Hebrew Form Guide

בְּאֶ֙רֶץ֙ (bə·’e·reṣ) in Genesis 15:13: Preposition-b | Noun - feminine singular

בְּאֶ֙רֶץ֙ (bə·’e·reṣ) in Genesis 15:13

Source Word

בְּאֶ֙רֶץ֙bə·’e·reṣPreposition-b | Noun - feminine singular

At Genesis 15:13, the source token בְּאֶ֙רֶץ֙ is H776, Prep-b | N-fs. The BSB+ word table row therefore anchors this guide.

How The Form Affects Interpretation

In a land directly represents locative beth with an indefinite feminine singular noun. God tells Abram that covenant promise will pass through alien residence, slavery, and affliction before judgment and return.

How To Communicate It

Explain in a land as the setting of vulnerable strangerhood and keep not their own attached to the phrase.

What Not To Say

  • Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
  • Do not use the locative phrase to stigmatize immigrants or claim that every foreign residence fulfills this prophecy.
  • The land is not named in this sentence, though the later narrative identifies Egypt as the central setting.
  • Read in a land within Genesis 15:13 as this H776 occurrence; broader theology requires the passage.

What Does The Label Mean?

Profile

Hebrew-nominal

Part of Speech

Noun

Form Label

Preposition-b | Noun - feminine singular

Stem

Not applicable

Aspect

Not applicable

Person

Not applicable

Gender

Feminine

Number

Singular

State

Not applicable

Attached Prefixes

Preposition b

Suffix

None

Aspect Note

This locative phrase supplies the setting of their strangerhood; the surrounding verbs express oppression and duration.

Verse Role

Beth marks location, and the indefinite noun is restricted by the following clause that is not their own.

What The Form Does In This Verse

Attached To

The foreign land where Abram's descendants will live as strangers

Governed By

The warning of future enslavement and mistreatment before deliverance

Role In The Phrase

The beth-prefixed feminine singular noun locates the descendants in a land explicitly described as not their own.

What It Is Not Doing

The phrase does not condemn residence in every foreign country or identify the land by morphology alone.

How Much The Form Matters Here

Interpretive Weight

High: God tells Abram that covenant promise will pass through alien residence, slavery, and affliction before judgment and return.

Syntax Profile

Beth marks location, and the indefinite noun is restricted by the following clause that is not their own.. The beth-prefixed feminine singular noun locates the descendants in a land explicitly described as not their own.. Attached to the foreign land where Abram's descendants will live as strangers. Governed by the warning of future enslavement and mistreatment before deliverance. The phrase does not condemn residence in every foreign country or identify the land by morphology alone.

Reader Question

What does in a land that is not their own emphasize? It locates Abram's descendants outside possession and protection as strangers before the promised deliverance.

Translation Effect

Direct: In a land directly represents locative beth with an indefinite feminine singular noun.

Where Caution Is Needed

The land is not named in this sentence, though the later narrative identifies Egypt as the central setting. The four-hundred-year statement belongs to the whole oppression promise and should not be derived from this noun form.

Fallacies To Avoid

Foreign land implies moral impurity: The phrase marks non-possession and vulnerability, not the moral status of every foreign place. location word alone names Egypt: Narrative fulfillment identifies the land; the noun remains indefinite here.

How The Interpretation Is Derived

Textual Witness

At Genesis 15:13, the source token בְּאֶ֙רֶץ֙ is H776, Prep-b | N-fs. The BSB+ word table row therefore anchors this guide.

Lexical Identity

אֶרֶץ is the lemma behind in a land here. Within Genesis 15:13, H776 retains this exact lexical identity.

Grammar In Context

Beth marks location, and the indefinite noun is restricted by the following clause that is not their own.

Passage Meaning

God tells Abram that covenant promise will pass through alien residence, slavery, and affliction before judgment and return.

Canonical Fit

Promise does not remove suffering from the covenant story, yet God names its limit and the deliverance beyond it.

Communication Use

Explain in a land as the setting of vulnerable strangerhood and keep not their own attached to the phrase.

Do Not Derive

Do not use the locative phrase to stigmatize immigrants or claim that every foreign residence fulfills this prophecy.