Exodus 1:3

Summary

Exodus 1:3 continues a list of names, presenting three of the sons of Jacob who entered Egypt: Yissakhar ("Issachar", H3485G), Zevulun ("Zebulun", H2074), and Benyamin ("Benjamin", H1144G). The verse consists solely of these three proper names joined by a conjunction, with no verb or additional predicate.

Key words

• Yissakhar ("Issachar", H3485G) — proper name, masculine, functioning as a bare noun in a list with no grammatical marking beyond its role as a list item.
• Zevulun ("Zebulun", H2074) — proper name, masculine, likewise unmarked, placed second in sequence.
• u ("and", H9002) — conjunction, attached as a prefix directly to the following name rather than standing as an independent word; it links the final item to the preceding two.
• Benyamin ("Benjamin", H1144G) — proper name, masculine, the third and final name in this segment, bearing the attached conjunction u-.

What the text says

The Hebrew text of this verse is a simple asyndetic-to-syndetic list: the first two names, Yissakhar ("Issachar", H3485G) and Zevulun ("Zebulun", H2074), appear one after another with no conjunction between them, while the third name, Benyamin ("Benjamin", H1144G), is joined to the list by the prefixed conjunction u ("and", H9002). This pattern — items listed without conjunctions until the last, which receives "and" — is common in Biblical Hebrew enumerations and produces a rhythm where the final element signals closure of the list.

Grammatically, the verse contains no verb; it is composed entirely of nominal elements (proper names) in apposition to the broader list that began in the preceding verse. There is no predicate, subject-verb relationship, or clause structure within these four words — the verse functions purely as a continuation of a longer catalog of names, syntactically dependent on material outside this specific verse for its full sense (such as the verb governing the entire list of Jacob's sons).

Differences between versions

The Hebrew places the conjunction u ("and", H9002) only before the last name, Benyamin ("Benjamin", H1144G), consistent with Hebrew list conventions. The Greek (LXXSWETE) renders this with καὶ ("and") in the same position, before Βενιαμείν, matching the Hebrew structure. The Latin (VULCLEM) uses "et" similarly before "Benjamin," preserving the same placement. The modern versions surveyed (BSB, RV1909, SBLIBRE) also place "and"/"y" only before the final name, so all versions align in this structural feature with no substantive divergence in this verse.