Discovery BoxGenesis 3:1
Context3:1 Now 1 the serpent 2 was more shrewd 3
than any of the wild animals 4 that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Is it really true that 5 God 6 said, ‘You must not eat from any tree of the orchard’?” 7
Genesis 10:1-32
Context10:1 This is the account 8 of Noah’s sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Sons 9 were born 10 to them after the flood.
10:2 The sons of Japheth 11 were Gomer, 12 Magog, 13 Madai, 14 Javan, 15 Tubal, 16 Meshech, 17 and Tiras. 18 10:3 The sons of Gomer were 19 Askenaz, 20 Riphath, 21 and Togarmah. 22 10:4 The sons of Javan were Elishah, 23 Tarshish, 24 the Kittim, 25 and the Dodanim. 26 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, 27 Mizraim, 28 Put, 29 and Canaan. 30 10:7 The sons of Cush were Seba, 31 Havilah, 32 Sabtah, 33 Raamah, 34 and Sabteca. 35 The sons of Raamah were Sheba 36 and Dedan. 37
10:8 Cush was the father of 38 Nimrod; he began to be a valiant warrior on the earth. 10:9 He was a mighty hunter 39 before the Lord. 40 (That is why it is said, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord.”) 10:10 The primary regions 41 of his kingdom were Babel, 42 Erech, 43 Akkad, 44 and Calneh 45 in the land of Shinar. 46 10:11 From that land he went 47 to Assyria, 48 where he built Nineveh, 49 Rehoboth-Ir, 50 Calah, 51 10:12 and Resen, which is between Nineveh and the great city Calah. 52
10:13 Mizraim 53 was the father of 54 the Ludites, 55 Anamites, 56 Lehabites, 57 Naphtuhites, 58 10:14 Pathrusites, 59 Casluhites 60 (from whom the Philistines came), 61 and Caphtorites. 62
10:15 Canaan was the father of 63 Sidon his firstborn, 64 Heth, 65 10:16 the Jebusites, 66 Amorites, 67 Girgashites, 68 10:17 Hivites, 69 Arkites, 70 Sinites, 71 10:18 Arvadites, 72 Zemarites, 73 and Hamathites. 74 Eventually the families of the Canaanites were scattered 10:19 and the borders of Canaan extended 75 from Sidon 76 all the way to 77 Gerar as far as Gaza, and all the way to 78 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 79 to Shem (the older brother of Japheth), 80 the father of all the sons of Eber.
10:22 The sons of Shem were Elam, 81 Asshur, 82 Arphaxad, 83 Lud, 84 and Aram. 85 10:23 The sons of Aram were Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash. 86 10:24 Arphaxad was the father of 87 Shelah, 88 and Shelah was the father of Eber. 89 10:25 Two sons were born to Eber: One was named Peleg because in his days the earth was divided, 90 and his brother’s name was Joktan. 10:26 Joktan was the father of 91 Almodad, 92 Sheleph, 93 Hazarmaveth, 94 Jerah, 95 10:27 Hadoram, Uzal, 96 Diklah, 97 10:28 Obal, 98 Abimael, 99 Sheba, 100 10:29 Ophir, 101 Havilah, 102 and Jobab. All these were sons of Joktan. 10:30 Their dwelling place was from Mesha all the way to 103 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 104 over the earth after the flood.
[3:1] 1 tn The chapter begins with a disjunctive clause (conjunction + subject + predicate) that introduces a new character and a new scene in the story.
[3:1] 2 sn Many theologians identify or associate the serpent with Satan. In this view Satan comes in the disguise of a serpent or speaks through a serpent. This explains the serpent’s capacity to speak. While later passages in the Bible may indicate there was a satanic presence behind the serpent (see, for example, Rev 12:9), the immediate context pictures the serpent as simply one of the animals of the field created by God (see vv. 1, 14). An ancient Jewish interpretation explains the reference to the serpent in a literal manner, attributing the capacity to speak to all the animals in the orchard. This text (Jub. 3:28) states, “On that day [the day the man and woman were expelled from the orchard] the mouth of all the beasts and cattle and birds and whatever walked or moved was stopped from speaking because all of them used to speak to one another with one speech and one language [presumed to be Hebrew, see 12:26].” Josephus, Ant. 1.1.4 (1.41) attributes the serpent’s actions to jealousy. He writes that “the serpent, living in the company of Adam and his wife, grew jealous of the blessings which he supposed were destined for them if they obeyed God’s behests, and, believing that disobedience would bring trouble on them, he maliciously persuaded the woman to taste of the tree of wisdom.”
[3:1] 3 tn The Hebrew word עָרוּם (’arum) basically means “clever.” This idea then polarizes into the nuances “cunning” (in a negative sense, see Job 5:12; 15:5), and “prudent” in a positive sense (Prov 12:16, 23; 13:16; 14:8, 15, 18; 22:3; 27:12). This same polarization of meaning can be detected in related words derived from the same root (see Exod 21:14; Josh 9:4; 1 Sam 23:22; Job 5:13; Ps 83:3). The negative nuance obviously applies in Gen 3, where the snake attempts to talk the woman into disobeying God by using half-truths and lies.
[3:1] 4 tn Heb “animals of the field.”
[3:1] 5 tn Heb “Indeed that God said.” The beginning of the quotation is elliptical and therefore difficult to translate. One must supply a phrase like “is it true”: “Indeed, [is it true] that God said.”
[3:1] 6 sn God. The serpent does not use the expression “Yahweh God” [
[3:1] 7 tn Heb “you must not eat from all the tree[s] of the orchard.” After the negated prohibitive verb, מִכֹּל (mikkol, “from all”) has the meaning “from any.” Note the construction in Lev 18:26, where the statement “you must not do from all these abominable things” means “you must not do any of these abominable things.” See Lev 22:25 and Deut 28:14 as well.
[10:1] 8 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] 9 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] 10 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] 15 sn The Greek form of the name Japheth, Iapetos, is used in Greek tradition for the ancestor of the Greeks.
[10:2] 16 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] 17 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] 18 sn Madai was the ancestor of the Medes, who lived east of Assyria.
[10:2] 19 sn Javan was the father of the Hellenic race, the Ionians who lived in western Asia Minor.
[10:2] 20 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] 21 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] 22 sn Tiras was the ancestor of the Thracians, some of whom possibly became the Pelasgian pirates of the Aegean.
[10:3] 22 sn The descendants of Gomer were all northern tribes of the Upper Euphrates.
[10:3] 23 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] 24 sn The descendants of Riphath lived in a district north of the road from Haran to Carchemish.
[10:3] 25 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] 29 sn The descendants of Elishah populated Cyprus.
[10:4] 30 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] 31 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] 32 tc Most of the MT
[10:6] 36 sn The descendants of Cush settled in Nubia (Ethiopia).
[10:6] 37 sn The descendants of Mizraim settled in Upper and Lower Egypt.
[10:6] 38 sn The descendants of Put settled in Libya.
[10:6] 39 sn The descendants of Canaan lived in the region of Phoenicia (Palestine).
[10:7] 43 sn The descendants of Seba settled in Upper Egypt along the Nile.
[10:7] 44 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] 45 sn The descendants of Sabtah settled near the western shore of the Persian Gulf in ancient Hadhramaut.
[10:7] 46 sn The descendants of Raamah settled in southwest Arabia.
[10:7] 47 sn The descendants of Sabteca settled in Samudake, east toward the Persian Gulf.
[10:7] 48 sn Sheba became the name of a kingdom in southwest Arabia.
[10:7] 49 sn The name Dedan is associated with àUla in northern Arabia.
[10:8] 50 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] 57 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] 58 tn Another option is to take the divine name here, לִפְנֵי יִהוָה (lifne yÿhvah, “before the
[10:10] 64 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] 66 sn Erech (ancient Uruk, modern Warka), one of the most ancient civilizations, was located southeast of Babylon.
[10:10] 67 sn Akkad, or ancient Agade, was associated with Sargon and located north of Babylon.
[10:10] 68 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] 69 sn Shinar is another name for Babylonia.
[10:11] 71 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] 73 sn Nineveh was an ancient Assyrian city situated on the Tigris River.
[10:11] 74 sn The name Rehoboth-Ir means “and broad streets of a city,” perhaps referring to a suburb of Nineveh.
[10:11] 75 sn Calah (modern Nimrud) was located twenty miles north of Nineveh.
[10:12] 78 tn Heb “and Resen between Nineveh and Calah; it [i.e., Calah] is the great city.”
[10:13] 85 sn Mizraim is the Hebrew name for Egypt (cf. NRSV).
[10:13] 87 sn The Ludites were African tribes west of the Nile Delta.
[10:13] 88 sn The Anamites lived in North Africa, west of Egypt, near Cyrene.
[10:13] 89 sn The Lehabites are identified with the Libyans.
[10:13] 90 sn The Naphtuhites lived in Lower Egypt (the Nile Delta region).
[10:14] 92 sn The Pathrusites are known in Egyptian as P-to-reshi; they resided in Upper Egypt.
[10:14] 93 sn The Casluhites lived in Crete and eventually settled east of the Egyptian Delta, between Egypt and Canaan.
[10:14] 94 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] 95 sn The Caphtorites resided in Crete, but in Egyptian literature Caphtor refers to “the region beyond” the Mediterranean.
[10:15] 100 sn Sidon was the foremost city in Phoenicia; here Sidon may be the name of its founder.
[10:15] 101 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] 106 sn The Jebusites were the Canaanite inhabitants of ancient Jerusalem.
[10:16] 107 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] 108 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] 113 sn The Hivites were Canaanite tribes of a Hurrian origin.
[10:17] 114 sn The Arkites lived in Arka, a city in Lebanon, north of Sidon.
[10:17] 115 sn The Sinites lived in Sin, another town in Lebanon.
[10:18] 120 sn The Arvadites lived in the city Arvad, located on an island near the mainland close to the river El Kebir.
[10:18] 121 sn The Zemarites lived in the town Sumur, north of Arka.
[10:18] 122 sn The Hamathites lived in Hamath on the Orontes River.
[10:19] 128 map For location see Map1 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.
[10:19] 129 tn Heb “as you go.”
[10:19] 130 tn Heb “as you go.”
[10:21] 134 tn Heb “And to Shem was born.”
[10:21] 135 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] 141 sn The Hebrew name Elam (עֵילָם, ’elam) means “highland.” The Elamites were a non-Semitic people who lived east of Babylon.
[10:22] 142 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] 143 sn The descendants of Arphaxad may have lived northeast of Nineveh.
[10:22] 144 sn Lud may have been the ancestor of the Ludbu, who lived near the Tigris River.
[10:22] 145 sn Aram became the collective name of the northern tribes living in the steppes of Mesopotamia and speaking Aramaic dialects.
[10:23] 148 tc The MT reads “Mash”; the LXX and 1 Chr 1:17 read “Meshech.”
[10:24] 155 tn Heb “fathered.”
[10:24] 156 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] 157 sn Genesis 11 traces the line of Shem through Eber (עֵבֶר, ’ever ) to Abraham the “Hebrew” (עִבְרִי, ’ivri).
[10:25] 162 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] 169 tn Heb “fathered.”
[10:26] 170 sn The name Almodad combines the Arabic article al with modad (“friend”). Almodad was the ancestor of a South Arabian people.
[10:26] 171 sn The name Sheleph may be related to Shilph, a district of Yemen; Shalph is a Yemenite tribe.
[10:26] 172 sn The name Hazarmaveth should be equated with Hadramawt, located in Southern Arabia.
[10:26] 173 sn The name Jerah means “moon.”
[10:27] 176 sn Uzal was the name of the old capital of Yemen.
[10:27] 177 sn The name Diklah means “date-palm.”
[10:28] 183 sn Obal was a name used for several localities in Yemen.
[10:28] 184 sn The name Abimael is a genuine Sabean form which means “my father, truly, he is God.”
[10:28] 185 sn The descendants of Sheba lived in South Arabia, where the Joktanites were more powerful than the Hamites.
[10:29] 190 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] 191 sn Havilah is listed with Ham in v. 7.
