28 | Genesis 10:22
22
The sons of Shem: Elam, Ash ur, Ar phax ad, Lud and Aram.
23
The sons of Aram: Uz, Hul, Ge ther and Me shek. a
24
Ar phax ad was the fa ther of b She lah, and She lah the fa ther of Eber.
25
Two sons were born to Eber: One was named Pe leg, c be cause in his time the earth was di vid ed; his broth er was named Jok tan.
26
Jok tan was the fa ther of Al mo dad, She leph, Ha zar ma veth, Je rah,
27
Ha do ram, Uzal, Dik lah, 28 Obal, Abim a el, She ba, 29 Ophir, Hav i lah and Jo bab. All these were sons of Jok tan.
30
The re gion where they lived stretched from Me sha to ward Se phar, in the east ern hill coun try.
31
These are the sons of Shem by their clans and lan guag es, in their ter ri to ries and na tions.
32
These are the clans of No ah’ s sons, ac cord ing to their lines of de scent, with in their na tions. From these the na tions spread out over the earth af ter the flood.
The Tower of Babel
Now the whole world had one lan guage
11 and a com mon speech. 2 As peo ple moved east ward, d they found a plain in Shi nar e and settled there.
3
They said to each oth er,“ Come, let’ s make bricks and bake them thor ough ly.” They used brick in stead of stone, and tar for mor tar. 4 Then they said,“ Come, let us build our selves a city, with a tow er that reach es to the heav ens, so that we may make a name for our selves; other wise
a
23 See Septuagint and 1 Chron. 1:17; Hebrew Mash. b
24 Hebrew; Septuagint father of Cainan, and Cainan was the father of c
25 Peleg means division. d
2 Or from the east; or in the east e
2 That is, Babylonia
Shem emphasizes the line of Eber, the eponymous ancestor of the Hebrews( the one whom they are named after). 10:22 Elam Elam was the ancient name for modern Khuzestan( southwestern Iran), located east of Babylon. Its capital was Susa( Est 1:2 – 5). It is also the most securely identified easternmost country in the Table of Nations( Ge 10). Ashur This term refers to Assyria and thus is associated with Mesopotamia. Arphaxad The ancestor of the Hebrew people, since he is the grandfather of Eber( v. 24). Lud This term most likely refers to the location of Ludbu of the Assyrians, situated on the Tigris River. Aram This term refers to a tribal name for the Arameans who came from the steppes of Mesopotamia. 10:23 Uz, Hul, Gether and Meshek None of these
locations or tribes can be identified with any certainty. 10:24 Eber The Hebrew used here is ever. It seems to be related to the Hebrew word for the Hebrew people( ivrim). Compare note on 10:25.
10:25 Peleg This name can mean“ water channel.” Peleg may have come from a region that used irrigation canals. In addition, a place named Palag is known from a text from Ebla dating to 2500 BC. He is the ancestor of Abram( Abraham; Ge 11:18 – 26; Lk 3:34 – 35), the forefather of the Israelites, the Hebrew people. divided The Hebrew word used here, palag, is a wordplay on the name Peleg. This wordplay could refer to the division and dispersion of languages at Babel( Ge 11). Joktan The listing of Joktan as the son of Eber indicates that the descendants of Joktan share ancestry with the Israelites.
10:26 – 29 The identifiable place names listed as descendants of Joktan are located in the southwest corner of the Arabian Peninsula.
10:26 Hazarmaveth This term can be identified with modern Hadramaut in Yemen. 10:29 Ophir This term appears throughout the OT as the name of a place known for its gold( e. g., 1Ki 9:28; Job 22:24; Ps 45:9).
11:1 – 9 Although the Table of Nations in Ge 10 describes the descendants of Noah spread out across the world, the story of the tower of Babel returns the narrative to a time before the scattering of people.
11:1 whole world This refers to the ancient Near East and the Mediterranean world. Since Ge 11 and its dispersion of the nations is linked to the Table of Nations of ch. 10, which is specific to people groups of the ancient Near East, this phrase should not be understood to refer to entire world( see note on 10:1 – 32). See the infographic“ The Tower of Babel” on p. 29. 11:2 eastward The Hebrew text here can be rendered either“ from the east” or“ eastward.” A migration to the east makes sense: from the Ararat( Urartu) region( see 8:4 and note) to Babylon( Shinar)— the setting of the tower story. Shinar This refers to the land of Babylonia, which encompasses the city states of Sumer and Akkad and extends northward to Assyria. This name does not occur in Mesopotamian material but appears many times in Egyptian and Hittite records, as well as the Amarna Letters. See the infographic“ The Amarna Letters” on p. 337. 11:4 let us build ourselves a city, with a tower The tower was not the only thing that would enable the people to remain together rather than spread over the earth— the city was also essential. The tower spoken of here was a ziggurat temple, a massive brick, stepped tower that dominated the landscape. Ziggurats symbolized mountains. Both ziggurats and natural mountains were considered in the ancient Near East to be dwelling places of the gods. They were believed to be the place where heaven met earth and where the gods met humanity. As such, it was thought that the high places were sites where the gods made their will known to mortals. In this sense, the ziggurat was viewed as the center of the cosmos. Biblical temple imagery draws upon these themes. Jerusalem( Mount Zion) and its temple was called the center( tabbur, in Hebrew) of the earth( Eze 38:12; compare Eze 5:5); this is because it was the place where Yahweh met humanity. See the infographic“ The Tower of Babel” on p. 29. name The Hebrew word used here, shem— which is primarily used as a designation of identity— is also used in the OT and Mesopotamian literature to refer to something gaining renown or reputation. See Pr 22:1; Ecc 7:1; Ne 6:13; Ru 4:11; Jer 32:20; 2Sa 7:9. scattered over the face of the whole earth Towers( or ziggurat temples) and their associated cities were the heart of economic distribution systems in ancient Mesopotamia. The goals of building both— which this passage clearly presents— amounted to the rejection of God’ s command and blessing in Ge 9:7.