Genesis 10
The Table of Nations
The Table of Nations
1 This is the account of Noah’s sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Sons were born to them after the flood.
The Hebrew word for “account” is תּוֹלְדֹ֣ת (toldoth), meaning a written account. This is the fourth תּוֹלְדֹ֣ת (toldoth) in Scripture. The eleven תּוֹלְדֹ֣ת (toldoth) were most likely written accounts that Moses edited by divine inspiration into the Book of Genesis. The fourth תּוֹלְדֹ֣ת (toldoth) recorded the actual history of the table of nations and the Tower of Babel.
Shem means “name”. Ham means “hot”. Japheth means “beauty”. The author listed the three sons of Noah in the order of their birth. Seventy nations will come from the loins of these three sons. From these three sons will come every ancestor of every human being who is and will be born after the Flood.
There is no ancient literature that gives the complete history of the origin of all seventy of these ancient historical nations, except for the Biblical account. These nations were repeated in 1 Chronicles 1:4-23, showing that this was an actual historical account passed down by actual eyewitnesses. There are some Christ-rejecting historians who reject this eyewitness account simply on their own bias. They will accept other historical documents, but they reject the Bible, because they do not believe in the supernatural. If God is real, if He has supernatural powers, if He reveals these supernatural powers, if He allows humans to see these supernatural powers, and if He allows eyewitnesses to record and preserve these supernatural events in writing, then it is bias to reject this historical document just because of one’s personal belief system.
2 The sons of Japheth were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.
Shem was the seed-son, so his genealogy will be listed last. The Holy Spirit always records the genealogy of the seed-son last, because He places emphasis on the Messiah to come in more detail. Japheth was the youngest son.
Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum’s Genesis commentary and Dr. Henry Morris’s The Genesis Record give more detail and specific information and documentation of each of the origins of these nations. In this study, the concentration will be upon the most-accepted identity of the seventy nations. The identity nations will be placed in parenthesis.
The five sons of Japheth were Gomer (Crimea, Germany, and France), Magog (Georgia of the former USSR), Madai (Medes), Javan (Greece), Tubal (Russia), Meshech (Moscow), and Tiras (Thracians, and possibly the Etruscans).
3 The sons of Gomer were Askenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah.
The three sons of Gomer (Crimea, Germany, and France) were Askenaz (Schythians), Riphath (Celts), and Togarmah (Armenians).
4T he sons of Javan were Elishah, Tarshish, the Kittim, and the Dodanim.
The four sons of Javan (Greece) were Elishah (the Hellas of Cypra), Tarshish (Spain), the Kittim (Phoenecian side of Cyprus), and the Dodanim (Peloponnesians).
5 From these the coastlands of the nations were separated into their lands, every one according to its language, according to their families, by their nations.
Some of Japheth’s descendants spread out into Persia, India, and Asia.
6 The sons of Ham were Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan.
The four sons of Ham were Cush (Nubia, Ethiopia, and possibly the Cassites of Mesopotamia), Mizriam (Egypt), Put (Cush and Persia), and Canaan (Canaanites). The Canaanites were cursed by God. They will take upon the characteristics of their evil father, Canaan. Israel will later be commanded to exterminate them.
7 The sons of Cush were Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca. The sons of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan.
Cush (Nubia, Ethiopia, and possibly the Cassites of Mesopotamia) was the fourth son of Ham. His five sons were Seba (Upper Egypt), Havilah (Southern Arabia), Sabtah (Persian coast), Raamah (Saudia Arabia), and Sabteca (Ethiopia). The sons of Raamah (Saudia Arabia) were Sheba (southwest Arabia, possible home of the Queen of Sheba) and Dedan (Saudia Arabia).
8 Cush was the father of Nimrod; he began to be a valiant warrior on the earth.
Nimrod was the sixth son of Cush. His name in Hebrew means “to rebel”. This name may have been given to him later in life. Many historians have attempted to identify him with the Akkadian Sargon the Great, the Babylonian god Marduk, the Sumerian hunter Gilgamesh, the Egyptian Pharaoh Amenhotep III, the Greek mythical hunter Orion, and the Greek folk hero Ninos.
9 He was a mighty hunter before the Lord. (That is why it is said, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord.”)
The Jerusalem Targum records that Nimrod “was a hunter of the souls of men.” According to rabbinic tradition, Nimrod snared men with his words and turned them against God.
10 The primary regions of his kingdom were Babel, Erech, Akkad, and Calneh in the land of Shinar.
Nimrod built four cities. He built Babylon on the Euphrates River. He planted seeds that would later sprout into the Babylon Captivity. The Babylonians were one of the most powerful and brutal empires of history.
Erech, or Urik, was located 100 miles south and east of Babylon. This was the home of Gilgamesh of Babylonian mythology. Akkad was located north of Babylon. The location of Caineh is unknown.
11From that land he went to Assyria, where he built Nineveh, Rehoboth-Ir, Calah,
The confusion at the Tower of Babel forced Nimrod to travel to Assyria. He built four Assyrian cities, including Ninevah. He also planted the seeds of the Assyrian Captivity. The Assyrians became one of the most brutal empires of history.
12 and Resen, which is between Nineveh and the great city Calah.
Ninevah became the capital of Assyrian and a great metropolis city. Jonah would later visit this Gentile city as a Jewish evangelist.
13 Mizraim was the father of the Ludites, Anamites, Lehabites, Naphtuhites,
Mizrian (Egypt) was the seventh son of Ham. He was the father of seven sons, including the Ludites (Lydia), Anamites (Cyrne), Lehabites (Libya), and the Naphtuhites (Lower Egypt).,
14 Pathrusites, Casluhites (from whom the Philistines came), and Caphtorites.
The other three sons of Mizraim (Egypt) were Pathrusites (Upper Egypt), Casluhites (Philistines), and Caphtorites (Cretans).
15 Canaan was the father of Sidon his firstborn, Heth,
Canaan was the son of Ham. Canaan was the father of eleven sons, including Sidon (Phoenecians) and Het (Hittites). For many years, skeptics claimed that the Bible was inaccurate because there was no evidence of the Hittite civilization. Then, archaeologist Hugo Winkler dug up 40 Hittite cities.
16the Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites,
Canaan was also the father of the Jebusites (Jerusalem), Amorites (trans-Jordan), and Girgashites (Shechem).
17 Hivites, Arkites, Sinites,
Three other descendants of Canaan were the Hivites (Gibeon), Arkites (Lebanon), and Sinites (Ugarit and Arvad).
18 Arvadites, Zemarites, and Hamathites. Eventually the families of the Canaanites were scattered
The last three descendants of Canaan were the Arvadites (Tyre), Zemarites (Amurru), and Hamathites (Syria). The Hittites and Sinites may have been scattered into the Far East, becoming the Mongols of China and Japan, and eventually the American Indians.
19and the borders of Canaan extended from Sidon all the way to Gerar as far as Gaza, and all the way to Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha, and west to the Mediterranean Sea.
The borders of Canaan extended northwest to Lebanon, southwest to Philistia, southeast to the Arabah, northeast to Lassha, and west to the Mediterranean Sea. These borders of the Canaanites were later promised to Abraham and his descendants.
20These are the sons of Ham, according to their families, according to their languages, by their lands, and by their nations.
Thirty nations sprang from the loins of Ham.
21And sons were also born to Shem (the older brother of Japheth), the father of all the sons of Eber.
Shem was the seed-son, so his genealogy was listed last. Eber was the origin of the tribal name of “Hebrews”.
22The sons of Shem were Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram.
Shem was the father of five sons, including Elam (southwestern Iran), Asshur (Assyria), Arphaxad (Chaldeans), Lud (Lydia), and Aram (Syria).
23The sons of Aram were Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash.
Aram (Syria) was the fifth son of Shem. He was the father of four sons, who all established families in Syria. The four sons were Uz (northwest Mesopotamia, perhaps the location of Job), Hul (Armenia), Gether (Afghanistan), and Mash (Mesene at the mouth of the Euphrates).
24Arphaxad was the father of Shelah, and Shelah was the father of Eber.
Arphaxad was the third son of Shem and the seed-son of the Messiah. The location of Shelah is unknown. Eber (Ur) was the origin of the tribal name of the Hebrews. Ur was the first city state that was known in secular history. Abraham will later be called out of Ur.
25Two sons were born to Eber: One was named Peleg because in his days the earth was divided, and his brother’s name was Joktan.
Eber (Ur) two sons were Peleg (Harbor River) and Joktan (Arabia). In Hebrew, Peleg means “to divide”. Many commentators claim that this verse teaches the continental drift theory. Instead, the division was most likely the confusion of languages at the Tower of Babel.
26Joktan was the father of Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah,
Joktan (Arabia) had thirteen sons, all fathers of Arabian tribes. Four of his sons were Almodad (Yemen), Sheleph (Salif), Hazarmavet (South Arabia), and Jerah (Jerahk).
27Hadoram, Uzal , Diklah,
Joktan (Arabia) was also the father of Hadoram (South America), Uzal (Madena), Diklah (Dakalah of Yemen),
28Obal, Abimael, Sheba,
Joktan (Arabia) was also the father of Obal (South Arabia), Abimael (unknown), and Sheba (the Sabeans of southwest Arabia).
29Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab. All these were sons of Joktan.
Joktan was also the father of Ophir (Somalia), Havilah (west coast of Arabia), and Jobab (Saudia Arabia, in the area of Mecca).
30Their dwelling place was from Mesha all the way to Sephar in the eastern hills.
Mesha and Sephar were the western and eastern borders of Arabia.
31These are the sons of Shem according to their families, according to their languages, by their lands, and according to their nations.
This would be the tribes, languages, and territories of the Shemites after the dispersion from the Tower of Babel.
32These are the families of the sons of Noah, according to their genealogies, by their nations, and from these the nations spread over the earth after the flood.
After the dispersion from the Tower of Babel, the human race was divided by language, by race, by territory, and by politics. The origin of this division will be historically recorded in the next chapter.
+++
In conclusion, the human viewpoint of the satanic world system teaches that the different nations and languages evolved from the Neolithic Revolution.
The divine viewpoint of the inspired, inerrant, and infallible Word of God teaches that the number and languages of the nations were ordained by God and divided after the confusion of tongues at the Tower of Babel.
+++
1. SAQ--What is the theme of Genesis 10?
2. List three nations who came from Ham.
3. List three nations who come from Japheth.
4. List three nations who come from Shem.
5. Why was the geneaology of Shem listed last?
6. What is a "seed-son"?
7. Who was the third seed son?
8. What happenned during the days of Peleg?
9. What does Nimrod mean in Hebrew?
10. Which four cities did Nimrod build?