Genesis 10:15

Summary

Genesis 10:15 continues the genealogical list of Canaan's descendants, stating that Canaan fathered Sidon as his firstborn, and also fathered Heth. The verse uses the same verb structure as the surrounding genealogy to establish these two figures as sons of Canaan.

Key words

• khe.Na.'an ("Canaan", H3667G) — proper name, subject of the sentence, introduced with the conjunction u- ("and") linking this verse to the preceding genealogical chain.
• ya.Lad ("he fathered", H3205) — qal perfect verb, third person masculine singular, indicating a completed act of begetting; this is the same verbal form used throughout the Genesis 10 genealogies.
• tzi.Don ("Sidon", H6721G) — proper name marked with the direct object marker 'et, identifying Sidon as the object of Canaan's fathering.
• be.kho.R+o ("his firstborn", H1060 + H9023) — construct noun with a third-person masculine possessive suffix, specifying Sidon's status as the eldest son of Canaan.
• Chet ("Heth", H2845) — proper name, second object introduced by its own direct object marker and joined to the first object by the conjunction ve-.

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence follows a straightforward subject-verb-object structure common in the Genesis 10 genealogical lists: u-khe.Na.'an ("and Canaan") functions as the subject, ya.Lad ("he fathered") is the verb in the qal perfect, and two objects follow, each marked separately with 'et. The first object, tzi.Don ("Sidon"), is further qualified by be.kho.R+o ("his firstborn"), a construct noun with a possessive suffix that grammatically ties the status of "firstborn" directly to Sidon rather than to Canaan generally. The second object, Chet ("Heth"), is introduced with its own conjunction ve- and its own direct object marker, giving it equal grammatical weight as a second son, though without the qualifying descriptor applied to Sidon.

The repetition of the direct object marker 'et before each name is a feature of Hebrew narrative prose marking definite direct objects; it carries no independent lexical meaning but structures the sentence by clearly delineating each object of the verb ya.Lad.

Differences between versions

The Hebrew text presents Chet as a proper personal name, parallel in form to tzi.Don ("Sidon"), both functioning as sons of Canaan. The LXX renders this name as τὸν Χετταῖον ("the Hittite"), an ethnic/adjectival form rather than a personal name, and the Vulgate similarly gives Hethæum ("the Hittite"). The BSB reflects this ethnic reading with the plural "the Hittites," while the Hebrew Chet itself is grammatically singular and structured as a personal name matching the pattern of Sidon in the same verse.