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10
Nations Grow and Spread
1 This is the history of the families of Shem, Ham, and Japheth. They are Noah’s sons. These men had children after the flood.
Japheth’s Descendants
2 Japheth’s sons were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.
3 Gomer’s sons were Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah.
4 Javan’s sons were Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.* Dodanim Or “Rodanim, the people of Rhodes.”
5 All the people who lived in the area around the Mediterranean Sea came from these sons of Japheth. The people separated and went to different countries according to languages, families, and nations.
Ham’s Descendants
6 Ham’s sons were Cush,† Cush Another name for Ethiopia. Mizraim,‡ Mizraim Another name for Egypt. Also in verse 13. Put, and Canaan.
7 Cush’s sons were Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca.
Raamah’s sons were Sheba and Dedan.
8 Cush also had a son named Nimrod who became a very powerful man on earth. 9 He was a great hunter before the LORD. That is why people compare other men to him and say, “That man is like Nimrod, a great hunter before the LORD.”
10 Nimrod’s kingdom spread from Babylon to Erech, to Akkad, and then to Calneh in the land of Babylonia. 11 Nimrod also went into Assyria. In Assyria, Nimrod built the cities of Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah, and 12 Resen. (Resen is the city between Nineveh and Calah, the big city.)
13 Mizraim was the father of the people of Lud, Anam, Lehab, Naphtuh, 14 Pathrus, Casluh, and Caphtor. (The Philistine people came from Casluh.)
15 Canaan was the father of Sidon. Sidon was Canaan’s first son. Canaan was also the father of the Hittites, 16 Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites, 17 Hivites, Arkites, the Sinites, 18 Arvadites, Zemarites, and Hamathites.
The families of Canaan spread to different parts of the world. 19 The land where the Canaanites lived went from Sidon down along the coast to Gerar and from Gaza as far east as Sodom and Gomorrah and from Admah and Zeboiim as far north as Laish.
20 All these people were descendants of Ham. They are arranged by families, languages, countries, and nations.
Shem’s Descendants
21 Shem was Japheth’s older brother. One of Shem’s descendants was Eber, the father of all the Hebrew people.§ One … Hebrew people Literally, “To Shem was born the father of Eber’s sons.”
22 Shem’s sons were Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram.
23 Aram’s sons were Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash.
24 Arphaxad was the father of Shelah.
Shelah was the father of Eber.
25 Eber was the father of two sons. One son was named Peleg.* Peleg This name means “division.” He was given this name because the earth was divided during his life. The other son was named Joktan.
26 Joktan was the father of Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, 27 Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, 28 Obal, Abimael, Sheba, 29 Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab. All these people were Joktan’s sons. 30 They lived in the area between Mesha and the hill country in the East.† East This usually means the area between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers as far east as the Persian Gulf. Also in 11:2. Mesha was toward the country of Sephar.
31 These are the people from the family of Shem. They are arranged by families, languages, countries, and nations.
32 This is the list of the families from Noah’s sons. They are arranged according to their nations. From these families came all the people who spread across the earth after the flood.

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*10:4 Dodanim Or “Rodanim, the people of Rhodes.”

†10:6 Cush Another name for Ethiopia.

‡10:6 Mizraim Another name for Egypt. Also in verse 13.

§10:21 One … Hebrew people Literally, “To Shem was born the father of Eber’s sons.”

*10:25 Peleg This name means “division.”

†10:30 East This usually means the area between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers as far east as the Persian Gulf. Also in 11:2.

© 1987, 1999, 2006 BLI