Genesis 10 Old and New Nations and Men

[AKJVReader]

I just want to start a thread on Genesis 10 (32 verses) to see what the Modern Nations today are from reading the list. Also what are some archaeology artifacts from that time? What history do we know from this?

1 Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth: and unto them were sons born after the flood.
2 The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.
3 And the sons of Gomer; Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah.
4 And the sons of Javan; Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.
5 By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations.
6 And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan.
7 And the sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabtechah: and the sons of Raamah; Sheba, and Dedan.
8 And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth.
9 He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD.
10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.
11 Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah,
12 And Resen between Nineveh and Calah: the same is a great city.
13 And Mizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim,
14 And Pathrusim, and Casluhim, (out of whom came Philistim,) and Caphtorim.
15 And Canaan begat Sidon his first born, and Heth,
16 And the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgasite,
17 And the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite,
18 And the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite: and afterward were the families of the Canaanites spread abroad.
19 And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as thou comest to Gerar, unto Gaza; as thou goest, unto Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboim, even unto Lasha.
20 These are the sons of Ham, after their families, after their tongues, in their countries, and in their nations.
21 Unto Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder, even to him were children born.
22 The children of Shem; Elam, and Asshur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram.
23 And the children of Aram; Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Mash.
24 And Arphaxad begat Salah; and Salah begat Eber.
25 And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg; for in his days was the earth divided; and his brother's name was Joktan.
26 And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah,
27 And Hadoram, and Uzal, and Diklah,
28 And Obal, and Abimael, and Sheba,
29 And Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab: all these were the sons of Joktan.
30 And their dwelling was from Mesha, as thou goest unto Sephar a mount of the east.
31 These are the sons of Shem, after their families, after their tongues, in their lands, after their nations.
32 These are the families of the sons of Noah, after their generations, in their nations: and by these were the nations divided in the earth after the flood.

 

[cyberjosh]

I'll give a shot at some of these (partly from memory), others I can give references for if necessary, and some are so manifestly obvious that no explanation of name association is necessary.

1 Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth: and unto them were sons born after the flood.

The names of Noah's three sons have each spawned the creation of an official English word that can be looked up in modern dictionaries (even the dictionary apps on my phone have them) that define different races/ethnic groups of peoples: Semitic (from Shem), Hamitic (from Ham), and Japhetic (from Japheth). Look up their definitions if interested.

2 The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.

From this list of names I only know, off the top of my head, that Javan is commonly considered to be an early reference to Greece.

3 And the sons of Gomer; Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah.

Ashkenaz was the name of a nomadic nation of people from central Asia who eventually penetrated the region of Anatolia in the 1st Millenium BC (probably the Scythians) where the Hittites once ruled. They were historically located north of the Black Sea. A major ethnic group of Jews who later lived in this region are today called "Ashkenazi Jews".

4 And the sons of Javan; Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.

Some think that Tarshish was located in Spain, others like Josephus associated with with the Apostle Paul's home town Tarsus in Asia Minor/Anatolia (modern day Turkey).

6 And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan.

Cush is indisputaby a reference to ancient Nubia/Ethiopia. Egyptian and Biblical records leave no doubt of that. Mizraim is Egypt - literally every time you see the word "Egypt" in your Bible it is translating the word "mitzraim". Phut is ancient Libya. And we all know where Canaan is. If not, read your Bible!

7 And the sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabtechah: and the sons of Raamah; Sheba, and Dedan.

Cities in southern Saudi Arabia have been found, and are well known from the routes of the Arabian incense trade, named Saba and Dedan. Saba may be Biblical "Sheba", whence the famous Arabian Queen who traveled to meet Solomon came from. Many cities named after the sons of Ishmael in Genesis 25:12-16 have also been found in Saudi Arabia.

8 And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth.

Nimrod lent his name to the (much later) Assyrian city Nimrud, since he had in ancient times been associated with that region of Mesopotamia.

10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.

These cities each have city counterparts in Babylon. Accad (Akkad/Agade) is the name of a principal Babylonian city (founded by Sargon I). It became the name of a region of Mesopotamia, often mentioned along side Sumer. It may also be the namesake of the Akkadians.

11 Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah,
12 And Resen between Nineveh and Calah: the same is a great city.

Asshur gave the Assyrians their name. These are all Assyrian cities (or at least became Assyrian cities).

16 And the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgasite,

The Jebusites inhabited Jerusalem in Moses and Joshua's day, and still did in David's day until he conquered the city. The Amorites were well known. The great Hammurabi of Babylon was an Amorite. The Amorite capital of Canaan was located at Hazor (which archaeology has confirmed and has shown from excavations at Tel Hazor that it is the largest known ancient city in Canaan). Joshua 11:10 recalls the great power of the Amorite rule from Hazor in Canaan saying, "Hazor had been the head of all these kingdoms".

17 And the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite,
18 And the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite: and afterward were the families of the Canaanites spread abroad.

These I do not know about (if they have been identified outside the Bible). A good Bible dictionary may be able to identify some of them (I recommend the Wycliffe Bible Dictionary: it has entries for every person, city, and nation mentioned in the Bible no matter how obscure [even if to say its identification is unknown]). The reference to "Hamathite" may have lent its name to, or come from, the city of Hamath in Syria.

19 And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as thou comest to Gerar, unto Gaza; as thou goest, unto Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboim, even unto Lasha.

Sidon is a well known Phoenician city. Gaza was one of the five principal cities of the Philistines. Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim are believed to be located at the south of the Dead Sea.

The rest is the line down to Abraham, mostly of unknown names. It has been speculated that 'Eber' lent his name to the Hebrews, but that association is questionable.

God Bless,

~Josh

 

[AKJVReader]

Thanks for that, that was helpful.

Genesis 10:
2 The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.
5 By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations.

It's interesting when you compare it to this, not all of the sons of Genesis 10 are mentioned:

Ezekiel 38:
[FONT=arial,helvatica]1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, [/FONT][FONT=arial,helvatica]
2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:
[/FONT][FONT=arial,helvatica]6 Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee. [/FONT]