Genesis 10: The Most Influential Family Tree of All Time (Part Two)

In last week’s post, Genesis 10: The Most Influential Family Tree of All Time, we followed the genealogies of a fair amount of the world’s origin. By the end of that article, some of the names mentioned in Ham’s descendants caught our attention with one man in particular named Nimrod. Today’s post will continue to set the stage for most of the Bible’s plot based on the family members we’re about to explore. I don’t think you’re going to want to miss this! Let’s see where this trail of Noah’s genealogy continues to lead.

Ham’s family continued:

“Mizraim fathered the people of Lud, Anam, Lehab, Naphtuh, Pathrus, Casluh (the Philistines came from them), and Caphtor.” (Genesis 10:13-14, bold added)

Mizraim’s (also known as Egypt) sons:

• Lud – They were associated with African nations as mercenaries of the king of Egypt
• Anam – a tribe of Egyptians
• Lehab – Libya; the northern part of Africa west of Egypt. Later, they were driven from the coast by Greek colonists
• Naphtuh – Northern or southern boarder of Egypt (People are undecided on exact location)
• Pathrus – Southern Egypt
• Casluh – Scholars estimate that Casluh started along the Egyptian sea coast to the southern border of Palestine and eventually began the tribe of the Philistines
• Caphtor – In or near Egypt

It would seem by most of them remaining in Egypt that this was originally a fairly close-knit family. I think it would be safe to say that many of them eventually spread south and inhabited most of Africa, which then traveled to some of the Caribbean islands.

“Canaan fathered Sidon his firstborn and Heth, as well as the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites, the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites. Afterward the Canaanite clans scattered. The Canaanite border went from Sidon going toward Gerar as far as Gaza, and going toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim as far as Lasha.” (Genesis 10:15-19, bold added)

Canaan’s sons:

• Sidon – International Bible Encyclopedia says that Sidon was “One of the oldest Phoenician cities, situated on a narrow plain between the range of Lebanon and the sea…It was the chief city of the Canaanites.
• Heth – Forefather of the Hittites who dwelled near Hebron
• Jebusites – The original inhabitants of Jebus which later became known as Jerusalem  
• Amorites – At one time, all Syria and Palestine were known as the Amorites’ land. Apparantely, they have been known to have occupied the area west of the Dead Sea to Hebron, including Gilead, Bashan, the Jordan valley, and the lands of the kings Sihon and Og. These people were giants.
• Girgashites – A branch of the Hivites; though not much can be found about them other than they were one of the original inhabitants of the land of Canaan
• Hivites – At one time they were scattered throughout Canaan, from Hermon in the north to Gibeon in the south.
• Arkites – They inhabited Arka, which was approximately 12 miles northeast of Tripolis, Syria, near the sea and the foothills of Lebanon. It also held the name Irkatah by an Assyrian king in 738BC
• Sinites – This could have either represented the Wilderness of Sin where Mount Sinai is, or referenced a place near Arka at the foot of Lebanon.
• Arvadites – A Syrian island coastal city. They were known to have their own king, a powerful navy, and their own currency. This is now a small fisherman’s village.
• Zemanites – Once a very important city in Phoenicia, located near Arka and the seacoast village of Sumra, near Tripolis and Ruwad.
• Hamathites – Hamath was located somewhere in Aram near the north

“These are Ham’s sons by their clans, according to their languages, in their lands and their nations.” (Genesis 10:20)

On their own, Japheth’s and Ham’s families seemed quite prosperous. They were acquiring countries all across Europe, Asia, and Africa. Many of them were quickly establishing trades. Power, fame, and fortune were growing rapidly, and to this point, all seemed to be working within harmony. Yet, something was off which leaves us with a couple of questions:

1. Why would the author of the genealogies list Noah’s sons’ families out of biological order?
2. Did something happen that broke the harmony between these families?

We may pick up a hint in the next verse of Genesis 10 to help us begin to answer our first question. Verse 21 says, “And Shem, Japheth’s older brother, also had sons…”
Genesis 9:24 says Ham was the youngest son. These remarks help us put Noah’s sons in order of birth. Shem was the oldest, Japheth was the middle child, and Ham was the youngest. So why wouldn’t Moses, the author of Genesis, put their genealogies in order by birth? Because he was setting the stage for the most significant impact based on Noah’s blessings given to his sons in Genesis 9. God’s story of redemption and the divide between the enemy’s family and His own was about to be made known.

The answer to the second question will come to light after we look at where Shem’s family settled.

“And Shem, Japheth’s older brother, also had sons. Shem was the father of all the sons of Eber. Shem’s sons were Elam, Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud, and Aram.” (Genesis 10:21-22)

Shem’s sons:

• Elam – it’s namesake, east of Babylonia. The Persians came from this family group
• Asshur – Assyria. Though Assyria was from Shem’s family, it was Nimrod from Ham’s family who built Ninevah, Assyria’s capital city.
• Arpachshad – Lived in Mesopotamia and became the father of the Chaldeans in southern Babylonia (Modern southern Iraq)
• Lud – It is supposed he became the ancestor of the Lydians
• Aram – Aram became the Arameans which later became known as Syria

“Aram’s sons: Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash.” (Genesis 10:23)

Aram’s sons:

• Uz – Uz/Seir in the land of Edom
• Hul – Unknown location
• Gether – No trace of this family is recorded
• Mash – Probably settled on the northern boundary of Mesopotamia between the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers.

“Arpachshad fathered Shelah, and Shelah fathered Eber.” (Genesis 10:24)

• Shelah and Eber – Stayed with Shelah’s father in Mesopotamia near Babylonia

Japheth’s and Ham’s genealogical lines in this account stop at the third generation whereas Shem’s continues to carry on showing there’s some significance here. What else is interesting is the fact that all of Japheth’s and Ham’s children share their sons’ names (the grandsons), but Moses only tracks two of Shem’s sons: Aram (the youngest listed first) and the middle child, Arpachshad. He ignores the families who eventually became the Elamites, Assyrians, and Lydians in this account.

Then Moses interrupts the next generation’s account with another hint that continues to build towards a climax coming in Genesis 11. He said:

“Eber had two sons. One was named Peleg, for during his days the earth was divided; his brother was named Joktan.” (Genesis 10:25) In the list of names, why would Moses give the description for Peleg’s name by saying “during his days the earth was divided?” What do you think caused the division? Remember, Japheth and Ham’s descendants were doing well. They had power, fame, and fortune. Their trades were quickly developing and countries were being strengthened. Everything looked to be in harmony. Instead of explaining, he continued to mark the family’s record, skipping over Peleg’s sons and going to the youngest, Joktan’s, which means Peleg either didn’t have any children, they were insignificant to the story, or there was a greater purpose at play to leave them off for now.

“And Joktan fathered Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, Obal, Abimael, Sheba, Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab. All these were Joktan’s sons. Their settlements extended from Mesha to Sephar, the eastern hill country. (Genesis 10:26-30)

Peleg remained in Mesopotamia with Eber while Joktan became the father of the Arabian tribe, and all his sons settled in various parts of the country.

“These are Shem’s sons by their clans, according to their languages, in their lands and their nations.

These are the clans of Noah’s sons, according to their family records, in their nations. The nations on earth spread out from these after the flood.” (Genesis 10:31-32)

In all these names and locations, were you able to guess where your family may have originated? It is fascinating to begin to see how the world populated and spread out. Did you catch the hints Moses left throughout the list when he’d insert a comment about a specific person here and there? Did you notice the significance of the order in which Moses listed the names; that they weren’t always by birth order?

Though some of you may have only skimmed through these genealogical posts, I hope the Lord encouraged you with a few things:

1. God knows every single person on this earth by name, family, and culture
2. He cares about the details of all of our lives because they all link together
3. These names were not recorded just for the sake of tracking families and time, though it is interesting to some. They had a much greater purpose; value that far transcended the moments they lived in this world. They were tracking the line of God’s promise from Genesis 3:15; that He was preparing the way for a Saviour to redeem humanity back to a loving relationship with Him.

This family lineage looks mostly neat and tidy. However, as Moses hinted, something was hidden in the dark that was about to be brought to light – something so profound it would change the course of history for thousands of years, including your own.