Genesis 36:34

Summary

The verse records a succession in a list of Edomite kings: Jobab dies, and Husham, described as coming from the land of the Temanites, reigns in his place. The sentence follows the standard narrative pattern of this genealogical king-list in Genesis 36.

Key words

• va-yamot ("and he died", H4191) — qal narrative verb (vav-consecutive form), marking the sequential event "and then he died."
• Yovav ("Jobab", H3103H) — proper name of the preceding king, functioning as subject of the death verb.
• va-yimlokh ("and he reigned", H4427A) — qal narrative verb, parallel in form to va-yamot, continuing the sequence "and then he reigned."
• tachtav ("in his place", H8478H + H9033) — construct noun with pronominal suffix, literally "under/in place of him," marking succession.
• Teimani ("Temanite", H8489) — gentilic adjective identifying Husham's people-group, attached to "the land of" (eretz, H0776G) with the definite article ha (H9009).

What the text says

The verse is built on two parallel narrative clauses joined by the vav-consecutive construction typical of Biblical Hebrew storytelling: va-yamot Yovav ("and Jobab died") and va-yimlokh... Husham ("and Husham reigned"). Both verbs are qal forms in the narrative (vayyiqtol) pattern, which in this king-list creates a rhythmic chain of "he died... and he reigned" repeated for each ruler, without indicating relative duration or manner of the transition — only sequence.

The phrase tachtav ("in his place", H8478H+H9033) is a construct noun plus suffix that explicitly marks succession, tying Husham's reign directly to the vacancy left by Jobab's death rather than to any hereditary or genealogical link stated in the text. Husham's origin is specified through a construct chain: me-eretz ha-Teimani ("from the land of the Temanite"), where eretz (H0776G) is in construct with the gentilic ha-Teimani (H8489), the definite article marking the group as a known, specific people rather than a generic descriptor. This construction identifies Husham by geography/ethnicity rather than by father's name, unlike some other entries in the same king-list.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders Yovav as Ἰωβάβ and Chusham as Ἁσὸμ, and translates ha-Teimani as Θεμανῶν ("of the Themanites"), a plural gentilic form rather than the Hebrew's singular collective ha-Teimani. The Vulgate follows closely with Husam de terra Themanorum, also using a plural gentilic (Themanorum) where the Hebrew has a singular form functioning collectively. These are differences in number-marking for the gentilic noun, not differences in the underlying content of the succession report.