Genesis 9:18-10:32 Chavurah Shalom 11/28/15

Noach's Drunkenness and Nakedness Our story begins with the information concerning the three sons of Noach, and only one of the grandsons, . First of all, we are being informed that all of the people of the earth can be traced back to these three children of Noach. Through the natural and normal means found in creation of Adam and Chavah, through these families all the peoples of the earth were "scattered." Quite a picture of the repopulating of the earth. The JPS Commentary seeks to point out again and again the intention of the Scripture to dispel the magical and mystical means of the repopulating of the earth projected by the other stories of other nations. Secondly, however, we have the mention of a man who becomes prominent in a bad way, Canaan. Rashbam says that without this reference we would be ignorant of the object of Noach's .--The JPS Torah Commentary, p. 65. The concluding disjunctive clause is parenthetical. It anticipates the following story, which explains that the Canaanites, ’s descendants through Canaan, were cursed because they shared the same moral abandonment that their ancestor displayed. See A. van Selms, “The Canaanites in the ,” OTS 12 (1958): 182-213.--NET Bible, note on Genesis 9:18. The point of these notes is that our Scripture sets out in advance a notice of this grandson of Noach, and the following story concerning Canaan is then highlighted. Our minds will normally turn to the Biblical descriptions of Canaan, the Land, and the various peoples that ADONAI intended to judge because of their sin. The Flood Story is bracketed by references to Noach and his three sons, Genesis 6:9-10; 9:18-19. There are two additional pieces of information given to us in this second reference. The first is a reference to a post-Flood third generation. Ham was the father of Canaan. This reference anticipates Genesis 10:6 where we find out that Canaan was the youngest and fourth son of Ham: , , , Canaan. Although no references have been made to it, the notation about Canaan is evidence that the divine imperative of Genesis 9:1 is already at work: Be abundantly fruitful and fill the earth." --Victor P. Hamilton, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, The Book of Genesis Chapters 1-17, p. 320.

- 1 - וַיָּחֶל נֹחַ אִישׁ הָאֲדָמָה :Our text begins in a very interesting way as it describes Noach "And Noach began to be a man of the earth." Rambam teaches that this phrase emphasizes that Noach was a farmer in contrast to others who were intent on building cities (a reference back to Cain). But the opening verb in the sentence, chalal, is interpreted by to mean "to חָלַל vayachel from the base verb וַיָּחֶל debase something, or to be debased," and connected with the phrase "the man of the earth," to mean that Noach craved wine and therefore he planted a vineyard chalal, can ,חָלַל before anything else and this led to his downfall. This verb mean "to begin" as in Genesis 4:26; 6:1. --Tim Hegg, 8, p. 1. Obviously Rashi is seeking to lay blame, find fault, and project a sinful intent upon Noach from the beginning. However, as Tim Hegg points out, there is no reason for doing this. Noach planted a vineyard, the first to do so according to our Scripture. Our passage itself neither condemns nor condones the actions of Noach, either in the planting of the vineyard nor in the over imbibing in the wine. Wine is said to be given to Israel to cheer the heart as in Judges 9:13; Psalm 104:15; and as a sedative as in Proverbs 31:6. Later Paul urges young Timothy to use wine medicinally, 1 Timothy 5:23. The use of wine, particularly in the ADONAI pronounced upon His Chosen People are resplendent. Wine in and of itself is not bad, wrong nor evil. The abuses of that which ADONAI has given us for good however, becomes sin. Such was Noach's in this case. The Scripture speaks much of the power of wine and strong drink. Proverbs 20:1; 31:4-7; 5:11 all outline the dangers of intoxication. But perhaps there is not a better picture in Scripture than Proverbs 23:29-35. As with any of the gifts and blessings of the LORD, they can be wonderful when used according to Torah and horrible when they are abused by man. Our text says that after Noach drank the wine, he became drunk and uncovered in the Hitpael form is reflexive, meaning you do ,גָּלָה ,himself. The Hebrew galal something to yourself, and thus "uncovered himself." Next, we are told that Ham, er'-vat, of his father. This word ,עֶרְוַת ,the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness means "nakedness, the genital area of a man or a woman." A secondary meaning is "shame," based upon the results of the fall when Adam and Chava covered themselves with fig leaves, because they were naked, Genesis 3:7, 21. Finally, we are told that Ham went outside of the tent and told his brothers. The sages are divided, as always, as to what this event was all about. Some

- 2 - explain the term ervah as shame and not nakedness, and the idea is that Ham enjoyed and made sport of his father’s drunkenness and dishevelment. That Canaan is the one who is cursed is conceived by the sages to mean that Canaan first saw , then ran told his father, who in turn, went and gazed upon Noach, and did not protest the indignity which Canaan had perpetrated upon Noach, for he castrated him. Others associate the first instance of homosexual activity based no doubt on the fact that Canaan settled the land of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, Genesis 10:15-20. Still another proposition is that Ham had relations with his mother while Noach was in a drunken stupor, and the result was the birth of Canaan. Habakkuk 2:15 and Lamentations 4:21 also mention exposure of nakedness by the inebriated. The act is associated with shame and with loss of human dignity, as Genesis 3:7, 21 make clear. In the privacy of his dwelling, not in public. This makes Ham’s behavior all the more contemptible. Although the cultivation of the vine implies a settled, nonnomadic community, Noah and his sons still reside in tents. The transition from nomadism to sedentary life is indicated.--JPS Torah Commentary, p. 65. Modern readers fail to see the gravity of Ham’s sin and ask what is wrong with gossiping or joking to your brothers about your parents’ failings? So attempts have been made to suggest Ham was guilty of incest or other sexual impropriety. But these notions are wrong and fail to appreciate how seriously the OT and other ancient cultures took filial duties. ‘Honour your father and mother’ comes next to the Godward commandments in Ex. 20, and striking or cursing your father or mother could be punished by death (Ex. 21:15, 17; cited by Jesus, Mk. 7:10).--New Bible Commentary, p. 66. There is most definitely a contrast set up between Ham, and . Shem and Japheth displayed reverential modesty, took a garment, and putting it over their shoulders, walked in backward, so as to cover the nakedness of their father, and turned their heads, so as not to gaze upon his nakedness. Our text in fact emphasizes by saying twice that their faces were backward, so that they did not see the nakedness of their father. To uncover the nakedness of a relative is considered to be a very bad sin in the Torah. But the concept of nakedness extends to the family unit, and not just to the patriarch of the family. Leviticus 18:6-23. Much of these verses seem to suggest

- 3 - the sexual contact between them. Hegg stated that "the nakedness of your father" is described in Leviticus 18:7 as the "nakedness of your mother," meaning the conjugal rights belonging to a husband in respect to his wife. Therefore, it is possible to understand this to mean that Ham watched Noach and his wife engage in marital relations, and perhaps even participated.-- Parashah 8, p. 2. While this is speculative, it is not completely out of the question. Hegg's focus is then on the new beginning, and the necessity to maintain appropriate male/female relationships, and to maintain the dignity of the family unit. Parental boundaries must be maintained and respected. Hegg also noted that nothing would have damaged the gene pool more than incest. Thus the privacy of the personal dwelling was violated, and perhaps the oneness of the marriage. This would destroy the foundation of the family unit as God created and intended. The very promise of the Redeemer would be in danger. Looking however, at the text, we find a counterpart to Ham seeing the nakedness, and Shem and Japheth not seeing the nakedness. Much of the foregoing speculation fails to see the parallel manner in which the text utilizes the basic Hebrew words. The basic phraseology is the same. This would support more the idea of simply seeing, gazing, and perhaps even gloating over the naked body of his father. ------Excursus on Modesty The Torah places great emphasis and priority upon Modesty. There is to be modesty of dress, modesty of the tongue, and modesty of actions. We are to be a people with firm boundaries of what we will look at, speak about, or do. There is a healthy respect for privacy, especially of the marriage bed. Expressions of intimacy are appropriate only between husband and wife and only in the privacy of their own home. Public display is to be avoided and shunned. Even casual, physical contact between the sexes is a breach of the first degrees of modesty. Our first impression when hearing the term “modesty” normally turns to the idea of a woman’s clothing. However, the Hebrew concept has more to do with how we behave than in what we put on, and is as much of a male issue as it is a female issue. Webster’s definition: Properly restrained by a sense of propriety; hence, not forward or bold; not presumptuous or arrogant; not boastful; not loose or lewd; moderate, sensible, not excessive or extreme, not extravagant, decent and pure in

- 4 - manners. Antonyms are loud, foolish, indecent, presumptuous, vile and haughty. Usually in most Torah pursuant communities, the idea of clothing is pretty well addressed already – loose fitting rather than tight and showing the outline of the body, high necklines, long skirts, and sleeves. A distinctly different image than what we see in the world around us. The idea of a head covering for both men and women also enters into this picture of modesty. Hair let loose is an attraction for many men, and thus the hair bound up is a protection to the woman. 1 Timothy 2:9-10; Romans 13:14; :3-5; Proverbs 7:6-13; 8:13-18. You can find people that are fully clothed, dressed modestly, whose mind and mouth reveal a preoccupation with the opposite sex and inappropriate remarks about body parts or activities. Inappropriate touch between people is another area to be careful about. Tickling one another may seem to be harmless enough, but when the hormones begin to flow at puberty, even a “harmless touch” can lead to something more. The most common place for on Modesty is Micah 6:8, where we are told to “walk humbly before our God.” The word tzanah, usually translated “modesty,” actually means “to be private, to do something in seclusion.” The form of the word tzeniut, is regularly translated as “hidden in its proper place.” There should also be a modesty in speech. How much of our own lives should we share with others? What of our bodily functions should we share with others? How much do we need to know about other people? There was an old saying from my neck of the woods when I was in High School, “That is crude, rude, mean, and socially unacceptable.” Today we have the anachronym, TMI, Too Much Information! Guarding our tongues is a matter of wisdom, self-control, but also of modesty. Proverbs 11:12, He who despises his neighbor lacks sense, but a man of understanding keeps silent. He who goes about as a talebearer reveals secrets, but he who is trustworthy conceals a matter. The concept of “conceal a matter” fits the idea of modesty. We don’t need to know everything about what is going on in your personal life. Some things just should not be repeated. Sometimes, sharing the result of your bodily functions, while normal, may be considered inappropriate by others around you. Modesty mandates

- 5 - that things which are to remain hidden remain hidden. 1 18:30, “…and behaved himself more wisely than all the servants of . So his name was highly esteemed.” The Hebrew word for “behaved” is sakal – to be prudent, to act wisely, to be considerate, to be discerning or act in a proper way. The idea here with David is to be reserved, to be discrete, cautious. We need to do this in regard to other people, and especially when gathered together as a Mishpochah. In Jewish cultural law, it is forbidden to be alone with someone of the opposite sex for more than a very minimal amount of time in a place that is inaccessible to the general public. It is forbidden by some Hasidic sects to remark about another person’s body parts, or their shape. Now, whether we are talking about how beautiful, attractive, or repulsive that shape is, neither is very appropriate to a godly mind. A person’s value or worth is not found in their external beauty or size or lack thereof. A person’s value is found in their relationship to God and other people. Coarse talk about a hot body or a hard body is not conducive to holiness. Neither is coarse jesting about how someone looks who is considered to be less fortunate due to size, disfigurment, etc. Open display of affection is forbidden in many modern sects of , even between husband and wife. This is considered to be a private matter, and kept to the home and bedroom. We are in a touchy-feely society, and some of us are more accustomed to this than others. What are the boundaries? It is Different for Each Person!! Have you ever noticed how some people have a very large personal space, and need for you not to violate it? Others have a very small personal space, and quite naturally have a physical contact during animated discussions. Most Christian Marriage Seminars intended on strengthening the marital relationships of its participants deal with this idea of a touchy-feely society. Most would have you refrain from any full, frontal hug from anyone other than your spouse, or perhaps a parent or child. This is considered a level of intimacy to be reserved for the marriage relationship. Kissing is ONLY for the marriage relationship. The Jewish teaching of yichud suggests from the time a little girl is 3 and a little boy is 9, they should not be touched, hugged, or coddled by anyone outside of their immediate family. Neither should our young men or male children seek such touch

- 6 - with the mature girls and ladies of the congregation. We are all about protecting the innocency of our children and our youth, the privacy of the human body itself, and everyone’s personal space. We need to develop a proper and healthy respect for the opposite sex for the future time of courtship, betrothal, and marriage. Some would go so far to diminish loud voices altogether, be they screaming, angry voices, or the hysterically laughing happy ones. This goes to the extreme. Whether in the home or at Shul, when we come together for , it is a time of Joy – a time of singing, dance, smiles, laughter, expressive joy in the Shabbat and in the LORD. However, it is also a time of holiness, a place of holiness, and reverence, purity, dignity, wisdom and sensibility. Titus 2:3-8. Just the idea of loud boisterous talk is considered immodest. It is not reserved only for the boasting of those proud of their accomplishments, as immodest as this is. But loud, boisterous jesting, loud laughter, can be obnoxious itself. None of the Traditional 613 commandments are referenced to this Torah portion even though several are found in it. ------Genesis 9:24-27 Back to the Text This is the first example in the Bible of Parental and Cursing. We are told that once Noach awakened from his drunken stupor, that he knew what his youngest son had done to him. That Ham is here identified as the youngest son is interesting, for in listing the three sons Ham is seen to be the middle son, assuming most such lists go from the oldest to the youngest. This description implies a tradition that makes Ham the youngest despite the five-times repeated sequence: Shem, Ham, Japheth. Ramban points to Genesis 25:9 and Joshua 24:4 as proof that the order of listing need not always reflect the order of birth. In 10:21, the text explicitly states that Shem is the elder brother of Japheth.--JPS Torah Commentary, p. 66. Probably the best solution is Cassuto’s, who holds that the order Shem, Ham and Japhet is not chronological but euphonic., In pairs of words Hebrew tends to put ;”grace and mercy“ חן וחסד ”,day and night“ יום ולילה ,.the short word first, e.g hence “Shem, Ham, and Japhet” came more easily than “Japhet, Shem, and

- 7 - Ham” or “Shem, Japhet, and Ham.”--Word Biblical Commentary, p. 201. It is to be assumed that Shem and Japheth related what Ham had said to them. Ham sinned and Cannan is cursed! It has been suggested that God had already blessed the 3 sons, and so the curse is carried out upon Ham’s progeny. Noach prophesied the great curse upon the descendants of Ham. It is more generally thought that the curse on Canaan is because he is the one who instigated the whole tragedy. The descendants of Canaan include all the evil people that would be driven out of the Holy Land by Israel as they inherited the land. Genesis 10:15-20 list the various people groups, including the , Amorite, Girgashite, Hivite, the Arkite, the Sinite, etc. These names are remembered as the People of Israel displace them from the land of Canaan. And the territory includes Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboim. Interestingly it does not mention Zoar here, the one town spared at Lot’s request. To understand the words of Noah with reference to his sons (vv. 25-27), we must bear in mind, on the one hand, that as the moral nature of the patriarch was transmitted by generation to his descendants, so the diversities of character in the sons of Noah foreshadowed diversities in the moral inclinations of the tribes of which they were the head; and on the other hand, that Noah, through the Spirit and power of that God with whom he walked, discerned in the moral nature of his sons, and the different tendencies which they already displayed, the germinal commencement of the future course of their posterity, and uttered words of blessing and of curse, which were prophetic of the history of the tribes that descended from them. In the sin of Ham “there lies the great stain of the whole Hamitic race, whose chief characteristic is sexual sin” (Ziegler ); and the curse which Noah pronounced upon this sin still rests upon the race. It was not Ham who was cursed, however, but his son Canaan. Ham had sinned against his father, and he was punished in his son. But the reason why Canaan was the only son named, is not to be found in the fact that Canaan was the youngest son of Ham, and Ham the youngest son of Noah, as Hofmann supposes. The latter is not an established fact; and the purely external circumstance, that Canaan had the misfortune to be the youngest son, could not be a just reason for cursing him alone. The real reason must either lie in the fact that Canaan was already walking in the steps of his father’s impiety and sin, or else be sought in the name Canaan, in which Noah discerned, through the gift of prophecy, a significant omen; a supposition decidedly favoured by the analogy of the blessing

- 8 - pronounced upon Japhet, which is also founded upon the name. Canaan does not signify lowland, nor was it transferred, as many maintain, from the land to its inhabitants; it was first of all the name of the father of the tribe, from whom it was transferred to his descendants, and eventually to the land of which they took to stoop or כָּנַע possession. The meaning of Canaan is “the submissive one,” from submit, Hiphil, to bend or subjugate (Deut. 9:3; Judg. 4:23, etc.). “Ham gave his son the name from the obedience which he required, though he did not render it himself. The son was to be the servant (for the name points to servile obedience) of a father who was as tyrannical towards those beneath him, as he was refractory towards those above. The father, when he gave him the name, thought only of submission to his own commands. But the secret providence of God, which rules in all such things, had a different submission in view” (Hengstenberg, Christol. i. 28, transl.). “Servant of servants (i.e., the lowest of slaves, vid., Ewald, § 313) let him become to his brethren.” Although this curse was expressly pronounced upon Canaan alone, the fact that Ham had no share in Noah’s blessing, either for himself or his other sons, was a sufficient proof that his whole family was included by implication in the curse, even if it was to fall chiefly upon Canaan. And history confirms the supposition. The Canaanites were partly exterminated, and partly subjected to the lowest form of slavery, by the Israelites, who belonged to the family of Shem; and those who still remained were reduced by to the same condition (1 Kings 9:20, 21). The Phoenicians, along with the Carthaginians and the Egyptians, who all belonged to the family of Canaan, were subjected by the Japhetic Persians, Macedonians, and Romans; and the remainder of the Hamitic tribes either shared the same fate, or still sigh, like the negroes, for example, and other African tribes, beneath the yoke of the most crushing slavery.--Keil & Delitzsch. The actual Hebrew of the curse, “A slave of slaves.” They were indeed steeped in a culture of slavery and did not find freedom. The full blessing puts Canaan as the slave to both Shem and Japheth, which we have already seen in Keil & Delitzsch's note. Noach did not bless Shem directly, but rather blessed ADONAI, the God of Shem. The blessing indicated the nature and striving of Shem. The standard-bearers of Shem would be Israel, for whom the primary goal of life is to serve God and increase His glory in the world. God is the universal God of all creation and of all mankind, not only Shem’s God. However, God is especially revealed in their

- 9 - history. The phrasing of the blessing corresponds to that used by ’s servant in Genesis 24:27 and conforms to the later, standard liturgical formula “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,” which may be a spontaneous outpouring of religious feeling or an expression of thanksgiving.--JPS Torah Commentary, p. 67. has an interesting definition depending upon its ,שֵׁם ,The Hebrew word Shem context. This is the same basic word meaning "name," and so we have the Baruch haba b'shem ADONAI, using this same basic word. According to HALOT this word appears some 864 times in the Scripture. A secondary meaning, again according to HALOT, is that of a people: Shem is the father of the Semitic peoples. The Semitic peoples include the present day middle eastern nations, including Arabia. - Although he is the fourth generation from Shem, he receives special mention here because he is the ancestor both of Israel and of a variety of peoples with whom Israelite history is closely intertwined. According to later genealogies in Genesis, these include Arameans, Ammonites, Moabites, Midianites, the Ishmaelite tribes, and Edomites. One would expect these descendants of Eber to be called “Hebrews” (Heb. ʿivrim). Nevertheless, it is strange that of all the above-mentioned peoples, only the line of Abraham through Isaac and Jacob is so designated.--JPS Torah Commentary, p. 78. Shem is the ancestor of diverse peoples, both Semitic — to whom he lends his name — and non-Semitic (Elam), who inhabited various areas (Gen. 10:21-31; 11:10-26). Shem is also the ancestor of the Hebrews (through Eber) and hence the forefather of Abraham. Perhaps for this reason Sirach calls him “honored” (Sir. 49:16); Luke explicitly mentions him in the genealogy of Jesus (Luke 3:36).--Eerdman's Bible Dictionary, p. 1204-1205. Japheth was blessed with beauty and sensitivity; Shem was blessed with holiness and the divine presence. The blessing of Japheth took root in ancient Greece and the culture it spawned, while the blessing of Shem rested on Israel and its immersion into God and the Torah. Japheth’s blessing is beautiful only when placed at the service of the Spiritual Truth represented by Shem. This is also a prophecy of the ingathering of the Gentiles into the commonwealth of Israel. The specific prophecy is for Japheth to “dwell in the tents of Shem.” The Hebrew

- 10 - Shachan. From the root of this word we get the derivative word, Mishkan, the Tabernacle of God in the wilderness. The verb Shachan is most often used of God dwelling with His people Israel. The idea is that of nearness and closeness. Thus is the idea of being grafted in, becoming a part of the people of Shem. This then serves as a precursor for the statement of Yeshua, that salvation is of or from the . The specific mention of Shem outlines that the seed promised to the woman would come through the lineage of Shem. Further it would come through the lineage of Eber, but further still, specifically through the lineage of Avraham. However, many interpret this blessing differently. The question is, Who is the He of the second clause of v. 27? Does this he refer to Japheth, or does it refer to ADONAI, the Shechinah? The Shechinah is understood to dwell only in the tents of Shem, and this is the understanding of such noted scholars as Philo, Rashi, Ibn Ezra, Keil and Delitzsch, and Walter Kaiser. This is the way the Targum Onkelos understands it as well. This is itself a foregone conclusion, and may well be a reading back into the text. ADONAI most definitely and distinctly dwelt among Israel. We recognize from later Scripture that the Presence of God dwelling in the midst of His Chosen Peo- ple Israel is a singular dwelling, the Mishkan, and later the Heical, at a singular place, Mount Moriah in . We would also expect Yod He Vav He as the one dwelling, but in our present text it is ADONAI, and the dwelling is plural in the tents of Japheth. Chapter 9 ends with the acknowledgment of the life span of Noach - 950 years. The Chumash points out that Noach was born in the year 1056 from Creation, the Flood occurred in 1656, and he died in 2006, ten years after the Dispersion of Genesis 11. Abraham was born in 1948; thus he knew Noach and was 58 years old when Noach died. They describe then a word of mouth tradition span- ning only four people: Adam, Lamech, Noach and Abraham. Similarly, Moshe through whom the Torah was given, saw Kohath, who saw Jacob, who saw Abra- ham. Accordingly, there were not more than seven people who carried the tradi- tion firsthand from Adam to the generation that received the Torah, Abarbanel.-- The Schottenstein Edition Interlinear Chumash, Bereshis, p. 50. Chapter 10:1-32 outlines the beginnings of the nations of the world, the descen- dants of Shem, Ham and Japheth. There is a list of a total of 70 names, a number

- 11 - that stands for totality and for completion, as we see in the 70 years of Exile planned by ADONAI for Israel, and for the expression of Yeshua in response to Sh'mon Kefa concerning forgiveness, when He said, 'seventy times seven.' Thus "seventy peoples" or "seventy languages" express humanity in its entirety, and re- veals the common ancestry of all the people of the earth. The Talmudic tradition is that there are 70 primary nations, based upon this list of Noach's descendants. The point of all of this listing however, focuses down on the next villain of the Scripture, mighty . More is said of him than of anyone else in Chapter 10. This is setting the stage for Chapter 11. The Chumash states that before Nimrod there were neither wars nor reigning monarchs. He subju- gated the Babylonians until they crowned him; after which he sent to Assyria and build great cities.--Chumash, p. 51. However, before we get to Nimrod we find an outline of various important nations and people groups germane to the rest of the Scripture. We will take a brief look at the more important ones as pointed out in the commentaries. The geographic hori- zon of this roster of peoples roughly encompasses the vast territory that stretches from the Caucasus in the north to Arabia in the south, from the Iranian plateau in the east to the island of Crete, and perhaps beyond, in the west—all from the perspective of one centered in Canaan, the future , which is where three geographic arcs intersect. The arc of Japhethites covers approximately the areas to the north and west of the land, including Asia Minor, the Greek main- land, and the islands of the eastern Mediterranean. That of the Hamites, by far the most extensive, comprises the great river civilizations of the Nile and the Eu- phrates, as well as the areas both west and east of the Nile Delta and also some parts of Arabia in the south. The Shemite arc embraces the area stretching from the Iranian mountains into northern and Syria and down into the Arabian Peninsula....The peoples listed amount precisely to seventy, excluding Nimrod, who is an individual. There are fourteen Japhethites, thirty Hamites, and twenty-six Shemites.--JPS Torah Commentary, p. 68. Japheth is the progenitor of the more northerly nations of the world, and begins with the listing of 7 sons and 7 grandsons. The names Gomer, Magog, Tubal, Meshech, and Togarmah figure later in the battles with Gog and Magog, who come against ADONAI and against Israel. From the more ancient geographers and histo- rians, these are contained more in the area of Modern Turkey, up to the Black Sea,

- 12 - and possibly over to the Caspian Sea. Many associate Tubal with Tubal-Cain, the son of Cain. Togarmah is specifically related to Armenia. Madai is derived from Old Persian Mada, it refers to the land and people of the Medes in the mountainous country east of Mesopotamia, west of the Caspian Sea, and south of the Zagros Mountains, now northwestern Iran. In biblical texts, such as Isaiah 13:17 and 21:2 and Jeremiah 51:11, 28, Madai includes the Persians as well. They are frequently mentioned by Assyrian kings from the ninth century B.C.E. on. Javan is associated with the Ionians, a branch of the Greek people, who colonized the west coast of Asia Minor. They are similarly listed together with Tubal and Meshech in 27:13, where they are described as traffickers in slaves and traders in bronze vessels. Ashkenaz Doubtless identical with the Ashkuzai or Ishkuza of Assyrian texts. They were an Indo-European nomadic people, expert in cavalry and archery, who inhabited the area between the Black and Caspian seas. The Greeks called them “Scythians.” Jeremiah 51:24 mentions them in association with Ararat and with Minni, who are the Mannai of Assyrian texts, both of which peoples are located in Armenia. Since the , “Ashkenaz” has been used by Jews as a designation for . The descents of Javan are listed in two pairs, the first being place-names, the second ethnic designations. All four are located west of the preceding group, beyond the mainland of Asia Minor. Elishah - Ezekiel 27:7 refers to “the coasts of Elishah” as a source for the export of blue and purple cloth to the city of Tyre in Phoenicia. Doubtless, Elishah is Alashiya, frequently mentioned in Egyptian, Hittite, and Akkadian texts of the second millennium B.C.E. in reference to Cyprus or to part of that island, perhaps to Enkomi and the area under its control on the east coast of the island. Tarshish - This is one of the most enigmatic place-names in the Bible. With the exception of a Phoenician inscription from Nora, Sardinia, it is not found in extrabiblical sources. Jonah 1:3 shows that it must be accessible via the Mediterranean Sea. Ezekiel 27:12 indicates that it was a place from which silver, iron, tin, and lead were exported. Three Mediterranean coastal cities bear names that resemble Tarshish: Tarsus, the chief city of Cilicia in southeast Asia Minor;

- 13 - Tartessus, on the Iberian Peninsula west of the Straits of Gibraltar; and Tharros, in the western part of the isle of Sardinia. Only in the last two were all the aforementioned metals mined. The oft-mentioned “ships of Tarshish” would be oceangoing vessels that sailed to far-off Tarshish. But in 1 Kings 22:49 these ships are at Ezion-geber on the Red Sea; clearly, the term had lost its original meaning. According to one view, tarshish is simply a Semitic term for a metal refinery, deriving from Akkadian rashashu, “to melt, smelt.” A “tarshish ship” would then be a vessel capable of transporting metals, that is, one able to sail the open sea. Another view derives the name from Greek taros, “an oar,” or complex of oars, that is, a great oceangoing ship propelled by sets of oars. A third suggestion connects the term with Hebrew tirosh, “wine,” a poetic description of the sea as “wine dark,” as used in the Homeric epics, with the secondary meaning of oceangoing vessel. the Kittim - The inhabitants of Kition, present-day Larnaca on the southeast coast of Cyprus. The Phoenicians called it kitt or kitti. The name was gradually extended to designate the entire island. Before the Phoenicians colonized it in the ninth century B.C.E., it had been inhabited first by Minoans, then by Mycenaeans in the second half of the second millennium B.C.E. By the twelfth century most parts of the island had been settled by Greeks, a situation reflected in the present genealogy. the Dodanim - The associated names require that this refers to a people in the area of the Aegean islands, but no such is presently known there. The Targums Jonathan and Yerushalmi render “dardenaya,” which suggests the inhabitants of the town of Dardania in Asia Minor in the region of classical Troy. The parallel text in 1 Chronicles 1:7 reads “Rodanim,” which is also the text of the Greek Septuagint translation, the Samaritan recension, and many Hebrew manuscripts. This would refer to the Isle of Rhodes, which certainly fits the context. Genesis Rabba 37:1 makes note of these variant readings, which may be attributed to the graphic similarity of the Hebrew letters resh and dalet. Thus were the Japhethites. Next, is listed for us the Hamites: These comprise four primary subgroupings, listed from south to north. The first three are situated in Africa, while the last constitutes the land bridge between Africa and Asia. The principal Hamitic components formed the Egyptian Empire

- 14 - during the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Dynasties (ca. 1552–ca. 1200 B.C.E.). The list contains seven Cushite peoples, seven peoples connected with , seven Mesopotamian cities, five peoples associated with Canaan, and six Phoenician- Syrian cities. Cush - Here the term is restricted to the region known as Kash or Kesh in Egyptian, roughly covering Nubia or northern Sudan, south of Egypt. Mizraim - This is the usual Hebrew word for Egypt, but here, in light of verse 14, it specifically refers to Lower Egypt, from the Mediterranean Sea to Memphis, as also in Isaiah 11:11 and Jeremiah 44:1. Put - This originally must have been the name of a Libyan tribe or district, then used for the entire land of Libya, west of Egypt. Elsewhere in the Bible, the Greek Septuagint renders Put by “Libya.” Canaan - As in the previous chapter, Canaan is the “son” of Ham, meaning that it is closely affiliated with Egypt. This was especially the case in the period of the Egyptian Empire, when it was designated “the Province of Canaan” and when the petty kingdoms or city-states within the country were vassals of Pharaoh. The geographic boundaries of Canaan are given in verse 19. The term “Canaanite” is already found in an eighteenth century B.C.E. document found at Mari. The Descendants of Cush: Three groups ethnically and geographically distinct— African, Arabian, and Mesopotamian—are all subsumed under the Hamites because they all happen to bear similar sounding names. In addition, historical considerations seem to have entered into the classification. It is known that from very early times, the African and Asian shores of the Red Sea, particularly at its southern part, engaged in active and reciprocal sea commerce. South Arabians crossed the Bab el-Mandeb as traders and colonists and greatly influenced the culture on the western side. The connection with Mesopotamia is discussed below. Seba - This name is associated with Egypt and Cush also in Isaiah 43:3 and 45:14, but the location is unknown. In 72:10 it is paired with Sheba, which also appears in the present list. It is possible that the two forms, Seba and Sheba, are dialectic variants of the same name and refer to one tribe that split up. Seba would designate the African branch. Sabtah - This may refer to Shabwat, the ancient capital of Hadramaut in southern

- 15 - Arabia, but that region is listed in verse 26 as Shemitic. Sheba - Ezekiel 38:13 also connects Sheba with Dedan. Since the latter can be located in northern Arabia, it is reasonable to suppose that the Sheba mentioned with it is situated in the same area and that the reference here is not to the kingdom of that name in southern Arabia with which Solomon had commercial connections. That Sheba is listed in verse 28. Dedan - The Dedanites are caravaneers and traders, according to Isaiah 21:13 and Ezekiel 27:15, 20. Cuneiform texts mention them as early as the Old Babylonian and III periods (2113–2006 b.c.e.), and Dedan can now be identified with the present-day oasis of Al-ʾUla in northern Arabia. This was a major center of the spice trade and an important station along the international trade route. Special attention is given to Nimrod, both in the text and in the commentaries: -we will revolt,” points to some violent resis“ ,מָרַד The name itself, Nimrod from tance to God. It is so characteristic that it can only have been given by his con- temporaries, and thus have become a proper name. In addition to this, Nimrod as a mighty hunter founded a powerful kingdom; and the founding of this king- dom is shown by the verb to have been the consequence or result of his strength in hunting, so that the hunting was most intimately connected with the establish- ment of the kingdom. Hence, if the expression “a mighty hunter” relates primar- ily to hunting in the literal sense, we must add to the literal meaning the figura- tive signification of a “hunter of men” (“trapper of men by stratagem and force,” Herder ); Nimrod the hunter became a tyrant, a powerful hunter of men. This course of life gave occasion to the proverb, “like Nimrod, a mighty hunter against the Lord,” which immortalized not his skill in hunting beasts, but the success of his hunting of men in the establishment of an imperial kingdom by tyranny and power. But if this be the meaning of the proverb, “in the face of Je- hovah” can only mean in defiance of Jehovah, as and the Targums un- derstand it. And the proverb must have arisen when other daring and rebellious men followed in Nimrod’s footsteps, and must have originated with those who saw in such conduct an act of rebellion against the God of salvation, in other .Keil & Delitzsch־־.words, with the possessors of the divine promises of grace John Phillips declares that Nimrod enabled men to break away from the shack- les of true religion which bound them to God. Nimrod's empire was founded at Babel - the word is Semitic and means "the gate of god." After the dispersion of

- 16 - the nations, became a great city ruling over the destinies of men. Wher- ever they went they took the Babylonian pagan mystery religious system. Phillips described Nimrod's wife as the actual founder of pagan religion.--John Phillips, Exploring Genesis, p. 101. Our text then lists the various geographic areas united under Nimrod. We will look a bit more at some of the Jewish thought concerning Nimrod as we get to the . The 4 place names with which we are familiar are: Babylon, , Assyria, and . Erech - The Sumerian city-state Uruk, now Warka on the east side of the , about 40 miles (64 km.) up the river from Ur in southern Iraq. The Sumerian King List gives this city as the seat of the second dynasty of kings after the flood, the third monarch of which was Gilgamesh. Accad - The Sumerian King List reports that Uruk was defeated, and its kingship carried off to Akkad. This city, called agade in Sumerian, became the center of the kingdom of Akkad founded by the famous Sargon (ca. 2300 b.c.e.), who established a dynasty that lasted about 150 years. The site of this city, somewhere on the Euphrates, has not been located. Eventually its name came to embrace the whole of northern Babylonia as opposed to Sumer in the south. “Akkadian” now signifies the Semitic Assyrian and Babylonian languages. Calneh - The only name in this list that never appears in Akkadian inscriptions. It cannot refer to the city mentioned in 6:2 and called Calno in Isaiah 10:9 because that is situated in northern Syria, not in Mesopotamia. A widely accepted suggestion is to read ve-khullanah, “all of them being. . .,” which is also an ancient Samaritan tradition. The advantage of this interpretation is that verses 10–12 list exactly seven Mesopotamian cities, another example of the heptad pattern in the Table of Nations. Shinar - The land of Babylonia, embracing Sumer and Akkad and bounded on the north by Assyria, modern southern Iraq. This name was not used in Mesopotamia itself but is frequently found in one form or another in Egyptian, Hittite, Mitannian, and Amarna texts to designate the Kassite kingdom of Babylon (ca. 1595–1160 B.C.E.). Either Asshur or Nimrod could be the subject of the Hebrew verb yatsaʾ, “went forth.” 8 The latter is preferable, and the text would thus be rendered, “From

- 17 - that land, he (i.e., Nimrod) went forth to Asshur.” This reading is supported by Micah 5:5, which terms Assyria “the land of Nimrod,” and it is also how Targum Jonathan and Bekhor Shor understand the text. “Asshur” is then a geographical name, parallel to “Shinar,” the two referring respectively to Upper and Lower Mesopotamia. The passage reflects the verifiable historical fact that, in its early period, Assyria was long under the domination and religious, linguistic, and cul- tural influence of Sumer and Akkad, a debt it freely acknowledged.--JPS Torah Commentary, p. 74. Vv. 13-14 outline for us the area of Egypt. The particular word here that is infor- mative for us is Philistine, when we come to the times of King Saul and King David. Deuteronomy 2:23 tells us that the Caphtorim settled in the area of Gaza in later times, which is verified as by Amos 9:7; Jeremiah 47:4. Egypt maintained garrisons in Gaza during their strong periods. is typically as- sociated with Crete. Vv. 15-20 outline for us the tribal names and the geography of the land of Canaan. Later listings of the people groups which Israel was to completely annihilate, and cleanse the land of their sin, don't all agree, and don't agree with this listing. The nature of the number of nations may well simply be a literary device as is often the case with the number 7, to indicate the fullness of those who had polluted the land. We have dealt already with the name Eber above. Elam - The ancient name for modern Khuzistan in southwestern Iran in the Iranian Plateau east of Babylon and northeast of the Persian Gulf. Its capital was Susa, the biblical Shushan of 1:2–5. Elam is the most easterly country in the Table. Asshur - The city of Asshur on the Tigris in Upper Mesopotamia gave its name to the surrounding territory, which became known as Assyria. Asshur-uballit I (ca. 1356–1321 B.C.E.) was the first monarch to be called “king of the land of Assyria.” Arpachshad - This name is a puzzle. A tradition from Second Temple times connects the last three Hebrew consonants with Chesed of 22:22, the eponymous ancestor of the Chaldeans (Heb. kasdim, Akk. kashdu). This was the name of a seminomadic Aramean tribe that inhabited the desert regions between northern Arabia and the Persian Gulf. As a geographical term, it was first applied to the southern part of Mesopotamia but was eventually used for the whole of Babylonia. The first element of the name—Arpa—might be Arip, which is frequently found in

- 18 - Hurrian proper names. Lud - This cannot be the same people as the Ludim of verse 13. It may refer to Lydia, a region on the west coast of Asia Minor, but its known history does not begin until the middle of the seventh century B.C.E., and it would be expected to be classified under the Japhethites. Aram - It is unclear whether this term applies here to a specific tribe or to the wider confederation of Aramean tribes that were Western Semites. The patriarchs of Israel maintained close family connections with Arameans in Aram-naharaim and Paddan-aram. This is clear from Genesis 25:20; 28:5; 31:18, 20–24. In fact, according to Deuteronomy 26:5, the Israelite farmer annually declared at the festival of first fruits, “My father was a fugitive Aramean.” Of the four subdivisions of Aram, only Uz is otherwise known. In 1 Chronicles 1:17 he and the other three are sons of Shem and brothers of Aram. In Genesis 22:21, Uz is Aram’s uncle. The present Table, which makes him a son, reflects the historic reality of a later time, when Aram had overwhelmed the Uzzites and incorporated them into the Aramean tribal league. Two regions named Uz are mentioned, one northeast of Canaan near Har(r)an and another between Edom and northern Arabia, referred to in Genesis 36:29, apparently the homeland of Job, Job 1:2. Josephus locates Hul in Armenia. Mash may be the mountains of Lebanon and the Ante-Lebanon; they are called Mashu in the Gilgamesh Epic. Peleg - His descendants are listed in Genesis 11:18–28. The name can mean “water channel” (Akk. palgu) and so may refer to an area of land watered by irrigation canals. A geographic lexicon from the city of Ebla in Syria, deriving from ca. 2500 B.C.E., includes a place named Palag. the earth was divided - Hebrew niflegah is a play on peleg. Traditionally, this has been taken as a reference to the confusion of languages and the dispersal of mankind described in the next chapter. Hence, the rabbinic term dor ha-pallagah, “the generation of the dispersal/confusion of speech,” an interpretation perhaps supported by Psalms 55:10. However, the verb p-l-g is used neither in Genesis 11:7–9 nor here in verse 32. Accordingly, “the dividing of the earth” more likely has some other reference, possibly the development of agriculture by irrigation canals, or some historic split-up of tribes, or even an earthquake. Bekhor Shor observes that from Peleg on the life spans of the patriarchs listed in Genesis 11:11– 32 are all in the two-hundred-year range and less, whereas his predecessors lived at

- 19 - least four hundred years. He therefore interprets the phrase to mean that the human life span was halved. This list from Joktan is extraordinary, both for its unparalleled extent and because the Joktanites are here said to be descended from the same stock as the Israelites, which is itself remarkable since their settlements, where identifiable, are located in the southwest corner of the Arabian Peninsula. Furthermore, most of the names are not the same as the Arab tribes mentioned in Assyrian inscriptions from the ninth century B.C.E. on. All these peculiarities suggest that behind this list is some lost history of relationships, probably of a commercial nature in connection with the spice trade, between Israel and the Arabian tribes. Incidentally, the name Joktan (Heb. yoktan) can mean “diminution” and may hide some now forgotten word play corresponding to that on the name of his brother Peleg. It is noteworthy that the names of several areas in Arabia are formed from the stem k-t-n, such as Qatna. Almodad - The element modad means “beloved one,” the same as in Medad of Numbers 11:26. It occurs as a divine epithet in Ugaritic. The first syllable may either represent ʾel, “god,” or Arabic ʾal, “family.” Sheleph - Possibly the same as a Yemenite tribe Shalph or the Arabic place-name Salph between Yemen and Hadramaut. Hazarmaveth - This well-known kingdom mentioned in South Arabic inscriptions is the present-day Hadramaut on the southern coast east of Yemen. Jerah - Omitted in the list of 1 Chronicles 1:20–24, which has twelve Joktanite tribes in all. This may be the region of Yemen known as Warah. In Hebrew and in South Arabic inscriptions, yrh ̣ means “month.” Hadoram - The first element is an epithet of the god Baal, the name meaning “[the god] Had is exalted.” A modern place-name Dauraum near Sanʿa, capital of Yemen, is known. Uzal - A late Arab tradition of doubtful validity identifies Uzal as the old name for Sanʿa. Diklah - Probably derived from dekel, “a palm tree,” and the name of some oasis in Yemen. Obal - Omitted in the Septuagint, which has a twelve-tribe list. ʿAbil is a common place-name in Yemen.

- 20 - Abimael - An unknown name that means “My Father is indeed God.” Sheba - This is the kingdom in southern Arabia, frequently mentioned in Assyrian royal inscriptions, with which King Solomon formed relationships. Ophir - A “brother” of Havilah, which is a source of gold according to Genesis 2:11–12. Ophir is consistently cited in the Bible for its gold. An ostracon found at Tell Qasileh on the River Yarkon northeast of Tel Aviv reads, “Gold from Ophir for Beth Horon 30 .” Since the biblical sources indicate that Ophir was accessible by ship, it was most likely located somewhere on the shores of the Red Sea. Havilah - This area is associated with Pishon, Genesis 2:11-12 but is an unknown name. It is said to be a meandering river associated with “the land of Havilah.” If this latter name is Hebrew, it means “sandy land.” There are two biblical sites identified by the name Havilah, one within the Egyptian sphere of influence, the other in Arabia. Here the place is described as a source of gold and precious materials. Jobab - No satisfactory identification for the name has been found. Mesha - This may be the same as Massa of Genesis 25:14, but that appears to be in northern Arabia, and a southerly location, otherwise unknown, is indicated here. Sephar - The word means “border” in postbiblical Hebrew. The reference may be to Zạ far, a port city and center of the spice trade in Hadramaut, or to a place southwest of Sanʿa. The afore mentioned descriptions are taken from the JPS Torah Commentary and supplemented at times from Keil & Delitzsch. The Table of Nations is brought to an end with v. 32. Geographically this list has gone as far East as Persia, as far South as Ethiopia and the Arabian peninsula, as far North as Anatolia (modern Turkey), and as far West as Crete and Libya. The theological value of this table is that it affirms Israel as part of one world governed by one God. In this world He has chosen Israel to be His own, and to carry the knowledge of Him throughout that world. By placing the Tower of Ba- bel incident just prior to the patriarchal stories, the biblical writer is suggesting that post-Flood humanity is just as iniquitous as Pre-Flood humanity. God is

- 21 - now placing forth hope in a with Noach as a powerful solution to sin- fulness.--Hamilton, pp. 347-8.

- 22 - - 23 -