Genesis 10:4

Summary

Genesis 10:4 lists the descendants of Javan, naming four entities: Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim. The verse is part of the genealogical list in Genesis 10 (the "Table of Nations") tracing the lineage descending from Noah's son Japheth through Javan.

Key words

• ve.Nei ("sons of", H1121A) — masculine plural construct form, meaning it grammatically binds to the following name Yavan, forming the phrase "sons of Javan"; the construct state signals a genealogical relationship rather than a simple list.
• Yavan ("Javan", H3120G) — a masculine personal proper name, functioning here as the head of the genealogical unit whose descendants are enumerated.
• 'Elishah ("Elishah", H0473G) — masculine proper name, the first item in the list of Javan's descendants, given without a preceding conjunction in the Hebrew text (asyndetic placement relative to ve.Nei).
• Tarshish ("Tarshish", H8659G) — masculine proper name, joined to 'Elishah by the conjunction ve ("and", H9002), forming a paired unit "Elishah and Tarshish."
• Dodanim ("Dodanim", H1721) — masculine proper name, the final item in the list, also joined by ve ("and", H9002) to the preceding name Kittim.

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence structure is a construct chain followed by a four-item list. The phrase u-venei Yavan ("and the sons of Javan") establishes Javan as the ancestor, with venei in construct state directly governing the name Yavan. What follows is a list of four names presented in two pairs: 'Elishah and Tarshish are joined by the conjunction ve ("and", H9002), and separately Kittim and Dodanim are joined by another instance of ve. Notably, there is no conjunction between the second pair (Tarshish) and the third name (Kittim), meaning the Hebrew text presents this as two conjoined pairs rather than a single uniformly connected list of four names joined by "and" throughout.

This asymmetry in conjunction placement is a feature of the Masoretic Hebrew that a smooth translated list (e.g., "Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim") does not preserve, since translations often flatten the list into a uniform series with commas, obscuring the internal grouping suggested by the alternating presence and absence of ve in the source text.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders Kittim (H3794G) as Κήτιοι ("Kittioi") and Dodanim (H1721) as Ῥόδιοι ("Rhodioi", i.e., "Rhodians"), differing from the Hebrew consonantal name Dodanim. The Vulgate follows the Hebrew more closely, transliterating as "Cetthim" and "Dodanim." The BSB reflects the LXX's "Rodanites" tradition via "the Rodanites" as an alternative rendering of Dodanim, while the RV1909 and SBLIBRE follow the Hebrew form "Dodanim"/"Dodanín."