HEBREW WORD STUDY – BUILT FOR HIMSELF – YABAN LO  יבנו

Genesis 33:17: “And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built him an house, and made booths for his cattle: therefore the name of the place is called Succoth.”

The words yaban lo byith is literally translated as “he built for himself a house.” Why does Scripture say he built the house for himself and not just he built a house? Well, with all those wives and kids I suppose he needed a place just for himself.

It is interesting that he built a house for himself but a shed (succoth) for his cattle. A byith is a permanent dwelling place and a succoth is more temporary or a flimsy type dwelling. Why did he treat his cattle so poorly? For one thing, there is an interesting play on the words built yaban and house byith. Yaban comes from the root word ben which means son and byith comes from the root word for a daughter. A man builds the house or his children and the woman makes the house a home.

Obviously, Jacob did not plan on living in this byith or house alone so why say he built it lo for himself? As far as his cattle or his business is concerned, why just a succoth, a temporary or flimsy dwelling? There is an interesting story told by Rabbi Sholom DovBer of Lubavitch in his commentary on this passage. He told of one of his students who opened a plant for the manufacture of galoshes. Soon his every waking hour and thought was completely occupied in his new and very successful business. Said his rabbi to him: “I’ve seen people put their feet into galoshes, but a head in galoshes…?”

In other words, Jacob set his priorities. He built a permanent dwelling for himself and his family but a temporary or flimsy dwelling for his cattle or business. His family came before his business.