What Does Genesis 30:31 Mean?
And he said, What shall I give you? And Jacob said, You shall not give me anything. If you will do this thing for me, I will again shepherd your flock and guard it.
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 he said, What shall I give thee? And Jacob said, Thou shalt not give me any thing: if thou wilt do this thing for me, I will again feed and keep thy flock:THE KEY
Jacob shifts the measure of a gift from what is handed over to the continuing work of shepherding and guarding the flock.
THE MEANING
Value appears here as ongoing care: Jacob asks for no gift at the outset and offers to feed and keep the flock. The verse holds provision and watchfulness together as the work by which the agreement takes shape.
THE ROOT
אֶרְעֶה
’er‘eh I will
GROWS FROM
רעה
r-ʿ-h
To pasture, tend, or shepherd.
“shepherd” in this verse is ’er‘eh I will. The verb rendered “feed” belongs to the same root used for shepherding and tending a flock; it describes sustained care, not simply delivering food. Jacob’s offer is to remain in the work of tending.
ALSO GROWS
ro‘eh: Shepherd; one who tends a flock.
רֹעֶה
The shepherd is defined by the same tending named in Jacob’s offer.
mir‘eh: Pasture; grazing land.
מִרְעֶה
The pasture is the place where the flock’s ongoing nourishment and care meet.
אֶתֶּן
’etten
GROWS FROM
נתן
n-t-n
To give, set, or place.
The same verb frames both sides of the exchange: Laban asks what he might give, and Jacob says not to give him anything. Its sense of setting or placing lets the question of a gift open onto what is placed into the agreement: continued care for the flock.
ALSO GROWS
mattanah: Gift; present.
מַתָּנָה
This word for a gift makes concrete what Jacob declines at the outset.
natun: Given; placed.
נָתוּן
The sense of placing adds another layer to the exchange: value takes shape through what is entrusted and set within the arrangement.
אֶשְׁמֹר
’eshmor I will
GROWS FROM
שמר
sh-m-r
To watch over, guard, or keep.
“guard” in this verse is ’eshmor I will. English “keep” can sound like possession, while this root also carries the sense of watching and guarding. Jacob names watchful care alongside feeding: the flock is both nourished and kept safe.
ALSO GROWS
shomer: Keeper; watchman.
שֹׁמֵר
The keeper’s role brings out the watchful quality in Jacob’s commitment.
mishmeret: Charge; guard duty.
מִשְׁמֶרֶת
This branch presents keeping as an entrusted responsibility, which is central to Jacob’s offer.
THE PATTERN
An entrusted flock is cared for through sustained tending, feeding, and keeping.
And the LORD God took Adam and set him down in the garden of Eden, to serve it and to guard it.And David said to Saul, Your servant shepherded his father's sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and lifted a lamb out of the flock;I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his living soul for the sheep.THE THREAD
And the LORD God took Adam and set him down in the garden of Eden, to serve it and to guard it.The same Hebrew root, שָׁמַר (shamar, keep, guard, or watch over), appears in both verses. In each, keeping is active care for what has been entrusted.
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