Genesis 10.13-20-Sons of Egypt and Sons of Canaan
Tuesday October 11, 2005
Genesis: Genesis 10:13-20-The Sons of Egypt and Sons of Canaan
Lesson # 42
Please turn in your Bibles to Genesis 10:6.
This evening we will continue our study of Genesis 10, which contains what theologians call, “The Table of Nations,” which represents God’s concern for all people and all nations and not just Israel.
The genealogy of Genesis 10 is “segmented” meaning it displays depth and breadth of the relations between the nations tracing their lineage back to a common ancestor, namely, Noah’s three sons.
The Table of Nations genealogy expresses the kinship and distinctions between Israel and the nations where she emerges from them and is destined to bring blessing to them through the Messiah.
The Table of Nations genealogy is “linear” meaning it establishes continuity over stretches of time without narrative to demonstrate the legitimacy of Noah’s son Shem as the one whom the promised “Seed” Jesus Christ will come.
This evening we will study Genesis 10:13-20, which records the genealogy of the sons of Egypt and the eleven sons of Canaan who were all descendants of Ham.
Genesis 10:13, “Mizraim (miz’ra-im-“double straits”) became the father of Ludim (lu’dim-“to the firebrands: travailings”) and Anamim (an’a-mim-“affliction of the waters”) and Lehabim (le-ha’bim-“flames”) and Naphtuhim (naf’tu-him-“openings”).”
“Mizraim” is the ancestor of the ancient Egyptians and is the customary name for Egypt in the Bible, which is also called “the land of Ham” in Psalm 104:23, suggesting that Ham accompanied his son Mizraim in the original settlement of the Nile Valley (see Psalm 78:51).
Ham is the Egyptian word for “the Hamite land” as evidenced in Psalm 78:51.
Psalm 78:51, “And smote all the firstborn in Egypt, the first issue of their virility in the tents of Ham.”
Two maps of Egypt
Ancient Egypt was divided into three geographical sections: (1) Upper Egypt in the south (2) Middle Egypt in the center (3) Lower Egypt or Delta in the north.
Most scholars divide into two sections: (1) Upper (2) Lower.
Upper Egypt is very narrow and surrounded by mountains, which rarely take the form of peaks and the northern coast of Egypt is low and barren, and without good harbors.
The political history of Egypt traditionally begins with Menes, the Upper ruler who conquered Lower Egypt according to Egyptian tradition.
The history of dynastic Egypt can be divided into the Old Kingdom (2700-2200 B.C.), the Middle Kingdom (2100-1800 B.C.) and the New Kingdom (1550-1069 B.C.).
The pyramids were built during the Old Kingdom and the Middle Kingdom coincides with the call of Abraham whereas the birth of Moses and Exodus of Israel took place during the New Kingdom.
After the New Kingdom, Libya, Ethiopia, Persia, Hellenistic Rome and Islam dominated Egypt.
“Ludim” are the Libyans whose bowman were hired by the armies of Egypt and Tyre according to Jeremiah 46:9 and Ezekiel 27:10 and 30:5.
“Anamim,” “Lehabim” and “Naphtuhim” were tribes that bordered Egypt.
Map showing Libya and Egypt
Genesis 10:14, “and Pathrusim (path-ru-sim-“a morsel moistening”) and Casluhim (kas’lu-him-“forgiven ones”) (from which came the Philistines [“immigrants”]) and Caphtorim (kaf-tor-im-“knob or bud”).”
“Pathrusim” were a people that migrated to Upper Egypt, and who gave their name to the district of Pathros.
The whereabouts of “Casluhim” is uncertain but Genesis 10:14 does record that the Philistines came from this people.
The “Philistines” descended from the Casluhites from Egypt and according to Jeremiah 47:4 and Amos 9:7 that like Israel they were enslaved in Crete, from which God delivered them like Israel.
The Table of Nations connects the Philistines with other descendants of Ham, such as the Canaanites.
The Philistines however, were not a single ethnic group, but rather a conglomeration of several different peoples from different origins and time periods.
Therefore, the Philistines who originated from the Casluhites were different from the ones who descended from Caphtor.
“Caphtorim” settled on the island of Crete and its surrounding islands, as did the Philistines who came to Philistia from Crete (Amos 9:7; Jeremiah 47:4).
Map showing location of Pathrusim and Caphtorim
Genesis 10:15, “Canaan (“belonging to the land of red purple”) became the father of Sidon (“hunting”), his firstborn, and Heth (“terror”).”
“Canaan” is the grandson of Noah who was cursed by his grandfather and his descendants were called the “Canaanites” who lived in the land west of the Jordan River before the conquest of Joshua (Gen. 13:12; Num. 33:51).
Map of Canaan
“Sidon” was the progenitor of the Phoenicians and gave his name to oldest Canaanites city on the Mediterranean seacoast north of Israel, and which city was important long before Tyre came to prominence.
Map of Sidon
“Heth” was the ancestor of the Hittites who had a great empire in Asia Minor for over eight hundred years.
For many years the critics have ridiculed the Bible because of the Hittites since for many years there was no archaeological evidence for their existence.
Thus they used this lack of evidence to attack the veracity and inerrancy of the Bible but archaeologists have discovered over 10,000 clay tablets with Hittite laws and customs.
Map showing location of Hittites
The Hittites were present in the land of Canaan during the time of Abraham according to Genesis 15:19-21 and they reached the zenith of their power sometime later and still possessed great power at the time of Solomon a thousand years later according to 2 Chronicles 1:17.
There is some evidence that when the Hittite empire finally crumbled that the remnant of these people fled eastward.
The Cuneiform monuments record the name of the Hittites as “Khittae” and this may well have been modified later to “Cathay” as they settled in the Far East.
Also, another name in this list that appears in Genesis 10:17 that is linked with China are the Sinites whose name derives from a presumed son of Canaan whose name was Sin.
The Sinites migrated eastward until they came into Western China, where they founded the ancient Empire of China and gave their name to the land.
Map of Middle East and China
The Sinites pushed eastward and toward the north over the land bridge into Alaska and are the people who settled the Americas in prehistoric days and became the ancestors of the Eskimos and Indians who, to this very day, betray their Mongoloid ancestry.
Map of China and Alaska
Archaeologists have noted a number of similarities between the Hittites and the Mongoloids since both were known to have pioneered the art of smelting and casting iron and in the breeding and training of horses.
Genesis 10:16, “and the Jebusite (“trodden down by armies”) and the Amorite (“a boaster”) and the Girgashite (“dwelling on a clayey soil”).”
The “Jebusite” settled in “Jebus,” which is the name of Jerusalem when this tribe held it (Josh. 15:63; Judg. 19:10) and it wasn’t until David’s reign that they were finally driven out (2 Sam. 5:6-7; cf. 1 Kings 9:20).
According to Ezekiel 16:3, the “Amorite” along with the “Jebusite” founded the city of Jerusalem and according to Numbers 13:29, they were scattered throughout Israel’s hill country on either side of the Jordan River.
Map of Israel and Jerusalem
The Girgashites also lived in the land of Canaan and according to Genesis 15:21, the Lord promised Abram that his descendants would displace the “Girgashite” as well as the other Canaanite tribes and this promise was confirmed to Moses in Deuteronomy 7:1 and to Joshua in Joshua 3:10 and 24:11.
Genesis 10:17, “and the Hivite (“villagers”) and the Arkite (“my annoyance”) and the Sinite (“thorn” or “clay”).”
The Hivites settled in the land of Canaan and was displaced by Israel under Joshua (Ex. 3:8, 17; 13:5; 23:23; 33:2; 34:11; Deut. 7:1; Josh. 9:1).
Genesis 34:2 records that they were in the land of Shechem and according to Genesis 36:2, Esau took a Hivite for a wife and 1 Kings 9:20 records that Solomon used them as builders.
Judges 3:3 records that they settled in the foothills of Lebanon.
The “Arkite” resided in the town of Irqata located along the Phoenician border approximately twelve miles northwest of Tripoli, Lebanon and which town is know today at “Tell-Arqa.”
Map of Lebanon
The name of Sinites still appears in the cities of Nahr as-Sinn and Sinn addarb, which are both in close proximity to Arqa.
The Phoenicians knew the Sinites as the Usnu and the Assyrians called them the Usana and Siannu.
From its position in the list it is inferred that the Sinites lived toward the north, perhaps in the northern part of the Lebanon district.
In the northern district of Lebanon, a mountain fortress named “Sinna” was located and in the time of Jerome (ca. A.D. 400), there were ruins there named “Sinum” or “Sini.”
Genesis 10:18, “and the Arvadite (“restless wanderer”) and the Zemarite (“double woolens”) and the Hamathite (“fortress”); and afterward the families of the Canaanite were spread abroad.”
The Arvadites lived north of the Arkites on the seacoast and on the island of Aradus, which today is called “Ruad” and lies north of the bay of Tripoli, about two miles out to sea.
Map of Lebanon
The Arvadites were skillful seamen and worked as ship captains, helmsmen and mercenaries to the Tyrians.
Later, the island of Arvad was to play a crucial role in controlling certain areas of the mainland during the conquests of Alexander the Great.
The Zemarites were known to the Assyrians as the Simirra, and to the Egyptians as the Sumur and the name is still preserved in the modern city of Sumra, just north of Tripoli, which is six miles south of Arvad.
The Hamathites are inhabitants of modern “Harma,” the ancient Syrian city on the Orontes River, which is 250 miles north of Jerusalem and north of Damascus in Syria.
Two maps of Syria
Hamath marked the northernmost boundary of the Israelite kingdom reached by David, Solomon and the king of the Northern Kingdom, Jeroboam II (Num. 13:21; 34:8; Josh. 13:5; 2 Sam. 8:9-10; 1 Kings 8:65; 2 Kings 14:25-28; Ezek. 47:20).
The city was extremely important since it was located on the Orontes River, along the main highway, which connected Egypt to Asia Minor.
Hamath was a part of the Hittite Empire, preserving Hittite culture after its fall in 1200 B.C. and was ultimately incorporated into Assyria becoming a province of that nation in 720 B.C. and a number of its citizens were deported according to 2 Kings 24.
Genesis 10:19, “The territory of the Canaanite extended from Sidon as you go toward Gerar, as far as Gaza; as you go toward Sodom and Gomorrah and Admah and Zeboiim (ze-boy’im), as far as Lasha.”
In Genesis 10:19, Moses defines the borders of the Canaanites because it is this land that the Lord will dispossess for Israel and fulfill the prophecy of Noah in Genesis 9:24-25 regarding Canaan.
The northern border of the land of the Canaanites went as far as Sidon, which is 120 miles north of Jerusalem and the southern border extended to Gerar, which is about 11 miles south-southeast of Gaza, which was on the coast 50 miles southeast of Jerusalem.
Map showing Sidon
From Gaza, the border extends to Sodom and Gomorrah east or southeast of the Dead Sea.
“Gerar” is the modern Tell Abu Hureira, which is 11 miles southeast of Gaza and “Gaza” is the modern “Gaza.”
“Sodom” and “Gomorrah” are on the east at the south end of the Dead Sea and “Lasha” on the northern interior, which is identified with “Laish-Dan” (Judg. 18:29), the Israelite city the furthest north.
Map of Gerar, Gaza, Sodom and Gomorrah
“Sodom” and “Gomorrah” helped to form a confederation of cities, which included Admah, Zeboiim and Zoar according to Genesis 14:2, 8 and are called by theologians “the cities of the plain.”
Abraham pleaded to the Lord to spare these cities on account of Lot, which is recorded in Genesis 18:16-33 and the Lord fulfilled Abraham’s request but destroyed the rest of the inhabitants of the city, which is recorded in Genesis 19.