Free Bible Commentary
“Genesis 10:6-14”
Categories: Genesis“The sons of Ham were Cush and Mizraim and Put and Canaan. The sons of Cush were Seba and Havilah and Sabtah and Raamah and Sabteca; and the sons of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan. Now Cush became the father of Nimrod; he became a mighty one on the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; therefore it is said, ‘Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the Lord.’ The beginning of his kingdom was Babel and Erech and Accad and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. From that land he went forth into Assyria, and built Nineveh and Rehoboth-Ir and Calah, and Resen between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city. Mizraim became the father of Ludim and Anamim and Lehabim and Naphtuhim and Pathrusim and Casluhim (from which came the Philistines) and Caphtorim.”
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“The sons of Ham were Cush and Mizraim and Put and Canaan.” (verse 6) Quoting the Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges: “Cush—A name of frequent occurrence in the O.T. for Ethiopia and the Ethiopians, i.e. the country and the people between Egypt and Abyssinia… Mizraim—The regular Hebrew name for Egypt. Cf. the Assyrian Muṣur… Put—Mentioned also in Ezekiel 27:10; Ezekiel 38:5; Jeremiah 46:9; Nahum 3:9. In these passages “Put” is mentioned together with the composite materials of an Egyptian mercenary army. It is generally identified with the Libyans… Canaan—This is the land of Phoenicia, probably in its widest sense…” Canaan will be picked back up on verse 15.
“The sons of Cush were Seba and Havilah and Sabtah and Raamah and Sabteca; and the sons of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan.” (verse 7) Quoting the Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges: “And the sons of Cush—The names given in this verse are usually identified with the names of tribes, or places, on the African coast, or on the opposite shores of Arabia. Seba—Cf. Psalm 72:10; Isaiah 43:3; Isaiah 45:14, where it is named with Egypt and Cush…generally supposed to denote tribes on the coast of the Red Sea in the neighbourhood of Massowah. Havilah—The name occurs again in Genesis 10:29 among ‘the sons of Joktan’; possibly a branch of the same Arabian tribe which had settled on the African coast. Raamah—Mentioned also in Ezekiel 27:22 for its trade with Tyre, and with Sheba. Sabtah …Unknown. Sheba—Also in Genesis 10:28, among ‘the sons of Joktan,’ and in Genesis 25:3, among ‘the sons of Keturah.’ The trade of this people and their dependencies consisted especially of spices, precious stones, and gold (Ezekiel 27:22). The occurrence of the name of ‘Sheba’ here among the sons of Ham, and in Genesis 10:28 among the sons of Shem, illustrates the difficulty of identification. Dedan—Mentioned also in Genesis 25:3; apparently an Arabian tribe, bordering on Edom (Ezekiel 25:13), and occasionally brought into contact with Israel through trade. Cf. Isaiah 21:13; Jeremiah 25:23; Ezekiel 27:20.”
“Now Cush became the father of Nimrod; he became a mighty one on the earth.” (verse 8) Nahum Sarna observed: “This section is a digression that shifts the focus of interest to Mesopotamia. How this region came to be associated here with Cush, son of Ham, can be accounted for…Two possible explanations exist. One is that behind the present Cush is the royal city of Kish, where, according to Mesopotamian tradition, kingship initially resumed after the flood… Another possibility is that Cush is a reflex of the dynasty of Kassites, a Caucasian people who came down from the Zagros Mountains and ruled Babylonia for about four centuries from 1595 B.C.E. on… This outstanding personality, whose exploits obviously left their mark on the historical memory of Israel, has not been positively identified with any known individual in the ancient world.”
“The beginning of his kingdom was Babel and Erech and Accad and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.” (verse 10) Quoting the Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges: “The beginning of his kingdom—Nimrod is represented, not as the founder of the Babylonian cities, but as their king. His four cities are enumerated: 1. Babel, i.e. Babylon, as the Hebrew is rendered in the Greek: Assyrian Babilu, possibly = ‘the gate of God.’ This was the capital of the Babylonian empire from the time of Hammurabi who founded that empire, circ. 2130 b.c. 2. Erech, the Uruk of the inscriptions…was the principal seat of the Babylonian deities Anu and Istar, and the scene of the exploits of the mythical hero Gilgames. 3. Accad, the Agade of the inscriptions, the chief town in ancient northern Babylonia, and the capital of Sargon the First, one of the earliest Babylonian kings. 4. Calneh, of doubtful identification; not to be identified with the Syrian town Calneh (Amos 6:2)… In the land of Shinar—i.e. in Babylonia, which comprised both northern Babylonia or Accad, and southern Babylonia or Sumer.”
“From that land he went forth into Assyria, and built Nineveh and Rehoboth-Ir and Calah. and Resen between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city.” (verses 10-12) Quoting the Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges: “Into Assyria—or ‘Asshur.’ There is no difference in the Hebrew between the name of the country and that of its first capital (see Genesis 2:14). The city Asshur was distant about 300 miles from Babylon… Nineveh—situated on the left bank of the Tigris, opposite to the modern Mosul. Nineveh was the capital of Assyria in its most famous period, but it was not until about 1000 b.c. that it became the royal residence of Assyrian monarchs… Rehoboth-Ir—Possibly to be identified…with…the modern Mosul, over against Nineveh. Calah—The modern Kellach, at the confluence of the upper Zab and the Tigris, some 20 miles S. of Nineveh. It stands on the ruined mounds of Nimrud. The capital of Assyria was transferred by Shalmaneser I, circ. 1300 b.c., from Asshur to Calah.”
“Mizraim became the father of Ludim and Anamim and Lehabim and Naphtuhim and Pathrusim and Casluhim (from which came the Philistines) and Caphtorim.” (verses 13-14) Quoting the Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges: “The genealogy is continued with the ‘sons of Mizraim.’… The names here mentioned are probably tribes on the borders of Egypt. Ludim—Mentioned also in Jeremiah 46:9; presumably the same as Lud in Isaiah 66:19; Ezekiel 27:10; Ezekiel 30:5… Lehabim—Possibly the same as the ‘Libyans,’ who appear as Lubim in 2 Chronicles 12:3; 2 Chronicles 16:8; Daniel 11:43; Nahum 3:9. The Libyans were the African tribes west of Cyrene. Naphtuhim—the dwellers in the north, i.e. the Delta of Egypt… Pathrusim—Clearly to be identified with Upper Egypt…the Pathros of Isaiah 11:11; Jeremiah 44:1; Jeremiah 44:15; Ezekiel 29:14; Ezekiel 30:14… Caphtorim—According to Deuteronomy 2:23, Jeremiah 47:4, Amos 9:7 the Philistines came out of Caphtor. Accordingly, we may conjecture the clause originally stood after the word “Caphtorim,” and has been accidentally transposed… Caphtorim—The people of Caphtor which has commonly been identified with Crete…”
Please read Genesis 10:15-20 for tomorrow.
Have a blessed day!
- Louie Taylor
