Genesis — Chapter 10

Authorship & Background

Map & Geography

• The Table of Nations maps the spread of humanity from Noah's three sons: Japheth (Indo-European peoples, Anatolia/Europe), Ham (Africa, Canaan, Mesopotamia), and Shem (Semitic peoples, the Near East).
• Nimrod's kingdom includes Babel, Erech (Uruk), Accad, and Calneh in Shinar (Babylonia) and Nineveh in Assyria (vv.10-12) — all in modern Iraq.
• This chapter provides the geographical backdrop for the entire Old Testament.

Places on this map

• CanaanIsrael, West Bank, LebanonThe land bridge between Egypt and Mesopotamia, which is why armies crossed it for three thousand years. Within about 60 miles it goes from coastal plain to hill country to rift valley to desert plateau, so control of it was always local and piecemeal. Wikipedia
• NinevehMosul, IraqAssyria's last capital, on the east bank of the Tigris across from modern Mosul, about 500 miles north-east of Israel. Sennacherib walled in an enormous city here, which is the scale behind Jonah's three days' journey and its 120,000 who cannot tell right from left. Wikipedia
• Assyrianorthern IraqThe upper Tigris heartland around Nineveh, Calah and Asshur. Its armies reached Israel by following the Fertile Crescent north-west and then south down the coast, so the threat always arrived from the north even though Assyria lay to the east. Wikipedia
• Asia MinorTurkeyThe peninsula between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, a high dry plateau ringed by mountains with the Greek cities on its western coast. Roman Asia, the province Paul worked from Ephesus, was only its western end. Wikipedia
• MesopotamiaIraq and eastern SyriaThe land between the Tigris and Euphrates, flat, hot and farmable only by irrigation, which forced early cities into large-scale cooperation. Abraham came from its southern end and Israel's exiles were taken to its middle. Wikipedia
• Babylonnear Hillah, IraqOn the Euphrates about 55 miles south of modern Baghdad. Judah's exiles were marched roughly 900 miles to get here, the long way round the Arabian desert, which is why the journey took months and the return was a genuine undertaking rather than a short trip home. Wikipedia

Towns sit on their excavated or traditional site. Regions, rivers and seas are ringed rather than dotted, because for those a single point is only an anchor. Coastlines from Natural Earth.

Deep Dive

Setting: Chapter 9 ended with Noah's three sons and the words "from these the people of the whole earth were dispersed" (9:19). Chapter 10 shows what that looked like. It is called the Table of Nations: a map of the world as Israel knew it, drawn as a family tree. It opens a new section of Genesis ("these are the generations of the sons of Noah," v1) that runs through the tower of Babel in 11:1–9. The two belong together. Chapter 10 describes the nations spread out "each with his own language" (v5), and chapter 11 explains how that scattering came about. Genesis puts the result before the cause on purpose: the spreading of the nations is first shown as God's blessing being fulfilled ("fill the earth," 9:1), and only then as his judgment on pride. The list also sets the stage for Abram, called in chapter 12 so that "in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed" (12:3). These are the families it means.

Nations Descended from Noah (vv1–32)

• "These are the generations of the sons of Noah" (v1). "Generations" is toledot, the heading word that marks each new section of Genesis (2:4; 5:1; 6:9; 11:10, 27). The order of the list is reversed from the usual "Shem, Ham, and Japheth": Japheth comes first, then Ham, and Shem last. Genesis regularly deals with the side branches first and then follows the main line, the one the story will stay with. Shem is held to the end because Abram comes from him.
• What kind of list this is. The "sons" here are often peoples, places and cities rather than single men. Many names have plural endings, like Ludim, Anamim and Philistines (vv13–14), meaning "the Ludites," "the Anamites." Egypt (Mizraim, v6) is a land name. Canaan "fathered Sidon," a city, and "the Jebusites" (vv15–16). The table mixes family descent with geography and political ties, the way an ancient reader would describe who belonged with whom. That explains some puzzles. Sheba and Havilah appear under Ham (v7) and again under Shem (vv28–29), probably because related peoples lived in the same regions of Arabia. Canaanites spoke a language close to Hebrew yet are listed under Ham, because the list follows history and territory, not language or race. It is not a racial chart, and it should never be read as ranking peoples.
• Seventy nations. Counting the names gives seventy (fourteen from Japheth, thirty from Ham, twenty-six from Shem). Seventy, seven times ten, is a number of fullness. Jacob's family going down to Egypt is also seventy (46:27; Exod 1:5), as if Israel were a small copy of the whole world, chosen for the world's sake. Deuteronomy 32:8 says that when God "divided mankind, he fixed the borders of the peoples." The ancient Greek translation counts seventy-two here, and some suggest Jesus sending out "seventy" or "seventy-two" (manuscripts differ, Luke 10:1) looks ahead to the gospel reaching all nations. That link is possible but not stated in the text.
• The sons of Japheth (vv2–5). These are the peoples to the north and west of Israel: across Asia Minor (modern Turkey), around the Black Sea, and over the Mediterranean islands. Madai are the Medes of Iran. Javan is the Ionian Greeks, and Yavan is still the Hebrew word for Greece. Gomer is usually linked with the Cimmerians, and Ashkenaz with the Scythians. Tarshish is a far western port, probably in Spain, where Jonah later tried to flee (Jon 1:3). Kittim is Cyprus. ESV has Dodanim, but 1 Chronicles 1:7 and the Greek translation read Rodanim, Rhodes. In Hebrew, d and r look almost alike, and most think Rodanim is original.
• Magog, Meshech and Tubal (v2). These names return in Ezekiel 38–39, where "Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal" leads an invasion from the far north, and Magog appears again in Revelation 20:8. The Tyndale notes place these peoples in Asia Minor. Some modern prophecy teachers identify them with Russia, often linking Meshech with Moscow, but that rests on sound-alike names, not on ancient evidence. Most scholars locate all three in what is now Turkey.
• "The coastland peoples spread in their lands, each with his own language" (v5). "Coastlands" (iyyim) means shores and islands reached by sea. The prophets later promise that these distant coastlands will wait for God's law (Isa 42:4; 49:1). The phrase "each with his own language" already assumes Babel, which comes in the next chapter.
• The sons of Ham (vv6–7). Cush is the region south of Egypt (ancient Nubia, in modern Sudan), though some of Cush's sons settled across the Red Sea in Arabia. Egypt, Put (probably Libya) and Canaan complete the four. Many of the peoples Israel would struggle with most, Egypt, Babylon, Assyria, Canaan and the Philistines, appear in this section. Sheba later sends its queen to Solomon (1 Kgs 10:1).
• "Cush fathered Nimrod; he was the first on earth to be a mighty man" (v8). The list slows down for the only person in the chapter given a story. "Mighty man" is gibbor, warrior or hero. It is the word used for the "mighty men" of 6:4, before the flood, which is not a reassuring echo. "First" is literally "he began to be," the same verb used when people "began" to multiply in 6:1. Nimrod is the first empire-builder.
• "A mighty hunter before the LORD" (v9). This was a proverb, used of anyone famous for strength. Readers take "before the LORD" in two ways. Some read it plainly: Nimrod was a great hunter, so great that even God took notice, or a hunter "in God's sight." Others, from very early on, read it darkly. The Greek translation uses a word (enantion) that can mean "in front of" or "opposite," and Jewish tradition, including Josephus, made Nimrod a rebel who led the building of Babel. Ancient kings of Assyria and Babylon loved to picture themselves as hunters of lions and of men, so "mighty hunter" may describe a conqueror. The text itself stays brief and doesn't pass sentence, but the cities named next point in the darker direction.
• "The beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar" (v10). This is the first use of "kingdom" in the Bible. Shinar is southern Mesopotamia (modern Iraq). Babel is Babylon. Erech is Uruk, one of the oldest cities known, and Accad (Akkad) was the capital of Sargon, who built the first great empire in that region. Babel and Shinar come back in the next chapter as the scene of the tower (11:2, 9).
• "From that land he went into Assyria and built Nineveh" (v11). Nineveh became the capital of Assyria, the empire that destroyed the northern kingdom of Israel (2 Kgs 17) and the city Jonah was sent to warn (Jon 1:2). Calah is Nimrud, whose ruins still bear a name drawn from Nimrod. Micah calls Assyria "the land of Nimrod" (Mic 5:6). In two verses Genesis traces both of Israel's great oppressors, Babylon and Assyria, back to one proud founder. Like Cain, Nimrod is a builder of cities (4:17).
• The sons of Egypt (vv13–14). These are peoples of Egypt and North Africa. Casluhim (from whom the Philistines came), and Caphtorim (v14). Elsewhere the Philistines come from Caphtor, which is Crete (Amos 9:7; Jer 47:4). Many scholars think the note "from whom the Philistines came" originally followed Caphtorim, or that the two peoples were closely mixed. Either way, the Philistines, so important later in Judges and Samuel, are placed on the map here.
• "Canaan fathered Sidon his firstborn and Heth" (vv15–18). Sidon is the great Phoenician port. Heth gives "the Hittites" of Canaan, from whom Abraham buys a grave (ch 23). These Hittites are probably a local people, not the great Hittite empire of Turkey. The Jebusites held Jerusalem until David took it (2 Sam 5:6–9). The Amorites, Girgashites and Hivites appear again and again in the lists of the peoples of Canaan (15:19–21; Deut 7:1).
• "The territory of the Canaanites extended from Sidon… as far as Gaza, and in the direction of Sodom, Gomorrah" (v19). This is the only border in the chapter drawn this carefully. The reason is plain to Israel: this is the land God will promise to Abram (12:7; 15:18–21). The cities of the plain are named before their fall in chapter 19. The curse on Canaan in 9:25 is now attached to a real territory.
• "To Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber" (v21). Shem is introduced through a great-great-grandson, which shows what matters to the writer. Eber stands behind the word "Hebrew" (ibri), and Abram is the first person called "the Hebrew" (14:13). "The elder brother of Japheth" can also be translated "the brother of Japheth the elder." The Hebrew allows both.
• The sons of Shem (vv22–23). Elam is southwest Iran. Asshur is Assyria, which shows again that the table follows peoples and places, since Nimrod built Assyria's cities in v11. Aram is the Arameans of Syria, the people of Laban (25:20; 31:20). Israel later confessed, "A wandering Aramean was my father" (Deut 26:5). Uz is the land of Job (Job 1:1).
• "Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided" (v25). "Peleg" means "division," from the verb palag, to split or divide. Readers have offered several meanings. Most connect it with Babel, when the peoples were split apart by language (11:8–9). Psalm 55:9 uses the same verb for exactly that: "divide their tongues." Others think of the land being divided up among the nations (Deut 32:8), or of channels being cut for irrigation, a meaning the word has in related languages. Some modern writers suggest the splitting of the continents, but the word and the setting point to people, not geology. The two brothers split the line: Joktan's sons settle in southern Arabia (vv26–30), while Peleg's line leads to Abram (11:16–26).
• Joktan's sons (vv26–30). Thirteen peoples of Arabia and Yemen. Ophir became famous for gold (1 Kgs 9:28). The list ends here, and the next chapter tells the story of Babel before taking up Peleg's line again. The chosen family is the one left hanging.
• "From these the nations spread abroad on the earth after the flood" (v32). The chapter closes as it opened. Every people on the list, friend or enemy, great empire or desert tribe, comes from one family that came out of the ark. Paul made this point in Athens: God "made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place" (Acts 17:26).
• Commentators: Henry notes that no family records have survived except Israel's, kept "for the sake of the Messiah." On Nimrod he takes the darker reading: in God's account, "he was but a mighty hunter," and he suggests that tyrants over men are rebels against God. On Canaan he observes that its people were "numerous, and rich, and very pleasantly situated," yet "Canaan here has a better land than either Shem or Japheth, and yet they have a better lot, for they inherit the blessing." JFB points out that the list is "not arranged… according to seniority of birth," and reads Nimrod's move into Assyria as an invasion of Shem's territory. It takes Peleg's "division" as an ordered sharing out of the earth by God's direction, citing Deuteronomy 32:8 and Acts 17:26. JFB skips most of the names (vv2–4, 7, 9, 12–20, 22, 26–31). Guzik also reads "before the LORD" as an offense in God's face rather than praise, and he says Nimrod's name means "let us rebel." The lexicon calls the name's origin "wholly unknown," probably Babylonian, though Hebrew readers may have heard marad, "rebel," in it. The link is a wordplay, not a sure meaning. Guzik ties many names to modern nations, such as Meshech to Moscow, which go well beyond the evidence and should be held loosely.

Pointing to Christ

This chapter is easy to skip, but the whole Bible's mission is in it. God placed every one of these seventy nations "that they should seek God" (Acts 17:27), and he called Abram from Shem's line to bring a blessing to all of them. That blessing came in Christ. At Pentecost, the scattered languages of Babel heard the gospel each "in his own language" (Acts 2:6–11), from Elamites and Medes to Egypt, Libya and Arabia, many of the very names on this list. The story ends where this chapter points: "a great multitude… from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages" before the throne and before the Lamb (Rev 7:9). Nimrod built a kingdom by force. Christ builds his by gathering the nations to himself.

Commentary

• Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com Guzik covers the Table of Nations, Nimrod, the three family lines, and the theological significance of all nations from one source.
• Jamieson-Fausset-Brown (1871): blueletterbible.org A critical and explanatory commentary on the whole Bible, more concise than Matthew Henry and closer to the Hebrew and Greek, with attention to historical and geographical detail. Public domain.
• Matthew Henry's Exposition (1710): blueletterbible.org A devotional verse-by-verse commentary in the Puritan tradition, still among the most widely read three centuries on. Public domain.

Videos

Articles

• BibleProject: bibleproject.com On the whole book: how its opening chapters work as literature and how they set up everything that follows.
• GotQuestions.org: gotquestions.org On the whole book: an overview of the book of Genesis -- who wrote it, when, why, and how it fits the rest of Scripture.

Links open on the publisher's own site. Nothing here is reproduced on this page.

Reflection

• Nimrod's Kingdom of Rebellion (vv.8-10) — Nimrod builds a kingdom centered on Babel, the seedbed of the organized rebellion against God that erupts in chapter 11. Where do you see human systems today built in defiance of God, and are you participating in them or standing apart?
• The Line Set Apart for the Redeemer (v.21) — Shem's descendants are singled out, quietly narrowing the focus toward the promised Redeemer of 3:15. Can you look back over your own life and see God narrowing and guiding events toward His purposes?
• One Family Across All Nations (v.32) — The chapter closes by noting that every nation on earth traces back to this one post-flood family. How does knowing that all people share one common ancestry shape your view of those from other nations, cultures, or ethnicities?