Genesis 36:21

Summary

The verse closes a genealogical list by naming three individuals — Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan — and identifying them collectively as the chiefs of the Horites, descendants of Seir, located in the land of Edom.

Key words

• 'Elleh ("these", H0428) — demonstrative particle summarizing the preceding list of names and introducing the identifying clause that follows.
• 'Allufei ("[were] [the] chiefs of", H0441B) — masculine plural construct noun; the construct form links it directly to ha-Chori, meaning these men hold the status of "chiefs of the Horite(s)."
• ha-Chori ("the Horite[s]", H2752) — gentilic noun with definite article, denoting the ethnic/tribal group over which the chiefs preside.
• Benei ("[the] sons of", H1121A) — masculine plural construct noun, linking the group to Se'ir, marking descent or affiliation.
• Se'ir ("Seir", H8165B) — proper name functioning as the ancestral or territorial reference point for the group.
• Eretz ("[the] land of", H0776G) — feminine singular construct noun, placing the entire group geographically "in the land of Edom."

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence begins with three names joined by the conjunction ve ("and", H9002) repeated before each — Dishon (H1787G), Etzer (H0687), and Dishan (H1789G) — completing a list that began earlier in the chapter. The demonstrative 'Elleh ("these", H0428) then shifts the sentence from listing to identification: it points back to the named individuals and forward to their collective title.

The core predicate is built on two stacked construct chains. First, 'Allufei ha-Chori ("chiefs of the Horite", H0441B + H2752) identifies the men's role and the group they lead. Second, Benei Se'ir ("sons of Seir", H1121A + H8165B) specifies their lineage or affiliation, tying the Horites to the ancestral figure Seir. The final prepositional phrase be-eretz Edom ("in the land of Edom", H9003 + H0776G + H0123H) anchors the entire group geographically. The construct chains create a dense, layered identification typical of Hebrew genealogical formulas: role (chiefs) → group (Horite) → ancestry (sons of Seir) → location (land of Edom), all compressed without additional verbs — the sentence relies on the demonstrative 'Elleh to supply the implicit "these are."

Differences between versions

The LXX (Swete) renders ha-Chori ("the Horite", H2752) not as a gentilic but appears to transliterate or misconstrue it, reading "τοῦ τοῦ υἱοῦ Σηεὶρ" ("of the son of Seir"), which differs from the Hebrew structure separating "chiefs of the Horite" from "sons of Seir" as two distinct construct phrases. The Vulgate (duces Horræi, filii Seir) preserves the Hebrew's two-part structure — chiefs of the Horites, sons/descendants of Seir — matching the Hebrew more closely than the Greek text shown here.