seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Genesis 10:1 This is the account of Shem, Ham and Japheth, Noah’s sons, who themselves had sons after the flood.
The Japhethites
2 The sons[a] of Japheth:
Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshek and Tiras.
3 The sons of Gomer:
Ashkenaz, Riphath and Togarmah.
4 The sons of Javan:
Elishah, Tarshish, the Kittites and the Rodanites.(b) 5 (From these the maritime peoples spread out into their territories by their clans within their nations, each with its own language.)
The Hamites
6 The sons of Ham:
Cush, Egypt, Put and Canaan.
7 The sons of Cush:
Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah and Sabteka.
The sons of Raamah:
Sheba and Dedan.
8 Cush was the father[c] of Nimrod, who became a mighty warrior on the earth. 9 He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; that is why it is said, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord.” 10 The first centers of his kingdom were Babylon, Uruk, Akkad and Kalneh, in[d] Shinar.[e] 11 From that land he went to Assyria, where he built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir,[f] Calah 12 and Resen, which is between Nineveh and Calah—which is the great city.
13 Egypt was the father of
the Ludites, Anamites, Lehabites, Naphtuhites, 14 Pathrusites, Kasluhites (from whom the Philistines came) and Caphtorites.
15 Canaan was the father of
Sidon his firstborn,[g] and of the Hittites, 16 Jebusites, Amorites, Girga####es, 17 Hivites, Arkites, Sinites, 18 Arvadites, Zemarites and Hamathites.
Later the Canaanite clans scattered 19 and the borders of Canaan reached from Sidon toward Gerar as far as Gaza, and then toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboyim, as far as Lasha.
20 These are the sons of Ham by their clans and languages, in their territories and nations.
The Semites
21 Sons were also born to Shem, whose older brother was[h] Japheth; Shem was the ancestor of all the sons of Eber.
22 The sons of Shem:
Elam, Ashur, Arphaxad, Lud and Aram.
23 The sons of Aram:
Uz, Hul, Gether and Meshek.
24 Arphaxad was the father of[j] Shelah,
and Shelah the father of Eber.
25 Two sons were born to Eber:
One was named Peleg,[k] because in his time the earth was divided; his brother was named Joktan.
26 Joktan was the father of
Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, 27 Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, 28 Obal, Abimael, Sheba, 29 Ophir, Havilah and Jobab. All these were sons of Joktan.
30 The region where they lived stretched from Mesha toward Sephar, in the eastern hill country.
31 These are the sons of Shem by their clans and languages, in their territories and nations.
32 These are the clans of Noah’s sons, according to their lines of descent, within their nations. From these the nations spread out over the earth after the flood.
The Japhethites
2 The sons[a] of Japheth:
Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshek and Tiras.
3 The sons of Gomer:
Ashkenaz, Riphath and Togarmah.
4 The sons of Javan:
Elishah, Tarshish, the Kittites and the Rodanites.(b) 5 (From these the maritime peoples spread out into their territories by their clans within their nations, each with its own language.)
The Hamites
6 The sons of Ham:
Cush, Egypt, Put and Canaan.
7 The sons of Cush:
Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah and Sabteka.
The sons of Raamah:
Sheba and Dedan.
8 Cush was the father[c] of Nimrod, who became a mighty warrior on the earth. 9 He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; that is why it is said, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord.” 10 The first centers of his kingdom were Babylon, Uruk, Akkad and Kalneh, in[d] Shinar.[e] 11 From that land he went to Assyria, where he built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir,[f] Calah 12 and Resen, which is between Nineveh and Calah—which is the great city.
13 Egypt was the father of
the Ludites, Anamites, Lehabites, Naphtuhites, 14 Pathrusites, Kasluhites (from whom the Philistines came) and Caphtorites.
15 Canaan was the father of
Sidon his firstborn,[g] and of the Hittites, 16 Jebusites, Amorites, Girga####es, 17 Hivites, Arkites, Sinites, 18 Arvadites, Zemarites and Hamathites.
Later the Canaanite clans scattered 19 and the borders of Canaan reached from Sidon toward Gerar as far as Gaza, and then toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboyim, as far as Lasha.
20 These are the sons of Ham by their clans and languages, in their territories and nations.
The Semites
21 Sons were also born to Shem, whose older brother was[h] Japheth; Shem was the ancestor of all the sons of Eber.
22 The sons of Shem:
Elam, Ashur, Arphaxad, Lud and Aram.
23 The sons of Aram:
Uz, Hul, Gether and Meshek.
24 Arphaxad was the father of[j] Shelah,
and Shelah the father of Eber.
25 Two sons were born to Eber:
One was named Peleg,[k] because in his time the earth was divided; his brother was named Joktan.
26 Joktan was the father of
Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, 27 Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, 28 Obal, Abimael, Sheba, 29 Ophir, Havilah and Jobab. All these were sons of Joktan.
30 The region where they lived stretched from Mesha toward Sephar, in the eastern hill country.
31 These are the sons of Shem by their clans and languages, in their territories and nations.
32 These are the clans of Noah’s sons, according to their lines of descent, within their nations. From these the nations spread out over the earth after the flood.
a. Sons may mean descendants or successors or nations; also in verses 3, 4, 6, 7, 20-23, 29 and 31.
b. Some manuscripts of the Masoretic Text and Samaritan Pentateuch (see also Septuagint and 1 Chron. 1:7); most manuscripts of the Masoretic Text Dodanites
c. Father may mean ancestor or predecessor or founder; also in verses 13, 15, 24 and 26.
d. Or Uruk and Akkad—all of them in
e. That is, Babylonia
f. Or Nineveh with its city squares
g. Or of the Sidonians, the foremost
h. Or Shem, the older brother of
i. See Septuagint and 1 Chron. 1:17; Hebrew Mash.
j. Hebrew; Septuagint father of Cainan, and Cainan was the father of
k. Peleg means division.
This is the summary from the easy English commentary.
A new part of Genesis starts here. People’s life on the earth was starting again after the flood.
The actual names are not very important to us. But they do show that this account is true. These people were real. They actually lived. The account shows how quickly new families were born. And it shows how quickly they grew up. Some names here are probably places’ names rather than people’s names. People did not stay close together. They moved to new places and they became many nations.
In this list here, we read that Japheth had 7 sons and 7 grandsons. Cush’s sons and grandsons together were 7 in total. (That does not include Cush’s other son Nimrod, whom the writer talks about separately.) The writer mentions 70 nations as descendants of Noah’s sons. People often used the number 70 to mean a large number. And 7 was a ‘special’ number too.
Japheth’s family, 10:2-5
The writer begins with Japheth’s sons and grandsons. Their names show us that their families moved north, towards Europe. And they moved round the sea called the Mediterranean.
Ham’s family, 10:6-20
Ham’s family moved towards the south and into North Africa. Canaan was the original name of the country that became Israel. So Canaan’s *descendants are important to the history in the Bible. But Ham’s descendants lived across a much larger area.
Nimrod’s descendants were especially powerful. Babylon would become the greatest city in the world for a short time. And Nineveh was also a very powerful city.
Verse 12 mentions ‘the great city’. It is not clear whether that means Nineveh or Calah. It seems as if it is Calah. But in the Book of Jonah, Nineveh is called a ‘great city’.
Shem’s family, 10:21-32
Shem’s family comes last in this chapter, although his name comes first in verse 1. We do not know why that is so. Perhaps it is because the Book of Genesis continues with the story of Shem’s descendants.
Many of Shem’s descendants moved east. But this list also contains the names of places that are elsewhere.
The actual names are not very important to us. But they do show that this account is true. These people were real. They actually lived. The account shows how quickly new families were born. And it shows how quickly they grew up. Some names here are probably places’ names rather than people’s names. People did not stay close together. They moved to new places and they became many nations.
In this list here, we read that Japheth had 7 sons and 7 grandsons. Cush’s sons and grandsons together were 7 in total. (That does not include Cush’s other son Nimrod, whom the writer talks about separately.) The writer mentions 70 nations as descendants of Noah’s sons. People often used the number 70 to mean a large number. And 7 was a ‘special’ number too.
Japheth’s family, 10:2-5
The writer begins with Japheth’s sons and grandsons. Their names show us that their families moved north, towards Europe. And they moved round the sea called the Mediterranean.
Ham’s family, 10:6-20
Ham’s family moved towards the south and into North Africa. Canaan was the original name of the country that became Israel. So Canaan’s *descendants are important to the history in the Bible. But Ham’s descendants lived across a much larger area.
Nimrod’s descendants were especially powerful. Babylon would become the greatest city in the world for a short time. And Nineveh was also a very powerful city.
Verse 12 mentions ‘the great city’. It is not clear whether that means Nineveh or Calah. It seems as if it is Calah. But in the Book of Jonah, Nineveh is called a ‘great city’.
Shem’s family, 10:21-32
Shem’s family comes last in this chapter, although his name comes first in verse 1. We do not know why that is so. Perhaps it is because the Book of Genesis continues with the story of Shem’s descendants.
Many of Shem’s descendants moved east. But this list also contains the names of places that are elsewhere.
From studylight.org here's a comment on the people here.
Hence one must consider this chapter of Genesis a mirror in which to discern that we human beings are, namely, creatures so marred by sin that we have no knowledge of our own origin, not even of God Himself, our Creator, unless the Word of God reveals these sparks of divine light to us from afar ... This knowledge the Holy Scriptures reveal to us. Those who are without them live in error, uncertainty, and boundless ungodliness; for they have no knowledge about who they are and whence they came. (Luther, cited in Boice)
So who are you and where did you come from? Since my family is from Ireland and France.... I should be able to trace my ancestors back to Japheth.
