Exodus 6:22

Summary

The verse lists the sons of Uzziel: Mishael, Elzaphan, and Sithri. It is a short genealogical notice continuing a list of Levite family lines.

Key words

• ve.Nei ("[the] sons of", H1121A) — masculine plural construct form of "son," linking the following name (Uzziel) as the head of the group being enumerated.
• 'u.zi.'El ("Uzziel", H5816G) — proper name marking the father whose descendants are listed; the construct phrase ve.Nei 'u.zi.'El means "sons of Uzziel."
• mi.sha.'El ("Mishael", H4332G) — first son named, given in apposition without a verb, simply listed after the construct phrase.
• 'el.tza.Fan ("Elzaphan", H0469G) — second son, joined by the conjunction ve. ("and", H9002).
• sit.Ri ("Sithri", H5644) — third son, again joined by ve. ("and", H9002).

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence has no verb; it is a nominal list built entirely on the construct chain u.ve.Nei 'u.zi.'El — "and [the] sons of Uzziel" — followed by three personal names set in simple apposition: mi.sha.'El, ve.'el.tza.Fan, ve.sit.Ri. The construct form ve.Nei (H1121A) requires a following noun to complete its meaning, here supplied by 'u.zi.'El (H5816G), producing the possessive relationship "sons of Uzziel." The three sons are then simply juxtaposed, each pair connected by the conjunction ve. ("and", H9002), a paratactic style typical of Hebrew genealogical lists where no main verb is needed — the relationship "were" is implied grammatically by the construct chain itself rather than stated explicitly.

This structure allows the Hebrew to present the information in a compact, list-like form: one construct phrase followed by three coordinated names, with the syntactic function of "belonging to Uzziel" carried entirely by the construct state rather than by any additional verb or particle.

Differences between versions

The LXX (Swete) text presents a notably different arrangement and set of names in this position, listing "Kore, Naphek, Zechrei" before "Oziel, Elisaphan, Segrei," diverging both in names and order from the Hebrew's "Uzziel: Mishael, Elzaphan, Sithri." The Vulgate follows the Hebrew's structure and names closely: "Filii quoque Oziel: Misaël, et Elisaphan, et Sethri," rendering the construct relationship with "Filii...Oziel" ("sons...of Oziel") and preserving the same three sons in the same order as the Hebrew.