GRIFFIN COMMENTS GEN 10

GRIFFIN COMMENTS—GEN 10 (Gen 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.

It seems odd that no sons were born to the sons of Noah before the flood as they must have been about a hundred years old if the statement about them being born when Noah was five hundred means that they born about that time.

The general lesson of this chapter is plain, namely, that no man can go to the bottom of history who does not study the lives of those men who have made that history what it is. (T. H. Leale) (Gen 10:2) 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, occurs again in the mythology of a Japhetic race, were fourteen in number, seven sons and seven grandsons, each of which became the progenitor of one of the primitive nations.

[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 (Eze_39:1.); generally understood to be the Scythians, whose territory lay upon the borders of the sea of Asoph, and in the Caucasus. In the Apocalypse (Rev_20:8-10) Gog and Magog appear as two distinct nations combined against the Church of God. [Madai] The inhabitants of Media (Mada in the cuneiform inscriptions), so called because believed to be situated peri\ meshn th\n Asi/an (Polyb. 5:44) on the south-west shore of the Caspian And Javan. Identical with Javana (Sanscrit), Juna (Old Persian), Jounan

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(Rosetta Stone); allowed to be the father of the Greeks, who in Scripture are styled Javan (vide Isa_66:19; Eze_27:13; Dan_8:21; Dan_10:20; Joe_3:6).

[Tubal, and Meshech] Generally associated in Scripture as tributaries of Magog (Eze_38:2-3; Eze_39:1); recognized as the Iberians and Moschi in the north of Armenia, between the sources of the Tigris and Euphrates, and the Black Sea (Josephus, Knobel, Lange, Kalisch). And Tiras. The ancestor of the 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.

(Pulpit Commentary) (Gen 10:3) And the sons of Gomer; Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah.

[Gomer] A people inhabiting "the sides of the north" (Eze_38:6); the Galatae of the Greeks (Josephus, 'Ant.,' 1:6); the Chomarii, a nation in Bactriana on the Oxus (Shulthess, Kalisch); but more 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 Atlantic, leaving traces of their presence in the Cimhri of North Germany and the Cymri in Wales (Keil, Lange, Murphy, Wordsworth, 'Speaker's Commentary ).

(Gen 10:4) And the sons of Javan; Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.

[And the sons of Javan; Elishah] The isles of Elishah are praised

by Ezekiel (Eze_27:7) for their blue and purple; supposed to have been Elis in the Peloponnesus, famous for its purple dyes (Bochart); AEolis (Josephus, Knobel); Hellas (Michaelis, Rosenmüller, Kalisch); without doubt a maritime people of Grecian stock ('Speaker's Commentary'). And Tarshish. Tarsus in Cilicia (Josephus); but rather Tartessus in Spain (Eusehius, Michaelis, Bochart, Kalisch). Biblical notices represent Tarshish as a wealthy and flourishing seaport town towards the west (vide 1Ki_10:22; Psa_48:7; Psa_1:1; Isa_60:9;

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Isa_66:19; Jer_10:9; Eze_27:12). Kittim. Chittim (Num_24:24); Citium in Cyprus (Josephus), though latterly the name appears to have been extended to Citium in Macedonia (Alexander the Great is called the king of Chittim, 1 Macc. 1:1; 8:5), and the colonies which settled on the shores of Italy and Greece (Bochart, Keil, Kalisch).

Isa_23:1, Isa_23:12; Dan_11:30 describe it as a maritime people. And Dodanim. Dordona in Epirus (Michaelis, Rosenmüller); the Dardaniaus, or Trojan's (Gesenius); the Daunians of South Italy (Kalisch); the Rhodani in Gaul, reading as in 1Ch_1:7 (Bochart).

Josephus omits the name, and Scripture does not again mention it.

(Pulpit Commentary) (Gen 10:5) By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations.

Sea-washed coasts as well as islands proper (cf. Isa_42:4 with Mat_12:21). Isaiah (Gen_20:6) styles Canaan an isle (cf.

Peloponnesus). The expression signifies maritime countries. Divided in their lands; every one after his tongue. Indicating a time posterior to the building of Babel (Gen_11:1). After their families; in their tribes or clans, a lesser subdivision than the next. In their nations. The division here exhibited is fourfold: (1) geographical, (2) dialectical, (3) tribal, and (4) national The first defines the territory occupied, and the second the language spoken by the Japhethites; the third their immediate descent, and the rough the national group to which they severally belonged.

(Pulpit Commentary) God decided where each nation would be. Decision of division of nations was not man's idea. It was done according to the number of Israel (Deu_32:8) (Gen 10:6) And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan.

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Their territory generally embraced the southern portions of the globe.

Hence the name Ham has been connected with, to be warm, though Kalisch declares it to be not of Hebrew, but Egyptian origin, appearing in the Chme of the Rosetta Stone. The most usual ancient name of the country was Kern, the black land. Scripture speaks of Egypt as the land of Ham (Psa_78:51; Psa_105:23; Psa_106:22) (Pulpit Commentary) (Gen 10:7) And the sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabtecha: and the sons of Raamah; Sheba, and Dedan.

[And the sons of Cush; Seba] Meroe, in Nubia, north of Ethiopia (Josephus, 'Ant.,' 2. 10). And Havilah; 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). Verse 29 mentions Havilah as a Shemite territory.

Kalisch regards them as "the same country, extending from the Arabian to the Persian Gulf, and, on account of its vast extent, easily divided into two distinct parts" (cf. Gen_2:11). And Sabtah. The Astaborans of Ethiopia (Josephus, Gesenius, Kalisch); the Ethiopians of Arabia, whose chief city was Sabota (Knobel, Rosenmüller, Lange, Keil). And Raamah. Ragma on the Persian Gulf, in Oman (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 Arabia Felix (1Ki_10:1; Job_1:15; Job_6:19; Psa_72:10, Psa_72:15; Isa_60:6; Jer_6:20; Eze_27:22; Joe_3:8); occurs again (Gen_5:28) as a son of Joktan; probably was peopled both by Hamites and Shemites. And Dedan. Daden on the Persian Gulf (vide Isa_21:13; Jer_49:8; Eze_25:13; Eze_27:12-15).

(Pulpit Commentary) (Gen 10:8) And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth.

[And Cush begat] - not necessarily as immediate progenitor, any ancestor being in Hebrew styled a father - Nimrod; the rebel, from maradh, to rebel; the name of a person, not of a people; - Namuret in

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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 tower of Babel. He has been identified 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.

(Pulpit Commentary) OLD TESTAMENT SURVEY 2Co_3:14 *(1) RISE OF NIMROD Gen_10:8 After the confusion of the tower of Babel, one of the first, if not the first great world empires was established by Nimrod. He was a son of Cush, and grandson of Ham. Of great powers and gigantic stature, he first obtained widespread renown by his exploits as a mighty warrior (hunter of men).

His empire was founded on the plains of Shinar, the chief towns of which were Babel, Erech (Edessa), Accad (Nisibis), and Calneh (Ctesiphon).

Thence (Gen_10:11) he extended his dominions along the course of the Tigris into Assyria, among the descendants of Shem, where he founded a second group of cities, Nineveh, Rehoboth, Calah, and Resen. It is possible that he carried on his successful invasion for nearly 200 years. After his death he was worshipped as Bel, the Lord (or Belus). Eventually the false religion he started left vestiges in every religious system of the world.

This is the first community effort known. It was a humanistic attempt to thwart God's program. God had said, "Scatter!" and they defied Him. They wanted to stay in one place. This was led by Nimrod (which means Rebel) in his effort to make of himself a great name. He "began to be mighty," that is, he struggled for the

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preeminence. He was a mighty hunter (or warrior) against men's souls "before the Lord." Which means he pursued his own impious and ambitious designs in brazen and open defiance of the Almighty.

The attempt to build a city was a blatant defiance of God, a refusal to obey His command, "Replenish the earth." Two things were needed

by Nimrod to establish his world empire: a) A center or unity, a city headquarters. b) A motive to encourage and inspire some followers.

• The tower was for number one, and the "name" was for the second.

He is a type of the antichrist.

How is Nimrod typical of the antichrist? *(2) FIRST FALSE RELIGION Though the knowledge of the One true God, and the promise of salvation, had been handed down from Adam, and though His invisible attributes, even His eternal power and Godhead, were clearly discerned in the works of creation (Rom_1:19-20), yet mankind glorified Him not as God, neither were they thankful. They began to worship and serve the creature rather than the Creator. The sun, moon, and stars, the principle of fire, even the inferior animals and departed heroes, came to be regarded with veneration, and usurped the worship due only to Jehovah God (Job_31:26-28).

VESTIGES OF NIMROD'S RELIGION Trinity Nimrod, Semiramis, Tammuz (effeminate sodomite, known for his indolent and licentious character; proverbial for luxury and dissipation) (Eze_8:14) First Hamitic trinity. Triangle was symbol.

Queen of heaven (Jer_44:17-19) Kissed my hand (Job_31:27) or feet (toes kissed off the statue in Rome) Temple Prostitution (Eze_8:17) Astrological system (Deu_4:19; 2Ki_23:4-5) Confessional (Act_1:11) Madonna & child Holy water Sacred cup (Jer_51:7; Rev_17:4)

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High Priest was known as the Pontifex Maximus [Great Bridge Builder] the sign taken by emperors of Rome and later by the popes of Roman Catholicism Semiramis was the first to build forts Left the land of Ham and invaded the land of Shem There is a school of radical biblical-historical thought which asserts that Israel’s practice of kingship, being borrowed from the pagan neighbors (II Sam 8, esp. v. 20), involved also a pagan theory and a ritual pattern to express it, supposed to be common in the ancient near east. According to this view the king, being in theory a divine king, became the central figure in an annual new year festival, dramatically enacting the dying and rising again (as the seasons) of the fertility deity. Therein the king ritually (as a sort of pontifex maximus, [THE GREAT BRIDGE BUILDER] high priest) re-enacted the struggle of creation, subsequent victory over the powers of chaos, and a sacred marriage and then re-assumed his actual throne. All this, it is said, was to ensure the spring revival of nature and the fruitfulness of field and flock for another annual cycle of the seasons, as well as stable government for the year. (TWOT) *(3) GOD’S INTERVENTION A Babylonian description of the tower of Babel was discovered in 1876 which indicates that there was a grand court 900 by 1,156 feet, and a smaller one, 450 by 1,056 feet, inside of which was a platform with walls about it having four gates on each side. In the center stood the tower with many small shrines at the base dedicated to various gods.

The tower itself was 300 feet high with decreased width in stages from the lowest to the highest point. Each was square. The first foundation stage measured 260 feet square and 100 feet high; the second measured 260 feet square and 60 feet high; the third 200 feet square and 20 feet high; the fourth 170 feet square and 20 feet high; the fifth 140 feet square and 20 feet high; the sixth 110 feet square and 20 feet high; and the seventh 80 feet long, 60 feet wide, and 50 feet high. On the top platform measuring 60 by 80 feet was a sanctuary for the god Bel-Merodach and signs of the zodiac.

The builders evidently finished the tower, for the work stopped on the city only (verse 4, 8). One ancient Babylonian tablet reads, "The

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building of this illustrious tower offended the gods. In a night they threw down what they had built. They scattered them abroad and made strange their speech. Their progress was impeded. They wept hot tears for Babylon.

Languages were confused. God brought Nimrod's schemes to naught by confounding the speech of his subjects and scattering them through the earth. The effect of this intervention was the origination of the different nations. At this point the nations of the world were abandoned to their own devices. "God gave them up" (Rom_1:19-26).

But this was after God had extended mercy from Adam to Noah.

The day of Pentecost in the New Testament corresponds to the Confusion of Tongues in the Old Testament. Then, and not until then, did men hear, each in his own tongue wherein he was born, the wonderful works of God. God will some day restore a pure language (Zep_3:9; Zep_1:2) (Gen 10:9) 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.

Before the Lord: 1. In a spirit of defiance (Augustine, Keil, Murphy, Bush).

2. Coram Des, in God's sight, as an aggravation of his sin - el, Gen_13:3 (Cajetan).

(Pulpit Commentary) It may have been of beasts in the beginning because he is said to have died in hunting; but it became a hunter of men, to destroy them in battle, the first humanistic warrior, and builder of an army to fight others.

(Gen 10:10) And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.

It is obvious that he was not in the land earlier mentioned as Ham’s territory. He left that and came into the territory that belonged to Shem. This is in what would be later Assyrian territory and was far

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from where he should have been. If for no other reason, his very nature that is known to us today reveals to us he had left his own place in order to conquer that of someone else.

(Gen 10:11) Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah, [Out of that land went forth Asshur] the son of Shem (ver. 22; LXX., Vulgate, Syriac, Luther, Calvin, Michaelis, Dathe, Rosenmüller, Bohlen). i.e. the early Assyrians retired from Babylon 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 Assyria, the country northeast of Babylon, through which flows the Tigris, and which had 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 Nineveh. The capital of Assyria, opposite Mosul on the Tigris, afterwards became the largest and most flourishing city of the ancient world (Jon_3:3; Jon_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 ft.).

And the city Rehoboth. Rehoboth-ir, literally, the streets of the city (cf. Platea, a city in Boeotia), a town of which the site is unknown.

And Calah. The mounds of Nimroud (Layard and Smith), though Kalisch and Murphy prefer Kalah Shergat (about fifty miles south of Nineveh), which the former authorities identify with Asshur, the original capital of the country.

(Pulpit Commentary) (Gen 10:12) And Resen between Nineveh and Calah: the same is a great city.

[And Resen] i.e. Nimrod, between Kalah Shergat and Kouyunjik (Kalisch); but if Calah be Nimroud, then Rosen may be Selamiyeh, a village about half way, between Nineveh and Calah, i.e. Kouyunjik and Nimroud, ut supra (Layard). The same. Rosen (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 Nineveh with the other towns as forming one large composite city (Knobel, Keil, Lange, Wordsworth). Is a great city. With this the

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record of Nimrod’s achievements closes. It is generally supposed that Nimrod flourished either before or about the time of the building of the tower of Babel; (Pulpit Commentary) (Gen 10:13) And Mizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim, 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 (Isa_66:19), with Kush and Put (Jer_46:9), and in connection with Put (Eze_27:10; Eze_30:5). Lud (ver. 22) was Shemitic. And Anamim. Not elsewhere mentioned; the inhabitants of the Delta (Knobel). And Lehabim. Lubim (2Ch_12:3; Dan_2:43; Nah_3:9); Libyans (Dan_11:43); probably the Libyaus west of Egypt (Michaelis, Kalisch, Murphy). And Naphtuhim.

Nephthys, near Pelusium; on the Lake Sirbenis (Bochart); the Libyan town Napata (Kalisch); the people of Middle Egypt (Knobel).

(Pulpit Commentary) (Gen 10:14) And Pathrusim, and Casluhim, (out of whom came Philistim,) and Caphtorim.

[And Pathrusim] Pathros in Upper Egypt. And Casluhim. 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 Mediterranean from Egypt to Joppa, who had five principal cities - Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron. They are here described as an offshoot from Casluhim.

(Pulpit Commentary) (Gen 10:15) And Canaan begat Sidon his firstborn, and Heth, [Sidon his firstborn] A famous commercial and maritime town on the coast of Syria (1Ki_5:6; 1Ch_22:4; Isa_23:2, Isa_23:4, Isa_23:12; Eze_27:8); here including Tyre. From the mention of the circumstance that Sidon was Canaan's firstborn, we may infer that in the rest of the table the order of seniority is not followed. And Heth.

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The father of the Hittites (Gen_23:3-5), identified by Egyptologers with the Kheta, a powerful Syrian tribe.

(Pulpit Commentary) (Gen 10:16) And the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgasite, [Jebusite] Settled at and around Jerusalem (Jos_15:8; Jdg_19:1011; 1Ch_11:4-5). And the Amorite. On both sides of the Jordan, though dwelling chiefly in the Judaean mountains (Gen_14:7; Jos_10:5), to which the name "mountaineer," from "Amor," elevation (Gesenius), is supposed to refer. And the Girgasite. The name only is preserved (Jos_24:11).

(Pulpit Commentary) (Gen 10:17) And the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite, [Hivite] "Villagers" (Gesenius); "settlers in cities" (Ewald); their localities are mentioned in Gen_34:2; Jos_9:1, Jos_9:7; Jos_11:3; Jdg_6:3. And the Arkite. Inhabitants of Arka, a city of Phoenicia (Josephus): afterwards called Caesarea Libani; its ruins still exist at Tel Arka, at the foot of Lebanon. And the Sinite. The inhabitants of Sin. Near Arkf are a fortress named Senna, ruins called Sin, and a village designated Syn. (Pulpit Commentary) (Gen 10:18) And the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite: and afterward were the families of the Canaanites spread abroad.

[Arvadite] dwelt in Arvad, Aradus, now Ruad (Josephus) - and the Zemarite, - Simyra, a city of Phoenicia (Bochart, Michaelis, Gesenius, Kalisch) whose ruins are still called Sumrah - and the Hamathite. The inhabitants of Hamath, called Hammath Rabbah (Amo_6:2); Epiphaneia by the Greeks; now Hamah. And afterwards - i.e. subsequent to the formation of these distinct tribes by the confusion of tongues - were the families of the Canaanites spread abroad.

(Pulpit Commentary) (Gen 10:19) And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as thou comest to Gerar, unto Gaza; as thou goest, unto Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboim, even unto Lasha.

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[And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon] (its northern boundary), as thou comest - i.e. as thou goest, in the direction of - to Gerar, - between Kadesh and Shur (Gen_20:1) - unto Gaza (now called Guzzeh, at the south-west corner of Palestine); as thou gout, unto Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboim (vide Gen_19:24), - Callirrhoe (Hieronymus, Jerusalem Targum, Josephus, Rosenmüller, Keil, Kalisch); possibly a variation of Laish and Leshem, a Sidonian city near the sources of the Jordan (Murphy).

(Pulpit Commentary) (Gen 10:20) These are the sons of Ham, after their families, after their tongues, in their countries, and in their nations.

It is obvious that the family of Ham scattered from Africa throughout the land of Shem including the land of Canaan, and the Tigris/Euphrates area. Whereas Shem stayed in the east and Japheth went north and west into Europe. A major purpose for giving the record of this part of Ham's family is because they were such adversaries of Israel later.

(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.

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 (LXX., 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; vide Gen_5:32).

(Pulpit Commentary) Since the LXX follows the idea that Shem is the younger, I would tend to agree.

(Gen 10:22) The children of Shem; Elam, and Asshur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram.

[Elam] Elymais, a region adjoining Snaiana and Media, stretching from the Persian Gulf to the Rod Sea; the people first met with as

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Persians. And Asshur. The ancestor of the Assyrians (vide ver. 11).

And Arphaxad. A region in the north of Assyria; the Arrhapacitis of Ptolemy (Rosenmüller, 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 land of Shem (Josephus, Bochart, Keil, Kalisch). And Aram. "The high land;" Mesopotamia being the Aram of the two rivers, and Syria the Aram of Damascua (Pulpit Commentary) (Gen 10:23) And the children of Aram; Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Mash.

[Uz] from whom was named the land of Uz (Job_1:1), south-east of Palestine, a tract of the Arabia Deserta. And Hul. In Armenia (Josephus); that part called Cholobetene, or house 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 Armenia (Bochart).

(Pulpit Commentary) (Gen 10:24) And Arphaxad begat Salah; and Salah begat Eber.

[Eber] is the father of the Hebrews and thus his name is the most important in this listing, because from him came Abraham.

The word means “the other side,” “across,” and the form “Hebrew,” which is derived from it, 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. (ISBE) (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.

[Peleg] From paalag (OT:6385), to divide, because in his days, which is supposed to be about one hundred years after the flood, the earth was divided among the sons of Noah. Though some are of opinion that a physical division, and not a political one, is what is intended here, viz., a separation of continents and islands from the GRIFFIN COMMENTS GEN 10—PAGE 13

main land, the earthy parts having been united into one great continent previously to the days of Peleg. This opinion appears to me the most likely, for what is said, Gen_10:5, is spoken by way of anticipation.

(Adam Clarke's Commentary) (Gen 10:26) And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah, [Joktan] is said to be the father of the Arabians. Thirteen tribes are attributed to him. As you trace all these names that came from him they are all in the Arabian area.

Head of the Joktanite Arabs. His settlements were in S. Arabia, "from Mesha unto Sephar a mount of the East" (Zafari, a seaport E. of Yemen; an emporium of trade with Africa and India). The Arab Kahtan whose sons peopled Yemen or Arabia Felix. Cushites from Ham (Gen_10:7) and Ludites from Shem (Gen_10:22) were already there, and intermingled with them. The seafaring element was derived from the Cushites, the Shemites not being seafaring; also the Cyclopean masonry and the rock cut Himyeritic inscriptions indicate the presence of Cushites. Arab tradition makes Joktan or Kahtan progenitor of the purest tribes of central and southern Arabia. The Scripture list of his descendants confirms this; almost all the names are certainly connected with this locality: "Almodad (El-Mudad), Sheleph (Sulaf or Silfan), Hazarmaveth" (Hadramaut), etc. (Fausset) (Gen 10:27) And Hadoram, and Uzal, and Diklah, [Hadoram] Adramitae of Ptolemy, or the Atramitae of Pliny (Bochart) And [Uzal] Awzal, the capital of Yemen (Bochart).

And [Diklah] The palm-bearing region of Arabia Felix (Bochart); a tribe between the mouth of the Tiber and the Persian Gulf (Michaelis).

(Pulpit Commentary)

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Diklah signifies a palm tree, in the Chaldee or Syriac language, with which kind of trees Arabia abounded, especially the country of the Minaei. (Gill) (Gen 10:28) And Obal, and Abimael, and Sheba, [OBAL] a bare district; Sept. head of an Arabian tribe, mentioned in Gen_10:28, and of the region wherein it dwelt, 1Ch_1:22 (where it is called EBAL, q.v.). Bochart (Phal. 2:23) understands the Avalites, a people on the 'Ethiopian coast, near the Strait of Bab el-Mandeb (Ptolemy, 4:87), who gave name to the Sinus Abalites (Pliny, 6:34).

They were a commercial people-(Forster, Geogr. of Arabia, 1:148).

Others make Obal the same with the Gobolitis of Josephus, Ant. 2:1, 2; 3:2, 1; see Schulthess, Parad. p. 84), but here there is not even a resemblance (McClintock and Strong Encyclopedia) (Gen 10:29) And Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab: all these were the sons of Joktan.

[Ophir] In Arabia; probably in Oman, on the Persian Gulf (Michaelis, Rosenmüller, Kalisch, Keil), though it has also been located in India (Josephus, Vitringa, Gesenius, Delitzsch). The gold of Ophir celebrated (1Ki_9:27-28; 2Ch_9:10, 2Ch_9:13 2Ch_9:21). And Havilah. The Chaulan in Arabia Felix, but vide supra, ver. 7. And Jobab. The Jobabitae of Ptolemy, near the Indian Sea (Michaelis, Rosenmüller); but more probably a tribe in Arabia Deserta if Jobab Arabic jebab, a desert (Bochart, Gesenius, Kalisch).

(Pulpit Commentary) (Gen 10:30) And their dwelling was from Mesha, as thou goest unto Sephar a mount of the east.

[Mesha] The seaport of Muza (Bochart); Messene, at the mouth of the Tigris (Michaelis, 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.

(Pulpit Commentary)

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(Gen 10:31) These are the sons of Shem, after their families, after their tongues, in their lands, after their 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.

(Barnes' Notes) (Gen 10:32) 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.

The historical truth of this chapter has been surprisingly illustrated by modern science. 'It is no longer probable,' says Sir William Jones (Works, i., p. 137), 'it is absolutely certain, that the whole race of man proceeded from Iran as from a center, whence they migrated at first in three great colonies' Bunsen Gfrorer, Von Raumer, Wagner, Frederick Schlegel, Gesenius, and Knobel in Germany; Pritchard, Rawlinson, Carpenter, and other ethnologists of high authority in Britain, agree with that eminent linguist in declaring that all the conclusions to which their researches in the historical records of antiquity, as well as all their investigations into the recesses of language and mythology have led them, point to the tableland of Upper Asia as the original center whence the various branches of the human family diverged.

Comparative philology has thrown no small light on the early migrations of men, by discovering many strange and unexpected affinities between various nations, separated from each other by immense tracts of country, and differing from one another in almost every conceivable manner. Amid the apparent chaos of languages, patient and philosophic inquirers have traced affinities in structure and grammatical inflection, have grouped together tongues which,

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though separated by the distance of half the globe, seem very closely allied.

Of these different families, the two with which we are best acquainted are the Aramaic or Semitic and Indo-European or Aryan; the former, comprising the Hebrew, Arabic, the ancient Assyrian, Phoenician, Syriac, Chaldee, etc., derives its name from the real or supposed descent of the people who spoke these languages from Shem (excepting Elam, Gen_10:22); and the latter, divided into six branches, two of which belong to Asia, and three to Europe, and through European colonies to other parts of the world, includes: (1) The Indian branch, of which the Sanskrit is the principal; (2) The Medo-Persic or Aryan, the most important of which is the Zend, the sacred dialect of the Parsees; (3) The Teutonic, embracing the Gothic, and the various German dialects, the Anglo-Saxon, Swedish, Danish, Icelandic; (4) The classical languages of ancient Greece and Rome; (5) The Slavonic branch, to which belong the Lithuanian, Russian, Polish, Bohemian languages, with those of large tribes in Hungary and Saxony; (6) The Celtic branch, comprehending the Erse, Gaelic, Manx, Welsh, Cornish, and the Bas Breton in France ('Journal of Education,' No. 18).

(Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown)

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