1 Now this is the history of the generations of the sons of Noah and of Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Sons were born to them after the flood.
2 The sons of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.
3 The sons of Gomer: Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah.
4 The sons of Javan: Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.
5 Of these were the isles of the nations divided in their lands, everyone after his language, after their families, in their nations.
6 The sons of Ham: Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan.
7 The sons of Cush: Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca. The sons of Raamah: Sheba and Dedan.
8 Cush became the father of Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth.
9 He was a mighty hunter before Yahweh. Therefore it is said, "Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before Yahweh."
10 The beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.
11 Out of that land he went forth into Assyria, and built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah,
12 and Resen between Nineveh and Calah (the same is the great city).
13 Mizraim became the father of Ludim, Anamim, Lehabim, Naphtuhim,
14 Pathrusim, Casluhim (which the Philistines descended from), and Caphtorim.
15 Canaan became the father of Sidon (his firstborn), Heth,
16 the Jebusite, the Amorite, the Girgashite,
17 the Hivite, the Arkite, the Sinite,
18 the Arvadite, the Zemarite, and the Hamathite. Afterward the families of the Canaanites were spread abroad.
19 The border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as you go toward Gerar, to Gaza; as you go toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, to Lasha.
20 These are the sons of Ham, after their families, after their languages, in their lands, in their nations.
21 To Shem, the father of all the children of Eber, the elder brother of Japheth, to him also were children born.
22 The sons of Shem: Elam, Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud, and Aram.
23 The sons of Aram: Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash.
24 Arpachshad became the father of Shelah. Shelah became the father of Eber.
25 To Eber were born two sons. The name of the one was Peleg, for in his days was the earth divided. His brother's name was Joktan.
26 Joktan became the father of Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah,
27 Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah,
28 Obal, Abimael, Sheba,
29 Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab. All these were the sons of Joktan.
30 Their dwelling was from Mesha, as you go toward Sephar, the mountain of the east.
31 These are the sons of Shem, after their families, after their languages, in their lands, after their nations.
32 These are the families of the sons of Noah, after their generations, in their nations. Of these were the nations divided in the earth after the flood.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Genesis 10
Commentary on Genesis 10 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 10
This chapter shows more particularly what was said in general (ch. 9:19), concerning the three sons of Noah, that "of them was the whole earth overspread;' and the fruit of that blessing (ch. 9:1, 7), "replenish the earth.' Is is the only certain account extant of the origin of nations; and yet perhaps there is no nation but that of the Jews that can be confident from which of these seventy fountains (for so many there are here) it derives its streams. Through the want of early records, the mixtures of people, the revolutions of nations, and distance of time, the knowledge of the lineal descent of the present inhabitants of the earth is lost; nor were any genealogies preserved but those of the Jews, for the sake of the Messiah, only in this chapter we have a brief account,
Gen 10:1-5
Moses begins with Japheth's family, either because he was the eldest, or because his family lay remotest from Israel and had least concern with them at the time when Moses wrote, and therefore he mentions that race very briefly, hastening to give an account of the posterity of Ham, who were Israel's enemies and of Shem, who were Israel's ancestors; for it is the church that the scripture is designed to be the history of, and of the nations of the world only as they were some way or other related to Israel and interested in the affairs of Israel. Observe,
Gen 10:6-14
That which is observable and improvable in these verses is the account here given of Nimrod, v. 8-10. He is here represented as a great man in his day: He began to be a mighty one in the earth, that is, whereas those that went before him were content to stand upon the same level with their neighbours, and though every man bore rule in his own house yet no man pretended any further, Nimrod's aspiring mind could not rest here; he was resolved to tower above his neighbours, not only to be eminent among them, but to lord it over them. The same spirit that actuated the giants before the flood (who became mighty men, and men of renown, ch. 6:4), now revived in him, so soon was that tremendous judgment which the pride and tyranny of those mighty men brought upon the world forgotten. Note, There are some in whom ambition and affectation of dominion seem to be bred in the bone; such there have been and will be, notwithstanding the wrath of God often revealed from heaven against them. Nothing on this side hell will humble and break the proud spirits of some men, in this like Lucifer, Isa. 14:14, 15. Now,
Gen 10:15-20
Observe here,
Gen 10:21-32
Two things especially are observable in this account of the posterity of Shem:-