וַאֲמֶרֶת לֵאָה יְהַב יְיָ אַגְרִי דִּיהָבִית אַמְתִי לְבַעְלִי וּקְרַת שְׁמֵיהּ יִשָּׂשׂכָר:
(Genesis 30:18)
And Leʾah said, “YHWH has given my reward, because I gave my maidservant to my husband,” and she called his name Yissakhar.
The Voice of Leʾah: A Dramatic Monologue
“Yehav YHWH agri”—the words burst forth from Leʾah’s lips, not with self-pity but divine arithmetic. Her grammar is theology, her syntax is sacrifice. In this verse, Targum Onkelos preserves not only the content of the Hebrew but its rhetorical sequence and relational logic, steeped in reward, agency, and naming. Let us walk through her declaration word by word—where even the smallest particle holds theological weight.
Unpacking Divine Reciprocity: Yehav and Agri
1. יְהַב יְיָ אַגְרִי — “YHWH has given my reward”
This sequence is tightly wound and reveals deep grammatical structures:
– יְהַב — Paʿel perfect 3ms of יהב (“to give”). Not Peʿal, but Paʿel, indicating intensified or declarative giving.
– יְיָ — The Aramaic circumlocution for the Tetragrammaton.
– אַגְרִי — “my reward,” from אֲגַר (“wage, reward”) with 1cs suffix.
Together, the phrase is Verb–Subject–Object, a common order in Aramaic emphasizing the act first: “Given (has) the LORD [my] reward.”
The Justification Clause: דִּיהָבִית אַמְתִי לְבַעְלִי
This clause opens with דִּי, marking causality or reason (“because”).
– הָבִית — Perfect 1cs of יהב again (Paʿel), “I gave.”
– אַמְתִי — “my maidservant,” feminine noun with 1cs suffix.
– לְבַעְלִי — “to my husband,” from בַּעַל + first-person cs suffix.
Syntax Note: This structure — causal דִּי + perfect verb + possessive objects — is typical of Targumic explanatory clauses, which frequently replicate Hebrew causal ki with Aramaic דִּי.
Table: Parsing the Key Elements
| Phrase | Gloss | Grammatical Notes |
|---|---|---|
| יְהַב | “has given” | Paʿel perfect 3ms; causative/emphatic stem |
| אַגְרִי | “my reward” | noun + 1cs suffix |
| דִּיהָבִית | “because I gave” | דִּי (causal) + Paʿel perfect 1cs |
| אַמְתִי | “my maidservant” | absolute noun + possessive suffix |
| לְבַעְלִי | “to my husband” | preposition + noun + suffix |
וּקְרַת שְׁמֵיהּ יִשָּׂשׂכָר — “And she called his name Yissakhar”
– וּקְרַת — Conjunction + Paʿel perfect 3fs of קרא, “she called.”
– שְׁמֵיהּ — “his name,” from שְׁמָא + third-person ms suffix.
– יִשָּׂשׂכָר — The name, Yissakhar.
Morphological Highlight: Though קרא is often Peʿal in Biblical Aramaic, Targum Onkelos favors Paʿel here to denote formal naming, an act of authority and intention.
When Syntax Weeps
Beneath Leʾah’s proclamation lies a quiet grammar of pain. Each clause builds a case: YHWH’s reward is just, her sacrifice acknowledged, her son named with divine arithmetic. Through tightly constructed syntax, Targum Onkelos allows Leʾah’s suffering—and her theology—to unfold not in embellishment, but in structural precision.
Grammar here doesn’t just record words. It vindicates them.
