Walk in the Bible - Genesis 10

 Genesis 10

     In verse 1 we see Shem, Japeth and Ham start to have sons, just as GOD commanded them to do in Genesis 9:7. Notice that it says the children were born AFTER the flood. There's a reason for this, according to the rabbinic scholars, sexual intercourse was forbidden on the ark, and only permitted as of Genesis 9:7.  One other thing to note, as we go along you'll see that sometimes the sons are mentioned as having children of their own, and sometimes not. According to Chizkuni, this is because those that are mentioned founded a nation, those that aren't did not found a nation.

     In verse 2 were told that Japeth had seven sons, remember the number seven means perfect in this day and age! At least three of his sons are said to have founded nations on their own.   Tiras is said, by Rashi , to have founded Persia (modern day Iran ), however, other scholars say he founded Thrace or Etruscans. Even though they don't agree on specifically WHAT Tiras founded, they at least agree that he founded some race or other.

     Magog, depending on who you ask is said to be the founder of the Scythians, the Mongols, the Goths or the Finnish. Again they all agree that he founded a nation, but they're not sure what that nation is. Madai is a bit different. Most historians agree that he founded the Iranian Medes. Javan is said to be the founded of the Greek nation.

     In verse 3 Gomer is said, by Radak, to have founded the Gaul nation (France).  However, there's a lot of serious disagreement on this.  Josephus, for example , says Gomer founded Galatia, however, Hippolytus of Rome says Gomer founded Cappadocia, which is near Galatia. According to the Mishna, he founded Germany. According to the Oxford Dictionary of Prehistoric Europe, he actually founded the Cimmerians who lived in the Southern Russia.

     Madai is credited as founding a kingdom in either a part of Syria or Iran, depending on which historian you talk to. Javan is said to be the founder of the Greeks, according to Josephus. Josephus also states that Tubal founded the Kingdom of Iberia. Now others disagreed with this, for example, Jerome and Isadore of Seville and Welsh historian Nennius state that  Tubal founded the Iberians (Spanish) and the Italians as well! 

     Meshech is thought to have founded a tribe in Georgia , although Hippolytus of Rome states that Meschech founded the Illyrians, who lived in the Western Balkans.  Finally Tiras is said to be the founder of the Trachians, per Josephus and Strabo. However Moses Khorenatsi states that Tiras found Armenia and the Talmud says he founded Persia.  Once again, even though the historians can't agree on WHAT he founded, they all agree he founded some nation! All of them from Japeth!

     Not to be outdone, Gomer, who's the son of Japeth has a son  named, Ashkenaz, who's mentioned in Verse 3 definitely founds his own kingdom too , and it mentioned over in Jeremiah 51:27.  That kingdom, according to rabbinic literature was first in Scythia, then in the Slavic territories, then became part of West Germany.  In case your wondering, no he's not the founded of the Ashkenazi Jewish people, they were a collection of people who settled in his kingdom, and got their name from being in that kingdom.  

     Riphath, also one of Gomer's sons is said to be the father of the Irish people, however, Flavius Josephus (also called Josephus) states that Riphath founded the Paphlagonians, who lived in Anatonia, Turkey. Another one of Gomer's sons, Togarmah is said to be the father of the Phyrgians, by Falvius Josephus, Jerome and Isidore of Seville. In Verse four it now moves to the next generation, Javan, who's the son of Gomer and he shows that he's continuing to do what GOD told Noah to do, and multiply and spread out throughout the land.

    In Verse 4, Javan has a son named Elishah who is said to be the father of the Cypriots. However, according to Flavius Josephus he was the father of the Aeolians in Greece.  Another son, Tarshish is said to be the father of Tarsus in south east Anatolia (Turkey). Tarsus is where the Apostle Paul's from ! Now , the next son isn't named, rather, the name of the city he founded is instead, Kittim is the name of a set of Islands off the southeastern coast of Anatolia, near Tarsus. The last son is Dodanim, and he's known as the father of Rhodes, which sits off Greece in an island chain that bears his name "The Dodecanese Islands"!

     Verse 5 then stops the genealogy of Japeth and advises the reader that they branched out by way of the sea and developed different dialects and nations. Remember, this is being written well after the tower of Babel, so at this time everyone's language was different, but at the time this was occurring (the genealogy of Japeth) everyone spoke the same language.   Verse 6 begins the genealogy of Ham , now remember, Ham's youngest descendant had already been cursed by Noah, and only that person!

     Cush, Ham's first son is said to have founded Ethiopia. Interestingly enough, the languages of Ethiopia, Djibouti, Eritrea and Somalia (which are all located around the horn of Africa) as well as the Nile valley (Sudan and Egypt) are considered Cushitic languages! The next son is Mizraim, his name suggests that he was the founder of Egypt as his name is both the Egyptian and the Hebrew language name for Egypt.  The next son, Put (or "Phut") is said to be the founder of either the Berbers or Libya itself. Finally, Canaan, the one Noah cursed, would found the nation that bore his name, Canaan.

     Verse 7 now goes in to the genealogy of Cush himself. Now the first son, Seba is an anomaly, since no scholar is really sure what nation he founded, it gets a bit confusing since there's at least three people in the Old Testament (Torah) with that name and variations of spelling of that name!  The name of the second son doesn't help much either, since Havilah (the geographic location ) is mentioned in Genesis 1, but it has relation to Cush's son. It couldn't, since THAT Havilah had been wiped out by the flood, AND even though Adam lived long enough to have been alive when Noah was, he died before the flood. So the land Havilah that Cush's son founded is not the same place described in Genesis 1.

     Now Sabtah is interesting . The Bible mentions him here and once again in 1 Chronicles 1:9, however, it doesn't really say what he founded. There  is a town, however, a Spanish town near the straights of Gibraltar called Ceuta, the Romanized spelling of it would be "Sabtah"!  Raamah is traditionally thought to have founded a city that bears him name and existed in the region of Yemen.

     Sabteca isn't mentioned as founding any city at all, anywhere. According to Sforno, the reason why Raamah's name is mentioned at the end of the verse again is because his sons split into two tribes which would become two different nations. Verse 8 lists Nimrod separately, the reason for that is to draw attention to him, and as you'll see,  this ISN'T a good thing!    Nimrod will show up in the next chapter a bit more prominently!

     Verses 8  and 9 introduce Nimrod, and I should point out, the wording in verse 9 is NOT a compliment per Rashi and Sforno.  They both state that the phrase used to describe him indicates that he's arrogant, that he considers himself god-like. That's a good indicator that troubles about to brew for him! Verse 10 shows that he conquered  Babylon first, then the entire region of Mesopotamia.

     Verses 10-11 show a split in opinion, Asshur is shown leaving the big city Nimrod built and he's shown as essentially founding Assyria. Both Rashi and Sforno explain that he left because he was very much afraid GOD would punish Nimrod's city for his (Nimrod's attitude) and his desire to built the tower of Babel. Asshur, by the way, is the second son of Shem.  The next verse talks about Mizraim, one of the sons of  Ham.

     We're show in verse 14 that Mizraim's sons also founded nations, this time we're told the names of the nations, not the names of the sons.  The Ludim were likely Libyans,   the Anamim were probably Egyptians, as there's a reference to them in an Assyrian text dating back to the time of Sargon II where the Egyptians are called "Anami". Interestingly enough the Lahbim might also be Libyans too, none of the scholars are sure about that yet.  The Naphtuhim likely inhabited the town of "Birma" in the Al Gharbiyah region of Egypt, according to a Bible Exegesis written by Saadia Gaon.

     Verse 14 continues the genealogy of Mizraim with Pathrusim, which was Pathros, in upper Egypt.  The Casluhim settled in the area of Cyrene which is part of Libya. The Capthorim is pretty up much for debate and it depends on which scholar you ask about it. Some say Capthorim was part of Egypt, some say it was near Pelusium, 30 km to the southeast of Port Said. 

     Verse 15 shows Ham having a son named Sidon. He is generally credited as founding what is modern day Sayda or Saida, the third largest city in Lebannon, The next son, Heth is the founder of the Hittites according to most scholars. Verse 16 continues with Jebus ,who is not named, but is known to have founded the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem. Now this is mostly accepted, but there are a few scholars that dispute this. 

      The next son is credited with founding the Amorites who were a nomadic people that occupied the lands west of the Euphrates including Canaan.  They weren't viewed favorably by their neighbors at first. They did go on to become less nomadic and eventually establish the city of Babylon.  The next son founded the Girgashites, however, not too much is known about them other than that they lived somewhere in Canaan.

     The next son founded the Hivites, now exactly where they lived is controversial. Judges 3:3 says they lived in the hilly region of Lebanon, however the Septuagint say it was the Hitties that lived there. Joshua 9:17 says they lived in the towns of Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-Jearim , however, the Septuagint says the Horites actually lived there. Further there's no mention of them in any Egyptian or Mesopotamian writings, at all. The closest mention we have is found in a dialect of Phoenician where the "Hiyawa" are mentioned.

      The next son, who again is not named, in Verse 18, is said to have founded the Arvadites. They are thought to have lived in the Island city of "Arvad" or "Arwad" in part of Syria. The next son is said to have founded the Zemarites, who are though to have occupied Sumur (no relation to "Sumer") which is on the coast near modern day Syria. The next son is said to have founded the Hamathites.  The Hamathites occupied the town of Hamath on the banks of the Orontes River in West Central Syria.  The last line in Verse 18 , according to Rashi, refers to when the languages would be scattered at the tower of Babel.

     Verse 19 lists the borders of the Canaanite territory really well, according to Chizkuni because the Israelites would inherit these lands, however Radak points out that the boundary listing isn't complete and he says this is so because GOD would give  them a complete list  later on.  Verse 20 ends this lists by reminding us that these are Ham's descendants and it also adds in "by their clans and languages" to show us that even thought they may speak a different language , they're still part of Ham's line regardless of language or nation.  Verse 21 starts off by listing the descendants of Shem, now remember, Shem's the oldest, so why list him last?  Radak explains that the future patriarchs will come from the line of Shem, so the Torah (Old Testament ) wanted to create a list of forefathers that would clearly show this.

     Verse 21 also has the line "ancestor of all the descendants of Eber ", which at first looks like a name, however, both rabbinic scholars Rashi and Siftei Chakhamim agree that this isn't a person's name , but rather , it's a place. The word used here, Eber, means "side" or "otherside" , literally meaning that Shem is the ancestor of all of the descendants on the other side of the river, in this case, the river is the Euphrates river!  The first son is Elam, founder of the Elamites. The Elamites were known to be in Khuzestan , a province in Iran, but exactly where is up to debate. Some scholars thinks it's the whole of Khuzestan, others think it's just the highlands of that region, with the lowlands being occupied by some other tribe. Either way all scholars agree this nation existed.

     The second son mentioned in verse 22 is Asshur, and per the Book of  Jubilees 9:3, he said to have founded Nineveh and Shinar and controlled the land up to the border of India. The next son is Arpachshad, who per Jubilees 9:4 and 11:1-17 indirectly founded Ur Kasadim (or Ur of the Chaldees), which would be the birthplace of Abram, later named Abraham by GOD!  The next son is Lud, and he was said to have settled East of Ionia  in Ancient Turkey. Incidentally, the language spoken there is known as Lydian! The next son is Aram , who is said to have settled in Armenia.

 

     Verse 23 now starts with the lineage of Aram (who's Shem's son). The first son is Uz, now , the scholars aren't really sure, but it's possible he may have given his name to the region called "Uz" described in Job 1:1. Josephus Flavius states that he founded the cities of Trachonitus and Damascus. The next son, Hul is said , by Flavius Josephus to have founded Armenia.

     The next son, Gether, could have founded the Bactrians, according to Flavius Josephus. The Bactrians lived in an ancient region of Iran which now straddles modern Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.   According to Jerome, he founded the Acarnanian society.  Mash is also mentioned , but no one's really sure what race or tribe he founded. 

     Verse 24 continues Shem's line through his second son, Arpachshad. His son is named Shelah.  The line continues next to Shelah and his son, Eber.  Now Eber is considered the common ancestor of the Israelites and the Ishmaelites as well!

     Verse 25 continues Shem's line ( you'll see why his line is being focused on shortly! ) with Eber. He named his son Peleg, and notice the Bible says "because his days were divided".  Either Eber was a prophet or the Bible wants to forewarn you that something is coming up.  Peleg's name literally does mean divided and it refers to how people's lives were shorten greatly after the tower of Babel.

     Notice that there's one sentence devoted to his brother, Joktan. Interestingly enough, his name , according to Rashi, means "little one" because he thought little of himself.  He was , basically, a humble guy.  Notice that because he was such a humble guy, the line of Shem continues with him in the Bible, rather than his older brother, Joktan!

     Verse 27 tells  us that Joktan had a son named Almodad. Now Alomodad is said to be the father of Yemen. The next son is Sheleph, and we're not really told what nation he founded. However the third son, Hazarmaveth is said to have founded a part of Yemen as well. The next son, Jerah , again , we're not sure what he founded either, however keep track of how many there are of them !

      His son, Obal, mentioned in Verse 28 isn't really credited with founding any nation or tribe, nor is the next son , Abimael. Other than knowing that his name means "GOD is my father" we know next to nothing about him. Now Sheba, the next son in line, according to Ethiopian tradition , is said to be the founder of the city Sheba, but in that tradition only. 

The next son, Ophir, in Verse 29 has a lot of different places that he's said to have been the founder of. 

     For example, Sir William Smith, in the Bible Dictionary, states that Ophir founded a town in what is modern Tamilakkam, however, Max Muller and a few other scholars have said that Ophir founded a town near modern day Gujarat , India.  No one denies that town bearing his name existed, they just can decide where !  The next son, Havilah has a town that bears his name in a northern Arabian location , according to the Bible.  Once again, scholars don't agree on where that is, nor do they say he actually founded this town.

     The next son, Jobab doesn't seem to have founded any nation or town that can be found anywhere.  Now verse 29 ends by stating that these are all the sons of Joktan.  Now, the reason why all of their names are recorded is simple, did you notice how many of them there were ?  These are the ancestors of the twelve tribes of Israel!

      Verse  30 tells us the area that these tribes occupied. The Bible tells us that they encompassed an area as far East as the Euphrates and the Tigris rivers  over to Mesha, which, according to Radak is actually Mecca, where the Muslims go at least once in their lives.  Verse 31 repeats a formula that showed up in verse 5 and 20 as well. The repetition was done for those who would either read this, if they could, or those that would hear this, to re-enforce the notion and the tribes of Shem are all one, even IF they're from another area or have a different language. Verse 32 almost has the same formula only it goes back further to Noah to show that more than just the founding of the 12 tribes, this family is the founder of ALL of the nations of the earth, according to Chizkuni.

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Summary

     Yeah, If you're anything like I was, you were more inclined to skip the "who begat who" stuff because it seemed unimportant, when in fact, it really isn't.  This passage shows us that we're literally all one people as we have a common ancestor in Noah.  This means that concepts like discrimination based on race, gender or language are totally unacceptable  and not Christian in the least!   This shows us that we are all one. Not only that, but science is starting to back that up with the discovery of Mitochondrial Eve.  Now, this isn't without controversy, but bear in mind the Bible's talking about something that we're only starting to suspect and prove, could possibly be true!

     We really are one family. So discrimination of any kind is unacceptable - at all.  No matter our language, our country of origin, our customs , our skin color, even our religious creed, we're one family , literally.

If you feel like an orphan, reach out, I'd like to talk to you !