The Meaning of Genesis 25:20 Explained

Genesis 25:20

KJV: And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padanaram, the sister to Laban the Syrian.

YLT: and Isaac is a son of forty years in his taking Rebekah, daughter of Bethuel the Aramaean, from Padan-Aram, sister of Laban the Aramaean, to him for a wife.

Darby: And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebecca as wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padan-Aram, the sister of Laban the Syrian.

ASV: And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Paddan-aram, the sister of Laban the Syrian, to be his wife.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And Isaac  was forty  years  old  when he took  Rebekah  to wife,  the daughter  of Bethuel  the Syrian  of Padanaram,  the sister  to Laban  the Syrian. 

What does Genesis 25:20 Mean?

Context Summary

Genesis 25:19-34 - Jacob And Esau, Twin Brothers
In the thought of that age, the birthright carried with it the spiritual leadership of the tribe. To be the priest of the family, to stand between the Most High and the rest of the household, to receive divine communications and execute the divine will, and to be in the direct line of the Messiah-such were some of the privileges that gathered around this position. They were nought in Esau's estimation, and he was quite content to part with all they implied, if only he might have the immediate gratification of appetite. The steaming fragrance of the lentil pottage was sweet in the nostrils of the hungry hunter. We have all passed through such an experience. On the one hand, our self-respect, our true advantage, our God; on the other, passionate desire crying, "Give, give." In days and hours like that, beware: for you may say a word or do an act that shall determine your future, and, like Esau, you will find no loophole for altering the cast of the die. See Hebrews 12:16. [source]

Chapter Summary: Genesis 25

1  The sons of Abraham by Keturah
5  The division of his goods
7  His age, death, and burial
11  God blesses Isaac
12  The generations of Ishmael
17  His age and death
19  Isaac prays for Rebekah, being barren
22  The children strive in her womb
24  The birth of Esau and Jacob
27  Their different characters and pursuits
29  Esau sells his birthright

What do the individual words in Genesis 25:20 mean?

And was Isaac old forty years when he took - Rebekah the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian from of Padan Aram the sister of Laban the Syrian to him as wife
וַיְהִ֤י יִצְחָק֙ בֶּן־ אַרְבָּעִ֣ים שָׁנָ֔ה בְּקַחְתּ֣וֹ אֶת־ רִבְקָ֗ה בַּת־ בְּתוּאֵל֙ הָֽאֲרַמִּ֔י מִפַּדַּ֖ן אֲרָ֑ם אֲח֛וֹת לָבָ֥ן הָאֲרַמִּ֖י ל֥וֹ לְאִשָּֽׁה

וַיְהִ֤י  And  was 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
יִצְחָק֙  Isaac 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יִצְחָק  
Sense: son of Abraham by Sarah his wife and father of Jacob and Esau.
בֶּן־  old 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
אַרְבָּעִ֣ים  forty 
Parse: Number, common plural
Root: אַרְבָּעִים  
Sense: forty.
שָׁנָ֔ה  years 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: שָׁנָה  
Sense: year.
בְּקַחְתּ֣וֹ  when  he  took 
Parse: Preposition-b, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct, third person masculine singular
Root: יָקַח 
Sense: to take, get, fetch, lay hold of, seize, receive, acquire, buy, bring, marry, take a wife, snatch, take away.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
רִבְקָ֗ה  Rebekah 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: רִבְקָה  
Sense: daughter of Bethuel, sister of Laban, wife of Isaac, and mother of Esau and Jacob.
בַּת־  the  daughter 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: בַּת  
Sense: daughter.
בְּתוּאֵל֙  of  Bethuel 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: בְּתוּאֵל 
Sense: nephew of Abraham, son of Nahor by Milcah, father of Rebekah.
הָֽאֲרַמִּ֔י  the  Syrian 
Parse: Article, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: אֲרַמִּי 
Sense: a thing or a person from Syria or Aram.
אֲרָ֑ם  of  Padan  Aram 
Parse: Preposition, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: פַּדָּן 
Sense: a plain or tableland in northern Mesopotamia in Aram, a region of Syria.
אֲח֛וֹת  the  sister 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: אָחֹות  
Sense: sister.
לָבָ֥ן  of  Laban 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: לָבָן 
Sense: son of Bethuel, brother of Rebekah, and father of Leah and Rachel.
הָאֲרַמִּ֖י  the  Syrian 
Parse: Article, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: אֲרַמִּי 
Sense: a thing or a person from Syria or Aram.
ל֥וֹ  to  him 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine singular
לְאִשָּֽׁה  as  wife 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, feminine singular
Root: אִשָּׁה  
Sense: woman, wife, female.