Free Bible Commentary
“Genesis 10:1-5”
Categories: Genesis“Now these are the records of the generations of Shem, Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah; and sons were born to them after the flood. The sons of Japheth were Gomer and Magog and Madai and Javan and Tubal and Meshech and Tiras. The sons of Gomer were Ashkenaz and Riphath and Togarmah. The sons of Javan were Elishah and Tarshish, Kittim and Dodanim. From these the coastlands of the nations were separated into their lands, every one according to his language, according to their families, into their nations.”
---End of Scripture verses---
“These are the records of the generations of Shem, Ham and Japheth…” (verse 1) This is the third “toledot” (generations) in genesis, and what follows is a genealogy of not only people but nations. It is always tempting to pass over biblical genealogies with all their foreign and difficult (impossible!) to pronounce names. And, even though they might seem to be irrelevant, every word and name recorded in the Holy Writ is important. On the grander scale, this chapter serves to emphasize one critical, fundamental teaching, and that is that all people and nations of the earth have a common ancestry, therefore we are all one, big family! “And He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His children.’” (Acts 17:26-28)
“It is clear enough that these lists are incomplete and selective. The sacred writer did not design them to be exhaustive in this report but merely to show that all the peoples of the earth descended from a SINGLE ancestor. It is also noted that sometimes the names of people, clans, or nations are substituted for the names of individuals, which meant it was impossible to ascertain in some cases. Generally speaking, the sons of Japheth went north, those of Ham went south and southeast, and the Shemites went eastward. It is admitted even by critical opponents of the Bible that this tenth chapter of Genesis is a ‘remarkably accurate historical document.’ The descendants of Japheth settled primarily in Asia Minor and Europe, those of Ham populated Africa, Arabia, and Egypt, with the sons of Canaan occupying primarily the land that bore their name in perpetuity. The sons of Shem occupied the Tigris-Euphrates valley, spreading eastward and beyond into Asia. Of course, only the beginning of nations appears here. All of the peoples descended from Noah spread rapidly over the earth, and there were many overlapping districts in which the various families were commingled.” (James Burton Coffman)
On the nature of this “Table of Nations,” Nahum Sarna observed: “On the surface, the use of verbs expressing birth and of terms like ‘son,’ ‘father,’ ‘first-born’ suggest straightforward genealogies of the kind already encountered in previous chapters. In actual fact, these recapitulations disclose that the terminology is not meant to be taken literally but, rather, in the same figurative way that one speaks of a ‘metropolis’ in the sense of ‘mother city,’ of ‘daughter colonies,’ or of ‘fatherland’ and ‘mother country.’ Many of the personal names listed here are otherwise known to be those of places or peoples. Ten names have plural endings, nine others take the gentilic adjectival suffix –i, which indicates ethnic affiliation, and they also have the definite article, which is inadmissible with personal names in Hebrew.” Moses does not always give the name of the first person that settled in a country, but the individuals that the locale or nation got their name from. Kittim and Dodanim are plural names and not the names of specific people. The same is true of Mizraim (plural of Mezer – verse 6), Ludim, Ananim, Lehabim, Naphtuhim, Pathrusim, Casluhim, Philistim, and Caphtorim (verse 13). To Canaan, tribes of people are listed as his offspring—Jebusite, Amorite, Girgasite, Hivite, Arkite, Sinite, Arvadite, Zemarite, and Hamathite. (verse 18)
“The sons of Japheth were Gomer and Magog and Madai and Javan and Tubal and Meshech and Tiras.” (verse 2) Quoting the Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges: “The sons of Japheth—These are names of peoples who for the most part seem to have dwelt in remote northern and western regions in Asia Minor. Gomer—Mentioned also in Ezekiel 38:6. Probably the people dwelling in the region of Pontus in Asia Minor, and called by the Greeks Cimmerians (Κιμμέριοι). Cf. 1 Chronicles 1:5-6. Magog—appears as the name of a country in Ezekiel 38:2, and of a northern people in Ezekiel 39:6, generally identified with the Scythians… Madai—Almost certainly ‘the land of the Medes.’ The people of Media are referred to in the Assyrian inscriptions as “Madai” in the 9th century b.c. In the history of Israel they are first mentioned in 2 Kings 17:6. Cf. Isaiah 13:17; Isaiah 21:2; 1 Chronicles 1:5. Javan—This is the Hebrew name for ‘the Greeks.’ The Ionians were the Greeks of Asia Minor and of the islands of the Ægean Sea, who were first known to the peoples of Western Asia... Tubal … Meshech—These two names are mentioned, along with Javan, in Ezekiel 27:13; Ezekiel 39:1. They have been identified with peoples in N.E. Asia Minor, Tibarenians and Moschians. Tiras—Identified by Josephus (Ant. i. 6) with the Thracians, but now more frequently with a race of sea pirates of the Ægean Sea called Τυρσηνοί. Another conjecture is Tarsus; another, Tarshish; cf. 1 Chronicles 1:6.”
“The sons of Gomer were Ashkenaz and Riphath and Togarmah.” (verse 3) Quoting the Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges: “Ashkenaz—Mentioned in Jeremiah 51:27 along with Ararat; and now generally identified with the region of Armenia. It is worth noticing that the mediaeval Jews explained this name as denoting Germany. Thus the Ashkenazim are the German Jews. Riphath—In 1 Chronicles 1:6 the name appears as ‘Diphath.’ The letters, R (ר) and D (ד), are very similar in Hebrew. Cf. ‘Dodanim’ for ‘Rodanim,’ Genesis 10:4. Josephus identified “Riphath” with the Paphlagonians. The name is now unknown. Togarmah—Mentioned also in Ezekiel 27:14, with Javan, Tubal and Meshech; and in Ezekiel 38:6, with Gomer, and generally identified with the western part of Armenia. Cf. 1 Chronicles 1:6.”
“The sons of Javan were Elishah and Tarshish, Kittim and Dodanim.” (verse 4) Quoting the Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges: “the sons of Javan—The names here mentioned are evidently geographical. Javan’s sons are well-known Greek colonies and settlements or communities. This example will serve to illustrate the composition of the genealogical list. Elishah—Mentioned in Ezekiel 27:7 as a place from which there was a trade in purple. Josephus identified it with the Æolians. Other conjectures have been Hellas, Elis, Sicily, and Carthage. Possibly, it is Alasa, the modern Cyprus. Tarshish—Probably the ancient commercial town of Tartessus, at the mouth of the river Guadalquivir… On ‘the ships of Tarshish’ in King Solomon’s time, see 1 Kings 10:22; 1 Kings 22:48… Kittim—Usually identified with Cyprus and its inhabitants. The chief town was Κιτίον, the modern Larnaca, and was probably occupied at an early time by Greek-speaking people. The name ‘Kittim’ became transferred from Cyprus to other islands. Cf. Jeremiah 2:10; Ezekiel 27:6. Dodanim—In 1 Chronicles 1:7, Rodanim… Rodanim being identified with the island of Rhodes.”
“From these the coastlands of the nations were separated into their lands, every one according to his language, according to their families, into their nations.” (verse 5) The coastlands of the nations…” or the Isles of the Gentiles. This constitutes the continent of Europe, all the countries that settlers arrived at by sea: Spain, Gaul, Italy, Greece, and Asia Minor. “Every one according to his language…” This refers to the time after the confusion of languages and the dispersion from Babel.
If your still awake (BIG YAWN!), please read Genesis 10:6-14 for tomorrow.
Have a blessed day!
- Louie Taylor
