הָאֹ֖הֶל

Alphabet Analysis

The word

1. word🔊 הָאֹ֖הֶל

   ha-O-hel

   the tent
2. phraseyour reading level🔊 פֶּ֥תַח הָאֹ֖הֶל

   PE-takh ha-O-hel

   entrance of the tent
3. clause🔊 וְשָׂרָ֥ה שֹׁמַ֛עַת פֶּ֥תַח הָאֹ֖הֶל וְה֥וּא אַחֲרָֽיו׃

   ve-sa-RA sho-MA-at PE-takh ha-O-hel ve-HU a-kha-RAV

   and Sarah was listening entrance of the tent and he was behind him
4. sentence🔊 וַיֹּ֗אמֶר שׁ֣וֹב אָשׁ֤וּב אֵלֶ֙יךָ֙ כָּעֵ֣ת חַיָּ֔ה וְהִנֵּה־בֵ֖ן לְשָׂרָ֣ה אִשְׁתֶּ֑ךָ וְשָׂרָ֥ה שֹׁמַ֛עַת פֶּ֥תַח הָאֹ֖הֶל וְה֥וּא אַחֲרָֽיו׃

   va-YO-mer SHOV a-SHUV e-LE-kha ka-ET khai-YA ve-hin-neh-VEN le-sa-RA ish-TE-kha ve-sa-RA sho-MA-at PE-takh ha-O-hel ve-HU a-kha-RAV

   {And} he said to you about this time next year surely I will return for Sarah your wife and behold, a son and Sarah was listening entrance of the tent and he was behind him

Exegesis

The prepositional phrase petach haohel {פֶּתַח הָאֹהֶל | pe-taḥ hā-ʾō-hel} specifies her location at the tent entrance, while vehu akharav {וְהוּא אַחֲרָיו | wə-hû ʾa-ḥa-rāyw} ‘and he/it was behind him’ leaves the precise referent somewhat ambiguous in Hebrew. The translation resolves this as a relative clause, “which was behind him,” taking the entrance as the subject to give smooth English while reflecting the spatial relationship implied in the Hebrew. The emphatic verbal construction is represented more literally in the formal rendering (“Returning I will return”) and with explicit adverbial reinforcement in the dynamic rendering (“I will surely come back”), both preserving the certainty of the promised visitation.