Genesis 35:23

Summary

This verse lists the six sons of Leah, wife of Jacob, naming Reuben as the firstborn. It is part of a larger genealogical listing of Jacob's twelve sons grouped by mother.

Key words

• be.Nei ("sons of", H1121A) — masculine plural construct noun, opening the verse by identifying the group as belonging to Leah; the construct form links it directly to le.'Ah.
• be.Khor ("firstborn of", H1060) — masculine singular construct noun, marking Reuben's status; grammatically it stands in apposition to re.'u.Ven, modifying "Jacob" as the one whose firstborn Reuben is.
• ya.'a.Ko ("Jacob", H3290) — proper name in construct relation with be.Khor, specifying whose firstborn is being named.
• re.'u.Ven ("Reuben", H7205) — proper name, the first son listed, syntactically following and clarifying be.Khor yaʿaqōḇ.
• ve. ("and", H9002) — the conjunction repeated before each subsequent name (shim.'On, le.Vi, hu.Dah, yi.so.sh.Khar, ze.vu.Lun), creating a paratactic list structure typical of Hebrew enumeration.

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence is a nominal list without a finite verb, typical of genealogical records. It opens with be.Nei le.'Ah ("sons of Leah"), establishing the maternal grouping, then immediately places be.Khor ya.'a.Ko ("firstborn of Jacob") before the name re.'u.Ven ("Reuben"). This word order means the title "firstborn of Jacob" functions as a descriptive phrase attached to Reuben, rather than as a separate clause. After Reuben, the remaining five sons—shim.'On, le.Vi, hu.Dah, yi.so.sh.Khar, and ze.vu.Lun—are joined by the conjunction ve ("and") repeated before each name, producing a simple chained list with no verbs or additional description.

The construct chain be.Khor ya.'a.Ko ("firstborn of Jacob") specifies whose firstborn Reuben is—Jacob's, not merely Leah's—since Reuben was Jacob's first son overall, not just Leah's first son among her own children (though in this case they coincide). The absence of a verb throughout the verse reflects the listing style found in genealogical registers rather than narrative prose.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders be.Khor ("firstborn of", H1060) with the accusative plural form πρωτοτόκους, which grammatically does not agree in number with the singular subject Ῥουβήν that follows, differing from the Hebrew construct singular form tied directly to "Jacob." The Vulgate renders the phrase as "primogenitus Ruben," placing "firstborn" as a nominative title before "Ruben," matching the Hebrew's descriptive function but using nominative case agreement rather than a construct relation.