Genesis 10:1-32 (1/14/15) Genesis 10:1 (NKJV) 1 Now this is the genealogy of the sons of Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 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. 1 Genesis 10:2-5 (NKJV) 2 The sons of Japheth were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras. 3 The sons of Gomer were Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah. 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. 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 Black Sea, 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 Germany—the Jews identify Ashkenaz with the Germans to this day—and some are called Ashkenazi Jews. 2. Riphath Little can be said about Riphath, though Josephus, the Jewish historian, identifies him as the ancestor of the Paphalagonians. 2 Paphalagonia is an area located in north central Anatolia 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 Armenians (Turkey and Turkestan). 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 Scythians (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. 3 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 Greeks. 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. 4 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 Thracians 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 Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan. 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 Egypt. 5 A. Cush Cush had six sons—five are listed together and one, Nimrod, is singled out for special mention— Genesis 10:7-12 (NKJV) 7 The sons of Cush were Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabtechah; and the sons of Raamah were Sheba 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 Assyria 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 Pathrusim, and Casluhim (from whom came the Philistines 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. 6 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 Hittites 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). 7 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 Moses 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 book of Genesis—and in fact to the whole story of redemption which is the theme of the entire Bible.