STUDIES IN THE BOOK OF GENESIS
LESSON 9
YOUR ETHNIC (AND SPIRITUAL) BACKGROUND
Genesis 10
Like Genesis 5, chapter ten is a parenthesis in the ongoing record of man’s relationship to God, yet it shows an important pattern in God’s redemptive history. Since the Bible is not a book of history, we do not find here a full-scale description of family lines and places of residence. God has revealed to us only that which we need to know. In this chapter lies the seed of all of our backgrounds.
In the previous chapter, Noah pronounced a blessing on two of his sons, Shem and Japheth. The first curse of God began the battle of the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman. This enmity plays itself out in enmity between the children of the devil and the children of God. We have seen this history follow that course from Adam to Noah. The battle continues between the followers of Christ and the lovers of this world and will culminate in the battle between Christ and Satan.
The curse on Canaan redrew those battle lines. The children of Ham, and Canaan in particular, would be the children of sin, imitating the sins of their father. The children of Shem would be the children of God, in covenant with Him, and they would overcome the children of Ham. And the children of Japheth, though not as blessed as the children of Shem, would one day be brought into Shem’s tent and would share with him the blessing of God.
Think about Israel hearing these words and recognizing in them their own history. They, the children of Shem, of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, had been called by God to holy war. They were to destroy the inhabitants of the land of Canaan in fulfillment of this ancient prophecy. In obedience to God, Israel was to share God’s abhorrence of the sins of the Canaanites, for they had multiplied the sins of their father Ham a thousand-fold. Imagine what it must have been like to read these ancient, musty sayings and to realize that you are a part of their fulfillment. The Israelite conquest of Canaan was not the end of the story. Israel had to enlarge its tent and let the sons of Japheth in. We are given in this chapter a miniature history of redemption.
The opening words are the familiar ones by which major portions of Genesis begin (see Genesis 2:4, 5:1, and 6:9 for earlier ones). The names of Noah’s sons are then given in the usual order reflecting the relative importance of each in terms of God’s purpose via the nations. In that which follows the focus is on Japheth first (verses 2-5), then Ham (verses 6-20), and finally Shem (verses 21-31). This, too, is a familiar pattern in the Bible. That which is to be emphasized is left to last while others are taken up first. It may be that Shem himself (or another Semite) was the compiler of all the data in this chapter. The descendants of Japheth are given only to the second generation following, and those of Ham to the third. But those of Shem are traced to the fifth (and even beyond in subsequent chapters).
Nowhere in archival records of ancient history is there material so valuable as this "table of nations." Even those who do not accept the Bible as authoritative have seen the great value of this chapter.
In our study of this chapter it will not be possible to locate with precision all the settlements and people mentioned. Moreover, groups moved about or expanded their influence or even died out over the centuries. No mention at all is made of the Oriental (Mongoloid) races of the Far East, the aborigines of the Australian and South Sea Islands, or the inhabitants of the Americas. These more remote peoples are either hidden in the genealogies or they were unknown to the compiler.
The order in which Moses dealt with the three sons of Noah reflects the purpose and the emphasis of Moses. Japheth is dealt with first because he is least important to the theme being developed. Ham is next discussed because of the important part the Canaanites played in the history of Israel. Shem is mentioned last because he is the principle person of the chapter. He is the one through whom the "seed of the woman" will come. The godly line will be preserved through Shem.
The table of the nations evidences a selectivity which is also subservient to the purpose of the account. Only those nations are described who will play a key role in the national development of Israel in the land of Canaan.
I. THE SONS OF JAPHETH (Genesis 10:2-5)
We are told the least about these. They are not as important to the present story. Their destiny is remote. The prophecy Noah made about them would not be fulfilled until Christ came and the Gentiles are included in the promises. They are the most geographically remote from Israel as well.
A. Gomer (Genesis l0:2a,3)
The first-mentioned (and quite possibly the first-born) son of Japheth was Gomer. Some of his descendants settled in southern Russia, while others occupied regions from Asia Minor (modern Turkey) across Assyria to Media (southwest of the Caspian Sea). His sons were Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah.
The posterity of the first are thought to have settled in Armenia at first and quite possibly later moved into Europe. There is some indication that Ashkenaz and the Germanic peoples (and possibly some Scandinavians) are related. (German Jews are sometimes referred to as the Ashkenazi.) Descendants of the next son, Riphath, have been traced into parts of Asia Minor near the Black Sea (Paphlagonia). As for Togarmah, most experts place his progeny in Armenia also.
B. Magog (Genesis l0:2b)
The second son of Japheth was Magog and only fragments of information are available concerning his history. The Jewish historian Josephus identifies him with the Scythians of Eastern Europe and western Russia. It may be that "Magog" means "the land of Gog." The two words are found together in Ezekiel 38:2 and Revelation 20:8. In the former passage "Gog" is associated with places called Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. Some Bible scholars think these three are related etymologically to "Russia," "Moscow," and "Tobolsk." "Magog" is clearly a name for those who are against God in the verses cited.
C. Madai (Genesis l0:2c)
Madai was the ancestor of the Medes who created an empire west and south of the Caspian Sea. Later branches probably moved into Persia and India.
D. Javan (Genesis l0:2d, 4)
The name of this son seems clearly to be the root of "Ionian," which was the ancient name for Greece (see Isaiah 66:19). So, as the descendants of Madai moved eastward, those of Javan headed west. It is probable that these two branches gave rise respectively to the Indo-European linguistic stock, one of the basic ethnological divisions of mankind.
Javan had four sons. Elishah has been identified with Greece. Some trace his line to the Mediterranean islands of Sicily or Cyprus, or to those of the Aegean.
A place called Tarshish was the planned destination of the prophet Jonah when he refused God’s will to go to Nineveh (Jonah 1:3). Most experts locate it in Spain.
Javan’s third son, Kittim, was the ancestor of settlers on Cyprus. Josephus says that the ancient name for the island was "Kitian." These people perhaps also migrated to other islands and to the Greek mainland as well.
Dodanim has been connected with the Dardanians, people of ancient Asia Minor; with the island of Rhodes; and with the Rhone River (see 1 Chronicles 1:7).
E. Tubal (Genesis l0:2e) and Meshech (Genesis l0:2f)
Tubal was closely associated in history and in the Bible with his brother, the sixth son, Meshech (see Ezekiel 32:26; 38:2-3). They have been traced very early to the south shore of the Black Sea and later farther north into modern Russia.
F. Tiras
The final name is that of Tiras, whose offspring have been identified with the Thracians of southeastern Europe (modern Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, and Rumania) in the region called the Balkans.
G. Summary (Genesis 10:5)
"From these [the descendants of Japheth] the coastlands of the nations were separated into their lands, every one according to his language, according to their families, into their nations." This branch of the family of Noah subsequently populated the region north and northwest of their origin: around the Black Sea and beyond to all or most of Europe from the northern Mediterranean coast to Scandinavia and including European Russia. Others went in the opposite direction and filled in portions of Persia and India. The bulk of the Gentile nations of the world are Japhetic in origin.
These nations will not even begin to interact with the descendants of Shem until around 500 years before Christ. Then the first of them will come and begin to fulfill Noah’s ancient blessing -- Cyrus the Mede. He was from the area settled by Madai. He conquered Babylon, or Babel as it is named in verse 10, a city settled by the descendants of Ham.
Babylon would one day be at enmity with Israel and would capture the people of God and enslave them. Do not miss this for all the names -- Ham enslaves Shem. Japheth rescues Shem by crushing Ham. The descendant of Japheth, Cyrus the Mede, will free Israel from Babylon.
II. THE SONS OF HAM (Genesis 10:6-20)
From the second son of Noah (probably the youngest of the three, according to Genesis 9:24), there descended people who moved out in essentially a southern direction from the original cradle of civilization in the Middle East. Again, we cannot be certain of the movements of all of them, but archaeology has done much here also in affirming the Bible record. Four sons are listed for Ham, and there are numerous descendants for three of them as well.
A. Cush (Genesis l0:6a, 7-12)
Initially this branch was to be found in the Tigris-Euphrates valley (Mesopotamia). Subsequently some migrated south to Africa and are to be identified with Nubia (southern Egypt/northern Sudan) and Ethiopia. Verse seven states that Cush had five sons and all are equated with these same southern regions. "Seba" and "Sheba" are variant spellings of the same name and are to be located in Nubia. Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca can all be traced to portions of Arabia, mostly in the south across from Ethiopia. Havilah is mentioned in Genesis 25:18 and 1 Samuel 15:7. (It may or may not be the same as the one in Genesis 2:11.) Ezekiel 27:22 indicates that some of these people were traders, probably of the sea-going variety considering their coastal locations.
The text also lists two sons of Raamah and therefore grandsons of Cush, Sheba and Dedan who are also to be associated with southern Arabia. Descendants of Sheba were called "Sabeans" and became important commercially.
There may be confusion here about this group. There is in verse 7 a son of Cush, named "Seba," which is an alternate spelling. In verse 28 there is another "Sheba" as part of the Semitic branch, and yet another in Genesis 25:3 (along with a brother named Dedan), who were grandsons of Abraham and thus also Semites. We are not able to trace the relationship or settlement pattern of these four.
In verses 8-12, however, the narrative suddenly expands in order to give us information regarding an important Hamite called "Nimrod." He was the sixth son of Cush. More time is spent on him than anyone else. His name in Hebrew means "Let us rebel." The beginning of his kingdom was Babel. Here is a rebel against the Lord God. As in the days of Noah, when there were giants in the earth, so now. Nimrod strides about as a giant on the earth, boasting of his strength. He is like Lamech the descendant of Cain; like all the seed of the Serpent.
He epitomizes all the sons of Ham; they trust in themselves and boast in their might. We will see his type again in Goliath, a descendant of Ham and Canaan, boasting against the armies of Israel, asking who dares to fight him. We see his kind in Rabshakeh, a descendant of Ham, boasting on behalf of Sennacherib, King of Assyria : "Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria! 29 Thus says the king: ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you out of my hand. 30Do not let Hezekiah make you to rely on the Lord by saying, "The Lord will surely deliver us, and this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria." 31Do not listen to Hezekiah; for thus says the king of Assyria: "Make your peace with me and come out to me; then every one of you will eat from your own vine and your own fig tree, and drink water from your own cistern, 32until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive oil and honey, that you may live and not die." Do not listen to Hezekiah when he misleads you by saying, "The Lord will deliver us." 33 Has any of the gods of the nations ever delivered its land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? 34Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah? Have they delivered Samaria out of my hand? 35Who among all the gods of the countries have delivered their countries out of my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?’" (2 Kings 18:28-35).
The cities associated with Babel in verse 10 were all in Shinar, meaning lower Mesopotamia. The modern term, "Iraq," is thought to be derived from "Erech." In later centuries this region was called Chaldea (Genesis 11:31) and also Babylonia (Daniel 1:1-2). Considering the eventual significance of these various locations as they related to God’s people, Israel, we are not surprised to find these details regarding Nimrod.
He is called "a mighty hunter before the Lord," but this may be irony, or sarcasm. He tries to build a tower to heaven so he can be like God. God laughs and scatters all his people. He may have seemed great in the eyes of men, but he is nothing before God. So it is with all the descendants of Ham. Note that no descendants are listed for Nimrod.
B. Mizraim (Genesis l0:6b,13-14)
The second of Ham’s sons was Mizraim, a term clearly identified historically with Egypt. In Psalm 105:23 we read, "Israel also came into Egypt; thus Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham."
From this son came seven families, listed in verses 13-14. Note that each name ends in "im" (the Hebrew plural), as does "Mizraim" itself. "Ludim" probably means "the descendants of Lud." It may be that originally the words were spelled "Lub" and "Lubim" and give us "Libya," a North African nation west of Egypt. (One of Shem’s sons was named "Lud," verse 22, who is thought to have been the ancestor of the Lydians in Asia Minor.)
The other Hamitic families via Mizraim either lived around the periphery of Egypt or on the island of Crete. The parenthesis in verse 14 regarding the Philistines is incorrectly placed. A comparison of Deuteronomy 2:23, Jeremiah 47:4, and Amos 9:7 reveals them to have been descended from the Caphtorim and not the Casluhim. (The name, "Palestine," is a Greek form of "Philistia.")
C. Put (Phut) (Genesis l0:6c)
The line of this third son of Ham can be traced with no hesitation to the country called "Libya," just west of Egypt.
D. Canaan (Genesis l0:6d,l5-19)
The Canaanites are certainly one of the best-known people of the Bible. Their land was the target of Israel’s armies under Joshua, and the failure to obey God completely with respect to their extermination resulted in much misery for successive generations of Jews.
Albright has written,
Comparison of the cult objects and mythological texts of the Canaanites with those of the Egyptians and Mesopotamians forces one conclusion, that Canaanite religion was much more completely centered on sex and its manifestations. In no country has so relatively great a number of figurines of the naked goddess of fertility, some distinctly obscene, been found. Nowhere does the cult of serpents appear so strongly. The two goddesses Astarte (Ashtaroth) and Anath are called "the great goddesses which conceive but do not bear." -- William F. Albright, "Recent Discoveries in Bible Lands," Young’s Analytical Concordance to the Bible, 20th ed., p. 29, as quoted by Louis B. Hamada, Prophetic Implications of Noah’s Curse on Canaan (unpublished thesis: Dallas Theological Seminary, 1978), p. 24.
The various subdivisions of Canaanite culture are listed in verses 15-18. Sidon, the eldest son, probably gave his name to the famous Mediterranean seaport which today is called Sayda or Saida in Lebanon.
(By prophetic revelation, Noah foresaw that the moral flaws evidenced by Ham would be most fully manifested in Canaan and in his offspring. Knowing this, the curse of God falls upon the Canaanites because of the sinfulness Noah foresaw. The emphasis thus falls upon the fact that the Canaanites would be cursed because of their sin, not due to Ham’s. This explains why Canaan is cursed and not Ham, or the rest of his sons.)
The next son was Heth, who seems unquestionably to have been the patriarch of a people called the Hittites. This nation became one of the most notable powers in the ancient Middle East. Their very existence was unknown and seriously doubted by some until archaeological finds early in this century proved them to have come to the fore in the time of Abraham (see Genesis 15:20, 23:lff). A second period of prominence paralleled the days of Joshua. Their sphere of influence covered parts of Asia Minor and Syria.
There are two interesting points about the Hittites. For one, their language appears to have contained some elements clearly Japhetic in origin, so it appears that there was some commingling of these two different families. Moreover, it is theorized that descendants of the Hittites, survivors of the decline of that empire, moved far to the east and merged with the Chinese. "Hittite" became "Khittae" (in certain ancient records), a word possibly related to "Cathay," an ancient name of China. Archaelogists have noted cultural similarities between Hittites and Chinese.
Verses 18b-19 relate the spreading of Canaanites and the extent of their territory from Sidon to Gerar (in the Gaza strip along the Mediterranean) and thence to the Dead Sea cities mentioned. (Incidentally, the reference to Sodom and Gomorrah as still in existence strongly supports an early date for this table.)
E. Summary (Genesis 10:20)
The descendants of Ham, Cush, Mizraim (Egypt), Put, Canaan -- a veritable hit list of bad guys, the arch-enemies of Israel. All these nations are cursed in Scripture for their disobedience to God and their persecution of God’s people. Mizraim (Egypt) in particular, will enslave Israel, the descendants of Shem.
The Israelites hearing this know the history. They have just been brought out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. Egypt will continue to plague Israel for the next 1000 years and will be cursed by the prophet Isaiah along with Cush and Put for their treachery against God’s people. Cush will at last be overthrown, by Ahasuerus, a descendant of Japheth. Here is the pattern: enmity between Ham and Shem, with Japheth off to the side, entering the game late, if at all.
Like verse 5, we have mention here again of "families…languages…lands…nations." The divisions, therefore, are tribal, linguistic, geographical, and then political. The compiler mentions "languages," which means he was writing after the incident at the tower of Babel, since there was only one language previously (see Genesis 11:1).
III. THE SONS OF SHEM (Genesis 10:21-31)
A. Introduction (Genesis 10:21)
Shem is the forefather of the Shemites. We must be careful not to confuse the designation with those peoples who speak Semitic languages. The Semitic languages include peoples of both Shem and Ham. Ross states the descendants of Shem as "…families stretching from Asia Minor to the northern mountains of the Tigris region, to Sumerian U, to the Persian Gulf, and ultimately to North India." --Allen Ross, The Table of the Nations (unpublished doctoral dissertation: Dallas Theological Seminary), 1976
This third son of Noah, like the other two, had also known the world before the great deluge. It appears that he was born some twenty-three years after his father had heard from God about the coming flood (compare Genesis 5:32 and 11:10).
Since the days of Shem’s ancestors in the garden in Eden, God had been relating to man either directly or via the patriarch who headed the family. Very soon now He would choose one nation – Israel -- after nations had been formed, and reveal Himself to the world through that people. And that people would be descended from Shem. Hence, the Semitic branch of the family of Noah is the most important theologically and has been left until last. Note that Shem was "the father of Eber," and "Eber" probably gives us the word, "Hebrew" (see Genesis 14:13). "Father" here means "ancestor."
B. Elam (Genesis l0:22a)
This branch of Semites settled east of Babylonia in what became Persia. One of their kings is mentioned in Genesis 14:1. In later centuries they merged with non-Semites and lost their distinctiveness.
C. Assur (Genesis l0:22b)
The great Semitic nation of the Assyrians was descended from this man. They eventually seized the city of Nineveh, which had been founded by Nimrod, a Hamite, and made it their capital.
D. Arphachshad (Genesis l0:22c,24-30)
Little is known of this man directly. However, when we note verses 24-30 we find his principal significance lies in his being in a direct line between Noah and Abraham, and therefore also an ancestor of Jesus Christ. (The name of Cainan or Kenan is not included here or in Genesis 11:12 as a son of Arpachshad and father of Shelah, but it is found in some ancient manuscripts and can be seen in the Septuagint Bible from which Luke 3:36 is derived.)
Shelah fathered a son named Eber (see earlier), who in turn had two sons, Peleg and Joktan. It was in the days of the former that "the earth was divided." Apparently this refers to the divisions of people into various linguistic groups which is coming up in chapter 11. The progeny of Joktan was numerous, thirteen sons being listed here. All settled in Arabia, mostly in the south.
E. Lud (Genesis l0:22d)
As mentioned above, the Lydians of Asia Minor were the progeny of this Semite.
F. Aram (Genesis l0:22e)
This son became the father of the Aramaeans or Syrians. Their language was called "Aramaic" and was adopted by many groups in the ancient Middle East in the days of the Assyrian and Babylonian empires and later. (See 2 Kings 18:26. A very early use of this language is illustrated in Genesis 31:47.) Portions of the Old Testament were written in Aramaic (Daniel 2:4-7:28, Ezra 4:8-6:18, 7:12-26). It was commonly spoken in Palestine at the time of Christ.
G. Summary (Genesis 10:32)
How have the descendants of each of Noah’s three sons contributed to mankind?
Dr. Arthur C. Custance, renowned scholar and anthropologist writes the following:
In the case of Ham and his descendants, history shows that they have rendered an extraordinary service to mankind from the point of view of the physical developments of civilization. All the earliest civilizations of note were founded and carried to their highest technical proficiency by Hamitic people. There is scarcely a basic technological invention which must not be attributed to them. As we shall show later, neither Shem nor Japheth made any significant contribution to the fundamental technology of civilization, in spite of all appearance to the contrary. This is a bold statement but it is not made in ignorance of the facts.
The contribution of Japheth has been in the application of philosophy to technology and the consequent development of the scientific method. As the application of Japheth’s philosophy to the technology of Ham produced science, so the application of his philosophy to the religious insights of Shem produced theology. The Hamitic people never developed science and the Semitic people did not develop theology, until the influence of Japhetic philosophy was brought to bear...most of us have been brought up to believe that we, Indo-Europeans, are the most inventive people in the world. It is exceedingly difficult to escape from this culturally conditional prejudice to take a fresh objective look at the origins of our technological achievements.
One may take almost any essential element of our highly complex civilization -- aircraft, paper, weaving, metallurgy, propulsion of various kinds, painting, explosives, medical techniques, mechanical principles, food, the use of electricity, virtually anything technological in nature -- and an examination of the history of its development leads us surely and certainly back to a Hamitic people and exceedingly rarely to Japheth or Shem. The basic inventions which have been contributed by Shem or Japheth can, it seems, be numbered on the fingers of one hand. This seems so contrary to popular opinion, yet it is a thesis which can be supported -- and has been documented -- from close to 1000 authoritative sources.
What we have been trying to show is that the historical process reflects the interaction between three families of people descended respectively from the three sons of Noah whom God appears to have apportioned specific responsibilities and equally specific capabilities for the fulfillment of them; to Shem, responsibility for man’s religious and spiritual well-being; to Japheth, his mental well-being; and to Ham, his physical well-being... all the great religions of the world -- true and false -- had their roots in the family of Shem, all true philosophical systems have originated within the family of Japheth, and the world’s basic technology is a Hamitic contribution…when these three work together in balanced harmony, civilization as a whole has advanced.
It is important to observe that all three are necessary for this. If any one element is given overemphasis the ultimate effect is detrimental! No society prospers which is over materialistic, or overly intellectual, or overly spiritual.
-- Noah’s Three Sons, pp. 26, 37, 38, 263, 264, Willmington’s Guide to the Bible.CONCLUSION (Genesis 10:31)
This entire chapter proclaims that the human race is a unity, even if it is divided in terms of tribal, linguistic, geographic and political developments. There is, therefore, a brotherhood that relates us all together. At the same time, there is a further difference that becomes even clearer from subsequent portions of Genesis and the rest of the Bible. Furthermore the chapter reminds us that we are all united in sin and need the redemption that God offers in Christ.
The contents of this chapter form an indispensable link in the ongoing record of human history. Even though the Bible is not history per se, but rather revelation of the God-man relationship, it is important that that chain of revelation be recognized as unbroken. The descendants of Shem, Ham and Japheth scattered across the face of the earth, but the plan and purpose of God includes us all.
There are 70 nations listed here, covering the face of the earth. When Christ came, he sent out 70 disciples, two by two, telling them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."
Shem, Ham and Japheth give us a picture of men throughout the history of God’s dealings with men. In Genesis chapter 12 we find the line through whom the Savior will come being narrowed to the offspring of Abraham. Men will be blessed or cursed by their response to him (Genesis 12:1-3).
At Calvary we find the epitome of man’s sin evidenced. Shem was present in the Jewish religious leaders who wanted the Messiah dead and out of the way. Japheth was present in the Romans who participated jointly with the Jews to crucify the Lord of glory. And Ham was also present in Simon of Cyrene, who bore the cross of Jesus in servitude (cf. Luke 23:26).
We have a choice to make, for we may either experience the blessings of Japheth or the curse of Canaan. The righteous seed has finally culminated in the coming of Messiah, of the seed of the woman (Genesis 3:15), of the seed of Shem (Genesis 9:26) and of Abram (12:2-3). In Christ, by submission to Him and faith in Him as God’s provision of forgiveness and righteousness for sinners, we may experience the blessing of Japheth. By despising Christ and rejecting Him -- by persisting in our sins, we come under the curse of Canaan for all eternity.
For more detailed information on the nations in this chapter see: