Genesis 6:10

Summary

The verse states that Noah fathered three sons, and names them individually: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. The Hebrew syntax presents this as a single narrative action followed by an explicit enumeration of its result.

Key words

• va-yyoled ("and he fathered", H3205) — hiphil (causative) verb with narrative vav, meaning literally "he caused to be born" / "he begot"; the causative stem marks Noah as the agent of generation rather than the one born.
• shelosháh ("three", H7969) — cardinal number in common gender, quantifying the sons before they are named, setting up the list that follows.
• vanim ("sons", H1121A) — masculine plural noun, the head noun that shelosháh modifies; establishes the category (sons) before individual names are given.
• 'et (H0853) — direct object marker, repeated before each name (Shem, Cham, Yafet); it has no independent meaning but grammatically flags each name as a direct object of va-yyoled.
• ve- ("and", H9002) — conjunction attached to the last item, 'et-Yafet, marking the closing member of the three-part list.

What the text says

The clause opens with va-yyoled Noach shelosháh vanim ("and Noah fathered three sons"), a complete statement in itself: subject (Noach), verb (va-yyoled, hiphil), and object phrase (shelosháh vanim). Hebrew narrative syntax then adds a second layer, appending the three proper names — Shem, Cham, Yafet — each introduced by the object marker 'et, which repeats before every name except that the last is joined by the conjunction ve- rather than by 'et alone (ve-'et-Yafet). This repetition of 'et before each name, rather than a single marker before the whole list, gives each son syntactic weight as an individual direct object of the verb, not merely as items in a collective group.

The causative (hiphil) form of the verb yalad ("to bear/give birth") applied to Noah, a male, indicates that he is the one who generates or fathers the sons, distinct from the qal form used elsewhere for a mother giving birth. The verse's structure — general statement (three sons) followed by specific enumeration (names) — is a common pattern in Hebrew genealogical notices, where a summarizing number precedes or accompanies the itemized list.

Differences between versions

The LXX (ἐγέννησεν δὲ Νῶε τρεῖς υἱούς) and the Vulgate (Et genuit tres filios) both render the causative verb with equivalent begetting verbs (γεννάω, genuo), matching the Hebrew hiphil sense. The Vulgate omits the subject "Noe" in the clause quoted here (relying on the preceding verse's subject), while the Hebrew and LXX both explicitly restate Noach/Νῶε as the grammatical subject within this verse itself.