Gen. 10:1–11:9 The Descendants of Noah’s Sons. The next main section of Genesis shows how humanity becomes divided into different nations.
Gen. 10:1–32 This passage shows how the descendants of Noah’s three sons populated different regions of the earth, forming nations. This process covered a long time, as families migrated to particular regions.
Gen. 10:2–5 From these the coastland peoples spread. This places Japheth’s descendants in the coastal regions and islands of the Mediterranean Sea.
Gen. 10:6–20 Many of Israel’s enemies, such as the Egyptians, Babylonians, Philistines, and various Canaanite groups, descended from Ham. Cush and Put are regions south and west of Egypt, respectively. Cush fathered Nimrod (v. 8). This may seem unusual since Cush is linked geographically with Africa, and Nimrod with the great cities of Babel and Nineveh in Assyria. The military might of the Assyrians and Babylonians may account for the observations that Nimrod was a mighty man and a mighty hunter (vv. 8, 9). These descriptions are probably to be viewed negatively. Nimrod’s aggression runs totally counter to God’s intentions. Babel . . . in the land of Shinar (v. 10). These details link Nimrod with the Tower of Babel episode (11:2, 9). Nimrod’s kingdom is the opposite of what God desired. The great city (10:12) probably refers to a region that included both Nineveh and Calah (see Jonah 3:3). “Canaanite” is sometimes used to cover all the different groups mentioned in Gen. 10:15–19 (e.g., 28:1).
Gen. 10:21–32 Abraham was descended from Shem. Many of Shem’s descendants are Arabian tribes or kingdoms. Shem’s great-grandson Eber receives special attention (v. 21), being mentioned even before Shem’s own sons are named (v. 22). The designation “Hebrew” (see 14:13) is derived from “Eber.” He called one of his sons Peleg (which could mean “division”), for in his days the earth was divided (10:25). This is probably a reference to the Tower of Babel (11:1–9).
The ESV Global Study Bible
Copyright © 2012 by Crossway.
All rights reserved.
Used by permission.
The Blue Letter Bible ministry and the BLB Institute hold to the historical, conservative Christian faith, which includes a firm belief in the inerrancy of Scripture. Since the text and audio content provided by BLB represent a range of evangelical traditions, all of the ideas and principles conveyed in the resource materials are not necessarily affirmed, in total, by this ministry.
Loading
Loading
Interlinear |
Bibles |
Cross-Refs |
Commentaries |
Dictionaries |
Miscellaneous |