Genesis 46:16 names him as a son of Gad.
Numbers 26:16 also lists Gad's sons, but replaces Etson with Ozni (אָזְנִי), the eponymous founder of the tribe of that name. The root word is Ozen (אזן), which has several meanings but is usually treated as being "an ear"; or any other sharply pointed instrument, including weapons and the horns of animals. Is Etsvon in this case then a misreading for Ozni, or vice-versa?
1 Chronicles 7:7 makes him a son of Bin-Yamin's son Bela, listing them as Etsvon, Uzi (עֻזִּי), Uzi-El (עֻזִּיאֵל), Yerimot (ירִימוֹת), and Iri (עִירִי); while 1 Chronicles 8:3 gives a completely different list of Bela's sons, naming them here as Adar (אַדָּר), Gera (גֵרָא), Avi-Chud (אֲבִיהוּד), Avi-Shu'a (אֲבִישׁוּעַ), Na'aman (נַעֲמָן), Acho'ach (אֲחוֹחַ), Gera (גֵרָא), Shephuphan (שְׁפוּפָן) and Churam (חוּרָם). And yes, Gera does appear twice.
Mind you, 1 Chronicles 7:6 named Bin-Yamin's sons as Bela (בֶּלַע), and Becher (בֶכֶר), and Yedi'a-El (ידִיעֲאֵל), while 1 Chronicles 8:1-2 has "Bela (בֶּלַע) his first-born" (the Yehudit used here for first-born is Bechoro - בְּכֹרוֹ - which could explain the error with Becher), Ashbel (אַשְׁבֵּל) the second (probably a variant of Ish-Ba'al as Bela is himself a variant of Ba'al), and Achrach (אַחְרַח) the third (possibly a scribal error for Acho'ach, or vice versa); Nochah (נוֹחָה) the fourth, and Raph'a (רָפָא) the fifth. All of which is much closer to the Genesis version, for which see 46:21.
Mind you, 1 Chronicles 7:6 named Bin-Yamin's sons as Bela (בֶּלַע), and Becher (בֶכֶר), and Yedi'a-El (ידִיעֲאֵל), while 1 Chronicles 8:1-2 has "Bela (בֶּלַע) his first-born" (the Yehudit used here for first-born is Bechoro - בְּכֹרוֹ - which could explain the error with Becher), Ashbel (אַשְׁבֵּל) the second (probably a variant of Ish-Ba'al as Bela is himself a variant of Ba'al), and Achrach (אַחְרַח) the third (possibly a scribal error for Acho'ach, or vice versa); Nochah (נוֹחָה) the fourth, and Raph'a (רָפָא) the fifth. All of which is much closer to the Genesis version, for which see 46:21.
But even with these [possible] errors and variations, Chronicles definitely has two completely different lists - or else there were two completely different Bin-Yamins - and guess what, as per my notes to Ben-Oni and Bin-Yamin...
The root of Etsvon is Atsav (אצב) = "to labour" or "toil" (as in YHVH's injunction to Chavah in Genesis 3:16, that "in sorrow you shall bring forth children - הַרְבָּה אַרְבֶּה עִצְּבוֹנֵךְ וְהֵרֹנֵךְ בְּעֶצֶב תֵּלְדִי בָנִים - harbah arbeh itsvonech ve heyronech be etsev teldi vanim"), but also "sad" or "sorrowful", which may in fact be the reason for the misunderstanding of that line in Genesis (and all the troubles that it has led to ever since!) - a conflation of the Babylonian Atsav = "grieved", "afflicted" with the Hurrian Atsav = "to labour".
Is Etsvon in fact a daughter of Bela, rather than a son: it being appropriate, in the light of Genesis 3:16, that a child of Bela - if that is indeed a variant or misreading of Ba'al - should be termed "sorrow"?
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