Genesis 36:15

Summary

The verse opens a list of clan leaders descended from Esau, specifically identifying four figures — Teman, Omar, Zepho, and Kenaz — as 'alluf ("chief", H0441B), each designated a son of Eliphaz, Esau's firstborn.

Key words

• 'Elleh ("these", H0428) — demonstrative particle opening the list, pointing forward to the names that follow; a standard formula introducing genealogical enumerations.
• 'alluf ("chief", H0441B) — masculine singular noun, repeated four times (once collectively in plural construct at the start, then individually before each name). Its repetition before each proper name marks each individual as holding this specific status, rather than listing names alone and adding a title once.
• bene ("sons of", H1121A) — masculine plural construct noun, used twice: first linking the whole list to "sons of Esau," then narrowing to "sons of Eliphaz," establishing a two-tier genealogical frame (grandsons of Esau via Eliphaz).
• bekhor ("firstborn of", H1060) — masculine singular construct noun, qualifying Eliphaz's status relative to Esau, marking him specifically as the firstborn among Esau's sons.

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence structure moves from general to specific: it begins with the demonstrative 'Elleh ("these") plus the plural construct 'alluf ("chiefs of") governing bene 'Esav ("sons of Esau"), establishing the whole verse as a heading for a list. It then narrows the scope with a second construct chain, bene 'Elifaz ("sons of Eliphaz"), further specified by bekhor 'Esav ("firstborn of Esau"), identifying Eliphaz's position in the genealogy before listing his own sons.

After this framing, the Hebrew repeats the singular noun 'alluf ("chief") individually before each of the four names — Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz — rather than listing the names in a simple series with one shared title. This repetition gives each name its own grammatical unit: "chief Teman," "chief Omar," "chief Zepho," "chief Kenaz," rather than treating the title as applying loosely to a group.

Differences between versions

The LXX (Swete) renders the four instances of 'alluf as ἡγεμών ("leader/chief"), matching the repetitive Hebrew structure, though the provided LXX text shows only partial preservation of the individual names (Σωφάρ and Κενέζ appear, while Teman and Omar's Greek forms are not shown intact in the given text). The Vulgate similarly repeats dux ("chief/leader") before each name — dux Theman, dux Omra, dux Sepho, dux Cenez — mirroring the Hebrew's repeated-title structure. The BSB, by contrast, uses the plural "Chiefs" once and then lists the four names together, consolidating the repeated Hebrew title into a single collective heading rather than repeating it for each name.