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Genesis 10:1-11:9
New English Translation

The Table of Nations

10 This is the account[a] of Noah’s sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.[b] Sons[c] were born[d] to them after the flood.

2 The sons of Japheth[e] were Gomer,[f] Magog,[g] Madai,[h] Javan,[i] Tubal,[j] Meshech,[k] and Tiras.[l] 3 The sons of Gomer were[m] Ashkenaz,[n] Riphath,[o] and Togarmah.[p] 4 The sons of Javan were Elishah,[q] Tarshish,[r] the Kittim,[s] and the Dodanim.[t] 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,[u] Mizraim,[v] Put,[w] and Canaan.[x] 7 The sons of Cush were Seba,[y] Havilah,[z] Sabtah,[aa] Raamah,[ab] and Sabteca.[ac] The sons of Raamah were Sheba[ad] and Dedan.[ae]

8 Cush was the father of[af] Nimrod; he began to be a valiant warrior on the earth. 9 He was a mighty hunter[ag] before the Lord.[ah] (That is why it is said, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord.”) 10 The primary regions[ai] of his kingdom were Babel,[aj] Erech,[ak] Akkad,[al] and Calneh[am] in the land of Shinar.[an] 11 From that land he went[ao] to Assyria,[ap] where he built Nineveh,[aq] Rehoboth Ir,[ar] Calah,[as] 12 and Resen, which is between Nineveh and the great city Calah.[at]

13 Mizraim[au] was the father of[av] the Ludites,[aw] Anamites,[ax] Lehabites,[ay] Naphtuhites,[az] 14 Pathrusites,[ba] Casluhites[bb] (from whom the Philistines came),[bc] and Caphtorites.[bd]

15 Canaan was the father of[be] Sidon his firstborn,[bf] Heth,[bg] 16 the Jebusites,[bh] Amorites,[bi] Girgashites,[bj] 17 Hivites,[bk] Arkites,[bl] Sinites,[bm] 18 Arvadites,[bn] Zemarites,[bo] and Hamathites.[bp] Eventually the families of the Canaanites were scattered 19 and the borders of Canaan extended[bq] from Sidon all the way to[br] Gerar as far as Gaza, and all the way to[bs] 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[bt] to Shem (the older brother of Japheth),[bu] the father of all the sons of Eber.

22 The sons of Shem were Elam,[bv] Asshur,[bw] Arphaxad,[bx] Lud,[by] and Aram.[bz] 23 The sons of Aram were Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash.[ca] 24 Arphaxad was the father of[cb] Shelah,[cc] and Shelah was the father of Eber.[cd] 25 Two sons were born to Eber: One was named Peleg because in his days the earth was divided,[ce] and his brother’s name was Joktan. 26 Joktan was the father of[cf] Almodad,[cg] Sheleph,[ch] Hazarmaveth,[ci] Jerah,[cj] 27 Hadoram, Uzal,[ck] Diklah,[cl] 28 Obal,[cm] Abimael,[cn] Sheba,[co] 29 Ophir,[cp] Havilah,[cq] and Jobab. All these were sons of Joktan. 30 Their dwelling place was from Mesha all the way to[cr] 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[cs] over the earth after the flood.

The Dispersion of the Nations at Babel

11 The whole earth[ct] had a common language and a common vocabulary.[cu] 2 When the people[cv] moved eastward,[cw] they found a plain in Shinar[cx] and settled there. 3 Then they said to one another,[cy] “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.”[cz] (They had brick instead of stone and tar[da] instead of mortar.)[db] 4 Then they said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens[dc] so that[dd] we may make a name for ourselves. Otherwise[de] we will be scattered[df] across the face of the entire earth.”

5 But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the people[dg] had started[dh] building. 6 And the Lord said, “If as one people all sharing a common language[di] they have begun to do this, then[dj] nothing they plan to do will be beyond them.[dk] 7 Come, let’s go down and confuse[dl] their language so they won’t be able to understand each other.”[dm]

8 So the Lord scattered them from there across the face of the entire earth, and they stopped building[dn] the city. 9 That is why its name was called[do] Babel[dp]—because there the Lord confused the language of the entire world, and from there the Lord scattered them across the face of the entire earth.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 10:1 tn The title אֵלֶּה תּוֹלְדֹת (ʾelleh toledot, here translated as “This is the account”) here covers 10:1-11:9, which contains the so-called Table of Nations and the account of how the nations came to be dispersed.
  2. Genesis 10:1 sn The sons are not listed in order by age. Japheth was oldest (10:21); Ham was youngest (9:24). Shem is listed first due to importance.
  3. Genesis 10:1 sn Sons were born to them. A vertical genealogy such as this encompasses more than the names of sons. The list includes cities, tribes, and even nations. In a loose way, the names in the list have some derivation or connection to the three ancestors.
  4. Genesis 10:1 tn It appears that the Table of Nations is a composite of at least two ancient sources: Some sections begin with the phrase “the sons of” (בְּנֵי, bene) while other sections use “begot” (יָלָד, yalad). It may very well be that the “sons of” list was an old, “bare bones” list that was retained in the family records, while the “begot” sections were editorial inserts by the writer of Genesis, reflecting his special interests. See A. P. Ross, “The Table of Nations in Genesis 10—Its Structure,” BSac 137 (1980): 340-53; idem, “The Table of Nations in Genesis 10—Its Content,” BSac 138 (1981): 22-34.
  5. Genesis 10:2 sn The Greek form of the name Japheth, Iapetos, is used in Greek tradition for the ancestor of the Greeks.
  6. Genesis 10:2 sn Gomer was the ancestor of the Cimmerians. For a discussion of the Cimmerians see E. M. Yamauchi, Foes from the Northern Frontier (SBA), 49-61.
  7. Genesis 10:2 sn For a discussion of various proposals concerning the descendants of Magog see E. M. Yamauchi, Foes from the Northern Frontier (SBA), 22-24.
  8. Genesis 10:2 sn Madai was the ancestor of the Medes, who lived east of Assyria.
  9. Genesis 10:2 sn Javan was the father of the Hellenic race, the Ionians who lived in western Asia Minor.
  10. Genesis 10:2 sn Tubal was the ancestor of militaristic tribes that lived north of the Black Sea. For a discussion of ancient references to Tubal see E. M. Yamauchi, Foes from the Northern Frontier (SBA), 24-26.
  11. Genesis 10:2 sn Meshech was the ancestor of the people known in Assyrian records as the Musku. For a discussion of ancient references to them see E. M. Yamauchi, Foes from the Northern Frontier (SBA), 24-26.
  12. Genesis 10:2 sn Tiras was the ancestor of the Thracians, some of whom possibly became the Pelasgian pirates of the Aegean.
  13. Genesis 10:3 sn The descendants of Gomer were all northern tribes of the Upper Euphrates.
  14. Genesis 10:3 sn Ashkenaz was the ancestor of a northern branch of Indo-Germanic tribes, possibly Scythians. For discussion see E. M. Yamauchi, Foes from the Northern Frontier (SBA), 63.
  15. Genesis 10:3 sn The descendants of Riphath lived in a district north of the road from Haran to Carchemish.
  16. Genesis 10:3 sn Togarmah is also mentioned in Ezek 38:6, where it refers to Til-garimmu, the capital of Kammanu, which bordered Tabal in eastern Turkey. See E. M. Yamauchi, Foes from the Northern Frontier (SBA), 26, n. 28.
  17. Genesis 10:4 sn The descendants of Elishah populated Cyprus.
  18. Genesis 10:4 sn The descendants of Tarshish settled along the southern coast of what is modern Turkey. However, some identify the site Tarshish (see Jonah 1:3) with Sardinia or Spain.
  19. Genesis 10:4 sn The name Kittim is associated with Cyprus, as well as coastlands east of Rhodes. It is used in later texts to refer to the Romans.
  20. Genesis 10:4 tc Most of the MT mss read “Dodanim” here, but 1 Chr 1:7 has “Rodanim,” perhaps referring to the island of Rhodes. But the Qere reading in 1 Chr 1:7 suggests “Dodanim.” Dodona is one of the most ancient and revered spots in ancient Greece.
  21. Genesis 10:6 sn The descendants of Cush settled in Nubia (Ethiopia).
  22. Genesis 10:6 sn The descendants of Mizraim settled in Upper and Lower Egypt.
  23. Genesis 10:6 sn The descendants of Put settled in Libya.
  24. Genesis 10:6 sn The descendants of Canaan lived in the region of Phoenicia (Palestine).
  25. Genesis 10:7 sn The descendants of Seba settled in Upper Egypt along the Nile.
  26. Genesis 10:7 sn The Hebrew name Havilah apparently means “stretch of sand” (see HALOT 297 s.v. חֲוִילָה). Havilah’s descendants settled in eastern Arabia.
  27. Genesis 10:7 sn The descendants of Sabtah settled near the western shore of the Persian Gulf in ancient Hadhramaut.
  28. Genesis 10:7 sn The descendants of Raamah settled in southwest Arabia.
  29. Genesis 10:7 sn The descendants of Sabteca settled in Samudake, east toward the Persian Gulf.
  30. Genesis 10:7 sn Sheba became the name of a kingdom in southwest Arabia.
  31. Genesis 10:7 sn The name Dedan is associated with ʿUla in northern Arabia.
  32. Genesis 10:8 tn Heb “fathered.” Embedded within Cush’s genealogy is an account of Nimrod, a mighty warrior. There have been many attempts to identify him, but none are convincing.
  33. Genesis 10:9 tn The Hebrew word for “hunt” is צַיִד (tsayid), which is used on occasion for hunting men (1 Sam 24:12; Jer 16:16; Lam 3:15).
  34. Genesis 10:9 tn Another option is to take the divine name here, לִפְנֵי יִהוָה (lifne yehvah, “before the Lord [YHWH]”), as a means of expressing the superlative degree. In this case one may translate “Nimrod was the greatest hunter in the world.”
  35. Genesis 10:10 tn Heb “beginning.” E. A. Speiser, Genesis (AB), 67, suggests “mainstays,” citing Jer 49:35 as another text where the Hebrew noun is so used.
  36. Genesis 10:10 tn Or “Babylon.”
  37. Genesis 10:10 sn Erech (ancient Uruk, modern Warka), one of the most ancient civilizations, was located southeast of Babylon.
  38. Genesis 10:10 sn Akkad, or ancient Agade, was associated with Sargon and located north of Babylon.
  39. Genesis 10:10 tn No such place is known in Shinar (i.e., Babylonia). Therefore some have translated the Hebrew term כַלְנֵה (khalneh) as “all of them,” referring to the three previous names (cf. NRSV).
  40. Genesis 10:10 sn Shinar is another name for Babylonia.
  41. Genesis 10:11 tn The subject of the verb translated “went” is probably still Nimrod. However, it has also been interpreted that “Ashur went,” referring to a derivative power.
  42. Genesis 10:11 tn Heb “Asshur.”
  43. Genesis 10:11 sn Nineveh was an ancient Assyrian city situated on the Tigris River.
  44. Genesis 10:11 sn The name Rehoboth Ir means “and broad streets of a city,” perhaps referring to a suburb of Nineveh.
  45. Genesis 10:11 sn Calah (modern Nimrud) was located 20 miles north of Nineveh.
  46. Genesis 10:12 tn Heb “and Resen between Nineveh and Calah; it [i.e., Calah] is the great city.”
  47. Genesis 10:13 sn Mizraim is the Hebrew name for Egypt (cf. NRSV).
  48. Genesis 10:13 tn Heb “fathered.”
  49. Genesis 10:13 sn The Ludites were African tribes west of the Nile Delta.
  50. Genesis 10:13 sn The Anamites lived in North Africa, west of Egypt, near Cyrene.
  51. Genesis 10:13 sn The Lehabites are identified with the Libyans.
  52. Genesis 10:13 sn The Naphtuhites lived in Lower Egypt (the Nile Delta region).
  53. Genesis 10:14 sn The Pathrusites are known in Egyptian as P-to-reshi; they resided in Upper Egypt.
  54. Genesis 10:14 sn The Casluhites lived in Crete and eventually settled east of the Egyptian Delta, between Egypt and Canaan.
  55. Genesis 10:14 tn Several commentators prefer to reverse the order of the words to put this clause after the next word, since the Philistines came from Crete (where the Caphtorites lived). But the table may suggest migration rather than lineage, and the Philistines, like the Israelites, came through the Nile Delta region of Egypt. For further discussion of the origin and migration of the Philistines, see D. M. Howard, “Philistines,” Peoples of the Old Testament World, 232.
  56. Genesis 10:14 sn The Caphtorites resided in Crete, but in Egyptian literature Caphtor refers to “the region beyond” the Mediterranean.
  57. Genesis 10:15 tn Heb “fathered.”
  58. Genesis 10:15 sn Sidon was the foremost city in Phoenicia; here Sidon may be the name of its founder.
  59. Genesis 10:15 tn Some see a reference to “Hittites” here (cf. NIV), but this seems unlikely. See the note on the phrase “sons of Heth” in Gen 23:3.
  60. Genesis 10:16 sn The Jebusites were the Canaanite inhabitants of ancient Jerusalem.
  61. Genesis 10:16 sn Here Amorites refers to smaller groups of Canaanite inhabitants of the mountainous regions of Palestine, rather than the large waves of Amurru, or western Semites, who migrated to the region.
  62. Genesis 10:16 sn The Girgashites are an otherwise unknown Canaanite tribe, though the name is possibly mentioned in Ugaritic texts (see G. J. Wenham, Genesis [WBC], 1:226).
  63. Genesis 10:17 sn The Hivites were Canaanite tribes of a Hurrian origin.
  64. Genesis 10:17 sn The Arkites lived in Arka, a city in Lebanon, north of Sidon.
  65. Genesis 10:17 sn The Sinites lived in Sin, another town in Lebanon.
  66. Genesis 10:18 sn The Arvadites lived in the city Arvad, located on an island near the mainland close to the river El Kebir.
  67. Genesis 10:18 sn The Zemarites lived in the town Sumur, north of Arka.
  68. Genesis 10:18 sn The Hamathites lived in Hamath on the Orontes River.
  69. Genesis 10:19 tn Heb “were.”
  70. Genesis 10:19 tn Heb “as you go.”
  71. Genesis 10:19 tn Heb “as you go.”
  72. Genesis 10:21 tn Heb “And to Shem was born.”
  73. Genesis 10:21 tn Or “whose older brother was Japheth.” Some translations render Japheth as the older brother, understanding the adjective הַגָּדוֹל (haggadol, “older”) as modifying Japheth. However, in Hebrew when a masculine singular definite attributive adjective follows the sequence masculine singular construct noun plus proper name, the adjective invariably modifies the noun in construct, not the proper name. Such is the case here. See Deut 11:7; Judg 1:13; 2:7; 3:9; 9:5; 2 Kgs 15:35; 2 Chr 27:3; Neh 3:30; Jer 13:9; 36:10; Ezek 10:19; 11:1.
  74. Genesis 10:22 sn The Hebrew name Elam (עֵילָם, ʿelam) means “highland.” The Elamites were a non-Semitic people who lived east of Babylon.
  75. Genesis 10:22 sn Asshur is the name for the Assyrians. Asshur was the region in which Nimrod expanded his power (see v. 11, where the name is also mentioned). When names appear in both sections of a genealogical list, it probably means that there were both Hamites and Shemites living in that region in antiquity, especially if the name is a place name.
  76. Genesis 10:22 sn The descendants of Arphaxad may have lived northeast of Nineveh.
  77. Genesis 10:22 sn Lud may have been the ancestor of the Ludbu, who lived near the Tigris River.
  78. Genesis 10:22 sn Aram became the collective name of the northern tribes living in the steppes of Mesopotamia and speaking Aramaic dialects.
  79. Genesis 10:23 tc The MT reads “Mash”; the LXX and 1 Chr 1:17 read “Meshech.”sn Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash. Little is known about these descendants of Aram.
  80. Genesis 10:24 tn Heb “fathered.”
  81. Genesis 10:24 tc The MT reads “Arphaxad fathered Shelah”; the LXX reads “Arphaxad fathered Cainan, and Cainan fathered Sala [= Shelah].” The LXX reading also appears to lie behind Luke 3:35-36.
  82. Genesis 10:24 sn Genesis 11 traces the line of Shem through Eber (עֵבֶר, ʿever) to Abraham the “Hebrew” (עִבְרִי, ʿivri).
  83. Genesis 10:25 tn The expression “the earth was divided” may refer to dividing the land with canals, but more likely it anticipates the division of languages at Babel (Gen 11). The verb פָּלַג (palag, “separate, divide”) is used in Ps 55:9 for a division of languages.
  84. Genesis 10:26 tn Heb “fathered.”
  85. Genesis 10:26 sn The name Almodad combines the Arabic article al with modad (“friend”). Almodad was the ancestor of a South Arabian people.
  86. Genesis 10:26 sn The name Sheleph may be related to Shilph, a district of Yemen; Shalph is a Yemenite tribe.
  87. Genesis 10:26 sn The name Hazarmaveth should be equated with Hadramawt, located in Southern Arabia.
  88. Genesis 10:26 sn The name Jerah means “moon.”
  89. Genesis 10:27 sn Uzal was the name of the old capital of Yemen.
  90. Genesis 10:27 sn The name Diklah means “date-palm.”
  91. Genesis 10:28 sn Obal was a name used for several localities in Yemen.
  92. Genesis 10:28 sn The name Abimael is a genuine Sabean form which means “my father, truly, he is God.”
  93. Genesis 10:28 sn The descendants of Sheba lived in South Arabia, where the Joktanites were more powerful than the Hamites.
  94. Genesis 10:29 sn Ophir became the name of a territory in South Arabia. Many of the references to Ophir are connected with gold (e.g., 1 Kgs 9:28; 10:11; 22:48; 1 Chr 29:4; 2 Chr 8:18; 9:10; Job 22:24; 28:16; Ps 45:9; Isa 13:12).
  95. Genesis 10:29 sn Havilah is listed with Ham in v. 7.
  96. Genesis 10:30 tn Heb “as you go.”
  97. Genesis 10:32 tn Or “separated.”
  98. Genesis 11:1 sn The whole earth. Here “earth” is a metonymy of subject, referring to the people who lived in the earth. Genesis 11 begins with everyone speaking a common language, but chap. 10 has the nations arranged by languages. It is part of the narrative art of Genesis to give the explanation of the event after the narration of the event. On this passage see A. P. Ross, “The Dispersion of the Nations in Genesis 11:1-9, ” BSac 138 (1981): 119-38.
  99. Genesis 11:1 tn Heb “one lip and one [set of] words.” The term “lip” is a metonymy of cause, putting the instrument for the intended effect. They had one language. The term “words” refers to the content of their speech. They had the same vocabulary.
  100. Genesis 11:2 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  101. Genesis 11:2 tn Or perhaps “from the east” (NRSV) or “in the east.”
  102. Genesis 11:2 tn Heb “in the land of Shinar.”sn Shinar is the region of Babylonia.
  103. Genesis 11:3 tn Heb “a man to his neighbor.” The Hebrew idiom may be translated “to each other” or “one to another.”
  104. Genesis 11:3 tn The speech contains two cohortatives of exhortation followed by their respective cognate accusatives: “let us brick bricks” (נִלְבְּנָה לְבֵנִים, nilbenah levenim) and “burn for burning” (נִשְׂרְפָה לִשְׂרֵפָה, nisrefah lisrefah). This stresses the intensity of the undertaking; it also reflects the Akkadian text which uses similar constructions (see E. A. Speiser, Genesis [AB], 75-76).
  105. Genesis 11:3 tn Or “bitumen” (cf. NEB, NRSV).
  106. Genesis 11:3 tn The disjunctive clause gives information parenthetical to the narrative.
  107. Genesis 11:4 tn A translation of “heavens” for שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) fits this context because the Babylonian ziggurats had temples at the top, suggesting they reached to the heavens, the dwelling place of the gods.
  108. Genesis 11:4 tn The form וְנַעֲשֶׂה (venaʿaseh, from the verb עָשָׁה [ʿasah], “do, make”) could be either the imperfect or the cohortative with a vav (ו) conjunction (“and let us make…”). Coming after the previous cohortative, this form expresses purpose.
  109. Genesis 11:4 tn The Hebrew particle פֶּן (pen) expresses a negative purpose; it means “that we be not scattered.”
  110. Genesis 11:4 sn The Hebrew verb פּוּץ (puts, “scatter”) is a key term in this passage. The focal point of the account is the dispersion (“scattering”) of the nations rather than the Tower of Babel. But the passage also forms a polemic against Babylon, the pride of the east and a cosmopolitan center with a huge ziggurat. To the Hebrews it was a monument to the judgment of God on pride.
  111. Genesis 11:5 tn Heb “the sons of man.” The phrase is intended in this polemic to portray the builders as mere mortals, not the lesser deities that the Babylonians claimed built the city.
  112. Genesis 11:5 tn The Hebrew text simply has בָּנוּ (banu), but since v. 8 says they left off building the city, an ingressive idea (“had started building”) should be understood here.
  113. Genesis 11:6 tn Heb “and one lip to all of them.”
  114. Genesis 11:6 tn Heb “and now.” The foundational clause beginning with הֵן (hen) expresses the condition, and the second clause the result. It could be rendered “If this…then now.”
  115. Genesis 11:6 tn Heb “all that they purpose to do will not be withheld from them.”
  116. Genesis 11:7 tn The cohortatives mirror the cohortatives of the people. They build to ascend the heavens; God comes down to destroy their language. God speaks here to his angelic assembly. See the notes on the word “make” in 1:26 and “know” in 3:5, as well as Jub. 10:22-23, where an angel recounts this incident and says “And the Lord our God said to us…. And the Lord went down and we went down with him. And we saw the city and the tower which the sons of men built.” On the chiastic structure of the story, see G. J. Wenham, Genesis (WBC), 1:235.
  117. Genesis 11:7 tn Heb “they will not hear, a man the lip of his neighbor.”
  118. Genesis 11:8 tn The infinitive construct לִבְנֹת (livnot, “building”) here serves as the object of the verb “they ceased, stopped,” answering the question of what they stopped doing.
  119. Genesis 11:9 tn The verb has no expressed subject and so can be rendered as a passive in the translation.
  120. Genesis 11:9 sn Babel. Here is the climax of the account, a parody on the pride of Babylon. In the Babylonian literature the name bab-ili meant “the gate of God,” but in Hebrew it sounds like the word for “confusion,” and so retained that connotation. The name “Babel” (בָּבֶל, bavel) and the verb translated “confused” (בָּלַל, balal) form a paronomasia (sound play). For the many wordplays and other rhetorical devices in Genesis, see J. P. Fokkelman, Narrative Art in Genesis (SSN).
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