Genesis 10:21 | 25 hites, 14 Path ru sites, Kas lu hites( from whom the Phi lis tines came) and Caph to rites.
15
Ca naan was the fa ther of Si don his first born, a and of the Hit tites,
16
Jeb u sites, Am o rites, Gir ga shites, 17 Hivites, Ar kites, Si nites, 18 Ar vad ites, Zema rites and Ha math ites.
Lat er the Ca naan ite clans scat tered 19 and the bor ders of Ca naan reached from Si don to ward Ge rar as far as Gaza, and then to ward Sod om, Go mor rah, Ad mah and Ze boy im, as far as La sha.
20
These are the sons of Ham by their clans and lan guag es, in their ter ri to ries and na tions.
The Semites 10:21-31pp— Ge 11:10-27; 1Ch 1:17-27
21
Sons were also born to Shem, whose old er broth er was b Ja pheth; Shem was the an ces tor of all the sons of Eber.
a
15 Or of the Sidonians, the foremost brother of b
21 Or Shem, the older
10:8 – 11 The digression about Nimrod( vv. 8 – 12) in this section shifts the focus from Upper Egypt and Arabia to Mesopotamia. This represents the first instance of direct ancestral descent( A fathered B) in this section; this indicates that the Table of Nations( ch. 10) concerns more than generational descent. See the infographic“ The Amarna Letters” on p. 337.
10:8 Nimrod This figure is associated with the founding of the greatest cities of Mesopotamia— Babylon, Uruk, Akkad, Nineveh and Calah. 10:10 Kalneh The location this refers to is unknown. Shinar This is another name for Babylonia— encompassing the city states of Sumer and Akkad and extending northward to Assyria. This name does not occur in Mesopotamian material but is found many times in records of the Egyptians and Hittites, as well as the Amarna letters. See the infographic“ The Amarna Letters” on p. 337. See note on 11:2. 10:11 Nineveh Located on the east bank of the Tigris River. Rehoboth Ir The Hebrew text here could be understood as referring to the open places of the city— an area of Nineveh, rather than a separate city. Calah One of the chief cities of Assyria, along with Nineveh and Asshur. The city’ s association with Nimrod is preserved in the site’ s medieval and modern name Nimrud. Calah is located on the east bank of the Tigris about 20 miles south of Nineveh. 10:12 Resen This could refer to an unknown town between Nineveh and Calah or be a scribal corruption that was originally a reference to an irrigation system or waterworks. great city The Hebrew text here could refer to Calah or Nineveh.
10:13 – 14 The names in vv. 13 – 14 are plural in Hebrew, suggesting they refer to people groups despite their presentation as the sons of Egypt. The identification of the people groups in v. 13 is uncertain. These names again connect the line of Ham to Egypt( compare v. 6).
10:13 Ludites This group could be the Lydians from Asia Minor( modern Turkey), but the Hebrew term lud used here is also connected elsewhere with North African peoples( Jer 46:9; Eze 30:5). Lehabites This could refer to Libyans. 10:14 Pathrusites This refers to people from Upper Egypt( the southern portion), sometimes called Pathros( compare Isa 11:11; Jer 44:1). Philistines Elsewhere in the OT, the Philistines are identified as coming from Caphtor( Am 9:7; Dt 2:23; Jer 47:4). Thus, it seems that the editorial comment here should instead come after the reference to Caphtor. Alternatively, this could indicate that the Philistines at one point migrated to Caphtor, similar to how the OT mentions Israel as coming from Egypt( e. g., Nu 22:11; 2Ki 21:15). Caphtorites Caphtor may be identified with Crete; it is the place of origin of the Philistines according to other OT texts( see Am 9:7). 10:15 Sidon This term refers to the Sidonians of the famous Phoenician city of Sidon. Hittites This reference to the ancestor of the Hittites seems out of place in this verse because the Hittites are from Asia Minor( modern Turkey), not Egypt, Arabia, Phoenicia or Syria-Palestine, like the other people groups mentioned as the descendants of Canaan. Since the line of Canaan indicates a mixed population of people groups— some of whom migrated into Canaan— this may refer to some of the known Hittite migrations southward. 10:16 Jebusites This term refers to inhabitants of Jebus, which would become Jerusalem after David’ s conquest of the city( 1Ch 11:4 – 5). Nothing is known of their origin or history. Amorites The Hebrew text here probably refers broadly to the Amurru, a nomadic Semitic people group occupying Syria and Canaan in pre-Israelite times. Girgashites Little is known about this group. They are regularly mentioned in the lists of Canaanite people groups, but no details are given( Ge 15:21; Dt 7:1; Jos 3:10; 24:11).
Genesis 10:16
AMORITES The term“ Amorite” refers to a West Semitic people, the Amurru, known from Akkadian sources that place them around Babylon about 2000 BC. They migrated westward throughout the Fertile Crescent, including the regions of Phoenicia and Canaan. The term is used in different ways in the OT. In some places, it is used as a generic term for inhabitants of the land of Canaan before the Israelite conquest, like“ Canaanites”( e. g., Ge 15:16; Jos 24:15; Jdg 6:10; 1Ki 21:26). In other places it refers more specifically to a people group who lived in the hill country( Dt 1:19 – 20; Nu 13:29; Jos 11:3) and the Transjordan( Dt 3:8; Jos 12:1 – 2; Jdg 1:36). In one place, Jos 13:4, it may refer specifically to the kingdom of Amurru in northern Lebanon and western Syria.
10:17 Hivites This Canaanite group is regularly mentioned in the list of pre-Israelite occupants of the promised land( Ex 3:8; Dt 7:1). 10:18 Arvadites, Zemarites and Hamathites These people groups inhabited the region north of Sidon( modern Lebanon). 10:19 Gerar A city of the western Negev region that is in several narratives about the patriarchs. See note on Ge 26:6. Gaza One of the five major cities of the Philistines( compare note on 1Sa 4:1). Sodom, Gomorrah The inclusion of Sodom and Gomorrah here connects these cities characterized by debauchery to the curse of Canaan by Noah and the sin of Ham( 9:22 – 25). See Ge 13:10.
10:21 – 31 This list details the line of Shem, outlining Shem’ s relationship to Japheth( his brother) and Eber( the lead descendant of the list).
10:21 all the sons of Eber The list of the descendants of