Genesis 36:10

Summary

The verse introduces a list of Esau's sons by naming them and specifying their mothers. Two sons are named: Eliphaz, son of Esau's wife Adah, and Reuel, son of Esau's wife Basemath.

Key words

• 'Elleh ("these", H0428) — demonstrative particle opening the verse, pointing forward to the list that follows, a standard formula introducing genealogical enumerations.
• shemot ("names of", H8034) — feminine plural construct noun; being in construct form, it grammatically binds to benei ("sons of"), forming the phrase "names of the sons of."
• benei ("sons of", H1121A) — masculine plural construct of "son," linking shemot to 'Esav ("Esau"), so the chain reads "names-of sons-of Esau."
• ben ("son of", H1121A) — appears twice (words 6 and 11), each time in masculine singular construct, introducing the mother's name for each son individually (Eliphaz ben Adah; Reuel ben Basemath).
• 'esheth ("wife of", H0802H) — feminine singular construct, appearing twice, each time specifying whose wife the named woman is ("wife of Esau"), repeated after both Adah and Basemath.

What the text says

The verse is built as a chain of construct relationships (a common Hebrew genealogical pattern where nouns without independent vocalization link directly to the following noun to express possession or relation). The opening 'Elleh shemot benei-'Esav ("these [are the] names of the sons of Esau") sets up the list using two stacked construct nouns: shemot construct to benei, and benei construct to 'Esav. This creates a single compact phrase meaning "the names of Esau's sons," without a separate verb "to be," which Hebrew nominal sentences do not require.

Each son is then presented with his own construct chain identifying his mother: 'Elifaz ben-'Adah 'esheth 'Esav ("Eliphaz, son of Adah, wife of Esau") and Re'u'el ben-Basemath 'esheth 'Esav ("Reuel, son of Basemath, wife of Esau"). The repetition of 'esheth 'Esav ("wife of Esau") after each mother's name, rather than stating it once for both, gives the verse a parallel, formulaic structure typical of genealogical lists, reinforcing each woman's identity as Esau's wife independently in both clauses rather than assuming it applies to both from a single mention.

Differences between versions

The Hebrew text has no initial conjunction before 'Elleh ("these"), opening the verse directly with the demonstrative. The Septuagint (LXXSWETE) adds καὶ ("and") before ταῦτα ("these"), connecting the verse more explicitly to the preceding context. The Vulgate (VULCLEM) similarly opens with et ("and"). Additionally, the Vulgate renders the second occurrence of "wife of Esau" as uxoris ejus ("his wife," using a pronoun) rather than repeating "Esau" by name as the Hebrew and LXX both do with 'Esav/Ἠσαύ in both instances.