Genesis 10:13

10:13 Mizraim ¹  was the father of ²  the Ludites, ³  Anamites, ⁴  Lehabites, ⁵  Naphtuhites, ⁶ 

Genesis 10:1

The Table of Nations

10:1 This is the account ⁷  of Noah’s sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Sons ⁸  were born ⁹  to them after the flood.

Genesis 1:11

1:11 God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: ¹⁰  plants yielding seeds according to their kinds, ¹¹  and ¹²  trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds.” It was so.

[10:13]  ¹ sn Mizraim is the Hebrew name for Egypt (cf. NRSV).

[10:13]  ² tn Heb “fathered.”

[10:13]  ³ sn The Ludites were African tribes west of the Nile Delta.

[10:13]  ⁴ sn The Anamites lived in North Africa, west of Egypt, near Cyrene.

[10:13]  ⁵ sn The Lehabites are identified with the Libyans.

[10:13]  ⁶ sn The Naphtuhites lived in Lower Egypt (the Nile Delta region).

[10:1]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ 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.

[1:11]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew construction employs a cognate accusative, where the nominal object (“vegetation”) derives from the verbal root employed. It stresses the abundant productivity that God created.

[1:11]  ¹¹ sn After their kinds. The Hebrew word translated “kind” (מִין, min) indicates again that God was concerned with defining and dividing time, space, and species. The point is that creation was with order, as opposed to chaos. And what God created and distinguished with boundaries was not to be confused (see Lev 19:19 and Deut 22:9-11).

[1:11]  ¹² tn The conjunction “and” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation to clarify the relationship of the clauses.