Genesis 10:17

Summary

Genesis 10:17 continues the genealogical list of Canaan's descendants, naming three peoples: the Hivites, the Arkites, and the Sinites. The verse consists solely of three names joined by conjunctions, each marked as a direct object.

Key words

• chi.Vi ("Hivite[s]", H2340) — masculine singular gentilic noun, functioning as a collective name for a people-group descended from Canaan.
• 'ar.Ki ("Arkite[s]", H6208) — masculine singular gentilic, likely denoting inhabitants associated with a place name (the base toponym is not given in this word list).
• si.Ni ("Sinite[s]", H5513) — masculine singular gentilic, the third people named in this segment of the list.
• 'Et ("", H0853) — the direct object marker, repeated before each name, showing that all three nouns are grammatical objects of a verb from the preceding context (the verb "begot" / "were born" governs this list, though it does not appear in this specific verse).
• ve. ("and", H9002) — the conjunction linking each item, producing a simple additive list structure with no subordination.

What the text says

The verse is grammatically a continuation of a longer sentence begun earlier in the chapter, listing the sons or descendant peoples of Canaan. Structurally, it contains no verb of its own; it consists of three noun phrases, each introduced by the direct object marker 'Et (H0853) and preceded by the definite article ha. (H9009), joined by the conjunction ve. (H9002) — "and." This produces the pattern: "and [the Hivite] and [the Arkite] and [the Sinite]," a simple paratactic list rather than a complex sentence.

Each gentilic noun (chi.Vi, 'ar.Ki, si.Ni) is masculine singular in form but functions collectively to designate an entire people or clan, a common feature in Hebrew genealogical lists where a singular form stands for the whole group descended from an eponymous ancestor. The repeated use of the definite article on each name indicates these are treated as known, specific groups rather than generic categories. The repetition of the object marker before each item, rather than only once at the start of the list, is a stylistic feature of Hebrew list-syntax marking each element individually as grammatically dependent on the governing verb found earlier in the passage.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders the second name as Ἀρουκαιον ("Aroukaios") and the third as Ἁσενναῖον ("Hasennaios"), where the Hebrew has 'ar.Ki ("Arkite") and si.Ni ("Sinite") respectively — the Greek transliterations diverge notably from the Hebrew consonantal forms, particularly for the third name. The Vulgate gives "Aracæum" and "Sinæum," which align more closely with the Hebrew forms than the LXX's rendering of the third name.