Gen 10:1

exegeticalGen 10:1–32

The genre of the list and the number of the nations

• SaysThe chapter is headed as the generations of Noah’s sons and closed as their clans by generations and nations; a four-part formula names clans, languages, lands and nations; later readers have counted seventy names in the Hebrew, matching a tradition of seventy nations; the Greek adds Elisa and Kainam and has no name for Obal.
• ImpliesThe list is selective and is arranged so as to lead to Shem, Eber and Abram.
• UncertainThe chapter may be a segmentary genealogy, an ethnographic map, or a selective theological list; no count is stated as the count; Skinner’s eponymous reading is his and is not adopted; no lean is taken.

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exegeticalGen 10:1–32

New Testament reading of Genesis 10

• SaysActs 17:26 has every nation made from one man, to inhabit the earth, with appointed times and boundaries; Luke 3:35–36 runs Shem’s line through Cainan, Arphaxad, Shelah, Eber and Peleg; Rev 20:8 names Gog and Magog, of which Magog stands in 10:2 and Gog does not.
• ImpliesThe New Testament readings take the nations as coming from one man and Shem’s line as a real genealogy.
• UncertainWhether Luke’s Cainan shows that Kainam stood in the original text, or whether Luke follows the Greek he used, is open; how Rev 20:8 uses the names is open; no lean is taken; no claim is made about the Greek wording of the New Testament verses.

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exegeticalGen 10:1–32

Overview of Genesis 10

• SaysThis is the account of Noah’s sons Shem, Ham and Japheth, to whom sons were born after the flood; Japheth’s line and the coastlands, Ham’s sons, Nimrod, Canaan’s borders, Shem, Eber, Peleg and Joktan follow, and from these clans the nations were separated on the earth after the flood.
• ImpliesAll the nations named here come from Noah’s one family, fulfilling 9:1 and 9:19; the list is selective and is arranged to lead to Shem, Eber and Abram; Israel’s neighbors stand among the nations before Israel exists; the persons and peoples are real.
• UncertainThe genre and count, the principle of arrangement, Nimrod, the relation to Babel, Peleg’s name, the doubled names, many identifications, the sources of the chapter, Kainam, and the sense of the elder in 10:21 remain open; no lean is taken here.

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historicalGen 10:1–32

The names of Genesis 10 as early and later readers placed them

• SaysGen 10:5, 20, 31 present Noah’s descendants by clans, languages, lands and nations; from Japheth’s line the coastland peoples separated into their territories (10:5).
• UncertainWhich of the proposed identifications of the names hold (Tarshish, Kittim, Caphtor among them), and whether the names that occur twice (Havilah and Sheba, 10:7 and 10:28–29; Lud, 10:13 and 10:22) are one people or two, are open; no lean is taken, and the identifications do not fix the meaning.

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historicalGen 10:1–32

The nations and their division in early reading

• SaysGen 10:32: these are the clans of Noah’s sons by their generations and nations, and from them the nations spread out on the earth after the flood; 10:25: Peleg was so named because in his days the earth was divided.
• UncertainWhether the list intends a count (70 in the Midrash count Keil reports, 72 in the fathers’ and Augustine’s), whether 10:25 refers to Babel or another division, and whether Gen 10 precedes Gen 11 in time or by arrangement are open; no lean is taken, and the readings do not fix the meaning.

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languageGen 10:1–14

LXX Gen 10:1–14: the sons of Japheth and Ham

• SaysSwete’s Genesis 10 numbering matches the English and the MT; 10:2 adds καὶ Ἐλισὰ, giving eight sons of Japheth for the MT’s seven.
• Says10:4 has Κήτιοι, Ῥόδιοι for כִּתִּים וְדֹדָנִים; 10:5 has ἀφωρίσθησαν νῆσοι τῶν ἐθνῶν for נִפְרְדוּ אִיֵּי הַגּוֹיִם.
• Says10:8–9 have γίγας for גִּבֹּר and γίγας κυνηγὸς for גִבֹּר־צַיִד; the first לִפְנֵי יְהוָה is ἐναντίον Κυρίου τοῦ θεοῦ, the second ἐναντίον Κυρίου only.
• UncertainNo lean is taken on who Nimrod was or on what the phrase implies.
• Says10:10–12 give the city names as listed, with τὴν Ῥοωβὼς πόλιν and Δάσεμ; ἐξῆλθεν Ἀσσούρ has no preposition, like יָצָא אַשּׁוּר.
• UncertainNo lean is taken on who is the subject of the going out at 10:11.
• Says10:13 places Νεφθαλιεὶμ second, not fourth; 10:14 keeps the Philistine clause after τοὺς Χασμωνιείμ, as the MT.

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languageGen 10:1

The heading of the nations list

• SaysThe chapter opens with the heading formula וְאֵלֶּה תּוֹלְדֹת (ve’elleh toledot, “and these are the generations”) of בְּנֵי־נֹחַ (bene-noakh, “the sons of Noah”), שֵׁם חָם וָיָפֶת (shem kham vayafet). BSB renders toledot “account.” The verb וַיִּוָּלְדוּ (vayyivvaledu) is passive, “and there were born”: וַיִּוָּלְדוּ לָהֶם בָּנִים (“and sons were born to them”), where the BSB has “who also had sons.”
• SaysThe verse ends אַחַר הַמַּבּוּל (’akhar hammabbul, “after the flood”). The lexicon gives mabbul as “flood in time of Noah” and cites this verse and 10:32, where the phrase returns to frame the list.
• ImpliesAll the nations named here come from Noah’s one family. The heading names only the three sons, and 10:32 closes: “From these the nations of the earth spread out after the flood.” This carries out the blessing to fill the earth (9:1) and the notice that the whole earth was peopled from these three (9:19).
• UncertainThe list may be a family tree, a map of peoples, or a selective list with a theological aim. A family tree fits the “fathered” lines, but many names are peoples. A map fits the borders (10:19, 30), but not the family form. A selective aim fits the focus on Shem but leaves many names unexplained. The count is also open. The Hebrew lists seventy names, matching the later Jewish tradition of seventy nations. The Greek adds Elisa (10:2) and Kainam (10:24) but lacks Obal (10:28). No lean is taken here.

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VariantGen 10:1–32

Minor variants in Genesis 10

• SaysIn 10:4 the Hebrew has וְדֹדָנִים (vedodanim, “and Dodanim”). The Samaritan text reads “Rodanim,” with resh, and the Greek has Ῥόδιοι (“Rhodians”). The two letters look alike in Hebrew script. BSB’s “Rodanites” follows that reading, as in 1 Chronicles 1:7. The Samaritan text also spells Elishah without its final letter.
• SaysIn 10:19 the Samaritan text gives a different border: from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates, and to the last sea.
• SaysThe Greek adds Elisa among Japheth’s sons (10:2) and lacks Obal (10:28). It reads “islands of the nations” in 10:5 and 10:32 and calls Nimrod γίγας (“giant”). It gives ἐναντίον Κυρίου τοῦ θεοῦ (“before the Lord God”) for the first “before the Lord” in 10:9 and puts Naphtuhim second in 10:13. In 10:25 it reads Φάλεκ with διεμερίσθη (“was divided”), without the Hebrew sound-play.
• SaysEditorial decision: print the MT (confidence high).
• SaysMinor variants in Swete’s notes, in plain words: one manuscript drops “God” in 10:9; one gives a different order in 10:13; one spells Lasha as “Lasa” in 10:19; and the Alexandrian manuscript reads “Seth” for Shem in 10:31.

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Gen 10:2

languageGen 10:2–5

Japheth’s line and the coastlands

• SaysSeven sons of Japheth are named in 10:2, from גֹּמֶר (gomer) to וְתִירָס (tiras), among them וּמָגוֹג (magog), וְיָוָן (yavan, “Javan”), וְתֻבָל (tuval) and וּמֶשֶׁךְ (meshekh). Javan’s line in 10:4 ends with two plurals, כִּתִּים (kittim) and וְדֹדָנִים (vedodanim, “and Dodanim”). The plural ending marks peoples rather than single persons. BSB has “the Kittites, and the Rodanites”, following another spelling of the last name.
• SaysVerse 5 summarizes the line with מֵאֵלֶּה נִפְרְדוּ אִיֵּי הַגּוֹיִם (me’elleh nifredu ’iyye haggoyim, “from these the coastlands of the nations were separated”). BSB has “the maritime peoples separated.” The verb is passive, “were separated,” and the same form returns in 10:32. Then come four terms: בְּאַרְצֹתָם (“in their lands”), אִישׁ לִלְשֹׁנוֹ (“each by his language”), לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָם (“by their clans”) and בְּגוֹיֵהֶם (“in their nations”). The lexicon gives goy as “nation, people” and cites 10:5, 20, 31 and 32.
• UncertainHow the list is arranged is debated: by descent, geography, language, political ties, or a mix. The formula names clans, languages, lands and nations together, so no one principle is stated. Proposed identifications, such as Javan with the Ionians and Kittim with Cyprus, rest on later uses of the names, not on this verse. No lean is taken here.

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Gen 10:6

exegeticalGen 10:6–20

The sons of Ham, and Canaan’s land

• SaysHam’s sons are Cush, Mizraim, Put and Canaan; Mizraim fathered peoples, among them the Philistines' clause after the Casluhim; Canaan fathered Sidon and Heth, and his clans were scattered within a border from Sidon to Gaza and Lasha.
• ImpliesEgypt and Canaan are placed among the nations God made from Noah’s family before Israel exists; the list is not racial; using this chapter with 9:25 to rank races or to justify slavery and segregation is historically documented and is rejected.
• UncertainThe doubled names, Put’s identification, the placement of the Philistine clause, and Caphtor as Crete remain open; no lean is taken.

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historicalGen 10:6–20

The sons of Ham, and a misuse of the list

• SaysGen 10:6: the sons of Ham are Cush, Mizraim, Put and Canaan; 10:19: the border of the Canaanites ran from Sidon toward Gerar and Gaza; 10:20: these are the sons of Ham by clans, languages, lands and nations.
• ImpliesThe use of Gen 10 with 9:25 to rank races or to defend slavery and segregation has no ground in the text: Canaan, a son of Ham, lives in Canaan (10:15–19); Cush, Mizraim and Canaan are peoples and lands, not skin colors; all nations come from one family (10:32); every human bears God’s image (9:6). The use is rejected.

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languageGen 10:6–7

Ham’s sons are peoples and lands

• SaysHam’s four sons are כּוּשׁ וּמִצְרַיִם וּפוּט וּכְנָעַן (kush umitsrayim ufut ukhena‘an). Mitsrayim is the ordinary Hebrew name of Egypt, and kena‘an is the land later promised to Israel. Cush’s five sons in 10:7 run from סְבָא (seva’) to וְסַבְתְּכָא (savtekha’), and Raamah’s sons are שְׁבָא וּדְדָן (sheva’ udedan). Seba (with samekh) and Sheba (with shin) are spelled differently. Havilah (וַחֲוִילָה) and Sheba also appear among Joktan’s sons (10:28–29).
• ImpliesIsrael’s neighbors, Egypt and Canaan among them, are placed among the nations God made from Noah’s family before Israel exists. Deuteronomy 32:8 later speaks of the Most High dividing the nations their inheritance.
• ImpliesThe list is not a ranking of races. Canaan, a son of Ham, gives his name to a land, and Cush, Mizraim and Canaan are peoples and places, not skin colors. All the nations come from one family (10:32), and every human bears God’s image (9:6). Using this chapter with 9:25 to rank races or to justify slavery and segregation is well documented in history, and it is rejected here.
• UncertainThe names that appear twice, Havilah and Sheba here and under Joktan, and Lud (10:13, 22), may be one people traced two ways, two peoples with one name, or a people that migrated. Put is linked by some with Libya and by others with Punt. No lean is taken here.

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Gen 10:8

exegeticalGen 10:8–12

Nimrod, the hunter, and the cities

• SaysCush fathered Nimrod, who began to be a mighty one in the earth, a mighty hunter before the Lord, as the saying went; the beginning of his kingdom was Babel in Shinar, and from that land one went out to Asshur and built cities.
• UncertainWho Nimrod was, whether 'before the Lord' approves, is a neutral idiom, or is defiance, and whether Nimrod or Asshur is the subject of 10:11 remain open; no identification is adopted; no lean is taken.

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historicalGen 10:8–12

Nimrod and the cities of Shinar and Assyria

• SaysGen 10:8–9: Cush fathered Nimrod, who began to be a mighty one on the earth, a mighty hunter before the Lord, as the saying went; 10:10–11: his kingdom began in Babylon, Erech, Accad and Calneh in Shinar, and from that land one went out to Assyria, where Nineveh, Rehoboth-Ir, Calah and Resen were built.
• UncertainWho Nimrod was, whether “before the Lord” approves, is neutral or is hostile, and whether Nimrod or Asshur is the subject of 10:11 are open; how the Sumerian tradition of Erech relates to Gen 10:10 is open; no dependence is claimed, no lean is taken, and the background does not fix the meaning.

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languageGen 10:8–9

Nimrod, “a mighty one of hunting before the Lord”

• Saysוְכוּשׁ יָלַד אֶת־נִמְרֹד (“and Cush fathered Nimrod”) uses the active verb yalad, “fathered” (BSB “was the father of”). The lexicon gives yalad as “bear, bring forth, beget” and cites 10:8. Then הוּא הֵחֵל לִהְיוֹת גִּבֹּר בָּאָרֶץ (hu’ hekhel lihyot gibbor ba’arets, “he began to be a mighty one in the earth”). Hekhel, “began,” is the verb of 9:20, and the lexicon cites lihyot at 10:8 under hayah, “fall out, come to pass, become, be.”
• SaysVerse 9 calls him גִבֹּר־צַיִד לִפְנֵי יְהוָה (gibbor-tsayid lifne yhwh, “a mighty one of hunting before the Lord”). עַל־כֵּן יֵאָמַר (‘al-ken ye’amar, “therefore it is said”) introduces a saying, and the saying repeats the phrase: כְּנִמְרֹד גִּבּוֹר צַיִד לִפְנֵי יְהוָה. The second time the word is spelled גִּבּוֹר, with a vav. It is the only verse in the chapter with the divine name.
• UncertainWho Nimrod was is debated. Some take him as a historical king, and Sargon, Tukulti-Ninurta I, Gilgamesh and the god Ninurta have all been proposed; others say he cannot be identified. Each proposal matches a few features and none matches all. “Before the Lord” is read three ways. It may express favor, a neutral idiom meaning “in the Lord’s sight,” or defiance, as early hostile readings took it. Favor and defiance both read more into a short phrase than it states, while the idiom view has to explain why the Lord is named at all. No lean is taken here.

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Gen 10:10

languageGen 10:10–12

Babel, Shinar and “he went out to Asshur”

• Saysוַתְּהִי רֵאשִׁית מַמְלַכְתּוֹ בָּבֶל (vattehi re’shit mamlakhto bavel, “and the beginning of his kingdom was Babel”) is rendered by BSB as “His kingdom began in Babylon.” Bavel is the same word as Babel in 11:9 (בָּבֶל). The cities lie בְּאֶרֶץ שִׁנְעָר (be’erets shin‘ar, “in the land of Shinar”).
• SaysVerse 11 reads מִן־הָאָרֶץ הַהִוא יָצָא אַשּׁוּר (“from that land went out ’ashshur”). There is no preposition before the name, and וַיִּבֶן (vayyiven, “and he built”) follows. The lexicon gives banah as “build” and lists this verse under the building of cities. רְחֹבֹת עִיר (rekhovot ‘ir) may be a name, as in BSB’s “Rehoboth-Ir”, or a phrase, “the city’s squares.” Verse 12 ends הִוא הָעִיר הַגְּדֹלָה (hi’ ha‘ir haggedolah, “that is the great city”).
• UncertainVerse 11 can be read with Asshur as the subject (“Asshur went out”) or as the place Nimrod went to (“he went out to Assyria”), since a verb of motion can take a place name without a preposition. The first gives Asshur a story of its own, though Asshur is listed only among Shem’s sons (10:22). The second keeps Nimrod as the subject but requires an implied “to.” In 10:12 “the great city” may be Resen, Calah, or the group of four cities. No lean is taken here.

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Gen 10:13

languageGen 10:13–20

Peoples, the Philistine clause and Canaan’s border

• SaysMizraim “fathered” peoples: the names in 10:13–14, from לוּדִים (ludim) to כַּפְתֹּרִים (kaftorim), are plural forms naming peoples. BSB uses “-ites.” After כַּסְלֻחִים stands אֲשֶׁר יָצְאוּ מִשָּׁם פְּלִשְׁתִּים (’asher yats’u misham pelishtim, “from where the Philistines went out”). Canaan’s sons begin with צִידֹן בְּכֹרוֹ (“Sidon his firstborn”) and חֵת (khet, “Heth”), which BSB renders “the Hittites.” Then come singular names with the article, such as הַיְבוּסִי, הַעַרְקִי and הַחֲמָתִי. The lexicon calls the Arkite “Arkite” and the Sinite “a Canaanite people, in north.” It gives the Girgashite’s land as “territ. unknown.”
• Saysוְאַחַר נָפֹצוּ מִשְׁפְּחוֹת הַכְּנַעֲנִי (“and afterward the clans of the Canaanite were scattered”) uses the verb of 11:9 (הֱפִיצָם). The border runs מִצִּידֹן בֹּאֲכָה גְרָרָה עַד־עַזָּה (“from Sidon, as you go toward Gerar, as far as Gaza”). Bo’akhah, “as you go,” is BSB’s “toward.” Verse 20 closes with the four-part formula of 10:5.
• UncertainThe Philistine clause stands after the Casluhim, but Amos 9:7 and Jeremiah 47:4 tie the Philistines to Caphtor. The clause may have shifted from after the Caphtorim, or both peoples may belong to the Philistines’ story. Caphtor is often identified with Crete. No lean is taken here.

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Gen 10:15

languageGen 10:15–20

LXX Gen 10:15–20: Canaan’s clans and borders

• Says10:15 has τὸν Σιδῶνα πρωτότοκον and τὸν Χετταῖον for חֵת; 10:16–18 list gentilics with the article, including τὸν Ἀρουκαῖον and τὸν Ἁσενναῖον.
• Says10:18 has διεσπάρησαν αἱ φυλαὶ τῶν Χαναναίων for נָפֹצוּ מִשְׁפְּחוֹת הַכְּנַעֲנִי, the verb Swete has at 9:19.
• Says10:19 has τὰ ὅρια Χαναναίων, ἕως ἐλθεῖν twice for בֹּאֲכָה, and ends ἕως Δασά for עַד־לָשַׁע; the Bodleian Genesis reads Λασα.
• Says10:20 renders לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָם לִלְשֹׁנֹתָם בְּאַרְצֹתָם בְּגוֹיֵהֶם with ἐν ταῖς φυλαῖς αὐτῶν, κατὰ γλώσσας αὐτῶν and the rest of the formula repeated at 10:31.
• UncertainNo lean is taken on whether the list is ordered by descent, place, language or alliance.
• ImpliesBecause Swete, like the MT, names peoples, cities and borders and not skin colors, the list gives no ground for ranking races, and its use with 9:25 to defend slavery and segregation is rejected.

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Gen 10:21

exegeticalGen 10:21–31

Shem, Eber, and Joktan’s line

• SaysSons were born to Shem, father of all the sons of Eber; the printed wording of 10:24 is the Masoretic Text, with no generation between Arphaxad and Shelah; Swete adds Kainam; Joktan’s thirteen sons and their eastern territory close the line.
• ImpliesThe list is selective and leads to Shem, Eber and, in chapter 11, Abram.
• UncertainWhether Shem or Japheth was the elder, and whether Kainam is a Greek addition, a lost Hebrew name, or a name Luke followed or witnesses, remain open; no lean is taken on originality.

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languageGen 10:21–25

Shem the father of Eber’s sons, and Peleg

• Saysוּלְשֵׁם יֻלַּד גַּם־הוּא (“and to Shem also, to him, was born”) uses a passive form, one the lexicon cites for 10:21 and 25. Shem is אֲבִי כָּל־בְּנֵי־עֵבֶר (’avi kol-bene-‘ever, “father of all the sons of Eber”); BSB has “forefather.” Then comes אֲחִי יֶפֶת הַגָּדוֹל (’akhi yefet haggadol). In 10:25 שֵׁם הָאֶחָד פֶּלֶג (“the name of the one was Peleg”) is explained by כִּי בְיָמָיו נִפְלְגָה הָאָרֶץ (ki veyamav nifleggah ha’arets, “for in his days the earth was divided”), a passive verb that sounds like the name. Ha’arets can mean the earth, a land, or its people.
• ImpliesShem is named as father of “all the sons of Eber” before any of his sons, and Eber’s line is followed in two branches. This suggests a selective list that leads to Shem, Eber and, in chapter 11, Abram.
• UncertainThe Hebrew can mean “the older brother of Japheth” (BSB) or “the brother of Japheth the elder”; the Greek takes “the elder” with Japheth. For Peleg, the division may be of languages at Babel, a political or ethnic division, the digging of canals (Akkadian palgu, “canal”), or the splitting of continents. The Babel view fits the chapter’s nearness to 11:1–9 but uses a different verb. The canal view rests on one word. The continental view takes ha’arets as the physical earth and the division as of land masses; its objection is that the list around the verse is about peoples and their lands. No lean is taken here.

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languageGen 10:21–32

LXX Gen 10:21–32: Shem’s line and Kainan

• SaysIn 10:21 τοῦ μείζονος agrees with Ἰάφεθ, not with ἀδελφῷ; אֲחִי יֶפֶת הַגָּדוֹל can be read either way.
• UncertainNo lean is taken on whether Shem or Japheth was the elder.
• SaysSwete 10:24 adds τὸν Καινάμ between Arphaxad and Sala; the Bodleian Genesis spells Καιναν and adds him at 10:22; in Alexandrinus a corrector wrote over erasures at 10:22 and 10:24, and Swete does not say what was erased.
• UncertainNo lean is taken on whether Kainan stood in the original text of Genesis.
• Says10:25 has Φάλεκ and διεμερίσθη ἡ γῆ for נִפְלְגָה הָאָרֶץ; 10:26–29 name twelve sons of Joktan, with nothing for עוֹבָל.
• UncertainNo lean is taken on the number of names in either text.
• Says10:30 has ἡ κατοίκησις αὐτῶν and ὄρος ἀνατολῶν; 10:32 has διεσπάρησαν νῆσοι τῶν ἐθνῶν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς for נִפְרְדוּ הַגּוֹיִם בָּאָרֶץ.

✓ Approved LXX (Swete) CC BY-SA 4.0 OSHB CC BY 4.0 Abbott-Smith public domain

Gen 10:22

VariantGen 10:22–24

Kainam between Arphaxad and Shelah

• SaysThe Hebrew of 10:24 reads וְאַרְפַּכְשַׁד יָלַד אֶת־שָׁלַח וְשֶׁלַח יָלַד אֶת־עֵבֶר (“and Arpachshad fathered Shelah, and Shelah fathered Eber”). The Greek has one more generation: καὶ Ἀρφαξὰδ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Καινάμ, καὶ Καινὰμ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Σάλα (“and Arphaxad fathered Kainam, and Kainam fathered Sala”). In 10:22 the Hebrew and the Greek name the same five sons of Shem.
• SaysSwete’s notes add more detail. In 10:22 one later Greek manuscript adds “and Kainan” after Aram, and in the Alexandrian manuscript the end of “Aram” is written by a corrector over an erasure. In 10:24 the words “Kainam and” in the Alexandrian manuscript also stand over an erasure by a corrector.
• UncertainThree views are held. Kainam may be an addition in the Greek, which also gives him a place in 11:12–13; the objection is that Luke 3:36 names a Cainan between Arphaxad and Shelah. The Greek may preserve a name lost from the Hebrew; the objection is that the Hebrew lacks it, and the Alexandrian corrections show the Greek itself was unsettled at both places. Luke may follow the Greek text he used, or may be evidence for the name. Wider questions are left with these views stated. No lean is taken here.
• SaysEditorial decision: print the MT (confidence medium). The Hebrew is the base text, and the Greek reading stands in the Greek note.

✓ Approved OSHB CC BY 4.0 LXX (Swete) CC BY-SA 4.0

Gen 10:25

exegeticalGen 10:25

Peleg, and the earth divided

• SaysPeleg is named because in his days the earth was divided, a Niphal that sounds like the name; ha'arets can mean the earth, a land, or its people; Swete loses the sound-play.
• UncertainThe division may be of languages at Babel, a political or ethnic division, canal-digging, or a splitting of land masses; each view has its grounds and its objection; no lean is taken.

✓ Approved BSB public domain OSHB CC BY 4.0 LXX (Swete) CC BY-SA 4.0 Skinner, Genesis (ICC) public domain

Gen 10:26

languageGen 10:26–32

Joktan’s sons and the nations separated

• SaysJoktan’s thirteen sons (10:26–29) end with כָּל־אֵלֶּה בְּנֵי יָקְטָן (“all these were sons of Joktan”). מוֹשָׁבָם מִמֵּשָׁא בֹּאֲכָה סְפָרָה הַר הַקֶּדֶם (“their dwelling, from Mesha as you go toward Sephar, the mountain of the east”) is BSB’s “in the eastern hill country.” The lexicon gives har-haqqedem as “mount of the East.” Verse 31 repeats the formula of 10:5 and 20, with לְגוֹיֵהֶם (“by their nations”).
• SaysVerse 32 sums up the chapter: אֵלֶּה מִשְׁפְּחֹת בְּנֵי־נֹחַ לְתוֹלְדֹתָם בְּגוֹיֵהֶם (“these are the clans of the sons of Noah by their generations, in their nations”). It ends וּמֵאֵלֶּה נִפְרְדוּ הַגּוֹיִם בָּאָרֶץ אַחַר הַמַּבּוּל (“and from these the nations were separated on the earth after the flood”). The verb is the one used in 10:5. BSB has “spread out.” Toledot, from 10:1, returns in לְתוֹלְדֹתָם.
• UncertainChapter 10 speaks of many languages (10:5, 20, 31), while 11:1 begins with שָׂפָה אֶחָת (“one language”). Chapter 10 may be placed first by theme, with 11:1–9 explaining how the languages arose, or the two may follow in time order, which is harder to fit with 11:1. No lean is taken here.

✓ Approved OSHB CC BY 4.0 BSB public domain BDB CC BY 4.0

Gen 10:32

exegeticalGen 10:32

The nations separated, and Babel

• SaysThese are the clans of Noah’s sons by their generations and nations, and from them the nations were separated on the earth after the flood; languages have already been named in the formulas, and Nimrod’s first city is bavel in Shinar.
• ImpliesAll nations descend from Noah’s one family, fulfilling 9:1 and 9:19.
• UncertainChapter 10 may stand before chapter 11 by theme or in time order; how languages in this chapter sit with 11:1 is open; Genesis 11:1–9 is pointed to and is not treated; no lean is taken.

✓ Approved BSB public domain OSHB CC BY 4.0 LXX (Swete) CC BY-SA 4.0 Calvin, Genesis (King) 1 public domain