Genesis 10 - ESV - Bible Reading / Study Notes

Genesis 10

Nations Descended from Noah

10:1 These are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Sons were born to them after the flood.

2 The sons of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras. 3 The sons of Gomer: Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah. 4 The sons of Javan: Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim. 5 From these the coastland peoples spread in their lands, each with his own language, by their clans, in their nations.

6 The sons of Ham: Cush, Egypt, Put, and Canaan. 7 The sons of Cush: Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca. The sons of Raamah: Sheba and Dedan. 8 Cush fathered Nimrod; he was the first on earth to be a mighty man.¹ 9 He was a mighty hunter before the LORD. Therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the LORD.” 10 The beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. 11 From that land he went into Assyria and built Nineveh, Rehoboth-Ir, Calah, and 12 Resen between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city. 13 Egypt fathered Ludim, Anamim, Lehabim, Naphtuhim, 14 Pathrusim, Casluhim (from whom² the Philistines came), and Caphtorim.

15 Canaan fathered Sidon his firstborn and Heth, 16 and the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites, 17 the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites, 18 the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites. Afterward the clans of the Canaanites dispersed. 19 And the territory of the Canaanites extended from Sidon in the direction of Gerar as far as Gaza, and in the direction of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha. 20 These are the sons of Ham, by their clans, their languages, their lands, and their nations.

21 To Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the elder brother of Japheth, children were born. 22 The sons of Shem: Elam, Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud, and Aram. 23 The sons of Aram: Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash. 24 Arpachshad fathered Shelah; and Shelah fathered Eber. 25 To Eber were born two sons: the name of the one was Peleg,³ for in his days the earth was divided, and his brother’s name was Joktan. 26 Joktan fathered Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, 27 Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, 28 Obal, Abimael, Sheba, 29 Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab; all these were the sons of Joktan. 30 The territory in which they lived extended from Mesha in the direction of Sephar to the hill country of the east. 31 These are the sons of Shem, by their clans, their languages, their lands, and their nations.

32 These are the clans of the sons of Noah, according to their genealogies, in their nations, and from these the nations spread abroad on the earth after the flood.

Footnotes

[1] 10:8 Or he began to be a mighty man on the earth
[2] 10:14 Or from where
[3] 10:25 Peleg means division

Commentary

v1-5: Japheth, meaning 'extend'. The descendants spread out, especially to west and north, Europe and Russia.

v6-14: Ham's family, from whom came many enemies of the Jews; Mizraim (Egypt), Canaan, Babel (Babylon), Assyria and Nineveh, and the Philistines. They have been condemned to serve others (Gen.9:25-27), and they seek to throw off that yoke.

Nimrod the grandson of Ham, a mighty hunter, a builder of cities, v8-12. The beginning of his kingdom is Babel, the zenith of man's pride, see chapter 11.

v15-20: The Canaanites, occupying the land later known as Canaan, from Sidon in the north to Gaza in the south.

v21-31: The family of Shem, the father of Eber, the separate one, ie: Hebrew, see Gen 14:13.

Peleg is born 101 years after the flood; in his days the earth was divided, by the incident at Babel. This is an indication of how quickly man's corruption grew and spread.

Hazarmaveth (v26) is now Hadhramaut, in S.E. Yemen.

v32: This chapter also indicates the rapid growth of mankind after the flood;

Noah has 3 sons; Japheth has 7 (and from him Gomer has 3, and Javan has 4); Ham has 5 (and from him Cush has 5, and Canaan 11); Shem has 5 (and from him Aram has 4, and Arphaxad 1). An average of 5 sons and 5 daughters in each generation means that around 5000 were born after the flood before the tower of Babel.

All the earth was populated from one man; chapters 10 and 11 detail the spread of man over the earth.

In Christ the division originating in this chapter are reversed;

in Acts 8 the Ethiopian is converted, a Cushite, from Ham;
in Acts 9 Paul is converted, a Jew, from Shem; and
in Acts 10 Cornelius is converted, a Gentile, from Japheth.