Genesis 25:4

Summary

The verse lists the sons of Midian — one of the sons of Abraham through Keturah — naming five descendants: Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. It closes with a summary statement identifying all of them as sons of Keturah.

Key words

• ve.Nei ("[the] sons of", H1121G) — masculine plural construct form of "sons," used twice (lines 2 and 15) to introduce genealogical lists; the construct state links it grammatically to the following proper name (Midyan, Qeturah).
• Midyan ("Midian", H4080G) — proper name marking the immediate father whose sons are being enumerated; the list that follows is grammatically dependent on this name via the construct chain.
• kol ("all", H3605) — construct form meaning "all of," here paired with elleh to form the summarizing phrase "all these."
• elleh ("these", H0428) — demonstrative particle referring back to the five names just listed, functioning as the subject of the closing clause.
• Qeturah ("Keturah", H6989) — proper name, feminine, identifying the mother of Midian and, through him, grandmother of the five men named; placed in construct relation with ve.Nei to close the genealogical unit.

What the text says

The verse is built as a genealogical list introduced by a construct chain: u-vnei Midyan ("and the sons of Midian") governs the five names that follow (Eiphah, Epher, Chanokh, Avida, Eldaah), each joined by the conjunction va- ("and", H9002) repeated before each name except the last, which uses ve-. This repetition of the conjunction creates a paratactic list structure typical of Hebrew genealogies, where each name is added sequentially rather than grouped.

The final clause, kol elleh benei Qeturah ("all these [were] sons of Keturah"), uses the construct pair kol elleh ("all these") as subject, followed by another construct chain benei Qeturah ("sons of Keturah"). This creates a summarizing statement that reaches back past Midian to Keturah, the more distant ancestress, effectively closing the genealogical unit by tying the five names not only to their immediate father (Midian) but to the broader family line associated with Keturah.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders Eiphah (H5891G) as Γεφὰρ (Gephar) rather than a transliteration matching the Hebrew form, and renders Chanokh (H2585I) as Ἑνώχ, Avida (H0028) as Ἀβιρά, and Eldaah (H0420) as Θεργαμά — this last form diverges significantly from the Hebrew Eldaah. The Vulgate follows the Hebrew names more closely (Epha, Opher, Henoch, Abida, Eldaa), matching the Hebrew list order and forms more consistently than the LXX does.