Genesis 10

1 This is the account [record, history] of Noah’s [the patriarch who built the ark] sons [descendants, offspring] Shem [the eldest son], Ham [the middle son], and Japheth [the youngest son], who also had [begot, fathered] sons [children, descendants] after [following, subsequent to] the flood [deluge, great flow of waters]. word study 2 The sons [descendants, offspring] of Japheth [a son of Noah, ancestor of many nations]: Gomer [complete, the name of a son of Japheth], Magog [a region, a barbarous northern land], Madai [the Medes, a people northwest of Persia], Javan [Greece, the Greeks], Tubal [a region in Asia Minor, similar to Cappadocia], Meshech [a people group, a son of Japheth], and Tiras [desire, a son of Japheth]. word study 3 The sons [descendants, offspring] of Gomer [complete, a son of Japheth]: Ashkenaz [a man as sprinkled, from Bithynia], Riphath [a grandson of Japheth], and Togarmah [settled in Armenia, a son of Gomer]. word study 4 And the sons [descendants, offspring] of Javan [Greece, the Greek people]: Elishah, Tarshish [a place on the Mediterranean, a merchant vessel], the Kittites [Cyprus, islanders], and the Rodanites [Dodanim, a group of people descended from Javan]. word study 5 From these [specific people, descendants of Javan], the maritime peoples [coastland dwellers, island nations] separated [divided, scattered, dispersed] into their territories [lands, regions, countries], according to their languages [tongues, native speech], by clans [families, tribes] within their nations [Gentile groups, non-Hebrew peoples]. word study 6 The sons [descendants, offspring] of Ham [a son of Noah, the father of various nations]: Cush [Ethiopia, the region south of Egypt], Mizraim [Egypt, a country in northeastern Africa], Put [a region in northern Africa, possibly Libya], and Canaan [the land of Israel, the Canaanites’ home]. word study 7 The sons [descendants, offspring] of Cush [Ethiopia, the region south of Egypt]: Seba [a son of Cush, possibly the founder of Ethiopia], Havilah [a region in Arabia, meaning’circle’], Sabtah [a son of Cush, and the country where his descendants lived], Raamah [a son of Cush, a grandson of Ham], and Sabteca [a son of Cush, and the region where his descendants settled]. And the sons [descendants, offspring] of Raamah [a son of Cush, a grandson of Ham]: Sheba [a region in southern Arabia, or a man who was an ancestor of a tribe] and Dedan [a man and a region, referring to a low-lying area]. word study 8 Cush [the father of the Ethiopians] was the father of Nimrod [a great-grandson of Noah, a skilled hunter], who began [to profane or start something new] to be a mighty one [a strong or powerful warrior, a champion] on the earth [the land, the soil, or ground, a country or territory]. word study 9 He [a mighty man, a hero] was a mighty hunter [a skilled warrior, a great bowman] before the LORD [Yehovah, the supreme God]; so it is said [a common expression, a proverb], “Like Nimrod [a great-grandson of Noah, a powerful leader], a mighty hunter [a skilled warrior, a great bowman] before the LORD [Yehovah, the supreme God].” word study 10 His kingdom [the beginning of his dominion, first part of his rule] began in Babylon [Babel, a city of confusion], Erech [a city in Babylon], Accad [a city in north Babylonia], and Calneh [Calno, a city in the Assyrian empire], in the land [territory, region] of Shinar [an ancient name for Babylonia]. word study 11 From that [portion of the earth] land he went forth [came out, departed] into Assyria [the land of Asshur], where he built [established, constructed] Nineveh [the capital city], Rehoboth-Ir [the city of wide streets], Calah [a place of vigor], word study 12 and Resen [a large city, the great city], which is [located, situated] between Nineveh [the capital city of Assyria] and the great [important, large] city of Calah [an ancient city in Assyria, possibly modern-day Nimrud]. word study 13 Mizraim [Egypt, a country in northeastern Africa] was the father [to beget, gave birth to] of the Ludites [Lydians, descendants of Lud, meaning strife], the Anamites [a tribe of Egyptians, affliction of the waters], the Lehabites [a tribe descended from Mizraim, meaning flame or blade], the Naphtuhites [an Egyptian tribe, possibly related to Lower Egypt], word study 14 the Pathrusites [inhabitants of Pathros, in southern Egypt], the Casluhites [a fortified people] (from whom the Philistines came), and the Caphtorites [people from Caphtor, an island now known as Crete]. word study 15 And Canaan [a son of Ham, the ancestor of the Canaanites] was the father [to beget, gave birth to] of Sidon [an ancient city’s founder] his firstborn [the first in birth, holding special status], and of the Hittites [descendants of Heth, an aboriginal Canaanite], word study 16 the Jebusites [inhabitants of Jebus, early Jerusalem], the Amorites [Canaanite tribe, descendants of Canaan], the Girgashites [native tribe of Canaan, descended from Girgas], word study 17 the Hivites [a member of an ancient tribe in Palestine, descended from Canaan], the Arkites [someone from the city of Arka], the Sinites [a descendant of one of the sons of Canaan, specifically Sin], word study 18 the Arvadites [descendants of Arvad, a son of Canaan], the Zemarites [a Canaanite tribe], and the Hamathites [people from Hamath, a Canaanite city]. Later [afterward, afterwards] the Canaanite [from the land of Canaan] clans [families, tribes, or nations] were scattered [spread abroad, dispersed], word study 19 and the borders [boundaries, territorial limits] of Canaan [the land of the Canaanites, a region of merchants and traders] extended from Sidon [a major city on the Mediterranean coast] toward Gerar [a city in the land of the Philistines] as far as Gaza [Azzah, a Philistine city in southwest Palestine], and then toward Sodom [a city near the Dead Sea, known for its wickedness], Gomorrah [a city in ancient Palestine, destroyed for its sin], Admah [a city near the Dead Sea, known for its red earth], and Zeboiim [a city in Palestine, one of the five cities in the plain], as far as Lasha [a place east of the Jordan River, possibly near Sodom and Gomorrah, meaning ‘fissure’]. word study 20 These [specific descendants, those mentioned] are the sons [descendants, male offspring] of Ham [the son of Noah, associated with a hot southern land] according to their clans [families, tribes, or nations], languages [tongues, native speeches], lands [countries, territories, or regions], and nations [Gentiles, non-Hebrew peoples, large groups]. word study 21 And sons [children, descendants] were also born to Shem [the father of all the children of Eber], the older brother [elder sibling] of Japheth [the ancestor of many nations]; Shem [the forefather, ancestor] was the forefather [father, ancestor] of all [every, the entire] the sons [descendants, children] of Eber [a great-grandson of Shem]. word study 22 The sons [children, descendants] of Shem [Noah’s eldest son, ancestor of many Semitic tribes]: Elam [a son of Shem and his descendants], Asshur [the ancestor of the Assyrians], Arphaxad [a son of Shem, ancestor of a region], Lud [the ancestor of the Lydians], and Aram [a region, also known as Syria, and its people, the Arameans]. word study 23 The sons [children, descendants, or offspring] of Aram [a region in Syria, and its people, the Arameans]: Uz [a region east of Palestine, possibly in the Arabian desert], Hul [meaning ‘circle’], Gether [meaning fear], and Mash [also known as Mesh, an ancestor of a group of people]. word study 24 Arphaxad [a son of Shem, ancestor of a region] was the father [to beget, give birth to] of Shelah [a man who lived after the flood], and Shelah [the son of Cainan] was the father [to bring forth, produce] of Eber [a great-grandson of Shem, father of Peleg]. word study 25 Two [a pair of, dual] sons were born [brought forth, given birth] to Eber [a great-grandson of Shem]: One was named [designated, called] Peleg [meaning division, separation], because in his days [time, era] the earth [land, territory] was divided [split, separated, niphlegah], and his brother [male sibling, close relative] was named [called, designated] Joktan [meaning smallness]. word study 26 And Joktan [the small one, son of Eber] was the father of Almodad [not measured, unbounded], Sheleph [a drawing forth], Hazarmaveth [village of death], Jerah [new moon, a time of renewal], word study 27 Hadoram [a son of Joktan], Uzal [meaning I shall be flooded], Diklah [a region in Arabia, or a man of the Patriarchs’ time], word study 28 Obal [a son of Joktan], Abimael [my father is God], Sheba [a region in southern Arabia], word study 29 Ophir [a region in southern Arabia], Havilah [a circle, a region in Arabia], and Jobab [meaning a desert]. All [everything, every single one] these [specific people] were sons [descendants, offspring] of Joktan [meaning smallness, an Arabian patriarch]. word study 30 Their territory [dwelling, country, land] extended from Mesha [a place of freedom] to Sephar [a region in southern Arabia], in the eastern [front, toward the rising sun] hill country [mountain, high land]. word study 31 These [specific descendants, the ones mentioned] are the sons [descendants, offspring] of Shem [the eldest son of Noah], according to their [family, tribal] clans [family groups, tribes], languages [tongues, native speech], lands [countries, territories, earth], and nations [Gentile groups, large groups of people]. word study 32 All these [the families of the sons of Noah] are the clans [tribes, families] of Noah’s sons [descendants], according to their generations [family history, genealogy] and nations [Gentile, non-Hebrew peoples]. From these [the ancestors, the patriarchs] the nations [Gentile, non-Hebrew peoples] of the earth [land, territory] spread out [divided, scattered] after [following, subsequent to] the flood [the great deluge, catastrophic inundation]. word study