FRAMEWORKS:
Genesis 10:
The Table of Nations
v.2-5
The Family of Japheth
v.6-20
The Family of Ham
v.21-32
The Family of Shem
v.1
This
is the account of Shem, Ham and Japheth, Noah's
sons, who themselves had sons after the flood.
v.2-5
The Family of Japheth
v.2
The
sons of Japheth: Gomer,
Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshek and Tiras.
v.3
The
sons of Gomer: Ashkenaz,
Riphath and Togarmah.
v.4
The
sons of Javan: Elishah,
Tarshish, the Kittites and the Rodanites.
v.5
(From
these the maritime peoples spread out into their territories by
their clans within their nations, each with its own language.)
[Notes:
Japheth, the oldest of the three produces peoples who
are thought to have lived to the north and west.]
v.6-20
The Family of Ham
v.6
The
sons of Ham: Cush,
Egypt, Put and Canaan.
v.7
The
sons of Cush: Seba,
Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah and Sabteka. The sons of Raamah: Sheba
and Dedan.
v.8
Cush
was the father of Nimrod, who became a mighty warrior on the earth.
v.9
He
was a mighty hunter before the Lord;
that is why it is said, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the
Lord.”
v.10
The
first centers of his kingdom were Babylon, Uruk, Akkad and Kalneh,
in Shinar.
v.11,12
From
that land he went to Assyria, where he built Nineveh, Rehoboth
Ir, Calah and
Resen, which is between Nineveh and Calah—which is the great city.
v.13,14
Egypt
was the father of the
Ludites, Anamites, Lehabites, Naphtuhites, Pathrusites, Kasluhites
(from whom the Philistines came) and Caphtorites.
v.15-19
Canaan
was the father of Sidon
his firstborn, and of the Hittites, Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites,
Hivites, Arkites, Sinites, Arvadites, Zemarites and Hamathites.
Later the Canaanite clans scattered and the borders of Canaan
reached from Sidon toward Gerar as far as Gaza, and then toward
Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboyim, as far as Lasha.
v.20
These
are the sons of Ham by their clans and languages, in their territories
and nations.
[Notes:
Ham is the youngest imprudent son who has been cursed
by Noah [9:24-27] and ancient history is unclear and therefore
it is possibly unwise to attribute various peoples or individuals
with the outworking of the curse beyond the link we made earlier.]
v.21-32
The Family of Shem
v.21
Sons
were also born to Shem, whose older brother was
Japheth; Shem was the ancestor of all the sons of Eber.
v.22
The
sons of Shem: Elam, Ashur, Arphaxad,
Lud and Aram.
v.23
The
sons of Aram: Uz, Hul, Gether and Meshek.
v.24
Arphaxad
was the father of Shelah, and
Shelah the father of Eber.
v.25
Two
sons were born to Eber: One
was named Peleg, [Peleg means division]
because in his time the earth was divided; his brother was named
Joktan.
v.26-29
Joktan
was the father of Almodad,
Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, Obal, Abimael,
Sheba, Ophir, Havilah and Jobab. All these were sons of Joktan.
v.30
The
region where they lived stretched from Mesha toward Sephar, in
the eastern hill country.
v.31
These
are the sons of Shem by their clans and languages, in their territories
and nations.
v.32
These
are the clans of Noah's sons, according to their lines of descent,
within their nations. From these the nations spread out over the
earth after the flood.
[Notes:
Shem appears the middle brother. 1
Chron 1:24-27 picks out the line from Shem, through Arphaxad,
Shelah, Eber, and Peleg, (as above) and continues it on from here
to flow through Reu, Serug, Nahor, Terah and eventually
Abram and thus the family God chose through which to bring Israel.
This line is reiterated in more detail in the next chapter, 11:1-26].
Continue to Chapter 11