The Nations
Tony Schachle
Origins • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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The Descendants of Japheth
Now this is the genealogy of the sons of Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And sons were born to them after the flood.
This is the genealogy of the sons of Noah
We have seen referenced up to this point:
The generations of the heavens and the earth (Genesis 2:4) which gives us the account of creation, and
The generations of Adam (Genesis 5:1), which gives us an account of the genealogy from Adam through Noah and his sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
Now we have an accounting of the descendants of Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
This chapter is known as The Table of Nations and lists 70 nations that descended from Noah’s three sons:
Shem = 26 nations
Ham = 30 nations
Japheth = 14 nations
70 is a symbolic number that represents all the nations of the earth.
The arrangement is not by importance of birth order but by geopolitical relationship to Israel’s story:
Japheth → distant nations
Ham → rival nations (Egypt, Canaan, Babylon)
Shem → covenant line
And sons were born to them after the flood
God told humanity to multiply after the flood, and this indicates that they did. Humanity and life went on.
The genealogy of Shem is expanded in Chapter 11 and continues on to Abram (Abraham).
The sons of Japheth were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.
The sons of Japheth
He was the father of the Indo-European peoples, those stretching from India to the shores of Western Europe.
These peoples generally moved northward and westward from the ancient Near East, often associated with the Mediterranean, Europe, and parts of Asia Minor.
Gomer: From this son of Japheth came the Germanic peoples, from whom came most of the original peoples of Western Europe. These include the original French, Spanish, and Celtic settlers.
Magog…Tubal, Meshech: These settled in the far north of Europe and became the Russian peoples.
Madai: From this son of Japheth came the ancient Medes and they populated what are now Iran and Iraq. The peoples of India also came from this branch of Japheth’s family.
Javan: From this son of Japheth came the ancient Greeks, whose sea-faring ways are described in Genesis 10:5.
The sons of Gomer were Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah.
Ashkenaz: From this son of Gomer came the peoples who settled north of Judea into what we call the Fertile Crescent.
Togarmah: From this son of Gomer came the Armenians.
The sons of Javan were Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim. From these the coastland peoples of the Gentiles were separated into their lands, everyone according to his language, according to their families, into their nations.
The sons of Javan were: Geographic names that spring from these names in this chapter abound. Linguists have no trouble seeing the connection between Kittim and Cyprus, Rodanim and Rhodes, Gomer and Germany, Meschech and Moscow, Tubal and Tobolsk.
Everyone according to his language, according to their families, into their nations: These divisions of mankind developed into language, genetic (families) and ethnic (nations) divisions.
The Descendants of Ham
The sons of Ham were Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan.
The sons of Ham were Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan.
Ham
The descendants of Ham are the peoples who populated Africa and the Far East.
Ham’s descendants generally migrated southward and westward from the Fertile Crescent, establishing some of the most powerful and historically significant early civilizations — Egypt, Canaan, and Mesopotamian city-states.
Cush: Apparently, this family divided into two branches early. Some founded Babylon (notably, Nimrod) and others founded Ethiopia.
Mizraim: This is another way the Bible refers to Egypt. Put refers to Libya, the region of North Africa west of Egypt. Canaan refers to the peoples who originally settled the land we today think of as Israel and its surrounding regions.
The sons of Cush were Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabtechah; and the sons of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan.
Cush begot Nimrod; he began to be a mighty one on the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord.” And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. From that land he went to Assyria and built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah, and Resen between Nineveh and Calah (that is the principal city).
Cush begot Nimrod: One son of Cush worthy of note is Nimrod. He was a mighty one on the earth, but not in a good way. He ruled over Babel, which was the first organized rebellion of humans against God. The name Nimrod itself means, “let us rebel.”
Like Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD: The context shows that this is not a compliment of Nimrod. The idea is that Nimrod was an offense before the face of God.
“This is not talking about Nimrod’s ability to hunt wild game. He was not a hunter of animals. He was a hunter of men — a warrior. It was through his ability to fight and kill and rule ruthlessly that his kingdom of the Euphrates valley city states was consolidated.” (Boice)
A Jerusalem Targum says: “He was powerful in hunting and in wickedness before the Lord, for he was a hunter of the sons of men, and he said to them, ‘Depart from the judgment of the Lord, and adhere to the judgment of Nimrod!’ Therefore it is said: ‘As Nimrod the strong one, strong in hunting, and in wickedness before the Lord’” (cited in Morris).
Ginzberg quotes from a Jewish legend: “The great success that attended all of Nimrod’s undertakings produced a sinister effect. Men no longer trusted in God, but rather in their own prowess and ability, an attitude to which Nimrod tried to convert the whole world.”
“Hence it is likely that Nimrod, having acquired power, used it in tyranny and oppression; and by rapine and violence founded the domination which was the first distinguished by the name of a kingdom on the face of the earth. How many kingdoms have been founded in the same way, in various ages and nations from that time to the present! From the Nimrods of the earth, God deliver the world!” (Clarke)
Mizraim begot Ludim, Anamim, Lehabim, Naphtuhim, Pathrusim, and Casluhim (from whom came the Philistines and Caphtorim).
The Philistines were the enemies of Israel during the reigns of King Saul and King David.
Canaan begot Sidon his firstborn, and Heth; the Jebusite, the Amorite, and the Girgashite; the Hivite, the Arkite, and the Sinite; the Arvadite, the Zemarite, and the Hamathite. Afterward the families of the Canaanites were dispersed. And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon as you go toward Gerar, as far as Gaza; then as you go toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha.
Canaan begot Sidon: The family of Sidon, the son of Canaan, went north and is related to the Hittites and Lebanese.
And the Sinite: Many people believe the Oriental peoples descended from the Sinites.
These were the sons of Ham, according to their families, according to their languages, in their lands and in their nations.
Thus ends this section.
The Descendants of Shem
And children were born also to Shem, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder. The sons of Shem were Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram.
Children were born also to Shem:
Shem is traditionally viewed as the ancestor of the Semitic peoples, and his descendants are of special theological and narrative interest because the line of Abraham—and ultimately Jesus—descends from Shem.
The Shemites are generally linked to regions east of Canaan, covering parts of Mesopotamia and the Arabian Peninsula.
From Shem comes Elam, who was an ancestor of the Persian peoples;
Asshur, who was the father of the Assyrians;
Lud was father to the Lydians who lived for a time in Asia Minor;
Aram was father to the Arameans, who we also know as the Syrians.
Arphaxad was the ancestor of Abram and the Hebrews.
The sons of Aram were Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash.
Uz: Later, a region in Arabia was named after this son of Aram.
Job came from the land of Uz (Job 1:1).
Arphaxad begot Salah, and Salah begot Eber. To Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided; and his brother’s name was Joktan. Joktan begot Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, Obal, Abimael, Sheba, Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab. All these were the sons of Joktan. And their dwelling place was from Mesha as you go toward Sephar, the mountain of the east.
All these were the sons of Joktan: The names after the son of Joktan (son of Eber, son of Salah, son of Arphaxad) are all associated with various Arabic peoples.
And Jobab: The one named Jobab may be the one we know as Job in the Old Testament.
These were the sons of Shem, according to their families, according to their languages, in their lands, according to their nations.
Thus ends this section.
These were the families of the sons of Noah, according to their generations, in their nations; and from these the nations were divided on the earth after the flood.
“Hence one must consider this chapter of Genesis a mirror in which to discern that we human beings are, namely, creatures so marred by sin that we have no knowledge of our own origin, not even of God Himself, our Creator, unless the Word of God reveals these sparks of divine light to us from afar. This knowledge the Holy Scriptures reveal to us. Those who are without them live in error, uncertainty, and boundless ungodliness; for they have no knowledge about who they are and whence they came.” (Luther, cited in Boice)
SUMMARY
SUMMARY
A. Japhethite Regions
A. Japhethite Regions
Asia Minor (Turkey) — Gomer, Magog, Tubal, Meshech, Togarmah
Europe — Tiras (Thrace), possible early Greek influence (Javan)
Mediterranean Islands — Cyprus (Kittim), Rhodes/Dodanim
Black Sea region — Cimmerians, Scythians
B. Hamite Regions
B. Hamite Regions
Africa — Cush (Nubia/Ethiopia/Sudan), Put (Libya)
Egypt — Mizraim
Levant — Canaan and Canaanite tribes (Sidon, Heth, Amorites, etc.)
Mesopotamia — Nimrod’s kingdom (Babel, Erech, Akkad)
C. Semite Regions
C. Semite Regions
Mesopotamia — Asshur (Assyria), Arphaxad (Chaldea/Babylonia)
Persia — Elam
Syria — Aram
Arabia — Joktanite tribes (Sheba, Havilah, Hazarmaveth)
©2018 David Guzik - No distribution beyond personal use without permission
References:
Boice, James Montgomery "Genesis: An Expositional Commentary" Volumes 1, 2, and 3 (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 1987)
Clarke, Adam "Clarke's Commentary: The Holy Bible Containing the Old and New Testaments with a Commentary and Critical Notes" Volume 1 (Genesis-Deuteronomy) (New York: Eaton and Mains, 1826)
Morris, Henry M. "The Genesis Record: A Scientific And Devotional Commentary On The Book Of Beginnings" (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1976)
Updated: August 2022
