Genesis 10:29

Summary

This verse concludes a list of names by naming three more descendants — 'Ofir ("Ophir", H0211G), Chavilah ("Havilah", H2341I), and Yovav ("Jobab", H3103G) — and closes with a summary statement identifying all the previously listed names as sons of Yaqtan ("Joktan", H3355).

Key words

• 'Et ("", H0853) — the direct object marker appears three times (positions 2, 5, 8), each time preceding one proper name; it has no independent meaning but marks each name as the grammatical object of an implied verb of begetting carried over from the preceding verses.
• kol ("all", H3605) — construct-state noun functioning here as a summarizing quantifier, introducing the closing formula that gathers the entire list under one statement.
• 'Elleh ("these", H0428) — demonstrative particle referring back to all the names enumerated in the list, both in this verse and the preceding ones.
• benei ("sons of", H1121A) — masculine plural noun in construct form, meaning it must be followed by another noun to complete its sense ("sons of X"); here it links the entire group of names to Yaqtan.
• Yaqtan ("Joktan", H3355) — proper name, the person to whom all the listed names are attributed as descendants.

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence structure in the first half of the verse is a simple additive list: three proper names — 'Ofir, Chavilah, Yovav — are each introduced by the conjunction ve ("and", H9002) followed by the direct object marker 'Et. This repetitive pattern (conjunction + object marker + name) mirrors the syntax of the preceding verse, continuing an unbroken chain of names that are objects of a verb of begetting stated earlier in the genealogy rather than repeated here.

The second half of the verse shifts from listing to summarizing. The phrase kol-'Elleh benei Yaqtan ("all these [are] sons of Joktan") uses the construct form benei to attach the entire preceding list — not only the three names in this verse but the full set from the Joktan genealogy — to their common ancestor. The demonstrative 'Elleh ("these") functions as the subject of an implied verb "to be," a common construction in Hebrew genealogical summaries where no explicit copula is needed.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders Chavilah as Εὔειλά and the Vulgate as Hevila, both differing slightly from the Hebrew Chavilah in transliteration but not in referential identity. Similarly, Yovav appears as Ἰωβὄβ in the LXX and Jobab in the Vulgate, matching the Hebrew name closely. These are transliteration variants rather than substantive divergences in meaning or content.