Genesis 36:25

Summary

The verse lists the offspring of Anah: Dishon (a son) and Oholibamah (a daughter), both introduced under the heading "the children of Anah." The verse establishes their family relationship within the Edomite genealogy of Genesis 36.

Key words

• bene ("children of / sons of", H1121A) — masculine plural construct noun, used here as a generic heading covering both a son (Dishon) and a daughter (Oholibamah), rather than indicating that both are literally "sons."
• bat ("daughter of", H1323G) — feminine singular construct noun, specifying Oholibamah's relationship to Anah individually, in contrast to the collective bene used at the verse's opening.
• 'Eleh ("these", H0428) — demonstrative particle opening the verse, pointing forward to the list that follows, a common structuring device in genealogical notices.
• 'anah ("Anah", H6034) — proper name appearing twice, anchoring both children to the same father and creating a chiastic frame (Anah...Anah) around the two names.
• ve ("and", H9002) — conjunction joining both the two names (Dishon, Oholibamah) and the two clauses of the verse, giving it a simple additive structure.

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence opens with the demonstrative 'Eleh ("these") followed by the construct phrase bene 'Anah ("children of Anah"), functioning as a heading for the list that follows: Dishon and ve-'Oholivamah bat-'Anah ("and Oholibamah, daughter of Anah"). Grammatically, bene is masculine plural construct, yet the list it introduces includes one son (Dishon) and one daughter (Oholibamah). This reflects a common usage in Biblical Hebrew genealogies where the plural construct bene can serve as an inclusive term for "offspring" regardless of the sex of each individual named, rather than asserting that all named persons are male. The second half of the verse then narrows in with the singular construct bat ("daughter of") specifically for Oholibamah, clarifying her relationship to Anah individually, distinct from the initial collective heading.

The repetition of 'Anah at both the beginning and end of the verse creates a framing structure, tying both children back to the same father explicitly, even though the initial heading already established this.

Differences between versions

The Vulgate (VULCLEM) renders the verse with explicit singular terms — "habuitque filium Dison, et filiam Oolibama" ("and he had a son Dishon, and a daughter Oolibama") — assigning "son" specifically to Dishon and "daughter" to Oholibamah, whereas the Hebrew uses the plural collective bene ("children of") for both without grammatically marking Dishon's sex distinctly from Oholibamah's. The LXX (Ἀνά· Δήσων καὶ Ὀλιβεμὰ θυγάτηρ Ἀνά) omits an equivalent for "children" at the start, instead reading roughly "these [were] of Anah: Dishon and Oliphema, daughter of Anah," lacking the initial construct noun the Hebrew provides.