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.
1:6 God said, “Let there be an expanse 98 in the midst of the waters and let it separate water 99 from water.
3:5 Let darkness and the deepest
shadow 100 claim it; 101
let a cloud settle on it;
let whatever blackens the day 102 terrify it!
10:21 before I depart, never to return, 103
to the land of darkness
and the deepest shadow, 104
10:22 to the land of utter darkness,
like the deepest darkness,
and the deepest shadow and disorder, 105
where even the light 106 is like darkness.” 107
15:22 He does not expect 108 to escape from darkness; 109
he is marked for the sword; 110
15:30 He will not escape the darkness; 111
a flame will wither his shoots
and he will depart
by the breath of God’s mouth. 112
19:8 He has blocked 113 my way so I cannot pass,
and has set darkness 114 over my paths.
33:30 to turn back his life from the place of corruption,
that he may be enlightened with the light of life.
42:10 So the Lord 115 restored what Job had lost 116 after he prayed for his friends, 117 and the Lord doubled 118 all that had belonged to Job. 42:11 So they came to him, all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before, and they dined 119 with him in his house. They comforted him and consoled him for all the trouble the Lord had brought on him, and each one gave him a piece of silver 120 and a gold ring. 121
42:12 So the Lord blessed the second part of Job’s life more than the first. He had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys.
42:16 I will lead the blind along an unfamiliar way; 122
I will guide them down paths they have never traveled. 123
I will turn the darkness in front of them into light,
and level out the rough ground. 124
This is what I will do for them.
I will not abandon them.
49:9 You will say 125 to the prisoners, ‘Come out,’
and to those who are in dark dungeons, 126 ‘Emerge.’ 127
They will graze beside the roads;
on all the slopes they will find pasture.
60:1 “Arise! Shine! For your light arrives!
The splendor 128 of the Lord shines on you!
60:2 For, look, darkness covers the earth
and deep darkness covers 129 the nations,
but the Lord shines on you;
his splendor 130 appears over you.
60:3 Nations come to your light,
kings to your bright light.
5:1 Therefore, be 132 imitators of God as dearly loved children
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 tn The Hebrew word refers to an expanse of air pressure between the surface of the sea and the clouds, separating water below from water above. In v. 8 it is called “sky.”
99 tn Heb “the waters from the waters.”
100 sn The translation of צַלְמָוֶת (tsalmavet, “shadow of death”) has been traditionally understood to indicate a dark, death shadow (supported in the LXX), but many scholars think it may not represent the best etymological analysis of the word. The word may be connected to an Arabic word which means “to be dark,” and an Akkadian word meaning “black.” It would then have to be repointed throughout its uses to צַלְמוּת (tsalmut) forming an abstract ending. It would then simply mean “darkness” rather than “shadow of death.” Or the word can be understood as an idiomatic expression meaning “gloom” that is deeper than חֹשֶׁךְ (khoshekh; see HALOT 1029 s.v. צַלְמָוֶת). Since “darkness” has already been used in the line, the two together could possibly form a nominal hendiadys: “Let the deepest darkness….” There is a significant amount of literature on this; one may begin with W. L. Michel, “SLMWT, ‘Deep Darkness’ or ‘Shadow of Death’?” BR 29 (1984): 5-20.
101 tn The verb is גָּאַל (ga’al, “redeem, claim”). Some have suggested that the verb is actually the homonym “pollute.” This is the reading in the Targum, Syriac, Vulgate, and Rashi, who quotes from Mal 1:7,12. See A. R. Johnson, “The Primary Meaning of ga’al,” VTSup 1 (1953): 67-77.
102 tn The expression “the blackness of the day” (כִּמְרִירֵי יוֹם, kimrire yom) probably means everything that makes the day black, such as supernatural events like eclipses. Job wishes that all ominous darknesses would terrify that day. It comes from the word כָּמַר (kamar, “to be black”), related to Akkadian kamaru (“to overshadow, darken”). The versions seem to have ignored the first letter and connected the word to מָרַר (marar, “be bitter”).
103 sn The verbs are simple, “I go” and “I return”; but Job clearly means before he dies. A translation of “depart” comes closer to communicating this. The second verb may be given a potential imperfect translation to capture the point. The NIV offered more of an interpretive paraphrase: “before I go to the place of no return.”
104 tn See Job 3:5.
105 tn The word סֵדֶר (seder, “order”) occurs only here in the Bible. G. R. Driver found a new meaning in Arabic sadira, “dazzled by the glare” (“Problems in the Hebrew text of Job,” VTSup 3 [1955]: 76-77); this would mean “without a ray of light.” This is accepted by those who see chaos out of place in this line. But the word “order” is well-attested in later Hebrew (see J. Carmignac, “Précisions aportées au vocabulaire d’hébreu biblique par La guerre des fils de lumière contre les fils de ténèbres,” VT 5 [1955]: 345-65).
106 tn The Hebrew word literally means “it shines”; the feminine verb implies a subject like “the light” (but see GKC 459 §144.c).
107 tn The verse multiplies images for the darkness in death. Several commentators omit “as darkness, deep darkness” (כְּמוֹ אֹפֶל צַלְמָוֶת, kÿmo ’ofel tsalmavet) as glosses on the rare word עֵיפָתָה (’efatah, “darkness”) drawn from v. 21 (see also RSV). The verse literally reads: “[to the] land of darkness, like the deep darkness of the shadow of death, without any order, and the light is like the darkness.”
108 tn This is the meaning of the Hiphil imperfect negated: “he does not believe” or “he has no confidence.” It is followed by the infinitive construct functioning as the direct object – he does not expect to return (to escape) from darkness.
109 sn In the context of these arguments, “darkness” probably refers to calamity, and so the wicked can expect a calamity that is final.
110 tn Heb “he is watched [or waited for] by the sword.” G. R. Driver reads it, “he is marked down for the sword” (“Problems in the Hebrew text of Job,” VTSup 3 [1955]: 78). Ewald suggested “laid up for the sword.” Ball has “looks for the sword.” The MT has a passive participle from צָפָה (tsafah, “to observe, watch”) which can be retained in the text; the meaning of the form can then be understood as the result of the inspection (E. Dhorme, Job, 217).
111 tn Some editions and commentators delete the first line of this verse, arguing that it is simply a paraphrase of v. 22a, and that it interrupts the comparison with a tree that falls (although that comparison only starts next).
112 tn This last line in the verse is the difficult one. The MT has “he shall depart by the breath of his mouth.” If this reading stands, then it must be understood that it is the breath of God’s mouth that is intended. In place of “his mouth” the LXX has “flower” (reading פִּרהוֹ [pirho, properly, “his fruit”] instead of פִּיו piv), and “fall” instead of “depart.” Modern commentators and a number of English versions (e.g., RSV, NRSV, TEV) alter יָסוּר (yasur, “depart”) to something like יְסֹעַר (yÿso’ar, from סָעַר [sa’ar, “to drive away”]), or the like, to get “will be swept away.” The result is a reading: “and his blossom will be swept away by the wind.” The LXX may have read the Hebrew exactly, but harmonized it with v. 33 (see H. Heater, A Septuagint Translation Technique in the Book of Job [CBQMS]: 61-62).
113 tn The verb גָּדַר (gadar) means “to wall up; to fence up; to block.” God has blocked Job’s way so that he cannot get through. See the note on 3:23. Cf. Lam 3:7.
114 tn Some commentators take the word to be חָשַׁךְ (hasak), related to an Arabic word for “thorn hedge.”
115 tn The paragraph begins with the disjunctive vav, “Now as for the
116 sn The expression here is interesting: “he returned the captivity of Job,” a clause used elsewhere in the Bible of Israel (see e.g., Ps 126). Here it must mean “the fortunes of Job,” i.e., what he had lost. There is a good deal of literature on this; for example, see R. Borger, “Zu sub sb(i)t,” ZAW 25 (1954): 315-16; and E. Baumann, ZAW 6 (1929): 17ff.
117 tn This is a temporal clause, using the infinitive construct with the subject genitive suffix. By this it seems that this act of Job was also something of a prerequisite for restoration – to pray for them.
118 tn The construction uses the verb “and he added” with the word “repeat” (or “twice”).
119 tn Heb “ate bread.”
120 tn The Hebrew word קְשִׂיטָה (qÿsitah) is generally understood to refer to a unit of money, but the value is unknown.
121 sn This gold ring was worn by women in the nose, or men and women in the ear.
122 tn Heb “a way they do not know” (so NASB); NRSV “a road they do not know.”
123 tn Heb “in paths they do not know I will make them walk.”
124 tn Heb “and the rough ground into a level place.”
125 tn Heb “to say.” In the Hebrew text the infinitive construct is subordinated to what precedes.
126 tn Heb “in darkness” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “the prisoners of darkness.”
127 tn Heb “show yourselves” (so ASV, NAB, NASB).
128 tn Or “glory” (so most English versions).
129 tn The verb “covers” is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).
130 tn Or “glory” (so most English versions); TEV “the brightness of his presence.”
131 tn The verb “you are” is implied in the Greek text, but is supplied in the English translation to make it clear.
132 tn Or “become.”
133 tn Or “not as a result of.”
134 tn Grk “lest anyone should boast.”