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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 10:20 and Genesis 11:1

Hebrew Bible

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Summary

Genesis 10 shows Noah’s descendants spreading out, speaking different languages as a sign of blessing, yet Genesis 11 begins with everyone speaking one language. The two stories appear edited together without concern for keeping the narrative consistent.

Passages

Genesis 10:20

Hebrew Bible
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.
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Genesis

Genesis 11:1

Hebrew Bible
1 The whole earth had a common language and a common vocabulary. 2 When the people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there. 3 Then they said to one another, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” (They had brick instead of stone and tar instead of mortar.)
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Genesis

References

"... The opening statement about “one language” for all humanity needs explanation, coming as it does immediately after the many various languages of Noah’s descendants (10:5, 20, 31). Instead of the present arrangement, the ethnic map of chapter 10 with its multifarious families and languages seems more naturally to follow the Tower of Babel episode as effect follows cause. God has destroyed the tower, scattered the humans across the face of the earth, and given them different languages (11:1–9). Therefore humanity is spread across the earth in three branches, and many sub-families. The best explanation is that these materials have been intentionally dischronologized in order to arrange them thematically. The purpose of the arrangement is to highlight a “spread of sin, spread of grace” theme throughout Genesis 1–11, which in turn is part of a larger creation–uncreation–recreation theme of the Pentateuch. The Table of Nations in its current location fulfills the divine command to “be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth” (9:1, reflecting also 1:28), and is therefore predominantly a positive appraisal of human dispersion. The sons of Noah were fulfilling their purpose by bringing God’s blessing to fruition. Had it been placed after 11:1–9, the Table of Nations in Genesis 10 would of necessity been transformed into a sign of God’s judgment. As these two units stand, the division of humanity and multiplicity of languages are evaluated both positively (Genesis 10) and negatively (Genesis 11). Humanity stands under both the blessing and the curse of God, and this ambivalence in the relationship between God and humanity brings the Primeval History to a conclusion ..."
Bill T. Arnold, Genesis, NCBC (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009), 119.

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 10:20 and Genesis 11:1

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