Genesis 10:14

Summary

This verse continues the genealogical list of the descendants of Mizraim (Egypt) begun in Genesis 10:13, naming the Pathrusim, the Casluhim, and the Caphtorim as peoples descended from him. A relative clause is inserted between the second and third names, stating that the Philistines came out from among them.

Key words

• 'asher ("where/who", H0834A) — relative particle introducing a subordinate clause; it attaches to the nearest preceding name, Kasluchim ("Casluhites", H3695), identifying them as the group from which the following clause's subject descended.
• yatze'u ("they came out", H3318G) — qal perfect, third person plural, denoting a completed action of departure; it agrees grammatically with the plural gentilic Pelishtim that follows it in the sentence.
• misham ("from there", H8033G) — adverb of place combined with the preposition mi ("from", H9006), pointing back to the location associated with the Casluhim.
• Pelishtim ("Philistines", H6430H) — a gentilic plural noun functioning as the grammatical subject of yatze'u, though it is placed after the verb rather than before it.
• 'et (H0853) — the untranslated direct object marker, repeated before each proper name (Pathrusim, Kasluchim, Kaftorim), showing that all three are direct objects of the verb governing the list (the verb "he begot" from the preceding verse).

What the text says

The sentence structure is a simple list of three names joined by ve ("and", H9002) and each preceded by the object marker 'et, indicating that all three are objects of the verb "begot" carried over from Genesis 10:13. Between the second and third items, a relative clause is inserted: 'asher yatze'u misham Pelishtim — "who, from there, the Philistines came out." In Hebrew word order, the verb yatze'u and the adverb misham precede the subject noun Pelishtim, an inversion that is grammatically permissible but places the subject at the end of the clause rather than the beginning, a structural feature not preserved in translations that follow standard subject-verb order.

The relative particle 'asher most immediately follows Kasluchim, suggesting the clause modifies the Casluhites specifically, though the placement between two names in a list leaves room for the antecedent to be read as referring to the broader group.

Differences between versions

The Vulgate (egressi sunt, plural) and the Hebrew yatze'u (plural) agree in number for the verb "came out." The LXX (Swete), however, renders this with a singular verb, ἐξῆλθεν ("he/it went out"), differing from the plural form in the Hebrew and Vulgate. The LXX also adds ἐκεῖθεν ("from there") alongside ὅθεν ("whence"), producing a doubled locative expression not present as such in the Hebrew, which uses only the single adverb misham.