Exodus 6:21

Summary

The verse lists the sons of Izhar (Yitzhar), naming three individuals: Korah, Nepheg, and Zikri. It continues a genealogical listing within the Levitical lineage, structured as a simple sequence of proper names.

Key words

• ve ("and", H9002) — the conjunction opens the verse, linking this genealogical unit to the preceding material about Kohath's descendants.
• venei ("sons of", H1121A) — masculine plural noun in construct state, meaning it is grammatically bound to the following name (Yitzhar), forming the possessive phrase "sons of Izhar."
• Yitzhar ("Izhar", H3324) — proper name in the genitive-like construct relationship with venei, identifying whose sons are being listed.
• Qorach ("Korah", H7141I) — proper name, first of three sons listed, with no verb or copula connecting it to the construct phrase; the relationship is asyndetic (juxtaposition without "to be").
• Zikhri ("Zikri", H2147G) — proper name, third and final son, preceded by the conjunction ve ("and", H9002), closing the list.

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence has no verb. It consists of a construct chain, u-venei Yitzhar ("and the sons of Izhar"), followed by three proper names placed in apposition: Qorach, va-Nefeg, ve-Zikhri. The first name (Qorach) follows the construct phrase directly, without a conjunction, while the second and third names are each introduced by "and" (va- and ve-, both H9002). This pattern — no conjunction before the first item, then "and" before each subsequent item — is typical of Hebrew list structure and does not require a linking verb such as "were" or "are"; translations into English or Spanish must supply such a verb (e.g., "were") for grammatical completeness, but the Hebrew itself simply juxtaposes the construct phrase with the list of names.

The construct form venei ("sons of") ties the entire list to Yitzhar as the head of this sub-lineage, marking Korah, Nepheg, and Zikri as belonging to the branch of Izhar within the larger genealogy.

Differences between versions

The provided LXX (Swete) text for this verse reads only καὶ υἱοὶ Ἰσσαάρ ("and the sons of Issaar"), without listing the three individual names (Korah, Nepheg, Zikri) that appear in the Hebrew, the Vulgate (Core, et Nepheg, et Zechri), and the modern translations. The Vulgate and the Spanish/English translations all include the three names, matching the Hebrew list, though with slight variation in transliteration (e.g., Zechri in the Vulgate vs. Zikri/Zithri in other versions).