Discovery BoxGenesis 10:1-32
Context10:1 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.
Genesis 2:1
Context2:1 The heavens and the earth 98 were completed with everything that was in them. 99
Genesis 2:1
Context2:1 The heavens and the earth 100 were completed with everything that was in them. 101
Genesis 20:13
Context20:13 When God made me wander 102 from my father’s house, I told her, ‘This is what you can do to show your loyalty to me: 103 Every place we go, say about me, “He is my brother.”’”
Genesis 20:1
Context20:1 Abraham journeyed from there to the Negev 104 region and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he lived as a temporary resident 105 in Gerar,
Psalms 33:16-17
Context33:16 No king is delivered by his vast army;
a warrior is not saved by his great might.
33:17 A horse disappoints those who trust in it for victory; 106
despite its great strength, it cannot deliver.
Ecclesiastes 9:11-12
Context9:11 Again, 107 I observed this on the earth: 108
the race is not always 109 won by the swiftest,
the battle is not always won by the strongest;
prosperity 110 does not always belong to those who are the wisest,
wealth does not always belong to those who are the most discerning,
nor does success 111 always come to those with the most knowledge –
for time and chance may overcome 112 them all.
9:12 Surely, no one 113 knows his appointed time! 114
Like fish that are caught in a deadly 115 net, and like birds that are caught in a snare –
just like them, all people 116 are ensnared 117 at an unfortunate 118 time that falls upon them suddenly.
Jeremiah 27:6
Context27:6 I have at this time placed all these nations of yours under the power 119 of my servant, 120 King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. I have even made all the wild animals subject to him. 121
[10:1] 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.
[10:1] 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.
[10:1] 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.
[10:2] 4 sn The Greek form of the name Japheth, Iapetos, is used in Greek tradition for the ancestor of the Greeks.
[10:2] 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.
[10:2] 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.
[10:2] 7 sn Madai was the ancestor of the Medes, who lived east of Assyria.
[10:2] 8 sn Javan was the father of the Hellenic race, the Ionians who lived in western Asia Minor.
[10:2] 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.
[10:2] 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.
[10:2] 11 sn Tiras was the ancestor of the Thracians, some of whom possibly became the Pelasgian pirates of the Aegean.
[10:3] 12 sn The descendants of Gomer were all northern tribes of the Upper Euphrates.
[10:3] 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.
[10:3] 14 sn The descendants of Riphath lived in a district north of the road from Haran to Carchemish.
[10:3] 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.
[10:4] 16 sn The descendants of Elishah populated Cyprus.
[10:4] 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.
[10:4] 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.
[10:4] 19 tc Most of the MT
[10:6] 20 sn The descendants of Cush settled in Nubia (Ethiopia).
[10:6] 21 sn The descendants of Mizraim settled in Upper and Lower Egypt.
[10:6] 22 sn The descendants of Put settled in Libya.
[10:6] 23 sn The descendants of Canaan lived in the region of Phoenicia (Palestine).
[10:7] 24 sn The descendants of Seba settled in Upper Egypt along the Nile.
[10:7] 25 sn The Hebrew name Havilah apparently means “stretch of sand” (see HALOT 297 s.v. חֲוִילָה). Havilah’s descendants settled in eastern Arabia.
[10:7] 26 sn The descendants of Sabtah settled near the western shore of the Persian Gulf in ancient Hadhramaut.
[10:7] 27 sn The descendants of Raamah settled in southwest Arabia.
[10:7] 28 sn The descendants of Sabteca settled in Samudake, east toward the Persian Gulf.
[10:7] 29 sn Sheba became the name of a kingdom in southwest Arabia.
[10:7] 30 sn The name Dedan is associated with àUla in northern Arabia.
[10:8] 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.
[10:9] 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).
[10:9] 33 tn Another option is to take the divine name here, לִפְנֵי יִהוָה (lifne yÿhvah, “before the
[10:10] 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.
[10:10] 36 sn Erech (ancient Uruk, modern Warka), one of the most ancient civilizations, was located southeast of Babylon.
[10:10] 37 sn Akkad, or ancient Agade, was associated with Sargon and located north of Babylon.
[10:10] 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).
[10:10] 39 sn Shinar is another name for Babylonia.
[10:11] 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.
[10:11] 42 sn Nineveh was an ancient Assyrian city situated on the Tigris River.
[10:11] 43 sn The name Rehoboth-Ir means “and broad streets of a city,” perhaps referring to a suburb of Nineveh.
[10:11] 44 sn Calah (modern Nimrud) was located twenty miles north of Nineveh.
[10:12] 45 tn Heb “and Resen between Nineveh and Calah; it [i.e., Calah] is the great city.”
[10:13] 46 sn Mizraim is the Hebrew name for Egypt (cf. NRSV).
[10:13] 48 sn The Ludites were African tribes west of the Nile Delta.
[10:13] 49 sn The Anamites lived in North Africa, west of Egypt, near Cyrene.
[10:13] 50 sn The Lehabites are identified with the Libyans.
[10:13] 51 sn The Naphtuhites lived in Lower Egypt (the Nile Delta region).
[10:14] 52 sn The Pathrusites are known in Egyptian as P-to-reshi; they resided in Upper Egypt.
[10:14] 53 sn The Casluhites lived in Crete and eventually settled east of the Egyptian Delta, between Egypt and Canaan.
[10:14] 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.
[10:14] 55 sn The Caphtorites resided in Crete, but in Egyptian literature Caphtor refers to “the region beyond” the Mediterranean.
[10:15] 57 sn Sidon was the foremost city in Phoenicia; here Sidon may be the name of its founder.
[10:15] 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.
[10:16] 59 sn The Jebusites were the Canaanite inhabitants of ancient Jerusalem.
[10:16] 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.
[10:16] 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).
[10:17] 62 sn The Hivites were Canaanite tribes of a Hurrian origin.
[10:17] 63 sn The Arkites lived in Arka, a city in Lebanon, north of Sidon.
[10:17] 64 sn The Sinites lived in Sin, another town in Lebanon.
[10:18] 65 sn The Arvadites lived in the city Arvad, located on an island near the mainland close to the river El Kebir.
[10:18] 66 sn The Zemarites lived in the town Sumur, north of Arka.
[10:18] 67 sn The Hamathites lived in Hamath on the Orontes River.
[10:19] 69 map For location see Map1 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.
[10:19] 70 tn Heb “as you go.”
[10:19] 71 tn Heb “as you go.”
[10:21] 72 tn Heb “And to Shem was born.”
[10:21] 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.
[10:22] 74 sn The Hebrew name Elam (עֵילָם, ’elam) means “highland.” The Elamites were a non-Semitic people who lived east of Babylon.
[10:22] 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.
[10:22] 76 sn The descendants of Arphaxad may have lived northeast of Nineveh.
[10:22] 77 sn Lud may have been the ancestor of the Ludbu, who lived near the Tigris River.
[10:22] 78 sn Aram became the collective name of the northern tribes living in the steppes of Mesopotamia and speaking Aramaic dialects.
[10:23] 79 tc The MT reads “Mash”; the LXX and 1 Chr 1:17 read “Meshech.”
[10:24] 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.
[10:24] 82 sn Genesis 11 traces the line of Shem through Eber (עֵבֶר, ’ever ) to Abraham the “Hebrew” (עִבְרִי, ’ivri).
[10:25] 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.
[10:26] 85 sn The name Almodad combines the Arabic article al with modad (“friend”). Almodad was the ancestor of a South Arabian people.
[10:26] 86 sn The name Sheleph may be related to Shilph, a district of Yemen; Shalph is a Yemenite tribe.
[10:26] 87 sn The name Hazarmaveth should be equated with Hadramawt, located in Southern Arabia.
[10:26] 88 sn The name Jerah means “moon.”
[10:27] 89 sn Uzal was the name of the old capital of Yemen.
[10:27] 90 sn The name Diklah means “date-palm.”
[10:28] 91 sn Obal was a name used for several localities in Yemen.
[10:28] 92 sn The name Abimael is a genuine Sabean form which means “my father, truly, he is God.”
[10:28] 93 sn The descendants of Sheba lived in South Arabia, where the Joktanites were more powerful than the Hamites.
[10:29] 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).
[10:29] 95 sn Havilah is listed with Ham in v. 7.
[10:30] 96 tn Heb “as you go.”
[2:1] 98 tn See the note on the phrase “the heavens and the earth” in 1:1.
[2:1] 99 tn Heb “and all the host of them.” Here the “host” refers to all the entities and creatures that God created to populate the world.
[2:1] 100 tn See the note on the phrase “the heavens and the earth” in 1:1.
[2:1] 101 tn Heb “and all the host of them.” Here the “host” refers to all the entities and creatures that God created to populate the world.
[20:13] 102 tn The Hebrew verb is plural. This may be a case of grammatical agreement with the name for God, which is plural in form. However, when this plural name refers to the one true God, accompanying predicates are usually singular in form. Perhaps Abraham is accommodating his speech to Abimelech’s polytheistic perspective. (See GKC 463 §145.i.) If so, one should translate, “when the gods made me wander.”
[20:13] 103 tn Heb “This is your loyal deed which you can do for me.”
[20:1] 104 tn Or “the South [country]”; Heb “the land of the Negev.”
[20:1] 105 tn Heb “and he sojourned.”
[33:17] 106 tn Heb “a lie [is] the horse for victory.”
[9:11] 107 tn Heb “I returned and.” In the Hebrew idiom, “to return and do” means “to do again.”
[9:11] 108 tn Heb “under the sun.”
[9:11] 109 tn The term “always” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation (five times in this verse) for clarity.
[9:11] 112 tn Heb “happen to.”
[9:12] 113 tn Heb “man.” The term is used here in a generic sense and translated “no one.”
[9:12] 114 tn Heb “time.” BDB 773 s.v. עֵת 2.d suggests that עֵת (’et, “time”) refers to an “uncertain time.” On the other hand, HALOT 901 s.v. עֵת 6 nuances it as “destined time,” that is, “no one knows his destined time [i.e., hour of destiny].” It is used in parallelism with זְמָן (zÿman, “appointed time; appointed hour”) in 3:1 (HALOT 273 s.v. זְמָן; BDB 273 s.v. זְמָן). Eccl 3:9-15 teaches God’s sovereignty over the appointed time-table of human events. Similarly, Qoheleth here notes that no one knows what God has appointed in any situation or time. This highlights the limitations of human wisdom and human ability, as 9:11 stresses.
[9:12] 115 tn Heb “bad, evil.” The moral connotation hardly fits here. The adjective would seem to indicate that the net is the instrument whereby the fish come to ruin.
[9:12] 116 tn Heb “the sons of man.”
[9:12] 117 tn The Masoretes pointed the consonantal form יוקשׁים (“are ensnared”) as יוּקָשִׁים (yuqashim, Pual participle mpl from ַָיקֹשׁ, yaqosh, “to be ensnared”). This is an unusual form for a Pual participle: (1) The characteristic doubling of the middle consonant was omitted due to the lengthening of the preceding short vowel from יֻקָּשִׁים to יוּקָשִׁים (GKC 74 §20.n and 143 §52.s), and (2) The characteristic prefix מְ (mem) is absent, as in a few other Pual participles, e.g., Exod 3:2; Judg 13:8; 2 Kgs 2:10; Isa 30:24; 54:11 (GKC 143 §52.s). On the other hand, the consonant form יוקשים might actually be an example of the old Qal passive participle which dropped out of Hebrew at an early stage, and was frequently mistaken by the Masoretes as a Pual form (e.g., Jer 13:10; 23:32) (GKC 143 §52.s). Similarly, the Masoretes pointed אכל as אֻכָּל (’ukkal, Pual perfect 3rd person masculine singular “he was eaten”); however, it probably should be pointed אֻכַל (’ukhal, old Qal passive perfect 3rd person masculine singular “he was eaten”) because אָכַל (’akhal) only occurs in the Qal (see IBHS 373-74 §22.6a).
[9:12] 118 tn Heb “evil.” The term רָעָה (ra’ah, “evil; unfortunate”) is repeated in v. 12 in the two parts of the comparison: “fish are caught in an evil (רָעָה) net” and “men are ensnared at an unfortunate (רָעָה) time.”
[27:6] 119 tn Heb “have given…into the hand of.”
[27:6] 120 sn See the study note on 25:9 for the significance of the application of this term to Nebuchadnezzar.
[27:6] 121 tn Heb “I have given…to him to serve him.” The verb “give” in this syntactical situation is functioning like the Hiphil stem, i.e., as a causative. See Dan 1:9 for parallel usage. For the usage of “serve” meaning “be subject to” compare 2 Sam 22:44 and BDB 713 s.v. עָבַד 3.
