Exodus 1:3

Study note

Setting — The narrator records a genealogical list of Jacob’s sons who descended to Egypt. This verse functions as a mid-list insertion within a broader enumeration of the twelve tribal patriarchs.

The words — The text names יִשָּׂשכָ֥ר (Issachar), זְבוּלֻ֖ן (Zebulun), and וּ/בְנְיָמִֽן (and Benjamin). These are proper nouns identifying specific tribal patriarchs with no additional descriptive qualifiers.

The thread — This segment continues the twelve-son enumeration from Genesis 35:23 and bridges the lists in Exodus 1:2 and Exodus 1:4. The same three names recur in Exodus 28:20 as stones mounted in the high priest’s breastplate.

Why it lands — The verse requires the reader to track the precise tribal names that constitute the foundational lineage of Israel. It demands acknowledgment of how these specific patriarchs transition from genealogical record to national identity.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.