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Cush[a] became the father of Nimrod, who was the first to become a mighty warrior on earth. He was a mighty hunter in the eyes of the Lord; hence the saying, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter in the eyes of the Lord.” 10 His kingdom originated in Babylon, Erech and Accad, all of them in the land of Shinar.[b] 11 From that land he went forth to Assyria, where he built Nineveh, Rehoboth-Ir[c] and Calah, 12 as well as Resen, between Nineveh and Calah,[d] the latter being the principal city.

13 (A)Mizraim became the father of the Ludim, the Anamim, the Lehabim, the Naphtuhim, 14 the Pathrusim,[e] the Casluhim, and the Caphtorim from whom the Philistines came.

15 Canaan became the father of Sidon, his firstborn, and of Heth;[f] 16 also of the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites, 17 the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites, 18 the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites. Afterward, the clans of the Canaanites spread out, 19 so that the Canaanite borders extended from Sidon all the way to Gerar, near Gaza, and all the way to Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, near Lasha.

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Footnotes

  1. 10:8 Cush: here seems to be Cossea, the country of the Kassites; see note on 2:10–14. Nimrod: possibly Tukulti-Ninurta I (thirteenth century B.C.), the first Assyrian conqueror of Babylonia and a famous city-builder at home.
  2. 10:10 Shinar: the land of ancient Babylonia, embracing Sumer and Akkad, present-day southern Iraq, mentioned also in 11:2; 14:1.
  3. 10:11 Rehoboth-Ir: lit., “wide-streets city,” was probably not the name of another city, but an epithet of Nineveh; cf. Jon 3:3.
  4. 10:12 Calah: Assyrian Kalhu, the capital of Assyria in the ninth century B.C.
  5. 10:14 The Pathrusim: the people of Upper (southern) Egypt; cf. Is 11:11; Jer 44:1; Ez 29:14; 30:13. Caphtorim: Crete; for Caphtor as the place of origin of the Philistines, cf. Dt 2:23; Am 9:7; Jer 47:4.
  6. 10:15 Heth: the biblical Hittites; see note on 23:3.

Cush was the father[a] of Nimrod,(A) who became a mighty warrior on the earth. He was a mighty(B) hunter(C) before the Lord; that is why it is said, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord.” 10 The first centers of his kingdom were Babylon,(D) Uruk,(E) Akkad and Kalneh,(F) in[b] Shinar.[c](G) 11 From that land he went to Assyria,(H) where he built Nineveh,(I) Rehoboth Ir,[d] Calah 12 and Resen, which is between Nineveh and Calah—which is the great city.

13 Egypt was the father of

the Ludites, Anamites, Lehabites, Naphtuhites, 14 Pathrusites, Kasluhites (from whom the Philistines(J) came) and Caphtorites.(K)

15 Canaan(L) was the father of

Sidon(M) his firstborn,[e](N) and of the Hittites,(O) 16 Jebusites,(P) Amorites,(Q) Girgashites,(R) 17 Hivites,(S) Arkites, Sinites, 18 Arvadites,(T) Zemarites and Hamathites.(U)

Later the Canaanite(V) clans scattered 19 and the borders of Canaan(W) reached from Sidon(X) toward Gerar(Y) as far as Gaza,(Z) and then toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboyim,(AA) as far as Lasha.

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 10:8 Father may mean ancestor or predecessor or founder; also in verses 13, 15, 24 and 26.
  2. Genesis 10:10 Or Uruk and Akkad—all of them in
  3. Genesis 10:10 That is, Babylonia
  4. Genesis 10:11 Or Nineveh with its city squares
  5. Genesis 10:15 Or of the Sidonians, the foremost