Genesis 10:2-7

10:2 The sons of Japheth ¹  were Gomer, ²  Magog, ³  Madai, ⁴  Javan, ⁵  Tubal, ⁶  Meshech, ⁷  and Tiras. ⁸  10:3 The sons of Gomer were ⁹  Askenaz, ¹⁰  Riphath, ¹¹  and Togarmah. ¹²  10:4 The sons of Javan were Elishah, ¹³  Tarshish, ¹⁴  the Kittim, ¹⁵  and the Dodanim. ¹⁶  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, ¹⁷  Mizraim, ¹⁸  Put, ¹⁹  and Canaan. ²⁰  10:7 The sons of Cush were Seba, ²¹  Havilah, ²²  Sabtah, ²³  Raamah, ²⁴  and Sabteca. ²⁵  The sons of Raamah were Sheba ²⁶  and Dedan. ²⁷ 

[10:2]  ¹ sn The Greek form of the name Japheth, Iapetos, is used in Greek tradition for the ancestor of the Greeks.

[10:2]  ² 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]  ³ 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]  ⁴ sn Madai was the ancestor of the Medes, who lived east of Assyria.

[10:2]  ⁵ sn Javan was the father of the Hellenic race, the Ionians who lived in western Asia Minor.

[10:2]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ sn Tiras was the ancestor of the Thracians, some of whom possibly became the Pelasgian pirates of the Aegean.

[10:3]  ⁹ sn The descendants of Gomer were all northern tribes of the Upper Euphrates.

[10:3]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ sn The descendants of Riphath lived in a district north of the road from Haran to Carchemish.

[10:3]  ¹² 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]  ¹⁷ sn The descendants of Elishah populated Cyprus.

[10:4]  ¹⁸ 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]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ 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]  ²⁵ sn The descendants of Cush settled in Nubia (Ethiopia).

[10:6]  ²⁶ sn The descendants of Mizraim settled in Upper and Lower Egypt.

[10:6]  ²⁷ sn The descendants of Put settled in Libya.

[10:6]  ²⁸ sn The descendants of Canaan lived in the region of Phoenicia (Palestine).

[10:7]  ³³ sn The descendants of Seba settled in Upper Egypt along the Nile.

[10:7]  ³⁴ 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]  ³⁵ sn The descendants of Sabtah settled near the western shore of the Persian Gulf in ancient Hadhramaut.

[10:7]  ³⁶ sn The descendants of Raamah settled in southwest Arabia.

[10:7]  ³⁷ sn The descendants of Sabteca settled in Samudake, east toward the Persian Gulf.

[10:7]  ³⁸ sn Sheba became the name of a kingdom in southwest Arabia.

[10:7]  ³⁹ sn The name Dedan is associated with àUla in northern Arabia.