Genesis 36:11

Summary

Genesis 36:11 lists the sons of Eliphaz, providing five names: Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz. This verse continues the genealogical record of Esau's descendants through his son Eliphaz.

Key words

• va-yihyu ("and they were", H1961) — qal verb in narrative form (with the narrative vav), establishing the simple past sequence "and there were/came to be."
• benei ("sons of", H1121A) — masculine plural noun in construct state, linking directly to the following name Elifaz, meaning "sons of Eliphaz."
• Elifaz ("Eliphaz", H0464G) — proper name, masculine, identifying the father whose sons are being listed.
• Kenaz ("Kenaz", H7073G) — proper name, masculine, the final name in the list, joined by the conjunction u ("and", H9002).

What the text says

The verse opens with the narrative verb va-yihyu ("and they were," H1961), a standard formula in Hebrew genealogical lists that introduces a set of descendants. This is followed by the construct phrase benei Elifaz ("sons of Eliphaz," H1121A + H0464G), where benei stands in construct relationship to the proper name, meaning literally "sons-of Eliphaz" rather than "sons" and "Eliphaz" as separate words.

The five names that follow — Teman (H8487G), Omar (H0201), Tzefo (H6825), Ga'tam (H1609), and Kenaz (H7073G) — are listed in sequence. The Hebrew syntax uses no conjunction between the first three names (Teman, Omar, Tzefo), presenting them as a simple juxtaposed list. The conjunction ve ("and," H9002) appears before Ga'tam, and again as u before Kenaz, marking the final two items in the series with explicit coordination. This asyndetic-to-syndetic pattern (no conjunctions, then conjunctions) is a common feature in Hebrew list-making, where connective particles often appear only toward the end of an enumeration.

Differences between versions

The LXX (Swete text) renders the list with variant name forms and a notable insertion: it reads Ἐλιφάς (Eliphas), then adds "μάν" before Θαιμάν (Thaiman), Ὠμάν (Oman), and Γοθὸμ (Gothom), with the text as given ending at "καὶ" without completing the list as shown. The Hebrew text (TAHOT) shows no equivalent to this extra "μάν" element preceding Teman. The Vulgate (Clementine) follows the Hebrew order closely with Theman, Omar, Sepho, Gatham, and Cenez, matching the five-name structure of the Masoretic tradition. Modern translations (RV1909, BSB, SBLIBRE) consistently render five names matching the Hebrew list order.