Genesis 1-11; Chapter 10 A Bible Commentary by Charles R. Sabo
A Bible Commentary
Introduction
Many do not appreciate reading the genealogy of the sons of Noah. The significance of this chapter weighs heavy upon the future interpretation in the rest of the Bible. The interpretation of the prophecy within Genesis 9:27 depends on the reader to understand the genealogical records of Genesis 10. The slave trade of the Canaanite slaves existed because Japheth’s descendent, Alexander the Great, defeated the Sidonians of Tyre in the fourth century B.C.; Sidon was the son of Canaan (Gen. 10:15).
As a person reads through the Scriptures, they will find numerous references towards specific ancestries of these sons of Shem, Japheth, and Ham. In addition, we can also find the directions that the generations of these sons had traveled and settled within this chapter. The most important thing to understand in this chapter, is that certain comments were made, which occurred after the events of Genesis 11:1-9. For example, some misinterpret Genesis 10:5, while thinking that the Gentiles spoke separate tongues before the events of the Tower of Babel. The events listed in chapter 10 are a summation of the generations and not to be interpreted as a timeline occurring before chapter 11.
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. This first verse of chapter 10 summarizes the entire chapter, as we can see that this all occurs after the flood. We must understand that chapter 10 is a summary and not to be understood to be a timeline leading to the events of Genesis 11:1-9. One thing to make note of is that there were no sons born during the flood upon the ark, therefore Canaan was born as son of Ham after the flood. Just because Genesis 9:18 discloses that Noah and his sons went forth from off the ark, and included the disclosure concerning Canaan, it by no means implies that Canaan was on the ark. Genesis 10:1 confirms that no sons of Ham were born, until after the flood.
Genesis 10:2 The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras. Firstborn Gomer is a significant son of Japheth mentioned in the Ezekiel 38:6 prophecy, of the notorious battle of the last days, known as the Battle of Gog of Magog.
As we look to the above map, we can see the general places that these sons of Japheth had settled. Please keep in mind that these locations are after the dispersion and confounding of languages of Genesis 11:1-9. It should be understood that the descendants of Gomer eventually moved into what we now understand to be the northern part of Turkey. Magog settled north of the Black Sea, and eventually moved into what is now known as Russia. Meanwhile, Meshech and Tubal had settled into what it now known as Eastern Turkey.
2 Son of man, set your face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:
4 And I will turn you back, and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you forth, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armor, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
5 Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6 Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with you. (Ezek. 38:2-6)
It is understood that Madai migrated east into what is known as Persia, and eventually became the Medes. Tiras migrated into Europe and settled in the general location of what is now known as Italy. Meanwhile, Javan migrated also into Europe and settled into what is now known as Greece.
Genesis 10:3 And the sons of Gomer; Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah. Japheth’s oldest son, Gomer, had three sons. It is believed that Ashkenah migrated as far north as southern Russia, and as far south and west as southern Turkey. It is somewhat recognized that Riphath (R?p?a?), meaning “spoken,” had migrated north over the Riphean Mountains and settled in Eastern Europe. The Riphean Mountains were a mountain range located somewhere in the far north of Eurasia.
The youngest of the three sons of Gomer was Togarmah. The house of Togarmah is mentioned as one of the participants in the Battle of Gog of Magog (Ezek. 36:6). It is believed that he settled in the furthest eastern part of Turkey, as well as east into Armenia.
Genesis 10:4 And the sons of Javan; Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim. The fourth of the seven sons of Japheth was Javan, who is noted to have had four sons of his own. The oldest son, Elishah, and his brother Kittim, are known to have both settled on the Island of Cyprus. From what Ezekiel 27:7 discloses, the Island of Cyprus was at one time called the Island of Elishah. Being sea travelers, it is well known that the descendants of Kittim later migrated into southern Italy. Kittim (Chittim) is mentioned several times in the Old Testament, and weighed heavily in the outcomes of Israeli oppressions (Num. 24:24; Is. 23:1, 12. Jer. 2:10; Ezek. 27:6; Dan. 11:30).
Tarshish was the second oldest son of Javan, and migrated all the way to what is now known as Spain. He and his descendants are mentioned twenty-one times in the Old Testament. Being known for their sea travels, their merchants and ships brought gold, silver, and unusual animals to the middle-east. The merchants of Tarshish are mentioned in the future end-times prophecy of the Battle of Gog of Magog, when they will question the invaders of their intent in attacking Israel (Ezek. 28:18).
Javan’s youngest son was Dodanim (Rodanim) which means “leaders.” He settled in the western edge of Turkey and is associated with the people of the Island of Rhodes.
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. It is unknown how long the sons of Japheth had lived, but in those days, men were living to ages of two to four centuries (after the flood). From what Genesis 11:10-16 has disclosed, Peleg was born 101 years after the flood and died at the age of 239 (Gen. 11:18-19). We should know that Genesis 10:25 indicates that he lived during the dispersion of the Earth’s population, when the Lord confounded their languages (Gen. 10:25; 11:8-9). This information confirms that the dispersion and confounding of the languages occurred between 101 and 339 years after the flood.
The purpose of this verse is to disclose that the before mentioned sons of Japheth (Gen. 10:2-4) had lived through the dispersion of the population and had scattered according to their families and tongues. The event of Genesis 11:1-9, was the reason that they had all been scattered and had their languages confounded. The locations that I commented on, within verses 2-4, were because of the scattering and confounding of Genesis 11:1-9. The disclosure of Moses was that “By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands,” therefore, the same sons of Japheth were alive and were a part of the scattering that took place (divided in their lands; every one after his tongue).
Genesis 10:6 And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan. Ham’s first son, Cush, migrated over to the continent of Africa and has been the dominant population of that continent ever since. “Because, of the four sons of Ham, time has not at all hurt the name of Cush; for the Ethiopians, over whom he reigned, are even at this day, both by themselves and by all men in Asia, called Cushites.”[1]
Because Cush was the oldest of the four sons of Ham, his family became the most dominant.[2] After the Tower of Babel, they headed to northern and central Africa, as well as Saudi Arabia. Though they have been unrivaled since that time, they had gone through various tribal separations, which manifested into countries such as Ethiopia, Arabia, and later Sudan. Because of the Cushite’s dominance, they were great and terrible from the beginning (Is. 18:2).
Like his older brother Cush, Mizraim also migrated over to Africa. Mizraim is a name by which Egypt is frequently called in Scripture, because this man was the father of the Egyptians; because Egypt was inhabited by a son of Ham, it is sometimes called the land of Ham.
Ham’s third son, Phut, also settled in northern Africa, bordering on Libya, then possibly migrated over to the western side of northern Africa. The only other place, which we can find the sons of Phut mentioned in the Bible, is in Ezekiel 27. The context of that passage reveals the participants in the military of Tyrus, before they had been defeated by Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians.
8 The inhabitants of Zidon and Arvad were thy mariners: thy wise men, O Tyrus, that were in thee, were thy pilots.
9 The ancients of Gebal and the wise men thereof were in thee thy calkers: all the ships of the sea with their mariners were in thee to occupy thy merchandise.
10 They of Persia and of Lud and of Phut were in thine army, thy men of war: they hanged the shield and helmet in thee; they set forth thy comeliness. (Ezekiel 27:8-10)
Ham’s fourth son, Canaan, is the most well-known of his sons, because they had occupied the Promised Land before the children of Israel. The controversial implications of Genesis 9:22-27, which brought a devastating curse, makes Canaan even more important to the theological study of the Bible.
The nation Israel entered into the Promised Land knowing that God had ordered them to kill every man, woman, child, and beast. The inhabitants of the land consisted mostly of Amorites, who were children of Canaan. Israel was to not meddle with the children of Esau (Deut. 2:4-8) nor meddle with the children of Moab (Deut. 2:8-9), as well as the children of Ammon (Deut. 2:19). All three of these tribes were given their land by God, meanwhile He empowered Israel to overcome the inhabitants of the land, which were the children of Canaan. The Emims were tall as the Anakims and were defeated by Chedorlaomer and his allies in the plain of Kiriathaim (Gen. 14:5; Deut. 2:10); the Horims were defeated by the children of Esau (Deut. 2:12).
In Deuteronomy 7:1-2 and 20:17-18, God commanded that there be no mercy given unto the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; all were children of Canaan. Every man, woman, child, and beast were to be utterly destroyed. God warned the children of Israel that those tribes would teach them abominations. Looking to Joshua 6:21, Jericho was Israel’s first endeavor within the Promised Land and they, in fact, did destroy them as God commanded.
Joshua chapter 12 sums up the victories that Joshua had led Israel over, which consisted of thirty one kings and their cities. In Joshua 13, God told Joshua that he was old and yet there was still more land to be taken. During the times of the Judges, Israel spent time in battles and even times in siege, after they had forsook the Lord. When God finally granted them their request to have a king, He assigned them King Saul, who was once again ordered to kill every man, woman, child, and beast in the encounter against the Amalekites (1 Sam. 15:3).[3]
As a person reads through the conquests of Joshua, they can see that there were tribes that God protected, while others God ordered their complete genocide. During the times of the Judges, then later King Saul and King David, there were wars against people where genocide was not ordered; yet, when it came to the Canaanites, it should be understood that the Lord commanded the destruction of that race.
4And it came to pass after this, that there arose war at Gezer with the Philistines; at which time Sibbechai the Hushathite slew Sippai, that was of the children of the giant: and they were subdued. 5 And there was war again with the Philistines; and Elhanan the son of Jair slew Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, whose spear staff was like a weaver’s beam. 6 And yet again there was war at Gath, where was a man of great stature,whose fingers and toes were four and twenty, six on each hand, and six on each foot and he also was the son of the giant. 7 But when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea David’s brother slew him. 8 These were born unto the giant in Gath; and they fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants. (1 Chron. 20:4-8)
It should be understood why the motivation of God was the complete annihilation of a tribe, or people. The above passage, from 1 Chronicles 20:4-8, provides a perspective that must be understood. One should notice, as the nation Israel came into the Promised Land, God’s prophets rarely fail to mention that these Canaanites consisted of big and tall men referred to as giants.
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. Five of the six sons of Cush are mentioned here in verse 7, while Moses committed a complete verse (10:8) to the sixth son, Nimrod. The first son, Seba, remained settled in Egypt and Ethiopia, which was due to his father’s (Cush) original migration. In Psalm 72 (believed to be written by Solomon), is a messianic prophecy directed towards the Millennial Kingdom of Christ.
9 They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust.
10 The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts.
11 Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him. (Ps. 72:9-11)
“For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior: I gave Egypt for your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for you.” (Is. 43:3) The Lord provided an exclamation mark on His declaration from Isaiah 43:2. What had been declared is as good as done because God, who is their Savior, had declared it. The Lord reminded them of the past once again, which is an example of how well He had protected them already.
Checking back through history, a person can only find one or two instances where Ethiopia and Seba (sons of Cush) are mentioned together, along with Egypt. Isaiah, having already provided the remnant with much to look forward to, provided them with an extraordinary prophecy. Isaiah wrote in a present perfect progressive tense, in order to make the prophecy seem as though it had already happened. The prophetic perfect tense is used by the prophecy, in order to reveal the certainty of it to come to pass.
In 525 B.C., Cambyses of Persia conquered the Egyptians and Ethiopia.[4] This fulfilled, what Isaiah had prophesied to happen, nearly 175 years before. Because God called King Cyrus to be supportive of the Jewish remnant, God provided him with his compensation (I gave Egypt for your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for you).
The second son of Cush was Havilah, who settled in south-central Saudi Arabia, This son of Cush should not be confused with the twelfth son of Joktan, who was a son 0f Eber, son of Arphaxad, son of Shem.
The third son of Cush was Sabtah, who is known to have settled in the southeastern part of Saudi Arabia. There are no other references to Sabtah in the Bible, so it is an unknown if they played any important biblical roles concerning Israel. There was the province of Saba of southern Arabia and were undoubtedly related to the Sabaeans of Yemen. Flavius Josephus also records the name of Sabtah's descendants as the Sabateni. Ptolemy knew them as the Stab?i, and Pliny called them the Messabathi.
The fourth son of Cush was Raamah, who is known to have settled in southwestern Saudi Arabia. In Ezekiel 27, the prophet announced a judgment against Tyrus, while revealing the many merchants that contributed to her wealth; it was the sons of Raamah and the sons of Sheba (Raamah’s son) who were disclosed together in this case. “The merchants of Sheba and Raamah, they were your merchants: they occupied in your fairs with chief of all spices, and with all precious stones, and gold.” (Ezek. 27:22).
The fifth son of Cush was Sabtechah, who settled in southeastern Arabia. Having not been mentioned except for his genealogy, we must assume his descendants may have merged into the population of his brother Sabtah close by.
The first son of Raamah, Sheba, and second son, Dedan, settled close by each other in western Arabia. Dedan was more northwestern Arabia, while Sheba was more southwestern Arabia. These two sons are not to be confused with the two sons of Jokshan mentioned in Genesis 25:3, who were grandsons of Abraham and Keturah.
The Hebrew spelling between the names Sheba ?????? and Seba ????? are similar, but distinctly different. The Queen of Sheba was definitely the queen from the country of people then called Sheba, who was the son of Raamah and brother to Dedan. In 1 Kings 10:1, 4, 10, and 13, Sheba was spelled out using the same Hebrew ??????. We do know that son of Cush, Seba ?????, settled in what is known as Ethiopia, while Sheba ?????? settled in western Arabia. Therefore, rather than the Queen of Sheba being from Ethiopia, she was from western Arabia (Sheba, son of Raamah) or central/eastern Arabia (Sheba, son of Joktan [10:26]). She was a daughter of the sons of Sheba, and not a daughter of the sons of Seba.
In the future, Gog of Magog (Russia) will be confronted by the sons of Sheba and Dedan (western Saudi Arabia) concerning his motivation towards invading Israel with Iran (Persia), Turkey (Gomer, Togarmah, Meshech and Tubal), Sudan, (Ethiopia) and Libya.
Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto you, “Are you come to take a spoil? Have you gathered your company to take a prey, to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?” (Ezek. 38:13)
Genesis 10:8 And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. The Bible does not provide us with much information concerning the sixth son of Cush. Moses is so vague, as if he knew that we already had the extra-biblical texts, so that we already have known about the history of Nimrod. So far, we can pick up that Nimrod was born a son of Cush and that he began to be a mighty one in the world (Earth). The ancient history book called the Book of Jasher has a vast commentary of the rule of Nimrod.
23 And Cush the son of Ham, the son of Noah, took a wife in those days in his old age, and she bare a son, and they called his name Nimrod, saying, At that time the sons of men again began to rebel and transgress against God, and the child grew up, and his father loved him exceedingly, for he was the son of his old age. (Bk. Of Jash. 7:23)
The evil in the world has prevented mankind from knowing how Nimrod ever became a mighty one upon the Earth, nor do they want you to know that he is Ba’al, Osiris, Marduk, Apsu, Poseidon, and Gilgamesh of the pagan religions throughout the history of mankind.
Genesis 10:9 He was a mighty hunter before the Lord: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord. This verse has been altered and twisted by the evil realm. Because the evil realm does not want you to know the truth about Nimrod, they have changed the Bible. Many do not want to challenge the church’s authority and re-evaluate what this verse actually really implies. Yes, Nimrod was a mighty hunter, but of what?
When we look a little closer at the phrase “mighty hunter before the Lord,” we will find mistranslations. If we look at the Lexicon Hebrew words for “mighty hunter,” we will find gib?r ?ayi?. The Hebrew noun “?ayi?” translates into English as a noun “hunting game,” or “game hunted.” In order to be consistent with the adjective “mighty,” the translators have to assume that Nimrod is the hunter. So far, it makes sense and is correct. The mistranslation of the parsed Hebrew noun pinna ???????, which has been changed in most Lexicons to be pān?m ??????? is the real issue. The definition for the noun “pān?m” is “face, before and behind; presence/person.” The definition for the noun “pinna” is “corner of ruler or chief.” The actual text could be read as “mighty hunter of the corner of the Lord. The word “corner,” in this context, can be the figurative of chief, ruler as corner (support or defence), (Judges 20:2).” Nimrod was a mighty hunter of the position of the Lord. Therefore, Nimrod was not a hunter before God, but a Satan worshipper, seeking world power.
24 And the garments of skin which God made for Adam and his wife, when they went out of the garden, were given to Cush.
25 For after the death of Adam and his wife, the garments were given to Enoch, the son of Jared, and when Enoch was taken up to God, he gave them to Methuselah, his son.
26 And at the death of Methuselah, Noah took them and brought them to the ark, and they were with him until he went out of the ark.
27 And in their going out, Ham stole those garments from Noah his father, and he took them and hid them from his brothers.
28 And when Ham begat his first born Cush, he gave him the garments in secret, and they were with Cush many days.
29 And Cush also concealed them from his sons and brothers, and when Cush had begotten Nimrod, he gave him those garments through his love for him, and Nimrod grew up, and when he was twenty years old he put on those garments. (Bk. of Jasher 7:24-29)
The garments of Adam are legendary, as they should be. The mystical side of the story is, that God gave these garments supernatural powers. When Nimrod wore the garments, he became a mighty one in the Earth.
31 And Nimrod strengthened himself, and he rose up from amongst his brethren, and he fought the battles of his brethren against all their enemies round about.
32 And the Lord delivered all the enemies of his brethren in his hands, and God prospered him from time to time in his battles, and he reigned upon earth. (Bk. of Jash. 7:31-32)
Genesis 10:10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. Just as the Book of Jasher had said, Nimrod reigned upon the Earth, meanwhile he maintained the entire world population right there in the Mesopotamian Valley known to be the Land of Shinar. As Genesis 10:10 states, the beginning of his kingdom was named “Babel.” To be consistent with the disclosure that the entire population was there in one place (Gen. 11:1-2), the metropolitan of Babel consisted of its burbs, Erech, Accad, and Calneh.
1. Now it was Nimrod who excited them to such an affront and contempt of God. He was the grandson of Ham, the son of Noah, a bold man, and of great strength of hand. He persuaded them not to ascribe it to God, as if it was through his means they were happy, but to believe that it was their own courage which procured that happiness. He also gradually changed the government into tyranny, seeing no other way of turning men from the fear of God, but to bring them into a constant dependence on his power. He also said he would be revenged on God, if he should have a mind to drown the world again; for that he would build a tower too high for the waters to be able to reach! and that he would avenge himself on God for destroying their forefathers![5]
One additional tidbit concerning the Land of Shinar. The prophecies presented to us from the Book of Zechariah indicates that the Lord will destroy the Land of Shinar with his mass of fire (nukes). Because the world still is ruled by the continuous worship of these false gods, which Nimrod had originated, God has prophesied against the spiritual city of Babylon that is from the land of Shinar.
Zechariah 5:9 Then lifted I up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came out two women, and the wind was in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork: and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heaven. Zechariah continued describing what he saw in this same vision. When Zechariah looked up at this nuclear warhead, he saw two fire offerings (there came out two women) lifting the warhead off the ground, he recognized that they had great swiftness, as if they had wind in their wings. The same mistake was made on the proper translation for 'ishshah in this verse, whereas these are clearly two fire offerings as one can see in the above photo. There are two rockets flaming out of the tail of this nuclear warhead, in order to lift it to its destination. A proper translation would say “Then lifted I up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came out two fire offerings, and the wind was in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork.” The wickedness of the war mongering nations will be used against them by God, as He will use these nuclear warheads for their own destruction.
Zechariah 5:10 Then said I to the angel that talked with me, Whither do these bear the ephah? Zechariah asked an interesting question to the cherub angel. The word “Whither” is translated from the Hebrew word yalak, which is defined as: “to lead, bring, lead away, carry, cause to walk.” God revealed to me that Zechariah asked the cherub angel: “for what reason do these people build such a wicked device?”
Zechariah 5:11 And he said unto me, To build it an house in the land of Shinar: and it shall be established, and set there upon her own base. The cherub angel provided Zechariah a very deep answer to his question in verse 10. There has been a desire for Satan and his evil followers to bring in a single one world government, ever since the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11). God has confounded the languages and dispersed the people throughout the Earth, in order to prevent such an evil and diabolical plan, which would enslave the human race under one evil, ruling system. God has delayed their plan, in order to send His Son to be the Savior and Redeemer for the people of His kingdom. Since Christ had come and did succeed to die in the place of His people, the world has been moving closer and closer to that day, where they will destroy many and try to rule over the Earth. The house, which started to be built in the land of Shinar, was the Tower of Babel; the Mystery Religion had been born there and is still alive in the pagan churches, as well as the Roman Catholic Church (Rome). “And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.” (Gen. 11:2)
Typically, the word of God uses a feminine pronoun to indicate a church, or people. The Mystery Religion will be the evil realm responsible for the building of so many nuclear warheads all over the Earth. The Lord has indicated that He will set the nuclear warheads against her own base; this implies that He will use their own nuclear warheads against them (set there upon her own base). This prophecy ends with an explanation of why the nuclear warheads exist. The satanic realm will provoke the use of these weapons, as God has planned. The end will be God’s choice to judge the wicked, and these devices of the wicked will be used against them.
Genesis 10:11 Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah, As we will find out in Genesis 10:22, Asshur was the second son of Shem, son of Noah. Asshur was the father of the Assyrians, and thus all of the Assyrians were Semites like the sons of Israel. Asshur first built the city of Nineveh, which eventually became the capital city of Assyria.
A mistranslation of the Hebrew word r??ō???, ???????? was thought to be a city, but the use of the Hebrew word usually means “wide places or streets.” The Hebrew noun “?r,” ???? which means “city,” was only used before the city of Calah, but not before rehoboth. The proper translation should say: and built Nineveh, the streets, and the city of Calah. Then the following verse makes more sense, since Resen was between the two cities (Nineveh and Calah).
Genesis 10:12 And Resen between Nineveh and Calah: the same is a great city. As stated in the previous verse, there was no city named rehoboth, but must be interpreted as “the streets” of Nineveh. This verse verifies that there were just the two cities mentioned in verse 10:11, which the city of Resen was placed between them and also became a great city.
Genesis 10:13 And Mizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim. The second son of Ham was Mizraim. His first son was named Ludim. Typically, the Hebrew language uses the last few letters “im” to designate plurality. The first son of Mizraim was Lud, while his descendants are called Ludim. It is understood that the Ludim were inhabitants of Egypt and mingled themselves among the Mizraim families. In Ezekiel 30:5, Lud refers to Ludim, the African nation. It occurs in association with Ethiopia and Lydia in an oracle directed against Egypt.
Mizraim’s second son was Anam, while his descendants were called Anamim. Because Mizraim settled in Egypt, it is understood that the Anamim settled in the western part of Egypt, and absorbed into the Egyptian population of people.
Mizraim’s third son was Lehub, while his descendants were called the Lehubim. They settled also in western Egypt, along-side of the Anamim. Meanwhile, Mizraim’s fourth son was called Naphtuh, while his descendants were called the Naphtuhim. They too stayed in Egypt and settled in the central area along the Nile River.
Genesis 10:14 And Pathrusim, and Casluhim, (out of whom came Philistim,) and Caphtorim. Mizraim’s fifth son was Pathrus while his descendants were called the Pathrusim. They settled in northern Egypt, and can be associated with ancient Pathros, Egypt. The Pathrusim people are prophesied by Ezekiel 29:14 to be brought back to their homeland during the Millennial Kingdom of Christ, after the desolation of their land, mentioned in Ezekiel 29:8-12; 30:13-19.
The sixth son of Mizraim was Casluh, and his descendants are known as the Casluhim. Interestingly, Moses made a special point to indicate that the Casluhim beget the Philistim, later known as the Philistines. It seems that the Pathrusim intermarried with the Casluhim and brought forth together the people called the Philistim.
Are ye not as children of the Ethiopians unto me, O children of Israel? saith the Lord. Have not I brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt? and the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir? (Amos 9:7)
The Philistines were known for their sea travels, so it should be ascertained that they migrated by ship over to the Gaza strip in Israel; this may have been around the same time that Joshua had entered the Holy Land with the people of Israel (Josh. 3:17). It suggests that the Exodus out of Egypt to the Holy Land was attempted by the same Egyptians who dwelled with Israel in northern Egypt. This may be entirely because of the ten plagues put upon their land by the hand of the Almighty God (Ex. 7:15-12:29). They could have fled by sea to search for a new life away from the cursed land of Egypt at that time.
And the children of Pathros and Casluch intermarried together, and from them went forth the Pelishtim, the Azathim, and the Gerarim, the Githim and the Ekronim, in all five families; these also built themselves cities, and they called their cities after the names of their fathers unto this day. (Bk. Of Jash. 10:23)
The sixth son of Mizraim was Caphtor, and his descendants are known as the Caphtorim. It is believed that they dwelt in northern Egypt as well, and were sea travelers like their brothers the Casluhim. It is believed that the Caphtorim traveled by sea to the island of Crete and settled there. Once again, this may have been for the same reason that the Philistim had fled Egypt, which would be around the same time as the Exodus of Israel out of Egypt. With the Caphtorim and the Philistim both having biblical records indicating they came to the Gaza strip from Egypt, we should look at it as an immediate Exodus away from the cursed land of Egypt at that time.
And the Avims which dwelt in Hazerim, even unto Azzah, the Caphtorims, which came forth out of Caphtor, destroyed them, and dwelt in their stead.) (Deut. 2:23)
From what Amos 9:7 has suggested, the Philistim could have fled with the Caphtorim to Crete, which was called Caphtor. Then possibly fled Crete and settled in the Gaza strip in the Holy Land shortly afterward.
Genesis 10:15 And Canaan begat Sidon his first born, and Heth, The first born son of Canaan, son of Ham, was Sidon. Sidon migrated to the eastern shore of the Promised Land, where he built a city called Sidon. The Sidonians were known for being merchants with their seaport in the east coast of the Land of Canaan (Holy Land).
Namely, five lords of the Philistines, and all the Canaanites, and the Sidonians, and the Hivites that dwelt in mount Lebanon, from mount Baalhermon unto the entering in of Hamath. (Jud. 3:3)
Sidon (Zidon) is where the Phoenicians were first located, which became the major harbor of what is now Saida, Lebanon. During the time of Jesus Christ’s first visitation, it still existed as the major seaport of the west coast, and was visited there by the Lord during His three year ministry.
And he came down with them, and stood in the plain, and the company of his disciples, and a great multitude of people out of all Judaea and Jerusalem, and from the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases; (Luke 6:17)
Isaiah 23:2 “Be still, ye inhabitants of the isle; thou whom the merchants of Sidon, that pass over the sea, have replenished.” Tyre consisted of two pieces of land; one area off the main shoreline of now Lebanon and the second was an island about 800 meters off the main land shore.
Isaiah 23:2 speaks to the inhabitants of the island off shore. God had instructed them to be still. This is in reference to the inhabitants having fled from the mainland for safety, when the Babylonians had come to destroy Tyre of the mainland. They would be still in safety, as they were provided a replenishment of food and necessities by the ships of Sidon, which were located forty kilometers north of mainland Tyre. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon sieged main land Tyre between 586-573 B.C.[6]
Because of the day that comes to spoil all the Philistines, and to cut off from Tyrus and Zidon every helper that remains: for the Lord will spoil the Philistines, the remnant of the country of Caphtor. (Jer. 47:4)
The second son of Canaan was Heth, whose descendants became merciful to Abraham, when he needed a place to bury his wife, Sarah. The location that Heth had inhabited was in what later became Hebron, Israel. The Cave of the Patriarchs was purchased from a Hitite named Ephron (Gen. 23:13-17) in Heth.
5 And the children of Heth answered Abraham, saying unto him,
6 Hear us, my lord: thou art a mighty prince among us: in the choice of our sepulchres bury thy dead; none of us shall withhold from thee his sepulchre, but that thou may bury thy dead. (Gen. 23:5-6)
Genesis 10:16 And the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgasite, The list of sons of Canaan continues here in this verse; the third son of Canaan was Jebus, who was the first to inhabit the city of Jerusalem. The Jebusites were the inhabitants until King David attacked the city then called Jebus. Before the Jebusites had renamed the city Jebus, it was called Jerusalem as well.
From an early Nineveh tablet from the land of Canaan, a cuneiform document provides that the word “Salim” means “peace,” which represents “the God of Peace,” who was the patron deity of Jerusalem. In this pre-semitic language of Babylonia, “uru” means city, thus uru-salim presents us with the original name for the “city of peace.”[7]
Joshua led Israel in a campaign to drive out and destroy all Canaanites from the Promised Land, however they failed to drive out the Jebusites from Jerusalem (Josh. 15:63). The Benjamites also failed to drive out the Jebusites from Jerusalem years later (Jud. 1:21). The Jebusites changed the name of Jerusalem to Jebus during this time of their inhabitation, after their king and priest, Shem (son of Noah) had died.[8] It was not until King David took his men to Jebus (Jerusalem) and defeated the Jebusites (1 Chron. 11:6), did the original name become restored to Jerusalem. “And David dwelt in the castle; therefore they called it the city of David. 8 And he built the city round about, even from Millo round about: and Joab repaired the rest of the city.” (1 Chron. 11:7-8) God had His people build Him the Temple where they could worship Him in His city of choice, Jerusalem (1 Kings 5-9).
The fourth son of Canaan was named Amor, while his offspring were called the Amorites. They were spread throughout the land of Canaan and are the most notorious of the sons of Canaan. When God made His covenant with Abraham, He specifically mentioned the Amorites, whose cup was filling up with their iniquities; in fact, one can interpret the reason that the Lord sent Israel to Egypt, for the four hundred years, was because the Amorites were being given time to repent. “But in the fourth generation they shall come here again, because the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.” (Gen. 15:16) Though Deuteronomy 7:4 states that Israel should not intermarry with the Canaanites, because they would be influenced to worship their gods, a person must understand that the Canaanites were mingling themselves with the angels. There were giants in the land of Canaan, which meant that the DNA of the Canaanites had been corrupted (Deut. 2:10-12, 20-21; 3:11, Num. 13:30-33, Josh. 12:4-5, 1 Chron. 20:4-8, 2 Sam. 21:20-22). The iniquities of the Amorites consisted of major idolatry, which consisted of the worship of angels, and the sacrificial ceremonies performed to them. They were performing sacrifices of their babies, and small children burnt at their altars, as well as their selected virgins mating with the angles that they had been worshipping. When Noah cursed Canaan in Genesis 9:25-27, it destined his offspring to be the ungodly idolaters that they eventually became.
The fifth son of Canaan was Girgas, whose descendants became known as the Girgasites. From what Joshua 24:11 has stated, the different tribes of Canaan were indwelling then city of Jericho together, as if they had fled there in anticipation of the Israelite attack.
And you went over Jordan, and came unto Jericho: and the men of Jericho fought against you, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Girgasites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; and I delivered them into your hand. (Josh. 24:11)
Genesis 10:17 And the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite, The list of the sons of Canaan continues here in verse 17. The sixth son of Canaan was Hivi, whose descendants were called the Hivites. In Genesis 34, Shechem the Hivite raped Dinah, the daughter of Jacob and Leah, and full blood sister of Simeon and Levi. It was the men of the Hivite city Gibeon, who tricked Israel into saving them and having them serve as slaves (Josh. 9:7, 9:26-27). The Hivites were still around during the time of the Judges, whom the Israelites began to intermarry with, causing judgments to occur from God (Jud. 3:3). Then by the time of King Solomon, the Hivites were used for heavy labor, while building the first Temple (1 Kings 9:20-21)
The seventh son of Canaan was Arka, whose descendants were called the Arkites. The inhabitants of Arka, were located twelve miles north of what is now Tripoli, Syria, which is opposite the northern extremity of Lebanon. The Arkites were sea merchants like their brothers, the Sidonians. It is believed that the Phoenicians consisted of both Sidonians and the Arkites.
The eighth son of Canaan was Sin, and his descendants were called Sinites. Though there is no absolute information concerning this son of Canaan, I lean towards the Sinites being of the Wilderness of Sin. It is stated in Ezekiel 30:15 that Sin is the stronghold of Egypt. The Wilderness of Sin is positioned further south on the route followed by the people of Israel from Egypt to Mount Sinai (Ex. 16:1; 17:1; Num. 33:11, 12). Though I cannot be absolutely dogmatic with this, the fact is, no one can be dogmatic on the whereabouts of the Sinites.
Genesis 10:18 And the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite: and afterward were the families of the Canaanites spread abroad. The list of the sons of Canaan continues here in verse 18. The ninth son of Canaan was Arvad, whose descendants were called the Arvadites. This people settled on the island that bore their founder's name, Arvad. Today, it is known as Arwad, or the Ruad Island. It is the only island in Syria and lies north of the bay of Tripoli, which sits about two miles out to sea. The Arvadites were seaman and merchants involved with Sidon in trade with Tyrus. “The inhabitants of Zidon and Arvad were your mariners: your wise men, O Tyrus, that were in you, were your pilots. (Ezek. 27:8) The prophet Ezekiel implied that the mariners of Sidon and Arvad were the pilots and wise men employed by Tyrus.
The tenth son of Canaan was Zemar, whose descendants were called Zemarites. They were a Canaanite tribe that was connected to the Phoenicians and inhabited the town of Sumra, at the western base of the Lebanon range. In the Amarna tablets (B.C. 1400) Zemar, or Zumur, was recorded as one of the most important of the Phoenician cities and seaports.
The eleventh son of Canaan was Hamath, whose descendants were called the Hamathites. Hamath settled along the Orontes River in what is now Syria and his people maintained the city for many centuries. During the times of King David, we can understand that Zohar was a Canaanite kingdom, that bullied the Hamathites, until King David of Israel defeated Hadadezer of Zohar in the eleventh century B.C.
9 When Toi king of Hamath heard that David had smitten all the host of Hadadezer,
10 Then Toi sent Joram his son unto King David, to salute him, and to bless him, because he had fought against Hadadezer, and smitten him: for Hadadezer had wars with Toi. And Joram brought with him vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and vessels of brass: (2 Sam. 8:9-10)
The Hamathites remained, until Sargon II of Assyria defeated them and made Hamath an Assyrian province (720 B.C.). Because of this, the population of Hamath became more of the sons of Assur (son of Shem) in their origins afterward, as opposed to being sons of Canaan. It was Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon who defeated the Egyptian army in the Battle of Carchemish in 608 B.C. in Hamath. With the fall of the Egyptians and Assyrians in Hamath, it became the end of the dominance of Assyria and the rise of Babylon of the Chaldeans.
The Lord has a plan for the future of His people of Hamath, when He will save a remnant out of them during His return.
And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. (Is. 11:11)
The last statement of this verse should be understood. The important word used is “afterward,” which was translated from the Hebrew adverb “'a?ar.” An adverb modifies the verb “spread.” After Canaan beget (10:15) all of the eleven sons mentioned previously, the families of the Canaanites were spread abroad. When we get to Genesis chapter 11, we will understand what Moses meant by the verb “spread.” For now, just understand that the Moses used the Hebrew verb “p??,” which was translated as “spread” here in this verse. The Hebrew verb “p??” actually means “scatter.” Therefore, it should be understood that Canaan beget his eleven sons, then afterwards were all of the Canaanite families scattered abroad.
Genesis 10:19 And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as thou comes to Gerar, unto Gaza; as thou goest, unto Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboim, even unto Lasha. The borders listed in verse 19 are not absolutely clear, while others will exclude territories of one of the eleven sons of Canaan within these boundaries. From what I can see, the borders listed here are the northwest (Sidon), southwest (Gaza, Gerar), southeast (Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboim) and northeast (Lasha). If we draw a north border from the eastern border (Lasha) and the western border (Sidon), it would leave out the Hamathites living in the land known as Syria, as well as parts of northeast Turkey. Lasha was on the northeastern shores of the Dead Sea, while Sidon sat on the west coast of Turkey. The Hamathites occupied a large section of Syria and Lebanon, which sat northeast of Sidon and thus, outside the borders within this map. No matter where you locate Lasha, the Hamathites will not fall inside of the boundaries. I do not see this as an error in the Scriptures, but lean towards it being an error in the location of either the city of Lasha, or the city of Hamath.
Genesis 10:20 These are the sons of Ham, after their families, after their tongues, in their countries, and in their nations. Like Genesis 10:5 did with the sons of Japheth, this verse confirms that it just provided the reader with the sons of Ham (10:6-18), along with the borders of the Canaanite occupancy (10:19).
The purpose of this verse is to disclose that the before mentioned sons of Ham (Gen. 10:6-18) had lived through the dispersion of the population and had scattered according to their families and tongues. The event of Genesis 11:1-9, was the reason that they had all been scattered and had their languages confounded. The locations that I commented on, within verses 6-19, were because of the scattering and confounding of Genesis 11:1-9. Moses disclosed that the before mentioned sons of Ham had occupied the location borders of 10:19 after their families, tongues and nations.
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. With this verse, we must evaluate what is being said here. To be consistent, we must look to Genesis 5:32, and see that Shem was mentioned first, therefore the oldest son. In all of the biblical genealogies, the eldest is always mentioned first. “And Noah was five hundred years old: and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Gen. 5:32) Within this verse, the translators have indicated that Shem was the brother of Japheth the elder. The Hebrew noun that was translated as “the elder” is “gā??l,” which has several definitions (great: large (in magnitude and extent, or number, or intensity, or age, or in sound, or in importance). Unfortunately, the translators were not very good theologians, so they mistranslated this word as “the elder.”
33 And in the twenty-fifth [1205 A.M.] jubilee Noah took to himself a wife, and her name was Emzara, the daughter of Rake'el, the daughter of his father's brother, in the first year in the fifth week [1207 A.M.]: and in the third year thereof she bare him Shem, in the fifth year thereof [1209 A.M.] she bare him Ham, and in the first year in the sixth week [1212 A.M.] she bare him Japheth. (Bk. Of Jub. 4:33)
The Book of Jubilees is consistent with Genesis 5:32, making Shem the first born, Ham as the second born, and Japheth as the youngest. If the translators had researched Genesis 9:27, they would have seen that Japheth was prophesied to be the greater in number by their father Noah, while Shem had been first mentioned in the order of birth, which is consistent with all biblical genealogies (Gen. 5:32).
The importance of this verse should be realized that Shem was the father of all of the children of Eber. The specific importance is noted in verse 10:25 concerning Eber’s first-born son, Peleg: “for in his days was the earth divided.” The point is being made once again, that the Earth was divided and thus signifies that the scattering of the nations and the confounding of the languages occurred during the life of Eber’s son, Peleg. Thus, the genealogy of Shem begins with the indication that he was the father of all children of Eber, and he was brother to Japheth the greater in number, and even to Shem were children born.
Genesis 10:22 The children of Shem; Elam, and Asshur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram. The first born of the eldest son of Noah, Shem, was Elam. We can find the city of Elam first mentioned in Genesis 14:1, 9 as Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, who fought in a war against the five Canaanite kings of the plain. Unfortunately for the four Semite kings, when they took all of the goods out of Sodom and Gomorrah, they took Abraham’s nephew, Lot, hostage (Gen. 14:11-12). Abraham defeated the four Semite king’s armies, because the Lord favored him (Gen. 14:20).
These Elamites are not to be confused with the sons of Elam mentioned in the Book of Ezra and Book of Nehemiah. Those sons of Elam were of the Tribe of Benjamin (1 Chron. 8:1-27), while the original Elamites were Semite Gentiles. It is only children of Israel who are not Gentiles. Isaiah 11:11 includes the Elamites in the list of Gentiles, whom the Lord will save as a remnant, when He returns in His Second Coming.
The second born of Shem was Asshur, who was the founder of Nineveh and the Assyrians. As I had commented on concerning Genesis 10:11, Asshur went out of the land after the scattering of the people, at the time of the Tower of Babel (Gen. 11:1-9). Being a son of Shem, he did not stray too far away from his father. It is legend that Shem opened a ministry/school in the land of his cursed nephew, Canaan, in Uru-salim (Jerusalem) (Gen. 14:18-19; Bk. of Jash. 16:11-12). Asshur then settled northeast of Jerusalem in Nineveh, which was situated on the east bank of the Tigris River and encircled by the modern city of Mosul, Iraq.
The third son of Shem was Arphaxad, who is in the genealogical records leading to Messiah, through his son Shelah. If Shem beget Arphaxad two years after the flood (Gen. 11:10), then Shem’s wife was most likely pregnant with their first born (Elam) when they had gotten off of the ark. They still needed the year after the flood to birth Asshur, their second born, and then the second year after the flood for Arphaxad to be born.
The Bible only provides the name of one of the son’s of Arphaxad, while it can be ascertained that he and his sons indwelt the location called Ur. The daughter of Asshur married Kesed, son of Arphaxad, and birthed a son named Ur Namnu, who became ruler of the Kasdim. It had been called the city of Ur, while the sons and daughters of Arphaxad dwelt in the land. The Kasdim are who the Bible has called the Chaldeans (Ka?d?ma), thus Arphaxad is considered the father of the Chaldeans. “And Ur, the son of Kesed, built the city of 'Ara of the Chaldees, and called its name after his own name and the name of his father.” (Bk. of Jub. 11:3)
Because it was Terah and his son Abraham, who were natives of the city of Ur Kasdim (Gen. 11:31), it is believed that the sons of Shelah had remained in the city along with his brother Kesed’s descendants. The map shown below is the most accurate location of Ur-Kasdim, as one can see the travels of Abraham to Harran, then the southern journey to the Land Of Canaan.
And Tera? took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran, the son of his son, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, the wife of Abram his son; and they went-out with them from Ur-Kasdim to go to the land of Canaan, and they came until ?arran, and they dwelt there. (Gen. 11:31)
In Joshua 24:2-3, the translators used the English noun “flood” for the Hebrew noun “nāhār,” which is defined as: “stream/river.” The use of the noun “flood” is absolutely incorrect. It should be understood to be: “beyond the river,” and thus, should only be understood to be “beyond the Euphrates River.” This means that Ur-Kasdim” was on the other side of the Euphrates River in Turkey. The city of Ur was in northern Mesopotamia, and should be located in modern-day Urfa in southeastern Turkey, 44 km north of ?arran. A journey from Urfa to Canaan would absolutely pass directly through ?arran. With this understood, the false claims of the location being in Ur-Sumaria is incorrect, because it sits on the same side of the river as Canaan, and implies a ridiculously wrong journey by Terah, and then Abraham.
2 And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood river in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other gods.
3 And I took your father Abraham from the other side of the flood river, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac. (Josh. 24:2-3)
The fourth son of Shem was Lud, who should not be confused with the son of Mizraim, son of Ham (Gen. 10:6, 13). It is believed that the descendants of Lud were of the people of Lydia. The prophet Jeremiah used the same Hebrew name L???y for the Lydians in Jeremiah 46:9. Lydia, a region in western Anatolia, spoke the distinctive Lydian language, an Indo-European language of the Anatolian group.
The fifth son of Shem was Aram. Aram settled in what is now known as Syria. The translators of the Bible have substituted the name “Syria” for the Hebrew name “Aram” within the Old Testament. It was the Greeks (333 B.C.), who introduced the name “Syria” to that region. In the Old Testament, we can find the name Syria as early as Genesis 25:20. If we refer to the original Hebrew, the word 'Arammiy is the name given and then translated as “Syria” by the translators; this should really be translated as Aramea, who were decedents of Aram, who was a son of Shem. Originally, with an Indo-European corruption of “Assyria” in northern Mesopotamia, the Greeks used the term “Syria” to not only describe Assyria itself, but the lands to the west, which had for centuries been under Assyrian dominion.
The city of Damascus has existed since first noted in the Bible in Genesis 14:15, which was during the time of Abraham. Since that region was settled by Noah’s grandson Aram, son of Shem, Aram may have settled in Damascus; his initial location could have been named by him as the city of Damascus. Damascus is a name derived from the Hebrew word “Dammeseq,” which means: “silent is the sackcloth weaver.”
Then the servant left, taking with him ten of his master’s camels loaded with all kinds of good things from his master. He set out for Aram Naharaim and made his way to the town of Nahor. (Gen. 24:10)
The Aramaean Semite language was the dominant language of that location, while the Hebrew Semite language maintained its integrity within the same general locations close by. When Daniel the prophet was taken into captivity by the Babylonians of the Chaldeans, a person can see in Daniel chapter one that Daniel, and his three companions (Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah), were finding favor with the eunuch assigned to them. Being newly captive, Daniel wrote about his first year in Babylon in his native language of Hebrew.
A reader must understand that Daniel spent time among the Babylonian Chaldees and learned their Aramaic language fluently. Aramaic was used by the conquering Assyrians as a language of administration communication; following them, was the Babylonian and Persian empires, which ruled from India to Ethiopia, and employed Aramaic as the official language. For this period, then (about 700–320 B.C.), Aramaic held a position similar to that occupied by English today. The most important documents of this period are numerous papyri from Egypt and Aramaic from the land of Canaan.
Daniel wrote Daniel chapter 1 through chapter 2 verse 3 in his original native Hebrew language, then chapter 2 starting in verse 4, Daniel started to write his text in Aramaic. He continued writing this book in Aramaic until chapter 8. He then switched back to writing this book in Hebrew, once again in chapter 8 verse 1, and finished the book in Hebrew.
Genesis 10:23 And the children of Aram; Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Mash. After the confounding of the languages from the events of Genesis 11:1-9, Aram and his sons spoke the Aramaic language that dominated that region for many centuries. The portions of the Scriptures that were written in Aramaic include Ezra 4:8–6:18 and 7:12-26 (67 verses), Daniel 2:4b–7:28 (200 verses), Jeremiah 10:11; New Testament verses, which include Aramaic words transliterated by Greek letters, are: Matthew 5:22; 27:46, Mark 5:41; 7:34; 10:51; 14:36, John 1:42; 20:16, Acts 9:36, 40, Romans 8:15, 1 Corinthians 16:22, and Galatians 4:6.
The first born of Aram was Uz, who founded the city of Uz. The location of Uz is a little ambiguous, but can be concluded to be located near various other tribes spoken of in the Scriptures. Jeremiah 25:20-21 refers to “all the kings of the land of Uz” and includes among them, the kings of Ammon, Moab, Edom, and Philistia. So if all of those mentioned in Jeremiah 25:20-21 were in the land of Uz, then an accurate placement of this land has to be northwestern Arabia and southwestern Jordan, and even western into Gaza. Uz has been determined to have been in northwest Arabia.
The second son of Aram was Hul. There is really nothing much spoken of him, but it seems a location is still acknowledged in his namesake. The Hula Valley is an agricultural region in northern Israel with abundant fresh water, which used to be Lake Hula, prior to its draining. It is a major stopover for birds migrating along the Syrian-African Rift Valley between Africa, Europe, and Asia.
The third son of Aram was Gether, and the fourth son of Aram was Mash. Though nothing much is said concerning Gether, nor Hul, nor Mash, it should be realized that the Aramaeans were populated by all four of these sons of Aram.
Genesis 10:24 And Arphaxad begat Salah; and Salah begat Eber. Verses 24-25 were put in place in order to know the jest of the matter. The Genesis 11:1-9 event is hinted upon within verse 25, when Moses chose to provide the readers with the generations of Arphaxad, all of whom had existed leading up to that day. We know that Arphaxad had other sons and daughters, such as Kesed. As I commented upon concerning Genesis 10:22, Arphaxad is father of the Chaldeans. Arphaxad’s son, Salah, had dwelt in Ur along with his other sibling’s families.
As the countdown to Genesis 11:1-9 can be recognized here, Moses no only made a special point to list the sons of Arphaxad that would lead to Messiah (being important), but also the goal was to reveal the important Semites that existed during the events of Genesis 11:1-9. Eber was born as the son of Salah, son of Arphaxad, son of Shem, son of Noah. Since we know that Shem beget Arphaxad in the second year after the Flood of Noah, Salah was born in the thirty-eighth year after the flood (Gen. 11:12). We can also ascertain that Eber was born in the sixty-eighth year after the flood (Gen 11:14).
There is really no written history of Salah leaving Ur at any time, therefore we must conclude that the sons of Arphaxad remained there, until Abraham had been commanded by the Lord to go to Canaan. The same can be said of Eber, who must have remained in Ur, because his descendants were still there up until the times of the patriarchs.
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. This verse is very important in determining the approximate timing of the Genesis 11:1-9 scattering. Peleg and Joktan were the two eldest sons of Eber, but here, Moses includes an important tidbit of information. The inflected “y?m” ???????? was used as a masculine (his) “days” along with the preposition, which the translators used the conjunction “for,” which is interchangeable with “because.” The reason the name of one of Eber’s sons was Peleg is that the Earth was divided in his days of his life. In Hebrew, “Peleg” is defined as “divided.” An interesting note to realize…Peleg was named before the land was divided….therefore Eber was given this name for his son by the Lord.
It should be realized that the Pangea of the Earth, from the time of creation, had been separated (divided) during the 150 days after the waters had stopped during the Flood of Noah. (Gen. 8:3-4) In the case here, the division of the Earth has to do with the inhabitants, since we are disclosing generations, followed by the disclosure of events in Genesis 11:1-9, which is disclosed immediately after the disclosure of the generations.
If Eber was thirty-four when he beget Peleg (Gen. 11:16), then the thirty-four years can be added to the sixty-eighth year that Eber was born to come to 102 years after the flood, Peleg was born. Since we can know that Peleg lived two hundred thirty nine years (Gen. 11:18-19), then the events of Genesis 11:1-9 (scattering/dividing of Earth’s population) had occurred between one-hundred and two years and three-hundred forty-one years after the Flood of Noah.
Joktan was the younger brother of Peleg, and had his twelve sons who went off to dwell in different places as is implied in verse 10:32.
Genesis 10:26 And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah, 27 And Hadoram, and Uzal, and Diklah, 28 And Obal, and Abimael, and Sheba, 29 And Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab: all these were the sons of Joktan. It can be researched concerning each of Joktan’s sons. There are many presumptions out there, which could be right, but are not conclusive. It is suspected that the sons of Joktan inhabited Saudi Arabia and scattered throughout that region.
There is information concerning a few of the sons of Joktan (Yoktan), which I can comment upon. Hadoram was the sixth born son, who settled in Hadhrami in the Hadhramaut region in Yemen and their descendants in diaspora communities around the world. They speak Hadhrami Arabic an Arabic dialect with a heavy Hadramite Substrate, which belongs to the South Semitic languages. Uzal was the seventh born son of Yoktan, whose settlements are traced in the ancient name of Sana?a, the capital city of the Yemen. He was believed to be the founder of that Arabian tribe. Diklah was the eighth born son of Joktan, and his name (Jiqla) means “palm grove.” It may be that Diklah inhabited a land in Arabia that was heavy in palm trees, as he might have sought land after his namesake. Obal was the ninth son of Joktan. Though it should be understood that Obal and his descendants inhabited Saudi Arabia, a scribal typo error in 1 Chronicles 1:22 incorrectly presents his name as Ebal, which causes many incorrect assumptions. The tenth son of Joktan was Sheba, who migrated to central/eastern Arabia; throughout history, they were made wealthy because of their spice trading. While Raamah, son of Cush, begot Sheba and Dedan, Joktan never had a son Dedan, but did have a son, Sheba. While Sheba and Dedan (sons of Raamah) inhabited western Saudi Arabia, it was Sheba (son of Joktan) who inhabited the eastern side of Arabia.
The eleventh son of Joktan was Ophir. The Bible repeatedly describes the gold of Ophir as precious: Job 28:16 says that “wisdom does not have a price,” and “It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire.” Isaiah 13:12 says that in the Day of the Lord, a man will be "more rare than fine gold, Even man than the pure gold of Ophir.” Ophir is found mainly in Tarshis, which is called now the whole Philippines. The twelfth son of Joktan was Havilah, who settled in southern Arabia in Yemen. This location had been identified within Genesis 2:11, when identifying the location that the Pison River had taken, within the Garden of Eden. There is speculation of this river being a now fossil river being called the Kuwait river', but its headwater source does not match up with the location of the Tigris and Euphrates of today. It does however, fit the location of the details given concerning where it compasses (turns). This fossil river bed flowed into the Gulf of Aden, south of present day Yemen (southern tip of Arabia). Yemen has both gold and onyx, which matches: “...the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold,” as well as the onyx stone mentioned in Genesis 2:12.
The thirteenth son of Joktan was Jobab. He was the clan-father and patriarch of the Chou Dynasty. The descendants of Jobab, are said to be found in the mountainous areas to the east in the Elburzats Mountains in northern Iran. The Lineage of Jobab remained in the Middle East, while his clan cousins were swept into China by a band from Nimrod (king of the Earth).
Genesis 10:30 And their dwelling was from Mesha, as you go unto Sephar a mount of the east. Many will mistakenly use verse 30 as the boundaries for the thirteen sons of Joktan, but it is a partial disclosure for the boundaries of the Earth for all sons of Shem (Semites). Genesis 10:20-29 provides the first few generations of Shem’s descendants, then verse 30 provides the section allotment determined by the Lord for the Semites on through eternity. “This portion came forth by lot for Shem and his sons, that they should possess it forever unto his generations forevermore.” (Bk. of Jub. 8:17) If a person reads the Book of Jubilees 8:12-17, they will find that it provides a much more detailed set of boundaries that will match this brief description in Genesis 10:30.
Genesis 10:31 These are the sons of Shem, after their families, after their tongues, in their lands, after their nations. Notice that after disclosing the brief set of boundaries in Genesis 10:30, Moses then finalized his disclosure here indicating that what he had just announced is for the sons of Shem, after their families, after their tongues, in their lands, and after their nations.
Some will attribute the summary of boundaries with the thirteen sons of Joktan only, which would be absolutely incorrect. The disclosure begins with Genesis 10:20 and finalizes here, concerning the sons of Shem. As stated in the introduction to this chapter, the chapter is not working on a timeline, but providing important information concerning the sons of Japheth, Ham, and then Shem; the people had all dwelled in one place in the Land of Shinar, then they were scattered by the Lord, while He confounded their languages. The coming disclosure of Genesis 11:1-9 occurred during a specific time period, as one can determine from Genesis 10:25; it was during the life of Peleg, son of Eber, son of Arphaxad, son of Shem.
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. The conclusion to the chapter 10 disclosure is provided here in the last verse of the chapter. Chapter 10 is a summary of the initial generations of the three sons of Noah (Japheth 10:2-5; Ham 10:6-20; Shem 10:21-31).
Notice that the generations were named here in chapter 10, while they were identified as nations of people from those initial sons born. They were divided as nations when their languages were confounded; this caused those families to scatter according to their own tongues, because they could not communicate with their kin of other families. The most important disclosure was in Genesis 10:25, when Moses provided a clue towards the timing of the scattering and confounding of the languages. Please move on to Genesis 11:1-9 to find out what happened during the time that the Lord scattered the people, after confounding their languages.
[1] Flavius Josephus, Antiquity of the Jews, Book One. (https://www.ccel.org/j/josephus/works/ant-1.htm-accessed 6/28/17: Christian Classics Ethereal Library, n.d.), 6:1.
[2] Drusilla Dunjee Houston, Wonderful Ethiopians of the Ancient Cushite Empire: Origin of Civilization from the Cushites, Book II, (Buffalo: Peggy Bertram Publishing, 2007). 89.
[3] Katell Berthelot, Joseph E. David, Marc G. Hirshman, The Gift of the Land and the Fate of the Canaanites in Jewish Thought, ( Oxford: Oxford University Press 2014):14-15
[4] The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica, "Cambyses II," Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d.: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Cambyses-II.
[5] Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews 1:4:2, (Jerusalem: https://www.sacred-texts.com/jud/josephus/ant-1.htm, 60).
[6] Lynn H. Wood, "Nebuchadnezzar's Siege of Tyre," (The Ministry; For Greater power and More Efficiency Vol. 14, No. 6, 1941: 23-26), 24-25.
[7] Edwin S. Wallace, Jerusalem the Holy (New York: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1898), 16.
[8] Ibid.