Praise the Lord Jesus Christ, please study this chapter and then answer all 71 questions at the end of this chapter.

Verses 10:1 – 11:9: The genealogy of Shem, Ham and Japheth (verse 1).

Genesis 10:1 “Now these [are] the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth: and unto them were sons born after the flood.”

“Sons of Noah”: All the people of the world since the Flood have descended from the three sons of Noah (Acts 17:26).

This Scripture, above, was telling us about the descendants of Noah and his sons, who were born after the flood. There is no record of a birth while they were on the ark.

Genesis 10:2 “The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.”

The historian has not arranged this catalogue according to seniority of birth; for the account begins with the descendants of Japheth, and the line of Ham is given before that of Shem though he is expressly said to be the youngest or younger son of Noah.

“The sons of Japheth”: Who though mentioned last, the genealogy begins with him, by a figure which experts in formal rhetoric call a “chiasm”. The posterity of Japheth are those whom Hesiod often calls “Iapetionides”, and him “Iapetus”.

According to Josephus, the sons of Japheth inhabited the earth, beginning from the mountains Taurus and Amanas, and then went on in Asia unto the river Tanis, and in Europe unto Amanas.

Seven of his sons are mentioned, and the first is Gomer; from whom, according to the same writer, came the Gomareansor Gomerites, in his time called by the Greeks Galatians, that is, the Gauls of Asia minor, who inhabited Phrygia.

It is plain from (Ezekiel 38:6), that Gomer and his people lay to the north of Judea, and the posterity of Japheth went first into the northern parts of Asia, and then spread themselves into Europe: six more of his sons follow, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.

The first of these, Magog, was the father of a northern people which bore his name (see Ezekiel 38:2), and according to Josephus, who is generally followed, are the same that were called Scythians; from Madai came the Medes, often spoken of in Scripture, along with the Persians.

So Josephus says, from him came the nation of Mandaeans, whom the Greeks call Medes; and very frequently in Scripture the Medes go by the name of Madai, their original ancestor.

The word “Japheth” means expansion, which is a very good example of just what happened. These sons, like Gomer, became the name of a tribe of people. Each son started a tribe with the family name as the name of the tribe. Magog is a name we see throughout the Bible as a tribe of people.

Some believe this to be Libya, others believe that Gog in the land of Magog is referring to Russia. Besides this reference in Genesis, Magog was mentioned strongly in Ezekiel as an enemy of Israel (Ezekiel 38:2 and 39:6).

The Medes sprang from Madai, the third son of Japheth. These sons spread and populated different countries, as God had instructed them to do.

Javan, many believe, was the descendant of Greeks. In (Isaiah 66:19), where this name was mentioned, it is associated with Tarshish, Pul. Lud and “the isles afar off” are probably, the Gentiles of many nations.

For our study here, I believe all of these sons populated a different area and started tribes of people by that name. Tubal, many believe, founded Tibernia near the Black Sea. Meshech was often mentioned together with Tubal, and probably, populated the area of Northern Assyria.

Genesis 10:3 “And the sons of Gomer; Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah.”

“And the sons of Gomer”: Who was the first of the sons of Japheth, three who are mentioned: the first of these seated himself in the lesser Asia, in Pontus and Bithynia; there were some traces of his name in the river Ascanius, and in the Ascanian lake or bay.

And also in the lesser Phrygia or Troas, where was a city called Ascania, and where were the Ascanian isles, and the Euxine Pontus, or Axeine, as it was first called, which is the sea that separates Asia and Europe, and is no other than a corruption of the sea of Ashkenaz.

Ashkenaz, probably, was Assyrian. They were, also, known as the Scythians. The name was associated with barbarians. Riphath was an obscure tribe that seemed to not be mentioned again. The descendants of Togarmah were mentioned (in 1 Chronicles 1:6).

They are mentioned as being traders who trafficked with Tyre in horses, horsemen, and mules (in Ezekiel 27:14).

In (Ezekiel 38), they were named along with Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya as followers of Gog.

Genesis 10:4 “And the sons of Javan; Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.”

As Javan peopled a considerable part of Greece, it is in that region that we must seek for the settlements of his descendants; Elishah probably was the first who settled at Elis, in Peloponnesus.

We know very little about Elishah, except that his descendants were island people who sold purple and scarlet fabric to Tyre. Many people believe these were Cyprus, or Kittim. The Aegean Coast was rich in purple shells. Whether this has a connection, I cannot say.

“Tarshish” is a Phoenician word meaning smelting plant, or refinery. Nearly every time the word Tarshish was mentioned in the Old Testament, it was associated with ships, merchants, and trade. Whatever the area, we do get an indication, here, that these people shipped metals to various places.

Tarshish first inhabited Cilicia, whose capital anciently was the city of Tarsus, where the Apostle Paul was born.

Kittim had no certain area that can be proved by the Bible. It could have been used loosely for the islands of the coast, maybe Cyprus.

Dodanim, the Bible does not explain. Some scholars believe this was Troy. Really, unless the Bible carries the name through the Scriptures, it probably means it is irrelevant to the spiritual teachings.

The Bible leaves no questions about these sons of Javan, because verse 5 told us exactly what happened to them.

Genesis 10:5 “By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations.”

“Divided … after his tongue”: This act describes the situation after the Tower of Babel account (in chapter 11).

In (verse 5), I do want us to take note that the descendants of Japheth did as God instructed, and scattered, and populated the area God has given them. Take note also, that these people spoke different languages. This will be very important to remember as we go on.

We also need to take note, at this point, that all of these people that we have studied in the first part of this lesson today were descendants of Noah through his son Japheth, probably Caucasians.

In verse 6 there was a break from the first five verses. We will now take up the descendants of Noah through Ham.

Verses 10:6-20: The sons of Ham”: Many of whom were Israel’s enemies.

Genesis 10:6 “And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan.”

“And the sons of Ham”: Next to the sons of Japheth, the sons of Ham are reckoned. Their territory generally embraced the southern portions of the globe. The most usual ancient name of the country was Kern, the black land.

Scripture speaks of Egypt as the land of Ham (Psalm 78:51; Psalm 105:23; Psalm 106:22), Cush, Ethiopia, including Arabia, and Abyssinia. The original settlement of Cush, however, is believed to have been on the Upper Nile, whence he afterwards spread to Arabia, Babylonia, and India.

We learned in a previous lesson that the name “Ham” means hot. Most people believe that Ham was the father of the Negroid nations. It is impossible to prove this either way, except to note that some of Ham’s descendants settled Africa, and Ethiopia, and other black nations.

Cush probably settled Ethiopia too, (this is commonly accepted). Mizraim was commonly accepted as Egypt. “Mizraim” was translated Egypt eighty-seven times in the Bible. Phut was an African country or peoples, probably joining Egypt.

Canaan was, probably, ancient evil Palestine before Joshua, through the help of God, overthrew them and took the land for the children of Israel. We will see (in verse 15), of this chapter, that many races of people were started from Canaan. Jebusite, Amorite, Girgasite, Hivite, Arkite, Sinite, Arvadite, Zemarite, and the Hamathite. Ham’s descendants worshipped false gods.

Genesis 10:7 “And the sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabtechah: and the sons of Raamah; Sheba, and Dedan.”

Cush had five sons and two grandsons, who were reckoned among the founders of nations.

Seba, probably, means the Sabeans. Seba was mentioned in Isaiah and Psalms, as well as in Genesis. (The Sabeans, South west Arabia, and Yemen). The Queen of Sheba was, probably, from this area. Seba, Saba, and Sheba probably are the same word.

Havilah became the Ishmaelites, located somewhere in Arabia. These people were nomads (travelling people). Their name meant sand. They probably roamed the desert. Sabtah has no other mention that I can find.

Raamah’s descendants were traders and probably lived in South West Arabia. Sabtechah seems to disappear with this son. Sheba (this particular Sheba), seems to have settled the shores of the Persian Gulf. Dedan seems to be just mentioned once more (in Chronicles), and I could not trace him.

Genesis 10:8 “And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth.”

“Nimrod”: This powerful leader was evidently the force behind the building of Babel (see Genesis 11:1-4).

Nimrod was a great man in his day; he began to be mighty in the earth. Those before him were content to be upon the same level with their neighbors, and though every man bare rule in his own house, yet no man pretended any further. Nimrod was resolved to lord it over his neighbors.

The spirit of the giants before the flood, who became mighty men, and men of renown (Gen. 6:4), revived in him. Nimrod was a great hunter. Hunting then was the method of preventing the hurtful increase of wild beasts. This required great courage and address, and thus gave an opportunity for Nimrod to command others, and gradually attached a number of men to one leader.

From such a beginning, it is likely, that Nimrod began to rule, and to force others to submit. He invaded his neighbor’s rights and properties, and persecuted innocent men; endeavoring to make all his own by force and violence. He carried on his oppressions and violence in defiance of God himself.

Genesis 10:9 “He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD.”

“Nimrod the mighty hunter” The name of this man means “Let Us Revolt.” Arab traditions record ruins named after him at Birs-Nimrud, which is Borsippa, and at the Nimrud of Calah.

His activities centered first in “Shinar” (Babylonia) and included building the Tower of “Babel” (11:1-9).

Then he went to Assyria (Micah 5:6). Some believe that since the context deals with man and not animals, his prowess in hunting deals with man and that his exploits are of a moral and spiritual nature. “Mighty hunter” is from 6:4, and his name relates to the word “marad,” meaning “rebel.”

Thus, he established a thoroughly autocratic, imperialistic, despotic system of government (of a kind described in Isa. 13, 14), back of which stands Satan in all his rage against God.

He did all of this “before the Lord.” What he did was very significant and was a matter of concern to God Himself. God certainly knows what everybody does; but this made a strong impression (just as the “sons of God” did in 6:2).

“Nimrod” means rebel. Nimrod was a powerful worldly man. If you will notice, it was of the earth, not heaven. Hitler was a powerful earthly man, as well. You can easily see that having power on the earth is not necessarily good. He was a direct contrast to Jesus (Shepherd).

A hunter is trying to satisfy his own flesh, and a shepherd is concerned about saving others. At any rate, we will see that Nimrod was of a very earthly nature, not a spiritual nature. There is no doubt about where he settled. Verse 10 tells us that.

Genesis 10:10 “And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.”

“Babel”: The beginning of what later would prove to be Babylon, the destroyer of God’s people and His city Jerusalem (605-539 B.C.).

Nimrod had a rebellious spirit. He did not want to heed God’s instruction to scatter and populate the earth. He thought that by his own power and might, that he would be able to make his own entrance to heaven without the help of God. He and his ancestors rebelled against God. Even now, we associate the name Babel with evil or evil city.

Babylon the great in Revelation was a very good example of this. Nimrod would take his glory right here on the earth; he would not have any glory in heaven. Erech was near the Euphrates River in southern Babylonia. Accad was thought to be the same area as modern Baghdad. There was very little known of Calneh, except the evil influence of Nimrod.

Shinar was probably southern Babylonia; Assyria as we know it today. (In Isaiah 1:11), we saw Shinar mentioned as one of the places the Jews will be gathered from and brought to the Holy Land in the end days.

In (Zechariah 5:11), the land Shinar was mentioned as a land of godless commercialism. Nebuchadnezzar carried away temple treasures from Jerusalem to Shinar (in Daniel 1:2).

Genesis 10:11 “Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah,”

“Out of that land … builded Nineveh”: This was Israel’s primary enemy from the East. Nimrod was Israel’s prototypical ancient enemy warrior, whose name in Hebrew means “rebel” (Micah 5:6).

This above Scripture was speaking of Assyria. Nineveh was a wicked city, even down to the time of Jonah. This was the city that Jonah thought was too evil for God to save. Jonah went the other way when God told him to warn Nineveh. Nineveh repented in sackcloth, and ashes, and called a fast. God let them live, but you can see that Nineveh was truly an evil city.

Rehoboth was, probably, a suburb of Nineveh to Calah, including Resen, all made up Nineveh proper.

Genesis 10:12 “And Resen between Nineveh and Calah: the same [is] a great city.”

“And Resen, between Nineveh and Calah”: This was another city built by Ashur, situated between those two cities mentioned: the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem call it Talsar, or Telassar (see Isaiah 37:12).

The conjecture of Bochart (is more probable), that it is the Larissa of Xenophon, situated on the Tigris; though Junius thinks it is either Bassora, or Belcina, which Ptolemy places on the Tigris, near Nineveh.

As we can easily see, all the cities and areas that Ham’s descendants inhabited were rebellious toward God. They worshipped the god of fertility, and worshipped in high places, which, as we will come to find, is an abomination to God.

Genesis 10:13-14 “And Mizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim,” “And Pathrusim, and Casluhim, (out of whom came Philistim,) and Caphtorim.”

Mizraim has seven sons, from who are derived eight nations.

“And Mizraim begat Ludim”: Mizraim was the second son of Ham. Ludim he is said to beget, the word being plural, is not the name of a man, but of his posterity; and the sense is, that Mizraim begat the father of the Ludim, whose name very probably was Lud, which name is preserved (in Isaiah 66:19).

These Ludim are the same with the Lydians (Jeremiah 46:9), and whose country is called Lydia, (Ezekiel 30:5), but to be distinguished from Lydia in Asia Minor, and the Lydians there who sprung from Lud, a son of Shem (Genesis 10:22), for, as these sprung from Mizraim, the founder of Egypt, they must be somewhere thereabout.

Bochart has proved, by various arguments, that they are the Ethiopians in Africa, now called Abyssines, whose country lies to the south of Egypt. A people formerly famous for archery, as Lud and the Lydians are said to be (Isaiah 66:19).

And whoever reads the accounts Diodorus Siculus gives of the Egyptians and Ethiopians, will easily discern a likeness between them, and that the one sprung from the other; both deifying their kings. Showing a like carefulness about their funerals. Both using hieroglyphics; having the like order of priests, who used shaving; and circumcision was common to them both, as Herodotus observes.

We must remember here, that these were the descendants of Ham. We remember Mizraim was Egypt. Whether all, or a portion, I do not know. Ludim was mentioned in Isaiah, Jeremiah, and several other prophetic books, and seemed to be always at odds with God. Egypt, or one of the African nations, seemed to be home for Ludim.

All that is known for sure about Anamin was right here. There were no other Scriptures that directly connect him. He was probably Egyptian.

The tribe of Lehabim was believed to be the fair-haired, blue-eyed Libyans of Midianite stock. The family of Naphtuhim, just as Lehabim, seemed to just drop out of Bible history. As we have said before, this happened very often in the Bible, when it was not important to the lesson to be learned, or when they were not in the lineage of Jesus.

The only thing known about the Pathrusim name was that the city Pathros, Egypt, probably originated from these people. Nothing is known about Calsuhim and Philistim, unless, Philistim became Philistia. It is too difficult to trace to any degree of accuracy. The names were just similar, and from the same area.

Caphtorim were the inhabitants of Caphtor, or Crete. In Jeremiah, Caphtor was said to be the area the Philistines came from. This, too, makes you believe that Philistia and the Philistines were, probably, the same.

Genesis 10:15-18 “And Canaan begat Sidon his firstborn, and Heth,” “And the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgasite,” “And the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite,” “And the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite: and afterward were the families of the Canaanites spread abroad.”

A notable shift occurs in this section away from place names to the inhabitants themselves (note the “ite” endings). These are not only the cursed people of Canaan’s curse for the scene at Noah’s drunkenness, but also they are those who possess the Promised Land which Israel as a nation needed to conquer.

But the Noahic curse alone did not determine their guilt, for God said to Abram that the iniquity of the Amorites must first be complete before his descendants could occupy the Promised Land (15:16).

The verses above were not only telling us the names of the sons of Canaan, but also, the tribes that were started through them. Sidon was also Zidon; the town associated with this was sometimes called Saida located in present day Lebanon. These people were Phoenicians, seafaring people. These people became known as the Sidonians.

1 Kings 11:5 “For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites” (who are the same people).

These Sidonians followed after false Gods and goddesses. It seemed to have been a family trait. Heth was the father of the Hittites. It seems, Heth settled near evil Canaan. In later years, Abraham bought a burial place near Hebron from the Hittites. The Hittites worshipped a large group of Egyptian and Babylonian deities and were in opposition to the Israelites.

One interesting thing to know about the word Heth, it is the 8th letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The Jebusites, as their relatives above, were one of the tribes that Joshua ran out of Canaan, but not out of Jerusalem. They lived together there. They, too, had a bad background of false Gods.

“Amorite” means (the high one). The Amorites were one of the seven tribes whose land was given to Israel. They were very prominent in the Bible in opposition to Israel. Sometimes, Amorite and Canaanite are interchangeable. They settled where present day Israel is.

The Girgasite and the Girgashites were the same people. They also, were one of the 7 tribes in Canaan that Joshua took over for Israel. They probably settled west of the Jordan River.

The Hivite, also, was one of the 7 tribes destroyed by Israel. They seemed to be settlers around Lebanon.

The Arkite group settled Lebanon, as well. They were, probably, the same as the Arvad group mentioned (in Ezekiel 27:8-11). It seemed as though they were a maritime group. Very little else is known. This Sinite is the only time this group was mentioned in the Bible.

The Zemarite tribe and the Hamathite tribe were just 2 more of these settlers of Canaan, who were overthrown by the Israelites, and seemed to just drop out of view. This last sentence in verse 18 said it all, when it said the families of the Canaanites spread abroad.

Genesis 10:19 “And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as thou comest to Gerar, unto Gaza; as thou goest, unto Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboim, even unto Lasha.”

“And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon”: This is to be understood, not of the Canaanites, properly so called, but of them in general; and is a description of the bounds of the land of Canaan, as possessed by the people of Israel.

The northern or north west border of it was Sidon (see Genesis 10:15), and is to be understood of the country which reached from that city towards the east almost as far as Jordan.

“As thou comest from Gerar unto Gaza”: Two cities of the Philistines, well known in Scripture. The former for being the place where Abraham and Isaac sometimes sojourned, and the latter for Samson’s exploits in it. These were the southern or south west border of the land of Canaan.

“As thou goest unto Sodom and Gomorrah, and Admah and Zeboim”: Four cities destroyed by fire from heaven, as is after related in this book; these lay to the south or south east part of the land.

The Samaritan version of this verse is very different from the Hebrew, and is this, “and the border of the Canaanites was from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates, and unto the hinder sea: i.e. the western or Mediterranean.

Genesis 10:20 “These [are] the sons of Ham, after their families, after their tongues, in their countries, [and] in their nations.”

The list of the Hamites is summed up (Genesis 10:20), in the usual form. It appears that Ham occupied Africa and a certain portion of Asia along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean, in the south of Arabia, about the lower valley of the Frat and Diljah, and perhaps along the south of Asia.

In extent of territory, Japheth ultimately far exceeded, as he occupied most of Asia and almost all of Europe and the New World. Ham is next to him, as he inherited Africa and a portion of Asia.

Some of his descendants have also been forcibly transplanted to the New Hemisphere. But in point of political contact with Shem, Japheth, in early times, sinks comparatively into the shade, and Ham assumes the prominent place.

Babylon, Kush, Egypt, and Kenaan are the powers which come into contact with Shem, in that central line of human history which is traced in the Bible. Hence, it is that in the table of nations special attention is directed to Kush, Nimrod, Mizraim, and to the tribes and borders of Kenaan.

“These are the sons of Ham after their families”: No doubt all these were well known in the days of Moses, and for a long time after.

But at this distance, when it is considered that the political state of the world has been undergoing almost incessant revolutions through all the intermediate portions of time, the impossibility of fixing their residences or marking their descendants must be evident, as both the names of the people and the places of their residences have been changed beyond the possibility of being recognized.

We have already discussed Sidon. It seemed all of these people of Canaan settled around the old evil Canaan that was to be overthrown by the Israelites.

This Gerar mentioned here, was the same as the one mentioned in connection with Abraham and Isaac telling a story about their wives to Abimelech. Abimelech lived in Gerar. Gaza which means stronghold was a border city of Canaan.

The Hebrew name for Gaza is Azzah (mentioned in Deuteronomy, Kings, and Jeremiah). It was the capital of the Philistines. Samson lived there. This was one of the cities Phillip ministered in. Today, this is the center of the Gaza Strip.

Sodom and Gomorrah were near the Dead Sea, out in the desert. They were both well known for being evil cities that God destroyed except for lot’s family.

You see, the original people of Canaan were evil, and disobedient to God. It seemed that time only worsened the morals of Sodom and Gomorrah. It seemed Admah was destroyed with Sodom (probably a suburb). Nothing else is known of Admah. Zeboim, also, was destroyed for evil. Lasha has no other mention, but was believed to be near the Dead Sea.

There is a break here between verse 20, the evil sons of Ham, and verse 21, the sons of Shem.

Verses 10:21-31: The sons of Shem, i.e. the; Semitic people.

Genesis 10:21 “Unto Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder, even to him were [children] born.”

“Unto Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber”: And for the sake of those Shem is particularly said to be the father of, is this genealogy given, and indeed the whole book of Genesis wrote: Eber was the great-grandson of Shem, and is here spoken of by anticipation, and Shem is called not the father of either of his immediate sons, but of the posterity of this man.

Because the Hebrews sprung from him in his line, among whom the church of God and the true religion were preserved, and from whom the Messiah was to come, as he did: the word Eber, Jarchi interprets, “beyond the river, Euphrates” or “Tigris”, or both, as describing the seat of the posterity of Shem.

But as this too much narrows them, since they inhabited on both sides, Dr. Hyde has shown that the word used may refer to both, to those beyond these rivers, and to those on this side (see Numbers 24:24).

We must take a very good look at these people (the descendants of Shem), because this was the line Jesus would come from. Eber seems to be Heber (in Luke 3:35). It very well may be that Hebrew came from this Eber, as well.

 (I really believe what it was trying to say is that Shem was the father of the Hebrew nation).

The Bible does not always mean child, when it says children. It sometimes means grandchild, or great-grandchild, as is obviously the case with Eber in the above Scripture. Eber, the man, is actually the grandson of Arphaxad, as we will see in the next few verses.

Genesis 10:22 “The children of Shem; Elam, and Asshur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram.”

“The children of Shem”: Whose names are Elam and Ashur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram; and who, as Josephus says, inhabited Asia, from Euphrates to the Indian Ocean.

His first born, Elam, was the father of the Elymaeans, from who sprung the Persians, as the same writer observes, and his posterity is called Elamites. Their country Elam, and is sometimes mentioned with Media, when the Persians and Medes are intended, Isa. 21:2 (see also Isa. 22:6).

Ashur, the second son of Shem, gives name to Assyria; a country frequently mentioned in Scripture; and which, according to Ptolemy was bounded on the north by part of Armenia the great, and the mountain Niphates, on the west by Mesopotamia and the river Tigris, on the south by Susiane, and on the east by part of Media.

Strabo says they call Babylonia, and great part of the country about it, Assyria, in which was Ninus or Nineveh, the chief city of the Assyrian empire; and which was built by Ashur, as Josephus affirms, and says he gave the name of Assyrians to his subjects.

Arphaxad, the third son of Shem, from him that part of Assyria, which lay northward next to Armenia, Josephus says he gave name to the Arphaxadaeans, whom he ruled over, now called Chaldeans; and indeed, the name of the Chaldeans may as well be derived from the latter part of Arphaxad’s name, “Chashad”.

As from Chesed, the son of Nahor, and brother of Abraham, as it more commonly is; since the Chaldeans were called Chasdim before Chesed was born, and were a nation when Abraham came out of Ur.

Before Chesed could be old or considerable enough to build towns and found a nation (see Genesis 11:31). Though Bochart treats this as a mere dream, yet he is obliged to have recourse to the usual refuge.

The fourth son of Shem was Lud, from whom sprung the Lydians, a people of Asia minor, and whose country is called Lydia, including Mysia and Caria, which all lay by the river Maeander; and Lud, in the Phoenician language, signifies bending and crooked, as that river was, being full of windings and turnings.

From Aram, the last son of Shem, sprung the Aramaeans, and this is the name they give to themselves to this day.

The country inhabited by them included Mesopotamia and Syria, and particularly all those places that have the name of Aram added to them, as Padan Aram, and Aram Naharaim (which is Mesopotamia), Aram of Damascus, Aram Zobah, Aram Maacha, and Aram Beth Rehob.

Arphaxad, along with Shem, was mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus. Elam probably settled Persia (the part that became known as Elam).

“Asshur” means that these people of Asshur went to Assyria. Arphaxad settled in the mountains near Nineveh. This Lud was not the same one mentioned in the line of Ham, but nevertheless, probably settled in Asia. Aram, probably, settled in Armenia. On the mother’s side, Jacob’s children were, probably, Armenian from this connection.

Genesis 10:23 “And the children of Aram; Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Mash.”

Uz, the chief of a people having their seat in the north of Arabia Desert, between Palestine and the Euphrates. From this Uz it is possible that the sons of Nahor and of Seir (Genesis 22:21; Genesis 36:28), obtained their name. Job dwelt in this land.

Hul is supposed to have his settlement about the sources of the Jordan in Huleh. Others trace this nation in the Hylatae near Emesa.

Gether is of uncertain position, probably in Arabia.

Mash may have left a trace of his name in Mons Masius, Karajah Dagh, south of Diarbekir, and perhaps also in the Mysians and Moesians, who may have wandered westward from under this mountain.

Uz was mentioned later as the Land that Job lived in somewhere in the Arabian Desert. Probably, Uz and Hul settled in the same area. At any rate, these people were all Hebrews. Gether and Mash did not seem to be prominent in the line of Jesus, and fade away with this mention of them. Mash is called Meshach (in 1 Chronicles).

Genesis 10:24 “And Arphaxad begat Salah; and Salah begat Eber.”

“And Arphaxad begat Salah”: Which signifies “a sending forth”; that is, of waters. It is part of the name of Methuselah, given him by his father, as prophetic of the flood (see Genesis 5:21); and Arphaxad, who was born two years after the flood, gives this name to his first born, as commemorative of it.

And Salah begat Eber; from whom, Josephus says, the Jews were called Hebrews from the beginning; and which, perhaps, is as good a derivation of their name as can be given, and seems to be confirmed by (Numbers 24:24), though some derive it from Abraham’s passing over the rivers in his way from Chaldea into Syria.

But be it so, why might not this name be given to Eber, as prophetic of that passage, or of the passage of his posterity over the Euphrates into Canaan, as well as Eber gave to his son Peleg his name, as a prediction of the division of the earth in his time.

Salah is mentioned in one other place, but called Shalah in 1 Chronicles. He is mentioned in the lineage of Jesus, as is Eber, which we have already touched on. This mention here of Eber is the man, and not the Hebrew nation.

Genesis 10:25 “And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of one [was] Peleg; for in his days was the earth divided; and his brother’s name [was] Joktan.”

“Earth divided”: This looks ahead to the dispersion of nations at Babel (11:1-9).

The division of the earth (in verses 25 and 32), does not refer to the splitting apart of the continents, but to the dispersion of peoples at the Tower of Babel. The fact that Peleg’s ancestors are not mentioned as being alive at this time (Noah, Shem, etc.), implies that they had long since died.

This is another indication that there are gaps in the genealogy (of chapter 11). In (11:16-19), there is a considerable shortening of the life span from Eber to Peleg (from 464 to 239 years), which also suggests a time gap and that Eber may have been a distant ancestor of Peleg.

The word Peleg means division. What an appropriate name this is. The statement, the earth divided, I believe is accurate. The continents did divide (the scientists tell us that they are still moving apart a few inches a year). Peleg also is in the genealogy of Jesus. It should not be so hard for us to believe that the land mass was altogether one time.

In the new heaven and the new earth there will be no sea. Very little is known of Joktan, except that he was the brother of Peleg. You see the Bible does not go into detail on a person, unless it is important later on in the bible.

Genesis 10:26-29 “And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah,” “And Hadoram, and Uzal, and Diklah,” “And Obal, and Abimael, and Sheba,” “And Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab: all these [were] the sons of Joktan.”

The thirteen tribes of the Joctanites or primitive Arabs are enumerated here in Genesis 10:26-29.

The posterity of Canaan were numerous, rich, and pleasantly seated; yet Canaan was under a Divine curse, and not a curse without cause. Those that are under the curse of God, may, perhaps, thrive and prosper in this world; for we cannot know love or hatred, the blessing or the curse, by what is before us, but by what is within us.

The curse of God always works really, and always terribly. Perhaps it is a secret curse, a curse to the soul, and does not work so that others can see it; or a slow curse, and does not work soon; but sinners are reserved by it for a day of wrath. Canaan here has a better land than either Shem or Japheth.

Yet they have a better lot, for they inherited the blessing. Abram and his seed, God’s covenant people, descended from Eber and from him were called Hebrews. How much better it is to be like Eber, the father of a family of saints and honest men, than the father of a family of hunters after power, worldly wealth, or vanities. Goodness is true greatness.

All of these sons of Joktan seemed to settle parts of Arabia, and they, as their father, seem to just drop into obscurity. Two of these names with interesting meanings are Hazer-maveth which means (village of death) and Jobab which means (howler or one who calls shrilly). There were 13 of these sons who just disappear in Bible history.

Genesis 10:30 “And their dwelling was from Mesha, as thou goest unto Sephar a mount of the east.”

This seems to be in the desert of Arabia.

Genesis 10:31 “These [are] the sons of Shem, after their families, after their tongues, in their lands, after their nations.”

From a review of these lands it is evident that Shem occupied a much smaller extent of territory than either of his brothers. The mountains beyond the Tigris, the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea, the Levant, the Archipelago, and the Black Sea, bound the countries that were in part peopled by Shem.

Arabia, Syria, and Assyria contained the great bulk of the Shemites, intermingled with some of the Hamites. The Kushites, Kenaanites, and Philistines trench upon their ground. The rest of the Hamites peopled Africa, and such countries as were supplied from it. The Japhethites spread over all the rest of the world.

There are 70 names, exclusive of Nimrod, of heads of families, tribes, or nations descended from the 3 sons of Noah, 14 from Japheth, 30 from Ham, and 26 from Shem. Among the heads of tribes descended from Japheth are 7 grandsons. Among those from Ham are 23 grandsons and 3-great-grandsons.

Among those of Shem are 5 grandsons, one great-grandson, 2 of the fourth generation, and 13 of the fifth. Whence, it appears that the subdivisions are traced further in Ham and much further in Shem than in Japheth, and that they are pursued only in those lines which are of importance for the coming events in the history of Shem.

It is to be observed also, that though the different races are distinguished by the diversity of tongues, yet the different languages are much less numerous than the tribes. The eleven tribes of Kenaanites and the thirteen tribes of Joctanites, making allowance for some tribal peculiarities.

Most probably spoke at first only two dialects of one family of languages, which we have designated the Hebrew, itself a branch of, if not identical with, what is commonly called the Shemitic. Hence, some Hamites spoke the language of Shem. A similar community of language may have occurred in some other instances of diversity of descent.

Genesis 10:32 “These [are] the families of the sons of Noah, after their generations, in their nations: and by these were the nations divided in the earth after the flood.”

God is just explaining again that through Noah’s three sons the whole world was populated. The flood left 8 people to begin again. Eight, you remember, means new beginnings.

Genesis 10: Questions

1. Did Shem, Ham, and Japheth have sons on the ark?
2. What does “Japheth” mean?
3. What two opinions are presently expressed about Magog?
4. Who did the Medes spring from?
5. Many believe Javan was the father of what country?
6. Why did God want them to scatter?
7. These various grandsons became leaders of what?
8. Why did God want them to scatter?
9. Name seven sons of Japheth.
10. The man often mentioned with Tubal was whom?
11. Togarmah trafficked with Tyre in what?
12. In Ezekiel 38, they were mentioned with what three countries following Gog?
13. Where did the sons of Javan populate?
14. What does “Tarshish” mean?
15. What area do scholars believe was Troy?
16. What did I ask that we take note of about Japheth and his descendants?
17. Were Japheth’s descendants, Caucasians, Negroids, or Orientals?
18. List four sons of Ham.
19. What does “Ham” mean?
20. Most people believe Ham was which of the three types of people?
21. Cush settled where?
22. Mizraim was, probably, where?
23. Phut was where?
24. Canaan was where?
25. Name nine races of people started through Canaan.
26. Seba was, probably, whom?
27. Where was it located?
28. Havilah became whom?
29. What was another word for travelling people?
30. What did the word mean?
31. Where can we assume they wandered?
32. Who was the father of Nimrod?
33. What was Nimrod before the Lord?
34. How did this differ from Jesus?
35. Nimrod had what kind of nature?
36. Where was the beginning of Nimrod’s kingdom?
37. What did Babel and Erech have in common?
38. What kind of spirit did Nimrod have?
39. Nimrod and his ancestors did what to God?
40. What is the modern city that Accad was thought to be?
41. In Isaiah 11:11 what was one place the Jews will be gathered from?
42. Nebuchadnezzar carried temple treasures where?
43. Who built Nineveh?
44. What did Nineveh, Rehoboth, and Calah have in common?
45. What three things did the people of Nineveh do to keep God from destroying them?
46. What two things did Ham’s descendants do that displeased God?
47. What group seems always to be at odds with God?
48. Where is probably the home of Ludim?
49. Which tribe is believed to be the fair haired, blue eyed Libyans?
50. What 2 things are not present for a family to drop into obscurity?
51. Who are believed to be the Crete?
52. What is another name for Sidon?
53. Where is Saida?
54. Name one of the false gods of the Sidonians.
55. Heth was the father of whom?
56. What tribe did Abraham buy a burial site from?
57. What is the 8th letter of the Hebrew alphabet?
58. Name 7 tribes who were later overthrown by Israel.
59. Where did the Arkites settle?
60. What 2 patriarchs were later mentioned in connection with Gerar?
61. What was the capital of the Philistines?
62. What area is it the center of today?
63. What are Sodom and Gomorrah well known for?
64. What other city was destroyed?
65. The word Eber probably means the father of all what?
66. When the Bible says children, what does it mean?
67. Who is the man Eber actually?
68. In the days of what man did the earth separate?
69. What does Hazer-maveth mean?
70. What name means one who calls shrilly?
71. What does 8 Mean?