Genesis 10:3

Summary

Genesis 10:3 lists the descendants of Gomer, named in the preceding verse as a son of Japheth. The verse names three figures — Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah — presented as sons of Gomer within the genealogical structure of Genesis 10.

Key words

• ve ("and", H9002) — the conjunction opening the verse, linking this genealogical unit to the preceding list of Japheth's sons.
• venei ("sons of", H1121A) — masculine plural construct form of "son," here functioning to introduce a list of descendants; the construct state ties it directly to Gomer as the head of this lineage.
• Gomer (H1586G) — proper name, previously introduced in Genesis 10:2 as one of the sons of Japheth; here he becomes the reference point for the next generation.
• Ashkenaz (H0813G) — proper name, first of the three descendants listed, given without any additional descriptive term.
• Togarmah (H8425G) — proper name, the final entry in the list, joined by the conjunction ve ("and", H9002).

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence is built as a simple genealogical formula: the construct phrase venei Gomer ("sons of Gomer") functions as the syntactic head, followed by three proper names in apposition — Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah. There is no verb in the clause; the sentence relies entirely on nominal structure, a common pattern in the genealogical lists of Genesis 10. The first name, Ashkenaz, follows directly after Gomer without a conjunction, while the remaining two names, Riphath and Togarmah, are each introduced by the conjunction ve ("and", H9002), creating a paratactic chain typical of Hebrew list formation.

The construct form venei (H1121A) signals a genitive-like relationship, meaning the three names that follow are grammatically dependent on Gomer, marking them as his sons within the text's genealogical framework. No further grammatical or narrative elaboration is given — the verse consists solely of the naming formula, continuing the pattern of the Table of Nations in Genesis 10.

Differences between versions

The proper names show minor phonetic variation across versions due to transliteration differences. The LXX renders Gomer (H1586G) as Gámer, Ashkenaz (H0813G) as Aschanáz, Riphath (H7384B) as Rhipháth, and Togarmah (H8425G) as Thergamá. The Vulgate renders these as Gomer, Ascenez, Riphath, and Thogorma. These differences reflect standard transliteration shifts between Hebrew, Greek, and Latin phonology rather than variation in the underlying genealogical content.