What Does Genesis 24:35 Mean?
And the LORD has blessed my master greatly; and he has grown great; and he has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, menservants and maidservants, camels and donkeys.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
And the LORD hath blessed my master greatly; and he is become great: and he hath given him flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and menservants, and maidservants, and camels, and asses.THE KEY
The Hebrew word for blessing shares its root with “knee,” and here that blessing takes visible shape in what the master is given.
THE MEANING
The verse presents blessing as visible increase: livestock, precious metals, servants, and transport. The LORD is named as its source, and human beings appear in the same inventory as animals and wealth. That uneasy mixture remains in the verse’s picture of abundance.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the idea that blessing here is only an inward feeling: the verse names concrete resources and includes people among the master’s possessions.
THE ROOT
בֵּרַךְ
berakh
GROWS FROM
ב־ר־ך
b-r-k
To kneel; in this form, to bless.
“blessed” in this verse is berakh. The same root connects blessing with the knee, giving the word an embodied image. Here, blessing is followed by increase and a detailed list of what the master receives, so its visible form is part of the verse’s meaning.
ALSO GROWS
berekh: Knee
בֶּרֶךְ
This branch reveals the bodily image carried by the consonants shared with “blessed.”
berakhah: Blessing
בְּרָכָה
This noun shares the root of the verb in the verse, joining the act of blessing to the blessing itself.
וַיִּגְדָּל
vayigdal
GROWS FROM
ג־ד־ל
g-d-l
To grow or become great.
“grown great” in this verse is vayigdal. The verb describes becoming great, presenting greatness as growth rather than simply a title. It follows “blessed” and precedes the inventory of gifts, linking the blessing with increase.
ALSO GROWS
gadol: Great
גָּדוֹל
This familiar adjective shares the root and makes the connection between becoming great and greatness explicit.
migdal: Tower
מִגְדָּל
A tower rises in height; this branch gives the root’s sense of growing or becoming great a concrete form.
וַיִּתֶּן
vayitten
GROWS FROM
נ־ת־ן
n-t-n
To give, put, or set.
“given” in this verse is vayitten. The root can describe giving as well as placing or setting something. The verse’s inventory is presented as what is placed into the master’s keeping, including human servants alongside livestock and precious metals.
ALSO GROWS
mattan: Gift
מַתָּן
This noun shares the root of “given” and makes the relation between giving and what is received visible.
mattanah: Gift
מַתָּנָה
This branch also names what is given, echoing the verse’s concrete list of possessions.
THE PATTERN
Blessing becomes visible in provision that enters ordinary life.
And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will make your name great, and be a blessing.The blessing of the LORD makes rich, and he adds no pain with it.Yet he did not leave himself without witness, doing good, giving you rain from heaven and seasons that bear fruit, filling your hearts with food and gladness.THE THREAD
And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will make your name great, and be a blessing.Genesis 12:2 uses the same Hebrew root, ב־ר־ך (b-r-k), for both “bless” and “blessing.” There, the word names the one who receives blessing and becomes a blessing; here, the same root is followed by a concrete inventory of increase.
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