Genesis 10:1-32 (1/14/15)

Genesis 10:1 (NKJV) 1 Now this is the genealogy of the sons of : , , and . And sons were born to them after the flood.

This chapter is known as “The Table of Nations” and it is given to explain how the earth was repopulated after the Flood by the descendants of the three sons of Noah.

I. Japheth—v.2-5

Of the three sons of Noah, Japheth has the least descendants listed (14)—however what is listed is very important to us—if for no other reason than that Japheth is our ancestor, the father of what are called the Indo-European peoples.

Indo- has to do with India or the countries to be found in that general direction when moving eastward from the Middle East.

European has to do with the peoples of the European continent.

And while we typically don’t think of these two areas and people groups being connected, in the 1800’s linguists discovered that the languages in these two areas are related, requiring a common-language ancestor—which means these two people groups were at one time together.

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Genesis 10:2-5 (NKJV) 2 The sons of Japheth were , , , , , , and . 3 The sons of Gomer were , , and . 4 The sons of Javan were , , , and . 5 From these the coastland peoples of the Gentiles were separated into their lands, everyone according to his language, according to their families, into their nations.

A. Gomer

The first of Japheth’s sons is Gomer. We are told that he had three sons: Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah.

The ancient historians, Herodotus, Strabo, and Plutarch, tell us that Gomer’s descendants settled to the north of the , giving their name to the ancient district known as the Cimmeria (modern day Crimea).

Later they expanded westward into Europe and settled in France, Spain, Briton, Wales and Ireland.

1. Ashkenaz

Nearly all commentators agree that the descendants of Gomer’s son Ashkenaz settled to the north of Israel above what is called the Fertile Crescent.

Some of these people later moved into —the identify Ashkenaz with the Germans to this day—and some are called .

2. Riphath

Little can be said about Riphath, though , the Jewish historian, identifies him as the ancestor of the Paphalagonians.

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Paphalagonia is an area located in north central which is located on the southern coast of the Black Sea.

Some scholars believe the word ‘Europe’ comes from the name Riphath although it’s not obvious from the English.

3. Togarmah

Togarmah is almost certainly the ancestor of the ancient (Turkey and ).

Armenians to this day still refer to themselves as the ‘house of Togarmah’.

B. Magog, Tubal, Meshech

The next three of Japheth’s sons (Magog, Tubal, and Meshech) should be taken together because together they settled in the far north from Israel which is today known as Russia.

The (modern Russians) trace their ancestry back to Magog.

The historian Herodotus tells us that in his day the descendants of Meshech and Tubal lived in the province of Pontus in northern Turkey.

Later these tribes migrated north and east settling in the area around the Black Sea which today is modern Russia.

Meshech is preserved in the name Muscovy (the former name of Russia) and Moscow.

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Tubal is preserved in the name Tobolsk which is located on the Tobol River—the historic capital of Siberia.

The ancestors of Magog, Tubal, and Meshech were to become very important in Bible prophecy.

Ezekiel 38:2-3 (NKJV) 2 "Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh (from which the name Russia comes), Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him, 3 and say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. (Comment)

C. Madai

So far we have only looked at the European half of the Indo-European family of Japheth.

The next name gives us the other half—Madai, the ancestor of the Medes.

The Medes settled into what is now Persia—at one time the Medes and the Persians ruled the known world before being conquered by the .

D. Javan

Of the seven sons of Japheth, more is said about the fourth son, Javan, than any other.

Genesis 10:4-5 (NKJV) 4 The sons of Javan were Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim. 5 From these the coastland peoples of the Gentiles were separated into their lands, everyone according to his language, according to their families, into their nations.

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1. Elishah became the father of the Greeks;

2. Tarshish was the father of the Spanish and North Africans;

3. Kittim is a reference to Cyprus and to some extent with those that lived on Greek mainland;

4. Dodanim became the ancestor of the people of Rhodes—one of the Greek Islands.

E. Tiras

The last of Japheth’s sons is Tiras who, according to Josephus, became the ancestor of the and perhaps eventually the Etruscans—they settled in modern Italy.

II. Ham—v.6-20

Genesis 10:6 (NKJV) 6 The sons of Ham were , , , and .

Ham became the father of those that settled in Africa and the Far East (all oriental countries).

According to Genesis 10, Ham had four sons: Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan.

The third son, Put, is not mentioned again but scholars have traced his descendants to Libya in North Africa west of .

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A. Cush

Cush had six sons—five are listed together and one, , is singled out for special mention—

Genesis 10:7-12 (NKJV) 7 The sons of Cush were Seba, , Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabtechah; and the sons of Raamah were and Dedan (Cush’s grandsons). 8 Cush begot Nimrod; he began to be a mighty one on the earth. 9 He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; therefore it is said, "Like Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD." 10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. 11 From that land he went to and built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah, 12 and Resen between Nineveh and Calah (that is the principal city).

The area of Nimrod’s kingdom covers modern day Iraq.

I want to spend some time talking about Nimrod—so we’ll come back to him.

B. Mizraim

Seven names are associated with Mizraim—these are not individuals but rather people groups (the ‘im’ on the end of each name makes it plural).

Genesis 10:13-14 (NKJV) 13 Mizraim begot Ludim, Anamim, Lehabim, Naphtuhim, 14 , and (from whom came the and Caphtorim).

In the Bible Mizraim is the customary name for Egypt—which means that even though we can’t place all of his descendant (like the Ludites, etc) scholars believe that they spread out from Egypt and settled the continent of Africa.

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It says in v.14 that from Casluhim, one of Mizraim’s sons came the Philistines and the Caphtorim—those who lived on the Island of Crete.

In the 12th century B.C. the Philistines eventually conquered and occupied the coastal region that today extends from the Gaza Strip in the south to Tel Aviv to the north of the modern State of Israel.

This area was first called ‘Palestine’ (‘rolling’ or ‘migratory’) in the fifth century B.C. by the Greek historian Herodotus.

It was officially renamed Palestine by the Romans around 132 A.D. after they crushed the Bar Kokhba revolt and wanted to humiliate the Jews by naming their land after their perennial enemy the Philistines.

C. Canaan

Genesis 10:15-19 (NKJV) 15 Canaan begot Sidon his firstborn, and Heth; 16 the Jebusite, the Amorite, and the Girgashite; 17 the Hivite, the Arkite, and the Sinite; 18 the Arvadite, the Zemarite, and the Hamathite. Afterward the families of the Canaanites were dispersed. 19 And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon as you go toward Gerar, as far as Gaza; then as you go toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha.

Canaan’s descendants settled the land of Canaan—the land that God promised to Abraham and his descendants—the land they finally conquered and possessed under Joshua around 1200 B.C.

The were also in the land of Canaan in the days of Abraham (Gen. 15:19–21; 23:10), and were still a great power in the days of Solomon, one thousand years later (2 Chron. 1:17).

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Genesis 10:20 (NKJV) 20 These were the sons of Ham, according to their families, according to their languages, in their lands and in their nations.

III. Shem—v.21-31

Genesis 10:21 (NKJV) 21 And children were born also to Shem, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder.

Now whenever the sons of Noah are listed—the order is always: Shem, Ham, and Japheth which causes us to think that Shem was the oldest followed by Ham and then Japheth.

But here we learn that Japheth was actually the oldest and that the order should be: Japheth, Shem, and Ham.

Shem was Noah’s second son even though speaks of him last.

I believe he did this because this son and his descendants would become the most important to the narrative of the —and in fact to the whole story of redemption which is the theme of the entire Bible.

Shem became the father of the Semites—from which the people of Israel descended.

Moses put them last because he wants to zero in on them for the remainder of his writings (Pentateuch).

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As one author put it, “It is his pattern to get less important matters out of the way first so that he might then concentrate on what is of primary importance.”

He goes on to say, “The line of Japheth is traced to the second generation, Ham’s to the third. But the line of Shem is traced through five generations—just in this table. Then, after the parenthesis that deals with the , the line is pursued through Arphaxad (generation by generation) to Abraham, with whom the next section of the book especially deals.”

Now in v.21 we read, “And children were born also to Shem, the father of all the children of Eber”

Eber was actually Shem’s great-grandson, but he is mentioned here to show the importance of his lineage.

You see the name Hebrew comes from the name Eber—so Moses is telling us that the Jewish people came from the family of Eber.

Genesis 10:22 (NKJV) 22 The sons of Shem were Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram.

A. Elam

Elam, became the ancestor of the Elamites who are mentioned in Genesis 14.

At that time their king Chedorlaomer led an invasion into Canaan and in the process captured Lot forcing Abraham, his uncle, to gather his private militia and attack him and his allies in order to rescue Lot.

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The people of Elam originally lived to the east of Mesopotamia and had their capital at Susa (or Shushan)—

They eventually merged with the Medes to form the Persian Empire.

One historian writes, “It is interesting that at one time scholars were declaring the Bible to be in error at this point since, as they believed, the people who settled the area of Elam, southeast of Mesopotamia, were not Shemites. Subsequent excavations have shown the Bible to be right. Apparently the descendants of Shem did settle the region but were later driven out by the Babylonians as a result of the expansion under Nimrod.”

B. Asshur

Asshur seems to be the father of the Assyrians—although we don’t know anything about him personally.

C. Arphaxad

We know nothings about Arphaxad except that he was in the line that eventually led to Abraham.

His name is repeated in verse 24, where his descendants are given—

Genesis 10:24 (NKJV) 24 Arphaxad begot , and Salah begot Eber.

In chapter 11:12-26 Moses provides a more complete genealogy tracing the descendants of Arphaxad from his son Salah down to Abraham (at that time ‘Abram’).

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D. Lud

Lud was probably the ancestor of the Lydians who lived for a period of time in Asia Minor (Turkey)—they are mentioned by Josephus the historian.

E. Aram

Aram (v.23) is the father of the Aramaeans—who are the Syrians of today.

Genesis 10:24-25 (NKJV) 24 Arphaxad begot Salah, and Salah begot Eber. 25 To Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided; and his brother's name was Joktan.

There are two main interpretations for what is meant by the earth being divided in the days of Peleg—

1. First of all that God divided the peoples of the earth by causing them all to speak separate languages (Tower of Babel);

2. And number two, that the earth’s land mass was divided into continents in the days of Peleg.

Those who hold to the first interpretation point to the context—

Genesis 10:5 (NKJV) 5 From these the coastland peoples of the Gentiles were separated into their lands, everyone according to his language, according to their families, into their nations.

Genesis 10:32 (NKJV) 32 These were the families of the sons of Noah, according to their generations, in their nations; and from these the nations were divided on the earth after the flood.

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They say that these verses clearly speak of the division being linguistic and geographic rather than to the actual splitting apart of the continents (which they contend has never been proven anyway).

Further they point to the fact that Nimrod was the great-grandson of Noah through Ham and was in the same generation as Eber, Noah’s great-grandson through Shem.

Thus they say, it is reasonable to infer that the division of the Tower of Babel took place when both Nimrod and Eber were mature men and seems logical that Eber would mark the event by naming his son ‘Peleg’ (“divided”).

Those that hold to the interpretation that the earth being divided means that the earth itself was divided into continents at that time point out that the Hebrew word translated “earth” in verse 25 is eres.

The Hebrew word eres appears almost 2500 times in the O.T. and always refers to the geological, physical earth rather than to the people on the earth.

They say the fact that the earth was divided explains how the animals were able to spread from into all corners of the world—making the journey from Ararat to Australia possible for the kangaroo.

And finally they point out that the word used for “divided” (Hebrew palag) in the verse associated with Peleg (10:25) is different from the word for “divided” (Hebrew parad) in verses 5 and 32.

This they say proves that, while verses 5 and 32 obviously speak of a linguistic and geographic division of people groups—the division associated with Peleg was different—a dividing of the earth into continents.

So who’s right?—I’ll leave that up to you to decide.

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The Sons of Joktan—v.26-30—I’ll let you read those names on your own.

There are thirteen names mentioned and scholars believe they all settled in the area of Arabia— particularly in the south.

Genesis 10:31-32 (NKJV) 31 These were the sons of Shem, according to their families, according to their languages, in their lands, according to their nations. 32 These were the families of the sons of Noah, according to their generations, in their nations; and from these the nations were divided on the earth after the flood.

We’ll have to wait until next week to talk about Nimrod and the Tower of Babel as we study chapter 11—but let me whet your appetite a little for next time—

Genesis 10:8-10 (NKJV) 8 Cush begot Nimrod; he began to be a mighty one on the earth. 9 He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; therefore it is said, "Like Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD." 10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel…

Many believe all this is saying is that Nimrod was a mighty hunter of animals—a mighty game hunter.

And yet is that really what the Holy Spirit is telling us about this man?

I’ll give you a little hint—his name means ‘rebel’—a mighty rebel that wasn’t famous for hunting animals but for hunting something far more important and valuable.

He became the forerunner and type of another rebel—the ultimate rebel second only to Satan himself—the Antichrist.

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