Genesis Chapter 10 Verse-by-Verse Commentary
Genesis 10:1
Here is the genealogy of the sons of Noach - Shem, Ham and Yefet; sons were born to them after the flood.
As we saw in chapter 9, Noach, his wife, his three sons, and their wives were the only people that came out of the ark and God told them to multiply. Since these were the only people that survived the flood, we are all related to them and to each other because of them.
Genesis 10:2
The sons of Yefet were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Yavan, Tuval, Meshekh and Tiras.
It is interesting to note that, most genealogies (toledot), start with the oldest and go to the youngest but here we start with Noach's youngest son. The name Yefet (Japheth) means enlarged and his seven sons are listed. As we shall see, he has the largest number of sons listed. It is interesting to note that we are only given the descendants of two of his sons. The sons of Japheth would go on to populate what we call Europe and Northern Asia.
Genesis 10:3
The sons of Gomer were Ashkenaz, Rifat and Togarmah.
The name Gomer means complete or come to a sudden stop or termination. The name is mentioned again as an army that will join in the final rebellion against God (see Ezekiel 38). The name Askenaz can mean leap upon like fire. While the meaning of the name Riphath has been lost, to a Hebrew audience the name would have sounded like healers. The name Togarmah does not occur as a Hebrew word but in it is the word gerem meaning bone and is widely believed to mean bone breaker.
Genesis 10:4 & 5
The sons of Yavan were Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim and Dodanim. From these the islands of the nations were divided into their lands, each according to its language, according to their families, in their nations.
The Hebrew word "'iy" is translated here as islands but it is probably referring to groups of people and not physical islands. The Hebrew word translated as language here is "lashon" which actually means tongue and the fact that it was translated as language is unfortunate.
As we will see, at this time all of the people spoke the same language as God had not yet confused them. The tongue speaks of taste as well as speech and here it is speaking of the fact that the different family members mixed and went to the places that suited their taste in culture instead of just going wherever the rest of their clan went. This passage is basically saying that groups of people joined together and moved to different areas based on their own cultural desires.
Genesis 10:6 & 7
The sons of Ham were Kush, Mitzrayim, Put and Kena'an. The sons of Kush were S'va, Havilah, Savta, Ra'mah and Savt'kha. The sons of Ra'mah were Sh'va and D'dan.
Mitzrayim would become Egypt while Put became Libya, and Kena'an became the land of Canaan which would become the land of Israel. Most scholars associate these descendants of Ham with the peoples of the African continent. Although, with the migration of people throughout the years, we cannot say who an individual is descended from with any degree of accuracy.
Genesis 10:8 & 9
Kush fathered Nimrod, who was the first powerful ruler on earth. He was a mighty hunter before ADONAI- this is why people say, "Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before ADONAI."
At first glance, it seems that this Nimrod was a great man of God but, in fact, he was not. We see, here, that he was a mighty warrior but it does not say that he was a warrior on the right side (God's side).
We also see that he was a "mighty hunter" and most take that to mean that he was good at hunting animals for food but what this passage speaks to is the fact that he wanted to be a great world ruler and rule over all the world (hunter of men's souls). As we see in this passage, he was the first to establish a kingdom on the earth and as we shall see later, his pride elevated him to want to be in the place of God.
Genesis 10:10-12
His kingdom began with Bavel, Erekh, Akkad and Kalneh, in the land of Shin'ar. Ashur went out from that land and built Ninveh, the city Rechovot, Kelach, and Resen between Ninveh and Kelach - that one is the great city.
Many of the cities that are listed here will be mentioned throughout the Bible but, for the most part, they are not mentioned in a good way. This proud man would build cities and nations that were filled with pride and that brings them into direct opposition to God.
Genesis 10:13 & 14
Mitzrayim fathered the Ludim, the 'Anamim, the L'havim, the Naftuchim, the Patrusim, the Kasluchim (from whom came the P'lishtim) and the Kaftorim.
Here, we see a change as the "im" which is the plural form of a word is added to the Hebrew names letting us know that the number of people on the earth has increased substantially. Just as we saw with the descendants of Cush, the descendants of Mizraim would also oppose God and His people. The P'lishtim (Philistines) would come to war against God's people and be subdued by David.
Genesis 10:15-20
Kena'an fathered Tzidon his firstborn, Het, the Y'vusi, the Emori, the Girgashi, the Hivi, the 'Arki, the Sini, the Arvadi, the Tz'mari and the Hamati. Afterwards, the families of the Kena'ani were dispersed. The border of the Kena'ani was from Tzidon, as you go toward G'rar, to 'Azah; as you go toward S'dom, 'Amora, Admah and Tzvoyim, to Lesha. These were the descendants of Ham, according to their families and languages, in their lands and in their nations.
The descendants of Ham would eventually settle in the land that is the country of Israel today.
Genesis 10:21-24
Children were also born to Shem, ancestor of all the descendants of 'Ever and older brother of Yefet. The sons of Shem were 'Elam, Ashur, Arpakhshad, Lud and Aram. The sons of Aram were 'Utz, Hul, Geter and Mash. Arpakhshad fathered Shelach, and Shelach fathered 'Ever.
Finally, we look at the root of God's people. 'Ever is singled out and he is the great grandson of Shem by his middle son. The name is Heber in the Hebrew language and is in fact where God's people get the name "Hebrews" or "Jews".
Genesis 10:25-29
To 'Ever were born two sons. One was given the name Peleg, because during his lifetime the earth was divided. His brother's name was Yoktan. Yoktan fathered Almodad, Shelef, Hatzar-Mavet, Yerach, Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, 'Oval, Avima'el, Sheva, Ofir, Havilah and Yovav - all these were the sons of Yoktan.
The name Peleg means division and we see that there was division in the family of Shem. As we will see, Peleg is in the list of ancestors of Jesus Christ. Meanwhile, Joktan joined with Nimrod and, as we shall see, they wanted to elevate man to the position of God. We also see that Joktan had many sons and are reminded that the majority of people went along with Nimrod and his plan.
Genesis 10:30
Their territory stretched from Mesha, as you go toward S'far, to the mountain in the east.
Mesha was an early form of the name of the modern city of Mecca. The descendants of Joktan would come to live in what we call Saudi Arabia.
Genesis 10:31 & 32
These were the descendants of Shem, according to their families and languages, in their lands and in their nations.
In this overview of the root of the nations, we have also come to see the root of the strife that exists between the nations of today. The division that we saw in the line of Shem continues even today.