10:1 This is the account 1 of Noah’s sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Sons 2 were born 3 to them after the flood.
10:2 The sons of Japheth 4 were Gomer, 5 Magog, 6 Madai, 7 Javan, 8 Tubal, 9 Meshech, 10 and Tiras. 11 10:3 The sons of Gomer were 12 Askenaz, 13 Riphath, 14 and Togarmah. 15 10:4 The sons of Javan were Elishah, 16 Tarshish, 17 the Kittim, 18 and the Dodanim. 19 10:5 From these the coastlands of the nations were separated into their lands, every one according to its language, according to their families, by their nations.
10:6 The sons of Ham were Cush, 20 Mizraim, 21 Put, 22 and Canaan. 23 10:7 The sons of Cush were Seba, 24 Havilah, 25 Sabtah, 26 Raamah, 27 and Sabteca. 28 The sons of Raamah were Sheba 29 and Dedan. 30
10:8 Cush was the father of 31 Nimrod; he began to be a valiant warrior on the earth. 10:9 He was a mighty hunter 32 before the Lord. 33 (That is why it is said, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord.”) 10:10 The primary regions 34 of his kingdom were Babel, 35 Erech, 36 Akkad, 37 and Calneh 38 in the land of Shinar. 39 10:11 From that land he went 40 to Assyria, 41 where he built Nineveh, 42 Rehoboth-Ir, 43 Calah, 44 10:12 and Resen, which is between Nineveh and the great city Calah. 45
10:13 Mizraim 46 was the father of 47 the Ludites, 48 Anamites, 49 Lehabites, 50 Naphtuhites, 51 10:14 Pathrusites, 52 Casluhites 53 (from whom the Philistines came), 54 and Caphtorites. 55
10:15 Canaan was the father of 56 Sidon his firstborn, 57 Heth, 58 10:16 the Jebusites, 59 Amorites, 60 Girgashites, 61 10:17 Hivites, 62 Arkites, 63 Sinites, 64 10:18 Arvadites, 65 Zemarites, 66 and Hamathites. 67 Eventually the families of the Canaanites were scattered 10:19 and the borders of Canaan extended 68 from Sidon 69 all the way to 70 Gerar as far as Gaza, and all the way to 71 Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha. 10:20 These are the sons of Ham, according to their families, according to their languages, by their lands, and by their nations.
10:21 And sons were also born 72 to Shem (the older brother of Japheth), 73 the father of all the sons of Eber.
10:22 The sons of Shem were Elam, 74 Asshur, 75 Arphaxad, 76 Lud, 77 and Aram. 78 10:23 The sons of Aram were Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash. 79 10:24 Arphaxad was the father of 80 Shelah, 81 and Shelah was the father of Eber. 82 10:25 Two sons were born to Eber: One was named Peleg because in his days the earth was divided, 83 and his brother’s name was Joktan. 10:26 Joktan was the father of 84 Almodad, 85 Sheleph, 86 Hazarmaveth, 87 Jerah, 88 10:27 Hadoram, Uzal, 89 Diklah, 90 10:28 Obal, 91 Abimael, 92 Sheba, 93 10:29 Ophir, 94 Havilah, 95 and Jobab. All these were sons of Joktan. 10:30 Their dwelling place was from Mesha all the way to 96 Sephar in the eastern hills. 10:31 These are the sons of Shem according to their families, according to their languages, by their lands, and according to their nations.
10:32 These are the families of the sons of Noah, according to their genealogies, by their nations, and from these the nations spread 97 over the earth after the flood.
147:19 He proclaims his word to Jacob,
his statutes and regulations to Israel.
147:20 He has not done so with any other nation;
they are not aware of his regulations.
Praise the Lord!
3:1 Therefore what advantage does the Jew have, or what is the value of circumcision? 3:2 Actually, there are many advantages. 110 First of all, 111 the Jews 112 were entrusted with the oracles of God. 113
1 tn The title אֵלֶּה תּוֹלְדֹת (’elle tolÿdot, here translated as “This is the account”) here covers 10:1–11:9, which contains the so-called Table of Nations and the account of how the nations came to be dispersed.
2 sn Sons were born to them. A vertical genealogy such as this encompasses more than the names of sons. The list includes cities, tribes, and even nations. In a loose way, the names in the list have some derivation or connection to the three ancestors.
3 tn It appears that the Table of Nations is a composite of at least two ancient sources: Some sections begin with the phrase “the sons of” (בְּנֵי, bÿne) while other sections use “begot” (יָלָד, yalad). It may very well be that the “sons of” list was an old, “bare bones” list that was retained in the family records, while the “begot” sections were editorial inserts by the writer of Genesis, reflecting his special interests. See A. P. Ross, “The Table of Nations in Genesis 10 – Its Structure,” BSac 137 (1980): 340-53; idem, “The Table of Nations in Genesis 10 – Its Content,” BSac 138 (1981): 22-34.
4 sn The Greek form of the name Japheth, Iapetos, is used in Greek tradition for the ancestor of the Greeks.
5 sn Gomer was the ancestor of the Cimmerians. For a discussion of the Cimmerians see E. M. Yamauchi, Foes from the Northern Frontier (SBA), 49-61.
6 sn For a discussion of various proposals concerning the descendants of Magog see E. M. Yamauchi, Foes from the Northern Frontier (SBA), 22-24.
7 sn Madai was the ancestor of the Medes, who lived east of Assyria.
8 sn Javan was the father of the Hellenic race, the Ionians who lived in western Asia Minor.
9 sn Tubal was the ancestor of militaristic tribes that lived north of the Black Sea. For a discussion of ancient references to Tubal see E. M. Yamauchi, Foes from the Northern Frontier (SBA), 24-26.
10 sn Meshech was the ancestor of the people known in Assyrian records as the Musku. For a discussion of ancient references to them see E. M. Yamauchi, Foes from the Northern Frontier (SBA), 24-26.
11 sn Tiras was the ancestor of the Thracians, some of whom possibly became the Pelasgian pirates of the Aegean.
12 sn The descendants of Gomer were all northern tribes of the Upper Euphrates.
13 sn Askenaz was the ancestor of a northern branch of Indo-Germanic tribes, possibly Scythians. For discussion see E. M. Yamauchi, Foes from the Northern Frontier (SBA), 63.
14 sn The descendants of Riphath lived in a district north of the road from Haran to Carchemish.
15 sn Togarmah is also mentioned in Ezek 38:6, where it refers to Til-garimmu, the capital of Kammanu, which bordered Tabal in eastern Turkey. See E. M. Yamauchi, Foes from the Northern Frontier (SBA), 26, n. 28.
16 sn The descendants of Elishah populated Cyprus.
17 sn The descendants of Tarshish settled along the southern coast of what is modern Turkey. However, some identify the site Tarshish (see Jonah 1:3) with Sardinia or Spain.
18 sn The name Kittim is associated with Cyprus, as well as coastlands east of Rhodes. It is used in later texts to refer to the Romans.
19 tc Most of the MT
20 sn The descendants of Cush settled in Nubia (Ethiopia).
21 sn The descendants of Mizraim settled in Upper and Lower Egypt.
22 sn The descendants of Put settled in Libya.
23 sn The descendants of Canaan lived in the region of Phoenicia (Palestine).
24 sn The descendants of Seba settled in Upper Egypt along the Nile.
25 sn The Hebrew name Havilah apparently means “stretch of sand” (see HALOT 297 s.v. חֲוִילָה). Havilah’s descendants settled in eastern Arabia.
26 sn The descendants of Sabtah settled near the western shore of the Persian Gulf in ancient Hadhramaut.
27 sn The descendants of Raamah settled in southwest Arabia.
28 sn The descendants of Sabteca settled in Samudake, east toward the Persian Gulf.
29 sn Sheba became the name of a kingdom in southwest Arabia.
30 sn The name Dedan is associated with àUla in northern Arabia.
31 tn Heb “fathered.” Embedded within Cush’s genealogy is an account of Nimrod, a mighty warrior. There have been many attempts to identify him, but none are convincing.
32 tn The Hebrew word for “hunt” is צַיִד (tsayid), which is used on occasion for hunting men (1 Sam 24:12; Jer 16:16; Lam 3:15).
33 tn Another option is to take the divine name here, לִפְנֵי יִהוָה (lifne yÿhvah, “before the
34 tn Heb “beginning.” E. A. Speiser, Genesis (AB), 67, suggests “mainstays,” citing Jer 49:35 as another text where the Hebrew noun is so used.
35 tn Or “Babylon.”
36 sn Erech (ancient Uruk, modern Warka), one of the most ancient civilizations, was located southeast of Babylon.
37 sn Akkad, or ancient Agade, was associated with Sargon and located north of Babylon.
38 tn No such place is known in Shinar (i.e., Babylonia). Therefore some have translated the Hebrew term כַלְנֵה (khalneh) as “all of them,” referring to the three previous names (cf. NRSV).
39 sn Shinar is another name for Babylonia.
40 tn The subject of the verb translated “went” is probably still Nimrod. However, it has also been interpreted that “Ashur went,” referring to a derivative power.
41 tn Heb “Asshur.”
42 sn Nineveh was an ancient Assyrian city situated on the Tigris River.
43 sn The name Rehoboth-Ir means “and broad streets of a city,” perhaps referring to a suburb of Nineveh.
44 sn Calah (modern Nimrud) was located twenty miles north of Nineveh.
45 tn Heb “and Resen between Nineveh and Calah; it [i.e., Calah] is the great city.”
46 sn Mizraim is the Hebrew name for Egypt (cf. NRSV).
47 tn Heb “fathered.”
48 sn The Ludites were African tribes west of the Nile Delta.
49 sn The Anamites lived in North Africa, west of Egypt, near Cyrene.
50 sn The Lehabites are identified with the Libyans.
51 sn The Naphtuhites lived in Lower Egypt (the Nile Delta region).
52 sn The Pathrusites are known in Egyptian as P-to-reshi; they resided in Upper Egypt.
53 sn The Casluhites lived in Crete and eventually settled east of the Egyptian Delta, between Egypt and Canaan.
54 tn Several commentators prefer to reverse the order of the words to put this clause after the next word, since the Philistines came from Crete (where the Caphtorites lived). But the table may suggest migration rather than lineage, and the Philistines, like the Israelites, came through the Nile Delta region of Egypt. For further discussion of the origin and migration of the Philistines, see D. M. Howard, “Philistines,” Peoples of the Old Testament World, 232.
55 sn The Caphtorites resided in Crete, but in Egyptian literature Caphtor refers to “the region beyond” the Mediterranean.
56 tn Heb “fathered.”
57 sn Sidon was the foremost city in Phoenicia; here Sidon may be the name of its founder.
58 tn Some see a reference to “Hittites” here (cf. NIV), but this seems unlikely. See the note on the phrase “sons of Heth” in Gen 23:3.
59 sn The Jebusites were the Canaanite inhabitants of ancient Jerusalem.
60 sn Here Amorites refers to smaller groups of Canaanite inhabitants of the mountainous regions of Palestine, rather than the large waves of Amurru, or western Semites, who migrated to the region.
61 sn The Girgashites are an otherwise unknown Canaanite tribe, though the name is possibly mentioned in Ugaritic texts (see G. J. Wenham, Genesis [WBC], 1:226).
62 sn The Hivites were Canaanite tribes of a Hurrian origin.
63 sn The Arkites lived in Arka, a city in Lebanon, north of Sidon.
64 sn The Sinites lived in Sin, another town in Lebanon.
65 sn The Arvadites lived in the city Arvad, located on an island near the mainland close to the river El Kebir.
66 sn The Zemarites lived in the town Sumur, north of Arka.
67 sn The Hamathites lived in Hamath on the Orontes River.
68 tn Heb “were.”
69 map For location see Map1-A1; JP3-F3; JP4-F3.
70 tn Heb “as you go.”
71 tn Heb “as you go.”
72 tn Heb “And to Shem was born.”
73 tn Or “whose older brother was Japheth.” Some translations render Japheth as the older brother, understanding the adjective הַגָּדוֹל (haggadol, “older”) as modifying Japheth. However, in Hebrew when a masculine singular definite attributive adjective follows the sequence masculine singular construct noun + proper name, the adjective invariably modifies the noun in construct, not the proper name. Such is the case here. See Deut 11:7; Judg 1:13; 2:7; 3:9; 9:5; 2 Kgs 15:35; 2 Chr 27:3; Neh 3:30; Jer 13:9; 36:10; Ezek 10:19; 11:1.
74 sn The Hebrew name Elam (עֵילָם, ’elam) means “highland.” The Elamites were a non-Semitic people who lived east of Babylon.
75 sn Asshur is the name for the Assyrians. Asshur was the region in which Nimrod expanded his power (see v. 11, where the name is also mentioned). When names appear in both sections of a genealogical list, it probably means that there were both Hamites and Shemites living in that region in antiquity, especially if the name is a place name.
76 sn The descendants of Arphaxad may have lived northeast of Nineveh.
77 sn Lud may have been the ancestor of the Ludbu, who lived near the Tigris River.
78 sn Aram became the collective name of the northern tribes living in the steppes of Mesopotamia and speaking Aramaic dialects.
79 tc The MT reads “Mash”; the LXX and 1 Chr 1:17 read “Meshech.”
80 tn Heb “fathered.”
81 tc The MT reads “Arphaxad fathered Shelah”; the LXX reads “Arphaxad fathered Cainan, and Cainan fathered Sala [= Shelah].” The LXX reading also appears to lie behind Luke 3:35-36.
82 sn Genesis 11 traces the line of Shem through Eber (עֵבֶר, ’ever ) to Abraham the “Hebrew” (עִבְרִי, ’ivri).
83 tn The expression “the earth was divided” may refer to dividing the land with canals, but more likely it anticipates the division of languages at Babel (Gen 11). The verb פָּלָג (palag, “separate, divide”) is used in Ps 55:9 for a division of languages.
84 tn Heb “fathered.”
85 sn The name Almodad combines the Arabic article al with modad (“friend”). Almodad was the ancestor of a South Arabian people.
86 sn The name Sheleph may be related to Shilph, a district of Yemen; Shalph is a Yemenite tribe.
87 sn The name Hazarmaveth should be equated with Hadramawt, located in Southern Arabia.
88 sn The name Jerah means “moon.”
89 sn Uzal was the name of the old capital of Yemen.
90 sn The name Diklah means “date-palm.”
91 sn Obal was a name used for several localities in Yemen.
92 sn The name Abimael is a genuine Sabean form which means “my father, truly, he is God.”
93 sn The descendants of Sheba lived in South Arabia, where the Joktanites were more powerful than the Hamites.
94 sn Ophir became the name of a territory in South Arabia. Many of the references to Ophir are connected with gold (e.g., 1 Kgs 9:28, 10:11, 22:48; 1 Chr 29:4; 2 Chr 8:18, 9:10; Job 22:24, 28:16; Ps 45:9; Isa 13:12).
95 sn Havilah is listed with Ham in v. 7.
96 tn Heb “as you go.”
97 tn Or “separated.”
98 sn The Letter to the Hebrews explains the difference between the brothers as one of faith – Abel by faith offered a better sacrifice. Cain’s offering as well as his reaction to God’s displeasure did not reflect faith. See further B. K. Waltke, “Cain and His Offering,” WTJ 48 (1986): 363-72.
99 tn Heb “and it was hot to Cain.” This Hebrew idiom means that Cain “burned” with anger.
100 tn Heb “And his face fell.” The idiom means that the inner anger is reflected in Cain’s facial expression. The fallen or downcast face expresses anger, dejection, or depression. Conversely, in Num 6 the high priestly blessing speaks of the
101 tn Or “seven pairs” (cf. NRSV).
102 tn Here (and in v. 9) the Hebrew text uses the normal generic terms for “male and female” (זָכָר וּנְקֵבָה, zakhar unÿqevah).
103 tn Heb “to keep alive offspring.”
104 tn This term, ἐκκλησία (ekklhsia), is a secular use of the term that came to mean “church” in the epistles. Here a reference to an assembly is all that is intended.
105 tn Or “desert.”
106 tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”
107 tn Grk “fathers, who.” The relative pronoun was replaced by the pronoun “he” and a new clause introduced by “and” was begun in the translation at this point to improve the English style.
108 tn Or “messages.” This is an allusion to the law given to Moses.
109 tc ‡ The first person pronoun ἡμῖν (Jhmin, “to us”) is read by A C D E Ψ 33 1739 Ï lat sy, while the second person pronoun ὑμῖν (Jumin, “to you”) is read by Ì74 א B 36 453 al co. The second person pronoun thus has significantly better external support. As well, ὑμῖν is a harder reading in this context, both because it is surrounded by first person pronouns and because Stephen perhaps “does not wish to disassociate himself from those who received God’s revelation in the past, but only from those who misinterpreted and disobeyed that revelation” (TCGNT 307). At the same time, Stephen does associate himself to some degree with his disobedient ancestors in v. 39, suggesting that the decisive break does not really come until v. 51 (where both his present audience and their ancestors are viewed as rebellious). Thus, both externally and internally ὑμῖν is the preferred reading.
110 tn Grk “much in every way.”
111 tc ‡ Most witnesses (א A D2 33 Ï) have γάρ (gar) after μέν (men), though some significant Alexandrian and Western witnesses lack the conjunction (B D* G Ψ 81 365 1506 2464* pc latt). A few
112 tn Grk “they were.”
113 tn The referent of λόγια (logia, “oracles”) has been variously understood: (1) BDAG 598 s.v. λόγιον takes the term to refer here to “God’s promises to the Jews”; (2) some have taken this to refer more narrowly to the national promises of messianic salvation given to Israel (so S. L. Johnson, Jr., “Studies in Romans: Part VII: The Jews and the Oracles of God,” BSac 130 [1973]: 245); (3) perhaps the most widespread interpretation sees the term as referring to the entire OT generally.
114 tn Or “without Christ.” Both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.” Because the context refers to ancient Israel’s messianic expectation, “Messiah” was employed in the translation at this point rather than “Christ.”
115 tn Or “covenants of the promise.”