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Genesis

About this book

The Nations Descended from Noah

Chapter 10

1 This is the account of Noah’s sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Sons were born to them after the flood. 2 The sons of Japheth were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.⁠ 3 The sons of Gomer were Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah. 4 The sons of Javan were Elishah, Tarshish, the Kittim, and the Dodanim. 5 From these the coastlands of the nations were separated into their lands,⁠ every one according to its language, according to their families, by their nations.⁠ 6 The sons of Ham were Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan. 7 The sons of Cush were Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca. The sons of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan. 8 Cush was the father of Nimrod; he began to be a valiant warrior on the earth. 9 He was a mighty hunter before the Lord.⁠ (That is why it is said, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord.”) 10 The primary regions of his kingdom were Babel, Erech, Akkad, and Calneh in the land of Shinar.⁠ 11 From that land he went to Assyria, where he built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah, 12 and Resen, which is between Nineveh and the great city Calah. 13 Mizraim was the father of the Ludites, Anamites, Lehabites, Naphtuhites, 14 Pathrusites, Casluhites (from whom the Philistines came), and Caphtorites. 15 Canaan was the father of Sidon his firstborn, Heth, 16 the Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites, 17 Hivites, Arkites, Sinites, 18 Arvadites, Zemarites, and Hamathites. Eventually the families of the Canaanites were scattered 19 and the borders of Canaan extended from Sidon all the way to Gerar as far as Gaza, and all the way to Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboyim, as far as Lasha. 20 These are the sons of Ham, according to their families, according to their languages,⁠ by their lands, and by their nations. 21 And sons were also born to Shem (the older brother of Japheth), the father of all the sons of Eber. 22 The sons of Shem were Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram. 23 The sons of Aram were Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash. 24 Arphaxad was the father of Shelah, and Shelah was the father of Eber. 25 Two sons were born to Eber: One was named Peleg because in his days the earth was divided, and his brother’s name was 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 were sons of Joktan. 30 Their dwelling place was from Mesha all the way to Sephar in the eastern hills. 31 These are the sons of Shem according to their families, according to their languages, by their lands, and according to their nations. 32 These are the families of the sons of Noah, according to their genealogies, by their nations, and from these the nations spread over the earth after the flood.⁠

Texts in conversation

Compare Genesis 10:10 and Onkelos Genesis 10:10

Hebrew Bible · Targum

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Summary

Genesis 10 locates Nimrod’s kingdom in Shinar. The Aramaic translation in Targum Onkelos changes this to Babylon, harmonizing the name with what it was called in the translators’ time. This follows a pattern in the Targums of updating the geography.

Passages

Genesis 10:10

Hebrew Bible
9 He was a mighty hunter before the Lord. (That is why it is said, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord.”) 10 The primary regions of his kingdom were Babel, Erech, Akkad, and Calneh in the land of Shinar. 11 From that land he went to Assyria, where he built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah,
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Genesis

Onkelos Genesis 10:10

Targum
9 He was a powerful man before the Lord: therefore it is said, Like Nimrod the man of might before the Lord. 10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babylon, and Erech, and Akkad, and Calneh in the land of Babylon. 11 From that land he went to Assyria, and built Nineveh, and the city of Rehoboth, and Calah,
50–500 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Onkelos Genesis

References

"... In all the Targums, for instance, “Argob” (Deuteronomy 3:4) is translated by “Trachonitis,” “Ararat” (Genesis 8:4) by “Kardu” (Cordyene; this translation is also found in the Peshitta), “Zoan” (Numbers 13:22) by “Tanis” (an interpretation also found in the Septuagint), and “Caphtorim” (Genesis 10:14) by “Cappadocians” (also found in the Septuagint). In this respect, the Targums, as is evident, are in step with the translation technique of late antiquity, and many cities and provinces of the time are identified, with varying degrees of plausibility,with biblical locations in the Targums ... They do not always agree in the identifications, however; for instance, in Genesis 10:10, Onkelos and Neofiti translate “Shinar” as “Babylon,” while Pseudo-Jonathan and one manuscript of the Fragment-Targum translate it as “Pontus.” ..."
Edward M. Cook, “The Interpretation of the Hebrew Bible in the Targums,” in A Companion to Biblical Interpretation in Early Judaism, ed. Matthias Henze (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2012), 92–117.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Genesis 10:10 and Onkelos Genesis 10:10

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