Genesis 36:40

Summary

Genesis 36:40 introduces a list of Esau's chiefs ('allufim), specifying that their names are given according to three categories: their clans, their places, and their (personal) names. The verse then begins the list with the first three chiefs: Timna, Alvah, and Jetheth.

Key words

• 'e.leh ("these", H0428) — demonstrative particle opening the verse, pointing forward to the list that follows.
• 'a.lu.Fei ("chiefs of", H0441B) — construct plural, linking "chiefs" to "Esau" ('e.Sav, H6215H) as the group to which these leaders belong.
• mish.pe.cho.Ta[m] ("clans of...their", H4940 + H9028) — feminine plural construct with pronominal suffix, marking the first of three classificatory categories.
• m.ko.mo.Ta[m] ("places of...their", H4725 + H9028) — parallel construct+suffix form, the second category, governed by the preposition li ("to", H9005).
• sh.mo.Ta[m] ("names of...their", H8034 + H9028) — third parallel construct+suffix form, governed by bi ("by", H9003), distinct from the earlier shemot (H8034) used generally for "names" in item 3.

What the text says

The verse opens with ve-'eleh shemot 'allufei 'Esav — "and these [are] the names of the chiefs of Esau" — a standard formulaic introduction to a genealogical list. What follows is a triad of prepositional phrases, each built on a feminine plural construct noun plus a third-person masculine plural suffix ("their"): le-mishpechotam ("according to their clans"), li-meqomotam ("according to their places"), and bi-shmotam ("by their names"). Each phrase uses a different preposition (le, le, be), which in Hebrew grammar signals three separate criteria by which the chiefs are being catalogued — kinship group, territory, and personal name — rather than a single continuous description.

After this triad, the list itself begins not with a construct chain but with repeated absolute uses of 'aluf ("chief", H0441B) followed directly by a personal name: 'aluf Timna, 'aluf 'Alvah, 'aluf Yetet. This repetition of the title before each name, rather than a single plural construct governing all three names at once, gives the list a distributive, one-by-one structure — each individual is separately titled "chief" alongside his name.

Differences between versions

The Hebrew's three-part classification (mishpechotam, meqomotam, shemotam) is rendered by the LXX with four elements: "in their tribes" (φυλαῖς), "according to place" (κατὰ τόπον), "in their regions" (χώραις), and "in their nations" (ἔθνεσιν) — an expansion beyond the three Hebrew terms. The Vulgate's "in cognationibus, et locis, et vocabulis suis" more closely mirrors the Hebrew's three categories. For the names themselves, the LXX gives Θαμνᾶ, Γωλά, and Ἰεβέρ, where the Hebrew has Tim.Na', 'Al.Vah, and Ye.Tet — the second and third names differ notably between the Hebrew and the Greek forms, while the Vulgate's Thamna, Alva, and Jetheth align more closely with the Hebrew.