Genesis Chapter 10

A Genealogy of Nations

10:1

Immediately we are told that we will be given the generations, or genealogy of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham and Japheth. This notation reinforces that all mankind came from Noah and his three sons. Any false ideas that somehow some other peoples survived the Flood are clearly denied by this statement. All this was after the Flood. Keep in mind that the only eyewitness account of the Flood is given in Genesis. All other accounts are a combination of myths and legends.

10:2-3

As we read these genealogy records, it is easy to become confused as to whom refers to whom. Seeing a table of the Nations that come from these genealogy listings is often the easiest way to tell what genealogy lines established which countries, etc. Japheth, Gomer, seem to be the ancestors of the Greeks and some European countries. Ashkenaz has been associated with the German Jews, as well as a region of Armenia once know as Sakasene. Togarmah was probably ancestor of the Armenians as well as Germany. Both Magog and Tubal refer to the areas we know as Russia. Meshech is associated with Muskovi and Moscow.

10:4-5

Elishah known as Hellas, was another name for Greece. Tarshish was a name for sea-faring people who settled in North Africa and Spain. Kittam is another name of Cyprus or Macedonia. The Islands and coast lands were populated by these “Europeans”. The term ‘after his tongue’ probably meant that it was written after the dispersion at Babel, when ‘new’ languages suddenly were in use. Remember, we are often given the genealogy and then in a subsequent chapter given some of the details of why something happened, such as the peoples being dispersed to different areas, or lands.

10:6-8

Ham, Cush, and Mizraim. Cush referred to Ethiopia, although some stayed in Arabia. Mizraim refers to Egypt; Mizraim is the same as Menes, Egypt’s first king. Phut refers to Libya, and Canaan is the progenitor of the Canaanites. Sabtech, also Seba migrated into the Sudan. Dedan and Sheba were well known Arabians in the days of Abraham. Nimrod, the son of Cush, became known as the mighty one, a great emperor. His name means “let us rebel!” It makes us wonder why would Cush give his son a name that means let us rebel?

10:9-11

Nimrod built a kingdom bent on rebelling against God. Mighty hunter connotes a man who was a great hunter yet mighty in wickedness. Some view him as a type of the antichrist. He put himself before the Lord. He establishes cities that are known for their opposition to God and His chosen people. All this despite his knowledge of what happened to people who opposed God and chose evil. Note infamous cities like Babel and Nineveh, (named for Nimrod) and the land of Shinar.

10:12-17

This ‘great city’ was actually a large metropolitan area, much like we see in Southern California, where one city runs into another. Sidon was the name of the chief city of the Phoenicians, and still exits today. Heth was the ancestor of the Hittites, who ruled a great empire in Asia Minor for 800 years. These names have changed over the centuries and may refer to China. When we read these names of all the ‘something ites’, we know none of these peoples are considered godly. Eventually many of them become the enemies of the chosen people of God. More about Nimrod and what took place in Chapter 11.

10:18

The statement ‘spread abroad’ indicating the descendants of Canaan, including the Mongol peoples, spread across the Bering Strait into North and South America, becoming what we refer to as the American Indians.

10:19-20

These Canaanite families were also dispersed and their borders are very similar to the borders of the lands given by God to Abraham and the Chosen People of God. The summary lets us know that all these peoples and nations are decedents of Ham.

10:21

Now we are given the lineage of Shem. Keep in mind that these people were not as numerous as Ham, yet this is the Messianic line. The term “Hebrew” comes from Eber. This also clarifies that Japheth was the eldest son of Noah, with Ham being the youngest son.

10:22-24

Elam, one of the sons of Shem, is the ancestor of the Elamites, who later merged with the Medes to form the Medo-Persian empire. Asshur was the forerunner of the Assyrians, although the settlement on the Tigris river was later taken over by Nimrod in Genesis 10:11. Aram is the father of the Aramaeans or Syrians. The Aramaic language was almost a world language in the ancient world. Even some portions of the Old Testament were first written in Aramaic. (23. -24.) Uz gave his name to Job’s homeland. Little is known of these other sons.

10:25

The name Peleg means “division”. There was some sort of a great event that took place that divided the known world. This “division” probably had two meanings: The first was the division of the language and peoples as indicated by the language divisions caused by God to force the people to migrate all over the earth to fulfill His command to multiply and fill the earth. (More about this in Chapter 11). The second may have been some large earthquake or something else that caused the land to be cut off from the continents comprising Alaska to the south American continent. A rise in the ocean levels or some other event? We just don’t know. Remember, also, that the continent, Australia, was also isolated from the rest of the world by the oceans. Keep in mind that all these peoples all came from Noah’s lineage.

10:26-31

We are given 13 sons of Joktan, yet non of Peleg’s sons are listed. It could be that Peleg, and his lineage, had moved away from where Shem was living. Again, remember the reference to the division. (30. -31.) All of these are the sons of Shem, meaning Shem’s lineage. Notice the reference to families, tongues, lands and their nations.

10:32

The summary indicated that all these people are of the families of the sons of Noah, listing their generation and the nations. Note the additional reference of the nations being divided in the earth, after the Flood. Since Shem appears to be the one compiling this record for the Table of Nations, we are told that there was a division of the people, and most probably, the continents, at this time. It is interesting to notice that there are a total of 70 Nations listed by Shem. Remember something else that is crucially important: All these peoples are of the same race: The Human Race. There are no ‘races’! The idea of different races was an evolutionary idea. Even today, most people are brainwashed to believe that there are different races. DNA testing shows that there is very little, less than 2%, difference between people of different colors, facial features, etc. The amount of melatonin in the skin determines the color of one’s skin, not a “race”. This false teaching of different ‘races’ has caused unnecessary suffering for all peoples. Where one’s ancestors lived determines, to a great extent, the color of one’s skin. The more sun people are exposed to, the more melatonin the body produces to protect the skin from sun damage. So we see peoples closer to the equator with darker skin, and those further away with lighter skin. Those who live outdoors a lot, have darker skin, and those who stay out of the sun, lighter skin tones.