁבָּה

נִשְׁבָּהto transport into captivity

he, past · passiveNifal · perfect

אָחִיו

אָחִיbrother, sibling
וhis/her/its

milah אָח

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

וַיָּרֶק

וַand
יָּרֶקto pour out

he, past · causativeHifil · wayyiqtol

אֶת־

אֶתto

points at the object

חֲנִיכָיו

חֲנִיכָיinitiated
וhis/her/its

noun · plural · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · plural · construct state

יְלִידֵי

יְלִידֵיborn

shoresh ילד

noun · plural · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · plural · construct state

בֵיתוֹ

בֵיתhouse
וֹhis/her/its

shoresh בנה

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

שְׁמֹנָה

שְׁמֹנָהa cardinal number, eight

shoresh שמנ

adjective

עָשָׂר

עָשָׂרten, teens

shoresh עשר

adjective

וּשְׁלֹשׁ

וּand
שְׁלֹשׁthree

milah שָׁלוֹשׁ

adjective

מֵאוֹת

מֵאוֹתa hundred

shoresh מאה

adjective · plural

וַיִּרְדֹּף

וַand
יִּרְדֹּףto run after usually with hostile intent

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

עַד־

עַדto, until, during

preposition

דָּן

דָּןDan, a place

a name

Translation

When Avram heard that his kinsman was taken captive, he armed his trained servants [lads] who were born in his household, three hundred and eighteen [men], and he pursued [them] until Dan.

In plain terms

He hears that his kinsman is captive and moves immediately. The number is exact, three hundred and eighteen men of his own household, and he pursues as far as Dan. Nothing is said about weighing the risk.

Rashi on “He armed”

As the Targum translates: “And he armed.” Similarly: וַהֲרִיקוֹתִי אַחֲרֵיכֶם חָרֶב [is translated by Onkelos:] “I will arm myself with a sword against you.” Similarly: אָרִיק חַרְבִּי [“I will arm myself with sword”]. “Similarly:” Arm yourself with sword and ax.”

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 15Bereishis 14:15 · 12 words

וַיֵּחָלֵק עֲלֵיהֶם לַיְלָה הוּא וַעֲבָדָיו וַיַּכֵּם וַיִּרְדְּפֵם עַד־חוֹבָה אֲשֶׁר מִשְּׂמֹאל לְדַמָּשֶׂק

וַיֵּחָלֵק

וַand
יֵּחָלֵקto be smooth

he, past · passiveNifal · wayyiqtol

עֲלֵיהֶם

עֲלֵיabove, over, upon
הֶםtheir

preposition

לַיְלָה

לַיְלָהnight

shoresh לול

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

הוּא

הוּאhe, it, self, this, that

personal pronoun

וַעֲבָדָיו

וַand
עֲבָדָיservant
וhis/her/its

shoresh עבד

noun · plural · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · plural · construct state

וַיַּכֵּם

וַand
יַּכֵּto strike
םtheir

shoresh נכה

he, past · causativeHifil · wayyiqtol

וַיִּרְדְּפֵם

וַand
יִּרְדְּפֵto run after usually with hostile intent
םtheir

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

עַד־

עַדto, until, during

preposition

חוֹבָה

חוֹבָהChovah, a place

a name

אֲשֶׁר

אֲשֶׁרwho, which, what, that, when, where, how

who, which, that

מִשְּׂמֹאל

מִfrom
שְּׂמֹאלdark

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

לְדַמָּשֶׂק

לְto / for
דַמָּשֶׂקDamascus

a name

Translation

He divided [his men] against them at night, he and his servants and he attacked them. He pursued them until Chovah, which is to the left [north] of Damascus.

In plain terms

He splits his force and attacks at night, and pursues past Damascus. Four verbs in one pasuk, with no description of the fighting itself.

Rashi on “He divided [his men] against them”

According to its plain meaning the verse should be inverted [as if to read:] “He divided himself, he and his servants, against them, at night,” in the manner of pursuers who chase after those who are fleeing who run in different directions.

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 16Bereishis 14:16 · 15 words

וַיָּשֶׁב אֵת כׇּל־הָרְכֻשׁ וְגַם אֶת־לוֹט אָחִיו וּרְכֻשׁוֹ הֵשִׁיב וְגַם אֶת־הַנָּשִׁים וְאֶת־הָעָם

וַיָּשֶׁב

וַand
יָּשֶׁבto turn back

shoresh שוב

he, past · causativeHifil · wayyiqtol

אֵת

אֵתto

points at the object

כָּל־

כָּלall, every

shoresh כלל

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

הָרְכֻשׁ

הָthe
רְכֻשׁproperty

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

וְגַם

וְand
גַםeven, also, too

accusative particle

אֶת־

אֶתto

points at the object

לוֹט

לוֹטLot

a name

אָחִיו

אָחִיbrother, sibling
וhis/her/its

milah אָח

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

וּרְכֻשׁוֹ

וּand
רְכֻשׁproperty
וֹhis/her/its

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

הֵשִׁיב

הֵשִׁיבto turn back

shoresh שוב

he, past · causativeHifil · perfect

וְגַם

וְand
גַםeven, also, too

accusative particle

אֶת־

אֶתto

points at the object

הַנָּשִׁים

הַthe
נָּשִׁיםwoman

shoresh אשה

noun · pluralnoun · feminine · plural · absolute state

וְאֶת־

וְand
אֶתto

points at the object

הָעָם

הָthe
עָםpeople, tribe, troops

shoresh עממ

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

Translation

He brought back all the property. His kinsman [His brother’s son] Lot and his possessions he also brought back, as well as the women and the people.

In plain terms

The recovery is listed in the order that matters to the story: all the property, and Lot, and Lot's possessions, and the women and the people. Everything taken in pesukim 11 and 12 comes back.

Pasuk 17Bereishis 14:17 · 19 words

וַיֵּצֵא מֶלֶךְ־סְדֹם לִקְרָאתוֹ אַחֲרֵי שׁוּבוֹ מֵהַכּוֹת אֶת־כְּדׇרְלָעֹמֶר וְאֶת־הַמְּלָכִים אֲשֶׁר אִתּוֹ אֶל־עֵמֶק שָׁוֵה הוּא עֵמֶק הַמֶּלֶךְ

וַיֵּצֵא

וַand
יֵּצֵאto go out, bring out

shoresh יצא

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

מֶלֶךְ־

מֶלֶךְking

shoresh מלכ

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

סְדֹם

סְדֹםSedom

a name

לִקְרָאתוֹ

לִto / for
קְרָאתa meeting, an encounter
וֹhis/her/its

the “to …” formQal · infinitive construct

אַחֲרֵי

אַחֲרֵיafter

preposition

שׁוּבוֹ

שׁוּבto turn back
וֹhis/her/its

shoresh שוב

the “to …” formQal · infinitive construct

מֵהַכּוֹת

מֵfrom
הַכּוֹתto strike

shoresh נכה

the “to …” form · causativeHifil · infinitive construct

אֶת־

אֶתto

points at the object

כְּדָרלָעֹמֶר

כְּדָרלָעֹמֶרKedorlaomer, a king

a name

וְאֶת־

וְand
אֶתto

points at the object

הַמְּלָכִים

הַthe
מְּלָכִיםking

shoresh מלכ

noun · pluralnoun · masculine · plural · absolute state

אֲשֶׁר

אֲשֶׁרwho, which, what, that, when, where, how

who, which, that

אִתּוֹ

אִתּwith, by, at, among
וֹhis/her/its

preposition

אֶל־

אֶלnear, toward, among

preposition

עֵמֶק

עֵמֶקa valley

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

שָׁוֵה

שָׁוֵהShaveh, a valley

a name

הוּא

הוּאhe, it, self, this, that

personal pronoun

עֵמֶק

עֵמֶקa valley

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

הַמֶּלֶךְ

הַthe
מֶּלֶךְking

shoresh מלכ

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

Translation

The King of Sedom went out to meet him after his return from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings that were with him, to the Valley of Shaveh which is the King’s Valley [to the barren plain, which is the place of the racetrack of the king].

In plain terms

The king of Sedom comes out to meet him. The man who fled into a pit is now coming to meet the man who recovered his city's wealth.

Rashi on “Valley of Shaveh”

That is its name as the Targum explains לְמֵיֹשַר מַפְנָא [the barren plain], empty of trees and from all impediments.

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 18Bereishis 14:18 · 11 words

וּמַלְכִּי־צֶדֶק מֶלֶךְ שָׁלֵם הוֹצִיא לֶחֶם וָיָיִן וְהוּא כֹהֵן לְאֵל עֶלְיוֹן

וּמַלְכִּי־

וּand
מַלְכִּיMalki-Tzedek

a name

צֶדֶק

צֶדֶקMalki-Tzedek

a name

מֶלֶךְ

מֶלֶךְking

shoresh מלכ

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

שָׁלֵם

שָׁלֵםShaleim

a name

הוֹצִיא

הוֹצִיאto go out, bring out

shoresh יצא

he, past · causativeHifil · perfect

לֶחֶם

לֶחֶםfood

shoresh לחמ

nounnoun · both · singular · absolute state

וָיָיִן

וָand
יָיִןwine

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

וְהוּא

וְand
הוּאhe, it, self, this, that

personal pronoun

כֹהֵן

כֹהֵןpriest, official

shoresh כהנ

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

לְאֵל

לְto / for
אֵלstrength

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

עֶלְיוֹן

עֶלְיוֹןhigh, lofty

adjective

Translation

Malki Zedek, king of Shaleim [Yerushalayim], brought out bread and wine. He was a Kohein of [He was serving before] the Most High Almighty.

In plain terms

Malki-Tzedek interrupts the meeting. He is king of Shaleim and a kohen to the Most High, and he brings out bread and wine. He arrives without introduction and leaves without explanation.

Rashi on “Malki Zedek”

The Midrash Aggadah [explains] that he is Sheim, the son of Noach.

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 19Bereishis 14:19 · 9 words

וַיְבָרְכֵהוּ וַיֹּאמַר בָּרוּךְ אַבְרָם לְאֵל עֶלְיוֹן קֹנֵה שָׁמַיִם וָאָרֶץ

וַיְבָרְכֵהוּ

וַand
יְבָרְכֵto bless
הוּhis/her/its

shoresh ברכ

he, past · intensivePiel · wayyiqtol

וַיֹּאמַר

וַand
יֹּאמַרto say

shoresh אמר

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

בָּרוּךְ

בָּרוּךְto bless

shoresh ברכ

having it doneQal · passive participle

אַבְרָם

אַבְרָםAvram

a name

לְאֵל

לְto / for
אֵלstrength

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

עֶלְיוֹן

עֶלְיוֹןhigh, lofty

adjective

קֹנֵה

קֹנֵהto erect

shoresh קנה

doing it nowQal · participle

שָׁמַיִם

שָׁמַיִםsky, heavens

milah שָׁמַיִם

noun · pluralnoun · masculine · plural · absolute state

וָאָרֶץ

וָand
אָרֶץthe earth

shoresh ארצ

nounnoun · both · singular · absolute state

Translation

He blessed him and said: Blessed be Avram to the Most High, Almighty Possessor of heaven and earth.

In plain terms

He blesses Avram first, and calls God Possessor of heaven and earth, the same claim to the land that the promises have been making.

Rashi on “Possesor of heaven and earth”

[The meaning is] the same as “Maker of heaven and earth.” Through His having made them He acquired them to be His.

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 20Bereishis 14:20 · 11 words

וּבָרוּךְ אֵל עֶלְיוֹן אֲשֶׁר־מִגֵּן צָרֶיךָ בְּיָדֶךָ וַיִּתֶּן־לוֹ מַעֲשֵׂר מִכֹּל

וּבָרוּךְ

וּand
בָרוּךְto bless

shoresh ברכ

having it doneQal · passive participle

אֵל

אֵלstrength

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

עֶלְיוֹן

עֶלְיוֹןhigh, lofty

adjective

אֲשֶׁר־

אֲשֶׁרwho, which, what, that, when, where, how

who, which, that

מִגֵּן

מִגֵּןto shield

he, past · intensivePiel · perfect

צָרֶיךָ

צָרֶיnarrow
ךָyour

noun · plural · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · plural · construct state

בְּיָדֶךָ

בְּin / with / by
יָדֶhand
ךָyour

milah יָד

noun · the “… of” formnoun · both · singular · construct state

וַיִּתֶּן־

וַand
יִּתֶּןto give

shoresh נתנ

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

לוֹ

לto / for
וֹhis/her/its

מַעֲשֵׂר

מַעֲשֵׂרa tenth

shoresh עשר

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

מִכֹּל

מִfrom
כֹּלall, every

shoresh כלל

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

Translation

And blessed be the Most High Almighty Who has delivered your enemies into your hand. [Avram] gave him a tenth of everything.

In plain terms

Then he blesses God for the victory, putting the win in its place. Avram answers by giving him a tenth of everything, without being asked.

Rashi on “Who has delivered”

[Meaning] “who has delivered,” as in “[How] can I deliver you, Israel?”

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 21Bereishis 14:21 · 11 words

וַיֹּאמֶר מֶלֶךְ־סְדֹם אֶל־אַבְרָם תֶּן־לִי הַנֶּפֶשׁ וְהָרְכֻשׁ קַח־לָךְ

וַיֹּאמֶר

וַand
יֹּאמֶרto say

shoresh אמר

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

מֶלֶךְ־

מֶלֶךְking

shoresh מלכ

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

סְדֹם

סְדֹםSedom

a name

אֶל־

אֶלnear, toward, among

preposition

אַבְרָם

אַבְרָםAvram

a name

תֶּן־

תֶּןto give

shoresh נתנ

a command to youQal · imperative

לִי

לִto / for
יmy

הַנֶּפֶשׁ

הַthe
נֶּפֶשׁliving creature

shoresh נפש

nounnoun · both · singular · absolute state

וְהָרְכֻשׁ

וְand
הָthe
רְכֻשׁproperty

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

קַח־

קַחto take

shoresh לקח

a command to youQal · imperative

לָךְ

לָto / for
ךְyour

Translation

The King of Sedom said to Avram: Give me the people, and take the possessions for yourself.

In plain terms

The king of Sedom finally makes his offer: give me the people, keep the goods. It is a reasonable proposal, and it would leave Avram rich.

Rashi on “Give me the people”

[Meaning:] of all my things that were captured that you rescued, return only the people to me.

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 22Bereishis 14:22 · 14 words

וַיֹּאמֶר אַבְרָם אֶל־מֶלֶךְ סְדֹם הֲרִמֹתִי יָדִי אֶל־ה׳ אֵל עֶלְיוֹן קֹנֵה שָׁמַיִם וָאָרֶץ

וַיֹּאמֶר

וַand
יֹּאמֶרto say

shoresh אמר

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

אַבְרָם

אַבְרָםAvram

a name

אֶל־

אֶלnear, toward, among

preposition

מֶלֶךְ

מֶלֶךְking

shoresh מלכ

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

סְדֹם

סְדֹםSedom

a name

הֲרִימֹתִי

הֲרִימֹתִיto be high actively, to rise or raise

shoresh רומ

I, past · causativeHifil · perfect

יָדִי

יָדִhand
יmy

milah יָד

noun · the “… of” formnoun · both · singular · construct state

אֶל־

אֶלnear, toward, among

preposition

ה׳

ה׳Hashem

a name

אֵל

אֵלstrength

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

עֶלְיוֹן

עֶלְיוֹןhigh, lofty

adjective

קֹנֵה

קֹנֵהto erect

shoresh קנה

doing it nowQal · participle

שָׁמַיִם

שָׁמַיִםsky, heavens

milah שָׁמַיִם

noun · pluralnoun · masculine · plural · absolute state

וָאָרֶץ

וָand
אָרֶץthe earth

shoresh ארצ

nounnoun · both · singular · absolute state

Translation

Avram said to the King of Sedom: I have lifted my hand [in prayer] to [before] Hashem [before] the Most High Almighty, Possessor of heaven and earth.

In plain terms

Avram refuses before the sentence is finished, and grounds the refusal in an oath he has already sworn, using Malki-Tzedek's own phrase, Possessor of heaven and earth.

Rashi on “I have lifted my hand”

This is an expression of an oath: “I lift my hand to God, Most High.” Similarly: בִּי נִשְׁבַּעְתִּי [means,] “I swear.” Similarly: נָתַתִּי כֶּסֶף הַשָּׂדֶה קַח מִמֶּנִּי, [means:] “I am giving you the price of the field, take it from me.”

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 23Bereishis 14:23 · 16 words

אִם־מִחוּט וְעַד שְׂרוֹךְ־נַעַל וְאִם־אֶקַּח מִכׇּל־אֲשֶׁר־לָךְ וְלֹא תֹאמַר אֲנִי הֶעֱשַׁרְתִּי אֶת־אַבְרָם

אִם־

אִםwhether, if, oh that

conjunction

מִחוּט

מִfrom
חוּטa string

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

וְעַד

וְand
עַדto, until, during

preposition

שְׂרוֹךְ־

שְׂרוֹךְa thong

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

נַעַל

נַעַלa sandal tongue

nounnoun · feminine · singular · absolute state

וְאִם־

וְand
אִםwhether, if, oh that

conjunction

אֶקַּח

אֶקַּחto take

shoresh לקח

I, futureQal · imperfect

מִכָּל־

מִfrom
כָּלall, every

shoresh כלל

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

אֲשֶׁר־

אֲשֶׁרwho, which, what, that, when, where, how

who, which, that

לָךְ

לָto / for
ךְyour

וְלֹא

וְand
לֹאnot, no

not

תֹאמַר

תֹאמַרto say

shoresh אמר

you, futureQal · imperfect

אֲנִי

אֲנִיI am

personal pronoun

הֶעֱשַׁרְתִּי

הֶעֱשַׁרְתִּיto accumulate

I, past · causativeHifil · perfect

אֶת־

אֶתto

points at the object

אַבְרָם

אַבְרָםAvram

a name

Translation

Neither a thread nor a shoelace! And I will not take anything of yours, so you will not [be able] to say, I have made Avram wealthy.

In plain terms

Not a thread, not a shoelace. The reason is precise and about reputation: so that you cannot say, I made Avram rich. He was made wealthy in Egypt and will not be made wealthy here.

Rashi on “Neither a thread nor a shoelace”

Will I retain for myself from the spoils.

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 24Bereishis 14:24 · 16 words

בִּלְעָדַי רַק אֲשֶׁר אָכְלוּ הַנְּעָרִים וְחֵלֶק הָאֲנָשִׁים אֲשֶׁר הָלְכוּ אִתִּי עָנֵר אֶשְׁכֹּל וּמַמְרֵא הֵם יִקְחוּ חֶלְקָם {ס}

בִּלְעָדַי

בִּלְעָדַexcept, without
יmy

preposition

רַק

רַקmerely, only

accusative particle

אֲשֶׁר

אֲשֶׁרwho, which, what, that, when, where, how

who, which, that

אָכְלוּ

אָכְלוּto eat

shoresh אכל

they, pastQal · perfect

הַנְּעָרִים

הַthe
נְּעָרִיםa boy, a young man

noun · pluralnoun · masculine · plural · absolute state

וְחֵלֶק

וְand
חֵלֶקsmoothness

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

הָאֲנָשִׁים

הָthe
אֲנָשִׁיםman, male person

shoresh איש

noun · pluralnoun · masculine · plural · absolute state

אֲשֶׁר

אֲשֶׁרwho, which, what, that, when, where, how

who, which, that

הָלְכוּ

הָלְכוּto walk

shoresh הלכ

they, pastQal · perfect

אִתִּי

אִתִּwith, by, at, among
יmy

preposition

עָנֵר

עָנֵרAneir

a name

אֶשְׁכֹּל

אֶשְׁכֹּלEshkol

a name

וּמַמְרֵא

וּand
מַמְרֵאMamrei

a name

הֵם

הֵםthey emphasize

personal pronoun

יִקְחוּ

יִקְחוּto take

shoresh לקח

let himQal · jussive

חֶלְקָם

חֶלְקָsmoothness
םtheir

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

Translation

I am excluding myself; only what the lads have eaten, and the portion of the men who went with me, Aneir, Eshkol and Mamrei, they may take their portion.

In plain terms

He excludes himself only, not his men: what the young men ate, and the share of Aneir, Eshkol and Mamrei. His allies are not bound by his refusal, and he does not impose it on them.

Rashi on “The lads”

[Meaning:] my servants who went with me. In addition, “Aneir, Eshkol, and Mamrei, etc. Though it was my servants who took part in the war,” as it is said, “He and his servants smote them,” and, Aneir and his friends [only] stayed with the supplies to guard it, nevertheless, they will get their share. From him [Avram], Dovid learned a lesson when he said, “As the share of the participant in battle and as the share of the one that remains with the supplies, they will share together.” It is therefore said, “This was so from that day [and had been so] from earlier times and he [Dovid] made it an ordinance and a law.” It does not state and on, because the law had already been given in the days of Avram.

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

↑ Contents

Chapter 13

Bereishis Perek 15

The covenant between the pieces

Pasuk 1Bereishis 15:1 · 19 words

אַחַר הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה הָיָה דְבַר־ה׳ אֶל־אַבְרָם בַּמַּחֲזֶה לֵאמֹר אַל־תִּירָא אַבְרָם אָנֹכִי מָגֵן לָךְ שְׂכָרְךָ הַרְבֵּה מְאֹד

אַחַר

אַחַרafter

preposition

הַדְּבָרִים

הַthe
דְּבָרִיםword, matter, thing

shoresh דבר

noun · pluralnoun · masculine · plural · absolute state

הָאֵלֶּה

הָthe
אֵלֶּהthese or those

this, that

הָיָה

הָיָהto be

shoresh היה

he, pastQal · perfect

דְבַר־

דְבַרword, matter, thing

shoresh דבר

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

ה׳

ה׳Hashem

a name

אֶל־

אֶלnear, toward, among

preposition

אַבְרָם

אַבְרָםAvram

a name

בַּמַּחֲזֶה

בַּin / with / by
מַּחֲזֶהa vision

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

לֵאמֹר

לֵto / for
אמֹרto say

shoresh אמר

the “to …” formQal · infinitive construct

אַל־

אַלnot, nothing

not

תִּירָא

תִּירָאto fear, reverence

shoresh ירא

let himQal · jussive

אַבְרָם

אַבְרָםAvram

a name

אָנֹכִי

אָנֹכִיI am

personal pronoun

מָגֵן

מָגֵןa shield

nounnoun · both · singular · absolute state

לָךְ

לָto / for
ךְyour

שְׂכָרְךָ

שְׂכָרְpayment of contract
ךָyour

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

הַרְבֵּה

הַרְבֵּהto increase

shoresh רבה

the emphatic form · causativeHifil · infinitive absolute

מְאֹד

מְאֹדvery, greatly

adverb

Translation

After these events, the word of Hashem came to Avram in a vision, saying: Fear not Avram, I am your shield [My Word is your strength], your reward is very great.

In plain terms

A new scene, marked as a vision. The opening words answer something Avram has not said aloud: fear not. He has just refused a fortune and made enemies of four kings, and the reassurance comes before any request of his.

Rashi on “After these events”

Wherever אַחַר is used it signifies immediately [after]. [When] אַחֲרֵי [is used] [it means] long afterwards. [Thus, immediately] “after these events,” [i.e.,] after this miracle occurred to him that he killed the kings, he became anxious and said, “Maybe I have already received my reward for all my righteousness.” Therefore, God said to him… Fear not Avram, I am your shield. From punishment. [I.e.,] that you will not be punished for all the people that you killed. And as for you anxiety that you have already received you reward, “Your reward is very great.”

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 2Bereishis 15:2 · 16 words

וַיֹּאמֶר אַבְרָם אֲדֹנָי ה׳ מַה־תִּתֶּן־לִי וְאָנֹכִי הוֹלֵךְ עֲרִירִי וּבֶן־מֶשֶׁק בֵּיתִי הוּא דַּמֶּשֶׂק אֱלִיעֶזֶר

וַיֹּאמֶר

וַand
יֹּאמֶרto say

shoresh אמר

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

אַבְרָם

אַבְרָםAvram

a name

אֲדֹנָי

אֲדֹנָthe Lord
יmy

noun · plural · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · plural · construct state

ה׳

ה׳Hashem

a name

מַה־

מַהwhat, how, why, whatever

interrogative

תִּתֶּן־

תִּתֶּןto give

shoresh נתנ

you, futureQal · imperfect

לִי

לִto / for
יmy

וְאָנֹכִי

וְand
אָנֹכִיI am

personal pronoun

הוֹלֵךְ

הוֹלֵךְto walk

shoresh הלכ

doing it nowQal · participle

עֲרִירִי

עֲרִירִיbare

adjective

וּבֶן־

וּand
בֶןson, builder

shoresh בנה

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

מֶשֶׁק

מֶשֶׁקpossession

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

בֵּיתִי

בֵּיתִhouse
יmy

shoresh בנה

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

הוּא

הוּאhe, it, self, this, that

personal pronoun

דַּמֶּשֶׂק

דַּמֶּשֶׂקDamascus

a name

אֱלִיעֶזֶר

אֱלִיעֶזֶרEliezer

a name

Translation

Avram said: My Master, God, what will You give me since I continue to be childless, and the manager of my household [this supplier who is in my house] is Eliezer of Damascus.

In plain terms

Avram answers a promise of reward by asking what any of it is worth: he has no child, and his steward stands to inherit. It is the first time he questions anything he has been told.

Rashi on “Continue to be childless”

Menachem ben Saruk explains it [עֲרִירִי] as meaning “heir,” comparable to עֵר וְעוֹנֶה. עֲרִירִי [would then mean] without an heir as you would say “It will תְשָׁרֵשׁ all my crops,” meaning, “it will tear up its roots.” Similarly עֲרִירִי means childless, in Old French desanfantez. [However,] it seems to me that עֵר וְעוֹנֶה is of the same derivation as וְלִבִּי עֵר, [meaning, “my heart is awake”], whereas וַעֲרִירִי means “destruction” as in “Destroy it, destroy it,” and as in “Destroying the foundation,” and as in “Shall be completely destroyed,” and as in “For the cedar will be destroyed.”

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 3Bereishis 15:3 · 12 words

וַיֹּאמֶר אַבְרָם הֵן לִי לֹא נָתַתָּה זָרַע וְהִנֵּה בֶן־בֵּיתִי יוֹרֵשׁ אֹתִי

וַיֹּאמֶר

וַand
יֹּאמֶרto say

shoresh אמר

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

אַבְרָם

אַבְרָםAvram

a name

הֵן

הֵןlo! if

demonstrative

לִי

לִto / for
יmy

לֹא

לֹאnot, no

not

נָתַתָּה

נָתַתָּהto give

shoresh נתנ

you, pastQal · perfect

זָרַע

זָרַעseed, plant, offspring

shoresh זרע

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

וְהִנֵּה

וְand
הִנֵּהlook!

demonstrative

בֶן־

בֶןson, builder

shoresh בנה

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

בֵּיתִי

בֵּיתִhouse
יmy

shoresh בנה

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

יוֹרֵשׁ

יוֹרֵשׁto take possession of

shoresh ירש

doing it nowQal · participle

אֹתִי

אֹתִto
יmy

points at the object

Translation

And Avram said: Behold, You have not given me children, and thus one of my household will be my heir.

In plain terms

He says it again, plainly, in case the point was missed, You have given me no offspring, so a member of my household inherits. The repetition is the weight of the complaint.

Rashi on “Behold, You have not given me children”

And what benefit [is there] from all that you shall give to me?

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 4Bereishis 15:4 · 15 words

וְהִנֵּה דְבַר־ה׳ אֵלָיו לֵאמֹר לֹא יִירָשְׁךָ זֶה כִּי־אִם אֲשֶׁר יֵצֵא מִמֵּעֶיךָ הוּא יִירָשֶׁךָ

וְהִנֵּה

וְand
הִנֵּהlook!

demonstrative

דְבַר־

דְבַרword, matter, thing

shoresh דבר

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

ה׳

ה׳Hashem

a name

אֵלָיו

אֵלָיnear, toward, among
וhis/her/its

preposition

לֵאמֹר

לֵto / for
אמֹרto say

shoresh אמר

the “to …” formQal · infinitive construct

לֹא

לֹאnot, no

not

יִירָשְׁךָ

יִירָשְׁto take possession of
ךָyour

shoresh ירש

he, futureQal · imperfect

זֶה

זֶהthis or that

this, that

כִּי־

כִּיbecause, since

conjunction

אִם

אִםwhether, if, oh that

conjunction

אֲשֶׁר

אֲשֶׁרwho, which, what, that, when, where, how

who, which, that

יֵצֵא

יֵצֵאto go out, bring out

shoresh יצא

he, futureQal · imperfect

מִמֵּעֶיךָ

מִfrom
מֵּעֶיthe innards, the body
ךָyour

noun · plural · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · plural · construct state

הוּא

הוּאhe, it, self, this, that

personal pronoun

יִירָשֶׁךָ

יִירָשֶׁto take possession of
ךָyour

shoresh ירש

he, futureQal · imperfect

Translation

Suddenly the word of Hashem came to him, saying: That one will not be your heir; only he that will come from within your body [a son that you will beget] will be your heir.

In plain terms

The answer is immediate and specific. Not that one; one who comes from your own body. The vagueness of descendants in the earlier promises is narrowed to a son.

Pasuk 5Bereishis 15:5 · 18 words

וַיּוֹצֵא אֹתוֹ הַחוּצָה וַיֹּאמֶר הַבֶּט־נָא הַשָּׁמַיְמָה וּסְפֹר הַכּוֹכָבִים אִם־תּוּכַל לִסְפֹּר אֹתָם וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ כֹּה יִהְיֶה זַרְעֶךָ

וַיּוֹצֵא

וַand
יּוֹצֵאto go out, bring out

shoresh יצא

he, past · causativeHifil · wayyiqtol

אֹתוֹ

אֹתto
וֹhis/her/its

points at the object

הַחוּצָה

הַthe
חוּצָoutside, outdoors
הtoward

shoresh חוצ

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

וַיֹּאמֶר

וַand
יֹּאמֶרto say

shoresh אמר

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

הַבֶּט־

הַבֶּטto scan

a command to you · causativeHifil · imperative

נָא

נָאnow please

exhortation

הַשָּׁמַיְמָה

הַthe
שָּׁמַיְמָsky, heavens
הtoward

milah שָׁמַיִם

noun · pluralnoun · masculine · plural · absolute state

וּסְפֹר

וּand
סְפֹרto count, to reckon

shoresh ספר

a command to youQal · imperative

הַכּוֹכָבִים

הַthe
כּוֹכָבִיםa star

noun · pluralnoun · masculine · plural · absolute state

אִם־

אִםwhether, if, oh that

conjunction

תּוּכַל

תּוּכַלto be able

shoresh יכל

you, futureQal · imperfect

לִסְפֹּר

לִto / for
סְפֹּרto count, to reckon

shoresh ספר

the “to …” formQal · infinitive construct

אֹתָם

אֹתָto
םtheir

points at the object

וַיֹּאמֶר

וַand
יֹּאמֶרto say

shoresh אמר

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

לוֹ

לto / for
וֹhis/her/its

כֹּה

כֹּהthus, here, now

adverb

יִהְיֶה

יִהְיֶהto be

shoresh היה

he, futureQal · imperfect

זַרְעֶךָ

זַרְעֶseed, plant, offspring
ךָyour

shoresh זרע

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

Translation

He [then] took him outside and said: Look towards the heavens and count the stars if you are able to count them. He then said to him: So [numerous] will your descendants be.

In plain terms

He is taken outside and told to count the stars. In 13:16 the comparison was dust, underfoot; here it is stars, overhead, and again the pasuk sets the terms, if you can count them.

Rashi on “He [then] took him outside”

According to the plain meaning: He took him from his tent, outside, to see the stars. However, according to its Midrash, He said to him, “Leave your astrological calculations that you have seen in the constellations that you are not destined to have a son. It is Avram who will have no son, but Avraham will have a son. Similarly, it is Sarai who will not give birth, but Sarah will give birth. By My calling you by a [different] name [your] destiny will change. An alternate explanation: He took him out of the terrestrial void and lifted him above the stars. This explains the use of the term הַבֶּט [which signifies looking] from above to below.

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 6Bereishis 15:6 · 5 words

וְהֶאֱמִן בַּה׳ וַיַּחְשְׁבֶהָ לּוֹ צְדָקָה

וְהֶאֱמִן

וְand
הֶאֱמִןto build up or support

he, past · causativeHifil · perfect

בַּה׳

בַּin / with / by
ה׳Hashem

a name

וַיַּחְשְׁבֶהָ

וַand
יַּחְשְׁבֶto plait or interpenetrate
הָhis/her/its

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

לּוֹ

לּto / for
וֹhis/her/its

צְדָקָה

צְדָקָהrighteousness

nounnoun · feminine · singular · absolute state

Translation

He believed in [the Word of] Hashem, and this He accounted to him for righteousness.

In plain terms

One of the shortest pesukim in the parsha and among the most quoted: he believed, and it was accounted to him as righteousness. Nothing happens in it. It records only a state of mind.

Rashi on “He believed in Hashem”

[Meaning:] he did not ask of Him a sign concerning this. Whereas, concerning the inheritance of the land he asked Him for a sign and said to Him, “With what [sign] will I know?”

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 7Bereishis 15:7 · 14 words

וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו אֲנִי ה׳ אֲשֶׁר הוֹצֵאתִיךָ מֵאוּר כַּשְׂדִּים לָתֶת לְךָ אֶת־הָאָרֶץ הַזֹּאת לְרִשְׁתָּהּ

וַיֹּאמֶר

וַand
יֹּאמֶרto say

shoresh אמר

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

אֵלָיו

אֵלָיnear, toward, among
וhis/her/its

preposition

אֲנִי

אֲנִיI am

personal pronoun

ה׳

ה׳Hashem

a name

אֲשֶׁר

אֲשֶׁרwho, which, what, that, when, where, how

who, which, that

הוֹצֵאתִיךָ

הוֹצֵאתִיto go out, bring out
ךָyour

shoresh יצא

I, past · causativeHifil · perfect

מֵאוּר

מֵfrom
אוּרUr

a name

כַּשְׂדִּים

כַּשְׂדִּיםKasdim, the Chaldeans

a name

לָתֶת

לָto / for
תֶתto give

shoresh נתנ

the “to …” formQal · infinitive construct

לְךָ

לְto / for
ךָyour

אֶת־

אֶתto

points at the object

הָאָרֶץ

הָthe
אָרֶץthe earth

shoresh ארצ

nounnoun · both · singular · absolute state

הַזֹּאת

הַthe
זֹּאתthis one

this, that

לְרִשְׁתָּהּ

לְto / for
רִשְׁתָּto take possession of
הּhis/her/its

shoresh ירש

the “to …” formQal · infinitive construct

Translation

He said to him: I am Hashem who brought you out of Ur Kasdim, to give to you this land as an inheritance.

In plain terms

The subject changes from offspring to land, and God identifies Himself by what He has already done, who brought you out of Ur Kasdim, before stating what He will do.

Pasuk 8Bereishis 15:8 · 7 words

וַיֹּאמַר אֲדֹנָי ה׳ בַּמָּה אֵדַע כִּי אִירָשֶׁנָּה

וַיֹּאמַר

וַand
יֹּאמַרto say

shoresh אמר

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

אֲדֹנָי

אֲדֹנָthe Lord
יmy

noun · plural · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · plural · construct state

ה׳

ה׳Hashem

a name

בַּמָּה

בַּin / with / by
מָּהwhat, how, why, whatever

interrogative

אֵדַע

אֵדַעto know

shoresh ידע

I, futureQal · imperfect

כִּי

כִּיbecause, since

conjunction

אִירָשֶׁנָּה

אִירָשֶׁto take possession of
נָּהhis/her/its

shoresh ירש

I, futureQal · imperfect

Translation

And he said: My Master, God, how will I know that I will inherit it?

In plain terms

Avram asks again: how shall I know? He has just been described as believing; here he asks for something to go on. The text lets both stand without reconciling them.

Pasuk 9Bereishis 15:9 · 12 words

וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו קְחָה לִי עֶגְלָה מְשֻׁלֶּשֶׁת וְעֵז מְשֻׁלֶּשֶׁת וְאַיִל מְשֻׁלָּשׁ וְתֹר וְגוֹזָל

וַיֹּאמֶר

וַand
יֹּאמֶרto say

shoresh אמר

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

אֵלָיו

אֵלָיnear, toward, among
וhis/her/its

preposition

קְחָה

קְחָto take
ה

shoresh לקח

a command to youQal · imperative

לִי

לִto / for
יmy

עֶגְלָה

עֶגְלָהa calf

nounnoun · feminine · singular · absolute state

מְשֻׁלֶּשֶׁת

מְשֻׁלֶּשֶׁתto be triplicate

having it done · intensive passivePual · passive participle

וְעֵז

וְand
עֵזgoat

shoresh עזז

nounnoun · feminine · singular · absolute state

מְשֻׁלֶּשֶׁת

מְשֻׁלֶּשֶׁתto be triplicate

having it done · intensive passivePual · passive participle

וְאַיִל

וְand
אַיִלram

shoresh אול

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

מְשֻׁלָּשׁ

מְשֻׁלָּשׁto be triplicate

having it done · intensive passivePual · passive participle

וְתֹר

וְand
תֹרa dove

nounnoun · both · singular · absolute state

וְגוֹזָל

וְand
גוֹזָלa nestling

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

Translation

He said to him: Bring Me [Sacrifice before Me] three heifers, three goats and three rams, a dove, and a young pigeon.

In plain terms

The answer is not an argument but an instruction: three animals, each three years old, and two birds. No explanation is given for the list.

Rashi on “Three heifers”

Three heifers are a symbol for the three bulls: 1) the bull offered on Yom Kippur; 2) the bull [offered] when the law is “hidden” from the people; and 3) the heifer whose neck was broken.

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 10Bereishis 15:10 · 17 words

וַיִּקַּח־לוֹ אֶת־כׇּל־אֵלֶּה וַיְבַתֵּר אֹתָם בַּתָּוֶךְ וַיִּתֵּן אִישׁ־בִּתְרוֹ לִקְרַאת רֵעֵהוּ וְאֶת־הַצִּפֹּר לֹא בָתָר

וַיִּקַּח־

וַand
יִּקַּחto take

shoresh לקח

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

לוֹ

לto / for
וֹhis/her/its

אֶת־

אֶתto

points at the object

כָּל־

כָּלall, every

shoresh כלל

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

אֵלֶּה

אֵלֶּהthese or those

this, that

וַיְבַתֵּר

וַand
יְבַתֵּרto chop up

he, past · intensivePiel · wayyiqtol

אֹתָם

אֹתָto
םtheir

points at the object

בַּתָּוֶךְ

בַּin / with / by
תָּוֶךְcenter

shoresh תוכ

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

וַיִּתֵּן

וַand
יִּתֵּןto give

shoresh נתנ

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

אִישׁ־

אִישׁman, male person

shoresh איש

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

בִּתְרוֹ

בִּתְרa section
וֹhis/her/its

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

לִקְרַאת

לִto / for
קְרַאתa meeting, an encounter

the “to …” formQal · infinitive construct

רֵעֵהוּ

רֵעֵfriend
הוּhis/her/its

shoresh רעה

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

וְאֶת־

וְand
אֶתto

points at the object

הַצִפֹּר

הַthe
צִפֹּרa little bird

nounnoun · both · singular · absolute state

לֹא

לֹאnot, no

not

בָתָר

בָתָרto chop up

he, pastQal · perfect

Translation

He brought [sacrificed] all these to [before] Him; he split them in the middle [into two equal parts], and placed each piece opposite the other. The bird, however, he did not split.

In plain terms

He divides each animal and sets the halves facing each other, and does not divide the birds. The pasuk records the exception without saying why.

Rashi on “He split them”

[Meaning:] he divided each into two parts. The verse does not exclude its literal meaning, since He was establishing a covenant with him that He would keep His promise to give possession of the land to his descendants, as is written: “On that day, Hashem made a covenant with Avram, saying,” etc. And it is customary for the parties to a covenant to divide an animal and to pass through between its parts, as it is said: “Who passed through between the parts of the calf,” here, too, the smoking furnace and the flaming torch which passed through between the pieces was the representative of the Divine Presence which is referred to as “fire.”

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 11Bereishis 15:11 · 7 words

וַיֵּרֶד הָעַיִט עַל־הַפְּגָרִים וַיַּשֵּׁב אֹתָם אַבְרָם

וַיֵּרֶד

וַand
יֵּרֶדto go down

shoresh ירד

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

הָעַיִט

הָthe
עַיִטa hawk or other bird of prey

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

עַל־

עַלabove, over, upon

preposition

הַפְּגָרִים

הַthe
פְּגָרִיםa carcase, whether of man or beast

noun · pluralnoun · masculine · plural · absolute state

וַיַּשֵּׁב

וַand
יַּשֵּׁבto blow

he, past · causativeHifil · wayyiqtol

אֹתָם

אֹתָto
םtheir

points at the object

אַבְרָם

אַבְרָםAvram

a name

Translation

Birds of prey [vultures] descended upon the carcasses, but Avram drove them away.

In plain terms

Birds of prey come down on the carcasses and Avram drives them off. A single concrete detail in the middle of a vision, and he is the one who acts.

Rashi on “Birds of prey”

It is the name of a bird so called because it swoops and is greedy for the carcasses to fly quickly upon its food as in, “And you swooped upon the spoils.”

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 12Bereishis 15:12 · 13 words

וַיְהִי הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ לָבוֹא וְתַרְדֵּמָה נָפְלָה עַל־אַבְרָם וְהִנֵּה אֵימָה חֲשֵׁכָה גְדֹלָה נֹפֶלֶת עָלָיו

וַיְהִי

וַand
יְהִיto be

shoresh היה

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ

הַthe
שֶּׁמֶשׁthe sun

nounnoun · both · singular · absolute state

לָבוֹא

לָto / for
בוֹאto bring to, give

shoresh בוא

the “to …” formQal · infinitive construct

וְתַרְדֵּמָה

וְand
תַרְדֵּמָהa lethargy or trance

nounnoun · feminine · singular · absolute state

נָפְלָה

נָפְלָהto fall

shoresh נפל

she, pastQal · perfect

עַל־

עַלabove, over, upon

preposition

אַבְרָם

אַבְרָםAvram

a name

וְהִנֵּה

וְand
הִנֵּהlook!

demonstrative

אֵימָה

אֵימָהfright

nounnoun · feminine · singular · absolute state

חֲשֵׁכָה

חֲשֵׁכָהdarkness

nounnoun · feminine · singular · absolute state

גְדֹלָה

גְדֹלָהgreat, large

shoresh גדל

adjective

נֹפֶלֶת

נֹפֶלֶתto fall

shoresh נפל

doing it nowQal · participle

עָלָיו

עָלָיabove, over, upon
וhis/her/its

preposition

Translation

As the sun was setting, a deep sleep fell upon Avram; and behold, a dread of deep darkness fell upon him.

In plain terms

Sunset, a deep sleep, and a dread of great darkness. The vocabulary shifts from what he does to what falls on him.

Rashi on “And behold, a dread of deep darkness”

Symbolizing the oppression and darkness of the exiles.

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 13Bereishis 15:13 · 17 words

וַיֹּאמֶר לְאַבְרָם יָדֹעַ תֵּדַע כִּי־גֵר יִהְיֶה זַרְעֲךָ בְּאֶרֶץ לֹא לָהֶם וַעֲבָדוּם וְעִנּוּ אֹתָם אַרְבַּע מֵאוֹת שָׁנָה

וַיֹּאמֶר

וַand
יֹּאמֶרto say

shoresh אמר

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

לְאַבְרָם

לְto / for
אַבְרָםAvram

a name

יָדֹעַ

יָדֹעַto know

shoresh ידע

the emphatic formQal · infinitive absolute

תֵּדַע

תֵּדַעto know

shoresh ידע

you, futureQal · imperfect

כִּי־

כִּיbecause, since

conjunction

גֵר

גֵרforeigner, guest

shoresh גור

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

יִהְיֶה

יִהְיֶהto be

shoresh היה

he, futureQal · imperfect

זַרְעֲךָ

זַרְעֲseed, plant, offspring
ךָyour

shoresh זרע

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

בְּאֶרֶץ

בְּin / with / by
אֶרֶץthe earth

shoresh ארצ

nounnoun · both · singular · absolute state

לֹא

לֹאnot, no

not

לָהֶם

לָto / for
הֶםtheir

וַעֲבָדוּם

וַand
עֲבָדוּto work, serve
םtheir

shoresh עבד

they, pastQal · perfect

וְעִנּוּ

וְand
עִנּוּto depress

they, past · intensivePiel · perfect

אֹתָם

אֹתָto
םtheir

points at the object

אַרְבַּע

אַרְבַּעfour

shoresh רבע

adjective

מֵאוֹת

מֵאוֹתa hundred

shoresh מאה

adjective · plural

שָׁנָה

שָׁנָהyear

shoresh שנה

nounnoun · feminine · singular · absolute state

Translation

And He [Hashem] said to Avram: Know for sure that your descendants will be foreigners in a land that is not theirs. They will enslave them and oppress them [for] four hundred years.

In plain terms

The covenant opens with exile, not with land: your descendants will be strangers in a land not theirs, enslaved and oppressed, four hundred years. He asked how he would know he would inherit, and is told first what it will cost.

Rashi on “That your descendants will be foreigners”

[The time] from Yitzchok’s birth until Israel left Egypt was four hundred years. How is this so? Yitzchok was 60 years old at Yaakov’s birth and when Yaakov descended to Egypt, he said, “The years of my temporary residence are one hundred and thirty years,” making a total of 190. They were in Egypt 210 [years], the numerical value of רְדוּ, making a total of 400 years. If you might suggest that they were in Egypt 400 [years], [this could not be so] because Kehos was of those who descended to Egypt. If you calculate the [total] years of Kehos, Amram and the eighty years of Moshe when [the Israelites] left Egypt, you will find only [a total of] 350. And you must still subtract from that all the years that Kehos lived after Amram’s birth and that Amram lived after Moshe’s birth.

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 14Bereishis 15:14 · 12 words

וְגַם אֶת־הַגּוֹי אֲשֶׁר יַעֲבֹדוּ דָּן אָנֹכִי וְאַחֲרֵי־כֵן יֵצְאוּ בִּרְכֻשׁ גָּדוֹל

וְגַם

וְand
גַםeven, also, too

accusative particle

אֶת־

אֶתto

points at the object

הַגּוֹי

הַthe
גּוֹיforeign nation

shoresh גוי

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

אֲשֶׁר

אֲשֶׁרwho, which, what, that, when, where, how

who, which, that

יַעֲבֹדוּ

יַעֲבֹדוּto work, serve

shoresh עבד

they, futureQal · imperfect

דָּן

דָּןa straight course

doing it nowQal · participle

אָנֹכִי

אָנֹכִיI am

personal pronoun

וְאַחֲרֵי־

וְand
אַחֲרֵיafter

preposition

כֵן

כֵןrightly so

adverb

יֵצְאוּ

יֵצְאוּto go out, bring out

shoresh יצא

they, futureQal · imperfect

בִּרְכֻשׁ

בִּin / with / by
רְכֻשׁproperty

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

גָּדוֹל

גָּדוֹלgreat, large

shoresh גדל

adjective

Translation

But also that nation whom they will serve I will judge; afterwards they will leave with great wealth.

In plain terms

Then the turn, the nation they serve will be judged, and they will come out with great wealth. The shape of the Egypt story is given here, generations before it happens.

Rashi on “But also that nation”

[The word] וְגַם [but also] includes the Four Kingdoms that will also perish because they enslaved Israel.

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 15Bereishis 15:15 · 8 words

וְאַתָּה תָּבוֹא אֶל־אֲבֹתֶיךָ בְּשָׁלוֹם תִּקָּבֵר בְּשֵׂיבָה טוֹבָה

וְאַתָּה

וְand
אַתָּהyou

personal pronoun

תָּבוֹא

תָּבוֹאto bring to, give

shoresh בוא

you, futureQal · imperfect

אֶל־

אֶלnear, toward, among

preposition

אֲבֹתֶיךָ

אֲבֹתֶיfather, parent
ךָyour

milah אָב

noun · plural · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · plural · construct state

בְּשָׁלוֹם

בְּin / with / by
שָׁלוֹםsafe

shoresh שלמ

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

תִּקָּבֵר

תִּקָּבֵרto inter

shoresh קבר

you, future · passiveNifal · imperfect

בְּשֵׂיבָה

בְּin / with / by
שֵׂיבָהold age

nounnoun · feminine · singular · absolute state

טוֹבָה

טוֹבָהgood, well

shoresh טוב

adjective

Translation

You will join your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age.

In plain terms

A word for Avram himself, set between the two halves: he will not see any of it. He will go to his fathers in peace and be buried in good old age.

Rashi on “You will join”

And will, therefore, not witness all this.

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 16Bereishis 15:16 · 11 words

וְדוֹר רְבִיעִי יָשׁוּבוּ הֵנָּה כִּי לֹא־שָׁלֵם עֲוֺן הָאֱמֹרִי עַד־הֵנָּה

וְדוֹר

וְand
דוֹרgeneration, age

shoresh דור

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

רְבִיעִי

רְבִיעִיfourth

shoresh רבע

adjective

יָשׁוּבוּ

יָשׁוּבוּto turn back

shoresh שוב

they, futureQal · imperfect

הֵנָּה

הֵנָּהto this side or that side

adverb

כִּי

כִּיbecause, since

conjunction

לֹא־

לֹאnot, no

not

שָׁלֵם

שָׁלֵםcomplete

shoresh שלמ

adjective

עֲוֺן

עֲוֺןperversity

noun · the “… of” formnoun · both · singular · construct state

הָאֱמֹרִי

הָthe
אֱמֹרִיan Emorite

shoresh אמר

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

עַד־

עַדto, until, during

preposition

הֵנָּה

הֵנָּהto this side or that side

adverb

Translation

The fourth generation will return here, for the sin of the Emorites will not be complete until then [now].

In plain terms

The fourth generation returns, and the delay is explained by something outside Israel entirely, the sin of the Emorite is not yet complete. The timing is not arbitrary.

Rashi on “The fourth generation”

[I.e.,] after they will have been exiled to Egypt they will remain there for three generations, and the fourth will return to this land. Because it was in the Land of Canaan that He spoke with him and established this covenant as is written: “To give you this land as an inheritance.” And so it was: Yaakov descended to Egypt. Now, go and count his generations. 1) Yehudah, 2) Peretz, 3) Chetzron and 4) Calev son of Chetzron [who was] of those who entered the Land.

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 17Bereishis 15:17 · 15 words

וַיְהִי הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ בָּאָה וַעֲלָטָה הָיָה וְהִנֵּה תַנּוּר עָשָׁן וְלַפִּיד אֵשׁ אֲשֶׁר עָבַר בֵּין הַגְּזָרִים הָאֵלֶּה

וַיְהִי

וַand
יְהִיto be

shoresh היה

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ

הַthe
שֶּׁמֶשׁthe sun

nounnoun · both · singular · absolute state

בָּאָה

בָּאָהto bring to, give

shoresh בוא

she, pastQal · perfect

וַעֲלָטָה

וַand
עֲלָטָהdusk

nounnoun · feminine · singular · absolute state

הָיָה

הָיָהto be

shoresh היה

he, pastQal · perfect

וְהִנֵּה

וְand
הִנֵּהlook!

demonstrative

תַנּוּר

תַנּוּרa fire-pot

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

עָשָׁן

עָשָׁןsmoke

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

וְלַפִּיד

וְand
לַפִּידa flambeau, lamp or flame

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

אֵשׁ

אֵשׁfire

milah אֵשׁ

nounnoun · both · singular · absolute state

אֲשֶׁר

אֲשֶׁרwho, which, what, that, when, where, how

who, which, that

עָבַר

עָבַרto cross over

shoresh עבר

he, pastQal · perfect

בֵּין

בֵּיןbetween, either...or

preposition

הַגְּזָרִים

הַthe
גְּזָרִיםsomething cut off

noun · pluralnoun · masculine · plural · absolute state

הָאֵלֶּה

הָthe
אֵלֶּהthese or those

this, that

Translation

The sun set and it became very dark; and behold, a smoking furnace and a flaming torch had passed between these pieces.

In plain terms

Now it is fully dark, and a smoking furnace and a flaming torch pass between the pieces. Avram does not pass between them. Only the fire does.

Rashi on “The sun set”

This is similar to וַיְהִי הֵם מְרִיקִים שַׂקֵּיהֶם. וַיְהִי הֵם קוֹבְרִים אִישׁ, meaning: and this thing happened.

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 18Bereishis 15:18 · 20 words

בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא כָּרַת ה׳ אֶת־אַבְרָם בְּרִית לֵאמֹר לְזַרְעֲךָ נָתַתִּי אֶת־הָאָרֶץ הַזֹּאת מִנְּהַר מִצְרַיִם עַד־הַנָּהָר הַגָּדֹל נְהַר־פְּרָת

בַּיּוֹם

בַּin / with / by
יּוֹםday

shoresh יומ

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

הַהוּא

הַthe
הוּאhe, it, self, this, that

personal pronoun

כָּרַת

כָּרַתto make a covenant

shoresh כרת

he, pastQal · perfect

ה׳

ה׳Hashem

a name

אֶת־

אֶתwith, by, at, among

preposition

אַבְרָם

אַבְרָםAvram

a name

בְּרִית

בְּרִיתto make a pact

shoresh ברה

nounnoun · feminine · singular · absolute state

לֵאמֹר

לֵto / for
אמֹרto say

shoresh אמר

the “to …” formQal · infinitive construct

לְזַרְעֲךָ

לְto / for
זַרְעֲseed, plant, offspring
ךָyour

shoresh זרע

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

נָתַתִּי

נָתַתִּיto give

shoresh נתנ

I, pastQal · perfect

אֶת־

אֶתto

points at the object

הָאָרֶץ

הָthe
אָרֶץthe earth

shoresh ארצ

nounnoun · both · singular · absolute state

הַזֹּאת

הַthe
זֹּאתthis one

this, that

מִנְּהַר

מִfrom
נְּהַרa stream including the sea

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

מִצְרַיִם

מִצְרַיִםMitzrayim, Egypt

a name

עַד־

עַדto, until, during

preposition

הַנָּהָר

הַthe
נָּהָרa stream including the sea

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

הַגָּדֹל

הַthe
גָּדֹלgreat, large

shoresh גדל

adjective

נְהַר־

נְהַרa stream including the sea

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

פְּרָת

פְּרָתthe Euphrates

a name

Translation

On that day Hashem made a covenant with Avram, saying: To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the Euphrates.

In plain terms

The covenant is stated as already done, I have given this land, and for the first time it is given borders, from the river of Egypt to the Euphrates.

Rashi on “To your descendants I have given”

A promise from God is considered as if it has already happened.

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 19Bereishis 15:19 · 6 words

אֶת־הַקֵּינִי וְאֶת־הַקְּנִזִּי וְאֵת הַקַּדְמֹנִי

אֶת־

אֶתto

points at the object

הַקֵּינִי

הַthe
קֵּינִיa Kenite or member of the tribe of Kajin

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

וְאֶת־

וְand
אֶתto

points at the object

הַקְּנִזִּי

הַthe
קְּנִזִּיa Kenizzite or descendant of Kenaz

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

וְאֵת

וְand
אֵתto

points at the object

הַקַּדְמֹנִי

הַthe
קַּדְמֹנִיKadmonite

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

Translation

[The lands of] the Kenites [Shalmites], Kenizites, Kadmonites,

In plain terms

The land is then itemised by its peoples rather than its geography. The first three are named here.

Rashi on “The Kenites”

Ten nations are listed here, [yet] He gave to them only [the land] of Seven Nations. The three [whose lands were not given], Edom, Moav, and Ammon which are [referred to here as]: Keini, Knizi, and Kadmoni are destined to be possessed in the future, as it is said: “They will overpower Edom and Moav and the Ammonites will obey them.”

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 20Bereishis 15:20 · 6 words

וְאֶת־הַחִתִּי וְאֶת־הַפְּרִזִּי וְאֶת־הָרְפָאִים

וְאֶת־

וְand
אֶתto

points at the object

הַחִתִּי

הַthe
חִתִּיa Chittite, or descendant of Cheth

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

וְאֶת־

וְand
אֶתto

points at the object

הַפְּרִזִּי

הַthe
פְּרִזִּיa Perizzite

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

וְאֶת־

וְand
אֶתto

points at the object

הָרְפָאִים

הָthe
רְפָאִיםa giant

noun · pluralnoun · masculine · plural · absolute state

Translation

The Chittites, Perizites, the Refa’im [the mighty ones],

In plain terms

The list continues. Naming who is there now is also naming what the promise has to displace.

Rashi on “The Refa’im”

[Refers to] the Land of Og [King of Bashan] about which it is said: “That [Bashan] is called the land of the Repha’im.”

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 21Bereishis 15:21 · 8 words

וְאֶת־הָאֱמֹרִי וְאֶת־הַכְּנַעֲנִי וְאֶת־הַגִּרְגָּשִׁי וְאֶת־הַיְבוּסִי {ס}

וְאֶת־

וְand
אֶתto

points at the object

הָאֱמֹרִי

הָthe
אֱמֹרִיan Emorite

shoresh אמר

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

וְאֶת־

וְand
אֶתto

points at the object

הַכְּנַעֲנִי

הַthe
כְּנַעֲנִיa Kenaanite or inhabitant of Kenaan

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

וְאֶת־

וְand
אֶתto

points at the object

הַגִּרְגָּשִׁי

הַthe
גִּרְגָּשִׁיa Girgashite

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

וְאֶת־

וְand
אֶתto

points at the object

הַיְבוּסִי

הַthe
יְבוּסִיa Jebusite or inhabitant of Jebus

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

Translation

The Emorites, Canaanites Girgashites and Yevusites.

In plain terms

Ten peoples in all, ending with the Yevusite. The perek that began with a childless man asking what he would be given ends with a bounded, populated land.

↑ Contents

Chapter 14

Bereishis Perek 16

Hagar and the birth of Yishmael

Pasuk 1Bereishis 16:1 · 11 words

וְשָׂרַי אֵשֶׁת אַבְרָם לֹא יָלְדָה לוֹ וְלָהּ שִׁפְחָה מִצְרִית וּשְׁמָהּ הָגָר

וְשָׂרַי

וְand
שָׂרַיSarai

a name

אֵשֶׁת

אֵשֶׁתwoman

shoresh אשה

noun · the “… of” formnoun · feminine · singular · construct state

אַבְרָם

אַבְרָםAvram

a name

לֹא

לֹאnot, no

not

יָלְדָה

יָלְדָהto give birth

shoresh ילד

she, pastQal · perfect

לוֹ

לto / for
וֹhis/her/its

וְלָהּ

וְand
לָto / for
הּhis/her/its

שִׁפְחָה

שִׁפְחָהa maidservant

nounnoun · feminine · singular · absolute state

מִצְרִית

מִצְרִיתa Mitsrite, or inhabitant of Mitsrajim

nounnoun · feminine · singular · absolute state

וּשְׁמָהּ

וּand
שְׁמָname, honor
הּhis/her/its

milah שֵׁם

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

הָגָר

הָגָרHagar

a name

Translation

Avram’s wife Sarai had not borne him children. She had an Egyptian handmaid whose name was Hagar.

In plain terms

The perek opens on the unresolved problem: Sarai has borne no children. The second half of the pasuk introduces the person through whom the next events happen, an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar.

Rashi on “An Egyptian handmaid”

She was Pharaoh’s daughter. When he [Pharaoh] saw the miracles that were performed for Sarah, he said: “Better that my daughter be a servant-maid in this house rather than the mistress of another house.”

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 2Bereishis 16:2 · 20 words

וַתֹּאמֶר שָׂרַי אֶל־אַבְרָם הִנֵּה־נָא עֲצָרַנִי ה׳ מִלֶּדֶת בֹּא־נָא אֶל־שִׁפְחָתִי אוּלַי אִבָּנֶה מִמֶּנָּה וַיִּשְׁמַע אַבְרָם לְקוֹל שָׂרָי

וַתֹּאמֶר

וַand
תֹּאמֶרto say

shoresh אמר

she, pastQal · wayyiqtol

שָׂרַי

שָׂרַיSarai

a name

אֶל־

אֶלnear, toward, among

preposition

אַבְרָם

אַבְרָםAvram

a name

הִנֵּה־

הִנֵּהlook!

demonstrative

נָא

נָאnow please

exhortation

עֲצָרַנִי

עֲצָרַto inclose
נִיmy

he, pastQal · perfect

ה׳

ה׳Hashem

a name

מִלֶּדֶת

מִfrom
לֶּדֶתto give birth

shoresh ילד

the “to …” formQal · infinitive construct

בֹּא־

בֹּאto bring to, give

shoresh בוא

a command to youQal · imperative

נָא

נָאnow please

exhortation

אֶל־

אֶלnear, toward, among

preposition

שִׁפְחָתִי

שִׁפְחָתִa maidservant
יmy

noun · the “… of” formnoun · feminine · singular · construct state

אוּלַי

אוּלַיif not, maybe

adverb

אִבָּנֶה

אִבָּנֶהto build

shoresh בנה

I, future · passiveNifal · imperfect

מִמֶּנָּה

מִמֶּfrom, out of
נָּהhis/her/its

preposition

וַיִּשְׁמַע

וַand
יִּשְׁמַעto hear attentively

shoresh שמע

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

אַבְרָם

אַבְרָםAvram

a name

לְקוֹל

לְto / for
קוֹלvoice, sound

shoresh קול

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

שָׂרָי

שָׂרָיSarai

a name

Translation

Sarai said to Avram: See now, Hashem has restrained me from having children; pray [now], come to my handmaid perhaps I will be built-up through her. Avram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.

In plain terms

Sarai reads her childlessness as coming from God, and proposes a solution. The closing clause is stated without comment: Avram listened to the voice of Sarai.

Rashi on “Perhaps I will be built-up through her”

This teaches that a person with no children is not considered “built-up” but, rather, “demolished” [i.e., not established].

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 3Bereishis 16:3 · 21 words

וַתִּקַּח שָׂרַי אֵשֶׁת־אַבְרָם אֶת־הָגָר הַמִּצְרִית שִׁפְחָתָהּ מִקֵּץ עֶשֶׂר שָׁנִים לְשֶׁבֶת אַבְרָם בְּאֶרֶץ כְּנָעַן וַתִּתֵּן אֹתָהּ לְאַבְרָם אִישָׁהּ לוֹ לְאִשָּׁה

וַתִּקַּח

וַand
תִּקַּחto take

shoresh לקח

she, pastQal · wayyiqtol

שָׂרַי

שָׂרַיSarai

a name

אֵשֶׁת־

אֵשֶׁתwoman

shoresh אשה

noun · the “… of” formnoun · feminine · singular · construct state

אַבְרָם

אַבְרָםAvram

a name

אֶת־

אֶתto

points at the object

הָגָר

הָגָרHagar

a name

הַמִּצְרִית

הַthe
מִּצְרִיתa Mitsrite, or inhabitant of Mitsrajim

nounnoun · feminine · singular · absolute state

שִׁפְחָתָהּ

שִׁפְחָתָa maidservant
הּhis/her/its

noun · the “… of” formnoun · feminine · singular · construct state

מִקֵּץ

מִfrom
קֵּץan extremity

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

עֶשֶׂר

עֶשֶׂרten

shoresh עשר

adjective

שָׁנִים

שָׁנִיםyear

shoresh שנה

noun · pluralnoun · feminine · plural · absolute state

לְשֶׁבֶת

לְto / for
שֶׁבֶתto sit, dwell, remain

shoresh ישב

the “to …” formQal · infinitive construct

אַבְרָם

אַבְרָםAvram

a name

בְּאֶרֶץ

בְּin / with / by
אֶרֶץthe earth

shoresh ארצ

noun · the “… of” formnoun · both · singular · construct state

כְּנָעַן

כְּנָעַןCanaan

a name

וַתִּתֵּן

וַand
תִּתֵּןto give

shoresh נתנ

she, pastQal · wayyiqtol

אֹתָהּ

אֹתָto
הּhis/her/its

points at the object

לְאַבְרָם

לְto / for
אַבְרָםAvram

a name

אִישָׁהּ

אִישָׁman, male person
הּhis/her/its

shoresh איש

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

לוֹ

לto / for
וֹhis/her/its

לְאִשָּׁה

לְto / for
אִשָּׁהwoman

shoresh אשה

nounnoun · feminine · singular · absolute state

Translation

Sarai, the wife of Avram took Hagar the Egyptian, her handmaid, at the end of ten years that Avram had lived in the Land of Canaan and gave her to Avram her husband to be his wife.

In plain terms

The Torah dates it, ten years in the land of Canaan, and repeats everyone's status in full: Sarai wife of Avram, Hagar the Egyptian her maidservant, given to Avram her husband as a wife. Every relationship in the sentence is about to be strained.

Rashi on “Sarai took”

[Meaning:] she took her with [kind] words: “How fortunate you are that you are privileged to cleave to as holy a body as this.”

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 4Bereishis 16:4 · 10 words

וַיָּבֹא אֶל־הָגָר וַתַּהַר וַתֵּרֶא כִּי הָרָתָה וַתֵּקַל גְּבִרְתָּהּ בְּעֵינֶיהָ

וַיָּבֹא

וַand
יָּבֹאto bring to, give

shoresh בוא

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

אֶל־

אֶלnear, toward, among

preposition

הָגָר

הָגָרHagar

a name

וַתַּהַר

וַand
תַּהַרto be pregnant, conceive

she, pastQal · wayyiqtol

וַתֵּרֶא

וַand
תֵּרֶאto see

shoresh ראה

she, pastQal · wayyiqtol

כִּי

כִּיbecause, since

conjunction

הָרָתָה

הָרָתָהto be pregnant, conceive

she, pastQal · perfect

וַתֵּקַל

וַand
תֵּקַלto curse, to treat lightly

she, pastQal · wayyiqtol

גְּבִרְתָּהּ

גְּבִרְתָּmistress
הּhis/her/its

noun · the “… of” formnoun · feminine · singular · construct state

בְּעֵינֶיהָ

בְּin / with / by
עֵינֶיeye
הָhis/her/its

shoresh עינ

noun · a pair · the “… of” formnoun · both · dual · construct state

Translation

He came to Hagar and she conceived. When she realized that she was pregnant, her mistress became slighted in her eyes.

In plain terms

She conceives, and the thing that was supposed to solve the problem creates a new one: her mistress became light in her eyes. Nothing is said about what Hagar did.

Rashi on “He came to Hagar and she conceived”

From the first marital union.

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 5Bereishis 16:5 · 19 words

וַתֹּאמֶר שָׂרַי אֶל־אַבְרָם חֲמָסִי עָלֶיךָ אָנֹכִי נָתַתִּי שִׁפְחָתִי בְּחֵיקֶךָ וַתֵּרֶא כִּי הָרָתָה וָאֵקַל בְּעֵינֶיהָ יִשְׁפֹּט ה׳ בֵּינִי וּבֵינֶיךָ

וַתֹּאמֶר

וַand
תֹּאמֶרto say

shoresh אמר

she, pastQal · wayyiqtol

שָׂרַי

שָׂרַיSarai

a name

אֶל־

אֶלnear, toward, among

preposition

אַבְרָם

אַבְרָםAvram

a name

חֲמָסִי

חֲמָסִviolence
יmy

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

עָלֶיךָ

עָלֶיabove, over, upon
ךָyour

preposition

אָנֹכִי

אָנֹכִיI am

personal pronoun

נָתַתִּי

נָתַתִּיto give

shoresh נתנ

I, pastQal · perfect

שִׁפְחָתִי

שִׁפְחָתִa maidservant
יmy

noun · the “… of” formnoun · feminine · singular · construct state

בְּחֵיקֶךָ

בְּin / with / by
חֵיקֶthe bosom
ךָyour

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

וַתֵּרֶא

וַand
תֵּרֶאto see

shoresh ראה

she, pastQal · wayyiqtol

כִּי

כִּיbecause, since

conjunction

הָרָתָה

הָרָתָהto be pregnant, conceive

she, pastQal · perfect

וָאֵקַל

וָand
אֵקַלto curse, to treat lightly

I, pastQal · wayyiqtol

בְּעֵינֶיהָ

בְּin / with / by
עֵינֶיeye
הָhis/her/its

shoresh עינ

noun · a pair · the “… of” formnoun · both · dual · construct state

יִשְׁפֹּט

יִשְׁפֹּטto judge

shoresh שפט

let himQal · jussive

ה׳

ה׳Hashem

a name

בֵּינִי

בֵּינִbetween, either...or
יmy

preposition

וּבֵינֶיךָ

וּand
בֵינֶיbetween, either...or
ךָyour

preposition

Translation

Sarai said to Avram: The insult against me is your fault [I have a judgment against you]. I gave my maid to you and when she saw that she had conceived, I became slighted in her eyes. Let Hashem judge between me and you.

In plain terms

Sarai holds Avram responsible and puts it in the language of a legal claim. She retells the events of pesukim 2 to 4 as she experienced them, and asks God to judge between them.

Rashi on “The insult against me is your fault”

[Meaning:] for the wrong that had been done to me I call for you to be punished. [For] when you prayed to God: “What will You give me since I continue to be childless?” you prayed only for yourself. You should have prayed for us both and I would have been remembered along with you. Furthermore: “You have unrightfully withheld your words from me for you have heard my shame and remained silent.”

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 6Bereishis 16:6 · 15 words

וַיֹּאמֶר אַבְרָם אֶל־שָׂרַי הִנֵּה שִׁפְחָתֵךְ בְּיָדֵךְ עֲשִׂי־לָהּ הַטּוֹב בְּעֵינָיִךְ וַתְּעַנֶּהָ שָׂרַי וַתִּבְרַח מִפָּנֶיהָ

וַיֹּאמֶר

וַand
יֹּאמֶרto say

shoresh אמר

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

אַבְרָם

אַבְרָםAvram

a name

אֶל־

אֶלnear, toward, among

preposition

שָׂרַי

שָׂרַיSarai

a name

הִנֵּה

הִנֵּהlook!

demonstrative

שִׁפְחָתֵךְ

שִׁפְחָתֵa maidservant
ךְyour

noun · the “… of” formnoun · feminine · singular · construct state

בְּיָדֵךְ

בְּin / with / by
יָדֵhand
ךְyour

milah יָד

noun · the “… of” formnoun · both · singular · construct state

עֲשִׂי־

עֲשִׂיto make

shoresh עשה

a command to you (f.)Qal · imperative

לָהּ

לָto / for
הּhis/her/its

הַטּוֹב

הַthe
טּוֹבgood, well

shoresh טוב

adjective

בְּעֵינָיִךְ

בְּin / with / by
עֵינָיִeye
ךְyour

shoresh עינ

noun · a pair · the “… of” formnoun · both · dual · construct state

וַתְּעַנֶּהָ

וַand
תְּעַנֶּto depress
הָhis/her/its

she, past · intensivePiel · wayyiqtol

שָׂרַי

שָׂרַיSarai

a name

וַתִּבְרַח

וַand
תִּבְרַחto bolt

she, pastQal · wayyiqtol

מִפָּנֶיהָ

מִfrom
פָּנֶיface, before
הָhis/her/its

shoresh פנה

noun · plural · the “… of” formnoun · both · plural · construct state

Translation

Avram said to Sarai: [The fate of] your maid is in your hands, do with her as you see fit. Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she [Hagar] ran away from her.

In plain terms

Avram hands the matter back: she is in your hand, do as you see fit. Sarai afflicts her, and Hagar runs. The pasuk states each action flatly, and assigns blame to no one.

Rashi on “Sarai dealt harshly with her”

She made her work hard.

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 7Bereishis 16:7 · 11 words

וַיִּמְצָאָהּ מַלְאַךְ ה׳ עַל־עֵין הַמַּיִם בַּמִּדְבָּר עַל־הָעַיִן בְּדֶרֶךְ שׁוּר

וַיִּמְצָאָהּ

וַand
יִּמְצָאָto find, to get
הּhis/her/its

shoresh מצא

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

מַלְאַךְ

מַלְאַךְa messenger

milah מֲלְאָךְ

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

ה׳

ה׳Hashem

a name

עַל־

עַלabove, over, upon

preposition

עֵין

עֵיןeye

shoresh עינ

noun · the “… of” formnoun · both · singular · construct state

הַמַּיִם

הַthe
מַּיִםwater

shoresh מימ

noun · pluralnoun · masculine · plural · absolute state

בַּמִּדְבָּר

בַּin / with / by
מִּדְבָּרopen field, desert

shoresh דבר

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

עַל־

עַלabove, over, upon

preposition

הָעַיִן

הָthe
עַיִןeye

shoresh עינ

nounnoun · both · singular · absolute state

בְּדֶרֶךְ

בְּin / with / by
דֶרֶךְa path or way

shoresh דרכ

noun · the “… of” formnoun · both · singular · construct state

שׁוּר

שׁוּרShur, a place

a name

Translation

An angel of Hashem found her by a spring of water in the desert, at the spring on the road to Shur [Chagar].

In plain terms

An angel finds her, the first appearance of an angel in the Torah, at a spring in the wilderness, on the road back toward Egypt. She is going home.

Pasuk 8Bereishis 16:8 · 15 words

וַיֹּאמַר הָגָר שִׁפְחַת שָׂרַי אֵי־מִזֶּה בָאת וְאָנָה תֵלֵכִי וַתֹּאמֶר מִפְּנֵי שָׂרַי גְּבִרְתִּי אָנֹכִי בֹּרַחַת

וַיֹּאמַר

וַand
יֹּאמַרto say

shoresh אמר

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

הָגָר

הָגָרHagar

a name

שִׁפְחַת

שִׁפְחַתa maidservant

noun · the “… of” formnoun · feminine · singular · construct state

שָׂרַי

שָׂרַיSarai

a name

אֵי־

אֵיwhere? thus how?

interrogative

מִזֶּה

מִfrom
זֶּהthis or that

this, that

בָאת

בָאתto bring to, give

shoresh בוא

you (f.), pastQal · perfect

וְאָנָה

וְand
אָנָהwhere, when, hither, thither

interrogative

תֵלֵכִי

תֵלֵכִיto walk, carry

shoresh ילכ

you (f.), futureQal · imperfect

וַתֹּאמֶר

וַand
תֹּאמֶרto say

shoresh אמר

she, pastQal · wayyiqtol

מִפְּנֵי

מִfrom
פְּנֵיface, before

shoresh פנה

noun · plural · the “… of” formnoun · both · plural · construct state

שָׂרַי

שָׂרַיSarai

a name

גְּבִרְתִּי

גְּבִרְתִּmistress
יmy

noun · the “… of” formnoun · feminine · singular · construct state

אָנֹכִי

אָנֹכִיI am

personal pronoun

בֹּרַחַת

בֹּרַחַתto bolt

doing it nowQal · participle

Translation

And he said: Hagar, handmaid of Sarai, from where have you come and where are you going? She said: I am running away from my mistress, Sarai.

In plain terms

She is addressed by her position, Hagar maidservant of Sarai, and asked where she has come from and where she is going. She answers only the first half.

Rashi on “”

From where have you come? [Meaning:] “From where have you come?” [Actually] he [the angel] knew. It was only to give her an opening, to enter into conversation with her. The expression אֵי מִזֶּה [means:] Where is the place about which you can say, “From this [place] I have come.”

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 9Bereishis 16:9 · 10 words

וַיֹּאמֶר לָהּ מַלְאַךְ ה׳ שׁוּבִי אֶל־גְּבִרְתֵּךְ וְהִתְעַנִּי תַּחַת יָדֶיהָ

וַיֹּאמֶר

וַand
יֹּאמֶרto say

shoresh אמר

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

לָהּ

לָto / for
הּhis/her/its

מַלְאַךְ

מַלְאַךְa messenger

milah מֲלְאָךְ

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

ה׳

ה׳Hashem

a name

שׁוּבִי

שׁוּבִיto turn back

shoresh שוב

a command to you (f.)Qal · imperative

אֶל־

אֶלnear, toward, among

preposition

גְּבִרְתֵּךְ

גְּבִרְתֵּmistress
ךְyour

noun · the “… of” formnoun · feminine · singular · construct state

וְהִתְעַנִּי

וְand
הִתְעַנִּיto depress

a command to you (f.) · reflexiveHitpael · imperative

תַּחַת

תַּחַתbelow, underneath

preposition

יָדֶיהָ

יָדֶיhand
הָhis/her/its

milah יָד

noun · a pair · the “… of” formnoun · both · dual · construct state

Translation

The angel of Hashem said to her: Return to your mistress and submit yourself to her.

In plain terms

The instruction is hard: go back, and submit. No promise softens it, and nothing is said about Sarai's conduct.

Rashi on “The angel said to her, etc”

For each statement [of these three verses] a different angel was sent to her. Therefore, “angel” is used for each and every statement.

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 10Bereishis 16:10 · 11 words

וַיֹּאמֶר לָהּ מַלְאַךְ ה׳ הַרְבָּה אַרְבֶּה אֶת־זַרְעֵךְ וְלֹא יִסָּפֵר מֵרֹב

וַיֹּאמֶר

וַand
יֹּאמֶרto say

shoresh אמר

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

לָהּ

לָto / for
הּhis/her/its

מַלְאַךְ

מַלְאַךְa messenger

milah מֲלְאָךְ

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

ה׳

ה׳Hashem

a name

הַרְבָּה

הַרְבָּהto increase

shoresh רבה

the emphatic form · causativeHifil · infinitive absolute

אַרְבֶּה

אַרְבֶּהto increase

shoresh רבה

I, future · causativeHifil · imperfect

אֶת־

אֶתto

points at the object

זַרְעֵךְ

זַרְעֵseed, plant, offspring
ךְyour

shoresh זרע

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

וְלֹא

וְand
לֹאnot, no

not

יִסָּפֵר

יִסָּפֵרto count, to reckon

shoresh ספר

he, future · passiveNifal · imperfect

מֵרֹב

מֵfrom
רֹבabundance

shoresh רבב

nounnoun · both · singular · absolute state

Translation

The angel of Hashem said to her: I will greatly multiply your descendants that they can not be counted because of their great number.

In plain terms

Then the promise, descendants too numerous to count. The same blessing given to Avram is given to a runaway maidservant, in nearly the same words.

Pasuk 11Bereishis 16:11 · 16 words

וַיֹּאמֶר לָהּ מַלְאַךְ ה׳ הִנָּךְ הָרָה וְיֹלַדְתְּ בֵּן וְקָרָאת שְׁמוֹ יִשְׁמָעֵאל כִּי־שָׁמַע ה׳ אֶל־עׇנְיֵךְ

וַיֹּאמֶר

וַand
יֹּאמֶרto say

shoresh אמר

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

לָהּ

לָto / for
הּhis/her/its

מַלְאַךְ

מַלְאַךְa messenger

milah מֲלְאָךְ

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

ה׳

ה׳Hashem

a name

הִנָּךְ

הִנָּlook!
ךְyour

demonstrative

הָרָה

הָרָהpregnant

adjective

וְיֹלַדְתְּ

וְand
יֹלַדְתְּto give birth

shoresh ילד

doing it nowQal · participle

בֵּן

בֵּןson, builder

shoresh בנה

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

וְקָרָאת

וְand
קָרָאתto name

shoresh קרא

you (f.), futureQal · sequential perfect

שְׁמוֹ

שְׁמname, honor
וֹhis/her/its

milah שֵׁם

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

יִשְׁמָעֵאל

יִשְׁמָעֵאלYishmael

a name

כִּי־

כִּיbecause, since

conjunction

שָׁמַע

שָׁמַעto hear attentively

shoresh שמע

he, pastQal · perfect

ה׳

ה׳Hashem

a name

אֶל־

אֶלnear, toward, among

preposition

עָנְיֵךְ

עָנְיֵdepression
ךְyour

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

Translation

The angel of Hashem said to her: Behold you will conceive, and give birth to a son. You shall name him Yishmael, for Hashem has heard [accepted] your prayer.

In plain terms

She is told she is carrying a son and given his name, and the name is explained: Hashem has heard your affliction. Yishmael means precisely that.

Rashi on “Behold you will conceive”

[Meaning: “When you return you will conceive,” as in: “Behold you will conceive,” referring to Monoach’s wife.

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 12Bereishis 16:12 · 14 words

וְהוּא יִהְיֶה פֶּרֶא אָדָם יָדוֹ בַכֹּל וְיַד כֹּל בּוֹ וְעַל־פְּנֵי כׇל־אֶחָיו יִשְׁכֹּן

וְהוּא

וְand
הוּאhe, it, self, this, that

personal pronoun

יִהְיֶה

יִהְיֶהto be

shoresh היה

he, futureQal · imperfect

פֶּרֶא

פֶּרֶאthe onager

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

אָדָם

אָדָםhuman being

shoresh אדמ

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

יָדוֹ

יָדhand
וֹhis/her/its

milah יָד

noun · the “… of” formnoun · both · singular · construct state

בַכֹּל

בַin / with / by
כֹּלall, every

shoresh כלל

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

וְיַד

וְand
יַדhand

milah יָד

noun · the “… of” formnoun · both · singular · construct state

כֹּל

כֹּלall, every

shoresh כלל

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

בּוֹ

בּin / with / by
וֹhis/her/its

וְעַל־

וְand
עַלabove, over, upon

preposition

פְּנֵי

פְּנֵיface, before

shoresh פנה

noun · plural · the “… of” formnoun · both · plural · construct state

כָל־

כָלall, every

shoresh כלל

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

אֶחָיו

אֶחָיbrother, sibling
וhis/her/its

milah אָח

noun · plural · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · plural · construct state

יִשְׁכֹּן

יִשְׁכֹּןto reside or permanently stay

shoresh שכנ

he, futureQal · imperfect

Translation

He will be a wild, uncivilized man [rebel against people]. His hand [will be] against everyone [He will need everyone] and everyone’s hand will be against him [and everyone’s hand will need him]; and in the presence of all his brothers he will dwell.

In plain terms

The description is unflinching and not obviously a blessing, a wild man, his hand against all and every hand against him, and it ends with him dwelling in the presence of all his brothers.

Rashi on “A wild, uncivilized man”

One who loves the wilderness to hunt wild animals, as is written [concerning Yishmael]: “He settled in the wilderness of Paran [where] he became an expert archer.”

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 13Bereishis 16:13 · 15 words

וַתִּקְרָא שֵׁם־ה׳ הַדֹּבֵר אֵלֶיהָ אַתָּה אֵל רֳאִי כִּי אָמְרָה הֲגַם הֲלֹם רָאִיתִי אַחֲרֵי רֹאִי

וַתִּקְרָא

וַand
תִּקְרָאto name

shoresh קרא

she, pastQal · wayyiqtol

שֵׁם־

שֵׁםname, honor

milah שֵׁם

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

ה׳

ה׳Hashem

a name

הַדֹּבֵר

הַthe
דֹּבֵרto speak

shoresh דבר

doing it nowQal · participle

אֵלֶיהָ

אֵלֶיnear, toward, among
הָhis/her/its

preposition

אַתָּה

אַתָּהyou

personal pronoun

אֵל

אֵלstrength

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

רֳאִי

רֳאִיsight, whether abstractly or concretely

shoresh ראה

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

כִּי

כִּיbecause, since

conjunction

אָמְרָה

אָמְרָהto say

shoresh אמר

she, pastQal · perfect

הֲגַם

הֲ(question)
גַםeven, also, too

adverb

הֲלֹם

הֲלֹםhere to

adverb

רָאִיתִי

רָאִיתִיto see

shoresh ראה

I, pastQal · perfect

אַחֲרֵי

אַחֲרֵיafter

preposition

רֹאִי

רֹאִto see
יmy

shoresh ראה

doing it nowQal · participle

Translation

She called [She prayed in] the Name Hashem Who had spoken to her: [She said] You are Almighty Who sees [everything], for she said: Have I also seen here [a vestige] after my having seen? [Have I also began to see here [a vestige] after it was revealed to me?]

In plain terms

She names God, the only person in the Torah to do so. The name she gives Him is about sight: the God who sees.

Rashi on “You are Almighty Who sees”

[The word רֳאִי] is punctuated with a chataf kometz because it is a noun, [i.e.,] a God of seeing, because He sees the humiliation of the humiliated.

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 14Bereishis 16:14 · 12 words

עַל־כֵּן קָרָא לַבְּאֵר בְּאֵר לַחַי רֹאִי הִנֵּה בֵין־קָדֵשׁ וּבֵין בָּרֶד

עַל־

עַלabove, over, upon

preposition

כֵּן

כֵּןrightly so

demonstrative

קָרָא

קָרָאto name

shoresh קרא

he, pastQal · perfect

לַבְּאֵר

לַto / for
בְּאֵרa pit

nounnoun · feminine · singular · absolute state

בְּאֵר

בְּאֵרBe'er Lachai Ro'i, a well

a name

לַחַי

לַחַיBe'er Lachai Ro'i, a well

a name

רֹאִי

רֹאִיBe'er Lachai Ro'i, a well

a name

הִנֵּה

הִנֵּהlook!

demonstrative

בֵין־

בֵיןbetween, either...or

preposition

קָדֵשׁ

קָדֵשׁKadeish, a place

a name

וּבֵין

וּand
בֵיןbetween, either...or

preposition

בָּרֶד

בָּרֶדBared, a place

a name

Translation

Therefore the well was called: Be’er Lachai Ro’i [the well at which a living angel appeared]; it is between Kadeish [Rekem] and Bared [Chagar].

In plain terms

The well keeps the name, and the Torah locates it. What happened to her is fixed to a place on the map.

Rashi on “Be’er Lachai Ro’i”

As he [Onkelos] translates: “A well that a living angel appeared upon it.”

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 15Bereishis 16:15 · 12 words

וַתֵּלֶד הָגָר לְאַבְרָם בֵּן וַיִּקְרָא אַבְרָם שֶׁם־בְּנוֹ אֲשֶׁר־יָלְדָה הָגָר יִשְׁמָעֵאל

וַתֵּלֶד

וַand
תֵּלֶדto give birth

shoresh ילד

she, pastQal · wayyiqtol

הָגָר

הָגָרHagar

a name

לְאַבְרָם

לְto / for
אַבְרָםAvram

a name

בֵּן

בֵּןson, builder

shoresh בנה

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

וַיִּקְרָא

וַand
יִּקְרָאto name

shoresh קרא

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

אַבְרָם

אַבְרָםAvram

a name

שֶׁם־

שֶׁםname, honor

milah שֵׁם

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

בְּנוֹ

בְּנson, builder
וֹhis/her/its

shoresh בנה

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

אֲשֶׁר־

אֲשֶׁרwho, which, what, that, when, where, how

who, which, that

יָלְדָה

יָלְדָהto give birth

shoresh ילד

she, pastQal · perfect

הָגָר

הָגָרHagar

a name

יִשְׁמָעֵאל

יִשְׁמָעֵאלYishmael

a name

Translation

Hagar bore Avram a son and Avram named his son, that Hagar bore him, Yishmael.

In plain terms

Hagar bears the son, and Avram gives him the name, the name the angel gave her. He was not present for that conversation.

Rashi on “And Avram named, etc”

Though Avram did not hear the words of the angel who said, “And call his name Yishmael,” yet, the spirit of prophecy rested upon him and he called him Yishmael.

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 16Bereishis 16:16 · 11 words

וְאַבְרָם בֶּן־שְׁמֹנִים שָׁנָה וְשֵׁשׁ שָׁנִים בְּלֶדֶת־הָגָר אֶת־יִשְׁמָעֵאל לְאַבְרָם {ס}

וְאַבְרָם

וְand
אַבְרָםAvram

a name

בֶּן־

בֶּןson, builder

shoresh בנה

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

שְׁמֹנִים

שְׁמֹנִיםeighty

shoresh שמנ

adjective · plural

שָׁנָה

שָׁנָהyear

shoresh שנה

nounnoun · feminine · singular · absolute state

וְשֵׁשׁ

וְand
שֵׁשׁsix

milah שֵׁשׁ

adjective

שָׁנִים

שָׁנִיםyear

shoresh שנה

noun · pluralnoun · feminine · plural · absolute state

בְּלֶדֶת־

בְּin / with / by
לֶדֶתto give birth

shoresh ילד

the “to …” formQal · infinitive construct

הָגָר

הָגָרHagar

a name

אֶת־

אֶתto

points at the object

יִשְׁמָעֵאל

יִשְׁמָעֵאלYishmael

a name

לְאַבְרָם

לְto / for
אַבְרָםAvram

a name

Translation

Avram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Yishmael to Avram.

In plain terms

A dated endnote: Avram was eighty-six. It closes the perek the way business is closed, and sets up the gap of thirteen years before the next one opens.

Rashi on “Avram was eighty-six, etc”

This is written in praise of Yishmael, to let us know that he was thirteen years old when he was circumcised and did not oppose it.

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

↑ Contents

Chapter 15

Bereishis Perek 17

Circumcision, and the new names

Pasuk 1Bereishis 17:1 · 20 words

וַיְהִי אַבְרָם בֶּן־תִּשְׁעִים שָׁנָה וְתֵשַׁע שָׁנִים וַיֵּרָא ה׳ אֶל־אַבְרָם וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו אֲנִי־אֵל שַׁדַּי הִתְהַלֵּךְ לְפָנַי וֶהְיֵה תָמִים

וַיְהִי

וַand
יְהִיto be

shoresh היה

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

אַבְרָם

אַבְרָםAvram

a name

בֶּן־

בֶּןson, builder

shoresh בנה

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

תִּשְׁעִים

תִּשְׁעִיםninety

adjective · plural

שָׁנָה

שָׁנָהyear

shoresh שנה

nounnoun · feminine · singular · absolute state

וְתֵשַׁע

וְand
תֵשַׁעnine or ninth

adjective

שָׁנִים

שָׁנִיםyear

shoresh שנה

noun · pluralnoun · feminine · plural · absolute state

וַיֵּרָא

וַand
יֵּרָאto see

shoresh ראה

he, past · passiveNifal · wayyiqtol

ה׳

ה׳Hashem

a name

אֶל־

אֶלnear, toward, among

preposition

אַבְרָם

אַבְרָםAvram

a name

וַיֹּאמֶר

וַand
יֹּאמֶרto say

shoresh אמר

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

אֵלָיו

אֵלָיnear, toward, among
וhis/her/its

preposition

אֲנִי־

אֲנִיI am

personal pronoun

אֵל

אֵלAlmighty

a name

שַׁדַּי

שַׁדַּיShaddai

a name

הִתְהַלֵּךְ

הִתְהַלֵּךְto walk

shoresh הלכ

a command to you · reflexiveHitpael · imperative

לְפָנַי

לְto / for
פָנַface, before
יmy

shoresh פנה

noun · plural · the “… of” formnoun · both · plural · construct state

וֶהְיֵה

וֶand
הְיֵהto be

shoresh היה

a command to youQal · imperative

תָמִים

תָמִיםentire

shoresh תממ

adjective

Translation

When Avram was ninety-nine years old, Hashem appeared [became revealed] to Avram and said to him: I am Almighty Shaddai, walk [worship] before Me and be perfect.

In plain terms

Thirteen silent years have passed. Avram is ninety-nine, and the address is a demand rather than a promise: walk before Me and be whole.

Rashi on “I am Almighty Shaddai”

[Meaning:] “I am the One Whose Godliness suffices for every creature. Therefore, walk before Me and I will be your God and Protector.” Similarly, wherever it appears in Tanach its explanation is thus: “He is sufficient.” However, it also depends on the context.

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 2Bereishis 17:2 · 8 words

וְאֶתְּנָה בְרִיתִי בֵּינִי וּבֵינֶךָ וְאַרְבֶּה אוֹתְךָ בִּמְאֹד מְאֹד

וְאֶתְּנָה

וְand
אֶתְּנָהto give

shoresh נתנ

let meQal · cohortative

בְרִיתִי

בְרִיתִto make a pact
יmy

shoresh ברה

noun · the “… of” formnoun · feminine · singular · construct state

בֵּינִי

בֵּינִbetween, either...or
יmy

preposition

וּבֵינֶךָ

וּand
בֵינֶbetween, either...or
ךָyour

preposition

וְאַרְבֶּה

וְand
אַרְבֶּהto increase

shoresh רבה

let me · causativeHifil · cohortative

אוֹתְךָ

אוֹתְto
ךָyour

points at the object

בִּמְאֹד

בִּin / with / by
מְאֹדvery, greatly

adverb

מְאֹד

מְאֹדvery, greatly

adverb

Translation

I will give My covenant between Me [My Word] and you, and I will multiply you[r descendants] exceedingly.

In plain terms

The covenant is announced before its terms. Note the order across this perek, the covenant is given, then named, then its sign is commanded.

Rashi on “I will give My covenant”

[This refers to] the covenant of love and the covenant for you to possess the land by [your fulfilling] this precept.

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 3Bereishis 17:3 · 8 words

וַיִּפֹּל אַבְרָם עַל־פָּנָיו וַיְדַבֵּר אִתּוֹ אֱלֹהִים לֵאמֹר

וַיִּפֹּל

וַand
יִּפֹּלto fall

shoresh נפל

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

אַבְרָם

אַבְרָםAvram

a name

עַל־

עַלabove, over, upon

preposition

פָּנָיו

פָּנָיface, before
וhis/her/its

shoresh פנה

noun · plural · the “… of” formnoun · both · plural · construct state

וַיְדַבֵּר

וַand
יְדַבֵּרto speak

shoresh דבר

he, past · intensivePiel · wayyiqtol

אִתּוֹ

אִתּwith, by, at, among
וֹhis/her/its

preposition

אֱלֹהִים

אֱלֹהִיםgods in the ordinary sense

noun · pluralnoun · masculine · plural · absolute state

לֵאמֹר

לֵto / for
אמֹרto say

shoresh אמר

the “to …” formQal · infinitive construct

Translation

Avram fell on his face. Elohim spoke with him, saying:

In plain terms

He falls on his face, and only then does God speak further. The gesture interrupts the speech rather than following it.

Rashi on “Avram fell on his face”

From fear of the Divine Presence. Because prior to being circumcised he did not have the strength to stand while the Divine Presence stood over him. It is [to this reference] that it is stated concerning Bilam, “Fallen down and eyes open.” I found this in the Beraisa of R. Eliezer.

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 4Bereishis 17:4 · 8 words

אֲנִי הִנֵּה בְרִיתִי אִתָּךְ וְהָיִיתָ לְאַב הֲמוֹן גּוֹיִם

אֲנִי

אֲנִיI am

personal pronoun

הִנֵּה

הִנֵּהlook!

demonstrative

בְרִיתִי

בְרִיתִto make a pact
יmy

shoresh ברה

noun · the “… of” formnoun · feminine · singular · construct state

אִתָּךְ

אִתָּwith, by, at, among
ךְyour

preposition

וְהָיִיתָ

וְand
הָיִיתָto be

shoresh היה

you, futureQal · sequential perfect

לְאַב

לְto / for
אַבfather, parent

milah אָב

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

הֲמוֹן

הֲמוֹןa noise, tumult, crowd

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

גּוֹיִם

גּוֹיִםforeign nation

shoresh גוי

noun · pluralnoun · masculine · plural · absolute state

Translation

As for Me, here is My covenant with you; you shall be the father of a multitude of nations.

In plain terms

“As for Me”, God states His side first. Avram is to be the father of a multitude of nations, which is more than the great nation promised in 12:2.

Pasuk 5Bereishis 17:5 · 14 words

וְלֹא־יִקָּרֵא עוֹד אֶת־שִׁמְךָ אַבְרָם וְהָיָה שִׁמְךָ אַבְרָהָם כִּי אַב־הֲמוֹן גּוֹיִם נְתַתִּיךָ

וְלֹא־

וְand
לֹאnot, no

not

יִקָּרֵא

יִקָּרֵאto name

shoresh קרא

he, future · passiveNifal · imperfect

עוֹד

עוֹדagain, repeatedly, still

adverb

אֶת־

אֶתto

points at the object

שִׁמְךָ

שִׁמְname, honor
ךָyour

milah שֵׁם

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

אַבְרָם

אַבְרָםAvram

a name

וְהָיָה

וְand
הָיָהto be

shoresh היה

he, futureQal · sequential perfect

שִׁמְךָ

שִׁמְname, honor
ךָyour

milah שֵׁם

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

אַבְרָהָם

אַבְרָהָםAvraham

a name

כִּי

כִּיbecause, since

conjunction

אַב־

אַבfather, parent

milah אָב

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

הֲמוֹן

הֲמוֹןa noise, tumult, crowd

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

גּוֹיִם

גּוֹיִםforeign nation

shoresh גוי

noun · pluralnoun · masculine · plural · absolute state

נְתַתִּיךָ

נְתַתִּיto give
ךָyour

shoresh נתנ

I, pastQal · perfect

Translation

No longer shall your name be called Avram, but your name shall be Avraham, for the father of a multitude of nations I have appointed you.

In plain terms

The name changes, and the pasuk explains it: av hamon goyim, father of a multitude of nations, is folded into Avraham. The book has used the name Avram for five perakim; from here on it cannot.

Rashi on “For the father of a multitude of nations”

This is an acrostic of his name. The letter רי"ש which was originally in [his name] signifying that he was a father only to Aram which was his [original] country, whereas, now he was a father to the entire world and even the letter רי"ש, originally in his name, was, [nevertheless], not removed from its place. For even the letter יו"ד of Sarai’s name had complained to the Divine Presence until it was added to Yehoshua’s name as it is said: “Moshe called Hoshea bin Nun [by the name] Yehoshua.

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 6Bereishis 17:6 · 9 words

וְהִפְרֵתִי אֹתְךָ בִּמְאֹד מְאֹד וּנְתַתִּיךָ לְגוֹיִם וּמְלָכִים מִמְּךָ יֵצֵאוּ

וְהִפְרֵתִי

וְand
הִפְרֵתִיto bear fruit

shoresh פרה

I, future · causativeHifil · sequential perfect

אֹתְךָ

אֹתְto
ךָyour

points at the object

בִּמְאֹד

בִּin / with / by
מְאֹדvery, greatly

adverb

מְאֹד

מְאֹדvery, greatly

adverb

וּנְתַתִּיךָ

וּand
נְתַתִּיto give
ךָyour

shoresh נתנ

I, futureQal · sequential perfect

לְגוֹיִם

לְto / for
גוֹיִםforeign nation

shoresh גוי

noun · pluralnoun · masculine · plural · absolute state

וּמְלָכִים

וּand
מְלָכִיםking

shoresh מלכ

noun · pluralnoun · masculine · plural · absolute state

מִמְּךָ

מִמְּfrom, out of
ךָyour

preposition

יֵצֵאוּ

יֵצֵאוּto go out, bring out

shoresh יצא

they, futureQal · imperfect

Translation

I will make you exceedingly fruitful and I will make you into nations [assemblies]; and kings [who rule over nations] will descend from you.

In plain terms

Fruitful, nations, kings. The promise keeps widening, from descendants, to peoples, to rulers.

Rashi on “And I will make you into nations”

[Referring to:] Israel and Edom. For he had already had Yishmael and He would not be revealing tidings concerning him.

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 7Bereishis 17:7 · 16 words

וַהֲקִמֹתִי אֶת־בְּרִיתִי בֵּינִי וּבֵינֶךָ וּבֵין זַרְעֲךָ אַחֲרֶיךָ לְדֹרֹתָם לִבְרִית עוֹלָם לִהְיוֹת לְךָ לֵאלֹהִים וּלְזַרְעֲךָ אַחֲרֶיךָ

וַהֲקִמֹתִי

וַand
הֲקִמֹתִיto rise

shoresh קומ

I, future · causativeHifil · sequential perfect

אֶת־

אֶתto

points at the object

בְּרִיתִי

בְּרִיתִto make a pact
יmy

shoresh ברה

noun · the “… of” formnoun · feminine · singular · construct state

בֵּינִי

בֵּינִbetween, either...or
יmy

preposition

וּבֵינֶךָ

וּand
בֵינֶbetween, either...or
ךָyour

preposition

וּבֵין

וּand
בֵיןbetween, either...or

preposition

זַרְעֲךָ

זַרְעֲseed, plant, offspring
ךָyour

shoresh זרע

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

אַחֲרֶיךָ

אַחֲרֶיafter
ךָyour

preposition

לְדֹרֹתָם

לְto / for
דֹרֹתָgeneration, age
םtheir

shoresh דור

noun · plural · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · plural · construct state

לִבְרִית

לִto / for
בְרִיתto make a pact

shoresh ברה

noun · the “… of” formnoun · feminine · singular · construct state

עוֹלָם

עוֹלָםeternity, always

shoresh עלמ

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

לִהְיוֹת

לִto / for
הְיוֹתto be

shoresh היה

the “to …” formQal · infinitive construct

לְךָ

לְto / for
ךָyour

לֵאלֹהִים

לֵto / for
אלֹהִיםgods in the ordinary sense

noun · pluralnoun · masculine · plural · absolute state

וּלְזַרְעֲךָ

וּand
לְto / for
זַרְעֲseed, plant, offspring
ךָyour

shoresh זרע

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

אַחֲרֶיךָ

אַחֲרֶיafter
ךָyour

preposition

Translation

I will sustain My covenant between Me [My Word] and you, and between your descendants after you throughout their generations as an eternal covenant, to be a God to you, and to your descendants after you.

In plain terms

The covenant is defined as eternal and generational, and its content is stated: to be a God to you and to your descendants after you. The land has not yet been mentioned.

Rashi on “I will sustain My covenant”

And what is this covenant? To be a God to you.

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 8Bereishis 17:8 · 16 words

וְנָתַתִּי לְךָ וּלְזַרְעֲךָ אַחֲרֶיךָ אֵת אֶרֶץ מְגֻרֶיךָ אֵת כׇּל־אֶרֶץ כְּנַעַן לַאֲחֻזַּת עוֹלָם וְהָיִיתִי לָהֶם לֵאלֹהִים

וְנָתַתִּי

וְand
נָתַתִּיto give

shoresh נתנ

I, futureQal · sequential perfect

לְךָ

לְto / for
ךָyour

וּלְזַרְעֲךָ

וּand
לְto / for
זַרְעֲseed, plant, offspring
ךָyour

shoresh זרע

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

אַחֲרֶיךָ

אַחֲרֶיafter
ךָyour

preposition

אֵת

אֵתto

points at the object

אֶרֶץ

אֶרֶץthe earth

shoresh ארצ

noun · the “… of” formnoun · both · singular · construct state

מְגֻרֶיךָ

מְגֻרֶיa temporary abode
ךָyour

shoresh גור

noun · plural · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · plural · construct state

אֵת

אֵתto

points at the object

כָּל־

כָּלall, every

shoresh כלל

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

אֶרֶץ

אֶרֶץthe earth

shoresh ארצ

noun · the “… of” formnoun · both · singular · construct state

כְּנַעַן

כְּנַעַןCanaan

a name

לַאֲחֻזַּת

לַto / for
אֲחֻזַּתsomething seized

shoresh אחז

noun · the “… of” formnoun · feminine · singular · construct state

עוֹלָם

עוֹלָםeternity, always

shoresh עלמ

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

וְהָיִיתִי

וְand
הָיִיתִיto be

shoresh היה

I, futureQal · sequential perfect

לָהֶם

לָto / for
הֶםtheir

לֵאלֹהִים

לֵto / for
אלֹהִיםgods in the ordinary sense

noun · pluralnoun · masculine · plural · absolute state

Translation

I will give to you, and to your descendants after you, the land of your temporary residence, all the land of Canaan as an eternal possession, and I will be a God to them.

In plain terms

Now the land, and with a sharp phrase: the land of your sojournings, the place he has lived in as a stranger, given as an eternal holding.

Rashi on “As an eternal possession”

It is there that I will be a God to you. But, one who resides outside Eretz Yisrael is like someone who has no God.

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 9Bereishis 17:9 · 12 words

וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים אֶל־אַבְרָהָם וְאַתָּה אֶת־בְּרִיתִי תִשְׁמֹר אַתָּה וְזַרְעֲךָ אַחֲרֶיךָ לְדֹרֹתָם

וַיֹּאמֶר

וַand
יֹּאמֶרto say

shoresh אמר

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

אֱלֹהִים

אֱלֹהִיםgods in the ordinary sense

noun · pluralnoun · masculine · plural · absolute state

אֶל־

אֶלnear, toward, among

preposition

אַבְרָהָם

אַבְרָהָםAvraham

a name

וְאַתָּה

וְand
אַתָּהyou

personal pronoun

אֶת־

אֶתto

points at the object

בְּרִיתִי

בְּרִיתִto make a pact
יmy

shoresh ברה

noun · the “… of” formnoun · feminine · singular · construct state

תִשְׁמֹר

תִשְׁמֹרto protect, guard

shoresh שמר

you, futureQal · imperfect

אַתָּה

אַתָּהyou

personal pronoun

וְזַרְעֲךָ

וְand
זַרְעֲseed, plant, offspring
ךָyour

shoresh זרע

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

אַחֲרֶיךָ

אַחֲרֶיafter
ךָyour

preposition

לְדֹרֹתָם

לְto / for
דֹרֹתָgeneration, age
םtheir

shoresh דור

noun · plural · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · plural · construct state

Translation

Elohim said to Avraham: And as for you, you must preserve My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations.

In plain terms

The turn to Avraham's side of it: and as for you. Until this pasuk everything has been what God will do.

Rashi on “And as for you”

The letter וי"ו [וְאַתָּה] here [denotes] a continuation of the previous matter: [i.e.] “As for Me, here is My covenant with you,” and you take heed to keep it. And by what means shall it be kept? “This is My covenant which you must preserve, … you shall be circumcised.”

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 10Bereishis 17:10 · 13 words

זֹאת בְּרִיתִי אֲשֶׁר תִּשְׁמְרוּ בֵּינִי וּבֵינֵיכֶם וּבֵין זַרְעֲךָ אַחֲרֶיךָ הִמּוֹל לָכֶם כׇּל־זָכָר

זֹאת

זֹאתthis one

this, that

בְּרִיתִי

בְּרִיתִto make a pact
יmy

shoresh ברה

noun · the “… of” formnoun · feminine · singular · construct state

אֲשֶׁר

אֲשֶׁרwho, which, what, that, when, where, how

who, which, that

תִּשְׁמְרוּ

תִּשְׁמְרוּto protect, guard

shoresh שמר

you (more than one), futureQal · imperfect

בֵּינִי

בֵּינִbetween, either...or
יmy

preposition

וּבֵינֵיכֶם

וּand
בֵינֵיbetween, either...or
כֶםyour

preposition

וּבֵין

וּand
בֵיןbetween, either...or

preposition

זַרְעֲךָ

זַרְעֲseed, plant, offspring
ךָyour

shoresh זרע

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

אַחֲרֶיךָ

אַחֲרֶיafter
ךָyour

preposition

הִמּוֹל

הִמּוֹלto circumcise

the emphatic form · passiveNifal · infinitive absolute

לָכֶם

לָto / for
כֶםyour

כָּל־

כָּלall, every

shoresh כלל

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

זָכָר

זָכָרmale, masculine

shoresh זכר

adjective

Translation

This is My covenant which you must preserve between Me [My Word] and you, and your descendants after you: every male among you shall be circumcised.

In plain terms

The obligation, stated in one line: every male among you shall be circumcised. For a covenant this large, the requirement is remarkably small and entirely physical.

Rashi on “Between Me and you”

[Referring to:] those who are now alive.

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 11Bereishis 17:11 · 9 words

וּנְמַלְתֶּם אֵת בְּשַׂר עׇרְלַתְכֶם וְהָיָה לְאוֹת בְּרִית בֵּינִי וּבֵינֵיכֶם

וּנְמַלְתֶּם

וּand
נְמַלְתֶּםto become clipped or circumcised

you (more than one), future · passiveNifal · sequential perfect

אֵת

אֵתto

points at the object

בְּשַׂר

בְּשַׂרflesh, body

shoresh בשר

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

עָרְלַתְכֶם

עָרְלַתְthe prepuce
כֶםyour

noun · the “… of” formnoun · feminine · singular · construct state

וְהָיָה

וְand
הָיָהto be

shoresh היה

he, futureQal · sequential perfect

לְאוֹת

לְto / for
אוֹתa sign, a banner

noun · the “… of” formnoun · both · singular · construct state

בְּרִית

בְּרִיתto make a pact

shoresh ברה

nounnoun · feminine · singular · absolute state

בֵּינִי

בֵּינִbetween, either...or
יmy

preposition

וּבֵינֵיכֶם

וּand
בֵינֵיbetween, either...or
כֶםyour

preposition

Translation

You shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin. This shall be the sign of the covenant between Me [My Word] and you.

In plain terms

And it is called a sign, the mark is not the covenant itself but the evidence of it.

Rashi on “You shall circumcise”

[וּנְמַלְתֶּם] has the same meaning as וּמַלְתֶּם and the letter נו"ן is an addition that periodically appears in it, as the letter נו"ן in נוֹשֵׁךְ and the letter נו"ן in נוֹשֵׂא. וּנְמַלְתֶּם has the same form as וּנְשָׂאתֶם But, the word יִמוֹל is the form יִפָּעֵל, as in יֵעָשֶׂה [shall be done], [or] יֵאָכֵל [shall be eaten].

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 12Bereishis 17:12 · 19 words

וּבֶן־שְׁמֹנַת יָמִים יִמּוֹל לָכֶם כׇּל־זָכָר לְדֹרֹתֵיכֶם יְלִיד בָּיִת וּמִקְנַת־כֶּסֶף מִכֹּל בֶּן־נֵכָר אֲשֶׁר לֹא מִזַּרְעֲךָ הוּא

וּבֶן־

וּand
בֶןson, builder

shoresh בנה

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

שְׁמֹנַת

שְׁמֹנַתa cardinal number, eight

shoresh שמנ

adjective

יָמִים

יָמִיםday

shoresh יומ

noun · pluralnoun · masculine · plural · absolute state

יִמּוֹל

יִמּוֹלto circumcise

he, future · passiveNifal · imperfect

לָכֶם

לָto / for
כֶםyour

כָּל־

כָּלall, every

shoresh כלל

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

זָכָר

זָכָרmale, masculine

shoresh זכר

adjective

לְדֹרֹתֵיכֶם

לְto / for
דֹרֹתֵיgeneration, age
כֶםyour

shoresh דור

noun · plural · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · plural · construct state

יְלִיד

יְלִידborn

shoresh ילד

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

בָּיִת

בָּיִתhouse

shoresh בנה

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

וּמִקְנַת־

וּand
מִקְנַתa purchase, property

noun · the “… of” formnoun · feminine · singular · construct state

כֶּסֶף

כֶּסֶףsilver, money

shoresh כספ

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

מִכֹּל

מִfrom
כֹּלall, every

shoresh כלל

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

בֶּן־

בֶּןson, builder

shoresh בנה

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

נֵכָר

נֵכָרforeign, a stranger

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

אֲשֶׁר

אֲשֶׁרwho, which, what, that, when, where, how

who, which, that

לֹא

לֹאnot, no

not

מִזַּרְעֲךָ

מִfrom
זַּרְעֲseed, plant, offspring
ךָyour

shoresh זרע

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

הוּא

הוּאhe, it, self, this, that

personal pronoun

Translation

At the age of eight days every male among you must be circumcised, throughout your generations; he that is a house-born [slave] or one that was bought with money from any stranger who is not your descendant.

In plain terms

The details: eight days old, every generation, and explicitly including those born in the household and those bought, not only the bloodline.

Rashi on “House-born”

[Meaning:] to whom a maidservant gave birth in [your] house.

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 13Bereishis 17:13 · 11 words

הִמּוֹל יִמּוֹל יְלִיד בֵּיתְךָ וּמִקְנַת כַּסְפֶּךָ וְהָיְתָה בְרִיתִי בִּבְשַׂרְכֶם לִבְרִית עוֹלָם

הִמּוֹל

הִמּוֹלto circumcise

the emphatic form · passiveNifal · infinitive absolute

יִמּוֹל

יִמּוֹלto circumcise

he, future · passiveNifal · imperfect

יְלִיד

יְלִידborn

shoresh ילד

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

בֵּיתְךָ

בֵּיתְhouse
ךָyour

shoresh בנה

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

וּמִקְנַת

וּand
מִקְנַתa purchase, property

noun · the “… of” formnoun · feminine · singular · construct state

כַּסְפֶּךָ

כַּסְפֶּsilver, money
ךָyour

shoresh כספ

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

וְהָיְתָה

וְand
הָיְתָהto be

shoresh היה

she, futureQal · sequential perfect

בְרִיתִי

בְרִיתִto make a pact
יmy

shoresh ברה

noun · the “… of” formnoun · feminine · singular · construct state

בִּבְשַׂרְכֶם

בִּin / with / by
בְשַׂרְflesh, body
כֶםyour

shoresh בשר

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

לִבְרִית

לִto / for
בְרִיתto make a pact

shoresh ברה

noun · the “… of” formnoun · feminine · singular · construct state

עוֹלָם

עוֹלָםeternity, always

shoresh עלמ

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

Translation

Your house-born slaves must be circumcised, and also those bought with your money. This shall be My covenant in your flesh as an eternal covenant.

In plain terms

The inclusion is repeated for emphasis, and the covenant is located in the body: My covenant in your flesh.

Rashi on “Your house-born slaves must be circumcised”

Here [the circumcision of יְלִיד בַּיִת] is repeated and it does not say, “On the eighth day” [as in v. 12], in order to teach you that there is a יְלִיד בַּיִת that is circumcised after eight days as is explained in Meseches Shabbos.

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 14Bereishis 17:14 · 15 words

וְעָרֵל זָכָר אֲשֶׁר לֹא־יִמּוֹל אֶת־בְּשַׂר עׇרְלָתוֹ וְנִכְרְתָה הַנֶּפֶשׁ הַהִוא מֵעַמֶּיהָ אֶת־בְּרִיתִי הֵפַר {ס}

וְעָרֵל

וְand
עָרֵלuncircumcised

adjective

זָכָר

זָכָרmale, masculine

shoresh זכר

adjective

אֲשֶׁר

אֲשֶׁרwho, which, what, that, when, where, how

who, which, that

לֹא־

לֹאnot, no

not

יִמּוֹל

יִמּוֹלto circumcise

he, future · passiveNifal · imperfect

אֶת־

אֶתto

points at the object

בְּשַׂר

בְּשַׂרflesh, body

shoresh בשר

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

עָרְלָתוֹ

עָרְלָתthe prepuce
וֹhis/her/its

noun · the “… of” formnoun · feminine · singular · construct state

וְנִכְרְתָה

וְand
נִכְרְתָהto make a covenant

shoresh כרת

she, future · passiveNifal · sequential perfect

הַנֶּפֶשׁ

הַthe
נֶּפֶשׁliving creature

shoresh נפש

nounnoun · both · singular · absolute state

הַהִוא

הַthe
הִואhe, it, self, this, that

personal pronoun

מֵעַמֶּיהָ

מֵfrom
עַמֶּיpeople, tribe, troops
הָhis/her/its

shoresh עממ

noun · plural · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · plural · construct state

אֶת־

אֶתto

points at the object

בְּרִיתִי

בְּרִיתִto make a pact
יmy

shoresh ברה

noun · the “… of” formnoun · feminine · singular · construct state

הֵפַר

הֵפַרto break up

shoresh פרר

he, past · causativeHifil · perfect

Translation

An uncircumcised male, who will not circumcise his foreskin, that soul [man] shall be cut off from its people; he has broken [changed] My covenant.

In plain terms

The consequence of refusal, stated once and without elaboration: that soul is cut off, for he has broken My covenant.

Rashi on “An uncircumcised male”

Here it teaches that circumcision [is performed] in that place where there is a distinction between male and female.

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 15Bereishis 17:15 · 14 words

וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים אֶל־אַבְרָהָם שָׂרַי אִשְׁתְּךָ לֹא־תִקְרָא אֶת־שְׁמָהּ שָׂרָי כִּי שָׂרָה שְׁמָהּ

וַיֹּאמֶר

וַand
יֹּאמֶרto say

shoresh אמר

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

אֱלֹהִים

אֱלֹהִיםgods in the ordinary sense

noun · pluralnoun · masculine · plural · absolute state

אֶל־

אֶלnear, toward, among

preposition

אַבְרָהָם

אַבְרָהָםAvraham

a name

שָׂרַי

שָׂרַיSarai

a name

אִשְׁתְּךָ

אִשְׁתְּwoman
ךָyour

shoresh אשה

noun · the “… of” formnoun · feminine · singular · construct state

לֹא־

לֹאnot, no

not

תִקְרָא

תִקְרָאto name

shoresh קרא

you, futureQal · imperfect

אֶת־

אֶתto

points at the object

שְׁמָהּ

שְׁמָname, honor
הּhis/her/its

milah שֵׁם

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

שָׂרָי

שָׂרָיSarai

a name

כִּי

כִּיbecause, since

conjunction

שָׂרָה

שָׂרָהSarah

a name

שְׁמָהּ

שְׁמָname, honor
הּhis/her/its

milah שֵׁם

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

Translation

And Elohim said to Avraham [As for] Sarai your wife, do not call her by the name Sarai, for Sarah is her name.

In plain terms

Sarai's name changes too, in the same form of words. She is not present for this, and the change is announced to Avraham.

Rashi on “Do not call her by the name Sarai”

שָׂרַי implies “my princess” but not to others. But, her name will be Sarah, in a general sense for she will be a princess [שָׂרָה] to everyone.

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 16Bereishis 17:16 · 14 words

וּבֵרַכְתִּי אֹתָהּ וְגַם נָתַתִּי מִמֶּנָּה לְךָ בֵּן וּבֵרַכְתִּיהָ וְהָיְתָה לְגוֹיִם מַלְכֵי עַמִּים מִמֶּנָּה יִהְיוּ

וּבֵרַכְתִּי

וּand
בֵרַכְתִּיto bless

shoresh ברכ

I, future · intensivePiel · sequential perfect

אֹתָהּ

אֹתָto
הּhis/her/its

points at the object

וְגַם

וְand
גַםeven, also, too

accusative particle

נָתַתִּי

נָתַתִּיto give

shoresh נתנ

I, pastQal · perfect

מִמֶּנָּה

מִמֶּfrom, out of
נָּהhis/her/its

preposition

לְךָ

לְto / for
ךָyour

בֵּן

בֵּןson, builder

shoresh בנה

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

וּבֵרַכְתִּיהָ

וּand
בֵרַכְתִּיto bless
הָhis/her/its

shoresh ברכ

I, future · intensivePiel · sequential perfect

וְהָיְתָה

וְand
הָיְתָהto be

shoresh היה

she, futureQal · sequential perfect

לְגוֹיִם

לְto / for
גוֹיִםforeign nation

shoresh גוי

noun · pluralnoun · masculine · plural · absolute state

מַלְכֵי

מַלְכֵיking

shoresh מלכ

noun · plural · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · plural · construct state

עַמִּים

עַמִּיםpeople, tribe, troops

shoresh עממ

noun · pluralnoun · masculine · plural · absolute state

מִמֶּנָּה

מִמֶּfrom, out of
נָּהhis/her/its

preposition

יִהְיוּ

יִהְיוּto be

shoresh היה

they, futureQal · imperfect

Translation

I will bless her, and I will also give you a son through her. I will bless her, and she will be [a mother] of nations [assemblies], kings of peoples [who rule over nations] will descend from her.

In plain terms

And then what has never been said before: a son from her. The blessings given to Avraham in pasuk 6, nations, kings, are repeated over Sarah almost word for word.

Rashi on “I will bless her”

What is this blessing? It is that she reverted to her youthfulness, as it is said: “Now that I am worn out, shall I have the pleasure [of a son].”

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 17Bereishis 17:17 · 17 words

וַיִּפֹּל אַבְרָהָם עַל־פָּנָיו וַיִּצְחָק וַיֹּאמֶר בְּלִבּוֹ הַלְּבֶן מֵאָה־שָׁנָה יִוָּלֵד וְאִם־שָׂרָה הֲבַת־תִּשְׁעִים שָׁנָה תֵּלֵד

וַיִּפֹּל

וַand
יִּפֹּלto fall

shoresh נפל

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

אַבְרָהָם

אַבְרָהָםAvraham

a name

עַל־

עַלabove, over, upon

preposition

פָּנָיו

פָּנָיface, before
וhis/her/its

shoresh פנה

noun · plural · the “… of” formnoun · both · plural · construct state

וַיִּצְחָק

וַand
יִּצְחָקto laugh outright

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

וַיֹּאמֶר

וַand
יֹּאמֶרto say

shoresh אמר

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

בְּלִבּוֹ

בְּin / with / by
לִבּheart, feelings
וֹhis/her/its

milah לֵב

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

הַלְּבֶן

הַthe
לְּto / for
בֶןson, builder

shoresh בנה

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

מֵאָה־

מֵאָהa hundred

shoresh מאה

adjective

שָׁנָה

שָׁנָהyear

shoresh שנה

nounnoun · feminine · singular · absolute state

יִוָּלֵד

יִוָּלֵדto give birth

shoresh ילד

he, future · passiveNifal · imperfect

וְאִם־

וְand
אִםwhether, if, oh that

conjunction

שָׂרָה

שָׂרָהSarah

a name

הֲבַת־

הֲ(question)
בַתdaughter

shoresh בנה

noun · the “… of” formnoun · feminine · singular · construct state

תִּשְׁעִים

תִּשְׁעִיםninety

adjective · plural

שָׁנָה

שָׁנָהyear

shoresh שנה

nounnoun · feminine · singular · absolute state

תֵּלֵד

תֵּלֵדto give birth

shoresh ילד

she, futureQal · imperfect

Translation

Avraham fell on his face and laughed [rejoiced]. He said in his heart: Can a hundred year old man have children? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old give birth?

In plain terms

Avraham falls on his face again, and this time laughs, and does the arithmetic in his heart: a hundred, and ninety. The Torah records the thought without judging it.

Rashi on “Avraham fell on his face and laughed”

This one [the word וַיִּצְחָק] Onkelos translates, happiness and rejoicing, whereas [the word וַתִּצְחַק] concerning Sarah he interprets as laughter. You may learn [from this] that Avraham believed [the prophecy] and rejoiced but Sarah did not believe, and ridiculed. That is why God was angry with Sarah but was not angry with Avraham.

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 18Bereishis 17:18 · 8 words

וַיֹּאמֶר אַבְרָהָם אֶל־הָאֱלֹהִים לוּ יִשְׁמָעֵאל יִחְיֶה לְפָנֶיךָ

וַיֹּאמֶר

וַand
יֹּאמֶרto say

shoresh אמר

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

אַבְרָהָם

אַבְרָהָםAvraham

a name

אֶל־

אֶלnear, toward, among

preposition

הָאֱלֹהִים

הָthe
אֱלֹהִיםgods in the ordinary sense

noun · pluralnoun · masculine · plural · absolute state

לוּ

לוּif, would that

conjunction

יִשְׁמָעֵאל

יִשְׁמָעֵאלYishmael

a name

יִחְיֶה

יִחְיֶהto live

shoresh חיה

he, futureQal · imperfect

לְפָנֶיךָ

לְto / for
פָנֶיface, before
ךָyour

shoresh פנה

noun · plural · the “… of” formnoun · both · plural · construct state

Translation

And Avraham said to [before] Elohim: May it be granted that Yishmael live before You.

In plain terms

His spoken answer is not about Sarah at all. It is a request for the son he already has: may Yishmael live before You.

Rashi on “May it be granted that Yishmael live”

If only Yishmael might live. [Meaning:] “I am unworthy to receive such a reward.”

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 19Bereishis 17:19 · 20 words

וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים אֲבָל שָׂרָה אִשְׁתְּךָ יֹלֶדֶת לְךָ בֵּן וְקָרָאתָ אֶת־שְׁמוֹ יִצְחָק וַהֲקִמֹתִי אֶת־בְּרִיתִי אִתּוֹ לִבְרִית עוֹלָם לְזַרְעוֹ אַחֲרָיו

וַיֹּאמֶר

וַand
יֹּאמֶרto say

shoresh אמר

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

אֱלֹהִים

אֱלֹהִיםgods in the ordinary sense

noun · pluralnoun · masculine · plural · absolute state

אֲבָל

אֲבָלnot, but

adverb

שָׂרָה

שָׂרָהSarah

a name

אִשְׁתְּךָ

אִשְׁתְּwoman
ךָyour

shoresh אשה

noun · the “… of” formnoun · feminine · singular · construct state

יֹלֶדֶת

יֹלֶדֶתto give birth

shoresh ילד

doing it nowQal · participle

לְךָ

לְto / for
ךָyour

בֵּן

בֵּןson, builder

shoresh בנה

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

וְקָרָאתָ

וְand
קָרָאתָto name

shoresh קרא

you, futureQal · sequential perfect

אֶת־

אֶתto

points at the object

שְׁמוֹ

שְׁמname, honor
וֹhis/her/its

milah שֵׁם

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

יִצְחָק

יִצְחָקYitzchak

a name

וַהֲקִמֹתִי

וַand
הֲקִמֹתִיto rise

shoresh קומ

I, future · causativeHifil · sequential perfect

אֶת־

אֶתto

points at the object

בְּרִיתִי

בְּרִיתִto make a pact
יmy

shoresh ברה

noun · the “… of” formnoun · feminine · singular · construct state

אִתּוֹ

אִתּwith, by, at, among
וֹhis/her/its

preposition

לִבְרִית

לִto / for
בְרִיתto make a pact

shoresh ברה

noun · the “… of” formnoun · feminine · singular · construct state

עוֹלָם

עוֹלָםeternity, always

shoresh עלמ

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

לְזַרְעוֹ

לְto / for
זַרְעseed, plant, offspring
וֹhis/her/its

shoresh זרע

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

אַחֲרָיו

אַחֲרָיafter
וhis/her/its

preposition

Translation

Elohim said: Indeed, your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will name him Yitzchok. I will establish My covenant with him as an eternal covenant to his descendants after him.

In plain terms

The reply corrects him without dismissing him, Sarah will bear a son, and he is named Yitzchak, from the laughter of pasuk 17. The covenant will run through him.

Rashi on “Indeed”

An expression of affirmation. Similarly: “Truly, we are sinners.” [Or] “Truly, she has no son.”

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 20Bereishis 17:20 · 18 words

וּלְיִשְׁמָעֵאל שְׁמַעְתִּיךָ הִנֵּה בֵּרַכְתִּי אֹתוֹ וְהִפְרֵיתִי אֹתוֹ וְהִרְבֵּיתִי אֹתוֹ בִּמְאֹד מְאֹד שְׁנֵים־עָשָׂר נְשִׂיאִם יוֹלִיד וּנְתַתִּיו לְגוֹי גָּדוֹל

וּלְיִשְׁמָעֵאל

וּand
לְto / for
יִשְׁמָעֵאלYishmael

a name

שְׁמַעְתִּיךָ

שְׁמַעְתִּיto hear attentively
ךָyour

shoresh שמע

I, pastQal · perfect

הִנֵּה

הִנֵּהlook!

demonstrative

בֵּרַכְתִּי

בֵּרַכְתִּיto bless

shoresh ברכ

I, past · intensivePiel · perfect

אֹתוֹ

אֹתto
וֹhis/her/its

points at the object

וְהִפְרֵיתִי

וְand
הִפְרֵיתִיto bear fruit

shoresh פרה

I, future · causativeHifil · sequential perfect

אֹתוֹ

אֹתto
וֹhis/her/its

points at the object

וְהִרְבֵּיתִי

וְand
הִרְבֵּיתִיto increase

shoresh רבה

I, future · causativeHifil · sequential perfect

אֹתוֹ

אֹתto
וֹhis/her/its

points at the object

בִּמְאֹד

בִּin / with / by
מְאֹדvery, greatly

adverb

מְאֹד

מְאֹדvery, greatly

adverb

שְׁנֵים־

שְׁנֵיםtwo

milah שְׁנַיִם

adjective

עָשָׂר

עָשָׂרten, teens

shoresh עשר

adjective

נְשִׂיאִם

נְשִׂיאִםleader, prince

shoresh נשא

noun · pluralnoun · masculine · plural · absolute state

יוֹלִיד

יוֹלִידto give birth

shoresh ילד

he, future · causativeHifil · imperfect

וּנְתַתִּיו

וּand
נְתַתִּיto give
וhis/her/its

shoresh נתנ

I, futureQal · sequential perfect

לְגוֹי

לְto / for
גוֹיforeign nation

shoresh גוי

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

גָּדוֹל

גָּדוֹלgreat, large

shoresh גדל

adjective

Translation

And as for Yishmael, I have heard you [I have accepted your prayer]. I have blessed him, and I will make him fruitful, and will increase him exceedingly. He will become the father of twelve princes, and I will make him into a great nation.

In plain terms

And Yishmael is answered too. He is blessed, made fruitful, promised twelve princes and a great nation. Everything is given him except the covenant.

Rashi on “Twelve princes”

[A reference to the fact] they will dissipate like clouds, as in: “Clouds [נְשִׂיאִים] and wind.”

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 21Bereishis 17:21 · 13 words

וְאֶת־בְּרִיתִי אָקִים אֶת־יִצְחָק אֲשֶׁר תֵּלֵד לְךָ שָׂרָה לַמּוֹעֵד הַזֶּה בַּשָּׁנָה הָאַחֶרֶת

וְאֶת־

וְand
אֶתto

points at the object

בְּרִיתִי

בְּרִיתִto make a pact
יmy

shoresh ברה

noun · the “… of” formnoun · feminine · singular · construct state

אָקִים

אָקִיםto rise

shoresh קומ

I, future · causativeHifil · imperfect

אֶת־

אֶתwith, by, at, among

preposition

יִצְחָק

יִצְחָקYitzchak

a name

אֲשֶׁר

אֲשֶׁרwho, which, what, that, when, where, how

who, which, that

תֵּלֵד

תֵּלֵדto give birth

shoresh ילד

she, futureQal · imperfect

לְךָ

לְto / for
ךָyour

שָׂרָה

שָׂרָהSarah

a name

לַמּוֹעֵד

לַto / for
מּוֹעֵדappointed time

shoresh יעד

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

הַזֶּה

הַthe
זֶּהthis or that

this, that

בַּשָּׁנָה

בַּin / with / by
שָּׁנָהyear

shoresh שנה

nounnoun · feminine · singular · absolute state

הָאַחֶרֶת

הָthe
אַחֶרֶתnext, other

adjective

Translation

But I will establish My covenant with Yitzchok, who Sarah will bear to you at this time next year.

In plain terms

The distinction is made explicit, and dated: this covenant, with Yitzchak, at this season next year.

Pasuk 22Bereishis 17:22 · 7 words

וַיְכַל לְדַבֵּר אִתּוֹ וַיַּעַל אֱלֹהִים מֵעַל אַבְרָהָם

וַיְכַל

וַand
יְכַלto finish, to come to an end

shoresh כלה

he, past · intensivePiel · wayyiqtol

לְדַבֵּר

לְto / for
דַבֵּרto speak

shoresh דבר

the “to …” form · intensivePiel · infinitive construct

אִתּוֹ

אִתּwith, by, at, among
וֹhis/her/its

preposition

וַיַּעַל

וַand
יַּעַלto go up

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

אֱלֹהִים

אֱלֹהִיםgods in the ordinary sense

noun · pluralnoun · masculine · plural · absolute state

מֵעַל

מֵfrom
עַלabove, over, upon

preposition

אַבְרָהָם

אַבְרָהָםAvraham

a name

Translation

And when He finished speaking with him, [the Glory of] Elohim ascended from Avraham.

In plain terms

The conversation ends the way it began, abruptly. God finished speaking and went up from Avraham.

Rashi on “From [above] Avraham”

This is a more fitting expression when referring to the Divine Presence and we also learn that the righteous are the vehicles of God [’s Presence].

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 23Bereishis 17:23 · 29 words

וַיִּקַּח אַבְרָהָם אֶת־יִשְׁמָעֵאל בְּנוֹ וְאֵת כׇּל־יְלִידֵי בֵיתוֹ וְאֵת כׇּל־מִקְנַת כַּסְפּוֹ כׇּל־זָכָר בְּאַנְשֵׁי בֵּית אַבְרָהָם וַיָּמׇל אֶת־בְּשַׂר עׇרְלָתָם בְּעֶצֶם הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר אִתּוֹ אֱלֹהִים

וַיִּקַּח

וַand
יִּקַּחto take

shoresh לקח

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

אַבְרָהָם

אַבְרָהָםAvraham

a name

אֶת־

אֶתto

points at the object

יִשְׁמָעֵאל

יִשְׁמָעֵאלYishmael

a name

בְּנוֹ

בְּנson, builder
וֹhis/her/its

shoresh בנה

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

וְאֵת

וְand
אֵתto

points at the object

כָּל־

כָּלall, every

shoresh כלל

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

יְלִידֵי

יְלִידֵיborn

shoresh ילד

noun · plural · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · plural · construct state

בֵיתוֹ

בֵיתhouse
וֹhis/her/its

shoresh בנה

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

וְאֵת

וְand
אֵתto

points at the object

כָּל־

כָּלall, every

shoresh כלל

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

מִקְנַת

מִקְנַתa purchase, property

noun · the “… of” formnoun · feminine · singular · construct state

כַּסְפּוֹ

כַּסְפּsilver, money
וֹhis/her/its

shoresh כספ

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

כָּל־

כָּלall, every

shoresh כלל

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

זָכָר

זָכָרmale, masculine

shoresh זכר

adjective

בְּאַנְשֵׁי

בְּin / with / by
אַנְשֵׁיman, male person

shoresh איש

noun · plural · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · plural · construct state

בֵּית

בֵּיתhouse

shoresh בנה

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

אַבְרָהָם

אַבְרָהָםAvraham

a name

וַיָּמָל

וַand
יָּמָלto circumcise

he, pastQal · wayyiqtol

אֶת־

אֶתto

points at the object

בְּשַׂר

בְּשַׂרflesh, body

shoresh בשר

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

עָרְלָתָם

עָרְלָתָthe prepuce
םtheir

noun · the “… of” formnoun · feminine · singular · construct state

בְּעֶצֶם

בְּin / with / by
עֶצֶםa bone

noun · the “… of” formnoun · feminine · singular · construct state

הַיּוֹם

הַthe
יּוֹםday

shoresh יומ

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

הַזֶּה

הַthe
זֶּהthis or that

this, that

כַּאֲשֶׁר

כַּlike / as
אֲשֶׁרwho, which, what, that, when, where, how

who, which, that

דִּבֶּר

דִּבֶּרto speak

shoresh דבר

he, past · intensivePiel · perfect

אִתּוֹ

אִתּwith, by, at, among
וֹhis/her/its

preposition

אֱלֹהִים

אֱלֹהִיםgods in the ordinary sense

noun · pluralnoun · masculine · plural · absolute state

Translation

Avraham took his son, Yishmael, and all those that were born in his household, and all that he had bought with his money, every male member of Avraham’s household, and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskin on that very day as Elohim had said to him.

In plain terms

No interval, no discussion. On that very day he circumcises Yishmael and every male of his household, the whole household, exactly as he was told in pesukim 12 and 13.

Rashi on “Very day”

On the same day that he was commanded, by day and not by night. He was not afraid of the idolaters or of the scoffers. And so that his enemies and contemporaries not claim: “Had we seen him we would not have let him do the circumcision and fulfill God’s precept.”

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 24Bereishis 17:24 · 8 words

וְאַבְרָהָם בֶּן־תִּשְׁעִים וָתֵשַׁע שָׁנָה בְּהִמֹּלוֹ בְּשַׂר עׇרְלָתוֹ

וְאַבְרָהָם

וְand
אַבְרָהָםAvraham

a name

בֶּן־

בֶּןson, builder

shoresh בנה

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

תִּשְׁעִים

תִּשְׁעִיםninety

adjective · plural

וָתֵשַׁע

וָand
תֵשַׁעnine or ninth

adjective

שָׁנָה

שָׁנָהyear

shoresh שנה

nounnoun · feminine · singular · absolute state

בְּהִמֹּלוֹ

בְּin / with / by
הִמֹּלto circumcise
וֹhis/her/its

the “to …” form · passiveNifal · infinitive construct

בְּשַׂר

בְּשַׂרflesh, body

shoresh בשר

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

עָרְלָתוֹ

עָרְלָתthe prepuce
וֹhis/her/its

noun · the “… of” formnoun · feminine · singular · construct state

Translation

Avraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.

In plain terms

His own age at it, stated plainly: ninety-nine.

Rashi on “When he was circumcised”

In the בְּהִפָּעֲלוֹ form the same [form] as בְּהִבָּרְאָם, “when they were created.

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 25Bereishis 17:25 · 10 words

וְיִשְׁמָעֵאל בְּנוֹ בֶּן־שְׁלֹשׁ עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה בְּהִמֹּלוֹ אֵת בְּשַׂר עׇרְלָתוֹ

וְיִשְׁמָעֵאל

וְand
יִשְׁמָעֵאלYishmael

a name

בְּנוֹ

בְּנson, builder
וֹhis/her/its

shoresh בנה

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

בֶּן־

בֶּןson, builder

shoresh בנה

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

שְׁלֹשׁ

שְׁלֹשׁthree

milah שָׁלוֹשׁ

adjective

עֶשְׂרֵה

עֶשְׂרֵהten, teens

shoresh עשר

adjective

שָׁנָה

שָׁנָהyear

shoresh שנה

nounnoun · feminine · singular · absolute state

בְּהִמֹּלוֹ

בְּin / with / by
הִמֹּלto circumcise
וֹhis/her/its

the “to …” form · passiveNifal · infinitive construct

אֵת

אֵתto

points at the object

בְּשַׂר

בְּשַׂרflesh, body

shoresh בשר

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

עָרְלָתוֹ

עָרְלָתthe prepuce
וֹhis/her/its

noun · the “… of” formnoun · feminine · singular · construct state

Translation

And his son Yishmael was thirteen years old when he circumcised the flesh of his foreskin.

In plain terms

And Yishmael's: thirteen. The two ages are given separately, in their own pesukim.

Rashi on “When he circumcised the flesh of his foreskin”

Concerning Avraham it does not state אֵת, because he only lacked cutting the flesh, for [the membrane] had already dissolved. But, Yishmael who was a lad required [actual] cutting the foreskin and tearing open the corona membrane. Therefore, concerning him אֵת is said.

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 26Bereishis 17:26 · 7 words

בְּעֶצֶם הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה נִמּוֹל אַבְרָהָם וְיִשְׁמָעֵאל בְּנוֹ

בְּעֶצֶם

בְּin / with / by
עֶצֶםa bone

noun · the “… of” formnoun · feminine · singular · construct state

הַיּוֹם

הַthe
יּוֹםday

shoresh יומ

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

הַזֶּה

הַthe
זֶּהthis or that

this, that

נִמּוֹל

נִמּוֹלto circumcise

he, past · passiveNifal · perfect

אַבְרָהָם

אַבְרָהָםAvraham

a name

וְיִשְׁמָעֵאל

וְand
יִשְׁמָעֵאלYishmael

a name

בְּנוֹ

בְּנson, builder
וֹhis/her/its

shoresh בנה

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

Translation

On that very day Avraham and his son Yishmael were circumcised.

In plain terms

The pasuk says it once more, on that very day, putting father and son in the same clause.

Rashi on “On that very day”

[On the day] that Avraham turned ninety-nine and Yishmael thirteen years, Avraham and his son Yishmael were circumcised.

Metsudah Rashi Chumash, 2009 · CC BY.

Pasuk 27Bereishis 17:27 · 12 words

וְכׇל־אַנְשֵׁי בֵיתוֹ יְלִיד בָּיִת וּמִקְנַת־כֶּסֶף מֵאֵת בֶּן־נֵכָר נִמֹּלוּ אִתּוֹ {פ}

וְכָל־

וְand
כָלall, every

shoresh כלל

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

אַנְשֵׁי

אַנְשֵׁיman, male person

shoresh איש

noun · plural · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · plural · construct state

בֵיתוֹ

בֵיתhouse
וֹhis/her/its

shoresh בנה

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

יְלִיד

יְלִידborn

shoresh ילד

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

בָּיִת

בָּיִתhouse

shoresh בנה

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

וּמִקְנַת־

וּand
מִקְנַתa purchase, property

noun · the “… of” formnoun · feminine · singular · construct state

כֶּסֶף

כֶּסֶףsilver, money

shoresh כספ

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

מֵאֵת

מֵfrom
אֵתwith, by, at, among

preposition

בֶּן־

בֶּןson, builder

shoresh בנה

noun · the “… of” formnoun · masculine · singular · construct state

נֵכָר

נֵכָרforeign, a stranger

nounnoun · masculine · singular · absolute state

נִמֹּלוּ

נִמֹּלוּto circumcise

they, past · passiveNifal · perfect

אִתּוֹ

אִתּwith, by, at, among
וֹhis/her/its

preposition

Translation

All the men of his household, those born in his household, and bought with money from a stranger, were circumcised with him.

In plain terms

The parsha closes on the household: everyone born in it and everyone bought into it, circumcised with him. It ends where it began in 12:5, with the whole household moving together.

↑ Contents

You have read the parsha

What that actually amounts to.

What you now know

Parshas Lech Lecha runs from the call to Avram to the covenant of circumcision.
Every one of its 1689 words has been taken apart in this part.
You did it with the same handful of prefixes, endings and roots taught in Part Two.
Nothing in the method was specific to this parsha. It is how every Chumash word works.

↑ Contents

Appendices

Reference

The frequency tables the method rests on, a glossary, and the answers to the review questions.

Appendix A

The 200 commonest shorashim in the Chumash

Ranked by frequency, with counts from the whole Chumash.

These top 200 entries cover 31.31% of the Chumash. Roots aggregate every word derived from the same three letters. The letters are given in non-final form.

Read this column with care

The meaning column here is the gloss of the dictionary headword that each group is keyed to, and it is a rough label for the group, not a definition of any particular word. It can mislead: the group containing the word for a tent is keyed to a headword glossed “to become clear”. Always take a word's meaning from the word itself, which is what every breakdown in Part Three does.

#	Hebrew	Meaning	Count	% of Chumash	First seen
1	בנה	to construct buildings	2,083	1.68%	Gen.3.16
2	כלל	to complete	1,608	1.30%	Gen.1.21
3	אמר	to say	1,417	1.14%	Gen.1.3
4	היה	to be, become	1,049	0.85%	Gen.1.2
5	עשה	to do or make	925	0.75%	Gen.1.7
6	ארצ	the land	849	0.68%	Gen.1.1
7	דבר	to speak	784	0.63%	Gen.8.15
8	פנה	to turn, face	726	0.58%	Gen.1.2
9	עממ	to gather together	697	0.56%	Gen.11.6
10	יומ	day	679	0.55%	Gen.1.5
11	נתנ	to give, put	649	0.52%	Gen.1.17
12	בוא	to bring, to come	640	0.52%	Gen.2.19
13	איש	a man, male person	571	0.46%	Gen.2.23
14	שנה	to repeat, duplicate	441	0.36%	Gen.1.14
15	ראה	to see, observe	429	0.35%	Gen.1.4
16	אב	father, parent	417	0.34%	Gen.2.24
17	לקח	to take	402	0.32%	Gen.2.15
18	אחד	to unite, collect	399	0.32%	Gen.1.5
19	קרב	to bring near	397	0.32%	Gen.12.11
20	יד	hand	382	0.31%	Gen.3.22
21	עבד	to work, serve	377	0.30%	Gen.9.25
22	אכל	to eat	362	0.29%	Gen.2.16
23	יצא	to go out, come out	358	0.29%	Gen.1.12
24	קדש	to declare holy	351	0.28%	Exod.3.5
25	מות	to die	332	0.27%	Gen.2.17
26	שנימ	two, double	329	0.27%	Gen.1.16
27	כהנ	to serve as priest	320	0.26%	Gen.14.18
28	צוה	to command	316	0.25%	Gen.2.16
29	זבח	to sacrifice an animal	311	0.25%	Gen.8.20
30	אשה	woman	307	0.25%	Gen.2.22
31	קומ	to stand up	298	0.24%	Gen.4.8
32	אח	brother, sibling	291	0.23%	Gen.4.2
33	ילד	to give birth	287	0.23%	Gen.3.16
34	שבע	to swear by repeating seven times	274	0.22%	Gen.4.24
35	נשא	to lift, carry	264	0.21%	Gen.4.13
36	שמ	name, honor, authority	253	0.20%	Gen.2.11
37	שמע	to hear attentively	251	0.20%	Gen.3.8
38	עינ	eye, fountain	234	0.19%	Gen.3.5
39	חטא	to err, to sin	234	0.19%	Gen.4.7
40	ישב	to sit, dwell, remain	230	0.19%	Gen.4.16
41	ילכ	to walk, carry	229	0.18%	Gen.3.14
42	שלח	to send away, out	229	0.18%	Gen.3.22
43	חיה	to live, revive	223	0.18%	Gen.1.20
44	אדמ	to turn red	222	0.18%	Gen.1.26
45	ראש	head, beginning	220	0.18%	Gen.2.10
46	אהל	to become clear	216	0.17%	Gen.4.20
47	קרא	to call out, name	214	0.17%	Gen.1.5
48	מימ	water	207	0.17%	Gen.1.2
49	נפש	to breathe, refresh	207	0.17%	Gen.1.20
50	עבר	to cross over	200	0.16%	Gen.8.1
51	טמא	to be unclean	200	0.16%	Gen.34.5
52	נטה	to stretch out, bend away	196	0.16%	Gen.38.18
53	מאה	a hundred	194	0.16%	Gen.5.3
54	חנה	to set up camp	191	0.15%	Gen.32.3
55	שפה	to wear away	187	0.15%	Gen.8.19
56	ידע	to know, to understand	185	0.15%	Gen.3.5
57	בקר	to inspect, care for	181	0.15%	Gen.12.16
58	שוב	to turn back	181	0.15%	Gen.3.19
59	עשר	to give a tenth	178	0.14%	Gen.6.3
60	עור	to wake someone up	177	0.14%	Gen.4.17
61	יעד	to set, appoint	173	0.14%	Gen.1.14
62	ברכ	to bless, to kneel	171	0.14%	Gen.1.22
63	אלפ	to teach, to learn	171	0.14%	Gen.20.16
64	דממ	to be silent, stop	168	0.14%	Gen.4.10
65	שמר	to protect, guard	160	0.13%	Gen.2.15
66	חמש	five	157	0.13%	Gen.5.6
67	שמנ	to make oily	157	0.13%	Gen.28.18
68	הרר	mountain	153	0.12%	Gen.7.19
69	שומ	to place	152	0.12%	Gen.2.8
70	זרע	to plant seeds	149	0.12%	Gen.1.11
71	כלה	to complete, prepare	149	0.12%	Gen.24.53
72	שלוש	three	148	0.12%	Gen.5.22
73	כספ	to become pale, fear	148	0.12%	Gen.13.2
74	אדונ	to control	146	0.12%	Gen.18.3
75	פקד	to oversee, care for	144	0.12%	Gen.21.1
76	זהב	gold, yellow	143	0.12%	Gen.2.11
77	שכנ	to live in	143	0.12%	Exod.25.9
78	לחמ	to eat, to battle	139	0.11%	Gen.3.19
79	בשר	to announce good news	138	0.11%	Gen.2.21
80	אמ	mother	138	0.11%	Gen.6.15
81	תוכ	center	135	0.11%	Gen.1.6
82	נחל	to receive, to own	133	0.11%	Gen.31.14
83	גדל	to make large	132	0.11%	Gen.1.16
84	נסע	to start a journey	132	0.11%	Gen.11.2
85	עמד	to stand	132	0.11%	Gen.18.8
86	מלכ	to rule, to reign	128	0.10%	Gen.14.1
87	זכר	to remember, to mention, male	127	0.10%	Gen.1.27
88	רבע	to be square	125	0.10%	Gen.2.10
89	פאה	to blow away	125	0.10%	Gen.4.11
90	טהר	to be pure	124	0.10%	Gen.7.2
91	אול	powerful, strong	124	0.10%	Gen.15.9
92	ירש	to take over by driving out	124	0.10%	Gen.15.3
93	מצא	to find, to appear	122	0.10%	Gen.2.20
94	דרכ	to walk, tread	122	0.10%	Gen.3.24
95	נגע	to touch, strike, reach	121	0.10%	Gen.12.17
96	רעע	to make bad	120	0.10%	Gen.2.9
97	שדה	open space	118	0.10%	Gen.2.5
98	כפר	to cover, to forgive	118	0.10%	Gen.6.14
99	צאנ	flock of sheep or goats	116	0.09%	Gen.4.2
100	שלמ	to make complete, to offer peace sacrifices	116	0.09%	Exod.20.24
101	גור	to stay as a guest	114	0.09%	Gen.15.13
102	שפט	to judge, sentence	114	0.09%	Gen.18.19
103	בגד	to hide, to trick	114	0.09%	Gen.24.53
104	מלא	to fill or become full	113	0.09%	Gen.1.22
105	מנחה	to offer, to bring as a gift	113	0.09%	Gen.4.3
106	עדה	a group, assembly	110	0.09%	Exod.12.3
107	עצה	to close, to shut	109	0.09%	Gen.1.11
108	עשר	ten, tenth	109	0.09%	Gen.5.8
109	קנה	to buy, to own	107	0.09%	Gen.4.20
110	נכה	to strike	107	0.09%	Gen.4.15
111	פתח	to open, begin	106	0.09%	Gen.4.7
112	פרר	to violate, frustrate	106	0.09%	Gen.32.16
113	אש	fire	105	0.08%	Gen.15.17
114	מלאכ	messenger	104	0.08%	Gen.2.2
115	בדד	to be alone	104	0.08%	Gen.2.18
116	בהמה	large animal	103	0.08%	Gen.1.24
117	קול	voice, sound	102	0.08%	Gen.3.8
118	שמימ	the sky above	100	0.08%	Gen.1.1
119	ערב	to become dusky	99	0.08%	Gen.1.5
120	שבעימ	seventy days	99	0.08%	Gen.2.2
121	טוב	to make good	98	0.08%	Gen.1.4
122	צבא	to gather an army	96	0.08%	Gen.2.1
123	חדש	to renew, rebuild	94	0.08%	Gen.7.11
124	לוה	to unite, to remain	94	0.08%	Exod.4.14
125	קטר	to produce fragrance by burning	93	0.07%	Exod.25.6
126	ירא	to fear, reverence	92	0.07%	Gen.3.10
127	ספר	to count, record numbers	92	0.07%	Gen.34.30
128	עור	to expose	91	0.07%	Gen.3.21
129	גוי	foreign nation, Gentile	91	0.07%	Gen.10.5
130	רומ	to raise, rise	90	0.07%	Gen.7.17
131	אבנ	stone	89	0.07%	Gen.2.12
132	שכב	to lie down	89	0.07%	Gen.19.4
133	סבב	to surround, border	88	0.07%	Gen.23.17
134	בכר	to give the firstborn rights	88	0.07%	Gen.10.15
135	ירד	to go down	88	0.07%	Gen.11.5
136	ימ	large body of water	87	0.07%	Gen.1.10
137	חלב	rich part	87	0.07%	Gen.4.4
138	כבש	ram, lamb	87	0.07%	Exod.12.5
139	רוח	to smell, perceive	86	0.07%	Gen.8.21
140	רבב	to increase in number	86	0.07%	Gen.6.5
141	הלכ	to walk	84	0.07%	Gen.2.14
142	רעה	to tend sheep	84	0.07%	Gen.11.3
143	עלמ	to conceal	83	0.07%	Gen.3.22
144	שש	six, ordinal sixth	82	0.07%	Gen.7.6
145	ברה	to make clear	82	0.07%	Gen.6.18
146	שקל	to weigh, to balance	82	0.07%	Gen.23.15
147	כבד	to be heavy, burdensome	80	0.06%	Gen.31.1
148	רבה	to increase	78	0.06%	Gen.1.22
149	שבת	to stop working	77	0.06%	Exod.16.23
150	לול	spiral staircase	76	0.06%	Gen.1.5
151	חלל	to pierce, begin with opening	76	0.06%	Gen.4.26
152	שער	to storm, fear	76	0.06%	Gen.27.11
153	כסה	to cover, to conceal	74	0.06%	Gen.7.19
154	ירה	to teach, to throw	74	0.06%	Gen.26.5
155	נגד	to announce, to expose	72	0.06%	Gen.3.11
156	חמשימ	fifty	72	0.06%	Gen.6.15
157	רגל	to walk, to travel	71	0.06%	Gen.8.9
158	כרת	to cut, divide, make a covenant	71	0.06%	Gen.9.11
159	זקנ	to grow old	70	0.06%	Gen.18.11
160	תממ	to make whole	69	0.06%	Gen.6.9
161	שלושימ	thirty	68	0.05%	Gen.5.3
162	לב	heart, feelings	67	0.05%	Gen.6.5
163	עזז	to be strong	66	0.05%	Gen.15.9
164	יכל	to be able	64	0.05%	Gen.13.6
165	חוצ	outside, outdoors	63	0.05%	Gen.6.14
166	אשה	fire offering	63	0.05%	Exod.29.18
167	ימנ	to favor the right side	62	0.05%	Gen.13.9
168	פרה	to produce fruit	61	0.05%	Gen.1.11
169	נפל	to fall	61	0.05%	Gen.2.21
170	ארבעימ	forty days	61	0.05%	Gen.5.13
171	דור	to remain	61	0.05%	Gen.6.9
172	גבל	to mark boundaries	59	0.05%	Gen.10.19
173	שרר	to have power	59	0.05%	Gen.12.15
174	חלמ	to make plump, dream	59	0.05%	Gen.20.3
175	יתר	to exceed, remain	59	0.05%	Gen.30.36
176	משח	to rub with oil, to anoint	59	0.05%	Gen.31.13
177	יספ	to continue adding	58	0.05%	Gen.4.2
178	כפפ	to curve	58	0.05%	Gen.8.9
179	אנפ	to get angry	57	0.05%	Gen.2.7
180	איב	to hate, be hostile	57	0.05%	Gen.22.17
181	סור	to turn away	57	0.05%	Gen.8.13
182	שער	to guard, estimate	57	0.05%	Gen.19.1
183	חזק	to grasp, to fortify	56	0.05%	Gen.19.16
184	חקה	enactment, rule	56	0.05%	Gen.26.5
185	עננ	to practice magic	55	0.04%	Gen.9.13
186	שתה	to drink	55	0.04%	Gen.9.21
187	לבב	to give, to make	55	0.04%	Gen.20.5
188	נסכ	to pour, to anoint	55	0.04%	Gen.35.14
189	נוח	to rest, settle	54	0.04%	Gen.8.21
190	אספ	to collect, take together	53	0.04%	Gen.6.21
191	חמר	to smear with clay	53	0.04%	Gen.12.16
192	שור	to travel about	53	0.04%	Gen.32.6
193	חצה	to cut in half	52	0.04%	Exod.12.29
194	נופ	to wave	52	0.04%	Exod.29.24
195	קהל	to gather together	51	0.04%	Gen.28.3
196	קבר	to bury	50	0.04%	Gen.15.15
197	אחז	to grab, hold	50	0.04%	Gen.17.8
198	חקק	to make laws	50	0.04%	Gen.47.22
199	קרש	slab plank deck	50	0.04%	Exod.26.15
200	לבנ	to make white, to brick	49	0.04%	Gen.30.35

↑ Contents

Appendix B

The 200 commonest content words

Counted as dictionary headwords: each row covers every inflection of one word.

These top 200 entries cover 27.73% of the Chumash. Divine names and proper names are excluded.

#	Hebrew	Meaning	Count	% of Chumash	First seen
1	כֹּל	all, every	1,595	1.29%	Gen.1.21
2	בֵּן	son, builder	1,496	1.21%	Gen.3.16
3	אָמַר	to say	1,373	1.11%	Gen.1.3
4	הָיָה	to be	1,049	0.85%	Gen.1.2
5	עָשָׂה	to make	860	0.69%	Gen.1.7
6	אֶרֶץ	the earth	849	0.68%	Gen.1.1
7	יוֹם	day	668	0.54%	Gen.1.5
8	נָתַן	to give	647	0.52%	Gen.1.17
9	פָּנִים	face, before	627	0.51%	Gen.1.2
10	בּוֹא	to bring to, give	618	0.50%	Gen.2.19
11	אִישׁ	man, male person	570	0.46%	Gen.2.23
12	עַם	people, tribe, troops	445	0.36%	Gen.11.6
13	דַּבֵּר	to speak	415	0.33%	Gen.8.15
14	אָב	father, parent	413	0.33%	Gen.2.24
15	אֶחָד	one, first	399	0.32%	Gen.1.5
16	רָאָה	to see	396	0.32%	Gen.1.4
17	לָקַח	to take	393	0.32%	Gen.2.15
18	יָד	hand	382	0.31%	Gen.3.22
19	שָׁנָה	year	371	0.30%	Gen.1.14
20	יָצָא	to go out, bring out	347	0.28%	Gen.1.12
21	שְׁנַיִם	two	329	0.27%	Gen.1.16
22	אָכַל	to eat	328	0.26%	Gen.2.16
23	בַּיִת	house	324	0.26%	Gen.6.14
24	אִשָּׁה	woman	307	0.25%	Gen.2.22
25	מוּת	to die	303	0.24%	Gen.2.17
26	כֹּהֵן	priest, official	295	0.24%	Gen.14.18
27	אָח	brother, sibling	285	0.23%	Gen.4.2
28	דָּבָר	word, matter, thing	256	0.21%	Gen.11.1
29	שֵׁם	name, honor	252	0.20%	Gen.2.11
30	צָוָה	to order, command	252	0.20%	Gen.2.16
31	שָׁמַע	to hear attentively	240	0.19%	Gen.3.8
32	עַיִן	eye	231	0.19%	Gen.3.5
33	יָלַךְ	to walk, carry	229	0.18%	Gen.3.14
34	קֹדֶשׁ	sacred place	221	0.18%	Exod.3.5
35	אֹהֶל	tent	214	0.17%	Gen.4.20
36	מַיִם	water	207	0.17%	Gen.1.2
37	נֶפֶשׁ	living creature	205	0.17%	Gen.1.20
38	יָלַד	to give birth	205	0.17%	Gen.3.16
39	בַּת	daughter	204	0.16%	Gen.5.4
40	עָלָה	to go up	201	0.16%	Gen.2.6
41	שָׁלַח	to send away	201	0.16%	Gen.3.22
42	יָשַׁב	to sit, dwell, remain	199	0.16%	Gen.4.16
43	מִזְבֵּחַ	altar	198	0.16%	Gen.8.20
44	קָרַב	to bring near	198	0.16%	Gen.12.11
45	מֵאָה	a hundred	194	0.16%	Gen.5.3
46	קָרָא	to name	192	0.15%	Gen.1.5
47	שֶׁבַע	seven, week	185	0.15%	Gen.4.24
48	מִשְׁפָּחָה	family, tribe	185	0.15%	Gen.8.19
49	שׁוּב	to turn back	180	0.15%	Gen.3.19
50	עֶבֶד	servant	180	0.15%	Gen.9.25
51	יָדַע	to know	174	0.14%	Gen.3.5
52	עִיר	city	173	0.14%	Gen.4.17
53	נָשָׂא	to lift, carry	168	0.14%	Gen.4.13
54	דָּם	blood, juice, shed blood	166	0.13%	Gen.4.10
55	מוֹעֵד	appointed time	160	0.13%	Gen.1.14
56	שׂוּם	to put	151	0.12%	Gen.2.8
57	הַר	mountain range	150	0.12%	Gen.7.19
58	שָׁמַר	to protect, guard	148	0.12%	Gen.2.15
59	עֹלָה	to offer as a sacrifice	148	0.12%	Gen.8.20
60	כֶּסֶף	silver, money	146	0.12%	Gen.13.2
61	קוּם	to rise	145	0.12%	Gen.4.8
62	רֹאשׁ	head	144	0.12%	Gen.2.10
63	זָהָב	gold, yellow	143	0.12%	Gen.2.11
64	חַטָּאָה	offense, sin	142	0.11%	Gen.4.7
65	מַטֶּה	branch, rod, staff	142	0.11%	Gen.38.18
66	חָמֵשׁ	five years	139	0.11%	Gen.5.6
67	בָּשָׂר	flesh, body	138	0.11%	Gen.2.21
68	בָרַךְ	to bless	137	0.11%	Gen.1.22
69	חַי	alive, living	136	0.11%	Gen.1.20
70	פָּקַד	to oversee, care for	135	0.11%	Gen.21.1
71	תָּוֶךְ	center	133	0.11%	Gen.1.6
72	מָקוֹם	place	133	0.11%	Gen.1.9
73	עָבַר	to cross over	130	0.10%	Gen.8.1
74	פֶּה	mouth, speech	124	0.10%	Gen.4.11
75	אֶלֶף	a thousand	123	0.10%	Gen.20.16
76	מָצָא	to find, to get	122	0.10%	Gen.2.20
77	נָסַע	to start a journey	120	0.10%	Gen.11.2
78	שָׂדֶה	open space	117	0.09%	Gen.2.5
79	אַיִל	ram	117	0.09%	Gen.15.9
80	דֶּרֶךְ	a path or way	116	0.09%	Gen.3.24
81	צֹאן	flock of sheep or goats	116	0.09%	Gen.4.2
82	שָׁלוֹשׁ	three	115	0.09%	Gen.5.22
83	טָמֵא	to be contaminated	114	0.09%	Gen.34.5
84	עָבַד	to work, serve	113	0.09%	Gen.2.5
85	מִנְחָה	to bring as an offering	113	0.09%	Gen.4.3
86	בֶּגֶד	clothing, disguise	113	0.09%	Gen.24.53
87	זֶרַע	seed, plant, offspring	112	0.09%	Gen.1.11
88	עֵדָה	a group, congregation	110	0.09%	Exod.12.3
89	עֵץ	tree, wood	108	0.09%	Gen.1.11
90	אָדָם	human being	107	0.09%	Gen.1.26
91	שֶׁמֶן	oil	106	0.09%	Gen.28.18
92	מִדְבָּר	open field, desert	105	0.08%	Gen.14.6
93	אֵשׁ	fire	104	0.08%	Gen.15.17
94	מַחֲנֶה	camp, army	104	0.08%	Gen.32.3
95	מִשְׁכָּן	dwelling place	104	0.08%	Exod.25.9
96	בְּהֵמָה	large animal	103	0.08%	Gen.1.24
97	גָּדוֹל	great, large	102	0.08%	Gen.1.16
98	קוֹל	voice, sound	102	0.08%	Gen.3.8
99	מֶלֶךְ	king	101	0.08%	Gen.14.1
100	יָרַשׁ	to take possession of	101	0.08%	Gen.15.3
101	שָׁמַיִם	sky, heavens	100	0.08%	Gen.1.1
102	נָכָה	to strike	99	0.08%	Gen.4.15
103	קֶרֶב	near, among	99	0.08%	Gen.18.12
104	כְּלִי	utensil, vessel	99	0.08%	Gen.24.53
105	אַרְבַּע	four	98	0.08%	Gen.2.10
106	בָּקָר	cattle herd	98	0.08%	Gen.12.16
107	אֲדָמָה	soil, earth	96	0.08%	Gen.1.25
108	רַע	bad or evil	96	0.08%	Gen.2.9
109	עָשָׂר	ten, teens	92	0.07%	Gen.5.8
110	פַּר	bull, ox	92	0.07%	Gen.32.16
111	גּוֹי	foreign nation	91	0.07%	Gen.10.5
112	אָדוֹן	to control	91	0.07%	Gen.18.3
113	צָבָא	army, force	90	0.07%	Gen.2.1
114	בַּד	by itself	90	0.07%	Gen.2.18
115	אֶבֶן	stone	88	0.07%	Gen.2.12
116	יָרַד	to go down	88	0.07%	Gen.11.5
117	יָם	large body of water	87	0.07%	Gen.1.10
118	כֶּבֶשׂ	ram, male sheep	87	0.07%	Exod.12.5
119	טוֹב	good, well	86	0.07%	Gen.1.4
120	חֹדֶשׁ	new moon month	86	0.07%	Gen.7.11
121	חָנָה	to pitch camp	86	0.07%	Gen.26.17
122	לֵוִיִּי	descendant of Levi	86	0.07%	Exod.4.14
123	הָלַךְ	to walk	84	0.07%	Gen.2.14
124	לֶחֶם	food, especially bread	84	0.07%	Gen.3.19
125	עָמַד	to stand	84	0.07%	Gen.18.8
126	חָיָה	to live	83	0.07%	Gen.5.3
127	מִשְׁפָּט	to judge, decide	83	0.07%	Gen.18.19
128	עֲבֹדָה	to work	83	0.07%	Gen.29.27
129	בְּרִית	to make a pact	82	0.07%	Gen.6.18
130	יָרֵא	to fear, reverence	81	0.07%	Gen.3.10
131	בֹּקֶר	morning dawn	80	0.06%	Gen.1.5
132	עוֹר	skin, hide	80	0.06%	Gen.3.21
133	כָּפַר	to cover, forgive	79	0.06%	Gen.6.14
134	קׇרְבָּן	sacrificial offering	78	0.06%	Lev.1.2
135	עֶרֶב	dusk, evening	77	0.06%	Gen.1.5
136	קָדַשׁ	to set apart as holy	75	0.06%	Gen.2.3
137	פֶּתַח	door, entrance	75	0.06%	Gen.4.7
138	נַחֲלָה	inheritance	74	0.06%	Gen.31.14
139	עוֹלָם	eternity, always	73	0.06%	Gen.3.22
140	עֶשְׂרִים	twenty	73	0.06%	Gen.6.3
141	אַמָּה	unit of length	73	0.06%	Gen.6.15
142	שֵׁשׁ	six	73	0.06%	Gen.7.6
143	סָבִיב	around, surrounding	73	0.06%	Gen.23.17
144	חֲמִשִּׁים	fifty	72	0.06%	Gen.6.15
145	חָטָא	to miss, sin	72	0.06%	Gen.20.6
146	זֶבַח	to offer as a sacrifice	72	0.06%	Gen.31.54
147	נָשִׂיא	leader, prince	71	0.06%	Gen.17.20
148	שָׁבַע	to swear	70	0.06%	Gen.21.23
149	טָהוֹר	to be clean	69	0.06%	Gen.7.2
150	כָּרַת	to make a covenant	69	0.06%	Gen.9.11
151	בְּכוֹר	firstborn, chief	69	0.06%	Gen.10.15
152	שְׁלוֹשִׁים	thirty years	68	0.05%	Gen.5.3
153	גֵּר	foreigner, guest	68	0.05%	Gen.15.13
154	לֵב	heart, feelings	67	0.05%	Gen.6.5
155	נֶגַע	to inflict, to strike	67	0.05%	Gen.12.17
156	רָבָה	to increase	66	0.05%	Gen.1.22
157	רַב	abundant, great	66	0.05%	Gen.6.5
158	טָמֵא	unclean	66	0.05%	Lev.5.2
159	מְלָאכָה	work	65	0.05%	Gen.2.2
160	חֶלֶב	choice part	65	0.05%	Gen.4.4
161	מַעֲשֶׂה	action, transaction	65	0.05%	Gen.5.29
162	יָכֹל	to be able	64	0.05%	Gen.13.6
163	לַיִל	night	63	0.05%	Gen.1.5
164	אֵם	mother	63	0.05%	Gen.2.24
165	חוּץ	outside, outdoors	63	0.05%	Gen.6.14
166	שֶׁקֶל	weight standard	63	0.05%	Gen.23.15
167	מִצְוָה	command	63	0.05%	Gen.26.5
168	אִשָּׁה	sacrifice	63	0.05%	Exod.29.18
169	שֵׁנִי	second, again	62	0.05%	Gen.1.8
170	אַרְבָּעִים	forty days	61	0.05%	Gen.5.13
171	דּוֹר	generation, age	61	0.05%	Gen.6.9
172	שָׁכַב	to lie down	61	0.05%	Gen.19.4
173	רֶגֶל	foot, step	60	0.05%	Gen.8.9
174	נָפַל	to fall	58	0.05%	Gen.2.21
175	יָסַף	to continue adding	58	0.05%	Gen.4.2
176	כַּף	hand, palm	58	0.05%	Gen.8.9
177	מָלֵא	to fill up	57	0.05%	Gen.1.22
178	שְׁבִיעִי	seventh day	57	0.05%	Gen.2.2
179	שַׂר	head person	57	0.05%	Gen.12.15
180	זָכָר	male, masculine	56	0.05%	Gen.1.27
181	עֵז	goat	56	0.05%	Gen.15.9
182	שַׁעַר	door, gate	56	0.05%	Gen.19.1
183	חֻקָּה	rule, command, regulation	56	0.05%	Gen.26.5
184	תּוֹרָה	law	56	0.05%	Gen.26.5
185	נָגַד	to announce, expose	55	0.04%	Gen.3.11
186	רִאשׁוֹן	first, foremost	55	0.04%	Gen.8.13
187	סוּר	to turn away	55	0.04%	Gen.8.13
188	לֵבָב	heart	55	0.04%	Gen.20.5
189	אֶדֶן	column base	55	0.04%	Exod.26.19
190	נָגַע	to touch, strike	54	0.04%	Gen.3.3
191	זָקֵן	old person	54	0.04%	Gen.18.11
192	טָהֵר	to make pure	54	0.04%	Gen.35.2
193	שֶׁלֶם	to offer as a peace offering	54	0.04%	Exod.20.24
194	אַחֵר	next, other	53	0.04%	Gen.4.25
195	גְּבוּל	boundary, territory	53	0.04%	Gen.10.19
196	אֹיֵב	enemy	53	0.04%	Gen.22.17
197	רֵעַ	friend	52	0.04%	Gen.11.3
198	שׁוֹר	cattle traveler	52	0.04%	Gen.32.6
199	אַף	face, anger	51	0.04%	Gen.2.7
200	מִקְנֶה	property, livestock	51	0.04%	Gen.4.20

↑ Contents

Appendix C

The 118 commonest particles and function words

Prefixes, prepositions, conjunctions and standalone pronouns, and the single most valuable list in this book.

These top 118 entries cover 41.75% of the Chumash. Pronominal endings are not standalone words and are excluded.

If you learn one table in this book, learn the first thirty rows of this one. Between them the six prefixes at the top account for over a quarter of every word in the Chumash.

#	Hebrew	Meaning	Count	% of Chumash	First seen
1	וְ	and	13,768	11.09%	Gen.1.1
2	הַ	the (definite article)	7,450	6.00%	Gen.1.1
3	לְ	to, for	5,773	4.65%	Gen.1.5
4	אֵת	to specifically indicate	4,153	3.35%	Gen.1.1
5	בְּ	in, with, by	3,882	3.13%	Gen.1.1
6	אֲשֶׁר	who, which, what, that, when, where, how	1,908	1.54%	Gen.1.7
7	אֵל	near, toward, among	1,682	1.36%	Gen.1.9
8	מִ	from	1,625	1.31%	Gen.1.7
9	עַל	above, over, upon	1,529	1.23%	Gen.1.2
10	לֹא	not, no	1,344	1.08%	Gen.2.5
11	כִּי	because, since	1,040	0.84%	Gen.1.4
12	הוּא	he, it, self, this, that	644	0.52%	Gen.2.11
13	כְּ	like, as	571	0.46%	Gen.1.26
14	מִן	from, out of	393	0.32%	Gen.2.6
15	זֶה	this or that	337	0.27%	Gen.5.1
16	אִם	whether, if, oh that	327	0.26%	Gen.4.7
17	עַד	to, until, during	307	0.25%	Gen.3.19
18	אֵת	with, by, at, among	296	0.24%	Gen.4.1
19	אַתָּה	you	265	0.21%	Gen.3.11
20	אֵלֶּה	these or those	264	0.21%	Gen.2.4
21	שָׁם	then, there	259	0.21%	Gen.2.8
22	אוֹ	or, if	256	0.21%	Gen.24.49
23	עִם	with, along with	243	0.20%	Gen.3.6
24	הִנֵּה	look!	213	0.17%	Gen.1.29
25	אַחַר	after	198	0.16%	Gen.5.4
26	כֵּן	rightly so	182	0.15%	Gen.1.7
27	אֲנִי	I am	181	0.15%	Gen.6.17
28	זֹאת	this one	179	0.14%	Gen.2.23
29	גַּם	even, also, too	177	0.14%	Gen.3.6
30	בֵּין	between, either...or	165	0.13%	Gen.1.4
31	אָנֹכִי	I am	141	0.11%	Gen.3.10
32	תַּחַת	below, underneath	137	0.11%	Gen.1.7
33	מָה	what, how, why, whatever	132	0.11%	Gen.2.19
34	אַיִן	nothing	129	0.10%	Gen.2.5
35	הֵם	they emphasize	120	0.10%	Gen.3.7
36	נָא	now please	109	0.09%	Gen.12.11
37	אַל	not, nothing	104	0.08%	Gen.13.8
38	הֲ	interrogative ('is it?')	96	0.08%	Gen.3.11
39	עוֹד	again, repeatedly, still	95	0.08%	Gen.4.25
40	עַתָּה	at this time	84	0.07%	Gen.3.22
41	מַעַן	on account of	78	0.06%	Gen.12.13
42	מְאֹד	very, greatly	75	0.06%	Gen.1.31
43	פֵּן	lest, in case	62	0.05%	Gen.3.3
44	מַעַל	upward, above	60	0.05%	Gen.6.16
45	מִי	whoever	55	0.04%	Gen.3.11
46	הֵן	lo! if	45	0.04%	Gen.3.22
47	אַךְ	only, just	43	0.03%	Gen.7.23
48	כֹּה	thus, here, now	42	0.03%	Gen.15.5
49	רַק	merely, only	40	0.03%	Gen.6.5
50	בִּלְתִּי	not, except, without	30	0.02%	Gen.3.11
51	יֵשׁ	exists	30	0.02%	Gen.18.24
52	אֲנַחְנוּ	we	28	0.02%	Gen.13.8
53	כְּמוֹ	like, as	28	0.02%	Gen.19.15
54	אַף	also, or, though	22	0.02%	Gen.3.1
55	אָז	at that time then	21	0.02%	Gen.4.26
56	בְּעַד	at, beside, among, behind, for	20	0.02%	Gen.7.16
57	עִמָּד	along with	19	0.02%	Gen.3.12
58	מוּל	opposite, facing	19	0.02%	Exod.18.19
59	אוּלַי	if not, maybe	18	0.01%	Gen.16.2
60	טֶרֶם	not yet	17	0.01%	Gen.2.5
61	נֶגֶד	opposite, before	17	0.01%	Gen.2.18
62	הֵנָּה	themselves, for is	17	0.01%	Gen.6.2
63	יַחַד	together	17	0.01%	Gen.13.6
64	אָמֵן	to confirm, truly	14	0.01%	Num.5.22
65	תְּמוֹל	a day ago	12	0.01%	Gen.31.2
66	פֹּה	here, hence	11	0.01%	Gen.19.12
67	אֵיךְ	how? where?	11	0.01%	Gen.26.9
68	שִׁלְשׁוֹם	day before yesterday	11	0.01%	Gen.31.2
69	מַדּוּעַ	why	10	0.01%	Gen.26.27
70	אֵצֶל	near, beside	10	0.01%	Gen.39.10
71	יוֹמָם	daily	10	0.01%	Exod.13.21
72	הֵנָּה	to this side or that side	9	0.01%	Gen.15.16
73	לוּא	if, would that	9	0.01%	Gen.17.18
74	כָּכָה	just like that	9	0.01%	Exod.12.11
75	מַטָּה	downward, below	9	0.01%	Exod.26.24
76	אֵל	these or those	8	0.01%	Gen.19.8
77	אָן	where, when, hither, thither	7	0.01%	Gen.16.8
78	הֵן	they are emphasized	7	0.01%	Gen.19.29
79	הָלְאָה	far away, so far	6	0.00%	Gen.19.9
80	יַעַן	for, because of	6	0.00%	Gen.22.16
81	רֵיקָם	in vain	6	0.00%	Gen.31.42
82	אַיֵּה	where	5	0.00%	Gen.18.9
83	נֹכַח	in front of, opposite	5	0.00%	Gen.25.21
84	מָתַי	when	5	0.00%	Gen.30.30
85	בִּי	if I may	5	0.00%	Gen.43.20
86	אַי	where? thus how?	4	0.00%	Gen.3.9
87	בִּלְעֲדֵי	except, without	4	0.00%	Gen.14.24
88	חָלִילָה	to forbid	4	0.00%	Gen.18.25
89	אֵפוֹ	then, now	4	0.00%	Gen.27.33
90	אוּלָם	however or contrarily	4	0.00%	Gen.28.19
91	חִנָּם	free of charge	4	0.00%	Gen.29.15
92	נַחְנוּ	we	4	0.00%	Gen.42.11
93	אֶמֶשׁ	yesterday	3	0.00%	Gen.19.34
94	אַיִן	where from	3	0.00%	Gen.29.4
95	לוּלֵא	if not	3	0.00%	Gen.31.42
96	עַד	until, to, for	3	0.00%	Exod.15.18
97	אֲחֹרַנִּית	backwards	2	0.00%	Gen.9.23
98	הֲלֹם	here to	2	0.00%	Gen.16.13
99	אֲבָל	not, but	2	0.00%	Gen.17.19
100	אֻמְנָם	truly	2	0.00%	Gen.18.13
101	הַלָּזֶה	this one	2	0.00%	Gen.24.65
102	אָכֵן	firmly, surely, but	2	0.00%	Gen.28.16
103	אָטָד	buckthorn tree	2	0.00%	Gen.50.10
104	אָנָּא	now then	2	0.00%	Gen.50.17
105	זוּ	this or that	2	0.00%	Exod.15.13
106	פִּתְאוֹם	suddenly	2	0.00%	Num.6.9
107	חֵלֶף	instead of	2	0.00%	Num.18.21
108	אוֹי	Oh!	2	0.00%	Num.21.29
109	זוּלָה	away from	2	0.00%	Deut.1.36
110	שֶׁ	that, which (relative)	1	0.00%	Gen.6.3
111	אׇמְנָה	surely	1	0.00%	Gen.20.12
112	אֵיפֹה	where, when, how	1	0.00%	Gen.37.16
113	אַבְרֵךְ	to kneel	1	0.00%	Gen.41.43
114	הֵא	not	1	0.00%	Gen.47.23
115	נָא	uncooked meat	1	0.00%	Exod.12.9
116	נֵכַח	opposite to	1	0.00%	Exod.14.2
117	פְּנִימָה	inside	1	0.00%	Lev.10.18
118	קוֹמְמִיּוּת	upright, erect	1	0.00%	Lev.26.13

↑ Contents

Appendix D

Glossary

Every term used in this book, in one place.

shoresh שֹׁרֶשׁ: A root: three consonants carrying an area of meaning. Written with connectors between the letters, and with no final-form letters, because it is an abstraction rather than a pronounceable word.
milah מִלָּה: A word in its own right, not built on a three-letter root. Learned as it stands. In this book, a breakdown that says milah rather than shoresh is telling you there is nothing to take apart.
prefix: A letter glued to the front of a word, carrying its own meaning. Hebrew has six: and, the, to/for, in/with/by, from, like/as.
suffix: An ending glued to the back of a word. The possessive endings mean my, your, his, her, their; the directional hei means toward.
nikud נִקּוּד: The vowel points: the dots and dashes under, inside and over the letters. Every Hebrew word in this book carries them.
te'amim טְעָמִים: The cantillation marks: the small hooks and wedges that indicate how a verse is chanted and where it breaks. Printed on the full pasuk in this book, stripped from every word breakdown.
dagesh דָּגֵשׁ: A dot inside a letter. Among other things, it marks the place where a nun has been absorbed, and it is the signature of the Piel mold.
maqqef מַקָּף: A small high dash joining two words so that they are read as one unit. In this book a word joined forward by a maqqef is marked with a dash after it.
binyan בִּנְיָן: Literally a building: one of the molds a shoresh is poured into to become a verb. The mold decides whether the action is simple, intensive, causative or passive.
Qal קַל: The simple binyan. The plain form of the action, and the commonest.
Piel פִּעֵל: The intensive binyan, marked by a dagesh in the middle letter of the shoresh.
Hifil הִפְעִיל: The causative binyan, usually marked by a hei in front. It turns to see into to show.
Nifal נִפְעַל: The passive and reflexive binyan, usually marked by a nun in front. It turns to see into to be seen, which of Hashem is rendered appeared.
Qal passive: A passive counterpart of the simple binyan, rare enough that many grammars fold it into Nifal. It appears once in this perek, in pasuk 15.
perfect: A verb form presenting an action as completed. Usually rendered as English past.
imperfect: A verb form presenting an action as not completed. Usually rendered as English future, sometimes as an intention or a wish.
wayyiqtol: The narrative form: a vav on the front of an imperfect, which flips it into the past and advances the story one step. The engine of biblical narrative and by far the commonest verb form in this perek.
imperative: A command form.
infinitive construct: The to do form of a verb. It takes prefixes and endings, which is how Hebrew packs a whole clause into a single word.
infinitive absolute: A bare, emphatic verb form, frequently doubled with another verb to convey emphasis or continuousness.
participle: The doing or one who does form, sitting between a verb and an adjective.
construct state: The form a noun takes when it is bound to a following noun, house of rather than house. Marked in this book's grammatical labels.
absolute state: The ordinary, unbound form of a noun.
pasuk פָּסוּק: A verse.
perek פֶּרֶק: A chapter.
parsha פָּרָשָׁה: The weekly Torah portion. This book covers the opening perek of Parshas Lech Lecha.
Rashi רַשִׁ״י: Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki (1040–1105), whose commentary is the standard first companion to the Chumash. Quoted here in English only.
Metsudah: The Metsudah Chumash (Metsudah Publications, 2009), the translation used throughout this book, licensed CC-BY.

↑ Contents

Appendix E

Answers to the review questions

Chapter 1

That you can sound out vowelled Hebrew, slowly, with a finger on the page. Nothing else.
A translation tells you what a verse says. Reading the text means the Hebrew itself is carrying the meaning to you, which is a different experience, and the one the book aims at.
Part Three assumes the color coding, the six prefixes and the endings are already familiar. Without Part Two it becomes a slow exercise in looking things up.

Chapter 2

The shoresh supplies the area of meaning. The vowels and the affixes supply the grammar: who did it, to whom, when, and whether the word is functioning as a verb, a noun or something else.
41.75% of all words in the Chumash.
149 of the 268, well over half.
It means nothing in the perek is exotic. Every shoresh you learn here is one you will meet again constantly, so the effort of learning it is repaid across the whole Chumash.

Chapter 3

Because it is an abstraction rather than a word. The connectors say “these three letters as a set”, and a final-form letter would imply that the root ends a real word, which it never does.
The idea of building. A house is a built thing; a son is glossed “son, builder” because he builds the family line.
A milah is a word that is not built on three letters, אָב, אָח, שֵׁם, יָם, שִׁבְעִים. The test is mechanical: count the letters of the root. Three is a shoresh; anything else is a milah, and there is nothing to take apart.
Work from the outside in: peel any prefixes off the front, peel any ending off the back, and what is left is the shoresh wearing its vowels.

Chapter 4

and; to, for; the; in, with, by; from; like, as.
The prefix meaning to, for.
11.09%, the single most frequent item in the whole Chumash.
Because Hebrew uses one prefix for a range of relations that English splits across three words. Which one fits is decided by what follows: a place gives in, an instrument gives with or by.

Chapter 5

It carries the possessor. English needs my, your, his as separate words; Hebrew puts them on the end of the noun, or on the end of a preposition.
Gender. One addresses a man, the other a woman, which is why the first is all over pasuk 1, where Hashem speaks to Avram, and the second appears in pesukim 12 and 13, where Avram speaks to Sarai.
Because it is the directional hei, not a possessive ending. On a place-word it means toward, and Hebrew needs no preposition at all.
The ending meaning their, once, in pasuk 5.

Chapter 6

Peel any prefixes off the front, outermost first; peel any ending off the back; read what remains as the stem and find its shoresh; then reassemble the English from the back of the Hebrew word forward.
Because the prefixes and endings are a closed, short list you can recognize instantly, whereas the shoresh is only visible once they are out of the way.
The beis at the front is the preposition in; the stem in the middle is the verb, an infinitive construct on the shoresh meaning to go out; the ending is his. Literally in his going out, that is, when he left.

Chapter 7

Yud, vav, nun and hei.
It collapses into the following letter, which then carries a dagesh, the dot inside the letter marks the place the nun went.
Two: the lamed and the kaf. The yud of the shoresh has dropped.
Because reading does not require deriving forms. The useful habit is recognition: a word that looks two letters short is almost always a shoresh you already know with an unstable letter hidden.

Chapter 8

The binyan decides what kind of action it is, simple, intensive, causative, passive. The shoresh decides what the action is about.
Qal: to see. Hifil: to show, that is, to cause to see. Nifal: to be seen, rendered appeared.
A vav placed on the front of an imperfect, which flips it into the past and moves the narrative forward one step. Narrative Hebrew uses it because it chains events: and he went, and he took, and he built.
Aspect, not time. The perfect presents an action as completed; the imperfect presents it as not completed. English usually renders them past and future, but that is a translation convenience rather than what the Hebrew says.

↑ Contents