Genesis 10:2

Summary

Genesis 10:2 lists the sons of Yefet ("Japheth", H3315), the third son of Noah, as part of the genealogical table opening chapter 10. The verse names seven descendants introduced by the construct phrase "sons of Japheth," each connected by simple coordinating conjunctions.

Key words

• be.Nei ("sons of", H1121A) — masculine plural noun in construct state, meaning it must be followed by the name it belongs to (Yefet); it introduces the entire list as a genealogical heading rather than a full sentence.
• Yefet ("Japheth", H3315) — proper name, genitive complement of be.Nei; identifies whose descendants are being enumerated.
• Go.mer ("Gomer", H1586G) — first name in the list, given without a conjunction, which in Hebrew list-style marks it as the opening item.
• ve. / u. ("and", H9002) — the conjunction alternates in vocalization (ve- or u-) depending on the following consonant, a normal phonological rule; it links each subsequent name (Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, Tiras) to form a single coordinated series.
• ti.Ras ("Tiras", H8494) — final name, closing the list; like the others it is a bare proper noun with no additional grammatical marking beyond the conjunction.

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence consists of a construct chain, be.Nei Yefet ("sons of Japheth"), functioning as a title, followed by an asyndetic first item (Gomer, without a conjunction) and then six further names each joined by the conjunction ve-/u- ("and"). This pattern—no conjunction before the first item, then repeated "and" before each following one—is typical of Biblical Hebrew genealogical lists and creates a rhythmic enumeration rather than a narrative clause. There is no verb in the verse; the construct noun be.Nei itself carries the implicit sense "these are the sons of," a construction common in the Table of Nations (Genesis 10). All seven items are proper names with no further grammatical modification (no adjectives, verbs, or numerals), so the verse functions purely as a list of names dependent on the initial construct noun.

Differences between versions

The Masoretic Hebrew text lists seven names: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, Tiras. The Septuagint (Swete) text as given omits Gomer and instead includes an additional name, Ἔλισά ("Elisa"), not present in the Hebrew of this verse, while otherwise following the same order (Magog, Madai, Iouan, Elisa, Thobel, Mosoch, Peiphas). The Vulgate (Clementine) and the modern versions (RV1909, BSB, SBLIBRE) all match the Hebrew list of seven names, including Gomer, with only spelling variations (e.g., "Mosoch" for Meshech, "Thiras" for Tiras).