Genesis 10:6

10:6 The sons of Ham were Cush, ¹  Mizraim, ²  Put, ³  and Canaan. ⁴ 

Genesis 10:1

The Table of Nations

10:1 This is the account ⁵  of Noah’s sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Sons ⁶  were born ⁷  to them after the flood.

Genesis 1:8

1:8 God called the expanse “sky.” ⁸  There was evening, and there was morning, a second day.

Ezekiel 27:10

27:10 Men of Persia, Lud, ⁹  and Put were in your army, men of war.

They hung shield and helmet on you; they gave you your splendor.

Ezekiel 30:5

30:5 Ethiopia, Put, Lud, all the foreigners, ¹⁰  Libya, and the people ¹¹  of the covenant land ¹²  will die by the sword along with them.

Ezekiel 38:5

38:5 Persia, ¹³  Ethiopia, and Put ¹⁴  are with them, all of them with shields and helmets.

¹ sn The descendants of Cush settled in Nubia (Ethiopia).

² sn The descendants of Mizraim settled in Upper and Lower Egypt.

³ sn The descendants of Put settled in Libya.

⁴ sn The descendants of Canaan lived in the region of Phoenicia (Palestine).

⁵ 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.

⁶ 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.

⁷ 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.

⁸ tn Though the Hebrew word can mean “heaven,” it refers in this context to “the sky.”

⁹ sn See Gen 10:22.

¹⁰ tn The same expression appears in Exod 12:38; Jer 25:20; 50:37; Neh 13:3. It may refer to foreign mercenaries serving in the armies of the nations listed here.

¹¹ tn Heb “sons.”

¹² tn The expression “sons of the covenant land” possibly refers to Jews living in Egypt (Jer 44).

¹³ tn D. I. Block prefers to see the Hebrew word as referring here to a western ally of Egypt or as an alternative spelling for Pathros, that is, Upper Egypt. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:439-40.

¹⁴ sn That is, Lydia.