THE POST-DILUVIAN
AGE OF THE WORLD.
CH.
10:1-11:26.
FROM THE DELUGE TO THE CALL OF ABRAM.
THE
GENERATIONS OF THE SONS OF NOAH (CH. 10:1-11:9).
I. THE historical credibility of the present section has been
challenged.
1. On account
of a fancied resemblance to the ethnographic mythologies of
category of fictitious invention. It has been
assigned by many critics to a
post-Mosaic period, to the days of Joshua (Delitzsch),
to the age of
Hebrew
intercourse with the Phenician Canaanites (Knobel), to the era of
the exile (Bohlen); and the specific purpose
of its composition has been
declared to be a desire to gratify the national
pride of the Hebrews by
tracing their descent to the first-born son of
Noah, that their rights might
appear to have a superior foundation to those of
other nations (Hartmann).
But the
primogeniture of Shem is at least doubtful, if not entirely incorrect,
Japheth being
the oldest of Noah’s sons (see ch.
5:32; 10:21);
while it is a gratuitous assumption that not
until the days of the monarchy,
or the exile, did the Israelites become
acquainted with foreign nations. The
authenticity and genuineness of the present register,
it is justly remarked by
Havernick, are
guaranteed by the chronicler (ch. 1:1). “In the time
of the chronicler nothing more was known from
antiquity concerning the
origin of nations than what Genesis supplied.
Supposing, then, that some
inquiring mind composed this table of nations from
merely reflecting on the
nations that happened to exist at the same period,
and attempting to give
them a systematic arrangement, how could it
possibly happen that his turn
of mind should be in such complete harmony with
that of the other? This
could only arise from the one recognizing the
decided superiority of the
other’s account, which here lies in nothing else
than the historical truth
itself belonging to it” (Intro., § 17). And the
historical truthfulness of the
Mosaic document
is further strikingly authenticated by the accredited
results of modern ethnological science, which,
having undertaken by a
careful analysis of facts to establish a
classification of races, has divided
mankind into three primitive groups (Shemitic,
Aryan, Turanian or
Allophylian),
corresponding not obscurely to the threefold arrangement of
the present table, and presenting in each
group the leading races that
Genesis assigns
to the several sons of Noah; as, e.g., allocating to the Indo-
European family,
as Moses has done to the sons of Japheth, the principal
races of
Shemitie, the
Assyrians, Syrians, Hebrews, and Joktauite Arabs, which
appear among the sons of Shem in the present table;
and to the
Allophylian, the
Egyptians, Ethiopians, Southern Arabs, and early
Babylonians,
which the primitive ethnologist of Genesis also writes among
the sons of Ham (cf. Rawlinson’s ‘Hist. Illus.
of O.T.,’ p. 23).
2. The
narrative of the building of the
impugned, and that chiefly on two grounds: viz.,
(a) an incorrect derivation of
the term
connection whatever with the confusion of tongues,
but to be the word
“Babil,”
the house or gate of God, or “Bab-Bel,” the gate or court of
Bolus;
and
(b) an incorrect explanation of
the present diversity of tongues among
mankind, which modern philology has now shown to be due
to local
separation, and not at all to a miraculous interference
with the organs or
the faculty of speech. To each of these objections a
specific reply will be
returned in the exposition of the text (q.v.); in the mean
time it may be
stated that there are not wanting sufficiently numerous
testimonies from
ancient history, archaeological research, and
philological inquiry to
authenticate this most interesting portion of the Divine record.
II. The literary unity of the present section has been assailed.
Tuch
ascribes this chapter to the Elohist and chapter11:1-9
to the Jehovist;
and with this Bleek and Vaihinger agree,
except that they apportion
ch. 10:8-12 to the Jehovist. Davidson
assigns to him the whole of
Genesis 10., with
the exception of the expression “every one after his
tongue” (v. 5), the similar expressions (vs. 20, 31), the story of Nimrod
commencing at “he began” (v. 8), v. 21, and the
statement beginning
“for” (v.
25), all of which, with ch.11:1-9, he places to the
credit of his redactor. But the literary unity of
the entire section is so
apparent that Colenso believes both passages, “the
table of nations” and
“the confusion of
tongues,” to be the work of the Jehovist; and certainly
the latter narrative is represented in so
intimate a connection with the
former that it is much more likely to have been
composed by the original
historian than inserted later as a happy
afterthought by a post-exilian
editor.
Genesis
10
1 Now these
are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham,
and Japheth:
and unto them were sons born after the flood.
Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah (compare ch. 5:1;
6:9),
Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Not the order of age, but
of theocratic importance
(see
ch. 5:32). And
unto them were sons born (compare ch. 9:1, 7, 19,)
after the flood. An indication of the puncture
temporis (point
of time) whence
the period embraced in the
present section takes its departure
2 The sons of
Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal,
and Meshech,
and Tiras. The sons of Japheth are first mentioned not because
Japheth was the eldest of
the three brothers, although that was true, but because
of the greater
distance of the Japhetic tribes from the theocratic center, the
Hamites having always been
much more nearly situated to and closely connected
with the Shemites than they.
The immediate descendants of Japheth, whose name,
Ἰάπετος - Japetos occurs again in the mythology of
a Japhetic race, were fourteen
m number, seven sons and
seven grandsons, each of which became the progenitor
of one of the primitive
nations. Gomer. A people inhabiting
"the sides of the
north" (Ezekiel 38:6); the Galatae
of the Greeks (Josephus, '
Chomarii, a nation in
Bactriana on the
generally the Cimmerians of Homer
('Odyss.,' 11:13-19), whose abodes were
the shores of the Caspian and
Euxine, whence they seem to have spread
themselves over Europe as far west
as the
presence in the Cimhri of North
Germany and the Cymri in
Murphy, Wordsworth,
'Speaker's Commentary ). And
Magog. A fierce and warlike
people presided over by Gog (an
appellative name, like the titles Pharaoh and
Caesar, and corresponding
with the Turkish Chak, the Tartarian Kak, and the
Mongolian Gog: Kalisch),
whose complete destruction was predicted by
Ezekiel (Ezekiel chapters 38 and
39.); generally understood to be the Scythians,
whose territory lay upon the
borders of the
In the Apocalypse
(Revelation 20:8-10) Gog and Magog appear as two distinct
nations combined against the
Media (Mada in the
cuneiform inscriptions), so called because believed to be
situated περὶ
μεσην τὴν Ασίαν - peri mesaen taen Asian - about the middle of
with Ἰάων - Jaon - John (Greek), Javana
(Sanscrit), Juna (Old Persian), Jounan
(Rosetta
Stone); allowed to be the father of the Greeks, who in Scripture are
styled Javan (see Isaiah 66:19; Ezekiel 27:13; Daniel 8:21; 10:20; Joel 3:6).
And Tubal, and Meshech. Generally associated in
Scripture as tributaries of
Magog (Ezekiel 38:2-3; 39:1); recognized as the
Iberians and Moschi in the
north of
Thraciaus (Josephus), of
the Tyrrheni, a branch of the Pelasgians (Tuch), of
the Asiatic tribes round the
Taurus (Kalisch), in support of which last is a
circumstance mentioned by Rawlinson,
that on the old Egyptian monuments
Mashuash and Tuirash, and upon the
Assyrian Tubal and Misek, stand together
as here. Tiras occurs
nowhere else in Scripture.
3 And the
sons of Gomer; Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah.
And the sons of Gomer; Ash-kenaz. Axenus, the ancient name
of the Euxine,
is supposed to favor Phrygia
and
Aske-naz (Bochart); Iskus;
equivalent to Ask, Ascanios, the oldest son of
the Germanic Mannus, to point
out
commentators); but Jeremiah 51:27
seems to indicate the region between
the Euxine and the Caspian.
Kalisch, following Josephus, identifies
the name with the ancient
town
the Caspian. Murphy and
Peele, on the authority of Diodorus Siculus,
believe the Germans may have been
a colony of the Ashkenians.
And Riphath. Diphath (1 Chronicles
1:6) - the Paphlagonians
(Josephus); more generally
the tribes about the Riphaean mountains,
on the north of the Caspian
(Knobel, Kalisch, Clericus, Rosenmüller,
Murphy, ' Speaker's
Commentary'); but both are uncertain (Keil).
And Togarmah. Mentioned again in
Ezekiel 27:14;38:6; the
Phrygians (Josephus), the
Cappadocians (Bochart), the
Armenians (Michaelis,
Gesenius, Rosenmüller), the Taurians,
inhabiting the
Chorensis, that the
ancestor of the Armenians was the son of Thorgom,
the son of Gomer, is commonly
regarded as deciding the question.
4 And the
sons of Javan; Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.
And the sons of Javan; Elizhah. The isles of Elishah are
praised by
Ezekiel (Ezekiel 27:7) for
their blue and purple; supposed to have been
(Josephus, Knobel);
doubt a maritime people of
Grecian stock ('Speaker's Commentary').
And Tarshish.
Tarshish as a wealthy and
flourishing seaport town towards the west
(see
1 Kings 10:22; Psalm 48:7; 72:10; Isaiah 60:9; 66:19; Jeremiah 10:9;
Ezekiel 27:12). Kittim. Chittim (Numbers 24:24); Citium in
though recently the name appears
to have been extended to Citium in
1:1; 8:5), and the
colonies which settled on the shores of
(Bochart, Keil, Kalisch).
Isaiah 23:1, 12; Daniel 11:30 describe it as a
maritime people. And Dodanim. Dordona in
Rosenmüller); the
Dardaniaus, or Trojan's (Gesenius); the Daunians
of South Italy (Kalisch);
the Rhodani in
1 Chronicles 1:7
(Bochart). Josephus omits the name, and Scripture
does not again mention it.
5 By these
were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every
one after his
tongue, after their families, in their nations.
By these were
the isles of the Gentiles. Sea-washed coasts as well
as islands proper (compare
Isaiah 42:4 with Matthew
12:21). Isaiah (Genesis 20:6) styles
isle (compare
Divided in their lands; every one after his tongue. Indicating a time
posterior to the building of
Ἐν ταῖς
φυλαῖς αὐτῶν - En tais phulais auton - after their famileis;
tribes (Septuagint); in their tribes or clans, a lesser
subdivision than
the next. In
their nations. The division here exhibited is fourfold:
·
geographical,
·
dialectical,
·
tribal, and
·
national
The first defines the territory
occupied, and the second the language
spoken by the Japhethites; the
third their immediate descent, and
the fourth the national group
to which they severally belonged.
6 And the
sons of Ham;
And the sons of Ham. These, who occupy the
second place, that the
list might conclude with the
Shemites as the line of promise, number thirty,
of whom only four were
immediate descendants. Their territory generally
embraced the southern portions of
the globe. Hence the name Ham has been
connected with חָמַס, to be warm, though
Kalisch declares it to be not of
Hebrew, but Egyptian
origin, appearing in the Chime of the Rosetta Stone.
The most usual ancient
name of the country was Kern, the black land.
Scripture speaks of
106:22)
"quae
colonia" (Michaelis, Rosenmüller). The original settlement of
however, is believed to have been
on the
afterwards spread to Arabia,
Rawlinson). Murphy thinks
he may have started from the
Caspian, and. the Cossaei
of Khusistan, and. migrated south (to
and east (to
was Keesh,
described as of a black color
(Jeremiah 13:23) and of great stature
(Isaiah 45:14). And Mizraim. A dual form probably designed to represent
the two
been discovered in ancient
Egyptian as the name of a Hittite chief
(circa
B.C. 1300, contemporary with Rameses II.), written in
hieroglyphics M'azrima, Ma being the
sign for the dual. The old
Egyptian name is Kemi,
Chemi, with obvious reference to Ham; the
name
The singular form Mazor is
found in later books (II Kings 19:24;
Isaiah 19:6), and usually
denotes
Phet (Old Egyptian),
Phaiat (Coptic); the Libyans in the north of
or Butos, the capital of the
delta of the
Kenaan (see here on ch.
9:25). The extent of the territory occupied by
the fourth son of Ham is
defined in vs. 15-19.
7 And the
sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and
Raamah, and
Sabtechah: and the sons of Raamah; Sheba, and
Dedan. And the sons of
may refer to an African
tribe, the Avalitae, south of Babelmandeb
(Keil, Lange, Murphy), or
the district of Chaulan in Arabia Felix
(Rosenmüller, Kalisch,
Wordsworth). V. 29 mentions Havilah as a
Shemite
territory. Kalisch regards them as "the same country,
extending from the Arabian to the
of its vast extent, easily
divided into two distinct parts" (compare
ch. 2:11). And Sabtah. The Astaborans of
Gesenius, Kalisch); the
Ethiopians of Arabia, whose chief city
was Sabota (Knobel,
Rosenmüller, Lange, Keil). And Raamah.
Ρέγμα - Regma (Septuagint); Ragma on the Persian Gulf, in
(Bochart, Rosenmüller,
Kalisch, Lange). And Sabtechah. Nigritia
(Targum, Jonathan), which
the name Subatok, discovered on Egyptian
monuments, seems to favor
(Kalisch); on the east of the Persian
Gulf at
Samydace of Carmania (Be-chart, Knobel, Rosenmüller, Lange).
And the sons of Raamah; Sheba. The principal city
of
(1 Kings 10:1; Job 1:15; 6:19;
Psalm 72:10, 15; Isaiah 60:6; Jeremiah
6:20; Ezekiel 27:22; Joel
3:8); occurs again (here v. 28) as a son
of Joktan; probably was
peopled both by Hamites and Shemites.
And Dedan. Daden on the
49:8; Ezekiel 25:13;
27:12-15).
8 And
And
being in Hebrew styled a father
- Nimrod;
the rebel, from maradh, to rebel;
the name of a person, not of
a people; - Namuret in ancient Egyptian.
Though not one of the great
ethnic heads, he is introduced into the
register of nations as the founder of
imperialism.
Under him society
passed from the patriarchal
condition, in which each separate clan or
tribe owns the sway of its
natural head, into that (more abject or
more civilized according as it
is viewed) in which many different
clans or tribes recognize the
sway of one who is not their natural
head, but has acquired his ascendancy and dominion by conquest.
This is the principle of
monarchism. Eastern
tradition has painted
Nimrod as a gigantic oppressor of
the people's liberties and an impious
rebel-against the Divine authority. Josephus credits him with
having
instigated the building of the
with the Orion of the Greeks.
Scripture may seem to convey a
bad impression of Nimrod, but
it does not sanction the absurdities
of Oriental legend. He
began to be a mighty one - Gibbor (see ch. 6:4);
what he had been previously
being expressed in v. 5 - in the earth.
Not ἐπι τῆς
γῆς - epi taes gaes - in the earth; land - (Septuagint),
as if pointing to his
gigantic stature, but either among men generally,
with reference to his
widespread fame, or perhaps better "in the land”
where he dwelt, which was not
Nimrod
(v. 8)
1.
His ancestral pedigree — a
Cushite.
2.
His early occupation — a hunter
of wild beasts, a pioneer of civilization.
3.
His rising ambition — he began to
be a “Gibber,” or mighty one.
4.
His regal authority — the
beginning of his kingdom was
5.
His extending empire — out of
that land went he forth into Asshur.
6. His posthumous renown: “Wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod.”
9 He was a
mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said,
Even as
Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD.
He was a
mighty hunter. Originally doubtless of wild beasts, which,
according to
Bochart, was the first
step to usurping dominion over men and using
them for battle. "Nempe
venationum prsetextu collegit juvenum
robustam manum, quam talibus
exercitus ad belli labores induravit"
('Phaleg.,' 54:12). Before the Lord.
1. Ἐναντίον
κυρίου - Enantion kuriou - before Yahweh -
(Septuagint), in a spirit of defiance (Augustine, Keil, Murphy,
Bush).
2. Coram Deo, in God's sight, as an aggravation of
his sin
-
compare ch. 13:3
(Cajetan).
3. As a superlative, declaring his excellence - compare ch. 13:10;
30:8;
35:5; 1 Samuel 11:7; John 3:3; Acts 7:20 (Aben Ezra, Kimchi,
Kalisch,
' Speaker's Commentary').
4. With the Divine approbation, as one who broke the way through
rude, uncultivated nature for the institutions of
Jehovah (Lange).
Compare
ch.17:18; 24:40; 1 Samuel 11:15; Psalm 41:12. Probably
the first or the third conveys the sense of the
expression. Wherefore
it is said, Even as Nimrod the (a) mighty hunter before the Lord.
The
precise import of this is usually determined by the view taken
of the previous
phrase.
10 And the
beginning of his kingdom was
and Calneh, in
the
Either his first kingdom,
as contrasted with his second (Knobel), or the
commencement of his sovereignty (Keil,
Kalisch), or the principal city
of his empire (Rosenmüller);
or all three may be legitimately embraced
in the term reshith, only it does not necessarily
imply that Nimrod built
any of the cities mentioned. Was
(Micah 5:6), the origin of
which is described in ch. 11:1, grew to be a
great city covering an area of
225 square miles, reached its highest glory
under Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel
4:30), and succumbed to the Medo-Persian
power under Belshazzar (ibid. ch. 5:31). The remains of this
great city have
been discovered on the east
bank of the
is a square mound called
"Babil" by the Arabs (Rawlinson's 'Ancient
Monarchies,'
vol. 1.
Genesis 1). And Erech. The
Orchoe of Ptolemy,
identified by Rawlinson as Wurka,
about eighty miles south of
And
on the river Argade
(Bochart); Sakada, a town planted by Ptolemy below
Ninus (Clericus); Accete,
north of
with the ruins of Niffer, to
the south of Hillah (Keil); with those of
Akkerkoof,
north of Hillah (Kalisch). Rawlinson does not identify the
site; George Smith regards it
as "the capital of Sargon, the great city
Agadi, near the city of
('Assyrian
Discoveries,' Genesis 12.). And Calneh. Calno
(Isaiah 10:9);
Canneh (Ezekiel 27:23);
with the ruins of Niffer on
the east of the
In the
(Isaiah 11:11),
the lower part of
11 Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and
the
city Rehoboth,
and
Shem (v. 22; Septuagint,
Vulgate, Syriac, Luther, Calvin, Michaelis, Dathe,
Rosenmüller, Bohlen). i.e. the early Assyrians retired from
before their Cushite. invaders, and, proceeding northward, founded the
cities after mentioned; but the
marginal rendering seems preferable:
"Out of that land went (Nimrod) into
Asshur," or
northeast of
already received its name from
the son of Shem (the Targums,
Drusius, Bochart, Le
Clerc, De Wette, Delitzsch, Keil, Kalisch, Lange,
et alii). And
builded
on the
of the ancient world (Jonah
3:3; 4:11), being fifty-five miles in
circumference (Diod., 2:3), and is now
identified with the ruins of
Nehbi-yunus
and Kouyunjik (Layard's 'Nineveh,' vol 2. pp. 136 ff.).
And the city Rehoboth. Rehoboth-ir, literally,
the streets of the city
(compare
Platea, a city in
And
and Murphy prefer Kalah
Shergat (about fifty miles south of
which the former authorities
identify with Asshur, the original capital
of the country.
12 And Resen
between
And Resen, i.e. Nimrod, between Kalah Shergat and Kouyunjik
(Kalisch);
but if
half way, between
supra (Layard). The same. Resen (Kalisch), which will suit if it was
Nimroud, whose remains
cover a parallelogram about 1800 feet in
length and 900 feet in breadth;
but others apply it to
the other towns as forming
one large composite city (Knobel, Keil,
Lange, Wordsworth). Is a great city. With this the record of Nimrod’s
achievements closes. It is generally
supposed that Nimrod flourished
either before or about the time
of the building of the
Prof. Chwolsen of
Altbabylon-ischen
Literatur,' brings the dynasty of Nimrod down as late
as , relying principally on
the evidence of an original work composed by
Qut ami, a native
Babylonian, and translated by Ibnwa hachijah, a
descendant of the Chaldaeans, and
assigned by Chwolsen to one of the
earlier periods of Babylonian
history, in which is mentioned the name
of Nemrod, or Nemroda, as
the founder of a Canaanite dynasty which
ruled at
'Biblical and Oriental
Studies,' Edin., A. and C. Black, 1876). Perhaps
the hardest difficulty to
explain in connection with the ordinary date
assigned to Nimrod is the fact
that in Genesis 14, which speaks of the
reigning monarchs in the
of
import that the founding of the
capital of
anterior to the days of Abraham.
But early Babylonian texts confirm
what Genesis 14. seems to imply - the fact of an Elamite
conquest of
the Chederlaomer of Genesis),
who carried off an image of the
goddess Nana from the city Erech
(see 'Assyrian Discoveries,' Genesis 12;
'Records of the Past,'
vol. 3.), so that this difficulty may be held to
have disappeared before the
light of archaeological discovery. But at
whatever period Nimrod flourished,
the Biblical narrative would lead
us to anticipate a
commingling of Hamitic and Shemitic tongues in
the
the Past,' vol. 3. p. 3).
13 And Mizraim
begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and
Naphtuhim, And Mizraim begat
Ludim.
An African tribe, a colony of the
Egyptians, like the next
seven, which are "nomina non singulorum hominum
sed populorum" (Aben
Ezra, Michaelis, Rosenmüller, Kalisch, Murphy);
probably referred to in connection
with Tarshish and Put (Isaiah 66:19),
with
(Ezekiel 27:10; 30:5). Lud
(v. 22) was Shemitic. And Anamim.
Not elsewhere mentioned;
the inhabitants of the Delta (Knobel).
And Lehabim. Lubim (II Chronicles
12:3; Daniel 2:43; Nahum 3:9);
Libyans (Daniel 11:43);
probably the Libyaus west of
Kalisch, Murphy). And Naphtuhim. Nephthys, near Pelusium; on the
of Middle
14 And
Pathrusim, and Casluhim, (out of whom came Philistim,) and
Caphtorim. And Pathrusim. Pathros in
The Colchians, of Egyptian
origin (Bochart, Gesenius); the inhabitants
of the primitive Egyptian
town Chemuis, later Panoplis (Kalisch).
Out of whom came Philistim. The Philistines on the
from
Ashkelon,
offshoot from Casluhim. The name
has been derived from an
Ethiopic
root falasa, to emigrate; hence
"immigrants" or "emigrants."
Jeremiah 47:4 and Amos 9:7
trace the Philistines to the Caphtorim.
Michaelis solves the difficulty by transposing
the clause to the
end of the verse; Bochart by
holding the Casluhim and Caphtorim
to have intermingled; Keil
and Lange by the conjecture that the
original tribe the Casluhim was
subsequently strengthened by
an immigration from Caphtor.
Against the Egyptian origin of the
Philistines the possession
of a Shemitic tongue and the non-
observance of circumcision have been
urged; but the first may
have been acquired from the
conquered Avim whose land they
occupied (Deuteronomy 2:28), and
the exodus from
have taken place prior to the
institution of the rite in
question. And
Caphtorim.
(Clericus), Crete (Calmer,
Ewald),
Coptos,
Kouft or Keft, a few miles north of
15 And Canaan
begat
And Canaan begat
maritime town on the coast of
Isaiah 23:2, 4, 12;
Ezekiel 27:8); here including
mention of the circumstance that
may infer that in the rest of
the table the order of seniority is not
followed. And
Heth. The father of the Hittites (ch. 23:3, 5),
identified by Egyptologers with the
Kheta, a powerful Syrian tribe.
16 And the
Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgasite,
And the Jebusite. Settled at and around
Judges 19:10-11; 1
Chronicles 11:4-5). And the Amorite. On both
sides
of the
(ch.
14:7; Joshua 10:5), to which the name "mountaineer," from
"Amor,"
elevation (Gesenius), is supposed to refer. And
the Girgasite.
The name only is preserved
(Joshua 24:11).
17 And the
Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite,
And the Hivite. "Villagers" (Gesenius); "settlers
in cities" (Ewald);
their localities are mentioned
in ch. 34:2; Joshua 9:1, 7; 11:3;
Judges
6:3. And the Arkite. Inhabitants of Arka, a city of
(Josephus): afterwards
called Caesarea Libani; its ruins still exist
at Tel Arka, at the foot of
of Sin. Near Arka are
a fortress named Senna, ruins called Sin,
and a village designated Syn.
18 And the
Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite: and
afterward were the
families of the Canaanites spread abroad.
And the Arvadite, - dwelt in Arvad, Aradus,
now Ruad (Josephus) -
and the Zemarite, - Simyra, a city of
Gesenius, Kalisch) whose
ruins are still called Sumrah - and the
Hamathite. The inhabitants of
Hamath, called Hammath Rabbah
(Amos
6:2); Epiphaneia by the Greeks; now
i.e. subsequent to the
formation of these distinct tribes by the
confusion of tongues - were
the families of the Canaanites spread abroad.
19 And the
border of the Canaanites was from
to Gerar, unto
and Admah, and
Zeboim, even unto Lasha. And the border
of the
Canaanites was from
i.e. as thou goest, in the direction of - to Gerar, - between
Kadesh and
Shur (ch. 20:1) - unto
corner of
Admah, and Zeboim (see ch. 19:24) even
unto Lasha. - Callirrhoe
(Hieronymus,
Kalisch); possibly a
variation of Laish and Leshem, a Sidonian city
near the sources of the Jordan
(Murphy).
20 These are
the sons of Ham, after their families, after their tongues,
in their
countries, and in their nations. (see
v. 5)
The Canaanites (vs. 15-19)
I. DESCENDANTS OF A WICKED FATHER.
II. INHERITORS OF AN AWFUL CURSE.
III. POSSESSORS OF A FAIR DOMAIN.
IV. USURPERS OF ANOTHER’S LAND.
·
LESSONS:
1. Wicked
men and nations may greatly prosper.
2. Prosperity sometimes leads to
greater wickedness.
3. The greatest prosperity
cannot turn aside the punishment of sin.
21 Unto Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the
brother
of Japheth the
elder, even to him were children born. Unto Shem also,
the father of all the children of Eber, - as Ham of Canaan (ch.
9:22, 24)
- the
brother of Japheth the elder. Either the eldest brother of Japheth
(Syriac, Arabic, Vulgate,
Gesenius, Rosenmüller, Kalisch); or the brother
of Japheth who was older
(Septuagint, Symmachus, Onkelos, Raschi,
Aben Ezra, Luther,
Clerieus, Michaelis, Dathe); or the elder of
Japheth's brothers, as
distinguished from Ham the younger, i.e.
the son who was older than
Ham, But younger than Japheth (Murphy,
Quarry; see ch. 5:32). Even
to him were children born.
22 The
children of Shem;
and
were sons.
from the Persian Gulf to the
And Asshur. The ancestor
of the Assyrians (see v. 11). And Arphaxad.
A region in the north of
Keil, Kalisch). The
explanation of the name is "fortress of the Chaldaeans '
(Ewald);
"highland of the Chaldaeans" (Knobel). And
Lud. The Lydians of
Asia Minor, to which they
appear to have migrated from the
(Josephus, Bochart, Keil,
Kalisch). And
being the
23 And the
children of
And the children of
(Job
1:1), south-east of
And Hul. In
of Hul (Bochart); the
Hylatae of Syria, near the Emesenes (Delitzsch);
Coele-syria
(Michaelis); Huleh, near the sources of the Jordan (Murphy).
And Gether - of uncertain situation - and Mash - traced in Mous
Masius
of
24 And
Arphaxad begat Salah; and Salah begat Eber.
And Arphaxad begat Salah. The nation descended from
him has not been
identified, though their name,
"Extension," may imply that they were early
colonists. And
Salah begat Eber. The father of the Hebrews or Emigrants
(see
v. 21
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.
And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of one was
Peleg. "Division,"
from palg, to divide; compare πέλαγος - pelagos - open sea - and
pela gus,
a division of the sea. For
in his days was the earth divided. At the confusion
of tongues (Bochart,
Rosenmüller, Keil, Lange, Murphy); at an earlier
separation of the earth's population
(Delitzsch), of which there is no
record or trace. And
his brother's name was Joktan. Father of the Arabians,
by whom he is called
Kachtan.
Peleg, or The Division of the People (v. 25)
I. WHEN IT TOOK PLACE. In the fourth generation after the Flood.
II. HOW IT WAS EFFECTED.
1. By the Divine interposition.
2. By the confusion of tongues.
III. FOR WHAT IT WAS DESIGNED.
1. To punish sin.
2. To separate the Church.
3. To occupy the earth.
IV. BY WHAT IT WAS REMEMBERED.
The naming of Eber’s son.
·
LEARN:
1. To read well the signs of the times.
2. To understand well the cause of God’s judgments.
3. To remember well the
gift of God’s mercies.
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. And Joktan begat Almodad.
Usually said to be
belonging to the interior of
southeast of
Hadramaut. And
Hadoram. Adramitae of Ptolemy, or the Atramitae of
Pliny (Bochart) And Uzal. Awzal, the
capital of
And Diklah. The palm-bearing region
of Arabia Felix (Bochart);
a tribe between the mouth
of the Tiber and the
And Obal, and Abimael, whose settlements are not
known.
And
v. 7. And
Ophir. In Arabia; probably in
(Michaelis, Rosenmüller,
Kalisch, Keil), though it has also been located
in
celebrated (1 Kings 9:27-28; II
Chronicles 9:10, 13, 21). And Havilah.
The
Chaulan in Arabia Felix, but see v. 7. And Jobab. The
Jobabitae
of Ptolemy, near the
probably a tribe in Arabia Deserta
if Jobab = Arabic jebab, a desert
(Bochart, Gesenius,
Kalisch). All these were the sons of Joktan.
And their dwelling was from Mesha. The seaport of Muza
(Bochart);
Rosenmüller, Kalisch). As thou goest into Zephar. Zafar or
Dhafari,
on the coast of the Hadramut. The difficulty of identifying
a seaport town with a
mountain is got over (Kalisch) by reading
"to
the" instead of a mount of the east - the thunderous range of hills
in the vicinity.
31 These are
the sons of Shem, after their families, after their tongues,
in their
lands, after their nations. The pedigree of the
Shemite tribes is
closed with the customary
formula (see v. 5); that which follows being the
concluding formula for the entire
table of nations.
32 These are
the families of the sons of Noah, after their generations
(literally,
according to their Tholdoth, or historical developments), in their
nations: and by
these (literally,
from these) were the nations divided (or,
did the nations scatter
themselves) in the earth after the flood.
The Ethnological Register (v. 32)
I. PROCLAIMS THE UNITY OF THE RACE.
1. It declares
all the successive families of mankind to have sprung from a
common stock. Diverse as they flow are in their geographical situations,
ethnic relations, physical capabilities, national
peculiarities, according to
the doctrine of this genealogical table they all trace
their origin to Noah
and his sons.
2. It condemns all those theories which derive man from
several pairs.
Equally the
heathen superstition which assigned to each particular region
its own Autochthones, (an original or indigenous inhabitant of a
place).and
the modern scientific dogma of varieties of species and distinct
centers
of propagation is here condemned. Even now ethnologists, archaeologists,
and philologists of
the highest repute lend their
sanction to the sublime
sentiment of the great Mars’ hill preacher, that “God hath made of one
blood all nations of men for to dwell upon all the face of the earth.”
(Acts
17:26)
(a) The anatomical structure of the human
frame, especially
of the brain
and skull,
(b) the
physiological properties and functions possessed
by the body,
(c) the
psychological nature of man, and the power of indefinite
propagation,
which are the same in all nations, and,
(d) with
the ascertained results of comparative grammar,
which
have already traced back all existing languages to
three
primitive branches,
tend in a powerful degree to confirm the
doctrine which this table teaches.
3. It implies certain other truths on which Scripture
with equal emphasis
insists, such as:
(a)
the brotherhood of man,
(b) the universal
corruption of the race, and
(c) the necessity and universality
of Christ’s redemption.
II. ATTESTS THE DIVISION OF THE RACE.
1. It asserts the fact of the division. It states that in the days of Peleg the
earth’s population was divided. The means employed
are described in the
succeeding chapter.
2. It confirms the truth of this division. Had the confusion at
occurred. and the
subsequent dispersion not followed. this table could
not
have been written. Its existence as a literary
document in the time of Moses
authenticates the fact which it reports.
3. It
defines the extent of this division. It shows that the scattered race
were to be split up into nations, families,
tongues.
III. ILLUSTRATES THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE RACE. The
geographical distribution of the earth’s population
was:
1. Effected in an orderly manner. They were neither scattered
promiscuously nor suffered to wander and settle at
hazard. Divided into
tribes and nations according to their tongues and
dialects of speech, they
were allocated to distinct portions of the
earth’s surface.
2. Specially adapted to the characters and destinies of the
several nations.
The operation of
purely natural principles makes it impossible that
tribes
can permanently settle in countries that are
either incapable of yielding to
them a maintenance or affording an outlet to
their powers. More extensive
information would doubtless enable the suitability of
each locality in this
table to the occupying people to be exhibited;
but in broad outline it is
perceptible even here{
(a)
Japheth, whose destiny it was to spread abroad,
being
established on the coasts of the Euxine, the Caspian,
and the
(b)
Ham finding rest in the
warmer climates, whose enervating
influences
tended largely to develop his peculiar character, and
ultimately to
lay him open to subjection by the more vigorous
races of
the North; and{
(c)
Shem, whose function in the Divine economy it
was to conserve
religion and
religious truth, being concentrated mainly in the
and
3. The result of Divine appointment. Moses (Deuteronomy 32:8) and
Paul (Acts
17:26) conspire to represent the allocation of territory to the
different races of mankind as the handiwork of God
(the special means
employed for the breaking up of the originally
united family of Noah’s
sons is detailed in the ensuing chapter); the
import of which is, that
nations have a God-assigned title to the countries
which they occupy.
4. The Divinely-ordered distribution of the earth’s population
is capable of being disturbed by the sinful interference of
man.
Instances of
this appear in the present table, e.g. the intrusion of the
Cushite into
to Shem.
IV. PREDICTS THE FUTURE OF THE RACE. As it were, the
separation of the earth’s population into races and
the moving of them
outward to their respective habitations was the
starting of them on the lines
along which it was
designed they should accomplish their respective
destinies and common work. They
were meant to overspread the globe;
(Isaiah 45:18 - “For thus saith the Lord that
created the heavens; God Himself
that formed the earth and made it, He created i
t not in vain, He formed it to
be
inhabited, I am the Lord and there is none else.”) and this was the
initiation
of a great movement which would only
terminate in the complete occupation
of their
God-given heritage.
LESSONS:
1. The equal rights of men.
2. The
sinfulness of wars of aggression.
3. The hopefulness of emigration.
Nations
(v. 32)
I. THEIR ROOTS. Individuals.
II. THEIR RISE.
1. As to
time, after the Flood.
2. As to cause, Divine impulse.
3. As to instrumentality,
variation of speech.
III. THEIR CHARACTERISTICS.
1. A common
head.
2. A common
tongue.
3. A common
land.
IV. THEIR DESTINIES. To overspread the earth.
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