Genesis 10:16 — Word Study
WLCוְאֶת־ הַיְבוּסִי֙ וְאֶת־ הָ֣אֱמֹרִ֔י וְאֵ֖ת הַגִּרְגָּשִֽׁי׃
BSAthe JebusitesYᵉbûwçîy [inhabitants of Jebus, early Jerusalem] the AmoritesʼĔmôrîy [Canaanite tribe, descendants of Canaan] the GirgashitesGirgâshîy [native tribe of Canaan, descended from Girgas]
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| וְאֶת־ | and the object marker | Conjunction, particle |
| הַיְבוּסִי֙ | the Jebusite[s] | Particle, noun gentilic masculine singular absolute |
| וְאֶת־ | and the object marker | Conjunction, particle |
| הָ֣אֱמֹרִ֔י | the Amorite[s] | Particle, noun gentilic masculine singular absolute |
| וְאֵ֖ת | and the object marker | Conjunction, particle |
| הַגִּרְגָּשִֽׁי׃ | the Girgashite[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 Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites, |
| KJV | And the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgasite, |
| ASV | and the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgashite, |
| YLT | and the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgashite, |
| WEB | the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites, |
| BBE | And the Jebusite and the Amorite and the Girgashite, |
Where they part company is in the specific names of the tribes — see How Translations Differ.
The verse consists of a single main clause listing the tribes, emphasizing their collective identity.
8 commentators on this verse
Gill, Jamieson, Poole, Trapp & 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 10:16
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 10:16 lists various tribes that descended from Canaan, establishing the historical context of the region. This verse is part of a broader genealogical narrative that outlines the lineage and territories of these tribes, which played significant roles in the history of Israel as described in later books such as Judges and Samuel.
Cross References
| Reference | Text (BSB) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Judges 1:21 | The Benjamites, however, failed to drive out the Jebusites living in Jerusalem. So to this day the Jebusites live there among the Benjamites. |
| 2 | 2 Samuel 24:18 | And that day Gad came to David and said to him, “Go up and build an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” |
| 3 | Zechariah 9:7 | I will remove the blood from their mouths and the abominations from between their teeth. Then they too will become a remnant for our God; they will become like a clan in Judah, and Ekron will be like the Jebusites. |
The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 3 references, hung on the phrase they belong to
The Key Word — יְבוּסִי, hay.vu.Sigenerated
The term יְבוּסִי (hay.vu.Si) refers to the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jebus, which is an early name for Jerusalem. The Jebusites were descendants of Jebus, a son of Canaan, and they are noted for their presence in the land before the Israelites settled there.
As a noun, it is in the masculine singular form, indicating a specific group of people. The Jebusites are one of the tribes mentioned in this genealogical list, highlighting their significance in the ancient Near East.
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 verse consists of a series of noun phrases, each representing a tribe, all coordinated by the conjunctions וְ (ve), meaning 'and'. The structure emphasizes the collective identity of these tribes as descendants of Canaan.
The Hebrew word order places the tribes in a list format, making it clear that these are distinct groups recognized in the genealogical account.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
The Septuagint translates יְבוּסִי as ιεβουσαῖον, which maintains the reference to the Jebusites. This choice indicates a direct connection to the Hebrew term, preserving the identity of the tribe.
The use of the Greek term in the Septuagint reflects the translators' intent to convey the same ethnic and geographic identity as found in the Hebrew text.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
Genesis 10:16 lists several tribes that descended from Canaan: the Jebusites, Amorites, and Girgashites. These tribes were part of the early inhabitants of the land of Canaan, which later became significant in the history of Israel.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
The Jebusites were the inhabitants of Jebus, an early name for Jerusalem, and were descendants of Jebus, a son of Canaan.
The Amorites were a prominent Canaanite tribe that played a significant role in the history of the Israelites, often being displaced during their conquest of Canaan.
The Girgashites were a native tribe of Canaan, descended from Girgas, and are mentioned as one of the tribes living in the region.
The tribes listed in this verse, including the Jebusites, Amorites, and Girgashites, are referenced in later biblical accounts, particularly during the conquest of Canaan by the Israelites.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- What can we learn about the history of Canaan from the tribes mentioned in this verse?
- How do the identities of these tribes shape our understanding of the biblical narrative?
- In what ways do these tribes interact with the Israelites in later scripture?
- What significance do the Jebusites hold in the context of Jerusalem's history?
Commentators on this verse — 8 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on Genesis 10:16 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.
John Gill1697–1771Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleAnd the Jebusite,.... Who had their name from Jebus, a third son of Canaan, and from whom Jerusalem was called Jebus, Jude 19:10 and where his posterity continued to dwell when the land of Canaan was
Read John Gill on Genesis 10 →Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's CommentaryAnd the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgasite, The Jebusite , [Hebrew, Yªbuwciy (H2983)] - always in the singular, although rendered indifferently by both numbers in the English version.
Read Robert Jamieson on Genesis 10 →Matthew Poole1624–1679Matthew Poole's Commentary on the Holy BibleOf these and the other people following, see ,28 ,11 Am 6:2,14, &c.
Read Matthew Poole on Genesis 10 →John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New TestamentsGenesis 10:16 And the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgasite,Ver. 16-18. These are those accursed nations.] Whose countries God afterwards gave to his people Israel, having "espied" it out of all lands for such a purpose.
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 →AdamClarkeAdam Clarke's Commentary on the BibleVerse 16. The Jebusite - Amorite, &c.] Are well known as being the ancient inhabitants of Canaan, expelled by the children of Israel.
Read AdamClarke on Genesis 10 →CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges16. the Jebusite] The Canaanite tribe dwelling in Jerusalem and its neighbourhood: cf. Joshua 15:63; Judges 1:21; 2 Samuel 5:6. the Amorite] In the Tel-el-Amarna tablets the name Amurru is given to the dwellers in the north of Canaan in distinction from the Kinaḥ ?i, the dwellers in southern Canaan. Later on, the name Amorite seems to have been used by the Assyrians to designate Palestine. In the O.T. the original inhabitants of Canaan are sometimes called by this name; e.g. Judges 1:34-36; Amos 2:9. See Driver, Schweich Lectures, p. 36. the Girgashite] Mentioned e.g. Genesis 15:21, Deuteronomy 7:1, with the other dwellers in Canaan, but their locality is not indicated.
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 Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites,
the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites,
the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites,
the Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites,
Tyndale line
And the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgasite,
and the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgashite,
and the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgashite;
And the Jebusite, and the Emorite, and the Girgasite,
And Iebusi, and Emori, and Girgashi,
Strictly literal
and the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgashite,
and the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgashite,
and the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgashite,
And the Jebusite, and the Emorite, and the Girgashite,
also of the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites,
From the Latin
And the Jebusite, and the Amorrhite, and the Gergesite,
Simplified
the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites,
And the Jebusite and the Amorite and the Girgashite,
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 confirmed by the Septuagint and the Samaritan Pentateuch, with all three sources agreeing on the names of the tribes listed in this verse.
וְאֶת־ הַיְבוּסִי֙ וְאֶת־ הָ֣אֱמֹרִ֔י וְאֵ֖ת הַגִּרְגָּשִֽׁי׃
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 היבוסי ואת האמרי ואת הגרגשׁי
Agrees with the Masoretic Text here, word for word.
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 10:16
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
יְבוּסִי (Yebuwciy) means 'Jebusite,' referring to the inhabitants or descendants of Jebus, an early name for Jerusalem. The term is derived from a root associated with Canaan, specifically the third son of Canaan. It is used in the context of the people living in or around Jerusalem.
יְבוּסִי, יְבֻסִי
adj. gent. Jebusite, Jebusites
Jerusalem
base
H2983 יְבוּסִי, יְבֻסִי . adj. gent. Jebusite, Jebusites
. Jerusalem
2983 Yebuwciy yeb-oo-see'
patrial from 2982; a Jebusite or inhabitant of
Jebus:--Jebusite(-s).
see HEBREW for 02982
יְבוּסִי (ye.vu.si) — Jebusite.
Someone descended from Jebus(?) of the Canaanites, first mentioned at Gen.10.16; descended from Canaan (H3667); along with Sidon (H6721), Heth (H2845), Amorite (H0567), Girgashite (H1622), Hivite (H2340), Arkite (H6208), Sinite (H5513), Arvadite (H0721), Zemarite (H6786) and Hamathite (H2577)
§ Jebusite = "descendants of Jebus"
descendants of the 3rd son of Canaan who lived in or around the site of Jebus, the early name for Jerusalem
יְבוּסִי (ye.vu.si) — Jebus.
Jebusite = "descendants of Jebus"
descendants of the 3rd son of Canaan who lived in or around the site of Jebus, the early name for Jerusalem
Another spelling of ye.ru.sha.laim (יְרוּשָׁלִַ֫ם, יְרוּשְׁלֵם "Jerusalem" H3389)
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
אֱמֹרִי (Emoriy) refers to the Amorites, a group of people descended from Canaan, possibly meaning 'mountain-dwellers.' They are noted as a prominent tribe dispossessed by the Israelites during their conquest of Canaan. The term may derive from a root meaning 'to say,' suggesting a connection to prominence or publicity.
אֱמֹרִי n.pr.m.coll. Amorites (perh. = mountain-dwellers)
called son of Canaan
a chief people dispossessed by Hebrews
adj.gent.
base
H567 אֱמֹרִי Amorites (perh. = mountain-dwellers)
567 'Emoriy em-o-ree'
probably a patronymic from an unused name derived from 559 in
the sense of publicity, i.e. prominence; thus, a mountaineer;
an Emorite, one of the Canaanitish tribes:--Amorite.
see HEBREW for 0559
אֱמֹרִי (e.mo.ri) — Amorite.
Someone descended from Amor(?), first mentioned at Gen.10.16; descended from Canaan (H3667); along with Sidon (H6721), Heth (H2845), Jebusite (H2983), Girgashite (H1622), Hivite (H2340), Arkite (H6208), Sinite (H5513), Arvadite (H0721), Zemarite (H6786) and Hamathite (H2577)
§ Amorite = "a sayer"
one of the peoples of east Canaan and beyond the Jordan, dispossessed by the Israelite incursion from Egypt
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
גִּרְגָּשִׁי (Girgashiy) refers to a Girgashite, a descendant of Canaan. The term is linked to the native tribes of Canaan, specifically mentioned in Genesis 10:16. It may mean 'dwelling on clayey soil.' The lexicons indicate that the word is derived from an uncertain origin.
גִּרְגָּשִׁי adj.gent. ‘begotten’ by Canaan
base
H1622 גִּרְגָּשִׁי ‘begotten’ by Canaan
1622 Girgashiy ghir-gaw-shee'
patrial from an unused name (of uncertain derivation); a
Girgashite, one of the native tribes of Canaan:--Girgashite,
Girgasite.
גִּרְגָּשִׁי (gir.ga.shi) — Girgashite.
Someone descended from Girgas(?) of the Canaanites, first mentioned at Gen.10.16; descended from Canaan (H3667); along with Sidon (H6721), Heth (H2845), Jebusite (H2983), Amorite (H0567), Hivite (H2340), Arkite (H6208), Sinite (H5513), Arvadite (H0721), Zemarite (H6786) and Hamathite (H2577); also called in KJV: Girgasite;
§ Girgashite or Girgasite = "dwelling on a clayey soil"
descendants of Canaan and one of the nations living east of the sea of Galilee when the Israelites entered the promised land
Art | Ngmsa — Particle · noun gentilic masculine singular absoluteHTd/Ngmsa