Unto Shem also the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder, even to him were [children] born.
21 31. The Sons of Shem (J and P)
21. And unto Shem, &c.] The brief account in verse is from J.
the father of all the children of Eber ] This is the point in the description of Shem which would seem most honourable to Israelite readers. The names “Eber” and “Hebrew” are almost identical in the Hebrew language. “Eber” was accepted as the ancestor of the Hebrew-speaking peoples. In the widest sense of the word, “Hebrews” are a group of Semitic peoples who issued from the Arabian Peninsula. They are included among the descendants of Joktan and Peleg, as well as of Terah. For the ordinary derivation of the word “Hebrew,” as = “the man from the further side” of the river, see Gen 10:24 and Gen 14:13. The term “Hebrew” is racial, “Israelite” national; though ultimately used as synonyms.
the elder brother of Japheth ] These words seem to be inserted, in order to remind the reader that Shem, though here mentioned last, was the eldest of Noah’s sons. The rendering of R.V. marg., the brother of Japheth the elder, is very improbable.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
– XXXIII. Shem
21. ‘eber, Eber, yonder side; verb: pass, cross.
22. ‘eylam, Elam. ul, suckle. alam, hide; be mature. ‘arpakshad, Arpakshad. ‘arp kesed, boundary of Kesed, or (von-Bohlen) Arjapakshata, beside Aria. ‘aram, Aram, high; verb: be high.
23. uts, Uts; verb: counsel; be firm, solid. chul, Chul; verb: rub, twist, writhe, be strong, await. geter, Gether, bridge? meshek, Mash; related: feel, touch.
24. shelach, Shelach, missile, shoot.
25. peleg, Peleg; noun: brook, canal; verb: divide. yaqtan, Joctan, small.
26. ‘almodad, Almodad. lamad, learn. madad, measure. shelep, Sheleph; verb: draw out or off. chatsarmavet, Chatsarmaveth, court of death. yerach, Jerach, moon, month.
27. hadoram, Hadoram, majesty, beauty; verb: swell, honor. ‘uzal, Uzal; verb: go out or away. dqlah Diclah, palm.
28. obal, Obal, bare, bald. ‘abyma’el, Abimael, father of Mael (circumcision).
29. ‘opr, Ophir; verb: break, veil. yobab, Jobab; verb: cry, call.
30. mesha’, Mesha, sha’ah = sho’, roar, crash. separ Sephar, counting. writing.
From Japheth, who penetrated into the remotest regions, the writer proceeds to Ham, who came into close contact with Shem. From Ham, he passes to Shem, in whom the line of history is to be continued.
Gen 10:21
Shem is here distinguished by two characteristics – the former referring to a subsequent, the latter to an antecedent event. He is the father of all the sons of Heber. It is evident from this that the sons of Heber cast luster on the family of Shem, and therefore on the whole human race. It is unnecessary to anticipate the narrative, except so far as to note that the sons of Heber include most of the Arabians, a portion of those who mingled with the race and inhabited the land of Aram, and, most probably, the original element of the population in the land of Kenaan. This characteristic of Shem shows that the table in which it is found was composed after the Hebrews had become conspicuous among the descendants of Shem.
Shem is next distinguished as the older brother of Japheth; that is, older than Ham. This interpretation of the words is most agreeable to the Hebrew idiom, and is the only one which affords an important sense. That Shem was the second son appears from the facts that Ham was the youngest Gen 9:24, that Shem was born in the five hundred and third year of Noah Gen 11:10, and, therefore, Japheth must have been the one born when Noah was in his five hundredth year Gen 5:32. The reason for inserting this statement is to prevent the order in which the brothers are introduced in the pedigree from being taken as that of their age, instead of that of the historical relationship subsisting among the nations descended from them.
Gen 10:22
Twenty-six of the primitive nations are descended from Shem, of which five are immediate.
(45) Elam was settled in a part of the modern Persia, to which he gave name. This name seems to be preserved in Elymais, a province of that country bordering on the Dijlah, and now included in Khusistan. It was early governed by its own kings Gen 14:1, and continued to occupy a distinct place among the nations in the time of the later prophets Isa 22:6; Jer 49:34; Eze 32:24. Its capital was Shushan or Susa Dan 8:2, now Shuster.
(46) Asshur seems to have originally occupied a district of Mesopotamia, which was bounded on the east by the Tigris Gen 2:14. The inviting plains and slopes on the east of the Tigris would soon occasion a migration of part of the nation across that river. It is possible there may have been an ancient Asshur occupying the same region even before the flood Gen 2:14.
(47) Arpakshad is traced in Arrapachitis, Arrhapachitis, a region in the north of Assyria. V. Bohlen and Benfey identify it with Ariapakshata, denoting a country beside Aria. Gesenius renders it border or stronghold of the Kasdim; but the components of the word are uncertain. The nations descended from Arpakshad are noted at the close on account of their late origin, as well as their import for the subsequent narrative.
(48) Lud is usually identified with the Lydians, Ludoi, who by migration at length reached and gave their name to a part of the west coast of Asia Minor.
(49) Aram gave name to the upper parts of Mesopotamia and the parts of Syria north of Palestine. Hence, we read of Aram Naharaim (of the two rivers), Aram Dammesek (of Damascus), Aram Maakah on the southwest border of Damascus, about the sources of the Jordan, Aram Beth Rechob in the same neighborhood, and Aram Zoba to the north of Damascus. The name is perhaps varied in the Arimoi of Homer (Iliad 2:783) and Strabo (xiii. 4, 6). From Aram are descended four later nations.
Gen 10:23
(50) Uz ( Ausitis, Septuagint.) the chief of a people having their seat in the north of Arabia Deserta, between Palestine and the Euphrates. From this Uz it is possible that the sons of Nahor and of Seir Gen 22:21; Gen 36:28 obtained their name. Job dwelt in this land.
(51) Hul is supposed to have his settlement about the sources of the Jordan in Huleh. Others trace this nation in the Hylatae (Pliny 5:19) near Emesa.
(52) Gether is of uncertain position, probably in Arabia.
(53) Mash may have left a trace of his name in Mons Masius, Karajah Dagh, south of Diarbekir, and perhaps also in the Mysians and Moesians, who may have wandered westward from under this mountain.
Gen 10:24
Arpakshad begat (54) Shelah. We know nothing of the nation of which he was the founder. He begat
(55) Heber. He is the progenitor of the Hebrews, the race to which Abraham belonged. He is marked out very prominently for reasons partly unknown to us at this distance of time, but partly no doubt because he was the ancestor of the chosen race who immediately preceded the confusion of tongues, and to whom belonged that generic Hebrew tongue, which afterward branched into several dialects, of which the Hebrew, now strictly so called, was one. It is probable that most of the diversified modes of speech retained the substance of the primeval speech of mankind. And it is not improbable, for various reasons, that this Hebrew tongue, taken in its largest sense, deviated less from the original standard than any other. The Shemites, and especially the Hebrews, departed less from the knowledge of the true God than the other families of man, and, therefore, may be presumed to have suffered less from the concussion given to the living speech of the race.
The knowledge previously accumulated of the true God, and of his will and way, would have been lost, if the terms and other modes of expressing divine things had been entirely obliterated. It is consonant with reason, then, to suppose that some one language was so little shaken from its primary structure as to preserve this knowledge. We know as a fact, that, while other nations retained some faint traces of the primeval history, the Hebrews have handed down certain and tangible information concerning former things in a consecutive order from the very first. This is a proof positive that they had the distinct outline and material substance of the primeval tongue in which these things were originally expressed. In keeping with this line of reasoning, while distinct from it, is the fact that the names of persons and things are given and explained in the Hebrew tongue, and most of them in that branch of it in which the Old Testament is composed. We do not enter further into the special nature of the Hebrew family of languages, or the relationship in which they are found to stand with the other forms of human speech than to intimate that such investigations tend to confirm the conclusions here enunciated.
Gen 10:25
This nation was very extensive, and accordingly branched out into several, of which the immediate ones are Peleg and Joctan.
(56) Peleg is remarkable on account of the origin assigned to his name. In his days was the land divided. Here two questions occur. What is the meaning of the earth being divided, and what is the time denoted by his days? The verb divide ( palag) occurs only three times elsewhere in the Hebrew scriptures 1Ch 1:19; Job 38:25; Psa 55:9. The connection in which this rare word is used in the Psalm, divide their tongues, seems to determine its reference in the present passage to the confusion of tongues and consequent dispersion of mankind recorded in the following chapter. This affords a probable answer to our first question. The land was in his days divided among the representative heads of the various nations. But to what point of time are we directed by the phrase in his days? Was the land divided at his birth, or some subsequent period of his life? The latter is possible, as Jacob and Gideon received new names, and Joshua an altered name, in later life.
The phrase in his days seems to look the same way. And the short interval from the deluge to his birth appears scarcely to suffice for such an increase of the human family as to allow of a separation into nations. Yet, on the other hand, it is hard to find any event in later life which connected this individual more than any other with the dispersion of man. It is customary to give the name at birth. The phrase in his days may, without any straining, refer to this period. And if we suppose, at a time when there were only a few families on the earth, an average increase of ten children in each in four generations, we shall have a thousand, or twelve hundred full-grown persons, and, therefore, may have five hundred families at the birth of Peleg. We cannot suppose more than fifty-five nations distinguished from one another at the dispersion, as Heber is the fifty-fifth name, and all the others are descended from him.
And if three families were sufficient to propagate the race after the flood, nine or ten were enough to constitute a primeval tribe or nation. We see some reason, therefore, to take the birth of Peleg as the occasion on which he received his name, and no stringent reason for fixing upon any later date. At all events the question seems to be of no chronological importance, as in any case only four generations preceded Peleg, and these might have been of comparatively longer or shorter duration without materially affecting the number of mankind at the time of his birth. Peleg is also remarkable as the head of that nation out of which, at an after period, the special people of God sprang. Of the Palgites, as a whole, we hear little or nothing further in history.
(57) Joctan, if little or insignificant as an individual or a nation, is the progenitor of a large group of tribes, finding their place among the wandering races included afterward under the name Arabic. Cachtan, as the Arabs designate him in their traditions, may have given name to Cachtan, a town and province mentioned by Niebuhr.
Gen 10:26-29
The thirteen tribes of the Joctanites or primitive Arabs are enumerated here in Gen 10:26-29.
(58) Almodad is usually referred to Yemen. The first syllable may be the Arabic article. Mudad is the name of one celebrated in Arab story as the stepfather of Ishmael and chief of the Jurhum tribe of Joctanites. The Alloumaiotai of Ptolemy belonged to the interior of Arabia Felix.
(59) Sheleph is traced in the Salapeenoi of Ptolemy (vi. 7), belonging to the interior.
(60) Hazarmaveth gives name to a district on the Indian Ocean, abounding in spices, now called Hadramaut. This tribe is the Chatramitae of Greek writers.
(61) Jerah occupied a district where are the coast and mountain of the moon, near Hadramaut.
(62) Hadoram is preserved in the tribe called Adamitai Atramitae, placed by Pliny (vi. 28) between the Homerites and the Sachalites on the south coast of Arabia.
(63) Uzal perhaps gave the ancient name of Azal to Sana, the capital of Yemen, a place still celebrated for the manufacture of beautiful stuffs.
(64) Diclah settled possibly in the palm-bearing region of the Minaei in Hejaz.
(65) Obal is otherwise unknown.
(66) Abimael is equally obscure. Bochart supposes there is a trace of the name in Mali, a place in Arabia Aromatifera.
(67) Sheba is the progenitor of the Sabaei in Arabia Felix, celebrated for spices, gold, and precious stones, and noted for the prosperity arising from traffic in these commodities. A queen of Sheba visited Solomon. The dominant family among the Sabaeans was that of Himjar, from whom the Himjarites (Homeritae) of a later period descended.
(68) Ophir gave name to a country celebrated for gold, precious stones, and almug wood, which seems to have lain on the south side of Arabia, where these products may be found. What kind of tree the almug is has not been clearly ascertained. Some suppose it to be the sandal wood which grows in Persia and India; others, a species of pine. If this wood was not native, it may have been imported from more distant countries to Ophir, which was evidently a great emporium. Others, however, have supposed Ophir to be in India, or Eastern Africa. The chief argument for a more distant locality arises from the supposed three years voyage to it from Ezion-geber, and the products obtained in the country so reached. But the three years voyage 1Ki 10:22; 2Ch 9:21 seems to be in reality to Tarshish, a very different region.
(69) Havilah here is the founder of a Joctanite tribe of Arabs, and therefore his territory must be sought somewhere in the extensive country which was occupied by these wandering tribes. A trace of the name is probably preserved in Khawlan, a district lying in the northwest of Yemen, between Sana and Mecca, though the tribe may have originally settled or extended further north.
(70) Jobab has been compared with the Iobaritai of Ptolemy (vi. 7). Bochart finds the name in the Arabic: yobab, a desert.
Gen 10:29
The situation of Mesha is uncertain. But it is obviously the western boundary of the settlement, and may have been in the neighborhood of Mecca and Medina. Sephar is perhaps the Arabic Zaphari, called by the natives Isfor, a town on the south coast near Mirbat. It seems, however, to be, in the present passage, the mount of the east itself, a thuriferous range of hills, adjacent, it may be, to the seaport so-called. Gesenius and others fix upon Mesene, an island at the head of the Persian Gulf, as the Mesha of the text. But this island may have had no existence at the time of the Joctanite settlement. These boundaries include the greater part of the west and south coast of the peninsula, and are therefore sufficient to embrace the provinces of Hejaz (in part), Yemen, and Hadramaut, and afford space for the settlements of the thirteen sons of Joctan. The limits thus marked out determine that all these settlers, Ophir among the rest, were at first to be found in Arabia, how far soever they may have wandered from it afterward.
Gen 10:31-32
Gen 10:31 contains the usual closing formula for the pedigree of the Shemite tribes; and Gen 10:32 contains the corresponding form for the whole table of nations.
From a review of these lands it is evident that Shem occupied a much smaller extent of territory than either of his brothers. The mountains beyond the Tigris, the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea, the Levant, the Archipelago, and the Black Sea, bound the countries that were in part peopled by Shem. Arabia, Syria, and Assyria contained the great bulk of the Shemites, intermingled with some of the Hamites. The Kushites, Kenaanites, and Philistines trench upon their ground. The rest of the Hamites peopled Africa, and such countries as were supplied from it. The Japhethites spread over all the rest of the world.
In this table there are 70 names, exclusive of Nimrod, of heads of families, tribes, or nations descended from the 3 sons of Noah – 14 from Japheth, 30 from Ham, and 26 from Shem. Among the heads of tribes descended from Japheth are 7 grandsons. Among those from Ham are 23 grandsons and 3 great-grandsons. Among those of Shem are 5 grandsons, one great-grandson, 2 of the fourth generation, and 13 of the fifth. Whence, it appears that the subdivisions are traced further in Ham and much further in Shem than in Japheth, and that they are pursued only in those lines which are of importance for the coming events in the history of Shem.
It is to be observed, also, that, though the different races are distinguished by the diversity of tongues, yet the different languages are much less numerous than the tribes. The eleven tribes of Kenaanites, and the thirteen tribes of Joctanites, making allowance for some tribal peculiarities, most probably spoke at first only two dialects of one family of languages, which we have designated the Hebrew, itself a branch of, if not identical with, what is commonly called the Shemitic. Hence, some Hamites spoke the language of Shem. A similar community of language may have occurred in some other instances of diversity of descent.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 21. Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber] It is generally supposed that the Hebrews derived their name from Eber or Heber, son of Shem; but it appears much more likely that they had it from the circumstance of Abraham passing over (for so the word abar signifies) the river Euphrates to come into the land of Canaan. See the history of Abraham, Ge 14:13.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Of all the children of Eber, i.e. of the Hebrews, the only church and people of God when Moses wrote, who are called
Eber, Num 24:24, as here, the children of Eber. And he is here called the father of them peculiarly, though he had other children, because he was their father not only by natural generation, but also in respect of the promise of God, which was conveyed to them through Shems hands, and of that faith and holiness wherein he was their predecessor and eminent pattern; even as Ham, though he had other sons, is specially called the father of Canaan, Gen 9:22, because his fathers curse rested upon him, Gen 10:25.
Object. Eber had many other children here recorded, and therefore in that sense Shem was not the father of all the children of Eber.
Answ. Though Eber had other children, yet none are called in Scripture the children of Eber, or, which is all one, the Hebrews, but Abrahams posterity; even as though Abraham had divers other children, yet the Israelites are in many places peculiarly called the children of Abraham. And the ungodly Jews, when they degenerate from God and godliness, God takes away their name, and denieth them to be Jews, Rom 2:28, and calls them Sodomites, Isa 1:10. And therefore no wonder if Joktan and his posterity, having, as it is probable, forsaken their fathers God, and turned idolaters, be here disowned as bastards, and blotted out of the honourable catalogue of the children of Eber: see Rom 9:8.
Japheth alone is here mentioned as his brother, and not Ham, because he was deservedly shut out from Shems blessing pronounced by Noah, and was accursed of God, whereas Japheth was partaker with Shem, both in the piety exercised towards their father, and the blessing thereupon pronounced; the word brother being often applied to persons alike in condition, disposition, or manners: see Gen 49:5.
The elder. Though the words in Hebrew may seem ambiguous, yet other texts make it probable that Japheth was the elder. For Noah began to beget children in his five hundredth year, Gen 5:32. And Shem was but a hundred years old two years after the flood, Gen 11:10. Therefore he was not the eldest. And Ham is concluded not to be the eldest, from Gen 9:24; of which see Poole “Gen 9:24“; if so, Japheth must be the eldest. And Shem is generally named first, not because he was the first-born, but because he had the privileges of the first-born, and was chief in dignity and authority in the church of God.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
21. Unto ShemThe historianintroduces him with marked distinction as “the father of Eber,”the ancestor of the Hebrews.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Unto Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber,…. And for the sake of those Shem is particularly said to be the father of, is this genealogy given, and indeed the whole book of Genesis wrote: Eber was the great-grandson of Shem, and is here spoken of by anticipation, and Shem is called not the father of either of his immediate sons, but of the posterity of this man; because the Hebrews sprung from him in his line, among whom the church of God and the true religion were preserved, and from whom the Messiah was to come, as he did: the word Eber, Jarchi interprets, “beyond the river, Euphrates” or “Tigris”, or both, as describing the seat of the posterity of Shem; but as this too much straitens them, since they inhabited on both sides, Dr. Hyde d has shown that the word used may refer to both, to those beyond these rivers, and to those on this side; see Nu 24:24
the brother of Japheth the elder; he was the brother of Ham too, but he is not mentioned because of the behaviour towards his father, and because of the curse that was upon him and his; but Shem’s relation to Japheth is expressed to show that they were alike in their disposition; and it may be to signify, that in times to come their posterity would unite in spiritual things, which has been fulfilled already in part, and will be more fully by the coalition of the Jews, the posterity of Shem, and of the Gentiles, the posterity of Japheth, in the Christian church state: and from hence we learn that Japheth was the eldest of Noah’s sons, though some render the words, “the elder brother of Japheth” e; and so make Shem to be the eldest; but as this is contrary to the accents, so to the history: for Noah was five hundred years old when he began to beget sons, Ge 5:32 he was six hundred when he went into the ark, Ge 7:11 two years after the flood Shem begat Arphaxad, when he was one hundred years old, and Noah six hundred and two, Ge 11:10 so that Shem must be born when Noah was five hundred and two years old; and since he begot children, there must be one two years older than Shem, which can be no other than Japheth, since Ham is called his younger son, Ge 9:24.
even to him were [children] born, who are reckoned as follow.
d Hist. Relig. Pers. c. 2. p. 47, 48. e “fratre Japheth majore”. V. L. Samar. Syr. Ar. “frater major natu ipsius Japheth”, Tigurine version; “fratri Japheti majori”, Cocceius; so some in Vatablus.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Descendants of Shem. – Gen 10:21. For the construction, vid., Gen 4:26. Shem is called the father of all the sons of Eber, because two tribes sprang from Eber through Peleg and Joktan, viz., the Abrahamides, and also the Arabian tribe of the Joktanides (Gen 4:26.). – On the expression, “ the brother of Japhet ,” see Gen 9:24. The names of the five sons of Shem occur elsewhere as the names of the tribes and countries; at the same time, as there is no proof that in any single instance the name was transferred from the country to its earliest inhabitants, no well-grounded objection can be offered to the assumption, which the analogy of the other descendants of Shem renders probable, that they were originally the names of individuals. As the name of a people, Elam denotes the Elymaeans, who stretched from the Persian Gulf to the Caspian Sea, but who are first met with as Persians no longer speaking a Semitic language. Asshur: the Assyrians who settled in the country of Assyria, , to the east of the Tigris, but who afterwards spread in the direction of Asia Minor. Arphaxad: the inhabitants of in northern Assyria. The explanation given of the name, viz., “fortress of the Chaldeans” ( Ewald), “highland of the Chaldeans” ( Knobel), “territory of the Chaldeans” ( Dietrich), are very questionable. Lud: the Lydians of Asia Minor, whose connection with the Assyrians is confirmed by the names of the ancestors of their kings. Aram: the ancestor of the Aramaeans of Syria and Mesopotamia.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
21 Unto Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder, even to him were children born. 22 The children of Shem; Elam, and Asshur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram. 23 And the children of Aram; Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Mash. 24 And Arphaxad begat Salah; and Salah begat Eber. 25 And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg; for in his days was the earth divided; and his brother’s name was Joktan. 26 And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah, 27 And Hadoram, and Uzal, and Diklah, 28 And Obal, and Abimael, and Sheba, 29 And Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab: all these were the sons of Joktan. 30 And their dwelling was from Mesha, as thou goest unto Sephar a mount of the east. 31 These are the sons of Shem, after their families, after their tongues, in their lands, after their nations. 32 These are the families of the sons of Noah, after their generations, in their nations: and by these were the nations divided in the earth after the flood.
Two things especially are observable in this account of the posterity of Shem:–
I. The description of Shem, v. 21. We have not only his name, Shem, which signifies a name, but two titles to distinguish him by:–
1. He was the father of all the children of Eber. Eber was his great grandson; but why should he be called the father of all his children, rather than of all Arphaxad’s, or Salah’s, c.? Probably because Abraham and his seed, God’s covenant-people, not only descended from Heber, but from him were called Hebrews ch. xiv. 13, Abram the Hebrew. Paul looked upon it as his privilege that he was a Hebrew of the Hebrews, Phil. iii. 5. Eber himself, we may suppose, was a man eminent for religion in a time of general apostasy, and a great example of piety to his family; and, the holy tongue being commonly called from him the Hebrew, it is probable that he retained it in his family, in the confusion of Babel, as a special token of God’s favour to him; and from him the professors of religion were called the children of Eber. Now, when the inspired penman would give Shem an honourable title, he calls him the father of the Hebrews. Though when Moses wrote this, they were a poor despised people, bond-slaves in Egypt, yet, being God’s people, it was an honour to a man to be akin to them. As Ham, though he had many sons, is disowned by being called the father of Canaan, on whose seed the curse was entailed (ch. ix. 22), so Shem, though he had many sons, is dignified with the title of the father of Eber, on whose seed the blessing was entailed. Note, a family of saints is more truly honourable than a family of nobles, Shem’s holy seed than Ham’s royal seed, Jacob’s twelve patriarchs than Ishmael’s twelve princes, ch. xvii. 20. Goodness is true greatness.
2. He was the brother of Japheth the elder, by which it appears that, though Shem is commonly put first, he was not Noah’s first-born, but Japheth was older. But why should this also be put as part of Shem’s title and description, that he was the brother of Japheth, since it had been, in effect, said often before? And was he not as much brother to Ham? Probably this was intended to signify the union of the Gentiles with the Jews in the church. The sacred historian had mentioned it as Shem’s honour that he was the father of the Hebrews; but, lest Japheth’s seed should therefore be looked upon as for ever shut out from the church, he here reminds us that he was the brother of Japheth, not in birth only, but in blessing; for Japheth was to dwell in the tents of Shem. Note, (1.) Those are brethren in the best manner that are so by grace, and that meet in the covenant of God and in the communion of saints. (2.) God, in dispensing his grace, does not go by seniority, but the younger sometimes gets the start of the elder in coming into the church; so the last shall be first and the first last.
II. The reason of the name of Peleg (v. 25): Because in his days (that is, about the time of his birth, when his name was given him), was the earth divided among the children of men that were to inhabit it; either when Noah divided it by an orderly distribution of it, as Joshua divided the land of Canaan by lot, or when, upon their refusal to comply with that division, God, in justice, divided them by the confusion of tongues: whichsoever of these was the occasion, pious Heber saw cause to perpetuate the remembrance of it in the name of his son; and justly may our sons be called by the same name, for in our days, in another sense, is the earth, the church, most wretchedly divided.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Verses 21-32:
Five sons of Shem are named, and twenty-one grandsons. The sons: Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram.
Elam: his descendants first settled Elymais, a territory bordering on Susiana and Media, extending from the Persian Gulf to the Red Sea. In history they are the Persians.
Asshur: the ancestor of Assyria, see verses 11 and 12.
Arphaxad: his descendants occupied a region north of Assyria.
Lud: ancestor of the Lydians of Asia Minor.
Aram: his descendants settled the region of Mesopotamia, between the Tigris and the Euphrates Rivers, and that part of Syria around Damascus.
The grandsons of Shem populated the area extending from the upper Euphrates on the north to the lower regions of the Arabian Peninsula on the south; and the Persian Gulf on the east to the Red Sea on the west.
In the lifetime of Peleg, “was the earth divided.” The precise meaning of this clause is uncertain. Some suggest it refers to the separation of the continents from the original land mass (Ge 1:9, 10). This seems unlikely to those who believe such a phenomenon would necessarily involve earthquakes and tidal waves of such magnitude as to destroy virtually all life. Others suggest this refers to the division of the nations following the confusion of tongues at Babel (Ge 11:7-9). This appears the most likely interpretation. However it may have referred to both.
National and social patterns have changed so drastically that it is impossible to determine accurately the ethnic background of all earth’s peoples. Some are obvious, such as the Blacks, most of whom are of Hamitic origin. However, many Semitic people are also dark-skinned. Japhetic people are generally fair-skinned, with light-colored hair. However, many Semitic people also fit this general description.
NOTES.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
21. Unto Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber. Moses, being about to speak of the sons of Shem, makes a brief introduction, which he had not done in reference to the others. Nor was it without reason; for since this was the race chosen by God, he wished to sever it from other nations by some special mark. This also is the reason why he expressly styles him the ‘father of the sons of Eber,’ and the elder brother of Japheth. (320) For the benediction of Shem does not descend to all his grandchildren indiscriminately, but remains in one family. And although the grandchildren themselves of Eber declined from the true worship of God, so that the Lord might justly have disinherited them; yet the benediction was not extinguished, but only buried for a season, until Abraham was called, in honor of whom this singular dignity is ascribed to the race and name of Eber. For the same cause, mention is made of Japheth, in order that the promise may be confirmed, ‘God shall speak gently unto Japheth, that he may dwell in the tents of Shem.’ Shem is not here called the brother of Ham, inasmuch as the latter was cut off from the fraternal order, and was debarred his own right. Fraternity remained only between them and Japheth; because, although they were separated, God had engaged that he would cause them to return from this dissension into union. As it respects the name Eber, they who deny it to be a proper name, but deduce it from the word which signifies to pass over, are more than sufficiently refuted by this passage alone.
(320) In the English translation it is, ‘The brother of Japheth the elder.’ The balance of proof seems to lie in favor of the English translation, and gives the seniority to Japheth. Shem is supposed to be placed first, not on account of his age, but because his was the chosen seed. — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
8. The Line of Shem (Gen. 10:21-32, Gen. 11:10-32).
21 And unto Shem, the father of all the children of Eber, the elder brother of Japheth, to him also were children born. 22 The sons of Shem: Elam, and Asshur, and Arpachshad, and Lud, and Aram. 23 And the sons of Aram: Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Mash. 24 And Arpachshad begat Shelah; and Shelah begat Eber. 25 And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg; for in his days was the earth divided; and his brothers name was Joktan. 26 And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah, 27 and Hadoram, and Uzal, and Diklah, 28 and Obal, and Abimeal, and Sheba, 29 and Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab: all these were the sons of Joktan. 30 And their dwelling was from Mesha, as thou goest toward Sephar, the mountain of the east. 31 These are the sons of Shem, after their families, after their tongues, in their lands, after their nations. 32 These are the families of the sons of Noah, after their generations, in their nations; and of these were the nations divided in the earth after the flood.
The writer of Genesis, it will be noted, arranged his genealogies in such a way that the student is prepared for the elaboration of the Line of Shem through Terah and Abraham. The five major branches of the Semitic family are presented here: Elam, Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud, and Aram.
It is fitting to add here the complementary genealogical information from ch. 11:
10 These are the generations of Shem. Shem was a hundred years old, and begat Arpachshad lived after he begat Shelah four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters. 14 And Shelah lived thirty years, and begat Eber: 15 and Shelah lived after he begat Eber four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters. 16 and Eber lived four and thirty years, and begat Peleg: 17 and Eber lived after he begat Peleg four hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters. 18 And Peleg lived thirty years, and begat Reu: 19 and Peleg lived after he begat Reu two hundred and nine years, and begat sons and daughters. 20 And Reu lived two and thirty years, and begat Serug: 21 and Reu lived after he begat Serug two hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters. 22 And Serug lived thirty years, and begat Nahor: 23 and Serug lived after he begat Nahor two hundred years, and begat sons and daughters. 24 And Nahor lived nine and twenty years, and begat Terah: 25 and Nahor lived after he begat Terah a hundred and nineteen years, and begat sons and daughters. 26 And Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran. 27 Now these are the generations of Terah. Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot. 28 And Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees. 29 And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of Abrams wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahors wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah. 30 And Sarai was barren; she had no child. 31 And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran, his sons son, and Sarai, his daughter-in-law, his son Abrams wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there, 32 And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran.
Two important facts stand out in these Scriptures: (1) the steady decrease in the longevity of the patriarchs named (from 400 to about 200 years in the above table; later to 175 years in the time of Abraham [Gen. 25:7], and still later to 120 years in the time of Moses, Deu. 34:7); (2) that the inspired writer steadily narrows the Line of Shem down to its proper Messianic orientation as his been his objective from the beginning. He is pointing the Messianic development firstly toward the Abrahamic Promise, and secondly to the giving of the Law at Sinai, and ultimately to the incarnate ministry of Messiah Himself, Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ, the Son of the living God (Mat. 16:16). Such again is the unity of the Book of Genesis in relation to the Bible as a whole. We shall now return to the account of the Line of Shem.
Elam: well-known as the area beyond the Tigris, north of the Persian Gulf, in the region around Susa. The Elamites were warlike and at one time controlled Lower Mesopotamia. Later, Elam became a province of the Persian Empire. In the Behistun Rock inscriptions of Darius I, the Old Persian text is accompanied by Elamite and Babylonian translations.
Asshur: Assyria; the shortened form, Syria. The most fertile and densely populated area which lay east of the central section of the Tigris valley. Its three great capitals were Asshur, Calah, and Nineveh (cf. Jon. 1:1). Archaeology has proved that it was inhabited before 5000 B.C. At one time the Assyrian Empire extended across southwest Asia as far as the Mediterranean and Lower Egypt.
Arpachshad (or Arphaxad): name not yet found in inscriptions, hence identification is not possible. (Cf. Arrapa of Ptolemys Geography). Shelah: brought in from Gen. 11:12. Was this a personal name (cf. Methuselah, Gen. 5:22)? Eber (cf. Gen. 10:14): the name is translated one who passes over, and is the same as the word Hebrew (Habiru) and as such was used later to designate Semitic semi-nomads. In his days was the earth divided, hence the name of his son, Peleg, meaning division. Does this have reference to the dispersion following Babel (Gen. 11:1-9)? Or does it indicate a division between nomadic Arabs (a name which is probably a dialectical variant of eber, wanderer) and those peoples settled on irrigated lands, under Peleg (cf. NBD, 331)? Peleg (cf. Gen. 10:16), division. Joktan, Pelegs brother. Here we have the list of the thirteen Arabian tribes sired by Joktan; these tribes (or peoples) occupied the southern regions of the Arabian peninsula. Two of the names occur in the Hamitic Line, namely, Sheba and Havilah (cf. Gen. 10:7). Note the story of the Queen of Sheba who visited Solomon (1Ki. 10:1-13, cf. 2Sa. 20:1, 1Ch. 5:13, Jos. 19:2, Eze. 27:22, Mat. 12:42 :, also the mention of the gold of Ophir, 1Ki. 9:28; 1Ki. 10:11). Sheba and Ophir obviously were regions in the vicinity of modern Yemen; Havilah was north of these areas (cf. Gen. 25:18, 1Sa. 15:7). (Concerning the appearance of Sheba as a descendant both of Ham [Gen. 10:7] and of Shem [Gen. 10:28], Archer writes [SOTI, 201]: In all probability the Sabaeans were originally Hamitic, but continual intermixture with Semitic neighbors in South Arabia finally altered their ethnic complexion to make them predominantly Semitic. Thus both the relationship of Gen. 10:7 and that of Gen. 10:28 would be correct.) Note here also the supplementary list of the successive descendants of Peleg in the Messianic Line (Gen. 11:18-26): Reu, probably a short form of Reuel, but not as yet identified; Serug, mentioned in Assyrian texts as a city of the Haran district; Nahor, appears as Nakhuru in Mari texts of the 2nd millenium B.C.; Terah, the old city name of Haran district.
Lud, son of Shem. Probably refers to the Lydians of Asia Minor. When the rich Lydian King Croesus was defeated by Cyrus the Great (c. 540 B.C.) Lydian autonomy came to an end.
Aram: the fifth son of Shem named, Gen. 10:22. The region known as Syria; the most important of the Aramaic states, Damascus, played a leading role in later Biblical history. Aram of the Two Rivers (i.e., Paddan-aram) was the name given to the region around Haran in northern Mesopotamia where Laban and other members of Abrahams family settled. Note the sons of Aram, Gen. 10:23 : Uz, Hul, Gether, Mash: all unidentified as yet. Josephus takes Hul to be Armenia, Gether to be Bactria, and Mash to be district of Mesene at the mouth of the Euphrates. These identifications, however, are very questionable.
(For further appearances of the names in the Table of Nations, the student is referred especially to First Chronicles, chapter 1, and to any complete Concordance of the Old and New Testaments, For additional etymological, historical and geographical information concerning the names and places mentioned in the Table, see the Rand McNally Bible Atlas (BA), Bakers Bible Atlas (BBA), The New Bible Dictionary (NBD), and the Table of Nations Map 1, in the small but excellent Standard Bible Atlas (Standard Publishing, Cincinnati). Account must be taken of the fact that some differences occur as to the location of the different peoples represented in the Table, in the various maps in which they are placed geographically. Many of the persons and peoples given in the Table are simply as yet unidentifiable.)
9. The Importance of the Table of Nations
Whitelaw (PCG, 156): It is impossible to exaggerate the importance of this ethnological table. Whether regarded from a geographical, a political, or a theocratical standpoint, this unparalleled list, the combined result of reflection and deep research, is no less valuable as a historical document than as a lasting proof of the brilliant capacity of the Hebrew mind. Undoubtedly the earliest effort of the human intellect to exhibit in a tabulated form the geographical distribution of the human race, it bears unmistakable witness in its own structure to its high antiquity, occupying itself least with the Japhetic tribes which were farthest from the theocratic center, and were latest in attaining to historic eminence, and enlarging with much greater minuteness of detail on those Hamitic nations, the Egyptian, the Canaanite, and Arabian, which were soonest developed, and with which the Hebrews came most into contact in the initial stages of their career. It describes the rise of states, and, consistently with all subsequent historical and archaeological testimony, gives the prominence to the Egyptian or Arabian Hamites, as the first founders of empires. It exhibits the separation of the Shemites from the other sons of Noah, and the budding forth of the line of promise in the family of Arphaxad. While thus useful to the geographer, the historian, the politician, it is specially serviceable to the theologian as enabling him to trace the descent of the womans seed, and to mark the fulfillments of Scripture prophecies concerning the nations of the earth.
Dean (OBH, 18): The tenth chapter of Genesis is the oldest authority on ethnology. It gives the descendants of Noahs sons and their distribution. (1) Ham had four sons who settled the Lower Euphrates and the Nile valleys. The earliest civilizations were Hamitic. (2) Shems five sons settled southwestern Asia. They were ancestors of the Chaldeans who conquered the earlier Hamitic race on the Euphrates, of the Assyrians, Syrians, Arabians, and Hebrews, (3) Japheth had seven sons, from whom sprang the Medes, Greeks, Romans, and all the modern races of Europe. They scattered widely, were in obscurity for thousands of years, but for twenty-four hundred years have been the ruling races of the world.
10. The Antiquity of Man
We have already noted that in the Neolithic Age (roughly from 10,000 or 8,000 to 5,000 B.C.) plant and animal domestication was fully developed, and pottery began to put in appearance. We must take account also of the polychrome paintings on cave walls, of hand-carved artifacts (such as batons, used probably for magical purposes), many specimens of which have been dug up by the archaeologists and which must have been in existence about the beginning of the Neolithic Period. The Chalcolithic Age (c. 5,000 to 3,000 B.C.) was marked by many cultural advancements, skilled workmanship in copper, flint, basalt, marble, limestone, ivory and bone; high development of the imaginative-esthetic powers in man; and along with this a highly developed agricultural civilization. This age produced metallurgists, potters, weavers, smiths and many other artisans of high attainments. The beginning of skilled workmanship in bronze (in Scripture, brass) occurred between 3,000 and 2,500 B.C. (Bronze is, of course, an alloy of copper and tin). The discovery and widespread use of iron had its beginning from about 1,500 B.C.
When did homo sapiens first put in appearance? Some of the extravagant claims that are being made today for the antiquity of man are ridiculous beyond description. In recent months articles have appeared from time to time claiming the discovery of human skeletal remainsa. few here, and a few therewhich indicate an antiquity of some 100,000 years for the human being; by some this figure has been extended farther back into the limbo of unrecorded time. One Dr. Leakey has been spreading his assumptions of this character in the metropolitan press as if they were law and gospel, when as a matter of fact there is no possibility of proving the reliability of his claims. One fact stands out in this connection which, to this writer, needs some explanation. It is this: At the rate of population growth such as we have witnessed in our time, if homo sapiens existed 100,000 years ago, or even 25,000 years ago, or even much fewer years ago, there would have been billions of such creatures walking the earth. If so, what happened to them? Have we found any abundance of skeletal remains to prove that they had already covered the surface of the earth with their presence? Why did they not invent anything of importance? Why did they make little or no progress? What are the evidences of their culture, even as existing prior to the evidences of culture found in the caves and on the cave walls of early prehistoric species? If the human race had spread over the earth fifty thousand years ago, or twenty-five thousand years ago, it must have been a race of helpless critters. Or, is it a fact that the Flood did come and destroy them all? But even so, where are their fossilized remains? It is not about time to mix a little common sense with academic nonsense? Some of these claims are so absurd thatas an English philosopher once put itonly a very learned man could possibly conjure them up. It takes a great deal more blind faith to accept these academic conjectures than to let God work His sovereign Will as He may have chosen to do and does now choose to do.
* * * * *
REVIEW QUESTIONS ON PART TWENTY-THREE
1.
How do the names of Noahs sons indicate the character of their respective Lines?
2.
What is the correct meaning of the word nation?
3.
What is the over-all principle of classification in the Table of Nations?
4.
Explain how the Table is arranged in climactic form?
5.
State the geographical distributions of the progenies of Shem, Ham, and Japheth, respectively.
6.
Why is the Table finally narrowed down to the Line of Shem?
7.
What is the general trend of the content of Genesis at this point?
8.
Why does the Line from Shem to Abraham trace a personal descent?
9.
Explain some of the problems involved in the explanation of this Table of Nations.
10.
Why were rivers the first arteries of transportation?
11.
What do we conclude as to the original unity of the race?
12.
What are some of the facts which help us in the interpretation of the Table of Nations?
13.
Explain the three distinctive characteristics of a people which may cause subtle variability in names.
14.
How can we account for duplicate names in two or more lists?
15.
Explain what is meant by the statement that names can be taken over from the Table of Nations to equate with specific usages in modern times.
16.
What is Albrights comment about this Table?
17.
What is meant by the statement that this Table is not the basis of the common threefold division of the races of mankind into Aryan, Semitic, and dark-skinned peoples.
18.
What was the geographical spread of the Japhethites?
19.
Identify the following names in the Line of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tarshish.
20.
Identify the following sons of the Line of Ham: Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan.
21.
Identify Havilah and Sheba of the Line of Canaan.
22.
List the various Canaanite peoples and locate them geographically.
23.
What was the general geographical location of the Phoenicians and Canaanites?
24.
How is Nimrod described? What type of ruler does this description indicate that he was?
25.
Name and locate the Babylonian cities associated with the name of Nimrod.
26.
Name and locate the Assyrian cities associated with his name.
27.
Explain the historical and geographical relations between Babylonia and Assyria.
28.
Name the sons of Shem and indicate the areas held by the progeny of each.
29.
Who were the Elamites and what was their location and general history?
30.
Who were the Assyrians and what were their great Cities?
31.
Who was Joktan? How many tribes were sired by him and what territory did they occupy?
32.
With what people is the name of Lud associated?
33.
Who were the Arameans and what territory did they occupy?
34.
Identify Sheba and Ophir.
35.
Discuss the importance of this Table of the Nations.
36.
How long has homo sapiens been upon this earth? What are the objections to the extravagant claims regarding his antiquity?
37.
To what ultimate events of such great importance to the Plan of Redemption does the writer of Genesis point by his method of gradually narrowing down the genealogies from Shem to Abraham?
38.
To what extent does the genealogical table in chapter 11 contribute to that of chapter ten?
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(21-23) shem . . . the brother of Japheth the elder.Really, the elder brother of Japheth. Though the rules of Hebrew grammar will admit of no other rendering, it is remarkable that both the Syriac and the Vulg. make the same mistake as our own version. In designating Shem as the father of all the children of Eber, attention is called to the fact that the descendants of Peleg, his elder son, are omitted from this table, and reserved for the Tldth Shem. (See Gen. 11:10.)
The nations descended from Shem were:
1. Elam.According to Mr. Sayce (Chald. Gen., p. 196), the primitive inhabitants of Elam were a race closely allied to the Accadians, and spread over the whole range of country which stretched from the southern shores of the Caspian to the Persian Gulf. But just as the Semitic Asshur expelled a Hamite race from Assyria, so another branch of this conquering family occupied Elymais. It is now called Chuzistan, and was the most easternly of the countries occupied by the Semites. But see Excursus to Genesis 14 on the conquests of the Elamite Chedorlaomer.
2. Asshur.This Semitic stock seems to have been the first to settle on the Tigris, as the Hamites were the first to settle on the Euphrates. Finally, as we have seen (Gen. 10:11), they conquered the whole country.
3. Arphaxad.Heb., Arpachshad. We may dismiss the idea that he was connected with the region called Arrapachitis, for this correctly is Aryapakshata, the land next the Aryans. Really he appears as the ancestor of Eber and the Joktanite Arabs.
4. Lud.Probably the Lydians, who, after various wanderings, settled in Asia Minor.
5. Aram.As Asshur means plain, so Aram means highland. It was originally the name of the Lebanon ranges, and thus Damascus is called Aram in 2Sa. 8:5. Subsequently the race so extended itself as to possess Mesopotamia, a lowland country, but called, as early as Gen. 24:10, Aram of the two rivers. The greatness of Aram will be best seen by examining those places in our version where Syria and Syrian are spoken of, and which, in the Hebrew, are really Aram.
To the Araman stock belonged also four outlying dependencies(1) Uz, the land of Job, a district in the northern part of Arabia Deserta; (2) Hul and (3) Gether, regions of which nothing is known; and (4) Mash, a desert region on the western side of the Euphrates (Chald. Gen., p. 276).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
THE SHEMITIC FAMILY, Gen 10:21-31.
21. Unto Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder, even to him were children born That is, older than Ham, though younger than Japheth . Comp . note on Gen 5:32. This expression, “elder brother,” seems to be inserted here to remind the reader that, although Shem was mentioned after Ham, he was really older than he. Shem’s posterity is mentioned last, to form a more immediate and natural connexion with the following history, which pertains to them exclusively. Shem signifies name, that is, great or distinguished name; made illustrious as the line through which God shines on the world the line in which arose the “NAME that is above every name.” Shem was the ancestor of the Persians, Assyrians, Arabians, and Lydians, (perhaps also of the Phenicians, see Gen 10:15,) all great nations of western Asia; but he is especially conspicuous in this history as father of the “children of Eber,” the Hebrew people, through whom came revelation and the Messiah. For the meaning of “Hebrew,” see Gen 10:24 and note. The names of most of these sons of Shem became early transferred to the countries they occupied.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And to Shem, the father of all the children of Eber, the elder brother of Japheth, to him also were children born. The sons of Shem: Elam and Ashur, and Arpachshad and Lud and Aram.’
The special mention of Eber, the ‘father’ of the Hebrews, at this point, is the only concession in the whole account to the special importance of the ancestor of Israel, and it is noted that he descends from Arpachshad the least known of Shem’s ‘sons’. This comment was clearly written in a period when the writer’s people were known as ‘Hebrews’. There is nothing here of the claims to grandeur made by other nations in their writings. There is no boasting. It is totally down to earth and practical.
It is of interest to consider the fact that Arpachshad’s name is demonstrably non-Semitic and not related to any known nation. Gen 11:2 demonstrates that he at least is a real ‘son’ of Shem, while the others are the names of well-known nations, and in their case, with the exception of Aram, no descent is given. Whereas the birth of the nations can be dealt with on a broad scope the birth of the ancestors of Israel must be accurately recorded and in detail. Furthermore the name is clearly genuine for no Israelite would ever have invented such a name. It was given at a time when all spoke one language which would have been a fairly primitive, pre-Semitic one. Thus we must not be surprised to find non-Semitic usage.
Elam refers to the area of the plain of Khuzistan north of the Persian gulf. They developed their own pictographic script shortly after writing began in Babylonia (third millennium BC). The reference to them here may reflect the presence of early Semitic people in the area. A king of Elam is mentioned in Genesis 14.
Ashur refers to ancient Assyria whose early kings were originally described as ‘kings who lived in tents’. The first of these kings is mentioned in tablets at Ebla (3d millennium BC). The area included a good proportion of Semites, but was a mixture, as is confirmed by probable reference to them among the Hamites (see on Gen 10:10-12).
Lud here may well refer to ancient Lydia (Ludu), as distinct from the Lud which is connected with Egypt (Isa 66:19; Jer 46:9). As with Ashur the two may be connected.
Aram here may refer to the Aram(e.i) in the East Tigris region north of Elam and north east of Assyria. Reference is made to ‘Aram’ in an inscription of Naram-Sin of Akkad (c.2300 BC) referring to a region on the Upper Euphrates and to a city on the Lower Tigris in documents from Drehem (c.2000 BC). Later ‘Aram’ would become associated with Syria. The paralleling of Aram with Elam and Ashur is therefore a sign that the narrative is of a very early date.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The Sons of Shem (Twenty-Six Nations) – Gen 10:21-31 tells us the names of the twenty-six nations that descended from the loins of Shem the son of Noah.
Gen 10:21 Unto Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder, even to him were children born.
Gen 10:21
Gen 10:21 “the brother of Japheth the elder” – Comments – Japheth was the elder of Noah’s three sons. Ham was probably second and Shem third, which is the way they are listed in Gen 10:1-32.
Gen 10:22 The children of Shem; Elam, and Asshur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram.
Gen 10:22
Comments – Scholars identify eight or nine individuals in the Scriptures by this name. Elam became a province east of Babylon and northeast of the lower Tigris. It is a name that is used in prophecy in the Scriptures.
Gen 10:22 Word Study on “Asshur” (46 th nation) BDB says the Hebrew name “Asshur” ( ) (H804) means, “a step.” The Enhanced Strong says it is used 151 times in the Old Testament, being translated in the KJV as “Assyria 118, Assyrian 19, Asshur 8, Assyrian + 01121 5, Assur 1.”
Comments – This second son of Shem became the ancestor of the Assyrians, and played an important role in Israel’s history.
Gen 10:22 Word Study on “Arphaxad” (47 th nation) The Enhanced Strong says the Hebrew name “Arphaxad” “ar-pak-shad” ( ) (H775) means, “I shall fail as the breast,” or “he cursed the breast-bottle,” being used 9 times in the Old Testament, being translated in the KJV as “Arphaxad 9.” This name is only referred to in genealogies in its nine uses.
Gen 10:22 Word Study on “Lud” (48 th nation) BDB says the Hebrew name “Lud” ( ) (H3865) means, “strife.”
Comments – BDB says Lud is the fourth son of Shem and ancestor of the Lydians. Gordon Wendham suggests they may be “the Lydians of Asia Minor (so Josephus, Antiquities 1.6.4)” or “… the Lubdu who lived on the upper Tigris.” He acknowledges that there is difficulty in their identification. [155] John Gill says that these Lydians must be differentiated from the Lydians of North Africa, whose ancestor Ludim was the son of Mizraim (Gen 10:13). [156]
[155] Gordon J. Wenham, Genesis 1-15, in Word Biblical Commentary: 58 Volumes on CD-Rom, vol. 1, eds. Bruce M. Metzger, David A. Hubbard and Glenn W. Barker (Dallas: Word Inc., 2002), in Libronix Digital Library System, v. 2.1c [CD-ROM] (Bellingham, WA: Libronix Corp., 2000-2004), 230.
[156] John Gill, Genesis, in John Gill’s Expositor, in e-Sword, v. 7.7.7 [CD-ROM] (Franklin, Tennessee: e-Sword, 2000-2005), comments on Genesis 10:22.
Gen 10:13, “And Mizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim,”
Gen 10:22 Word Study on “Aram” (49 th nation) BDB says the Hebrew name “Aram” ( ) (H758) means, “exalted.” The Enhanced Strong says this word is used times in the Old Testament times, being translated in the KJV as “Syria 67, Syrians 56, Aram 7, Syriadamascus + 04601 1, Syriamaachah + 04601 1.”
Comments – BDB says that Aram was the ancestor of “the Syrian or Aramean people.”
Gen 10:23 And the children of Aram; Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Mash.
Gen 10:23
Comments – Strong says that it refers to “the country of Job; probably east and southeast of Palestine somewhere in the Arabian desert.” PTW suggests that it was located either in “Hauran, south of Damascus,” or in “the area between Edom and north Arabia.” Lam 4:21 suggests that it was located near Edom.
Lam 4:21, “Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom, that dwellest in the land of Uz; the cup also shall pass through unto thee: thou shalt be drunken, and shalt make thyself naked.”
Since Uz was a descendant of Shem’s, it is likely that Job was from this lineage.
Job 1:1, “There was a man in the land of Uz , whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.”
Gen 10:23 Word Study on “Hul” (51 st nation) BDB says the Hebrew name “Hul” ( ) (H2343) means, “circle.” The Enhanced Strong says it is used 2 times in the Scriptures, being translated in the KJV as “Hul 2”. Note the other use:
1Ch 1:17, “The sons of Shem; Elam, and Asshur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram, and Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Meshech.”
Comments – PTW says that this probably refers to “an Aramean tribe,” and “some have suggested the Hulia near Mount Masius,” which Smith tells us is in northern Mesopotamia.
Gen 10:23 Word Study on “Gether” (52 nd nation) BDB says the Hebrew name “Gether” ( ) (H1666) means, “fear.” The Enhanced Strong says it is used 2 times in the Old Testament, being translated in the KJV as “Gether 2.” Note the other use:
1Ch 1:17, “The sons of Shem; Elam, and Asshur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram, and Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Meshech.”
Comments – PTW suggests that this may refer to “an unknown family of Arameans.”
Gen 10:23 Word Study on “Mash” (53 rd nation) BDB says the Hebrew name “Mash” ( ) (H4851) means, “drawn out.” This word is used only one time in the Scriptures. Most likely, we see a variant reading of this same name in 1Ch 1:17 as “Meshech.” (The other Meshech referred to in the Scriptures is the son of Japheth.)
1Ch 1:17, “The sons of Shem; Elam, and Asshur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram, and Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Meshech.”
Comments – PTW suggests that this is a people living near Mount Masius in northern Mesopotamia.
Gen 10:24 And Arphaxad begat Salah; and Salah begat Eber.
Gen 10:24
Gen 10:24 Word Study on “Eber” (55 th nation) BDB says the Hebrew name “Eber” ( ) (H5677) means, “the region beyond.” PTW gives us the meanings, “the other side, beyond.” This individual was the great grandson of Shem, the son of Noah. However, the importance of his name lies in the fact that the Hebrew people will derive their name from him. Although there is no direct correlation between Eber and the Hebrew nation founded by Abraham, ISBE says that the name “‘Hebrew’is intended to denote the people or tribe who came “from the other, side of the river” (i.e. the Euphrates), from Haran (Gen 11:31), whence Abraham and his dependents migrated to Canaan.” [157] Thus, Abraham will be the first individual in the Old Testament to be called a Hebrew.
[157] A. C. Grant, “Eber,” 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 10:24 “Arphaxad begat Salah; and Salah begat Eber” – Comments – The genealogy in Luke differs from this one in Gen 10:24. The one in Luk 3:35-36 tells us that Arphazad begat Caanan, who begat Salah, who begat Eber, while Genesis leaves out the name Caanan.
Luk 3:35-36, “Which was the son of Saruch, which was the son of Ragau, which was the son of Phalec, which was the son of Heber, which was the son of Sala, Which was the son of Cainan, which was the son of Arphaxad , which was the son of Sem, which was the son of Noe, which was the son of Lamech,”
The difference can be explained by noting that the LXX version of Gen 10:24 includes the name Cainan, “ , , .” [158] Luke follows the Septuagint version. The authors of the KJV followed the Massoretic Text (the traditional Hebrew Old Testament) and the Latin Vulgate, which drops the name “Cainan” from Gen 10:24.
[158] Septuaginta: With Morphology, ed. Alfred Rahlfs (Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, c1979, 1996), in Libronix Digital Library System, v. 2.1c [CD-ROM] (Bellingham, WA: Libronix Corp., 2000-2004), Genesis 10:24.
Gen 10:25 And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg; for in his days was the earth divided; and his brother’s name was Joktan.
Gen 10:25
[159] S. F. Hunter, “Peleg,” 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).
Comments – Arthur Custance suggests that the descendants of Peleg were “the Pelasgians of antiquity, who were great sea-going merchants and sometimes pirates.” He writes:
“When the Thracians descended to the Aegean from the north in the 14th century B.C., they displaced the Pelasgians from the territory which they held between the Hebrus and the Strymon. It is curious to find the Pelasgians occupying a territory adjacent to a river, the Hebrus, bearing a name so much reminiscent of Eber who, according to Gen 10:25, was their father. After they were displaced, these people seem to have been swallowed up by the Greek population with whom they were subsequently confused.” [160]
[160] Arthur Custance, The Doorway Papers: A Study in the Names in Genesis 10 [on-line]; accessed 28 March 2009; available from http://www.custance.org/Library/Volume1/Part_II/Chapter4.html; Internet, 3.
Gen 10:25 “for in his days was the earth divided” Word Study on “the earth” The commonly used Hebrew word “earth” ( ) (H776) has a wide range of meanings, which Gesenius says are, “the earth,” “earth, land, continent,” “a land, country,” “land, piece of land,” “the ground,” or “the element of the earth, earthly part.” The Enhanced Strong says this word is used 2,504 times in the Old Testament being translated in the KJV as “land 1543, earth 712, country 140, ground 98, world 4, way 3, common 1, field 1, nations 1, wilderness + 04057 1.”
Word Study on “divided” Strong says the Hebrew word “divided” ( ) (H6385) is a primitive root meaning, “to divide, split.” The Enhanced Strong says it is used only 4 times in the Old Testament being translated in the KJV as “divide 4.”
Comments – According to Gen 11:10-16, Peleg was born one hundred and one (101) years after the flood. This passage suggests that the nations were still living primarily in the Mesopotamian area up until the time of the confusion of tongues at the Tower of Babel. Thus, within the context of Genesis 10-11, the phrase “for in his days was the earth divided” is a reference to the tower of Babel and the scattering of the nations across the face of the earth. Ancient Jewish tradition supports this view. The Book of Jubilees says in the days of Peleg the nations were dividing themselves upon the earth. The divided the earth into three lots according to the inheritance of the three sons of Noah. Since this document dates a few centuries before the time of Christ, it shows to us how the Jews may have interpreted this passage in Genesis.
“And in the sixth year [1567 A.M.] thereof, she bare him son, and he called his name Peleg; for in the days when he was born the children of Noah began to divide the earth amongst themselves: for this reason he called his name Peleg. And they divided (it) secretly amongst themselves, and told it to Noah. And it came to pass in the beginning of the thirty-third jubilee [1569 A.M.] that they divided the earth into three parts, for Shem and Ham and Japheth, according to the inheritance of each , in the first year in the first week, when one of us who had been sent, was with them.” ( The Book of Jubilees 8.8-11)
There are two references within the Scriptures to such an allotment of land to the sons of Noah.
Deu 32:8, “When the most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel.”
Act 17:24-26, “God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation ;”
Therefore, this interpretation is followed by some modern English translations.
AmpBible, “To Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg [meaning division], because [the inhabitants of] the earth were divided up in his days, and his brother’s name was Joktan.”
BBE, “And Eber had two sons: the name of the one was Peleg, because in his time the peoples of the earth became separate ; and his brother’s name was Joktan.”
NAB, “To Eber two sons were born: the name of the first was Peleg, for in his time the world was divided; and the name of his brother was Joktan.”
NLT, “Eber had two sons. The first was named Peleg (which means “division”), for during his lifetime the people of the world were divided into different language groups. His brother’s name was Joktan.”
Gen 10:25 Word Study on “Joktan” (57 th nation) Strong says the Hebrew name “Joktan” ( ) (H3355) means, “he will be made little,” and comes from the primitive root ( ) (6994) meaning, “to be small, be insignificant.” BDB says this name means, “smallness.” The Enhanced Strong says this word is used 6 times in the Old Testament, being translated in the KJV as “Joktan 6.”
Gen 10:26 And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah,
Gen 10:26
1Ch 1:20-23, “And Joktan begat Almodad , and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah, Hadoram also, and Uzal, and Diklah, And Ebal, and Abimael, and Sheba, And Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab. All these were the sons of Joktan.”
Gen 10:26 Word Study on “Sheleph” (59 th nation) Strong says the Hebrew name “Sheleph” ( ) (H8026) means, “extract.” BDB says it means, “a drawing forth.” The Enhanced Strong says this word is used 2 times in the Old Testament, being found in the KJV as “Shelep 2.” Note the other use:
1Ch 1:20-23, “And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph , and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah, Hadoram also, and Uzal, and Diklah, And Ebal, and Abimael, and Sheba, And Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab. All these were the sons of Joktan.”
Gen 10:26 Word Study on “Hazarmaveth” (60 th nation) – Strong says the Hebrew name “Hazarmaveth” ( ) (H2700) means, “village of death.” The Enhanced Strong says this word is used 2 times in the Old Testament, being found in the KJV as “Hazarmaveth 2.” Note the other use:
1Ch 1:20-23, “And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth , and Jerah, Hadoram also, and Uzal, and Diklah, And Ebal, and Abimael, and Sheba, And Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab. All these were the sons of Joktan.”
Gen 10:26 Word Study on “Jerah” (61 st nation) – BDB says the Hebrew word “Jerah” ( ) (H3392) means, “new moon.” The Enhanced Strong says it is used 2 times in the Old Testament, being found in the KJV as “ Jerah 2.” Note the other use:
1Ch 1:20-23, “And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah , Hadoram also, and Uzal, and Diklah, And Ebal, and Abimael, and Sheba, And Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab. All these were the sons of Joktan.”
Gen 10:27 And Hadoram, and Uzal, and Diklah,
Gen 10:27
1Ch 1:20-23, “And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah, Hadoram also, and Uzal, and Diklah, And Ebal, and Abimael, and Sheba, And Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab. All these were the sons of Joktan.”
Gen 10:27 Word Study on “Uzal” (63 rd nation) – BDB says the Hebrew name “Uzal” ( ) (H187) means, “I shall be flooded.” The Enhanced Strong says it is used 2 times in the Old Testament, being found in the KJV as “Uzal 2.” Note the other use:
1Ch 1:20-23, “And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah, Hadoram also, and Uzal , and Diklah, And Ebal, and Abimael, and Sheba, And Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab. All these were the sons of Joktan.”
Gen 10:27 Word Study on “Diklah” (64 th nation) – The BDB says the Hebrew name “Diklah” ( ) (H1853) means, “palm grove.” The Enhanced Strong says it is used 2 times in the Old Testament, being found in the KJV as “Diklah 2.” Note the other use:
1Ch 1:20-23, “And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah, Hadoram also, and Uzal, and Diklah , And Ebal, and Abimael, and Sheba, And Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab. All these were the sons of Joktan.”
Gen 10:28 And Obal, and Abimael, and Sheba,
Gen 10:28
1Ch 1:20-23, “And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah, Hadoram also, and Uzal, and Diklah, And Ebal , and Abimael, and Sheba, And Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab. All these were the sons of Joktan.”
Gen 10:28 Word Study on “Abimael” (66 th nation) – BDB says the Hebrew name “Abimael” ( ) (H39) means, “my father is El (God).” The Enhanced Strong says it is used 2 times in the Old Testament, being found in the KJV as “Abimael 2.” Note the other use:
1Ch 1:20-23, “And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah, Hadoram also, and Uzal, and Diklah, And Ebal, and Abimael , and Sheba, And Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab. All these were the sons of Joktan.”
Gen 10:28 “Sheba” (67 th nation) – BDB says the Hebrew name “Sheba” ( ) (H7614) means, “seven” or “an oath or covenant.” The Enhanced Strong says it occurring 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.” [161] Its capital was Marib, located in modern day Yemen. [162] 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. [163]
[161] 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).
[162] 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.
[163] 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 10:29 And Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab: all these were the sons of Joktan.
Gen 10:29
Gen 10:29 Word Study on “Havilah” (69 th nation) – BDB says the Hebrew name “Havilah” ( ) (H2341) means, “circle.” The Enhanced Strong says it is used 7 times in the Old Testament, being found in the KJV as “Havilah 7.”
Gen 10:29 Word Study on “Jobab” (70 th nation) – BDB says the Hebrew word “Jobab” ( ) (H3103) means, “a desert.” The Enhanced Strong says it is used 9 times in the Old Testament, being found in the KJV as “Jobab 9.” Although there were five individuals by this name in the Old Testament, this son of Joktan is only referred to in Gen 10:29 and 1Ch 1:23.
1Ch 1:20-23, “And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah, Hadoram also, and Uzal, and Diklah, And Ebal, and Abimael, and Sheba, And Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab . All these were the sons of Joktan.”
Gen 10:30 And their dwelling was from Mesha, as thou goest unto Sephar a mount of the east.
Gen 10:30
“The first boundary referred to in Gen 10:30 perhaps refers to Massa (cf. Gen 25:14), a northern Arabian tribe about midway between the Gulf of Akaba and the Persian Gulf. On the other hand, there is a seaport called Mousa, or Moudza, mentioned by Ptolemy, Pliny, Arrian and other ancient geographers, perhaps representing the place mentioned here. This was a town of some importance in classical times, but has since fallen into decay, if the modern Mousa is the same place. Gesenius, from the latitude given by Ptolemy, places Mesha at Maushid on the west coast of Yemen. If the latter is correct, then the second geographical locality is perhaps to be found in Sephar, a mount of the east, which is to be understood as being the Sipar, listed along with Elam and Susa, mentioned in a text found at Susa. This note in Genesis 10 would then mean that the thirteen sons of Joktan settled between these two points, and the location of Ophir would seem to be settled within the peninsula, not at the mouth of the Indus as some have thought.” [164]
[164] Arthur Custance, The Doorway Papers: A Study in the Names in Genesis 10 [on-line]; accessed 28 March 2009; available from http://www.custance.org/Library/Volume1/Part_II/Chapter4.html; Internet, 5.
Gen 25:13-15, “And these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations: the firstborn of Ishmael, Nebajoth; and Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam, And Mishma , and Dumah, and Massa, Hadar, and Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah:”
Gen 10:26-30 Comments – The Sons of Joktan There were thirteen sons bore by Joktan. Arthur Constance says that all thirteen of these sons appear to have settled in Arabia, chiefly the south. Note these suggested locations from Arthur Custance that still can be found in this region.
“ Almodad is perhaps traceable to Al Mudad; Sheleph , in Yemen represented by Es Sulaf, and perhaps being the Aalapeni of Ptolemy; Hazarmaveth , today Hadramaut; Jerah , adjoining the latter, being possibly found in the name of a fortress, Jerakh; Hadoram , represented by the Adramitae in Southern Arabia, mentioned by Pliny and Ptolemy; Uzal , which is probably the old name of the capital of Yemen; Diklah , a place of some importance in Yemen known as Kakalah; Obal , preserved perhaps in several localities in south Arabia, under the name Abil; Abimael is completely unidentified; Sheba might suggest the Sabeans; Ophir perhaps represented by Aphar, the Sabaean capital of which Ptolemy speaks under the name Sapphara (Geog. 6.7) and which is possibly modern Zaphar; Havilah , the district in Arabia Felix known as Khawlan; and Jobab , usually identified with the Jobarites mentioned by Ptolemy among the Arabian tribes of the south, and which it is suggested was misread by him as Iobabtai, instead of an original Iobaritai.” [165]
[165] Arthur Custance, The Doorway Papers: A Study in the Names in Genesis 10 [on-line]; accessed 28 March 2009; available from http://www.custance.org/Library/Volume1/Part_II/Chapter4.html; Internet, 5.
Gen 10:31 These are the sons of Shem, after their families, after their tongues, in their lands, after their nations.
Gen 10:32 The Sons of Shem
v. 21. Unto Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder, even to him were children born. v. 22. The children of Shem: Elam, and Asshur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram. v. 23. And the children of Aram: Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Mash. v. 24. And Arphaxad begat Salah; and Salah begat Eber. v. 25. And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg; for in his days was the earth divided; and his brother’s name was Joktan. v. 26. And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah, v. 27. and Hadoram, and Uzal, and Diklah, v. 28. and Obal, and Abimael, and Sheba, v. 29. and Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab: all these were the sons of Joktan.
v. 30. And their dwelling was from Mesha, as thou goest unto Sephar, a mount of the east. v. 31. These are the sons of Shem, after their families, after their tongues, in their lands, after their nations.
v. 32. These are the families of the sons of Noah, after their generations, in their nations: and by these were the nations divided in the earth after the Flood. Gen 10:21. Unto Shem also, &c. It is observable that Moses introduces Shem in a particular manner, mentioning him as the father of the children of Eber, that is, more especially of that Hebrew race, Num 24:24 whose history he was about to compile. Eber, says Mr. Locke, signifies “beyond:” so that the sense of that text is, that Shem was the father of all those who dwelt beyond the river [Euphrates].
Unto Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder, even to him were children born.
Eber, meaning Hebrew, from whence sprung the Jews. Num 24:24 .
Gen 10:21 Unto Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder, even to him were [children] born.
Ver. 21. Unto Shem also. ] His issue is set down last, because to be most insisted on in the holy history.
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Gen 10:21-31
21Also to Shem, the father of all the children of Eber, and the older brother of Japheth, children were born. 22The sons of Shem were Elam and Asshur and Arpachshad and Lud and Aram. 23The sons of Aram were Uz and Hul and Gether and Mash. 24Arpachshad became the father of Shelah; and Shelah became the father of Eber. 25Two sons were born to Eber; the name of the one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided; and his brother’s name was Joktan. 26Joktan became the father of Almodad and Sheleph and Hazarmaveth and Jerah 27and Hadoram and Uzal and Diklah 28and Obal and Abimael and Sheba 29and Ophir and Havilah and Jobab; all these were the sons of Joktan. 30Now their settlement extended from Mesha as you go toward Sephar, the hill country of the east. 31These are the sons of Shem, according to their families, according to their languages, by their lands, according to their nations.
Gen 10:21 Shem This is the Hebrew term name (BDB 1028 II). His importance is seen because he is mentioned both here and in Gen 11:10-26. The rebellious people of Genesis 10-11 want to build a name for themselves. His name links up with Gen 4:26 (i.e. YHWH’s name glorified). He will represent the chosen line of blessing (cf. Gen 12:2).
Eber The etymology of this name is very similar to the term Hebrew (BDB 720 II), which refers to a much wider group than simply the Jews. There has been much speculation about the connection between Eber and the phrase found on many documents and stele(s) in Egypt called Habirv (cf. Gen 14:13). A possible etymology of the name Eber is to pass over and through, which seems to imply a nomadic group.
the older brother of Japheth Rashi asserts that the Hebrew is ambiguous as to who is the older brother.
Gen 10:22 Elam This was a major kingdom to the east of the Tigris River whose capital was Shushan (Susa). This is probably the most eastern of the groups mentioned in this chapter (BDB 743).
Asshur This (BDB 78) can refer to (1) a person; (2) a city; or (3) a nation (i.e. Assyria).
Arpachshad This (BDB 75) seems to be a tribal group north of Nineveh (another capital of Assyria). The NIV translation has Arphaxad.
Lud This possibly refers to the Lydian nation of Asia Minor (BDB 530). Heroditus asserts that they claimed origin from Nineveh, a Semite city.
Aram This refers to the area of modern Syria (BDB 74).
Gen 10:25 Peleg This is the specific line from which Abraham will come and it is fully discussed genealogically in Gen 11:18-27. It may mean divided (BDB 811 II).
for in his days the earth was divided The Hebrew term literally means irrigation canals which would fit southern Mesopotamia, but the popular etymology is divisions (BDB 811, KB 928, Niphal PERFECT). There is a sound play between Peleg and divided (niplega). This may to refer to the dividing of the languages mentioned in chapter 11. Therefore, the dispersions of chapter 10 are out of chronological order when compared to chapter 11.
Gen 10:26-29 This is a delineation of the Arabian tribes.
Gen 10:28-29 Sheba. . .Havilah This, along with Asshur in Gen 10:22, seems to be included in both the Hamite list and the Semite list. This is either because of (1) geographical migration; (2) victories of war; or (3) the merging of two families by marriage. This list is not specific in many ways.
Shem: comes last (ace. to the Structure, which is an Introversion) because his “Generations” occupy the rest of the book. Hence when mentioned with the other two, Shem the youngest comes first. See note Gen 5:32; Gen 9:24; Gen 10:1.
the elder, See Gen 5:32. Shem (N.T. Sem) was the seed-line that Christ would come through (Luk 3:36).
Shem: Shem signifies name or renown; and his, indeed, was great both in a temporal and spiritual sense, inasmuch as he was destined to be the lineal ancestor of the promised Seed of the woman, to which Noah might allude in his pious ejaculation, Gen 9:26.
the father: Gen 11:10-26
Eber: Num 24:24
the brother: Gen 10:2
Reciprocal: Gen 5:32 – Shem Gen 7:13 – and Shem Gen 10:25 – Eber Gen 11:16 – Eber Gen 39:14 – an Hebrew 1Ch 1:19 – Eber Luk 3:36 – Sem
Gen 10:21. Unto Shem, &c. The word Shem signifies a name; but two titles are also added whereby to distinguish him: 1st, He was the father of all the children of Eber. Eber was his great-grandson; but why should he be called the father of all his children, rather than of all Arphaxads or Salahs? Probably because Abraham and his seed, from Eber, were called Hebrews. Eber himself, we may suppose, was a man eminent for religion in a time of general apostacy; and the holy tongue being commonly called from him the Hebrew, was retained in his family in the confusion of Babel, as a special token of Gods favour to him. 2d, He is styled the brother of Japheth, perhaps to signify the union of the Gentiles and Jews in the church.
10:21 Unto {i} Shem also, the father of all the children of {k} Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder, even to him were [children] born.
(i) In his stock the Church was preserved: therefore Moses stops speaking of Japheth and Ham, and speaks of Shem extensively.
(k) Of whom came the Hebrews or Jews.
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: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
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: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes