5 By these have the isles of the nations been parted in their lands, each by his tongue, by their families, in their nations.
These `are' sons of Ham, by their families, by their tongues, in their lands, in their nations.
For, pass to the isles of Chittim, and see, And to Kedar send, and consider well, And see if there hath been like this:
Fearful `is' Jehovah against them, For He made bare all gods of the land, And bow themselves to Him, each from his place, Do all islanders of the nations.
And to Eber have two sons been born; the name of the one `is' Peleg (for in his days hath the earth been divided,) and his brother's name `is' Joktan.
And the whole earth is of one pronunciation, and of the same words, and it cometh to pass, in their journeying from the east, that they find a valley in the land of Shinar, and dwell there; and they say each one to his neighbour, `Give help, let us make bricks, and burn `them' thoroughly:' and the brick is to them for stone, and the bitumen hath been to them for mortar. And they say, `Give help, let us build for ourselves a city and tower, and its head in the heavens, and make for ourselves a name, lest we be scattered over the face of all the earth.' And Jehovah cometh down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men have builded; and Jehovah saith, `Lo, the people `is' one, and one pronunciation `is' to them all, and this it hath dreamed of doing; and now, nothing is restrained from them of that which they have purposed to do. Give help, let us go down, and mingle there their pronunciation, so that a man doth not understand the pronunciation of his companion.' And Jehovah doth scatter them from thence over the face of all the earth, and they cease to build the city; therefore hath `one' called its name Babel, for there hath Jehovah mingled the pronunciation of all the earth, and from thence hath Jehovah scattered them over the face of all the earth.
Kings of Tarshish and of the isles send back a present. Kings of Sheba and Seba a reward bring near.
Therefore in prosperity honour ye Jehovah, In isles of the sea, the name of Jehovah, God of Israel.
Seen have isles and fear, ends of the earth tremble, They have drawn near, yea, they come.
He doth not become weak nor bruised, Till he setteth judgment in the earth, And for his law isles wait with hope.
Hearken, O isles, unto me, And attend, O peoples, from afar, Jehovah from the womb hath called me, From the bowels of my mother He hath made mention of my name.
Near `is' My righteousness, Gone out hath My salvation and Mine arms, Peoples they judge, on Me isles do wait, Yea, on Mine arm they do wait with hope.
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:-