Genesis 15:21

Summary

This verse concludes a list of peoples whose territory is designated in the covenant statement of Genesis 15. It names four additional nations — the Emori ("Amorite", H0567), the Kena'ani ("Canaanite", H3669A), the Girgashi ("Girgashite", H1622), and the Yevusi ("Jebusite", H2983G) — each introduced by the direct object marker and the definite article.

Key words

• 'Emori ("Amorite", H0567) — gentilic noun, masculine singular, used collectively to denote the whole people group rather than an individual member.
• Kena'ani ("Canaanite", H3669A) — gentilic noun, masculine singular, functioning as a collective designation for the nation.
• Girgashi ("Girgashite", H1622) — gentilic noun, masculine singular, one of the less-frequently mentioned peoples in such lists.
• Yevusi ("Jebusite", H2983G) — gentilic noun, masculine singular, closing the enumeration.
• 'et ("", H0853) — the direct object marker, repeated before each name, marking every gentilic noun as a grammatical object of an implied governing verb from the preceding verses.

What the text says

The verse consists of a repeated syntactic pattern: the conjunction ve ("and", H9002) plus the direct object marker 'et (H0853) plus the definite article ha (H9009) plus a gentilic noun. This pattern is identical for all four names — 'Emori, Kena'ani, Girgashi, Yevusi — producing a rhythmic, list-like structure typical of Biblical Hebrew enumerations. Each noun is grammatically marked as a direct object, meaning the verse depends syntactically on a verb located earlier in the passage (outside this specific verse), continuing a series that began with other named peoples in the preceding verses.

Each gentilic noun is singular in form but functions collectively, referring to an entire people group rather than one person — a common feature of Hebrew ethnonyms formed with the -i suffix. The definite article on each name indicates that these are treated as known, specific national entities rather than generic categories. The repetition of ve...'et...ha- before every single name, rather than only before the first, creates a formulaic listing style, giving each nation equal syntactic weight within the enumeration.

Differences between versions

The Hebrew, LXX-based English (BSB), and Vulgate (VULCLEM) render the same four names with minor phonetic differences: the Vulgate gives Gergesæos for Girgashi (H1622) and Jebusæos for Yevusi (H2983G), reflecting Latin transliteration conventions rather than a difference in referents. The Spanish versions (RV1909, SBLIBRE) similarly transliterate the same four gentilics as Gergeseos and Jebuseos. No version omits or adds a people group in this verse; the divergences are limited to transliteration style across languages.