1 Chronicles 1:15 — Word Study
WLCוְאֶת־ הַחִוִּ֥י וְאֶת־ הַֽעַרְקִ֖י וְאֶת־ הַסִּינִֽי׃
BSAthe HivitesChivvîy [a member of an ancient tribe in Palestine] the ArkitesʻArqîy [from the city of Arka] the SinitesÇîynîy [descendants of Sin, a son of Canaan]
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| וְאֶת־ | and the object marker | Conjunction, particle |
| הַחִוִּ֥י | 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 Hivite, the Arkite, the Sinite, |
| BBE | And the Hivite and the Arkite and the Sinite, |
Where they part company is over the inclusion of additional descriptions in the amplified versions, which provide context for each tribe.
The verse consists of a single main clause listing the tribes, typical of genealogical records.
3 commentators on this verse
Jamieson, Ellicott, Cambridge & 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 — 1 Chronicles 1:15
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
1 Chronicles 1:15 lists the Hivites, Arkites, and Sinites as descendants of Canaan, showing the genealogical connections among the ancient tribes of Palestine. This verse is part of a larger genealogy that emphasizes the lineage and heritage of the people of Israel, connecting them to their ancestral roots in the land of Canaan, as seen in earlier chapters such as Genesis 10:15-19.
Cross References
| Reference | Text (BSB) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Exodus 3:8–17 | I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. |
| 2 | Exodus 13:5 | And when the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites—the land He swore to your fathers that He would give you, a land flowing with milk and honey—you shall keep this service in this month. |
| 3 | 1 Kings 9:20 | As for all the people who remained of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites (the people who were not Israelites)— |
The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 3 references, hung on the phrase they belong to
The Key Word — חִוִּי, ha.chi.Vigenerated
The term חִוִּי (ha.chi.Vi) refers specifically to the Hivites, a group of people descended from Canaan. They are mentioned in various texts as one of the tribes inhabiting the land of Canaan, particularly in the northern regions. The parsing indicates that it is a noun in the singular form, identifying a specific group.
The Hivites are noted for their connection to the land and their role among the ancient tribes. Their presence in genealogies highlights the historical significance of these tribes in the biblical narrative, particularly during the Israelite conquest of Canaan.
How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated
This study reads the verse in the Berean Standard Bible, so the BSB is the wording every comparison below is made against.
Sentence Structuregenerated
The structure of the verse is straightforward, consisting of a series of noun phrases connected by the conjunction וְאֶת־, ve.'Et. The finite verb is absent, as this is a list format typical of genealogical records.
Each noun phrase identifies a different tribe, maintaining a parallel structure that emphasizes the collective identity of these groups as descendants of Canaan.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
The Septuagint translates חִוִּי as Χευί (Chevī), maintaining the connection to the Hivites as a distinct group. This choice aligns with the Hebrew understanding of the tribes.
The use of consistent terminology in the Septuagint reinforces the identity of these tribes within the broader context of Canaanite lineage.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
1 Chronicles 1:15 lists three tribes: the Hivites, Arkites, and Sinites, all descendants of Canaan. These names are part of a genealogy that traces the lineage of ancient peoples in the land of Canaan.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
The Hivites were a group of people descended from Canaan, mentioned in the genealogies of the Old Testament, particularly in Genesis 10:17.
The Arkites were inhabitants of the city of Arka, also descended from Canaan, and are part of the genealogical records that illustrate the heritage of the Israelite people.
The Sinites, as descendants of Sin, another son of Canaan, show the diversity of tribes that existed in the region and their connections to the broader Canaanite lineage.
Genealogies in the Bible serve to establish identity, heritage, and the fulfillment of God's promises through specific lineages, connecting individuals and nations to God's covenant plan.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- How do genealogies help us understand the history of Israel?
- What significance do the tribes mentioned in this verse have in the broader biblical narrative?
- In what ways can we see the fulfillment of God's promises through the descendants of Canaan?
- How does understanding these tribes enhance our reading of the Old Testament?
Commentators on this verse — 3 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on 1 Chronicles 1:15 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.
Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's CommentaryAnd the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite, No JFB commentary on these verses.
Read Robert Jamieson on 1 Chronicles 1 →Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English ReadersTHE SONS OF HAM, THE DARK-SKINNED OR SWARTHY (1 Chronicles 1:8-16). (8) Cush.—The Greek Meroλ, Assyrian Miluhha, or Kϋsu, south of Egypt, in our Bibles often called Ethiopia (Isaiah 19:1). The Arabic gives Habesh, i.e., Ethiopia. Mizraim.—The common Hebrew name of Egypt: strictly, “the two Miηrs”—i.e., Upper and Lower Egypt. But the name should rather be spelt Mizrim—the Egyptians; the form Mizraim being probably a mere fancy of the Jewish punctuators. The Assyrians wrote Muηum, Muηru, Muηur. The Inscription of Darius has Miηir. Maητr was the name of the wall which protected Egypt on the north-east. Hence it gave its name to the whole of Lower Egypt.—Cush and Muηur are coupled together in…
Read Charles John Ellicott on 1 Chronicles 1 →CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges15. the Hivite] In Joshua 11:3, the Hivites are placed in the extreme N. of the land, “the Hivite under Hermon” (Heb. not LXX.). The Arkite and Sinite lived in Lebanon, the Arvadite (cp. Ezekiel 27:8) on the sea-coast N. of Gebal (Byblus), the Zemarite a little to the S. of the Arvadite, and the Hamathite furthest to the north on the Orontes.
Read Cambridge on 1 Chronicles 1 →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 Hivite, the Arkite, the Sinite,
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 Archite, and the Sinite,
And the Hiuuite, and the Arkite, and the Simite,
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,
Hivites, Arkites, Sinites,
From the Latin
And the Hevite, and the Aracite, and the Sinite,
Simplified
Hivites, Arkites, 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 is supported by the other witnesses, including the Septuagint, which retains the same names without variation. This agreement underscores the historical continuity of the genealogical records.
וְאֶת־ הַחִוִּ֥י וְאֶת־ הַֽעַרְקִ֖י וְאֶת־ הַסִּינִֽי׃
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 1 Chronicles 1:15
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