THE ORIGINS OF THE NATIONS

The Human Race

Genesis 9:28–29 “After the flood Noah lived 350 years. All the days of Noah were 950 years, and he died.”

Acts 17:26 “And he 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,”

Genesis 3:20 “The man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.”

See Genesis 9:19 and Genesis 9:1...

The Table of the Nations

The Descendants of Japheth (Verses 2-5)

Genesis 9:27 “May God enlarge Japheth, and let him dwell in the tents of Shem, and let Canaan be his servant.””

Japheth, Noah’s middle son, and his descendants (10:2–5) were largely responsible for the founding of much of what is now Eastern Europe. Some of the settlements included Ukraine (Gomer), Turkey (Magog, Tubal, Meshech), Greece (Javan), southern Russia (Ashkenaz), Cyprus (Elishah), and the Greek Isles (Kittim). (Cimmerians, Scythians, Medes, Greeks, Turks, Slavs, Etruscans)

God said Japheth would be enlarged. And we know that they spread to occupy most of the world’s land: Europe – eastern Europe and western Europe. They went west and east, all the way to India, all the way across Russia, and possibly all the way down the Americas. A huge portion of the Earth belongs to the Japhethites who were enlarged.

The Descendants of Ham (Verses 6-20)

Ham, Noah’s youngest child, and his descendants (10:6–19) are the ancestors of many of the peoples of North Africa and the Middle East—all along the southern and eastern coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. The nations settled by Ham include Sudan (Cush), Egypt (Mizraim), Libya (Put), Yemen (Sheba), Lebanon (Sidon), and Palestine (Canaan). It is most likely that Asian people came from the Sinites in verse 17 and the Hittites (descendants of Heth in verse 15). (Ethiopians, Egyptians, Libyans, Canaanites)

Nimrod’s kingdom stretched from the northernmost point of the Mesopotamian valley at Nineveh, down to the Persian Gulf and the southernmost point at Iraq. And all the area in between. This was a massive kingdom. Mention Babel and Nineveh.

Genesis 9:25–27 “he said, “Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be to his brothers.” He also said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem; and let Canaan be his servant. May God enlarge Japheth, and let him dwell in the tents of Shem, and let Canaan be his servant.””

They didn’t have to wait till the Canaanites were conquered by the Israelites; Chedorlaomer was a Shemite who conquered Canaanites in the fourteenth chapter of Genesis. And among the allies of Chedorlaomer was Tidal king of Goiim, the nations, the Hagoyim, the coastland people from Japheth. So, in the battle of Chedorlaomer, Canaan was subdued both by the sons of Japheth and the sons of Shem.

The Descendants of Shem (Verses 21-31)

Finally, Shem, Noah’s firstborn, and his descendants (10:21–31) grew into the dominant nations of the Middle East. They settled in regions like modern Iran (Elam), Iraq (Asshur), Assyria (Aram), and Saudi Arabia (Joktan). Most significantly, Eber settled in Ancient Mesopotamia and, through his descendants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, fathered the nation of Israel. In fact, the designation “Hebrew” is probably a derivative of the name Eber. (Persia, Assyrians, Babylonians, Lydians, Syrians)

The Spreading of the Human Race

So, Ham settles the south: in parts of the Middle East, Africa, and to Asia. Japheth settles to the north: Europe – and into the northeast: Persia, India. And Shem stays in the Middle East.

Romans 1:21–23 “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.”

Genesis 12:3 “I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.””

Revelation 7:9–10 “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!””