And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan.
6 20. The Sons of Ham
6. The races described as “the sons of Ham” are first traced in the most southerly regions. If the name has any connexion with Kamt, the native name of Egypt, it is noticeable that it is here applied to the parent stock of peoples, not only in Egypt, but also in South Arabia, Phoenicia, and Syria. “Ham” is used as a synonym for Egypt in Psa 78:51; Psa 105:23; Psa 105:27; Psa 106:22.
Cush ] A name of frequent occurrence in the O.T. for Ethiopia and the Ethiopians, i.e. the country and the people between Egypt and Abyssinia; the “Kas,” or “Kes,” of the Egyptian inscriptions. Cf. on Gen 2:13.
Mizraim ] The regular Hebrew name for Egypt. Cf. the Assyrian Muur. The termination “ -aim ” denotes the dual number; and hence it has been supposed that “Mizraim” means the two “Mizrs,” i.e. Upper and Lower Egypt. But we cannot rely on this for certain. “Mizraim” is the Hebrew name for Egypt without necessarily containing an allusion to this geographical division. It is best not to press the grammatical meaning that may be claimed to underlie the popular pronunciation of a geographical name; cf. Ephraim, Naharaim, Jerusalaim (= Jerusalem).
Put ] Mentioned also in Eze 27:10; Eze 38:5; Jer 46:9; Nah 3:9. In these passages “Put” is mentioned together with the composite materials of an Egyptian mercenary army. It is generally identified with the Libyans. Pliny mentions a river “Fut” in Libya. In Nah 3:9 Put is associated with the “Lubim,” and with Ethiopia and Egypt. Punt occurs in Egyptian inscriptions for the African “littoral” of the Red Sea.
Canaan ] This is the land of Phoenicia, probably in its widest sense, like Kinai in the Tel-el-Amarna tablets (1400 b.c.). The Canaanites were Semites, and spoke a language which closely resembled Hebrew, and was more akin to Aramaean and Assyrian than Egyptian. Canaan was possibly associated by Israelite tradition with Egypt on account of the general similarity of its culture. Perhaps the Israelites, who regarded the Egyptians and the Canaanites as their two racial foes, and as the two corrupters of their faith, classed them together for that reason among “the sons of Ham.”
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
– XXXII. Ham
6. mtsraym, Mitsraim. metser, straitness, limit, pressure. matsor, distress, siege, mound, bulwark; Egypt. mtsraym, perhaps double Egypt, lower and upper. put, Put, troubled.
7. seba’, Seba, drinking (man, Ethiopian). sabtah, Sabtah. ramah, Ramah, shaking, trembling. sabteka’, Sabtekha. sheba’, Sheba, captive? dedan, Dedan, going slowly?
8. nmrod, Nimrod, strong, rebel.
10. babel, Babel; related: pour, mingle, confound. ‘erek, Erek, length. ‘akad, Akkad, fortress. kalneh, Kalneh. shnar, Shinar.
11. nyneveh, Nineveh, dwelling? rechobot ‘yr, Rechoboth ir, streets of a city. kelach, Kelach, completion, end, age.
12. resen, Resen, bridle, bit.
13. ludym, Ludim, born? anamym, Anamim, possession, sheep. lhabym, Lehabim, fiery, flaming? naptuchym, Naphtuchim, opening.
14. patrusym, Pathrusim. kasluchym, Kasluchim. pelshtym, Pelishtim, Allophuloi, related: break, scatter; Aethiopic migrate. kaptorym, Kaphtorim; related: crown, capital.
15. tsydon, Tsidon, hunting. chet, Cheth, breaking, affrighting.
16. yebusy, Jebusi; related: tread. ’emory, Emori; related: Say, be high. grgashy, Girgashi; related: clay, clod.
17. chvy, Chivvi; related: live. arqy, Arqi; related: gnaw, sting. syny, Sini; related: mud, clay.
18. ‘arvady, Arvadi; related: roam, ramble. ; tsemary, Tsemari; noun: wool; verb: cover. chamaty, Chamathi; noun: fastness; verb: guard.
19. gerar, Gerar; related: draw, saw, abide. ‘azah, Azzah, strong. sedom, Sodom; related: shut, stop. ‘amorah, Amorah; noun: sheaf; verb: bind. ‘admah, Admah; adjective: red; noun: soil. tseboym, Tseboim, gazelles; verb: go forth, shine. lesha, Lesha; verb: pierce, cleave.
Gen 10:6
And the sons of Ham. – Ham the youngest of the three brothers Gen 9:24, is placed here because he agrees with Japheth in becoming estranged from the true God, and because the last place as the more important is reserved for Shem. As the name of Japheth is preserved in the Iapetos of the Greeks, so Chain is supposed to appear in Chemi of the Coptic, cheemia of Plutarch, Chine of the Rosetta Stone, an old name of Egypt. This country is also called the land of Ham in Scripture Psa 78:51; Psa 105:23, Psa 105:27; Psa 106:22. But this term was of more comprehensive import, as we find some ancient inhabitants of a region in the south of Judah, said to have come from Ham 1Ch 4:40. Thirty primitive nations sprang from Ham. Of these, only four were immediate descendants.
(15) Kush has left traces of his name perhaps in the Caucasus, the Caspian, and the Cossaei of Khusistan. There is an allusion in Amos (Amo 9:7) to his migration to the land south of Egypt which bears his name. This name is preserved in Gheez, the name of the ancient language of the people, and some say even in Habesh. It is possible, that some of the Kushites went toward India. To Ethiopia, however, the name generally refers in Scripture. The Ethiopians were called by Homer (Odyssey I. 23), eschatoi andron, remotest of men.
(16) Mizraim is the ordinary name for Egypt in the Hebrew scriptures. The singular form, Mazor, is found in later books 2Ki 19:24; Isa 19:6; Isa 37:25.
(17) Put has with one consent been placed beyond Egypt, in the north of the continent of Africa. He is mentioned along with Lubim as the helper of Nineveh (Nab. Isa 3:9), and with Kush, as forming part of the army of Neko Jer 46:9. His descendants penetrated far westward. A river bearing the name of Phutes has been mentioned in Mauretania, and an inland country is designated by the name of Futa. The name may be preserved also in Buto, the capital of lower Egypt, on the Sebennytic mouth of the Nile.
(18) Kenaan settled in the country called after his name. There are some grounds for believing that this land was previously inhabited by Shemites, as the land was Shemitic. If so, the Kenaanites came in as intruders, and followed the language of their predecessors. But of this hereafter.
Gen 10:7
Kush had five sons and two grandsons, who were reckoned among the founders of nations.
(19) Seba is associated with Kush Isa 43:3; Isa 45:14. Josephus (Ant. I. 6, 2; II. 10, 2) places him in Meroe, a country almost insulated by the Nile and its branches, the Astapus (Blue Nile) and Astaboras (Atbarah).
(20) Havilah occurs as the name of a country in the antediluvian times. The present Havilah may refer to a tribe in Africa, called Avalitae, lying south of Bab-el-mandeb, which corresponds very well with the situation of Kush and Seba. This nation, however, may also have a representative in the Chaulotaioi of Strabo (xvi. 728), situated on the Persian Gulf, where some other Kushites were to be found. The fragments of this nation may have separated by migration, and left its name in both localities.
(21) Sabtah, Josephus finds in the Astaborans of Ethiopia, others in Sabota, a town in southwest Arabia.
(22) Ramah is traced in Rhegma on the southeast of Arabia.
(23) Sabteka is the third name, beginning with the same syllable. Such names are frequent from the Persian Gulf to the coast of Africa. Some find this place on the coast of Abyssinia, others in Samydake on the east side of the Persian Gulf. From Ramah are two tribes descended.
(24) Sheba, and (25) Dedan, lying in the south of Arabia or on the Persian Gulf. Daden, an island in the gulf, now Barhein, may represent the latter.
Gen 10:8-12
In this episode Gen 10:8-12, the author turns aside from the table of nations to notice the origin of the first great empires that were established on the earth. And Kush begat Nimrod. The author had before enumerated the sons of Kush, who were heads of nations. Here he singles out one of his sons or descendants, who became the first potentate of whom we have any record. He notices his qualities for rising to this position among men. He began to be a mighty one in the land. He was mighty in hunting, before the Lord. Hunting is a comprehensive term, indicating the taking of any species of animal, whether of the air, the sea, or the land. Nimrods distinction in this respect was so great as to become proverbial. The expression, before the Lord, intimates, not merely that the Lord was cognizant of his proceedings, for he knoweth all things, but that Nimrod himself made no secret his designs, pursued them with a bold front and a high hand, and at the same time was aware of the name and will of Yahweh. This defiant air gives a new character to his hunting, which seems to have extended even to man, as the term is sometimes so applied (1Sa 24:12 (1Sa 24:11), Jer 16:16). His name, which literally means we shall rebel, is in keeping with the practice of an arbitrary and violent control over mens persons and property.
Gen 10:10
The beginning or first seat and the extent of his kingdom among men are then described. It consists of four towns – Babel and Erek and Akkad and Kalneh, in the land of Shinar. The number four is characteristic of Nimrods kingdom. It is the mark of the four quarters of the earth, of universality in point of extent, and therefore of ambition. The site of Babel (Babylon) has been discovered in certain ruins near Hillah, chiefly on the opposite or eastern bank of the Euphrates, where there is a square mound called Babil by the natives. Erek has been traced also on the east bank of the Euphrates, about one hundred miles southeast of Babil, or half way between the city and the confluence of the rivers. It is the Orchoe of the Greeks, and the ruins now bear the name of Urka, or Warka. This name appears as Huruk on the cuneiform inscriptions of the place. Akkad, in the Septuagint. Archad, Col. Taylor finds in Akkerkoof, north of Babel, and about nine miles west of the Tigris, where it approaches the Euphrates. Here there is a hill or mound of ruins called Tel Nimrud. Rawlinson finds the name Akkad frequent in the inscriptions, and mentions Kingi Akkad as part of the kingdom of Urukh, but without identifying the site. Kalneh, Kalno, Isa 10:9; Kanneh, Eze 27:23, is regarded by Jerome, and the Targum of Jonathan, as the same with Ktesiphon on the Tigris, in the district of Chalonitis. Its ruins are near Takti Kesra. Rawlinson identifies it with Niffer, but without assigning satisfactory grounds. The sites of these towns fix that of Shinar, which is evidently the lower part of Mesopotamia, or, more precisely, the country west of the Tigris, and south of Is, or Hit, on the Euphrates, and Samara on the Tigris. It is otherwise called Babylonia and Chaldaea.
Gen 10:11, Gen 10:12
Out of that land came he forth to Asshur. – This may be otherwise rendered, out of that land came forth Asshur. The probabilities in favor of the former translations are the following: First. The discourse relates to Nimrod. Second. The words admit of it. Third. The word Asshur has occurred hitherto only as the name of a country. Fourth. Asshur, the person, was considerably older than Nimrod, and had probably given name to Asshur before Nimrods projects began. Fifth. Asshur would have been as great a man as Nimrod, if he had founded Nineveh and its contiguous towns; which does not appear from the text. Sixth. The beginning of his kingdom implies the addition to it contained in these verses. Seventh. And the phrases in the land of Shinar, out of that land, and the need of some definite locality for the second four cities, are in favor of the former rendering.
Asshur was a country intersected by the Tigris. It included the part of Mesopotamia north of Shinar, and the region between the Tigris and Mount Zagros. Its extension westward is undefined by any natural boundary, and seems to have varied at different times. Nineveh was a well-known city of antiquity, situated opposite Mosul on the Tigris. The country in which it was placed is called by Strabo Aturia, a variation seemingly of Asshur. Its remains are now marked by the names Nebbi-yunus and Koyunjik. Rehoboth-ir, the city broadway or market, has not been identified. Kelah is said to be now marked by the ruin called Nimrud. This lies on the left bank of the Tigris, near its confluence with the greater Zab, Its name seems to be preserved in the Calachene of Strabo. It was about twenty miles south of Nineveh. It is possible, however, so far as we can conjecture from conflicting authorities, that Kelah may be Kileh Sherghat, about fifty miles south of Mosul, on the right bank of the Tigris. Resen is placed by the text, between Nineveh and Kelah, and is therefore probably represented by Selamiyeh, a village about half way between Koyunjik and Nimrud. If Kelah, however, be Kileh Sherghat, Resen will coincide with Nimrud. That is the great city.
This refers most readily to Resen, and will suit very well if it be Nimrud, which was evidently extensive. It may, however, refer to Nineveh. This completion of Nimrods kingdom, we see, contains also four cities. The Babylonian and Assyrian monarchies were akin in origin, and allied in their history and in their fall. They were too near each other to be independent, and their mutual jealousies at length brought about the ruin of the northern capital. A Kushite, and therefore a Hamite, founded this first world-monarchy or tyranny. Another Hamite power arose simultaneously in Egypt. A branch of the Kushites seem to have gone eastward, and spread over India. But another branch spread through the South of Arabia, and, crossing into Africa, came into contact, sometimes into alliance, and sometimes into collision with the Egyptian monarchy. The eastern empire is noticed particularly, because it intruded into Shemitic ground, and aimed continually at extending its sway over the nations descended from Shem.
Gen 10:13-14
Mizraim has seven sons, from whom are derived eight nations.
(26) the Ludim are probably mentioned in Isa 66:19, in connection with Tarshish and Put; in Jer 46:9, in connection with Kush and Put; and in Eze 27:10; Eze 30:5, in connection with Put. In all these instances the name is in the singular, but in our text in the plural, expressly denoting the nation of which Lud was the progenitor. The Ludim were distinguished for the use of the bow. They were, doubtless, an African tribe, related to the Egyptians, and well known to the prophets, though their country cannot now be pointed out. Josephus intimates that they were destroyed, as well as other tribes descended from Mizraim, in the Ethiopic war of the time of Moses; but they still existed in the times of Ezekiel. Movers finds them in the Lewatah, a tribe of Berbers. Others place them in Mauretania. Pliny mentions a river Laud in Tingitana.
(27) the Anamim are not elsewhere mentioned.
(28) the Lehabim are generally identified with the Lubim 2Ch 12:3; 2Ch 16:8; Dan 2:43; Nah 3:9, who are introduced in connection with the Kushim. They are probably the Libyans, who lay to the west of Egypt, and, extending from the Mediterranean indefinitely to the south, came into contact with the Kushites of Abyssinia.
(29) the Naphtuhim Bochart places in Nephthys, near Pelusium on the Lake Sirbonis. Others find a trace of them in Napata, a town of Meroe. This agrees with the indications of Josephus and the Targum of Jonathan.
(30) the Pathrusim have their place in Pathros, a name of upper Egypt or the Thebais. It is arranged by Isaiah Isa 2:11 between Egypt and Kush.
(31) the Kasluhim are supposed by some to be represented by the Colchians, whom Herodotus (ii. 104) traces to Egypt. It is possible the Colchians may have been a colony from them. But their original seat must have been somewhere on the coast of the Red Sea.
(32) Philistim, who came from (31). The Philistines dwelt on the coast of the Mediterranean, from the border of Egypt to Joppa. They had five principal cities, – Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron. They gave the name peleshet, Pelesheth, to the whole of Kenaan, from which is derived the Greek name Palaistinee Palaestina. They are stated by the text to be a colony or offshoot of the Kasluhim.
(33) Kaphtorim. From Jer 47:4, it appears that Kaphtor was a coastland. From Amo 9:7, we learn that the Philistines came from this land. Hence, we conclude that the Kaphtorim dwelt on the coast of the Red Sea, adjacent to the Kasluchim, and left their name, perhaps, in Koptos and Aiguptos. Cappadocia, Crete, and Cyprus only slightly resemble the name, and have no other recommendation. The Kasluhim may have been their southern neighbors, and thus the Philistines may have occupied a part of Kaphtor, before their settlement on the coast of the Great Sea, within the borders of Kenaan, where they would, of course, be another tribe ( allophuloi). This account of these descendants of Mizraim agrees best with the hint of Josephus, that many of them bordered on the Ethiopians; and perished, or perhaps were forced to migrate, in the Ethiopic or other wars (i. 6, 3). Thus, it appears that the descendants of Mizraim were settled in Africa, with the exception of the Philistines, who migrated into the country to which they gave their name.
Gen 10:15-19
From Kenaan are descended eleven nations:
(34) Zidon is styled his first-born. The name is retained in the well-known town on the coast of Phoenicia, which is accordingly of the highest antiquity among the cities of that region. The Sidonians were reckoned co-extensive with the Phoenicians, and are mentioned by Homer (Iliad 23:743; Odyssey 4:618).
(35) Heth. This tribe dwelt about Hebron and in the mountains around, and perhaps still further north in the districts extending toward the Euphrates Gen 23:3; Num 13:29; Jos 1:4. Esau took wives from the Hittites Gen 26:34-35, and some part of the nation existed even after the captivity Ezr 9:1.
(36) the Jebusite has his chief seat in and around Jerusalem, which was called Jebus, from his chief; and the citadel of which was wrested from him only in the time of David 2Sa 5:7.
(37) the Amorite was one of the most important and extensive tribes of Kenaan. Five kings of this nation dwelt in the mountains afterward occupied by Judah Gen 14:7, Gen 14:13; Num 13:29; Jos 10:5, and two on the east of the Jordon, in Heshbon and Bashan, north of Moab Num 21:13; Deu 4:47. The eastern Amorites were conquered under Moses, the western under Joshua. A remnant of them were made bondsmen by Solomon 1Ki 9:20. They survived the captivity Ezr 9:1.
(38) the Girgashite seems to have lain on the west of the Jordan, and the name may be preserved in the reading Gergesenon, of Mat 8:28. The town of the Gergesenes is supposed to have been at the southeast of the lake of Gennesaret Gen 15:21; Deu 7:1; Jos 24:11.
(39) the Hivite was found at Shalem, Gibeon, and also at the foot of Hermon and Antilibanus Gen 34:2; Jos 9:7; Jos 11:3; Jdg 3:3. The former were also classed under the Amorites Gen 48:22; 2Sa 21:2. With the exception of four cities of the Gibeonites, they were conquered by Joshua Jos 9:17; Jos 11:3, Jos 11:19.
(40) the Arkite probably dwelt near a town called Arke or Caesarea Libani, lying some miles north of Tripolis, at the foot of Lebanon. Its ruins are still extant at Tel Arka.
(41) the Sinite is supposed to have dwelt in Sinna, a town mentioned by Strabo, called Sine by Jerome, and Syn in the fifteenth century (Strab. xvi. 2, 18; Hieron. Quaest. in Gen., Breitenbach, Travels, p. 47), not far from Arke.
(42) the Arvadite dwelt in Arvad, Aradus, now Ruad, a Phoenician town on an island of the same name.
(43) the Zemarite has been traced in the town Simura, the ruins of which were found by Shaw at the western foot of Lebanon, under the name of Sumra.
(44) the Hamathite was the inhabitant of Hamath, called Hamath Rabbah (the great), by the Greeks Epiphaneia, and at present Hamah. It is situated on the Orontes, and held an important place in the history of Israel. The land of Hamath was of great extent, including the town of Riblab 2Ki 25:21 and reaching even to Antioch. The entrance of Hamath bo’ chamat, the northern part of the valley between Lebanon and Antilibanus, formed the utmost boundary of Palestine to the north Num 13:21; Jos 13:5; 1Ki 8:65. Its king was in alliance with David 2Sa 8:10.
And afterward were the families of the Kenaanites spread abroad. – After the confusion of tongues were these nations formed; and after the formation of these Kenaanic tribes occurred the dispersion spoken of in the text. We do not know what was the original seat of the Kenaanites; or whether the dispersion here mentioned was violent or not. Its primary result, however, seems to have been their settlement in the country of which the boundaries are next described. It is not improbable that this land was allotted to a portion of the Shemites, and occupied by them when the Kenaanites entered and established themselves among them Gen 40:15. The Kenaanites probably had the same grasping tendency which displayed itself in Nimrod, their kinsman; and therefore seized upon the country with a high hand, and called it after their name. Their expulsion, on the conquest of the land by the Israelites, and their commercial activity, led to a still further dispersion; as colonies were sent out by them to the distant shores of the Mediterranean, to Asia Minor, Greece, Africa, Spain, and even the British Isles. But it can scarcely be supposed that reference is here made to these subsequent events in their history.
Gen 10:19
The border of Kenaan, as here described, extends along the coast from Zidon in the direction of (as thou goest unto) Gerar, which lay between Kadesh and Shur Gen 20:1, and has its name preserved in the Wady el-Jerur, which is nearly in a line connecting Ain el-Weibeh and Suez. It turns at Azzah (Gaza), and passes to the cities of the plain, of which the later history is so memorable. Its terminating point is Lesha, which is generally supposed to be Callirrhoe, to the northeast of the Dead Sea, so called from the hot springs which form a stream flowing into the lake. It is possible, however, that Lesha is only another variation of Laish and Leshem, a city belonging to the Sidonians, and situated near the sources of the Jordan. Thus, we have the western, southern, and eastern border briefly given in this verse. It is manifest, however, that they did not confine themselves to these limits, but afterward spread abroad into the adjacent regions. The Hittite went to the northeast; the Amorite crossed the Jordan, and occupied a great part of Peraea; the Hivite, the Arkite, the Sinite, the Arvadite, the Zemarite, and the Hamathite stretched far north of the boundary.
Gen 10:20
The list of the Hamites is summed up Gen 10:20 in the usual form. It appears that Ham occupied Africa and a certain portion of Asia along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean, in the south of Arabia, about the lower valley of the Frat and Diljah, and perhaps along the south of Asia. In extent of territory, Japheth ultimately far exceeded, as he occupied most of Asia and almost all of Europe and the New World. Ham is next to him, as he inherited Africa and a portion of Asia. Some of his descendants have also been forcibly transplanted to the New Hemisphere. But in point of political contact with Shem, Japheth, in early times, sinks comparatively into the shade, and Ham assumes the prominent place. Babylon, Kush, Egypt, and Kenaan are the powers which come into contact with Shem, in that central line of human history which is traced in the Bible. Hence, it is that in the table of nations special attention is directed to Kush, Nimrod, Mizraim, and to the tribes and borders of Kenaan.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 6. Cush] Who peopled the Arabic nome near the Red Sea in Lower Egypt. Some think the Ethiopians descended from him.
Mizraim] This family certainly peopled Egypt; and both in the East and in the West, Egypt is called Mezr and Mezraim.
Phut] Who first peopled an Egyptian nome or district, bordering on Libya.
Canaan.] He who first peopled the land so called, known also by the name of the Promised Land.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The posterity of
Ham were disposed into the parts south from Babel, both in Asia and Africa. See 1Ch 4:40; Psa 105:27.
Cush was father both of the Ethiopians and the Arabians; who, as it seems, sent forth a colony from themselves more eastward, even near to India. See Gen 2:13; 2Ki 19:9; Job 28:19; Jer 13:23; 46:9.
Mizraim was father of the Egyptians, who are generally known in Scripture by that name.
Of
Phut sprung the Libyans, among whom is the river Put, and the Moors. See Jer 46:9; Eze 27:10; 30:5; Nah 3:9.
Canaan was the cursed parent of that accursed race of the Canaanites, well known in Scripture, Gen 10:15.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
6. sons of Hamemigratedsouthward, and their settlements were: Cush in Arabia, Canaan in thecountry known by his name, and Mizraim in Egypt, Upper and Lower. Itis generally thought that his father accompanied him and personallysuperintended the formation of the settlement, whence Egypt wascalled “the land of Ham” [Psa 105:23;Psa 105:27; Psa 106:22].
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And the sons of Ham,…. Next to the sons of Japheth, the sons of Ham are reckoned; these, Josephus z says, possessed the land from Syria, and the mountains of Amanus and Lebanon; laying hold on whatever was towards the sea, claiming to themselves the countries unto the ocean, whose names, some of them, are entirely lost, and others so greatly changed and deflected into other tongues, that they can scarcely be known, and few whose names are preserved entire; and the same observation will hold good of others. Four of the sons of Ham are mentioned,
Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan; the first of these, Cush, Josephus a says, has suffered no loss by time; for the Ethiopians, whose prince he was, are to this day by themselves, and all in Asia, called Chusaeans: but though this word Cush, as used in Scripture, is generally rendered by us Ethiopia, this must not be understood of Ethiopia in Africa, but in Arabia; and indeed is always to be understood of one part of Arabia, and which was near to the land of Judea; so Moses’s wife is called an Ethiopian, when she was an Arabian, or of Midian, Nu 12:1 and Chusan and Midian are mentioned together, Hab 3:7 see 2Ki 19:9 2Ch 14:9 and Bochart b has shown, by various arguments, that the land of Cush was Arabia; and so the Targum of Jonathan interprets it here Arabia. There was a city called Cutha in Erac, a province in the country of Babylon c, where Nimrod the son of Cush settled, which probably was called so from his father’s name. Here the eastern writers say d Abraham was born, and is the same place mentioned in 2Ki 17:24. The second son of Ham was Mizraim, the same with the Misor of Sanchoniatho e, and the Menes of Herodotus f, the first king of Egypt, and the builder of the city of Memphis in Egypt, called by the Turks to this day Mitzir g. Mitzraim is a name by which Egypt is frequently called in Scripture, and this man was the father of the Egyptians; and because Egypt was inhabited by a son of Ham, it is sometimes called the land of Ham,
Ps 105:23. The word is of the dual number, and serves to express Egypt by, which was divided into two parts, lower and upper Egypt. Josephus says h, we call Egypt, Mestres, and all the Egyptians that inhabit it, Mestraeans; so the country is called by Cedrenus i, Mestre; and Kairo, a principal city in it, is to this day by the Arabians called Al-messer, as Dr. Shaw k relates. The third son of Ham is Phut; of whom Josephus l says, that he founded Libya, calling the inhabitants of it after his name, Phuteans; and observes, that there is a river in the country of the Moors of his name; and that many of the Greek historians, who make mention of this river, also make mention of a country adjacent to it, called Phute: mention is made of this river as in Mauritania, both by Pliny m and Ptolemy n and by the latter of a city called Putea: this Phut is the Apollo Pythius of the Heathens, as some think. The last son of Ham is Canaan, the father of the Canaanites, a people well known in Scripture. Concerning these sons of Ham, there is a famous fragment of Eupolemus preserved in Eusebius o; and is this;
“the Babylonians say, that the first was Belus, called Cronus or Saturn (that is, Noah), and of him was begotten another Belus and Chanaan (it should be read Cham), and he (i.e. Ham) begat Chanaan, the father of the Phoenicians; and of him another son, Chus, was begotten, whom the Greeks call Asbolos, the father of the Ethiopians, and the brother of Mestraim, the father of the Egyptians.”
z Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 1. c. 6. sect 1.) a Ibid. b Phaleg. l. 4. c. 2. c Vid. Hyde Hist. Relig. Pers. c. 2. p. 39, 40. d Vid. Hyde Hist. Relig. Pers. c. 2. p. 72. e Apud Euseb. Evangel. Praepar. l. 1. p. 36. f Enterpe sive, l. 2. c. 4. 99. g See Cumberland’s Sanchoniatho, p. 59. h Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 1. c. 6. sect 1.) i Apud Grotium de vera Christ. Relig. l. 1. p. 8. & Ainsworth in loc. k Travels, ch. 3. p. 294. Ed. 2. l Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 1. c. 6. sect 1.) m Nat. Hist. l. 5. c. 1. n Geograph. l. 4. c. 1, 3. o Praepar. Evangel. l. 9. c. 17. p. 419.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Descendants of Ham. – Cush: the Ethiopians of the ancients, who not only dwelt in Africa, but were scattered over the whole of Southern Asia, and originally, in all probability, settled in Arabia, where the tribes that still remained, mingled with Shemites, and adopted a Shemitic language. Mizraim is Egypt: the dual form was probably transferred from the land to the people, referring, however, not to the double strip, i.e., the two strips of land into which the country is divided by the Nile, but to the two Egypts, Upper and Lower, two portions of the country which differ considerably in their climate and general condition. The name is obscure, and not traceable to any Semitic derivation; for the term in Isa 19:6, etc., is not to be regarded as an etymological interpretation, but as a significant play upon the word. The old Egyptian name is Kemi (Copt. Chmi, Kme), which, Plutarch says, is derived from the dark ash-grey colour of the soil covered by the slime of the Nile, but which it is much more correct to trace to Ham, and to regard as indicative of the Hamitic descent of its first inhabitants. Put denotes the Libyans in the wider sense of the term (old Egypt. Phet; Copt. Phaiat), who were spread over Northern Africa as far as Mauritania, where even in the time of Jerome a river with the neighbouring district still bore the name of Phut; cf. Bochart, Phal. iv. 33. On Canaan, see Gen 9:25.
Gen 10:7 Descendants of Cush. Seba: the inhabitants of Mero; according to Knobel, the northern Ethiopians, the ancient Blemmyer, and modern Bisharin. Havilah: the or of the ancients, the Macrobian Ethiopians in modern Habesh. Sabtah: the Ethiopians inhabiting Hadhramaut, whose chief city was called Sabatha or Sabota. Raamah: , the inhabitants of a city and bay of that name in south-eastern Arabia ( Oman). Sabtecah: the Ethiopians of Caramania, dwelling to the east of the Persian Gulf, where the ancients mention a seaport town and a river . The descendants of Raamah, Sheba and Dedan, are to be sought in the neighbourhood of the Persian Gulf, “from which the Sabaean and Dedanitic Cushites spread to the north-west, where they formed mixed tribes with descendants of Joktan and Abraham.” See notes on Gen 10:28 and Gen 25:3.
Gen 10:8-9 Besides the tribes already named, there sprang from Cush Nimrod, the founder of the first imperial kingdom, the origin of which is introduced as a memorable event into the genealogy of the tribes, just as on other occasions memorable events are interwoven with the genealogical tables (cf. 1Ch 2:7, 1Ch 2:23; 1Ch 4:22-23, 1Ch 4:39-41).
(Note: These analogies overthrow the assertion that the verses before us have been interpolated by the Jehovist into the Elohistic document; since the use of the name Jehovah is no proof of difference of authorship, nor the use of for , as the former also occurs in Gen 10:13, Gen 10:15, Gen 10:24, and Gen 10:26.)
Nimrod “ began to be a mighty one in the earth.” is used here, as in Gen 6:4, to denote a man who makes himself renowned for bold and daring deeds. Nimrod was mighty in hunting, and that in opposition to Jehovah ( , lxx); not before Jehovah in the sense of, according to the purpose and will of Jehovah, still less, like in Jon 3:3, or in Act 7:20, in a simply superlative sense. The last explanation is not allowed by the usage of the language, the second is irreconcilable with the context. The name itself, Nimrod from , “we will revolt,” points to some violent resistance to God. It is so characteristic that it can only have been given by his contemporaries, and thus have become a proper name.
(Note: This was seen even by Perizonius ( Origg. Babyl. p. 183), who says, “ Crediderim hominem hunc utpote venatorem ferocem et sodalium comitatu succinctum semper in ore habuisse et ingeminasse, ad reliquos in rebellionem excitandos, illud nimrod, nimrod, h.e. rebellemus, rebellemus, atque inde postea ab aliis, etiam ab ipso Mose, hoc vocabalo tanquam proprio nomine designatium ,” and who supports his opinion by other similar instances in history.)
In addition to this, Nimrod as a mighty hunter founded a powerful kingdom; and the founding of this kingdom is shown by the verb with consec. to have been the consequence or result of his strength in hunting, so that the hunting was most intimately connected with the establishment of the kingdom. Hence, if the expression “a mighty hunter” relates primarily to hunting in the literal sense, we must add to the literal meaning the figurative signification of a “hunter of men” (“trapper of men by stratagem and force,” Herder); Nimrod the hunter became a tyrant, a powerful hunter of men. This course of life gave occasion to the proverb, “like Nimrod, a mighty hunter against the Lord,” which immortalized not his skill in hunting beasts, but the success of his hunting of men in the establishment of an imperial kingdom by tyranny and power. But if this be the meaning of the proverb, “in the face of Jehovah ” can only mean in defiance of Jehovah, as Josephus and the Targums understand it. And the proverb must have arisen when other daring and rebellious men followed in Nimrod’s footsteps, and must have originated with those who saw in such conduct an act of rebellion against the God of salvation, in other words, with the possessors of the divine promises of grace.
(Note: This view of Nimrod and his deeds is favoured by the Eastern legend, which not only makes him the builder of the tower of Babel, which was to reach to heaven, but has also placed him among the constellations of heaven as a heaven-storming giant, who was chained by God in consequence. Vid., Herzog’s Real-Encycl. Art. Nimrod.)
Gen 10:10 “ And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, ” the well-known city of Babylon on the Euphrates, which from the time of Nimrod downwards has been the symbol of the power of the world in its hostility to God; – “ and Erech ” ( , lxx), one of the seats of the Cutheans (Samaritans), Ezr 4:9, no doubt Orcho, situated, according to Rawlinson, on the site of the present ruins of Warka, thirty hours’ journey to the south-east of Babel; – and Accad ( , lxx), a place not yet determined, though, judging from its situation between Erech and Calneh, it was not far from either, and Pressel is probably right in identifying it with the ruins of Niffer, to the south of Hillah; – “ and Calneh: ” this is found by early writers on the cite of Ctesiphon, now a great heap of ruins, twenty hours north-east of Babel. These four cities were in the land of Shinar, i.e., of the province of Babylon, on the Lower Euphrates and Tigris.
Gen 10:11-12 From Shinar Nimrod went to Assyria is the accusative of direction), the country on the east of the Tigris, and there built four cities, or probably a large imperial city composed of the four cities, or probably a large imperial city composed of the four cities named. As three of these cities – Rehoboth-Ir, i.e., city markets (not “street-city,” as Bunsen interprets it), Chelach, and Resen – are not met with again, whereas Nineveh was renowned in antiquity for its remarkable size (vid., Jon 3:3), the words “ this is the great city ” must apply not to Resen, but to Nineveh. This is grammatically admissible, if we regard the last three names as subordinate to the first, taking as the sign of subordination ( Ewald, 339a), and render the passage thus: “he built Nineveh, with Rehoboth-Ir, Cheloch, and Resen between Nineveh and Chelach, this is the great city.” From this it follows that the four places formed a large composite city, a large range of towns, to which the name of the (well-known) great city of Nineveh was applied, in distinction from Nineveh in the more restricted sense, with which Nimrod probably connected the other three places so as to form one great capital, possibly also the chief fortress of his kingdom on the Tigris. These four cities most likely correspond to the ruins on the east of the Tigris, which Layard has so fully explored, viz., Nebbi Ynus and Kouyunjik opposite to Mosul, Khorsabad five hours to the north, and Nimrud eight hours to the south of Mosul.
(Note: This supposition of Rawlinson, Grote, M. v. Niebuhr, Knobel, Delitzsch and others, has recently been adopted by Ewald also.)
Gen 10:13-14 From Mizraim descended Ludim: not the Semitic Ludim (Gen 10:22), but, according to Movers, the old tribe of the Lewtah dwelling on the Syrtea, according to others, the Moorish tribes collectively. Whether the name is connected with the Laud flumen ( Plin. v. 1) is uncertain; in any case Knobel is wrong in thinking of Ludian Shemites, whether Hyksos, who forced their way to Egypt, or Egyptianized Arabians. Anamim: inhabitants of the Delta, according to Knobel. He associates the Enemetiei’m of the lxx with Sanemhit, or Northern Egypt: “ tsanemhit , i.e., pars, regio septentrionis .” Lehabim (= Lubim, Nah 3:9) are, according to Josephus, the or , not the great Libyan tribe ( Phut, v. 6), which Nahum distinguishes from them, but the Libyaegyptii of the ancients. Naphtuchim: in Knobel’s opinion, the Middle Egyptians, as the nation of Pthah, the god of Memphis: but Bochart is more probably correct in associating the name with in Plut. de Is., the northern coast line of Egypt. Pathrusim: inhabitants of Pathros, , Egypt. Petrs, land of the south; i.e., Upper Egypt, the Thebais of the ancients. Casluchim: according to general admission the Colchians, who descended from the Egyptians (Herod. ii. 104), though the connection of the name with Cassiotis is uncertain. “ From thence (i.e., from Casluchim, which is the name of both people and country) proceeded the Philistines.” Philistim, lxx or , lit., emigrants or immigrants from the Ethiopic fallasa . This is not at variance with Amo 9:7 and Jer 47:4, according to which the Philistines came from Caphtor, so that there is no necessity to transpose the relative clause after Philistim. The two statements may be reconciled on the simple supposition that the Philistian nation was primarily a Casluchian colony, which settled on the south-eastern coast line of the Mediterranean between Gaza (Gen 10:19) and Pelusium, but was afterwards strengthened by immigrants from Caphtor, and extended its territory by pressing out the Avim (Deu 2:23, cf. Jos 13:3). Caphtorim: according to the old Jewish explanation, the Cappadocians; but according to Lakemacher’s opinion, which has been revived by Ewald, etc., the Cretans. This is not decisively proved, however, either by the name Cherethites, given to the Philistines in 1Sa 30:14; Zep 2:5, and Eze 25:16, or by the expression “isle of Caphtor” in Jer 47:4.
Gen 10:15-20 From Canaan descended “ Zidon his first-born, and Heth.” Although Zidon occurs in Gen 10:19 and throughout the Old Testament as the name of the oldest capital of the Phoenicians, here it must be regarded as the name of a person, not only because of the apposition “ his first-born, ” and the verb , “begat,” but also because the name of a city does not harmonize with the names of the other descendants of Canaan, the analogy of which would lead us to expect the nomen gentile “ Sidonian ” (Jdg 3:3, etc.); and lastly, because the word Zidon, from to hunt, to catch, is not directly applicable to a sea-port and commercial town, and there are serious objections upon philological grounds to Justin’s derivation, “ quam a piscium ubertate Sidona appellaverunt, nam piscem Phoenices Sidon vocant ” ( var. hist. 18, 3). Heth is also the name of a person, from which the term Hittite (Gen 25:9; Num 13:29), equivalent to “ sons of Heth ” (Gen 23:5), is derived. “ The Jebusite: ” inhabitants of Jebus, afterwards called Jerusalem. “ The Amorite: ” not the inhabitants of the mountain or heights, for the derivation from , “ summit, ” is not established, but a branch of the Canaanites, descended from Emor (Amor), which was spread far and wide over the mountains of Judah and beyond the Jordan in the time of Moses, so that in Gen 15:16; Gen 48:22, all the Canaanites are comprehended by the name. “ The Girgashites, ” (lxx), are also mentioned in Gen 15:21; Deu 7:1, and Jos 24:11; but their dwelling-place is unknown, as the reading in Mat 8:28 is critically suspicious. “ The Hivites ” dwelt in Sichem (Gen 34:2), at Gibeon (Jos 9:7), and at the foot of Hermon (Jos 11:3); the meaning of the word is uncertain. “ The Arkites: ” inhabitants of , to the north of Tripolis at the foot of Lebanon, the ruins of which still exist (vid., Robinson). “ The Sinite: ” the inhabitants of Sin or Sinna, a place in Lebanon not yet discovered. “ The Arvadite, ” or Aradians, occupied from the eighth century before Christ, the small rocky island of Arados to the north of Tripolis. “ The Zemarite: ” the inhabitants of Simyra in Eleutherus. “ The Hamathite: ” the inhabitants or rather founders of Hamath on the most northerly border of Palestine (Num 13:21; Num 34:8), afterwards called Epiphania, on the river Orontes, the present Hamh, with 100,000 inhabitants. The words in Gen 10:18, “ and afterward were the families of the Canaanites spread abroad, ” mean that they all proceeded from one local centre as branches of the same tribe, and spread themselves over the country, the limits of which are given in two directions, with evident reference to the fact that it was afterwards promised to the seed of Abraham for its inheritance, viz., from north to south, – “ from Sidon, in the direction (lit., as thou comest) towards Gerar (see Gen 20:1), unto Gaza,” the primitive Avvite city of the Philistines (Deu 2:23), now called Guzzeh, at the S.W. corner of Palestine, – and thence from west to east, in the direction towards Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim (see Gen 19:24) to Lesha, ” i.e., Calirrhoe, a place with sulphur baths, on the eastern side of the Dead Sea, in Wady Serka Maein ( Seetzen and Ritter).
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
6 And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan. 7 And the sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabtecha: and the sons of Raamah; Sheba, and Dedan. 8 And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. 9 He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said; Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD. 10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. 11 Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah, 12 And Resen between Nineveh and Calah: the same is a great city. 13 And Mizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim, 14 And Pathrusim, and Casluhim, (out of whom came Philistim,) and Caphtorim.
That which is observable and improvable in these verses is the account here given of Nimrod, v. 8-10. He is here represented as a great man in his day: He began to be a mighty one in the earth, that is, whereas those that went before him were content to stand upon the same level with their neighbours, and though every man bore rule in his own house yet no man pretended any further, Nimrod’s aspiring mind could not rest here; he was resolved to tower above his neighbours, not only to be eminent among them, but to lord it over them. The same spirit that actuated the giants before the flood (who became mighty men, and men of renown, ch. vi. 4), now revived in him, so soon was that tremendous judgment which the pride and tyranny of those mighty men brought upon the world forgotten. Note, There are some in whom ambition and affectation of dominion seem to be bred in the bone; such there have been and will be, notwithstanding the wrath of God often revealed from heaven against them. Nothing on this side hell will humble and break the proud spirits of some men, in this like Lucifer, Isa 14:14; Isa 14:15. Now,
I. Nimrod was a great hunter; with this he began, and for this became famous to a proverb. Every great hunter is, in remembrance of him, called a Nimrod. 1. Some think he did good with his hunting, served his country by ridding it of the wild beasts which infested it, and so insinuated himself into the affections of his neighbours, and got to be their prince. Those that exercise authority either are, or at least would be called, benefactors, Luke xxii. 25. 2. Others think that under pretence of hunting he gathered men under his command, in pursuit of another game he had to play, which was to make himself master of the country and to bring them into subjection. He was a mighty hunter, that is, he was a violent invader of his neighbours’ rights and properties, and a persecutor of innocent men, carrying all before him, and endeavouring to make all his own by force and violence. He thought himself a mighty prince, but before the Lord (that is, in God’s account) he was but a mighty hunter. Note, Great conquerors are but great hunters. Alexander and Cesar would not make such a figure in scripture-history as they do in common history; the former is represented in prophecy but as a he-goat pushing, Dan. viii. 5. Nimrod was a mighty hunter against the Lord, so the LXX; that is, (1.) He set up idolatry, as Jeroboam did, for the confirming of his usurped dominion. That he might set up a new government, he set up a new religion upon the ruin of the primitive constitution of both. Babel was the mother of harlots. Or, (2.) He carried on his oppression and violence in defiance of God himself, daring Heaven with his impieties, as if he and his huntsmen could out-brave the Almighty, and were a match for the Lord of hosts and all his armies. As if it were a small thing to weary men, he thinks to weary my God also, Isa. vii. 13.
II. Nimrod was a great ruler: The beginning of his kingdom was Babel, v. 10. Some way or other, by arts or arms, he got into power, either being chosen to it or forcing his way to it; and so laid the foundations of a monarchy, which was afterwards a head of gold, and the terror of the mighty, and bade fair to be universal. It does not appear that he had any right to rule by birth; but either his fitness for government recommended him, as some think, to an election, or by power and policy he advanced gradually, and perhaps insensibly, into the throne. See the antiquity of civil government, and particularly that form of it which lodges the sovereignty in a single person. If Nimrod and his neighbours began, other nations soon learned to incorporate under one head for their common safety and welfare, which, however it began, proved so great a blessing to the world that things were reckoned to go ill indeed when there was no king in Israel.
III. Nimrod was a great builder. Probably he was architect in the building of Babel, and there he began his kingdom; but, when his project to rule all the sons of Noah was baffled by the confusion of tongues, out of that land he went forth into Assyria (so the margin reads it, v. 11) and built Nineveh, &c., that, having built these cities, he might command them and rule over them. Observe, in Nimrod, the nature of ambition. 1. It is boundless. Much would have more, and still cries, Give, give. 2. It is restless. Nimrod, when he had four cities under his command, could not be content till he had four more. 3. It is expensive. Nimrod will rather be at the charge of rearing cities than not have the honour of ruling them. The spirit of building is the common effect of a spirit of pride. 4. It is daring, and will stick at nothing. Nimrod’s name signifies rebellion, which (if indeed he did abuse his power to the oppression of his neighbours) teaches us that tyrants to men are rebels to God, and their rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Verses 6-14:
3) The four sons of Ham include Cush, Mizraim, Phut, and Canaan.
Cush: Ethiopia, a territory much larger than the modern country of that name. Included is Arabia and Abyssinia. Some historians believe the original settlement of Cush was on the Upper Nile, from where his descendants migrated to Arabia, Babylonia, and as far as India. Josephus records that Ethiopia was called Cush. The ancient Egyptian name of Ethiopia was Keesh. The Scriptures describe Cushites as of great statute (Isa 14:14) and black (Jer 13:23).
Mizraim: in the Hebrew text, a dual form, likely representing both Upper and Lower Egypt. The ancient Egyptian name is Kemi, or Chemi, likely a reference to Ham.
Phut: denotes the Lybians of North Africa. The ancient boundaries of their territory were likely much greater than modern Lybia.
Canaan: Ham’s youngest son, whose descendants settled in the region along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean. The most famous of the sons of Cush was Nimrod. His name reflects his character and that of his descendants. It is from maradh, to rebel. Monarchism as a form of government began under Nimrod. Society at that time was patriarchal, with each clan, tribe, or family acknowledging as ruler its own natural head. Under Nimrod, many different clans or tribes recognized the rule of one not the natural head but who acquired rulership by conquest. This is monarchism. Tradition pictures Nimrod as an oppressor of people’s liberties and a rebel against Divine authority. Josephus identifies Nimrod as the instigator of the Tower of Babel.
Nimrod gained the reputation of a “mighty one,” gibbor, a man of fame; in the land where he lived. He as a “mighty hunter,” not only of wild beasts but of men. “Before the Lord,” denotes a spirit of defiance in the sight of Jehovah. His kingdom began with Babylon, and rapidly expanded to include cities to the south, north, and northeast. He pushed Asshur, son of Shem, from that territory northward, where he (Asshur) founded Nineveh which became the capital of Assyria, as well as other cities nearby.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
6. The Line of Ham (Gen. 10:6-20).
6 And the sons of Ham: Cush, and Mizraim, and Put, and Canaan. 7 And the sons of Cush: Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabteca; and the sons of Raamab: Sheba, and Dedan. 8 And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. 9 He was a mighty hunter before Jehovah; wherefore it is said, Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before Jehovah. 10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. 11 Out of that land he went forth into Assyria, and builded Nineveh, and Rehoboth-lr, and Calah, 12 and Resen between Nineveh and Calah (the same is the great city). 13 And Mizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim, 14 and Pathrusim, and Casluhim (whence went forth the Philistines), and Caphtorim. 15 And Canaan begat Sidon his first-born, and Heth, 16 and the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgashite, 17 and the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite, and the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite: and afterward were the families of the Canaanite spread abroad. 19 And the border of the Canaanite was from Sidon, as thou goest toward Gerar, unto Gaza; as thou goest toward Sodom and Gomorrah and Admah and eboiim, unto Lasha. 20 These are the sons of Ham, after their families, after their tongues, in their lands, in their nations.
Cush: Nubia, the region below the First Cataract of the Nile, misnamed Ethiopia by the Greeks. Seba: distinguished from Sheba by spelling; early geographers mention a city named Saba on the African coast of the Red Sea, but the identification is uncertain. Havilah: in central Arabia. Cf. Gen. 10:29, under the Line of Shem. Sabtah: definite location impossible as yet: Greek geographer Pliny mentions Sabota, a name that corresponds to Shabwat of the South Arabian inscriptions, on southeast coast of Arabia or on African Coast of Red Sea. Raamah: probably in southeastern Arabia. Two divisions of Raamah were Sheba, the land of the Sabaeans in Yemen (cf. Gen. 10:28), and Dedan, probably a people of northwestern Arabia along the Red Sea. Nimrod, the mighty hunter (see infra).
Mizraim: Egypt, extending northeast almost to Gaza. Ludim: in North Africa (served as bowmen in the armies of Egypt and Tyre [Isa. 66:19; Eze. 27:10; Eze. 30:5]; probably not the Ludim [Lydians] of the Line of Shem [Gen. 10:22].) Lehabim: probably Lybians, on southern shore of the Mediterranean, west of Egypt, Naphtuhim: identification uncertain; perhaps in the vicinity of Memphis, or in the Egyptian Delta, people of lower or northern Egypt. Pathrusim: identified with Pathros (Eze. 29:14, Jer. 44:15), people of Southern or Upper Egypt, from Aswan to the head of the Delya. Casluhim: people from whom the Philistines were descended (Gen. 10:14); probably occupied northern coast of Africa, near Gulf of Sidra (inlet of Tripolitanian coast). Caphtorim: The people of Crete (Amo. 9:7).
Put or Phut: late name for North African district lying west and south of the Nile Delta; however, its precise location is disputed. Some identify it with Cyrenaica on the North African Coast.
Canaan: originally used of the land of the Phoenicians and Canaanites of Syria and Palestine. We have here a list of the important Canaanite groups. Sidon: famous Phoenician city on west coast of Asia Minor; mentioned in the Amarna letters; the greatest of the Phoenician coastal cities until surpassed by its daughter Tyre. Heth: father of the Hittites whose political and cultural center was Hattusas, in the bend of the Halys River, In the days of Abraham they were settled in the Hebron area. Jebusites: their stronghold was Jebus, the name which was finally incorporated into the name Jerusalem. The city was captured by David and made the capital of united Israel (cf. 1Ki. 9:20). Amorites: occupied the hill country on either side of the Jordan. (Cf. Exo. 33:2; Gen. 14:7; Gen. 14:13; Deu. 1:44; Deu. 3:8; Num. 21:34-35). They later settled in Mesopotamia where one of their leaders, Hammurabi, in Babylon, became famous as an able king and lawgiver, Girgashites. Nothing more is known of them as yet. Hivites: mentioned in connection with Shechem (Gen. 33:18; Gen. 34:2), Gibeon (Joshua 9), and Mount Hermon (Jos. 11:3), and Hamath (Jdg. 3:5). (Cf. also 1Ki. 9:20-22). Arkites: inhabitants of the Phoenician city of Arqa, at the foot of the Lebanons. Sinites: Assyrian records mention the people of Siannu on the shore of the sea (Mediterranean) along with the cities or Arqa and Simirra. Arvadites: people of Arvad, most northerly of Phoenician cities, 125 miles north of Tyre. Zemarites: location not definitely established: Amarna letters mention city of Sumur, and mention of Simirra occurs in Assyrian records of Tiglath-Pileser III. Hamathites: people of Hamath, a city on the Orontes River in Syria; at one time it formed the northern boundary of Israel (2Sa. 8:9, 1Ki. 8:65, 2Ki. 14:25). Note that the land of the Phoenicians and Canaanites is described as extending from Sidon on the north to Gaza on the south, and inward as far as the Dead Sea. Note also that the people known as Hamites rose to prominence early in history, having settled generally in northern Africa and southwestern Asia. Israel had closer contacts with the Hamites than with the more remote Japhetic peoples.
REVIEW QUESTIONS
See Gen. 10:21-32.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(6) Ham.Many derive this word from a Hebrew root, and explain it as signifying hot, sunburnt, and so swarthy. Japheth they connect with a word signifying to be fair; and so Ham is the progenitor of dark races, Japheth of those of a fair complexion, while the olive- coloured spring from Shem. More probably it is Chemi, the old name of Egypt, the land of Ham (Psa. 78:51), called by Plutarch Chemia, and was taken from the black colour of the soil.
The Hamites are grouped in four principal divisions:
1. Cush. Aethiopia, but not that of Africa, but of Asia. The home of the Cushites was on the Tigris and Euphrates, where Nimrod raised them to great power. Thence they spread into the southern peninsula of Arabia, and crossing the Red Sea at a later date, colonised Nubia and Abyssinia. In the Bible Cush is watered by the Gihon (Gen. 2:13); and Zipporah, the wife of Moses, and daughter of a priest of Midian, is in Num. 12:1 called a Cushite. Their high rank in old time is marked by the place held by them in the Iliad of Homer.
2. Mizraim. Egypt. In form the word is a dual, and may point to the division of the country into Upper and Lower Egypt. If we choose to interpret a Hamite word by a Hebrew root, it may signify the narrowed land, but it is safer to leave these words till increased knowledge shall enable us to decide with some security upon their meaning. For the ancient name of Mizraim see Gen. 10:6, and for its extent see Gen. 10:14. From the study of the skulls and bodies of a large number of mummies Brugsch-Bey in his recent history has come to the conclusion that the ancient Egyptians did not belong to any African race, but to the great Caucasian family, but not of the Pelasgic or Semitic branches, but of a third, Cushite. He adds that the cradle of the Egyptian nation must be sought in Central Asia.
3. Phut. The Lybians of North Africa.
4. Canaan. See Note on Gen. 10:15-19.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
SONS OF HAM, Gen 10:6-20.
The three first sons of Ham settled in Northern Africa. 1) The Ethiopians (Cushites) of the Upper Nile. 2) The Egyptians (Mizraim) of the Lower Nile. 3) The Libyans (the Phutites) west of the Egyptians, in the east of Northern Africa. The Cushites appear to have removed from the high North-east, (of Central Asia,) passing over India, Babylonia, and Arabia, in their course towards the south. The Canaanites settled between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan, and gave their name to the country.
The name Poeni ( ) blood-red, denotes the original Hamitic colour of the Phenicians . Eastward from these the various families of the Hamites occupied the whole country of Arabia to the Persian Gulf; and under Nimrod they became the people of the first great empire, Babylonia . See Lange .
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
6. Ham Or rather Cham, is from a root signifying to be hot, and hence burnt, black . The Hamites are dark-skinned peoples, dwelling mainly in the torrid zone . Ham is used frequently in Scripture for Egypt and the Egyptians, an Hamitic country and people . It, or its Egyptian equivalent, was also the common name for that land and people among the Egyptians themselves . It is written with two letters in the hieroglyphic language, K M, and occurs in the form Ch M E more than ten times on the Rosetta Stone .
The Hamites are presented here, 1) as Cushite Ethiopians, Assyrians, Babylonians; 2) Egyptians; 3) Lybyans; 4) and Canaanites.
Cush Ethiopia in the Sept. and Vulg., and so often rendered in our version. Isa 43:3; Isa 45:14, etc . Monumental and linguistic research has now established the long-disputed theory that there was an Asiatic as well as an African Cush . Lepsius finds the name in Egypt on monuments of the sixth dynasty, and Rawlinson proves an ethnic connexion between the Ethiopians and the primitive Babylonians . The later Babylonians were Shemitic in origin, but Knobel shows ( Volk. , p . 246) that the Cushites primarily peopled Babylonia and spread eastward to India . Thus has it been shown by the research of our own day that the Asiatic kingdoms of Nineveh and Babylon are Hamitic in origin . The African and the Asiatic Cush freely communicated with each other through Meroe, on the upper Nile, and the Red Sea, by caravans and ships .
Mizraim This is the Hebrew name for Egypt and the Egyptians. It is primarily a geographical word, in the dual number, well rendered by Lewis the Narrows, a designation singularly descriptive of Egypt, which is a narrow strip of verdure threaded by the Nile, hundreds of miles in length and only a dozen or so in breadth, stretching from Ethiopia to the Mediterranean, and separating the deserts of Africa and Asia. The name was naturally imposed by the first Hamite settlers, and afterwards transferred from the country to its inhabitants.
Phut Lybyans, in the wide sense of the word inhabitants of the North African coast west of Egypt. Ptolemy and Pliny mention a river Phtuth, ( ,) in north-western Africa . The Egyptian designation of Lybya is Phet, from Pet, Coptic Phit, a bow, by which symbol it is represented in the hieroglyphics . (Knobel, p . 296 . ) Jeremiah (xlvi, 9) associates Phut (Lybyans) with Cush, (Ethiopians,) as rising up against Pharaoh-necho; and Nahum (Nah 3:9) makes Phut an ally with Nineveh in connexion with Ethiopia and Egypt .
Canaan Rather, Kenaan, from a root signifying to be low.
Hengstenberg supposes that Ham thus named his son in a tyrannical spirit, to denote the obedience which he exacted from him, though so irreverent himself, while God’s secret providence had a national humiliation in view in permitting the child to receive this name. Comp. Gen 9:25, and the note . Some understand Kenaan as geographical, signifying Lowland, but this is not in harmony with Noah’s prophecy in Gen 9:25, etc . Herodian states that the ancient name of Phenicia (Palm-land) was , or Kenaan .
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And the sons of Ham: Cush and Mizraim, and Put and Canaan.’
Cush is connected with Nubia or Northern Sudan but also with the Cassites in Mesopotamia. Mizraim is the usual name for Egypt, its plural form possibly reflecting the two kingdoms, Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt, which formed to make one, although this is by no means certain. Put is Libya. Whether these were names of actual sons of Ham we cannot know but we do know that the writer intends us to see in them the nations which may well have descended from them.
While the plural name Mizraim, which could mean ‘borderlands’ or ‘fortresses’, would appear to be more improbable as the name of a real son we know that Canaan is a genuine son of Ham (Geneisis 9:22 with 25). But the name also represents the peoples of Canaan and areas connected with the Canaanites such as Sidon (Canaanites reached much further than what we now think of as Canaan). Thus Canaan, the Canaanites and the nations south of Canaan are linked with Ham.
The linking of Canaanites with the Hamites has been questioned. Some suggest it was because at that time it came under the influence of Egypt, but then we would expect ‘son of Mizraim’. But the earliest known inhabitants of Canaan were in fact non-Semites and showed some affinities to the Sumerians, who were also non-Semitic, thus their original descent may well have been Hamitic.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The Sons of Ham (Thirty Nations) – Gen 10:6-20 tells us the names of the thirty nations that descended from the loins of Ham, the son of Noah.
Josephus says, “The children of Ham possessed the land from Syria and Amanus, and the mountains of Libanus, seizing upon all that was on its seacoasts and as far as the ocean, and keeping it as their own. Some indeed of its names are utterly vanished away; others of them being changed, and another sound given them, are hardly to be discovered; yet a few there are which have kept their denominations entire.” ( Antiquities 1.6.2)
Gen 10:6 And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan.
Gen 10:6
Comments – Josephus say, “for of the four sons of Ham, time has not at all hurt the name of Chus; for the Ethiopians, over whom he reigned, are even at this day, both by themselves and by all men in Asia, called Chusites.” ( Antiquities 1.6.2) Strong says that Cush, or Ethiopia, refers to “the son of Ham and grandson of Noah and the progenitor of the southernmost peoples located in Africa,” and that “the land that the descendants of Cush initially occupied was located around the southern parts of the Nile (Ethiopia).”
Gen 10:6 Word Study on “Mizraim” (16 th nation) BDB says the Hebrew name “Mizraim” ( ) (H4714) means, “double straits.” Strong says it is the dual of ( ) (4693), which means, “besieged places, defence, fortified.” Strong says “Mizraim” serves as the name for Upper and Lower Egypt. The Enhanced Strong says this Hebrew word is used 681 times in the Old Testament, being translated in the KJV as “Egypt 586, Egyptian 90, Mizraim 4, Egyptians + 01121 1.”
Comments – Josephus says, “The memory also of the Mesraites is preserved in their name; for all we who inhabit this country [of Judea] call Egypt Mestre, and the Egyptians Mestreans.” He goes on to say, “Now all the children of Mesraim, being eight in number, possessed the country from Gaza to Egypt, though it retained the name of one only, the Philistim; for the Greeks call part of that country Palestine.” ( Antiquities 1.6.2) BDB says this land is “a country at the northeastern section of Africa, adjacent to Palestine, and through which the Nile flows.”
Gen 10:6 Word Study on “Phut” (17 th nation) – BDB says the Hebrew name “Phut” ( ) (H6316) means, “a bow.” The Enhanced Strong says this Hebrew word is used 7 times in the Old Testament, bring translated in the KJV as “Put 2, Phut 2, Libyan 2, Libya 1.”
Comments – Josephus says, “Phut also was the founder of Libya, and called the inhabitants Phutites, from himself: (133) there is also a river in the country of the Moors which bears that name; whence it is that we may see the greatest part of the Grecian historiographers mention that river and the adjoining country by the appellation of Phut: but the name it has now, has been by change given it from one of the sons of Mesraim, who was called Lybyos. We will inform you presently what has been the occasion why it has been called Africa also.” ( Antiquities 1.6.2) Gesenius notes that the LXX and the Vulgate translate it “Lybia” in some passages where this word occurs. BDB says Phut refers to “a nation and people of north Africa; probably Libya.”
Gen 10:6 Word Study on “Canaan” (18 th nation) BDB says the Hebrew name “Canaan” ( ) (H3667) means, “lowland.” The Enhanced Strong says this Hebrew word is used 94 times in the Old Testament, being translated “Canaan 89, merchant 3, traffick 1, traffickers 1.”
Comments – Josephus says, “Canaan, the fourth son of Ham, inhabited the country now called Judea, and called it from his own name Canaan.” ( Antiquities 1.6.2) BDB says Canaan was “the progenitor of the Phoenicians and of the various nations who peopled the seacoast of Palestine.”
Gen 10:7 And the sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabtecha: and the sons of Raamah; Sheba, and Dedan.
Gen 10:7
1Ch 1:9, “And the sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabta, and Raamah, and Sabtecha. And the sons of Raamah; Sheba, and Dedan.”
Psa 72:10, “The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts.”
Isa 43:3, “For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee.”
Comments – Josephus says, “Sabas, who founded the Sabeans.” ( Antiquities 1.6.2) BDB says it is “a nation south of Palestine, perhaps Ethiopia.” However, Isa 43:3 makes a distinction between these two countries.
Gen 10:7 Word Study on “ Havilah” (20 th nation) BDB says the Hebrew name “Havilah” ( ) (H2341) means, “circle.” The Enhanced Strong says this word is found 7 times in the Old Testament as “Havilah 7.” In Gen 2:11, the river Pison was located in the land of Havilah.
Gen 2:11, “The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;”
Comments – There were two individuals in the Old Testament by this name. In Gen 10:29 a second individual named “Havilah” was the son Joktan, who is the son of Eber, who is a descendant of Shem.
Gen 10:29, “And Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab: all these were the sons of Joktan.”
Josephus says, “Evilas, who founded the Evileans, who are called Getuli. ” ( Antiquities 1.6.2)
Gen 10:7 Word Study on “Sabtah” (21 st nation) BDB says the Hebrew name “Sabtah” ( ) (H5454) means, “striking.” This name is only used two times in the Old Testament, the other passage being:
1Ch 1:9, “And the sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabta, and Raamah, and Sabtecha. And the sons of Raamah; Sheba, and Dedan.”
Comments – Josephus says, “Sabathes founded the Sabathens; they are now called by the Greeks, Astaborans.” ( Antiquities 1.6.2)
Gen 10:7 Word Study on “Raamah” (22 nd nation) BDB says the Hebrew name “Raamah” ( ) (H7484) means, “horse’s mane.” Raamah was the son of Cush and father of Sheba and Dedan. This name is found five times in the Old Testament, the other passages being:
1Ch 1:9, “And the sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabta, and Raamah, and Sabtecha. And the sons of Raamah; Sheba, and Dedan.”
Eze 27:22, “The merchants of Sheba and Raamah, they were thy merchants: they occupied in thy fairs with chief of all spices, and with all precious stones, and gold.”
Comments – Josephus says, “and Ragmus the Ragmeans; and he had two sons, the one of whom, Judadas, settled the Judadeans, a nation of the western Ethiopians, and left them his name; as did Sabas to the Sabeans.” ( Antiquities 1.6.2)
Gen 10:7 Word Study on “Sabtecha” (23 rd nation) BDB says the Hebrew name “Sabtecha” ( ) (H5455) means, “striking.” This name is used two times in the Old Testament, the other passage being:
1Ch 1:9, “And the sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabta, and Raamah, and Sabtecha. And the sons of Raamah; Sheba, and Dedan.”
Comments – Josephus says, “Sabactas settled the Sabactens.” ( Antiquities 1.6.2)
Gen 10:7 Word Study on “Sheba” (24 th nation) – BDB says the Hebrew name “Sheba” ( ) (H7614) means, “seven” or “an oath or covenant.” The Enhanced Strong says this word occurs 23 times in the Old Testament, bring translated in the KJV as “Sheba 23.” However, there are five different individuals by this name in the Old Testament.
Comments – In the Table of Nations (Gen 10:1-32) there are two individuals named Sheba listed in this genealogy as the sons of Noah. The first Sheba was the son of Raamah the son of Cush who was the son of Ham (Gen 10:7). The second individual named Sheba (Gen 10:28) was the son of Joktan son of Eber who was a descendant of Shem. Some scholars, such as Gesenius, suggest that Sheba the Hamite of Gen 10:7 is twice identified with his brother Dedan (see Eze 38:13) in an effort to make him a distinct individual from Sheba the Shemite of Gen 10:28. Gesenius suggests that Sheba the Hamite lived in northern Arabia “near the Persian Gulf and near the mouth of the Euphrates,” while Sheba the Shemite would be a reference to the country of Sheba in southern Arabia.
Regarding this south Arabian country of Sheba, the Old Testament refers to the queen of Sheba (1Ki 10:1-13, 1Ch 9:1-12), which scholars recognize as a country in southern Arabia from whom come the Sabaens. These people are referred to as traders in gold and spices who inhabited a land remote from Palestine (Psa 72:15, Isa 60:6, Jer 6:20, Eze 27:22). Jesus referred to the queen of Sheba as the queen of the south (Mat 12:42). Joel refers to the Sabeans as “a people afar off” who will purchase the Israelites as slaves. In Job 1:15 the Sabeans fell upon Job’s possessions and took them. The ISBE says the Arab genealogists tell us that “Saba is represented as the great-grandson of Qachtan (= Joktan) and ancestor of all the South-Arabian tribes. He is the father of Chimyar and Kahlan. He is said to have been named Saba because he was the first to take prisoners (shabhah) in war. He founded the capital of Saba and built its citadel Marib (Mariaba), famous for its mighty barrage.” [148] Its capital was Marib, located in modern day Yemen. [149] The ISBE says we can also find the names of other brothers to Sheba the Shemite in southern Arabia, giving the modern example of the name Hazarmaveth = Hadhramaut (Gen 10:26) in this region. [150]
[148] Thomas Hunter Weir, “Sheba,” in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, ed. James Orr (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., c1915, 1939), in The Sword Project, v. 1.5.11 [CD-ROM] (Temple, AZ: CrossWire Bible Society, 1990-2008).
[149] David J. A. Clines, Job 1-20, in Word Biblical Commentary: 58 Volumes on CD-Rom, vol. 17, eds. Bruce M. Metzger, David A. Hubbard and Glenn W. Barker (Dallas: Word Inc., 2002), in Libronix Digital Library System, v. 3.0b [CD-ROM] (Bellingham, WA: Libronix Corp., 2004), 31.
[150] Thomas Hunter Weir, “Sheba,” in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, ed. James Orr (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., c1915, 1939), in The Sword Project, v. 1.5.11 [CD-ROM] (Temple, AZ: CrossWire Bible Society, 1990-2008).
Gen 10:7 Word Study on “Dedan” (25 th nation) BDB says the Hebrew name “Dedan” ( ) (H1719) means, “low country.” He was the brother of Sheba and the son of Raamah the son of Cush who was the son of Ham. This name is mentioned 15 times in the Old Testament in reference to two different individuals.
Comments – A reference to this people in Isa 21:13 called them inhabitants of Arabia who traveled in caravans. This is one reason why some scholars suggest that Dedan’s brother Sheba the Hamite (Gen 10:7) is identical with Sheba the Shemite (Gen 10:28), since Sheba the Shemite clearly inhabited southern Arabia. Gesenius says this name can still be identified on the island of Daden, “an island of the Persian Gulf.” This individual is not to be confused with Dedan the son of Jokshan and grandson of Abraham and Keturah who dwelt in the neighbourhood of Edom.
Gen 10:8 And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth.
Gen 10:8
1Ch 1:10, “And Cush begat Nimrod : he began to be mighty upon the earth.”
Also, Babylon was referred to as “the land of Nimrod.”
Mic 5:6, “And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof: thus shall he deliver us from the Assyrian, when he cometh into our land, and when he treadeth within our borders.”
Gen 10:8 Word Study on “a mighty one” Gesenius says the Hebrew word “a mighty one” ( ) (H1368) means, “strong, mighty, impetuous.” Strong says means, “powerful,” and by implication, “warrior, tyrant,” being the intensive use of the root verb ( ) (H1396), which means, “to be strong.” Holladay translates this word as “despot.” The Enhanced Strong says this word is used 158 times in the Old Testament, being translated in the KJV as, “mighty 63, mighty man 68, strong 4, valiant 3, … ones 4, mighties 2, Man 1:2 , valiant men 2, strong Man 1:1 , upright Man 1:1 , champion 1, chief 1, excel 1, giant 1, men’s 1, mightiest 1, strongest 1.”
Comments – I have not been able to find an English translation that uses the negative meaning of tyrant. However, the GNB reads, “the world’s first great conqueror.”
Gen 10:9 He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD.
Gen 10:9
Comments – Strong says this word comes from the primitive root ( ) (H6679), which means, “to lie alongside,” and by implication, “to catch an animal.” Thus, The Enhanced Strong says it is translated, “hunt 13, take 2, chased 1, provision 1, sore 1.”
Gen 10:9 Comments – After the Flood God placed the fear of man within the animals (Gen 9:2). Before the Flood this fear did not exist. In other words, man could walk around the animals without scaring them off. However, now that God has allowed man to hunt and eat animals, there arose a need for them to hide from man for self preservation. This appears to be the reason why God did this.
Gen 9:2, “And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered.”
Gen 10:8-9 Comments – Brenton reads, “And Chus begot Nebrod: he began to be a giant upon the earth. He was a giant hunter before the Lord God; therefore they say, As Nebrod the giant hunter before the Lord.”
Gen 10:10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.
Gen 10:10
Gen 10:10 Word Study on “Erech” Hebrew ( ) (H751) The ISBE says, “The derivation of the name [Erech] is well known, being the Semitic-Babylonian Uruk, from the Sumerian Unug, a word meaning ‘seat,’ probably in the sense of ‘residential city.’” [151] Gen 10:10 contains the only use of this Hebrew word in the Old Testament.
[151] T. G. Pinches, “Erech,” in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, ed. James Orr (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., c1915, 1939), in The Sword Project, v. 1.5.11 [CD-ROM] (Temple, AZ: CrossWire Bible Society, 1990-2008).
Gen 10:10 Word Study on “Accad” Hebrew ( ) (H390) The ISBE says Accad is a city in Mesopotamia that “is well known by ancient inscriptions of Sargon and his son Naram-Sin as well as omen-texts of later eras.” [152] Youngblood says, “The dynasty of Accad was founded by Sargon the Great and lasted from the 23rd to the 21st century b.c.” [153] Gen 10:10 contains the only use of this Hebrew word in the Old Testament.
[152] A. T. Clay, “Babylonia,” in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, ed. James Orr (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., c1915, 1939), in The Sword Project, v. 1.5.11 [CD-ROM] (Temple, AZ: CrossWire Bible Society, 1990-2008).
[153] R. F. Youngblood, F. F. Bruce, R. K. Harrison, and Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary, rev. ed. (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1995), in Libronix Digital Library System, v. 2.1c [CD-ROM] (Bellingham, WA: Libronix Corp., 2000-2004), “Accad.”
Gen 10:10 Word Study on “Calneh” Hebrew ( ) (H3641) – The exact location of this ancient remains unknown. Scholars know little about this city, so they must make speculations derived from ancient historical accounts. This word is found three times in the Old Testament. Its other two uses are:
Isa 10:9, “Is not Calno as Carchemish? is not Hamath as Arpad? is not Samaria as Damascus?”
Amo 6:2, “Pass ye unto Calneh , and see; and from thence go ye to Hamath the great: then go down to Gath of the Philistines: be they better than these kingdoms? or their border greater than your border?”
Gen 10:10 “in the land of Shinar” Comments – The land of Shinar, located in southern Mesopotamia, was later known as Babylon, Chaldea and Sumner. [154]
[154] R. F. Youngblood, F. F. Bruce, R. K. Harrison, and Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary, rev. ed. (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1995), in Libronix Digital Library System, v. 2.1c [CD-ROM] (Bellingham, WA: Libronix Corp., 2000-2004), “Shinar.”
Gen 10:8-12 Comments – The Kingdom of Nimrod – The first kingdom in the history of mankind was started by Nimrod, who established the kingdom of Babel. This is the first time that man forces his rule over other cultures and nations. In Gen 1:26-28 God told man to take dominion over the earth. This involved the domestication of animals, inventions and technology and the development of societies for the well-being of mankind. But this commandment did not say that man was to take dominion over one another. This was Satan’s perversion of God’s divine plan. Nimrod rose up and built a kingdom called Babel. This was the first time that man began to exert dominion over his fellow man. God never intended this form of oppression to exist upon the earth. However, the dominance that Nimrod instituted was Satan’s perverted copy of what God intended for good. If fact, Satan showed his earthly kingdoms to Jesus during our Saviour’s forty-day temptation (Luk 4:5).
Luk 4:5-6, “And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.”
The story of the tower of Babel (Gen 11:1-9) reveals that this kingdom was a rebellious kingdom, one that was in defiance of God. It is out of this same people that the kingdom of Assyria will one day rise and destroy the northern kingdom of Israel in 722 B.C. It is the same spiritual force of Satan that will one day conquer southern Judah in 596 B.C. under the rule of Nebuchadnezzer. Peter recognized this as the same spirit that raised up the Roman Empire.
1Pe 5:13, “The church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you; and so doth Marcus my son.”
Peter used this title for the city of Rome in the same sense that Jesus called John the Baptist by the name of Elijah, since John bore the same spirit as Elijah bore.
Mat 11:14, “And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come.”
Luke refers to the “spirit of Elijah.”
Luk 1:17, “And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias , to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
It is the same spiritual force that will rise up in the last days in the book of Revelation in the form of the antichrist. John refers to the “spirit of antichrist” in his first epistle.
1Jn 4:3, “And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist , whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.”
As the ancient kingdoms of Assyria and Babylon were anti-Semitic, so is the Babylon found in the book of Revelation. It is the powers of darkness at war against God’s people, both Jews and Christians alike. The New Testament refers to different types of spirits, such as unclean spirit, spirits of infirmity, spirits of divination, deaf and dumb spirits, seducing spirits, etc. But the spirit of antichrist is a particular spirit that will focus on making war against the children of God. 1Jn 4:3 tells us that this spirit is already in the world and has been making war with God’s children since his day. Jesus describes the antichrist when He told His disciples, “that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.”
Joh 16:2, “They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.”
Jesus also refers to this spirit in Matthew 24-25.
Mat 24:9, “Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.”
Gen 10:11 Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah,
Gen 10:12 Gen 10:13 Gen 10:13
1Ch 1:11, “And Mizraim begat Ludim , and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim,”
Jer 46:9, “Come up, ye horses; and rage, ye chariots; and let the mighty men come forth; the Ethiopians and the Libyans, that handle the shield; and the Lydians , that handle and bend the bow.”
Comments – Josephus calls this nation “Ludicim” ( Antiquities 1.6.2). Its name is listed with other countries of North Africa in Eze 30:5.
Eze 30:5, “Ethiopia, and Libya, and Lydia, and all the mingled people, and Chub, and the men of the land that is in league, shall fall with them by the sword.”
Gen 10:13 Word Study on “Anamim” (27 th nation) BDB says the Hebrew name “Anamin” ( ) (H6047) means, “affliction of the waters.” The Enhanced Strong says it is used 2 times in the Old Testament, the other passage being:
1Ch 1:11, “And Mizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim,”
Comments – Josephus calls this nation “Enemim” ( Antiquities 1.6.2). BDB says they were “a tribe of the Egyptians.”
Gen 10:13 Word Study on “Lehabim” (28 th nation) BDB says the Hebrew name “Lehabin” ( ) (H3853) means, “flames,” being used 2 times in the Old Testament, the other passage being:
1Ch 1:11, “And Mizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim,”
Comments – Josephus says, “and Labim, who alone inhabited in Libya, and called the country from himself.” ( Antiquities 1.6.2) BDB says this was “an Egyptian tribe descended from Mizraim.”
Gen 10:13 Word Study on “Naphtuhim” (29 th nation) – BDB says the Hebrew name “Naphtuhim” ( ) (H5320) means, “openings.” The Enhanced Strong says it is used 2 times in the Old Testament, the other passage being:
1Ch 1:11, “And Mizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim,”
Comments – Josephus calls this nation “Nedim” ( Antiquities 1.6.2). BDB says it was “an unclear reference to Egypt; perhaps Lower Egypt.”
Gen 10:14 And Pathrusim, and Casluhim, (out of whom came Philistim,) and Caphtorim.
Gen 10:14
1Ch 1:11-12, “And Mizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim, And Pathrusim, and Casluhim, (of whom came the Philistines,) and Caphthorim.”
Comments – Josephus calls this nation “Phethrosim” ( Antiquities 1.6.2). BDB calls them “inhabitants of Pathros.”
Gen 10:14 Word Study on “Casluhim” (31 st nation) – BDB says the Hebrew name “Casluhim” ( ) (H3695) means, “fortified,” being used 2 times in the Old Testament, the other passage being:
1Ch 1:11-12, “And Mizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim, And Pathrusim, and Casluhim, (of whom came the Philistines,) and Caphthorim.”
Comments – Josephus calls this nation “Chesloim” ( Antiquities 1.6.2). BDB says they were “a people or tribe descended from Mizraim (Egypt) progenitors of the Philistines and Caphtorim.”
Gen 10:14 Word Study on “Philistim” (32 nd nation) BDB says the Hebrew name “Philistim” ( ) (H6430) means, “immigrants.” The Enhanced Strong says it is used 288 times in the Old Testament, being translated in the KJV as “Philistine 287, Philistim 1.”
Comments – Josephus tells us that of the eight sons of Mizraim, only the Philistim kept their name upon the land; for the others were overthrown in the Ethoipic war ( Antiquities 1.6.2). BDB says they were “an inhabitant of Philistia; descendants of Mizraim who immigrated from Caphtor (Crete?) to the western seacoast of Canaan.”
Gen 10:14 Word Study on “Caphtorim” (33 rd nation) – BDB says the Hebrew name “Caphtorim” ( ) (H3732) means, “a crown.” The Enhanced Strong says it is used 2 times in the Old Testament, the other passage being:
Deu 2:23, “And the Avims which dwelt in Hazerim, even unto Azzah, the Caphtorims , which came forth out of Caphtor, destroyed them, and dwelt in their stead.)”
1Chonicles Gen 1:12, “And Pathrusim, and Casluhim, (of whom came the Philistines,) and Caphthorim .”
In addition, the related word “Caphtor” (Hebrew “kaf-tore”) ( ) (H3731) occurs three times in the Old Testament. The other two uses being:
Jer 47:4, “Because of the day that cometh to spoil all the Philistines, and to cut off from Tyrus and Zidon every helper that remaineth: for the LORD will spoil the Philistines, the remnant of the country of Caphtor .”
Amo 9:7, “Are ye not as children of the Ethiopians unto me, O children of Israel? saith the LORD. Have not I brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt? and the Philistines from Caphtor , and the Syrians from Kir?
Comments – Josephus calls this nation “Cephthorim” ( Antiquities 1.6.2). BDB says the Caphtorim were “the Cretans as the inhabitants of Caphtor as distinct from the Philistines.”
Gen 10:13-14 Comments – The Children of Mizraim – Josephus says, “Now all the children of Mesraim, being eight in number, possessed the country from Gaza to Egypt, though it retained the name of one only, the Philistim; for the Greeks call part of that country Palestine. As for the rest, Ludicim, and Enemim, and Labim, who alone inhabited in Libya, and called the country from himself, Nedim, and Phethrosim, and Chesloim, and Cephthorim, we know nothing of them besides their names; for the Ethiopic war, which we shall describe hereafter, was the cause that those cities were overthrown.” ( Antiquities 1.6.2)
Gen 10:15 And Canaan begat Sidon his firstborn, and Heth,
Gen 10:15
Comments – Throughout the Scriptures, Sidon refers to an ancient Phoenician city, on Mediterranean coast north of Tyre.
Gen 10:15 Word Study on “Heth” (35 th nation) BDB says the Hebrew name “Heth” ( ) (H2845) means, “terror.” Strong says this word is derived from “chathath” ( ) (H2865), which means, “to prostrate, to break down.” The Enhanced Strong says this name is found 14 times in the Old Testament, being translated in the KJV as “Heth 14.”
Comments – Heth, the son of Canaan, is the one who sold the burial cave to Abraham for a burying place (Gen 23:1-20). We find that Esau, the son of Jacob, took the daughters of Heth as his wives. These became a grief unto Isaac and Rebekah his parents (Gen 26:34-35).
Gen 26:34-35, “And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite: Which were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah.”
From the descendants of Heth come the Hittites ( ) (H2850).
Gen 10:16 And the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgasite,
Gen 10:16
Jdg 19:10, “But the man would not tarry that night, but he rose up and departed, and came over against Jebus, which is Jerusalem ; and there were with him two asses saddled, his concubine also was with him.”
Gen 10:16 Word Study on “the Amorite” (37 th nation) BDB says the Hebrew name “Amorite” ( ) (H567) means, “a sayer.” The Enhanced Strong says it is used 87 times in the Old Testament, being translated in the KJV as “Amorite 87.”
Comments – BDB says the Amorites were “one of the peoples of east Canaan and beyond the Jordan, dispossessed by the Israelite incursion from Egypt.”
Gen 10:16 Word Study on “the Girgasite” (38 th nation) BDB says the Hebrew name “Girgasite” ( ) (H1622) means, “dwelling on a clayey soil.” The Enhanced Strong says it is used 7 times in the Old Testament, being translated in the KJV as “Girgashite 6, Girgasite 1.”
Comments – BDB says the Girgasites were the “descendants of Canaan and one of the nations living east of the Sea of Galilee when the Israelites entered the Promised Land.”
Gen 10:17 And the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite,
Gen 10:17
Comments – BDB says the Hivites “were living in northern Canaan near Mount Hermon at the time of the conquest,” (Jos 11:3; Jos 11:19, Jdg 3:3). This was the only people that were able to make peace with Joshua during Israel’s conquest of Canaan (see Jos 9:1-27).
Jos 11:3, “And to the Canaanite on the east and on the west, and to the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Jebusite in the mountains, and to the Hivite under Hermon in the land of Mizpeh.”
Jos 11:19, “There was not a city that made peace with the children of Israel, save the Hivites the inhabitants of Gibeon: all other they took in battle.”
Jdg 3:3, “Namely, five lords of the Philistines, and all the Canaanites, and the Sidonians, and the Hivites that dwelt in mount Lebanon, from mount Baalhermon unto the entering in of Hamath.”
Gen 10:17 Word Study on “the Arkite” (40 th nation) Strong says the Hebrew name “Arkite” ( ) (H6208) means, “a tush.” This word is used 2 times in the Old Testament, being translated in the KJV as “Arkite 2.” Its other use is:
1Ch 1:13-16, “And Canaan begat Zidon his firstborn, and Heth, The Jebusite also, and the Amorite, and the Girgashite, And the Hivite, and the Arkite , and the Sinite, And the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite.”
Comments – Josephus says, “Arucas possessed Arce, which is in Libanus” ( Antiquities 1.6.2). BDB says they are “inhabitants of Arki or Arka.”
Gen 10:17 Word Study on “the Sinite” (41 st nation) BDB says the Hebrew name “Sinite” ( ) (H5513) means, “thorn,” or “clay.” The Enhanced Strong says it is used 2 times in the Old Testament, being translated in the KJV as “Sinite 2.” Its other use is:
1Ch 1:13-16, “And Canaan begat Zidon his firstborn, and Heth, The Jebusite also, and the Amorite, and the Girgashite, And the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite , And the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite.”
Comments – BDB says the Sinites were “a tribe of the Canaanites descended from Canaan inhabiting the northern part of the Lebanon district.”
Gen 10:18 And the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite: and afterward were the families of the Canaanites spread abroad.
Gen 10:18
1Ch 1:13-16, “And Canaan begat Zidon his firstborn, and Heth, The Jebusite also, and the Amorite, and the Girgashite, And the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite, And the Arvadite , and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite.”
Comments – Josephus says, “Arudeus possessed the island Aradus” ( Antiquities 1.6.2). BDB says they were “the descendants of Arvad, a son of Canaan.”
Gen 10:18 Word Study on “the Zemarite” (43 rd nation) BDB says the Hebrew name “Zemarite” ( ) (H6786) means, “double woolens.” The Enhanced Strong says it is used 2 times in the Old Testament, being translated in the KJV as “Zemarite 2.” Its other use is:
1Ch 1:13-16, “And Canaan begat Zidon his firstborn, and Heth, The Jebusite also, and the Amorite, and the Girgashite, And the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite, And the Arvadite, and the Zemarite , and the Hamathite.”
Comments – BDB tells us that they were “one of the Hamite tribes descended from Canaan and inhabitants of an unknown Canaanite city.”
Gen 10:18 Word Study on “the Hamathite” (44 th nation) Strong says the Hebrew name “Hamathite” ( ) (H2577) is derived from ( ) (2574), which means, “walled.” The Enhanced Strong says the word “Hamathite” is used 2 times in the Old Testament, being translated in the KJV as “Hamathite 2.” Its other use is:
1Ch 1:13-16, “And Canaan begat Zidon his firstborn, and Heth, The Jebusite also, and the Amorite, and the Girgashite, And the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite, And the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite .”
Comments – Josephus says, “Amathus inhabited in Amathine, which is even now called Amathe by the inhabitants, although the Macedonians named it Epiphania, from one of his posterity.” ( Antiquities 1.6.2). Gesenius says Hamath was “a distinguished city of Syria.” This city played a role in the history of Israel.
Gen 10:19 And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as thou comest to Gerar, unto Gaza; as thou goest, unto Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboim, even unto Lasha.
Gen 10:19
Num 13:29, “The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south: and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan.”
This piece of land did not belong to the Canaanites. According to Jewish tradition, the three sons of Noah divided the earth into three lots during the days of Peleg (Gen 10:25) and the land of Canaan was one of the areas that was given to Shem and to his descendants. But when the children of Noah scattered and moved into their heritage, Canaan, the son of Ham, took the land of Canaan, which belonged to the sons of Shem, and he refused to enter into his appointed inheritance. As a result, the curse that Noah spoke over those children who took possession of another person’s land was placed upon Canaan. Thus, the Canaanites were living on land that did not belong to them and God chose to remove them from this land, which rightfully belonged to Shem and his descendants, one of which was Abraham. Thus, Abraham has legal rights to the land of Canaan. We can read in The Book of Jubilees of how Abraham saw this as the reason that God would one day cut off the seed of Canaan when he was about to die and blessed Jacob.
“Be thou ware, my son Jacob, of taking a wife from any seed of the daughters of Canaan; For all his seed is to be rooted out of the earth. For, owing to the transgression of Ham, Canaan erred, And all his seed shall be destroyed from off the earth and all the residue thereof, And none springing from him shall be saved on the day of judgment.” ( The Book of Jubilees 22.20-21)
Gen 10:15-19 Comments – The Canaanites We find in Gen 10:15-19 the genealogy of Canaan, the son of Ham, the son of Noah. There will be eleven families, or nations, that will come from the loins of Canaan. The Canaanites will play an important role in the history of Israel because they inhabited the Promised Land that God gave to Abraham. For this reason, the author gives a lengthy account of the Canaanites when compared to the other families listed in this chapter.
Josephus says, “The sons of Canaan were these: Sidonius, who also built a city of the same name; it is called by the Greeks, Sidon; Amathus inhabited in Amathine, which is even now called Amathe by the inhabitants, although the Macedonians named it Epiphania, from one of his posterity: Arudeus possessed the island Aradus: Arucas possessed Arce, which is in Libanus; but for the seven others, [Eueus], Chetteus, Jebuseus, Amorreus, Gergesus, Eudeus, Sineus, Samareus, we have nothing in the sacred books but their names, for the Hebrews overthrew their cities; and their calamities came upon them on the occasion following:” ( Antiquities 1.6.2)
According to Deu 7:1, six of the seven nations that God will drive out of the Promised Land during the time of Joshua are listed in Gen 10:15-19: Canaan, Heth (father of the Hittites), the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgasite, and the Hivite. The only nation not listed is the Perizzites.
Deu 7:1, “When the LORD thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou;”
It is interesting to note the order in which these eleven nations are listed. Sidon became the most important city in ancient times from this list of eleven nations. This passage then lists five nations that Joshua drove out of the Promised Land. After mentioning these historical nations, there are five remaining nations listed, the Arkite, and the Sinite, and the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite. These five nations play no role in the history of Israel and are only mentioned by name one other time in the Old Testament, being found in a genealogy in 1Ch 1:13-16.
1Ch 1:13-16, “And Canaan begat Zidon his firstborn, and Heth, The Jebusite also, and the Amorite, and the Girgashite, And the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite , And the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite.”
Thus, these nations seem to be listed to some degree in order of historical importance.
Gen 10:20 These are the sons of Ham, after their families, after their tongues, in their countries, and in their nations.
The Sons of Ham
v. 6. And the sons of Ham: Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan. v. 7. And the sons of Cush: Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabtechah; and the sons of Ra amah: Sheba and Dedan. v. 8. And Cush begat Nimrod; he began to be a mighty one in the earth.
v. 9. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod, the mighty hunter before the Lord.
v. 10. And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. v. 11. Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah, v. 12. and Resen between Nineveh and Calah; the same is a great city. v. 13. And Mizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Baphtuhim, v. 14. and Pathrusim, and Casluhim, (out of whom came Philistim,) and Caphtorim. Gen 10:6. The sons of Ham Ham, there is great reason to believe, was the Ham, or Jupiter Ammon of the AEgyptians: his sons were four: Cush, who peopled Susiana, or some part of Arabia; Mizraim, AEgypt; Phut, part of Lybia; Canaan, the country so called, and places adjacent.
Gen 10:6 And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan.
Ver. 6. Cush. ] Ethiopians came of him. Psa 7:1 . title Wicked Saul, for his black deeds, is called Cush. confer Jer 13:23 Amo 9:7
Mizraim. a Chald. parap.
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Gen 10:6-14
6The sons of Ham were Cush and Mizraim and Put and Canaan. 7The sons of Cush were Seba and Havilah and Sabtah and Raamah and Sabteca; and the sons of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan. 8Now Cush became the father of Nimrod; he became a mighty one on the earth. 9He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; therefore it is said, Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the LORD. 10The beginning of his kingdom was Babel and Erech and Accad and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. 11From that land he went forth into Assyria, and built Nineveh and Rehoboth-Ir and Calah, 12and Resen between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city. 13Mizraim became the father of Ludim and Anamim and Lehabim and Naphtuhim 14and Pathrusim and Casluhim (from which came the Philistines) and Caphtorim.
Gen 10:6 Cush and Mizraim and Put and Canaan These sons of Ham are discussed further in the following verses: Cush (BDB 468) in Gen 10:7-12; Mizraim (BDB 595) in Gen 10:13-14; and Canaan (BDB 488) in Gen 10:15-19. Put (BDB 806), although not discussed, seems to refer either to East Africa (Somalia), southern Arabia, Libya or Cyrene. It is obvious from this many possible locations that we are uncertain.
Gen 10:7 Seba This is the area of the upper Nile as far as we can tell from the information that is now available (BDB 685). It is mentioned in Isa 43:3.
Havilah This is literally sandland (BDB 296), possibly located somewhere in Egypt.
Sabtah This (BDB 688) can either be in the area of modern Ethiopia, which would be east Africa, or a city in Arabia.
Raamah This seems to be the Sabateans of southwest Arabia (BDB 947).
Sabteca This also refers to Ethiopia (BDB 688).
Sheba This (BDB 985) seems to be the famous area of the Queen of Sheba, southwest of Arabia (cf. 1Ki 10:1-10; Job 1:15; Job 6:19; Psa 72:10; Psa 72:15; Isa 60:6; Jer 6:20).
Dedan This seems to be somewhere in Arabia (BDB 186). It is obvious that the sons of Cush are located in east Africa and the Arabian peninsula. It is mentioned in Isa 21:13; Jer 25:23; Jer 49:8; Eze 25:13; Eze 27:20.
Gen 10:8 father of Nimrod Nimrod (BDB 650) is particularly named because he was a founder of the first major civilization. This would mean that descendants of Ham developed Babylon. He is linked with the sons of Cush because of the linguistic similarities to the name Kassites. There are two groups from Cush, one in Gen 10:7 on the eastern side of the Red Sea and this one in Gen 10:8 on the western side of the Red Sea.
Nimrod The term seems to mean revolt according to Rashi and Leupold. With this in mind the next two major phrases, mighty one and mighty hunter, are interpreted negatively as tyrant or conqueror or killer of men. However, we are uncertain if this is the connotation, but it seems to fit the context. This man is going to build some of the major cities of Mesopotamia and he will apparently start the first world power. Many have asserted that this refers to Tukuli-ninurta I, but he did not live until the thirteenth century B.C. when he controlled Assyria and Babylon. He was called Ninus, but his time is much too late to fit that of Nimrod. Others assert that this refers to Sargon I, ruler of the city of Akkad.
Gen 10:9 a mighty hunter before the LORD Some commentators assert that God taking notice of a hunter is beneath His dignity, but if the phrase refers to the first conqueror and developer of a human world system (cf. Mic 5:6), then God taking notice of him is understandable.
Gen 10:10 Babel The Babylonians say that this term (bab-ili) means the gate of the gods. However, in Genesis 11, the Jews interpreted it as meaning (balil), he confused (BDB 93).
All of the cities listed in this verse were major cities in Shinar at one time or another.
Calneh Some say that this (BDB 484) refers to a city of Nippur, while others re-verbalize this to mean all of them.
the land of Shinar This is linguistically related to the term Sumer or Sumeria (BDB 1042). It refers to an area of southern Mesopotamia.
Gen 10:11 he went forth into Assyria Some say that this refers to Nimrod and that seems to fit the context best (cf. Mic 5:6). However, others, including the Septuagint, the Vulgate, the Syriac, Martin Luther, and John Calvin, say it refers to Asshur.
Nineveh This (BDB 644) is the major capital of the Assyrian Empire located on the Tigris River (cf. 2Ki 19:36; Isa 37:37; Jon 1:2; Jon 3:2-7; Jon 4:11; Nah 1:1; Nah 2:8; Nah 3:7; Zep 2:13).
Rehoboth-Ir This literally means wide street city or wide places of the city and probably is a description of Nineveh (BDB 944 II).
Calah This is a major Assyrian city (BDB 480 II). Its modern name is Nimrud which is obviously connected to the name, Nimrod.
Gen 10:13 Mizraim Many assert this refers to upper and lower Egypt (BDB 595).
Ludim This may refer to Lydians in Asia Minor (BDB 530).
Anamim This may be a tribal group occupying the oasis west of Egypt (BDB 777).
Lehabim This seems to refer to the desert tribes of the northern African coast (BDB 529).
Naphtuhim This seems to be the tribal group near the city of Memphis (BDB 661). All of those mentioned in Gen 10:13 are obviously connected with Egypt and the surrounding area.
Gen 10:14 Pathrusim This means southland and probably refers to upper Egypt (BDB 837).
Casluhim (from which came the Philistines) There has been much discussion about this phrase because from Amo 9:7 it seems to imply that the Philistines came from Crete. This is one of those places where this reference may be geographical. The continuing wave of invasions and migrations of the sea peoples of the Aegean affected most of the coastlands of the Mediterranean world, including Egypt and Palestine. For Casluhim see BDB 493.
Caphtorim This seems to refer to the inhabitants of the island of Crete known as Caphtor (BDB 499).
Cush = Ethiopia, S. of Egypt.
Mizraim = Egypt, became the name of Egypt = “the two Matsors”. One Matsor was country of the Delta within the great wall of defence called “Shur”; the other was Egypt proper. See notes on Isa 19:6 with Isa 37:25.
Phut: compare Jer 46:9. Eze 27:10; Eze 30:5; Eze 38:5. Nah 3:9. Canaan became a province of Egypt, as shown by the Tel el-Amarna tablets.
am 1676, bc 2228
And the: Gen 9:22, 1Ch 1:8-16, 1Ch 4:40, Psa 78:51, Psa 105:23, Psa 105:27, Psa 106:22
Ham: Ham signifies burnt or black; and this name was peculiarly significant of the regions allotted to his family. To the Cushites, or descendants of Cush, were allotted the hot southern regions of Asia, along the shores of the Persian Gulf, Susiana or Chusistan, etc.; to the sons of Canaan, Palestine and Syria; to the sons of Mizraim, Egypt and Libya, in Africa.
Cush: Isa 11:11
Phut: Jer 46:9, *marg. Eze 27:10
Reciprocal: Gen 2:13 – Ethiopia Gen 7:13 – and Shem Gen 9:18 – Ham Gen 10:20 – General Jos 13:3 – five Lords 2Ch 12:3 – Ethiopians Eze 38:5 – Libya Nah 3:9 – Put Hab 3:7 – Cushan
10:6 And the sons of Ham; {d} Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan.
(d) Of Cush and Mizraim came the Ethiopians and Egyptians.
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes