In the previous post we dealt with the passage that narrates what happened to Noah just after the flood. It was a dark passage in which Noah cursed Ham’s son, Canaan, for something that Ham did. But we saw that we need to understand the narrative carefully. Just because a curse is pronounced does not mean either that it will come true nor that God approves of it. Now we move on to the next chapter, often called the Table of Nations.
Hebrew text:
1 וְאֵ֙לֶּה֙ תּוֹלְדֹ֣ת בְּנֵי־נֹ֔חַ שֵׁ֖ם חָ֣ם וָיָ֑פֶת וַיִּוָּלְד֥וּ לָהֶ֛ם בָּנִ֖ים אַחַ֥ר הַמַּבּֽוּל׃
2 בְּנֵ֣י יֶ֔פֶת גֹּ֣מֶר וּמָג֔וֹג וּמָדַ֖י וְיָוָ֣ן וְתֻבָ֑ל וּמֶ֖שֶׁךְ וְתִירָֽס׃
3 וּבְנֵ֖י גֹּ֑מֶר אַשְׁכֲּנַ֥ז וְרִיפַ֖ת וְתֹגַרְמָֽה׃
4 וּבְנֵ֥י יָוָ֖ן אֱלִישָׁ֣ה וְתַרְשִׁ֑ישׁ כִּתִּ֖ים וְדֹדָנִֽים׃
5 מֵ֠אֵלֶּה נִפְרְד֞וּ אִיֵּ֤י הַגּוֹיִם֙ בְּאַרְצֹתָ֔ם אִ֖ישׁ לִלְשֹׁנ֑וֹ לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָ֖ם בְּגוֹיֵהֶֽם׃
6 וּבְנֵ֖י חָ֑ם כּ֥וּשׁ וּמִצְרַ֖יִם וּפ֥וּט וּכְנָֽעַן׃
7 וּבְנֵ֣י כ֔וּשׁ סְבָא֙ וַֽחֲוִילָ֔ה וְסַבְתָּ֥ה וְרַעְמָ֖ה וְסַבְתְּכָ֑א וּבְנֵ֥י רַעְמָ֖ה שְׁבָ֥א וּדְדָֽן׃
8 וְכ֖וּשׁ יָלַ֣ד אֶת־נִמְרֹ֑ד ה֣וּא הֵחֵ֔ל לִֽהְי֥וֹת גִּבֹּ֖ר בָּאָֽרֶץ׃
9 הֽוּא־הָיָ֥ה גִבֹּֽר־צַ֖יִד לִפְנֵ֣י יְהוָ֑ה עַל־כֵּן֙ יֵֽאָמַ֔ר כְּנִמְרֹ֛ד גִּבּ֥וֹר צַ֖יִד לִפְנֵ֥י יְהוָֽה׃
10 וַתְּהִ֨י רֵאשִׁ֤ית מַמְלַכְתּוֹ֙ בָּבֶ֔ל וְאֶ֖רֶךְ וְאַכַּ֣ד וְכַלְנֵ֑ה בְּאֶ֖רֶץ שִׁנְעָֽר׃
11 מִן־הָאָ֥רֶץ הַהִ֖וא יָצָ֣א אַשּׁ֑וּר וַיִּ֙בֶן֙ אֶת־נִ֣ינְוֵ֔ה וְאֶת־רְחֹבֹ֥ת עִ֖יר וְאֶת־כָּֽלַח׃
12 וְֽאֶת־רֶ֔סֶן בֵּ֥ין נִֽינְוֵ֖ה וּבֵ֣ין כָּ֑לַח הִ֖וא הָעִ֥יר הַגְּדֹלָֽה׃
13 וּמִצְרַ֡יִם יָלַ֞ד אֶת־לוּדִ֧ים וְאֶת־עֲנָמִ֛ים וְאֶת־לְהָבִ֖ים וְאֶת־נַפְתֻּחִֽים׃
14 וְֽאֶת־פַּתְרֻסִ֞ים וְאֶת־כַּסְלֻחִ֗ים אֲשֶׁ֨ר יָצְא֥וּ מִשָּׁ֛ם פְּלִשְׁתִּ֖ים וְאֶת־כַּפְתֹּרִֽים׃ ס
15 וּכְנַ֗עַן יָלַ֛ד אֶת־צִידֹ֥ן בְּכֹר֖וֹ וְאֶת־חֵֽת׃
16 וְאֶת־הַיְבוּסִי֙ וְאֶת־הָ֣אֱמֹרִ֔י וְאֵ֖ת הַגִּרְגָּשִֽׁי׃
17 וְאֶת־הַֽחִוִּ֥י וְאֶת־הַֽעַרְקִ֖י וְאֶת־הַסִּינִֽי׃
18 וְאֶת־הָֽאַרְוָדִ֥י וְאֶת־הַצְּמָרִ֖י וְאֶת־הַֽחֲמָתִ֑י וְאַחַ֣ר נָפֹ֔צוּ מִשְׁפְּח֖וֹת הַֽכְּנַעֲנִֽי׃
19 וַֽיְהִ֞י גְּב֤וּל הַֽכְּנַעֲנִי֙ מִצִּידֹ֔ן בֹּאֲכָ֥ה גְרָ֖רָה עַד־עַזָּ֑ה בֹּאֲכָ֞ה סְדֹ֧מָה וַעֲמֹרָ֛ה וְאַדְמָ֥ה וּצְבֹיִ֖ם עַד־לָֽשַׁע׃
20 אֵ֣לֶּה בְנֵי־חָ֔ם לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָ֖ם לִלְשֹֽׁנֹתָ֑ם בְּאַרְצֹתָ֖ם בְּגוֹיֵהֶֽם׃ ס
21 וּלְשֵׁ֥ם יֻלַּ֖ד גַּם־ה֑וּא אֲבִי֙ כָּל־בְּנֵי־עֵ֔בֶר אֲחִ֖י יֶ֥פֶת הַגָּדֽוֹל׃
22 בְּנֵ֥י שֵׁ֖ם עֵילָ֣ם וְאַשּׁ֑וּר וְאַרְפַּכְשַׁ֖ד וְל֥וּד וַֽאֲרָֽם׃
23 וּבְנֵ֖י אֲרָ֑ם ע֥וּץ וְח֖וּל וְגֶ֥תֶר וָמַֽשׁ׃
24 וְאַרְפַּכְשַׁ֖ד יָלַ֣ד אֶת־שָׁ֑לַח וְשֶׁ֖לַח יָלַ֥ד אֶת־עֵֽבֶר׃
25 וּלְעֵ֥בֶר יֻלַּ֖ד שְׁנֵ֣י בָנִ֑ים שֵׁ֣ם הָֽאֶחָ֞ד פֶּ֗לֶג כִּ֤י בְיָמָיו֙ נִפְלְגָ֣ה הָאָ֔רֶץ וְשֵׁ֥ם אָחִ֖יו יָקְטָֽן׃
26 וְיָקְטָ֣ן יָלַ֔ד אֶת־אַלְמוֹדָ֖ד וְאֶת־שָׁ֑לֶף וְאֶת־חֲצַרְמָ֖וֶת וְאֶת־יָֽרַח׃
27 וְאֶת־הֲדוֹרָ֥ם וְאֶת־אוּזָ֖ל וְאֶת־דִּקְלָֽה׃
28 וְאֶת־עוֹבָ֥ל וְאֶת־אֲבִֽימָאֵ֖ל וְאֶת־שְׁבָֽא׃
29 וְאֶת־אוֹפִ֥ר וְאֶת־חֲוִילָ֖ה וְאֶת־יוֹבָ֑ב כָּל־אֵ֖לֶּה בְּנֵ֥י יָקְטָֽן׃
30 וַֽיְהִ֥י מוֹשָׁבָ֖ם מִמֵּשָׁ֑א בֹּאֲכָ֥ה סְפָ֖רָה הַ֥ר הַקֶּֽדֶם׃
31 אֵ֣לֶּה בְנֵי־שֵׁ֔ם לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָ֖ם לִלְשֹׁנֹתָ֑ם בְּאַרְצֹתָ֖ם לְגוֹיֵהֶֽם׃
32 אֵ֣לֶּה מִשְׁפְּחֹ֧ת בְּנֵי־נֹ֛חַ לְתוֹלְדֹתָ֖ם בְּגוֹיֵהֶ֑ם וּמֵאֵ֜לֶּה נִפְרְד֧וּ הַגּוֹיִ֛ם בָּאָ֖רֶץ אַחַ֥ר הַמַּבּֽוּל׃ פ
Transliteration:
1 wə·’êl·leh tō·wl·ḏōṯ bə·nê- nō·aḥ, šêm ḥām wā·yā·p̄eṯ; way·yiw·wā·lə·ḏū lā·hem bā·nîm ’a·ḥar ham·mab·būl.
2 bə·nê ye·p̄eṯ, gō·mer ū·mā·ḡō·wḡ, ū·mā·ḏay wə·yā·wān wə·ṯu·ḇāl; ū·me·šeḵ wə·ṯî·rās.
3 ū·ḇə·nê gō·mer; ’aš·kă·naz wə·rî·p̄aṯ wə·ṯō·ḡar·māh.
4 ū·ḇə·nê yā·wān ’ĕ·lî·šāh wə·ṯar·šîš; kit·tîm wə·ḏō·ḏā·nîm.
5 mê·’êl·leh nip̄·rə·ḏū ’î·yê hag·gō·w·yim bə·’ar·ṣō·ṯām, ’îš lil·šō·nōw; lə·miš·pə·ḥō·ṯām bə·ḡō·w·yê·hem.
6 ū·ḇə·nê ḥām; kūš ū·miṣ·ra·yim ū·p̄ūṭ ū·ḵə·nā·‘an.
7 ū·ḇə·nê ḵūš, sə·ḇā wa·ḥă·wî·lāh, wə·saḇ·tāh wə·ra‘·māh wə·saḇ·tə·ḵā; ū·ḇə·nê ra‘·māh šə·ḇā ū·ḏə·ḏān.
8 wə·ḵūš yā·laḏ ’eṯ- nim·rōḏ; hū hê·ḥêl, lih·yō·wṯ gib·bōr bā·’ā·reṣ.
9 hū- hā·yāh ḡib·bōr- ṣa·yiḏ lip̄·nê Yah·weh; ‘al- kên yê·’ā·mar, kə·nim·rōḏ gib·bō·wr ṣa·yiḏ lip̄·nê Yah·weh.
10 wat·tə·hî rê·šîṯ mam·laḵ·tōw bā·ḇel, wə·’e·reḵ wə·’ak·kaḏ wə·ḵal·nêh; bə·’e·reṣ šin·‘ār.
11 min- hā·’ā·reṣ ha·hi·w yā·ṣā ’aš·šūr; way·yi·ḇen ’eṯ- nî·nə·wêh, wə·’eṯ- rə·ḥō·ḇōṯ ‘îr wə·’eṯ- kā·laḥ.
12 wə·’eṯ- re·sen, bên nî·nə·wêh ū·ḇên kā·laḥ; hî hā·‘îr hag·gə·ḏō·lāh.
13 ū·miṣ·ra·yim yā·laḏ ’eṯ- lū·ḏîm wə·’eṯ- ‘ă·nā·mîm wə·’eṯ- lə·hā·ḇîm wə·’eṯ- nap̄·tu·ḥîm.
14 wə·’eṯ- paṯ·ru·sîm wə·’eṯ- kas·lu·ḥîm, ’ă·šer yā·ṣə·’ū miš·šām pə·liš·tîm wə·’eṯ- kap̄·tō·rîm. s
15 ū·ḵə·na·‘an, yā·laḏ ’eṯ- ṣî·ḏōn bə·ḵō·rōw wə·’eṯ- ḥêṯ.
16 wə·’eṯ- hay·ḇū·sî wə·’eṯ- hā·’ĕ·mō·rî, wə·’êṯ hag·gir·gā·šî.
17 wə·’eṯ- ha·ḥiw·wî wə·’eṯ- ha·‘ar·qî wə·’eṯ- has·sî·nî.
18 wə·’eṯ- hā·’ar·wā·ḏî wə·’eṯ- haṣ·ṣə·mā·rî wə·’eṯ- ha·ḥă·mā·ṯî; wə·’a·ḥar nā·p̄ō·ṣū, miš·pə·ḥō·wṯ hak·kə·na·‘ă·nî.
19 way·hî gə·ḇūl hak·kə·na·‘ă·nî miṣ·ṣî·ḏōn, bō·’ă·ḵāh ḡə·rā·rāh ‘aḏ- ‘az·zāh; bō·’ă·ḵāh sə·ḏō·māh wa·‘ă·mō·rāh wə·’aḏ·māh ū·ṣə·ḇō·yim ‘aḏ- lā·ša‘.
20 ’êl·leh ḇə·nê- ḥām, lə·miš·pə·ḥō·ṯām lil·šō·nō·ṯām; bə·’ar·ṣō·ṯām bə·ḡō·w·yê·hem. s
21 ū·lə·šêm yul·laḏ gam- hū; ’ă·ḇî kāl- bə·nê- ‘ê·ḇer, ’ă·ḥî ye·p̄eṯ hag·gā·ḏō·wl.
22 bə·nê šêm ‘ê·lām wə·’aš·šūr; wə·’ar·paḵ·šaḏ wə·lūḏ wa·’ă·rām.
23 ū·ḇə·nê ’ă·rām; ‘ūṣ wə·ḥūl wə·ḡe·ṯer wā·maš.
24 wə·’ar·paḵ·šaḏ yā·laḏ ’eṯ- šā·laḥ; wə·še·laḥ yā·laḏ ’eṯ- ‘ê·ḇer.
25 ū·lə·‘ê·ḇer yul·laḏ šə·nê ḇā·nîm; šêm hā·’e·ḥāḏ pe·leḡ, kî ḇə·yā·māw nip̄·lə·ḡāh hā·’ā·reṣ, wə·šêm ’ā·ḥîw yā·qə·ṭān.
26 wə·yā·qə·ṭān yā·laḏ, ’eṯ- ’al·mō·w·ḏāḏ wə·’eṯ- šā·lep̄; wə·’eṯ- ḥă·ṣar·mā·weṯ wə·’eṯ- yā·raḥ.
27 wə·’eṯ- hă·ḏō·w·rām wə·’eṯ- ’ū·zāl wə·’eṯ- diq·lāh.
28 wə·’eṯ- ‘ō·w·ḇāl wə·’eṯ- ’ă·ḇî·mā·’êl wə·’eṯ- šə·ḇā.
29 wə·’eṯ- ’ō·w·p̄ir wə·’eṯ- ḥă·wî·lāh wə·’eṯ- yō·w·ḇāḇ; kāl- ’êl·leh bə·nê yā·qə·ṭān.
30 way·hî mō·wō·šā·ḇām mim·mê·šā; bō·’ă·ḵāh sə·p̄ā·rāh har haq·qe·ḏem.
31 ’êl·leh ḇə·nê- šêm, lə·miš·pə·ḥō·ṯām lil·šō·nō·ṯām; bə·’ar·ṣō·ṯām lə·ḡō·w·yê·hem.
32 ’êl·leh miš·pə·ḥōṯ bə·nê- nō·aḥ lə·ṯō·wl·ḏō·ṯām bə·ḡō·w·yê·hem; ū·mê·’êl·leh nip̄·rə·ḏū hag·gō·w·yim bā·’ā·reṣ ’a·ḥar ham·mab·būl. p̄
NIV:
1 This is the account of Shem, Ham and Japheth, Noah’s sons, who themselves had sons after the flood.
2 The sons of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshek and Tiras.
3 The sons of Gomer: Ashkenaz, Riphath and Togarmah.
4 The sons of Javan: Elishah, Tarshish, the Kittites and the Rodanites.
5 (From these the maritime peoples spread out into their territories by their clans within their nations, each with its own language.)
6 The sons of Ham: Cush, Egypt, Put and Canaan.
7 The sons of Cush: Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah and Sabteka. The sons of Raamah: Sheba and Dedan.
8 Cush was the father of Nimrod, who became a mighty warrior on the earth.
9 He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; that is why it is said, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord.”
10 The first centers of his kingdom were Babylon, Uruk, Akkad and Kalneh, in Shinar.
11 From that land he went to Assyria, where he built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah
12 and Resen, which is between Nineveh and Calah—which is the great city.
13 Egypt was the father of the Ludites, Anamites, Lehabites, Naphtuhites,
14 Pathrusites, Kasluhites (from whom the Philistines came) and Caphtorites.
15 Canaan was the father of Sidon his firstborn, and of the Hittites,
16 Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites,
17 Hivites, Arkites, Sinites,
18 Arvadites, Zemarites and Hamathites. Later the Canaanite clans scattered
19 and the borders of Canaan reached from Sidon toward Gerar as far as Gaza, and then toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboyim, as far as Lasha.
20 These are the sons of Ham by their clans and languages, in their territories and nations.
21 Sons were also born to Shem, whose older brother was Japheth; Shem was the ancestor of all the sons of Eber.
22 The sons of Shem: Elam, Ashur, Arphaxad, Lud and Aram.
23 The sons of Aram: Uz, Hul, Gether and Meshek.
24 Arphaxad was the father of Shelah, and Shelah the father of Eber.
25 Two sons were born to Eber: One was named Peleg, because in his time the earth was divided; his brother was named Joktan.
26 Joktan was the father of Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah,
27 Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah,
28 Obal, Abimael, Sheba,
29 Ophir, Havilah and Jobab. All these were sons of Joktan.
30 The region where they lived stretched from Mesha toward Sephar, in the eastern hill country.
31 These are the sons of Shem by their clans and languages, in their territories and nations.
32 These are the clans of Noah’s sons, according to their lines of descent, within their nations. From these the nations spread out over the earth after the flood.
Study:
The entire chapter is devoted to listing the descendants of Noah, beginning with those descended from Japheth, then those descended from Ham and finally those descended from Shem. The text is tedious to follow, especially today when we have access to many visual aids. One pictograph of the table of Nations can be found here.
The narrative devotes a mere four verses to the descendants of Japheth, probably because the people’s descended from Japheth rarely interacted with the Jewish people. The next fifteen verses are devoted to the descendants of Ham, and the eleven verses after that to the descendants of Shem. The extra space given to the descendants of Ham and Shem is likely because the Jewish people had more interactions with them.
While summarizing the list of the descendants of Japheth, verse 5 states, “From these the maritime peoples spread out into their territories by their clans within their nations, each with its own language.” The last clause is intriguing, given that the next post will deal with the Babel passage in which it is claimed that all humans initially had the same language. (Genesis 11.1) Are we to take it that chapter 11 backtracks a little to a time before human languages diverged? If that is the case, then we can simply assume that chapter 11 takes place during the formation of the various nations in chapter 10. The nations formed over the course of some centuries perhaps and during that time we have the events related to the tower of Babel described in chapter 11.
However, we still have a tension. Chapter 10 only lists the various nations and does not tell us how they were formed. It is somewhat neutral in this regard. However, chapter 11 clearly indicates that the dispersal of humans across the world was an act of divine judgment. This is not a problem or contradiction, of course, but just a source of tension. Of course, if we think of Genesis 1-10 as being a prologue, as it were, to the rest of Genesis, then there is no tension. We began with creation in Genesis 1 and end with all the nations in place, like players in a game that is about to start. Then chapter 11 begins the next phase of the narrative with a slight recapitulation before launching ahead.
The narrative also pauses to describe Ham’s grandson, Nimrod in verses 8-12. This is inexplicable given how most translations translate these verses, until we realize that נִמְרֹ֑ד (nim-rōḏ) derives from מָרַד (maw-rad’), which means ‘to rebel’. Nimrod, in other words, is the quintessential rebel. And according to the text, his first act of rebellion was to build Babylon. This is clearly a polemic directed at the Babylonians and in light of this perhaps if we unearth the hidden polemic we should translate the verses as, “Cush begat Nimrod; he began to be a tyrant in the Earth. He was a tyrannical hunter in opposition to the Lord. Thus it is said, ‘Nimrod the tyrannical opponent of YHWH.’”1
In verse 25, in relation to Peleg, we are told that he was named Peleg “because in his time the earth was divided.” The word פֶלֶג (peh’-leg) means ‘channel’ or ‘canal’. Some interpreters, aiming to show that the bible aligns well with science, have suggested that this is a reference to the separation of Pangea to the current continents or the formation of the Great African Rift Valley, which separated Africa from what is now Saudi Arabia.2 I have argued before that the attempt to align scripture with science is misguided. The problem in this particular instance is that plate tectonics require millions of years for the process to take place. This certainly cannot be said to be a division that happened during any one person’s lifetime.3 It is likely that the division referred to is the division that will be narrated in chapter 11 – that concerning the separation of languages.4
Apart from the three sons of Noah, 70 names appear in Genesis 10, 14, 30 and 26 descended from Japheth, Ham, and Shem respectively. The stage is now set. Seventy people groups occupy the lands with which the ancient Israelites were familiar and with whom the Israelites had more frequent trade. But was this a blessing or a curse? Was this a good thing or a bad thing? God had told humans to spread throughout the earth. Did they do this willingly? The next part of the narrative deals with just these questions.
Prayer:
Almighty, loving Father. You are the one who has called us to spread through the earth and to bring it under your loving, gracious rule. We know that we, as individuals and as societies, have not done this in a loving and gracious manner. We ask your forgiveness for this. And we ask you to empower us with your Spirit so that we would have the wisdom to know right from wrong and know the path that brings blessings from the path that rains curses. We ask you to be gracious to us and to enable us to recognize your grace. We ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen.
1. David P. Livingston. Nimrod—Who was he? Was he godly or evil? (Accessed on 10 November 2019)↩
2. Gaines R. Johnson. Sea Level & Major Geological Event After Noah’s Flood (Accessed on 10 November 2019)↩
3. Dave Miller. Peleg, Pangaea, and Genesis 10:25 (Accessed on 10 November 2019). Curiously, Larry Pierce, attempts to agree with the idea of plate tectonics while insisting on a young earth creation model. See Larry Pierce. In the Days of Peleg (accessed on 10 November 2019)↩
4. Jonathan Sarfati. ‘In Peleg’s days, the earth was divided’: What does this mean? (Accessed on 10 November 2019) and Dave Miller. Peleg, Pangaea, and Genesis 10:25 (Accessed on 10 November 2019)↩
Purposes Crossed 