Genesis 10:1-32

 

10:1

“This is the account of account of the families of Shem, Ham, and Japheth, the three sons of Noah. Many children were born to them after the great flood. ”

 

Japheth (14 nations)

10:5 – “From these the maritime peoples spread out into their territories by their clans within their nations, each with its own languages.

 

Gomer

Magog

Madai

Javan

Tubal

Meshech

Tiras

 

Ashkenaz

Riphath

Togarmah

These are the people of the north

 

Elishah

Tarshish

The Kittim

The Rodanim

The people of the sea and the islands of the west, the Mediterranean people

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  1. Gomer
    1. Mentioned in Ezekiel 38:6
    2. The Akkadians called them Gi-mir-ra-a or the Cimmerians
    3. This people migrated through the land
    4. Originally occupied the area north of the Black Sea
    5. Later they invaded the Scythians and moved into the Caucasus mountains
  2. Magog
    1. Mentioned in Ezekiels 38and 39
    2. Magog is always against Israel
  3. Madai
    1. These are the Medes of the Old Testament.
    2. They lived between the Tigris River and the Caspian Sea
    3. Opposed the Assyrians in the 800’s BC
    4. Joined with Persians around 580 BC
    5. They occupied modern northwest Iran
  4. Javan
    1. Associated with the Greek tribal name Ionia who lived on the western coast of  Asia Minor
    2. In the Old Testament the people of Javan are merchants who trade with the Phoenicians of Tyre in Ezekiel 27:13 and with the Philistines in Joel 4:6.
    3. These are the people who settled southern Greece and western Asia Minor
    4. Javan is mentioned along with Tubal and Meshech in Isaiah 66:19 and Ezekiel 27:13.
  5. Tubal
    1. Territory is in eastern Anatolia or eastern Turkey
    2. The Akkadian’s called them Tabali
  6. Meshech
    1. Territory is also in eastern Anatolia along with Tubal.
    2. Associated with Muski or Musku in Assyrian texts.
  7. Tiras
    1. Ancient Egyptian text called them Turasha which is Tyrrhennians.
    2. These are later called the Etruscans of Italy
    3. Some have connected them with ancient Thrace
  8. Ashkenaz
    1. Lived on the northern Euphrates River in Armenia
    2. The name of these people are called on in Jeremiah 51:27 along with Ararat to rise up against Babylon
    3. They are the Ashkuza (or, Ishguza) who fought the Assyrinas around 675 BC.
    4. The Greek historian Herodotus knows them and calls them Scythians.
    5. They occupied areas north and east of the Black Sea into the steppes of Russia
  9. Riphath
    1. Unknown
    2. Most likely also located in the area of Modern Turkey
  10. Togarmah
    1. In Ezekiel 27:14 they export horses to Tyre
    2. In Ezekiel 38:6 they join in with God of Magog’s invasion of Israel and is called Beth Togarmah by Ezekiel
  11. Elishah
    1. In cuneiform this name is Alashiya and refers to the island of Cyrus
    2. Mentioned in Ezekiel 27:7
  12. Tarshish
    1. The word “tarshish” is related to an Addadian word “rasasu” that means “to smelt or heat” and metals where exported from Tarshish in  Ezekiel 27:12.
    2. In the Old Testament this is a port city on the Mediterranean Sea that is a distant location.
    3. Since Tarshish is a son of Javan (Ionian or Greece) then it is easy to see Tarshish as a land or sea port beyond Greece.
    4. Tarshish is mentioned in 1 Kings 10:22, Jeremiah 10:9, Ezekiel 27:12 as a place where silver, iron, tin, lead, ivory, monkeys and peacocks were shipped.
    5. In Jonah 1:3 a ship leaves Joppa and sails west into the Mediterranean Sea for Tarshish.
    6. But, in 1 Kings 10:22; 22:49 and 2 Chronicles 9:21 Solomon’s and Jehoshaphat’s ships use Ezion-geber as a port to sail out the Red Sea into the Indian Ocean to reach Tarshish.
    7. It appears then that Tarshish could be reached either by going south out the Red Sea or going west through the Mediterranean Sea
    8. Tarshish is a distant sea port probably in Spain but refers sea ports of the western world.
    9. There is a mining village in southwestern Spain called Tartessus.
  13. The Kittim
    1. Kittim is a Phoenician city on the southeast coast of Cyprus called Kition.
    2. Isaiah 23:1 refers to Kittim as a land and Ezekiel 27:6 refers to Kittim as islands.
    3. Balaam’s prophecy of Numbers 24:24 makes it clear the Kittim is reached with ships.
    4. In the Old Testament Kittim refers to the far west.
  14. The Rodanim
    1. Is assumed to be the island of Rhodes, a large island in the  Aegean Sea southwest of Turkey.

 

 

Map of the Sons of Japheth

 

The prophecy of chapter 9:27:

“May God extend the territory of Japheth ; may Japheth live in the tents of Shem.”

 

Psalm 72:8, 10

 

The people of Japheth settled from India across Asia Minor and into southern Europe

 

One Race

“From one man he made every nation of men that they should inhabit the whole earth.”

                                                                        - Acts 17:26, NIV

 

The Bible distinguishes people as tribes, clans or national groups since they all come from Noah.

Evolution uses the word “race” which places people groups on different levels of the evolutionary scale.

The DNA difference between any two people is 0.2 %, but of this 0.2% only 6% is due to race (Asian and Caucasian).  85% of this total 0.2% difference between two people occurs within their own race because they are two different people.

 

 How did the different skin colors originate?

  • We all have the same coloring pigment in our sin called melanin
  • All skin color is some shade of brown
  • Melanin protects the skin against ultraviolet damage from the light of the sun.
  • Too little melanin in a very sunny environment will cause sunburn and skin cancer
  • Too much melanin with little sunshine will make it difficult to get enough vitamin D which needs sunshine for its production.  Result of a vitamin D deficiency is bone disorders.

 

Before the tower of Babel people lived in the general area of Shinar , spoke the same language and shared a common culture.  No borders, no language barriers, no culture differences.  Their skin color stayed basically the same because marriage would have been unhindered by borders, language and culture.  The confusion of language put these people into pockets which caused limited choices for marriage.

 

 

Ham (30 nations)

10:18-20 – “Later the Canaanite clans scattered and the borders of Canaan reached from Sidon toward Gerar as far as Gaza, and then toward Sodom, Gomorarah, Admah and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha.  These are the sons of Ham by their clans and languages, in their territories and nations.”

 

Cush

Mizraim

Put

Canaan

                                                                  

Seba

Havilah

Sabtah

Raamah

Sabteca

(Nimrod)

 

Ludites

Anamites

Lehabites

Naphtuhites

Pathrusites

Casluhites

Caphtorites

 

Sidon

Hittites

Jebusites

Amorites

Girgashites

Hivites

Arkites

Sinites

Arvadites

Zemarites

Hamathites

 

From Raamah:

Sheba

Dedan

 

From Casluhites:
Philistines

 

 

 

  1. Cush
    1. 10:8 – “Cush was the father of Nimrod, who grew to be a mighty warrior on the earth.”
    2. 10:9 – “He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; . . . “
    3. 10:9 – “That is why it is said, ‘Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord.’ ”
    4. 10:10 – “The first centers of his kingdom were:

                                                               i.      Babylon

                                                             ii.      Erech

                                                            iii.      Akkad

                                                            iv.      Calneh in Shjinar

    1. 10:11- “From that land he went to Assyria, where he built:

                                                               i.      Nineveh

                                                             ii.      Rehoboth Ir

                                                            iii.      Calah

                                                            iv.      Resen, between Nineveh and Calah, the great city.

  1. Mizraim
  2. Put
  3. Canaan
  4. Seba
  5. Havilah
  6. Sabtah
  7. Raamah
  8. Sabteca
  9. Sheba
  10. Dedan
  11. Ludites
  12. Anamites
  13. Lehabites
  14. Naphtuhites
  15. Pathrusites
  16. Casluhites
  17. Caphtorites
  18. Philistines
  19. Sidon
  20. Hittites
  21. Jebusites
  22. Amorites
  23. Girgashites
  24. Hivites
  25. Arkites
  26. Sinites
  27. Arvadites
  28. Zemarites
  29. Hamathites

 

 

Shem (Semites) (26 nations)

10:30-31 – “The region where they lived stretched from Mesha toward Sephar, in the eastern hill country.  These are the sons of Shem by their clans and languages, in their territories and nations.”

 

Elam

Asshur

Arphaxad

Lud

Aram

 

Shelah

 From Shelah:
Eber

Two sons from Shelah:

Peleg

Uz

Hul

Gether

Meshech

 

 

 

 
 
Joktan

13 sons from
Joktan:

Almodad

 Sheleph

Hazarmaveth

Jerah

Hadoram

Uzal

Diklah

Obal

Abimael

Sheba

Ophir

Havilah

Jobab

 

 

 

 

 

  1. Elam
  2. Asshur
  3. Arphaxad
  4. Lud
  5. Aram
  6. Uz
  7. Hul
  8. Gether
  9. Meshech
  10. Shelah
  11. Eber
  12. Peleg
    1. 10:25 – “One was named Peleg, because in his time the earth was divided.”
  13. Joktan
  14. Aomodad
  15. Sheleph
  16. Hazarmaveth
  17. Jerah
  18. Hadoram
  19. Uzal
  20. Diklah
  21. Obal
  22. Abimael
  23. Sheba
  24. Ophir
  25. Havilah
  26. Jobab