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Genesis 10:21 | 25 hites , 14 Path ru sites , Kas lu hites ( from whom the Phi lis tines came ) and Caph to rites .
15
Ca naan was the fa ther of Si don his first born , a and of the Hit tites ,
16
Jeb u sites , Am o rites , Gir ga shites , 17 Hivites , Ar kites , Si nites , 18 Ar vad ites , Zema rites and Ha math ites .
Lat er the Ca naan ite clans scat tered 19 and the bor ders of Ca naan reached from Si don to ward Ge rar as far as Gaza , and then to ward Sod om , Go mor rah , Ad mah and Ze boy im , as far as La sha .
20
These are the sons of Ham by their clans and lan guag es , in their ter ri to ries and na tions .
The Semites 10:21-31pp — ​Ge 11:10-27 ; 1Ch 1:17-27
21
Sons were also born to Shem , whose old er broth er was b Ja pheth ; Shem was the an ces tor of all the sons of Eber .
a
15 Or of the Sidonians , the foremost brother of b
21 Or Shem , the older
10:8 – 11 The digression about Nimrod ( vv . 8 – 12 ) in this section shifts the focus from Upper Egypt and Arabia to Mesopotamia . This represents the first instance of direct ancestral descent ( A fathered B ) in this section ; this indicates that the Table of Nations ( ch . 10 ) concerns more than generational descent . See the infographic “ The Amarna Letters ” on p . 337 .
10:8 Nimrod This figure is associated with the founding of the greatest cities of Mesopotamia — ​Babylon , Uruk , Akkad , Nineveh and Calah . 10:10 Kalneh The location this refers to is unknown . Shinar This is another name for Babylonia — ​encompassing the city states of Sumer and Akkad and extending northward to Assyria . This name does not occur in Mesopotamian material but is found many times in records of the Egyptians and Hittites , as well as the Amarna letters . See the infographic “ The Amarna Letters ” on p . 337 . See note on 11:2 . 10:11 Nineveh Located on the east bank of the Tigris River . Rehoboth Ir The Hebrew text here could be understood as referring to the open places of the city — ​an area of Nineveh , rather than a separate city . Calah One of the chief cities of Assyria , along with Nineveh and Asshur . The city ’ s association with Nimrod is preserved in the site ’ s medieval and modern name Nimrud . Calah is located on the east bank of the Tigris about 20 miles south of Nineveh . 10:12 Resen This could refer to an unknown town between Nineveh and Calah or be a scribal corruption that was originally a reference to an irrigation system or waterworks . great city The Hebrew text here could refer to Calah or Nineveh .
10:13 – 14 The names in vv . 13 – 14 are plural in Hebrew , suggesting they refer to people groups despite their presentation as the sons of Egypt . The identification of the people groups in v . 13 is uncertain . These names again connect the line of Ham to Egypt ( compare v . 6 ).
10:13 Ludites This group could be the Lydians from Asia Minor ( modern Turkey ), but the Hebrew term lud used here is also connected elsewhere with North African peoples ( Jer 46:9 ; Eze 30:5 ). Lehabites This could refer to Libyans . 10:14 Pathrusites This refers to people from Upper Egypt ( the southern portion ), sometimes called Pathros ( compare Isa 11:11 ; Jer 44:1 ). Philistines Elsewhere in the OT , the Philistines are identified as coming from Caphtor ( Am 9:7 ; Dt 2:23 ; Jer 47:4 ). Thus , it seems that the editorial comment here should instead come after the reference to Caphtor . Alternatively , this could indicate that the Philistines at one point migrated to Caphtor , similar to how the OT mentions Israel as coming from Egypt ( e . g ., Nu 22:11 ; 2Ki 21:15 ). Caphtorites Caphtor may be identified with Crete ; it is the place of origin of the Philistines according to other OT texts ( see Am 9:7 ). 10:15 Sidon This term refers to the Sidonians of the famous Phoenician city of Sidon . Hittites This reference to the ancestor of the Hittites seems out of place in this verse because the Hittites are from Asia Minor ( modern Turkey ), not Egypt , Arabia , Phoenicia or Syria-Palestine , like the other people groups mentioned as the descendants of Canaan . Since the line of Canaan indicates a mixed population of people groups — ​some of whom migrated into Canaan — ​this may refer to some of the known Hittite migrations southward . 10:16 Jebusites This term refers to inhabitants of Jebus , which would become Jerusalem after David ’ s conquest of the city ( 1Ch 11:4 – 5 ). Nothing is known of their origin or history . Amorites The Hebrew text here probably refers broadly to the Amurru , a nomadic Semitic people group occupying Syria and Canaan in pre-Israelite times . Girgashites Little is known about this group . They are regularly mentioned in the lists of Canaanite people groups , but no details are given ( Ge 15:21 ; Dt 7:1 ; Jos 3:10 ; 24:11 ).
Genesis 10:16
AMORITES The term “ Amorite ” refers to a West Semitic people , the Amurru , known from Akkadian sources that place them around Babylon about 2000 BC . They migrated westward throughout the Fertile Crescent , including the regions of Phoenicia and Canaan . The term is used in different ways in the OT . In some places , it is used as a generic term for inhabitants of the land of Canaan before the Israelite conquest , like “ Canaanites ” ( e . g ., Ge 15:16 ; Jos 24:15 ; Jdg 6:10 ; 1Ki 21:26 ). In other places it refers more specifically to a people group who lived in the hill country ( Dt 1:19 – 20 ; Nu 13:29 ; Jos 11:3 ) and the Transjordan ( Dt 3:8 ; Jos 12:1 – 2 ; Jdg 1:36 ). In one place , Jos 13:4 , it may refer specifically to the kingdom of Amurru in northern Lebanon and western Syria .
10:17 Hivites This Canaanite group is regularly mentioned in the list of pre-Israelite occupants of the promised land ( Ex 3:8 ; Dt 7:1 ). 10:18 Arvadites , Zemarites and Hamathites These people groups inhabited the region north of Sidon ( modern Lebanon ). 10:19 Gerar A city of the western Negev region that is in several narratives about the patriarchs . See note on Ge 26:6 . Gaza One of the five major cities of the Philistines ( compare note on 1Sa 4:1 ). Sodom , Gomorrah The inclusion of Sodom and Gomorrah here connects these cities characterized by debauchery to the curse of Canaan by Noah and the sin of Ham ( 9:22 – 25 ). See Ge 13:10 .
10:21 – 31 This list details the line of Shem , outlining Shem ’ s relationship to Japheth ( his brother ) and Eber ( the lead descendant of the list ).
10:21 all the sons of Eber The list of the descendants of