Genesis 10:17 — Word Study
WLCוְאֶת־ הַֽחִוִּ֥י וְאֶת־ הַֽעַרְקִ֖י וְאֶת־ הַסִּינִֽי׃
BSAthe HivitesChivvîy [a member of an ancient tribe in Palestine, descended from Canaan] the ArkitesʻArqîy [someone from the city of Arka] the SinitesÇîynîy [a descendant of one of the sons of Canaan, specifically Sin]
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| וְאֶת־ | and the object marker | Conjunction, particle |
| הַֽחִוִּ֥י | the Hivite[s] | Particle, noun gentilic masculine singular absolute |
| וְאֶת־ | and the object marker | Conjunction, particle |
| הַֽעַרְקִ֖י | the Arkite[s] | Particle, noun gentilic masculine singular absolute |
| וְאֶת־ | and the object marker | Conjunction, particle |
| הַסִּינִֽי׃ | the Sinite[s] | Particle, noun gentilic masculine singular absolute |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites, |
| KJV | And the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite, |
| ASV | and the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite, |
| YLT | and the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite, |
| WEB | the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites, |
| BBE | And the Hivite and the Arkite and the Sinite, |
Where they part company is in the naming of the Arkites — see How Translations Differ.
The sentence is a simple list of tribes, with each tribe connected by the conjunction indicating addition.
6 commentators on this verse
Gill, Jamieson, Trapp, Ellicott & more — read them ›
clause
The sentence as the grammar sees it Open the tree ›
Every word here is used elsewhere in the Old Testament.
Bars are logarithmic — אֵת, the commonest word in the Hebrew Bible, stands about 11,000 times, so a linear scale would leave everything else invisible. Click a row to open that word.
Deep Study — Genesis 10:17
Sections marked generated are written from the data on this page rather than by a named author. Everything else — the lexicon entries, the cross references, the manuscript readings, the counts — is quoted from its source unchanged.
Context — The Descendants of Canaangenerated
Genesis 10:17 provides a list of tribes that descended from Canaan, highlighting the Hivites, Arkites, and Sinites. This genealogical record helps to understand the ancient peoples of the land of Canaan, which is significant in the narrative of the Israelites' later history.
Cross References
| Reference | Text (BSB) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Genesis 34:2 | When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the region, saw her, he took her and lay with her by force. |
The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 1 reference, hung on the phrase they belong to
The Key Word — חִוִּי, ha.chi.Vigenerated
The word חִוִּי (chi.Vi) refers to the Hivites, a group of people descended from Canaan. The parsing indicates it is a noun in the masculine singular form, specifically identifying this tribe as part of the larger Canaanite population.
The Hivites are noted for their presence in northern Canaan, particularly near Mount Hermon. The term suggests a connection to village life, as they are described as villagers in the broader context of Canaanite tribes.
How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated
In the Berean Standard Bible, the verse lists the Hivites, Arkites, and Sinites, which is consistent across other translations such as the KJV and ASV.
Sentence Structuregenerated
The structure of the verse is straightforward, with a main clause listing the tribes: הַֽחִוִּ֥י, הַֽעַרְקִ֖י, and הַסִּינִֽי. Each tribe is introduced by the conjunction וְ, indicating addition.
The repetitive use of וְאֶת־ serves to connect each tribe in a series, emphasizing their collective identity as descendants of Canaan.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
The Septuagint translates חִוִּי as ευαῖον, indicating a direct correspondence in naming the Hivites. This suggests that the Greek translators maintained the identity of these tribes.
The choice of terms in the Septuagint reflects an effort to preserve the original meaning while making it accessible to a Greek-speaking audience.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
Genesis 10:17 lists the Hivites, Arkites, and Sinites as tribes descended from Canaan. These names are part of a larger genealogical record that helps us understand the ancient peoples of Canaan.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
The Hivites are a group of people descended from Canaan, mentioned in Genesis 10:17.
An Arkite is someone from the city of Arka, also mentioned in Genesis 10:17.
The Sinites are descendants of one of the sons of Canaan, specifically Sin, and are part of the Canaanite tribes listed in Genesis 10:17.
These tribes are significant as they represent the ancient peoples of Canaan, providing context for the later history of the Israelites.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- What do these tribes tell us about the history of Canaan?
- How do genealogies in the Bible help us understand God's plan?
- What can we learn from the lives of these ancient tribes?
- How does this verse connect to the broader narrative of the Israelites?
Commentators on this verse — 6 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on Genesis 10:17 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.
John Gill1697–1771Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleAnd the Hivite,.... These dwelt in Hermon, a part of Mount Lebanon from Mount Baal Hermon unto the entering in of Hamath, Joshua 11:3 to the east of the land of Canaan; hence they were sometimes
Read John Gill on Genesis 10 →Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's CommentaryAnd the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite, The Hivite - [ ha-Chiwiy (H2340), singular; Septuagint, ton Euaion, denoting nomadic villagers].
Read Robert Jamieson on Genesis 10 →John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New TestamentsGenesis 10:17 And the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite, Ver 17.
Read John Trapp on Genesis 10 →Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(15-18) Canaan.—The meaning of this name is uncertain, as, most probably, it is a Hamitic word: if derived from a Semitic root, it may mean the lowland. Though the Canaanites spoke a Semitic tongue at the time when we find them in Palestine, yet the assertion of the Bible that they were Hamites is confirmed by the testimony of profane writers, who say that their original home was on the Indian Ocean. They had probably been driven thence by the pressure of Semitic races, with whose language they had thus already become familiar; and when, farther, they found a Semitic people thinly spread over Palestine, they may, while absorbing them, have been confirmed in the use of their tongue. So…
Read Charles John Ellicott on Genesis 10 →CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges17. the Hivite] The Hivites, dwellers in the country about Gibeon (Joshua 9:7) and Sichem (Genesis 34:2); while Joshua 11:3 and Judges 3:3 speak of the Hivites as dwelling near Mount Hermon and Mount Lebanon, though in neither passage is the reading (? Hittites) certain. the Arkite] A Phoenician tribe represented by the modern Tell Arḳ ?a, some 80 miles north of Zidon, and not far from Tripolis. the Sinite] Jerome mentions a town Sini near Arka.
Read Cambridge on Genesis 10 →Daniel Denison Whedon1808–1885Whedon's Commentary on the Bible15-18. Eleven Canaanitish nations are here enumerated. The first two names are probably personal, the last nine are certainly national.
Read Daniel Denison Whedon on Genesis 10 →The verse in English, compared — 17 translations, and where they part company
Every translation on this page is a decision someone had to make and commit to. Read down a column and you see one translator's judgement; read across a row and you see the range the Greek actually allows. The BSB is the wording the rest of this page is measured against, so it is listed first.
Modern formal
the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites,
the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites,
the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites,
Hivites, Arkites, Sinites,
Tyndale line
And the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite,
and the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite,
and the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite;
And the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite,
And Hiui, and Arki, and Sini,
Strictly literal
and the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite,
and the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite,
and the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite,
And the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite,
the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites,
From the Latin
The Hevite and the Aracite: the Sinite,
Simplified
the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites,
And the Hivite and the Arkite and the Sinite,
Counted from the translations carried on this site, not from a survey of every English Bible. A rendering shared by many versions is usually inherited rather than independently arrived at — the Tyndale line in particular runs through most of them.
The sentence as the grammar sees it — from the MACULA Hebrew treebank
This is not our own analysis: it is the scholarly syntax tree for the verse, showing how the clause actually holds together.
Boxes are the grammarian's groupings — clause, noun phrase, prepositional phrase.
The four witnesses to this verse — Masoretic, Septuagint, Samaritan, Qumran
The Masoretic Text lists the Hivites, Arkites, and Sinites as in the provided verse. The Septuagint aligns with this account, while the Samaritan Pentateuch presents a variation with the term ערוקי instead of עַרְקִי, indicating a difference in the name of the Arkites.
וְאֶת־ הַֽחִוִּ֥י וְאֶת־ הַֽעַרְקִ֖י וְאֶת־ הַסִּינִֽי׃
6 of the 6 words are matched. This is the word-by-word correspondence, not the Septuagint's own sentence — its word order and its articles are its own.
ואת החוי ואת הערוקי ואת הסיני
1 word differs from the Masoretic Text: ערוקי (Arkite)
Four traditions, not one. “On the leather” means the letters physically survive on the scroll, as against letters an editor has supplied to fill a hole in it — a restoration is a scholar’s reading, not a reading of the manuscript. Words in [square brackets] are supplied; the notes count them apart from what survives.
The map of this verse — what each word keeps company with
This is a map of two things, both counted rather than judged. Company kept: which words stand within three words of each of these, anywhere in the Hebrew Bible — the thicker the line, the more often the pair meet compared with chance. Built from: the words a word is made out of, taken from its own Strong’s entry. It is not a map of meaning: nothing here claims two words mean the same thing. Click any circle to see the numbers behind it.
Lexicons — every word in Genesis 10:17
One dossier per word, with every reference work grouped by kind — Hebrew lexicons, morphology, Bible dictionaries, topical chains and the English of the translators themselves. The verse sits at the head of each block with the word under study lit, so you never lose your place. The panel above gives the short answer; this is the long one, and it is the part of the page worth indexing.
Every entry below is the lexicographer's own text. On the Hebrew: Brown-Driver-Briggs entire and its gloss set, Strong's Hebrew Dictionary, and Tyndale House's Translators Brief lexicon. Where a cell says a work has no entry, that work genuinely has none for this word.
אֵת (eth) is primarily a grammatical marker in Hebrew, indicating the definite direct object of a verb. It is not translated into English and typically precedes nouns that are definite. The word is derived from a demonstrative sense of entity, related to the Hebrew word for 'self.' Its Aramaic equivalent is יָת (yat).
אֵת the mark of the accusative, prefixed as a rule only to nouns that are definite
base
H853 אֵת the mark of the accusative, prefixed as a rule only to nouns that are definite
853 'eth ayth
apparent contracted from 226 in the demonstrative sense of
entity; properly, self (but generally used to point out more
definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or
namely):--(as such unrepresented in English).
see HEBREW for 0226
אֵת (et) — [Obj.].
sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative
Aramaic equivalent: yat (יָת "whom" H3487)
HC/To — Conjunction · particleHC/To
חִוִּי (Chivviy) refers to the Hivites, a group of villagers descended from Canaan, specifically mentioned in Genesis 10:17. They are described as one of the aboriginal tribes of Palestine, living in northern Canaan near Mount Hermon during the conquest. The term may derive from a root meaning 'villager'.
חִוִּי adj.gent. (= villagers?)
base
H2340 חִוִּי (= villagers?)
2340 Chivviy khiv-vee'
perhaps from 2333; a villager; a Chivvite, one of the
aboriginal tribes of Palestine:--Hivite.
see HEBREW for 02333
חִוִּי (chiv.vi) — Hivite.
Someone descended from Hiv(?) of the Canaanites, first mentioned at Gen.10.17; descended from Canaan (H3667); along with Sidon (H6721), Heth (H2845), Jebusite (H2983), Amorite (H0567), Girgashite (H1622), Arkite (H6208), Sinite (H5513), Arvadite (H0721), Zemarite (H6786) and Hamathite (H2577)
§ Hivite = "villagers"
6th generation of descendants of Canaan, the son of Ham, who were living in northern Canaan near Mount Hermon at the time of the conquest
Art | Ngmsa — Particle · noun gentilic masculine singular absoluteHTd/Ngmsa
אֵת (eth) is primarily a grammatical marker in Hebrew, indicating the definite direct object of a verb. It is not translated into English and typically precedes nouns that are definite. The word is derived from a demonstrative sense of entity, related to the Hebrew word for 'self.' Its Aramaic equivalent is יָת (yat).
אֵת the mark of the accusative, prefixed as a rule only to nouns that are definite
base
H853 אֵת the mark of the accusative, prefixed as a rule only to nouns that are definite
853 'eth ayth
apparent contracted from 226 in the demonstrative sense of
entity; properly, self (but generally used to point out more
definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or
namely):--(as such unrepresented in English).
see HEBREW for 0226
אֵת (et) — [Obj.].
sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative
Aramaic equivalent: yat (יָת "whom" H3487)
HC/To — Conjunction · particleHC/To
עַרְקִי (Arkite) refers to an inhabitant of the city of Arka, associated with the Canaanite lineage. The term is derived from a name meaning 'tush' and is linked to the descendants of Canaan mentioned in Genesis 10:17. The entries indicate a connection to the broader Canaanite population, but do not provide significant disagreement among lexicons.
עַרְקִי adj.gent. Arḳite, inhabitant of city ‛Arḳa
base
H6208 עַרְקִי Arkite
6208 `Arqiy ar-kee'
patrial from an unused name meaning a tush; an Arkite or
inhabitant of Erek:--Arkite.
עַרְקִי (ar.qi) — Arkite.
Someone descended from Arak(?) of the Canaanites, first mentioned at Gen.10.17; descended from Canaan (H3667); along with Sidon (H6721), Heth (H2845), Jebusite (H2983), Amorite (H0567), Girgashite (H1622), Hivite (H2340), Sinite (H5513), Arvadite (H0721), Zemarite (H6786) and Hamathite (H2577)
§ Arkite, of Arki "gnawing"
an inhabitant of Arki or Arka
Art | Ngmsa — Particle · noun gentilic masculine singular absoluteHTd/Ngmsa
אֵת (eth) is primarily a grammatical marker in Hebrew, indicating the definite direct object of a verb. It is not translated into English and typically precedes nouns that are definite. The word is derived from a demonstrative sense of entity, related to the Hebrew word for 'self.' Its Aramaic equivalent is יָת (yat).
אֵת the mark of the accusative, prefixed as a rule only to nouns that are definite
base
H853 אֵת the mark of the accusative, prefixed as a rule only to nouns that are definite
853 'eth ayth
apparent contracted from 226 in the demonstrative sense of
entity; properly, self (but generally used to point out more
definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or
namely):--(as such unrepresented in English).
see HEBREW for 0226
אֵת (et) — [Obj.].
sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative
Aramaic equivalent: yat (יָת "whom" H3487)
HC/To — Conjunction · particleHC/To
סִינִי (Ciynay) refers to a Canaanite people, specifically a tribe descended from one of Canaan's sons, mentioned in Genesis 10:17. The term indicates their northern location in the Lebanon region. The word may derive from a name meaning 'thorn' or 'clay,' but the exact origin is unclear.
סִינִי adj.gent. a Canaanite people, in north
base
H5513 סִינִי a Canaanite people, in north
5513 Ciynay see-nee'
from an otherwise unknown name of a man; a Sinite, or
descendant of one of the sons of Canaan:--Sinite.
סִינִי (si.ni) — Sinite.
Someone descended from Sin(?) of the Canaanites, first mentioned at Gen.10.17; descended from Canaan (H3667); along with Sidon (H6721), Heth (H2845), Jebusite (H2983), Amorite (H0567), Girgashite (H1622), Hivite (H2340), Arkite (H6208), Arvadite (H0721), Zemarite (H6786) and Hamathite (H2577)
§ Sinite, of Sin "thorn" or "clay"
a tribe of the Canaanites descended from Canaan inhabiting the northern part of the Lebanon district
Art | Ngmsa — Particle · noun gentilic masculine singular absoluteHTd/Ngmsa