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 5:11
Context5:11 The entire lifetime of Enosh was 905 years, and then he died.
Genesis 7:4
Context7:4 For in seven days 98 I will cause it to rain 99 on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the ground every living thing that I have made.”
Genesis 7:9
Context7:9 male and female, came into the ark to Noah, 100 just as God had commanded him. 101
Genesis 8:18
Context8:18 Noah went out along with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives.
Genesis 24:14
Context24:14 I will say to a young woman, ‘Please lower your jar so I may drink.’ May the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac reply, ‘Drink, and I’ll give your camels water too.’ 102 In this way I will know that you have been faithful to my master.” 103
Exodus 32:27
Context32:27 and he said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Each man fasten 104 his sword on his side, and go back and forth 105 from entrance to entrance throughout the camp, and each one kill his brother, his friend, and his neighbor.’” 106
Numbers 25:7-8
Context25:7 When Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, 107 he got up from among the assembly, took a javelin in his hand, 25:8 and went after the Israelite man into the tent 108 and thrust through the Israelite man and into the woman’s abdomen. 109 So the plague was stopped from the Israelites. 110
Deuteronomy 32:39-42
Context32:39 “See now that I, indeed I, am he!” says the Lord, 111
“and there is no other god besides me.
I kill and give life,
I smash and I heal,
and none can resist 112 my power.
32:40 For I raise up my hand to heaven,
and say, ‘As surely as I live forever,
32:41 I will sharpen my lightning-like sword,
and my hand will grasp hold of the weapon of judgment; 113
I will execute vengeance on my foes,
and repay those who hate me! 114
32:42 I will make my arrows drunk with blood,
and my sword will devour flesh –
the blood of the slaughtered and captured,
the chief 115 of the enemy’s leaders!’”
Deuteronomy 32:1
Context32:1 Listen, O heavens, and I will speak;
hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.
Deuteronomy 18:1
Context18:1 The Levitical priests 116 – indeed, the entire tribe of Levi – will have no allotment or inheritance with Israel; they may eat the burnt offerings of the Lord and of his inheritance. 117
[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.”
[7:4] 98 tn Heb “for seven days yet,” meaning “after [or “in”] seven days.”
[7:4] 99 tn The Hiphil participle מַמְטִיר (mamtir, “cause to rain”) here expresses the certainty of the act in the imminent future.
[7:9] 100 tn The Hebrew text of vv. 8-9a reads, “From the clean animal[s] and from the animal[s] which are not clean and from the bird[s] and everything that creeps on the ground, two two they came to Noah to the ark, male and female.”
[7:9] 101 tn Heb “Noah”; the pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[24:14] 102 sn I will also give your camels water. It would be an enormous test for a young woman to water ten camels. The idea is that such a woman would not only be industrious but hospitable and generous.
[24:14] 103 tn Heb “And let the young woman to whom I say, ‘Lower your jar that I may drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink and I will also give your camels water,’ – her you have appointed for your servant, for Isaac, and by it I will know that you have acted in faithfulness with my master.”
[32:27] 105 tn The two imperatives form a verbal hendiadys: “pass over and return,” meaning, “go back and forth” throughout the camp.
[32:27] 106 tn The phrases have “and kill a man his brother, and a man his companion, and a man his neighbor.” The instructions were probably intended to mean that they should kill leaders they knew to be guilty because they had been seen or because they failed the water test – whoever they were.
[25:7] 107 tn The first clause is subordinated to the second because both begin with the preterite verbal form, and there is clearly a logical and/or chronological sequence involved.
[25:8] 108 tn The word קֻבָּה (qubbah) seems to refer to the innermost part of the family tent. Some suggest it was in the tabernacle area, but that is unlikely. S. C. Reif argues for a private tent shrine (“What Enraged Phinehas? A Study of Numbers 25:8,” JBL 90 [1971]: 200-206).
[25:8] 109 tn Heb “and he thrust the two of them the Israelite man and the woman to her belly [lower abdomen].” Reif notes the similarity of the word with the previous “inner tent,” and suggests that it means Phinehas stabbed her in her shrine tent, where she was being set up as some sort of priestess or cult leader. Phinehas put a quick end to their sexual immorality while they were in the act.
[25:8] 110 sn Phinehas saw all this as part of the pagan sexual ritual that was defiling the camp. He had seen that the
[32:39] 111 tn Verses 39-42 appear to be a quotation of the
[32:39] 112 tn Heb “deliver from” (so NRSV, NLT).
[32:41] 113 tn Heb “judgment.” This is a metonymy, a figure of speech in which the effect (judgment) is employed as an instrument (sword, spear, or the like), the means, by which it is brought about.
[32:41] 114 tn The Hebrew term שָׂנֵא (sane’, “hate”) in this covenant context speaks of those who reject Yahweh’s covenant overtures, that is, who disobey its stipulations (see note on the word “rejecting” in Deut 5:9; also see Deut 7:10; 2 Chr 19:2; Ps 81:15; 139:20-21).
[32:42] 115 tn Or “head” (the same Hebrew word can mean “head” in the sense of “leader, chieftain” or “head” in the sense of body part).
[18:1] 116 tn The MT places the terms “priests” and “Levites” in apposition, thus creating an epexegetical construction in which the second term qualifies the first, i.e., “Levitical priests.” This is a way of asserting their legitimacy as true priests. The Syriac renders “to the priest and to the Levite,” making a distinction between the two, but one that is out of place here.
[18:1] 117 sn Of his inheritance. This is a figurative way of speaking of the produce of the land the
