Genesis 10
Fall 2021
Summary
Genesis chapters ten and eleven form a table of nations. It is the link between pre-flood and post-flood peoples. All peoples of the world find their origin in the line of Noah and his three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth.
Chapter 10:2-5 list how the sons of Japheth were divided into various nations.
Chapter 10:6-20 record how the sons of Ham were divided into nations.
Chapter 10:21-32 record how the sons of Shem were divided into nations.
Without this information we would have no record of how the world was divided into people-groups after Noah’s flood, and how they came to be scattered around the world. This history is also vital to counter racism. Many nations developed from the line of Noah, but there is only one human race, which became diverse in cultures with people of different color and physical characteristics. Embedded in this history of nations is the confusion of languages at the tower of Babel that led to the dispersion of peoples due to their inability to function alongside people of other “tongues” (Genesis 10:5, 20, 31).
Key verse:
“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 and after the flood” (Genesis 10:32).
This verse summarizes the content of the chapter and declares that the families of Noah’s sons became distinct nations after the flood.
Observations
These family genealogies record the rise of the nations of the world. Each family genealogy is listed “after their nations” (10:5, 20, 31). To a large degree, ethnologists can trace cities and peoples to the names listed in Genesis 10. Dr. W. F. Albright, universally acknowledged as the world’s leading authority on the archeology of the Near East, though himself not a believer in the infallibility of Scripture, said concerning this Table of Nations: “It stands absolutely alone in ancient literature, without a remote parallel, even among the Greeks, where we find the closest approach to a distribution of peoples in genealogical framework… The Table of Nations remains an astonishingly accurate document.” [Recent Discoveries of Bible Lands – article appended to Young’s Analytical Concordance to the Bible and cited by Dr. Henry Morris in his book, The Genesis Record, p. 245].
Dr. Morris said: “There is nothing in any other ancient writing discovered by archeologists which is at all comparable in scope and accuracy.” Some names can be immediately associated with names of nations that existed in later biblical and secular history, such as Babel and Nineveh, which were associated with Nimrod. Canaan, son of Ham and Canaan the land of the Canaanites is an obvious example. Others can be listed, such as Eber (10:24), and Hebrews; Mizraim (10:6) and Egypt; Asshur (10:22) and Assyria; Lud (10:22) and Lydia; Aram (10:22) and Aramea; Uz (10:23) and the land associated with Job.
It is difficult to be specific in every instance; however, a lot of effort has gone into tracing each people group and their line of descent with each particular name listed in this table of nations. It is fascinating to history buffs, but every Bible reader can stand upon the basic fact that we all descend from Noah and his sons. It is enough to accept this table of nations, and its summary (Genesis 10:32) as inspired and, therefore, as a reliable record of the formation of the peoples and nations of the world. When Paul the apostle stood on Mars Hill discoursing with the Greek philosophers, he had no hesitation in stating: “...[God] 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” (Acts 17:26).
While we take care to note that the line of Christ came down from Noah through Shem, the forefather of Abraham, the line of the Messiah does not limit the scope of the gospel message as good news to sinners of all nationalities. The gospel is for the Gentile as much as for the Jew. The gospel is to be preached to every creature—people of every tribe, nation, and tongue.
Nimrod became a rebel to God and the architect of the tower of Babel. Nimrod was a great-grandson to Noah. Ham was the father of Cush who “begat Nimrod” (10:8). At first reading, the reference to him being a hunter in the earth seems innocent enough, as the need to hunt for food was real and he seemed to excel at hunting. He probably had his trophies to show for it! The real character of Nimrod, however, began to show at the establishment of a kingdom called Babel (Genesis 10:10). This makes him the chief architect behind the project to build the tower of Babel in defiance to God. That tower got its name from God’s judgment upon it in confusion of languages, whereby people spoke in confusing sounds to one another to the point that they were perceived to be babbling. The Hebrew word “babel” means confusion. It seems that Nimrod was an aspiring leader who wanted all the peoples of the earth under his control in one location. Note what the promoters of the tower of Babel stated, “Let us make a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the whole face of the earth” (Genesis 11:4). They were aspiring to be one people under the control of one leader. That was in defiance of God’s will to multiply and replenish the earth (Genesis 1:28; 9:1).
The name Peleg refers to the division of the people after the tower of Babel was stopped by God. The Scripture states that Eber named his son “Peleg, for in his days was the earth divided” (Genesis 10:25). Some might take this as a reference to some catastrophic opening of the earth’s crust, or a mega-earthquake. It is, however, more in keeping with the theme of these two chapters, which we call the table of nations, to interpret this as the division of the people into different groups according to language. This conviction is further bolstered by the references to “tongues” or languages in (Genesis 10:5, 20, 31). God’s confounding the languages was the cause of the division of families into their own nations as they went in different directions and settled amongst their own language groups.
Application
Any history that promotes the idea of the evolution of man from lower forms of life is the true culprit of racial profiling, not biblical Christianity. This table of nations found in Genesis 10 teaches us that all men and women are equally human and all men and women are made in God’s image, and all have souls that will live for all eternity. ·
The Lord’s command to “love thy neighbor as thyself” applies to people of all nations. The Church of Jesus Christ is an international church, and we need an international attitude in ministry and evangelism. We must repent of prejudice toward people because of their nationality, for God commands that we love our neighbor as ourselves. This is the proper basis for fellowship in the church and for evangelism. New Testament Christians displayed this new attitude in their evangelism when Jewish converts to Christianity preached the gospel to the Samaritans and to Gentiles. The New Testament church was born in multi-ethnic diversity in Jerusalem during Pentecost and later in cosmopolitan cities like Corinth and Rome.
People of every nationality need to hear the good news of the gospel. For this, we must labor and pray. Pray for missionaries to be called and sent forth into the fields that are white unto harvest. In Canada and the United States, we have a greater opportunity than ever to reach peoples of the world as they come to our countries as immigrants. This greater opportunity lays upon us a greater duty to minister to differing nationalities and cultures. If there is coldness toward sinners of other nationalities, we fail to fulfill the great commission. We must remember that Christ died for all kinds of men. The Scriptures plainly teach that all kinds of men and women can be saved, whether they be Jew or Greek, bond or free, male or female. Those who are brought to faith in Christ “are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:22-29).
To do:
Take a family of another nationality to heart and find ways to witness to them. Give them a Bible, pray for them, and, if possible, bring them along to church with you to hear the preaching of the gospel, with the burden that they might be saved. Your minister will be delighted that a mission field is opened up to him as he preaches the gospel.