Genesis 10:1-32

The Table of Nations

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.

Genesis 9:7-8

9:7 But as for you, ⁹⁸  be fruitful and multiply; increase abundantly on the earth and multiply on it.”

9:8 God said to Noah and his sons, ⁹⁹ 

Amos 5:10

5:10 The Israelites ¹⁰⁰  hate anyone who arbitrates at the city gate; ¹⁰¹ 

they despise anyone who speaks honestly.

John 3:18-21

3:18 The one who believes in him is not condemned. ¹⁰²  The one who does not believe has been condemned ¹⁰³  already, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only ¹⁰⁴  Son of God. 3:19 Now this is the basis for judging: ¹⁰⁵  that the light has come into the world and people ¹⁰⁶  loved the darkness rather than the light, because their deeds were evil. 3:20 For everyone who does evil deeds hates the light and does not come to the light, so that their deeds will not be exposed. 3:21 But the one who practices the truth comes to the light, so that it may be plainly evident that his deeds have been done in God. ¹⁰⁷ 

John 7:7

7:7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me, because I am testifying about it that its deeds are evil.

John 7:2

7:2 Now the Jewish feast of Tabernacles ¹⁰⁸  was near. ¹⁰⁹ 

John 4:3

4:3 he left Judea and set out once more for Galilee. ¹¹⁰ 

[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 mss read “Dodanim” here, but 1 Chr 1:7 has “Rodanim,” perhaps referring to the island of Rhodes. But the Qere reading in 1 Chr 1:7 suggests “Dodanim.” Dodona is one of the most ancient and revered spots in ancient Greece.

[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 Lord [YHWH]”), as a means of expressing the superlative degree. In this case one may translate “Nimrod was the greatest hunter in the world.”

[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]  ³⁵ tn Or “Babylon.”

[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]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “Asshur.”

[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]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “fathered.”

[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]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “fathered.”

[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]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “were.”

[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]  ⁸⁰ tn Heb “fathered.”

[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]  ⁸⁴ tn Heb “fathered.”

[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.”

[10:32]  ⁹⁷ tn Or “separated.”

[9:7]  ⁹⁸ sn The disjunctive clause (conjunction + pronominal subject + verb) here indicates a strong contrast to what has preceded. Against the backdrop of the warnings about taking life, God now instructs the people to produce life, using terms reminiscent of the mandate given to Adam (Gen 1:28).

[9:8]  ⁹⁹ tn Heb “to Noah and to his sons with him, saying.”

[5:10]  ¹⁰⁰ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Israelites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:10]  ¹⁰¹ sn In ancient Israelite culture, legal disputes were resolved in the city gate, where the town elders met.

[3:18]  ¹⁰² tn Grk “judged.”

[3:18]  ¹⁰³ tn Grk “judged.”

[3:18]  ¹⁰⁴ tn See the note on the term “one and only” in 3:16.

[3:19]  ¹⁰⁵ tn Or “this is the reason for God judging,” or “this is how judgment works.”

[3:19]  ¹⁰⁶ tn Grk “and men,” but in a generic sense, referring to people of both genders (as “everyone” in v. 20 makes clear).

[3:21]  ¹⁰⁷ sn John 3:16-21 provides an introduction to the (so-called) “realized” eschatology of the Fourth Gospel: Judgment has come; eternal life may be possessed now, in the present life, as well as in the future. The terminology “realized eschatology” was originally coined by E. Haenchen and used by J. Jeremias in discussion with C. H. Dodd, but is now characteristically used to describe Dodd’s own formulation. See L. Goppelt, Theology of the New Testament, 1:54, note 10, and R. E. Brown (John [AB], 1:cxvii-cxviii) for further discussion. Especially important to note is the element of choice portrayed in John’s Gospel. If there is a twofold reaction to Jesus in John’s Gospel, it should be emphasized that that reaction is very much dependent on a person’s choice, a choice that is influenced by his way of life, whether his deeds are wicked or are done in God (John 3:20-21). For John there is virtually no trace of determinism at the surface. Only when one looks beneath the surface does one find statements like “no one can come to me, unless the Father who sent me draws him” (John 6:44).

[7:2]  ¹⁰⁸ tn Or “feast of the Tents” (the feast where people lived in tents or shelters, which was celebrated in the autumn after harvest). John’s use of σκηνοπηγία (skhnophgia) for the feast of Tabernacles constitutes the only use of this term in the New Testament.

[7:2]  ¹⁰⁹ sn Since the present verse places these incidents at the feast of Tabernacles (a.d. 29 or 32, depending on whether one dates the crucifixion in a.d. 30 or 33) there would have been a 6-month interval during which no events are recorded. The author is obviously selective in his approach; he is not recording an exhaustive history (as he will later tell the reader in John 21:25). After healing the paralytic on the Sabbath in Jerusalem (John 5:1-47), Jesus withdrew again to Galilee because of mounting opposition. In Galilee the feeding of the 5,000 took place, which marked the end of the Galilean ministry for all practical purposes. John 7:1-9 thus marks Jesus’ final departure from Galilee.

[4:3]  ¹¹⁰ sn The author doesn’t tell why Jesus chose to set out once more for Galilee. Some have suggested that the Pharisees turned their attention to Jesus because John the Baptist had now been thrown into prison. But the text gives no hint of this. In any case, perhaps Jesus simply did not want to provoke a confrontation at this time (knowing that his “hour” had not yet come).