Genesis 46:16

Summary

Genesis 46:16 lists the seven sons of Gad who, according to the genealogical list of Genesis 46, went down to Egypt with Jacob. The verse is a simple enumeration of proper names joined by the conjunction "and," with no verbs or additional description.

Key words

• Ve.Nei ("[the] sons of", H1121A) — masculine plural noun in construct state, linking the list of names to their father Gad; construct form means it must be followed by another noun ("sons of Gad").
• Gad (H1410G) — proper name identifying the father to whom the seven sons that follow belong; the whole verse depends grammatically on this noun as the head of the construct phrase.
• Tzif.Yon ("Zephon", H6837) — first name in the list, standing alone as a proper noun in apposition to "sons of Gad."
• Etz.Bon ("Ezbon", H0675G) — fourth name in the Hebrew sequence, notable because some translations place it in a different position relative to Shuni.
• Ve ("and", H9002) — repeated conjunction connecting each name; its repetition creates a paratactic (simple, additive) list structure typical of Hebrew genealogies.

What the text says

The verse has no finite verb; it is a nominal sentence built on the construct chain u-vnei Gad ("and the sons of Gad"), followed by seven proper names in apposition. Grammatically, the construct noun vnei ("sons of") governs Gad, and everything after functions as a list attached to that head phrase. Each name is joined by the conjunction ve ("and", H9002), except between the first and second name pairs, where the Hebrew groups names without repeating the conjunction before every single one (e.g., Eri and Arodi are joined only by va, while Eri itself follows Ezbon without a conjunction). This produces a slightly uneven rhythm in the Hebrew list, which flowing translations smooth into a uniform comma-separated series.

The order in the Hebrew is: Tzifyon (Zephon), Chaggi (Haggi), Shuni (Shuni), Etzbon (Ezbon), Eri (Eri), Arodi (Arodi), Areli (Areli). No further information—age, birth order, mother, or activity—is given; the verse functions purely as a name list within the larger genealogy of Jacob's descendants entering Egypt.

Differences between versions

The Hebrew order is Zephon, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, Areli. The LXX (Swete) renders the names with different transliterations (e.g., Σαφῶν for Tzifyon, Θασοβὰν for Etzbon) but preserves the same seven-name sequence. The Vulgate (Sephion, Haggi, Suni, Esebon, Heri, Arodi, Areli) also follows the Hebrew order. The RV1909 Spanish translation, however, transposes the third and fourth names, listing Ezbón before Suni instead of Suni before Ezbón as in the Hebrew, LXX, and Vulgate; the BSB and SBLIBRE restore the Hebrew sequence (Shuni before Ezbon).