Genesis 10:6

Summary

This verse lists the descendants of Ham, one of Noah's three sons, naming four sons: Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan. It is part of the genealogical structure of Genesis 10, commonly referred to as the Table of Nations.

Key words

• ve.Nei ("[the] sons of", H1121A) — construct plural form of "son," linking Ham to the list of names that follow; the construct state indicates a possessive relationship ("sons of Ham").
• Cham ("Ham", H2526G) — proper name, the head of this genealogical branch; grammatically the noun that ve.Nei is bound to in construct.
• kush ("Cush", H3568G) — proper name, first son listed, introduced without a conjunction directly after the construct phrase.
• mitz.Ra.yim ("Mizraim", H4714H) — proper name; the u. ("and", H9002) prefixed to it links it as the second item in the coordinated list.
• khe.Na.'an ("Canaan", H3667G) — proper name, the final item in the list, also joined by the conjunction u..

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence has a simple construct-plus-list structure: u.ve.Nei Cham ("and the sons of Ham") establishes the genealogical heading, followed by four proper names joined by repeated use of the conjunction u. ("and", H9002) — kush, u.mitz.Ra.yim, u.Fut, u.khe.Na.'an. Notably, the first name, kush, appears without a preceding conjunction, while the remaining three names each carry the u. prefix. This creates a rhythmic pattern typical of Hebrew genealogical lists, where the initial item is presented asyndetically (without "and") and subsequent items are each individually conjoined, rather than using a single "and" only before the last item as in English list conventions.

The construct form ve.Nei ("sons of") signals that everything following is grammatically dependent on Cham, meaning the four names are simultaneously and equally described as "sons of Ham" — there is no internal hierarchy marked grammatically among the four names themselves; they are coordinate terms under the same construct governor.

Differences between versions

The Hebrew mitz.Ra.yim ("Mizraim", H4714H) is rendered by the LXX as Μεσπάιν (Mespain) and by the Vulgate as "Mesraim." The Hebrew form itself has a dual/plural-looking ending (-ayim), which the Greek and Latin transliterations do not visibly preserve in the same way, though both attempt to transliterate the same underlying name.