Introduction
Genesis 10 details the descendants of Noah’s three sons—and subsequently the whole world. This chapter is nicknamed “the table of nations” because it sets up the relationships between all the nations we read about. There are also a few questionable conclusions about race people make based on this passage that we need to delve in to.
Problematic Racial Conclusions
Many people group Noah’s sons to the three racial phenotypes we recognize today. In doing so, they ascribe Caucasian-ness with Japheth, African-ness with Ham, and Asian-ness with Shem. Several problems stem from this, however.
In order to populate a world with such diversity, the families that repopulated the earth must have also been genetically diverse. There were three couples that gave birth to these nations and all of the men were brothers (re: they had similar genes). Scientists may argue that the racial distinct-ness came much later, but at the time of Moses (roughly 1500 years later), we see difficulty distinguishing the Shemite Moses from the Hamite Egyptians. During the Babylonian captivity, Esther is able to hide her origins. Even in the new Testament, Paul is confused to be an Egyptian. This makes sense because on top of already sharing genes, there was a lot of intermarriage between the descendants of these brothers.
It is unlikely that these brothers represent the "races" we classify people with today.
Japheth
Japheth has 7 sons: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras. Genesis 10:5 tells us these are the Gentiles and the lands of the Gentiles were populated by the sons of Japheth. The table below summarizes what nations came from each son, and the sections below that go into more detail about some of the nations.
| 馃懄馃徑 Son | 馃懆馃徑 Father | 馃敜 Meaning of Name | 馃寧 Peoples and Nations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gomer | Japheth | Complete [1] | Celtics (Cimmerians) [1] |
| Ashkenaz | Gomer | A man as sprinkled: fire as scattered [2] | A northern people (possibly Bithynia)[2][3] This is in modern day Turkey |
| Riphath (or Diphath) | Gomer | Spoken[8] | Riphaean (Carpathian) mountains; northeast Dacia[9] This is in modern day Romania |
| Togarmah | Gomer | Thou wilt break her[10] | Armenia[10] |
| Magog | Japheth | Land of Gog[11] | Between Cappadocia and Media[11] |
| Madai (or Medes) | Japheth | Middle land[12] | Media[12] |
| Javan | Japheth | Ionia or Greece[13] | Ionia and Greece[13] |
| Elishah | Javan | God of the coming one[14] | Aeolians[14] |
| Tarshish | Javan | Yellow jasper[15] | Phoenicians (possibly Cyprus or Spain)[15] |
| Kittim (or Chittim) | Javan | Bruisers[16] | Islands in the Mediterranean[16] |
| Dodanim (or Rodanim) | Javan | Leaders[17] | Descendants of Ionia and Greece |
| Tubal | Japheth | Though shall be brought[18] | Cappadocia[18] |
| Meshech | Japheth | Drawing out[19] | Colchis and Armenia[19] |
| Tiras | Japheth | Desire[20] | - |
Ashkenaz
It’s important to talk about Ashkenaz because this is the name sake of many modern Jews—they are called AshkenaziJews and account for roughly 80% of the modern Jewish population.[7] Many people say Ashkenaz means “German” or “Germany” in Hebrew,[5][6] but the association of Ashkenaz with Germany is much more modern than the time of Genesis.
Strong’s Concordance[2] suggests Ashkenaz’s descendants became the nation of Bithynia, which was located in northern Anatolia.[3] This kingdom was a barrier between the East and the West and survived conquests embarked on by the Greeks and Persians; eventually it was absorbed in to Rome in 74 BC. Interestingly, the location of Bithynia is not far from the Khazars—a group of Turkish people who are suspected of converted to Judaism in the 8th century.[4] Some groups (particularly Black Hebrew Israelites) associate Ashkenazi Jews with the Khazars.
The rationale generally given for how the Jews of today became Ashkenazi is that after the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD, a portion of the Jews fled into Europe. Those who ended up in Spain and Portugal became known as Sephardi Jews and those who settled in Eastern Europe around Germany became the Ashkenazi. Under this assumption the term Ashkenazi Jew is much like African-American, referencing both an ancestoral origin and a national origin.
Ashkenaz is mentioned in Genesis 10:3, 1 Chronicles 1:6, and Jeremiah 51:27. Jeremiah 51:27 is a prophecy in which Ashkenaz is joining other nations to rise up against Babylon (implying they fight on the side of the Most High).
Magog
Magog is important because it appears in prophecy (Revelation 20:8). The descendants of Magog settled north of Israel in the mountains between Cappadocia (Turkey) and Media (Iran). Magog is discussed in prophecies from Ezekiel (Ezekiel 38:2 and Ezekiel 39:6) as well as the verse in Revelation. The people of Magog are said to be the enemies of God in Ezekiel; we are told that fire will be set to the land. In Revelation it seems that the nations of the world that gather against God and His people once again include Magog.
Medai (or Medes or Media)
The word translated to Madai in Genesis 10 is translated as Medes or Media in later books of the Bible but it is the same word. The Medes discussed through the Bible are the descendants of one of Japheth’s sons.
Javan
Javan’s descendants are tied to the Ionians and the Greeks. Later in the Bible (specifically in Daniel and Zechariah), we see this name translated as Grecia and Greece. Javan and Gomer are the only sons of Japheth for whom we are told of their descendants as well. Javan has four sons: Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.
Tarshish
Tarshish is discussed most often of the sons of Japheth. They city of Tarshish is featured in the book of Jonah and also seen throughout the history of Israel in 1 Kings, 1 Chronicles and 2 Chronicles. Psalms, Esther, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel also mention Tarshish. The ships of Tarshish brought silver, gold, ivory, and peacocks. Scholars link Tarshish to an island in the Mediterranean that belonged to the Phoenicians, but peacocks (peafowl more specifically) are native to India. I did find speculation online that peacocks were imported to Temples throughout the Mediterranean by the Phoenicians which lines up with this description, however I did not dig deep for a reliable source so take that with a grain of salt.
Kittim
Kittim, also spelled Chittim, is said to be a son of Javan, with the term being applied generally to all the isles of the Mediterranean. It is important to note, however that the “im” suffix in Hebrew indicates plurality—for example cherub vs. cherubim. It is very possible that the son’s name was Kit or Chit and his descendants became the Kittim, but it is also possible that his name is something totally different (e.g. Esau’s descendants are known as Edom).
Ham
Ham has 4 sons: Cush, Mizraim, Phut, and Canaan. From these four sons we see names of individuals mixed with clear people groups (e.g., Amorite). Most of the non-Shemite groups the Israelites deal with are from the line of Ham—specifically the Canaanites and Philistines.
| 馃懄馃徑 Son | 馃懆馃徑 Father | 馃敜 Meaning of Name | 馃寧 Peoples and Nations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cush | Ham | Black [21] | Ethiopia [21] |
| Seba | Cush | Drink thou [26] | Ethiopia [26] |
| Havilah | Cush | Circle [27] | Northwestern Yemen [27] |
| Sabtah | Cush | Striking [28] | Arabian Gulf [28] |
| Raamah | Cush | Horse’s mane [29] | South Arabia [29][30] |
| Sheba | Raamah | Seven or an oath [31] | South Arabia [31] |
| Dedan | Raamah | Low country [32] | South Arabia [32] |
| Sabtecha | Cush | Striking [33] | Eastern Ethiopia [33] |
| Nimrod | Cush | Rebellion or the valiant [34] | Babylon and Assyria [34] |
| Mizraim | Ham | Land of the Copts [22] | Egypt [22] |
| Ludim | Mizraim | To the firebrands: travailings [35] | Lydians or Egyptians? [35] |
| Anamim | Mizraim | Affliction of the waters [36] | Tribe of Egyptians [36] |
| Lehabim | Mizraim | Flames [37] | Tribe of Egyptians [37] |
| Naphtuhim | Mizraim | Openings [38] | Lower Egypt [38] |
| Pathrusim | Mizraim | Region of the south [39] | Pathros [39] (Lower Egypt) |
| Casluhim | Mizraim | Fortified [40] | Philistines [40] |
| Philistim | Casluhim | Immigrants [41] | Palestine (Philistines) [41] |
| Caphtorim | Mizraim | A crown [42] | Crete [42] |
| Phut | Ham | A bow [24] | Libya [24] (Strong’s links it to Persia but the general consensus ties Phut to Libya) |
| Canaan | Ham | Lowland [25] | Canaan/Palestine (Philistine) [25] |
| Sidon | Canaan | Hunting [43] | Phoenician (north of Tyre) [43] |
| Heth | Canaan | Terror [44] | Hittites [44] |
| Jebusite | Canaan | Threshing place [46] | Jebus, an early name for Jerusalem [45] |
| Amorite | Canaan | A sayer [47] | East Canaan, beyond the Jordan [47] |
| Girgasite | Canaan | Dwelling on a clayey soil [48] | East of the sea of Galilee [48] |
| Hiv(ite) | Canaan | Villagers [49] | Northern Canaan (near Mt. Hermon)/Palestine [49] |
| Ark(ite) | Canaan | Gnawing [50] | Arka in Phonecia (north of Tripoli, Lebanon) [50] |
| Sin(ite) | Canaan | Thorn or Clay [51] | Northern part of Lebanon [51] |
| Arvad(ite) | Canaan | I shall break loose [52] | Phonecia [52] |
| Zemar(ite) | Canaan | Double woolens [53] | Canaan [53] |
| Hamath(ite) | Canaan | Fortress [54][55] | City in Syria [55] |
Mizraim
When I took Arabic in school I learned that only the West calls the land at the Nile delta on the Mediterranean Egypt. In Arabic (the official language of Egypt) the word for this country is Misr, and in Hebrew is it Mizraim, after the descendant of Ham. The official name of the country today is Junhuriyah Misr al-Arabiyah.[23] The word Egypt comes from the Greek Aegyptus. Egypt was also known as Kemet (The Black Land). The similarities between Misr and Mizraim are very obvious. Kemet is less obvious, as it is based on the geography as opposed to a person.
Also, as I mentioned above “im” is an ending indicating plurality. It is possible that Mizraim refers to a group of people descended from Ham and not one person. If that’s the case the son of Ham the group is named for might have been Mizr or Mizra which is closer to the Arabic Misr.
Nimrod
10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. 11 Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah, 12 And Resen between Nineveh and Calah: the same is a great city.
Genesis 10:10-12 KJV
Most people have heard of Nimrod. At some point his name became synonymous with being an idiot, but Nimrod was a mighty man known for creating the city of Babel, which becomes Babylon. Babylon is generally set as the villain in the Bible and spiritual Babylon plays a pivotal role in prophecy. The spirit of rebellion associated with Babylon starts with Nimrod's Babel (as we will see in Genesis 11).
Other
In the summary about Ham's descendants, we are told about the borders of Canaan. This border includes mentions of Sodom and Gomorrah (which are destroyed in Genesis 19, another popular narrative from Genesis), and Gaza (the current area in Palestine that is under siege by modern Israel [56]).
Shem
Shem has 5 sons—Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram. It is through Arphaxad that Abraham and the Israelites descend. Also through Arphaxad is a man named Eber, it is thought that he is the origin for the word Hebrew. Thus anybody descended from Eber (which would include Abraham, Isaac and Ishmael) would be Hebrew, while only descendants of Isaac's son Jacob would be Israelites, and only those descended from Jacob's son Judah would be Jews.
| 馃懄馃徑 Son | 馃懆馃徑 Father | 馃敜 Meaning of Name | 馃寧 Peoples and Nations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elam | Shem | Eternity [57] | East of Babylon, in the lower Tigris region [57] |
| Asshur | Shem | A step [58] | Assyria [58] |
| Arphaxad | Shem | I shall fail as the breast: he cursed the breast-bottle [59] | Region in Assyria [59] |
| Lud | Shem | Strife [60] | Northern Africa (Lydia) [60] |
| Aram | Shem | Exalted [61] | Syria [61] |
| Uz | Aram | ||
| Hul | Aram | ||
| Gether | Aram | ||
| Mash | Aram | ||
| Salah | Arphaxad | ||
| Eber | Salah | ||
| Peleg | Eber | ||
| Joktan | Eber | ||
| Almodad | Joktan | ||
| Sheleph | Joktan | ||
| Hazarmaveth | Joktan | ||
| Jerah | Joktan | ||
| Hadoram | Joktan | ||
| Uzal | Joktan | ||
| Diklah | Joktan | ||
| Obal | Joktan | ||
| Abimael | Joktan | ||
| Sheba | Joktan | ||
| Ophir | Joktan | ||
| Havilah | Joktan | ||
| Jobab | Joktan |
References and Footnotes
- “Strong’s H1586. 讙ֹּ诪ֶ专“. Blue Letter Bible; visited October 2022
- “Strong’s H813. 讗ַ砖ְׁ讻ְּ谞ַ讝”. Blue Letter Bible; visited October 2022
- “Bithynia”. Encyclopedia Britannica. March 29, 2018; visited October 2022
- “Khazar”. Encyclopedia Britannica. September 23, 2022; visited October 2022
- Shira Schoenberg. ****“Judaism: Ashkenazism”. Jewish Viritual Library; visited October 2022
- Ranajit Das, Paul Wexler, Mehdi Pirooznia, and Eran Elhaik. ****“The Origins of Ashkenaz, Ashkenazic Jews, and Yiddish”. Frontiers in Genetics. June 21, 2017; https://doi.org/10.3389/fgene.2017.00087
- “Ashkenazi”. Encyclopedia Britannica. August 28, 2020; visited October 2022
- “Strong’s H7384. 专ִ讬驻ַ转”. Blue Letter Bible; visited October 2022
- “Riphath”. Bible Hub; visited October 2022
- “Strong’s H8425. 转ֹּ讙ַ专ְ诪ָ讛”. Blue Letter Bible; visited October 2022
- “Strong’s H4031. 诪ָ讙讜ֹ讙”. Blue Letter Bible; visited October 2022
- “Strong’s H4074. 诪ָ讚ַ讬”. Blue Letter Bible; visited October 2022
- “Strong’s H3120. 讬ָ讜ָ谉“. Blue Letter Bible; visited October 2022
- “Strong’s H473. 讗ֱ诇ִ讬砖ָׁ讛“. Blue Letter Bible; visited October 2022
- “Strong’s H8659. 转ַּ专ְ砖ִׁ讬砖ׁ“. Blue Letter Bible; visited October 2022
- “Strong’s H3794. 讻ִּ转ִּ讬诐“. Blue Letter Bible; visited October 2022
- “Strong’s H1721. 讚ֹּ讚ָ谞ִ讬诐“. Blue Letter Bible; visited October 2022
- “Strong’s H8422. 转ֻּ讘ַ诇”. Blue Letter Bible; visited October 2022
- “Strong’s H4902. 诪ֶ砖ֶׁ讱ְ”. Blue Letter Bible; visited October 2022
- “Strong’s H8494. 转ִּ讬专ָ住”. Blue Letter Bible; visited October 2022
- “Strong’s H3538. 讻ּ讜ּ砖ׁ“. Blue Letter Bible; visited October 2022
- “Strong’s H4714. 诪ִ爪ְ专ַ讬ִ诐“. Blue Letter Bible; visited October 2022
- Nermin Sami and Jimmy Dunn. “Egypt: The Origin of the Name, Egypt”. Tour Egypt; **visited October 2022
- “Strong’s H6316. 驻ּ讜ּ讟“. Blue Letter Bible; visited October 2022
- “Strong’s H3667. 讻ְּ谞ַ注ַ谉“. Blue Letter Bible; visited October 2022
- “Strong’s H5434. 住ְ讘ָ讗”. Blue Letter Bible; visited October 2022
- “Strong’s H2341. 讞ֲ讜ִ讬诇ָ讛“. Blue Letter Bible; visited October 2022
- “Strong’s H5454. 住ַ讘ְ转ָּ讗“. Blue Letter Bible; visited October 2022
- “Strong’s H7484. 专ַ注ְ诪ָ讛“. Blue Letter Bible; visited October 2022
- “Raamah”. Open Bible; visited October 2022
- “Strong’s H7614. 砖ְׁ讘ָ讗”. Blue Letter Bible; visited October 2022
- “Strong’s H1719. 讚ְּ讚ָ谉”. Blue Letter Bible; visited October 2022
- “Strong’s H5455. 住ַ讘ְ转ְּ讻ָ讗”. Blue Letter Bible; visited October 2022
- “Strong’s H5248. 谞ִ诪ְ专ֹ讚”. Blue Letter Bible; visited October 2022
- “Strong’s H3866. 诇讜ּ讚ִ讬讬”. Blue Letter Bible; visited October 2022
- “Strong’s H6047. 注ֲ谞ָ诪ִ讬诐”. Blue Letter Bible; visited October 2022
- “Strong’s H3853. 诇ְ讛ָ讘ִ讬诐”. Blue Letter Bible; visited October 2022
- “Strong’s H5329. 谞ַ驻ְ转ֻּ讞ִ讬诐”. Blue Letter Bible; visited October 2022
- “Strong’s H6625. 驻ַּ转ְ专ֻ住ִ讬”. Blue Letter Bible; visited October 2022
- “Strong’s H3695. 讻ַּ住ְ诇ֻ讞ִ讬诐”. Blue Letter Bible; visited October 2022
- “Strong’s H6430. 驻ְּ诇ִ砖ְׁ转ִּ讬”. Blue Letter Bible; visited October 2022
- “Strong’s H3732. 讻ַּ驻ְ转ֹּ专ִ讬”. Blue Letter Bible; visited October 2022
- “Strong’s H6721. 爪ִ讬讚讜ֹ谉”. Blue Letter Bible; visited October 2022
- “Strong’s H2845. 讞ֵ转”. Blue Letter Bible; visited October 2022
- “Strong’s H2983. 讬ְ讘讜ּ住ִ讬”. Blue Letter Bible; visited November 2022
- “Strong’s H2982. 讬ְ讘讜ּ住”. Blue Letter Bible; visited November 2022
- “Strong’s H567. 讗ֱ诪ֹ专ִ讬”. Blue Letter Bible; visited November 2022
- “Strong’s H1622. 讙ִּ专ְ讙ָּ砖ִׁ讬”. Blue Letter Bible; visited November 2022
- “Strong’s H2340. 讞ִ讜ִּ讬”. Blue Letter Bible; visited January 2025
- “Strong’s H6208. 注ַ专ְ拽ִ讬”. Blue Letter Bible; visited January 2025
- “Strong’s H5513. 住ִ讬谞ִ讬”. Blue Letter Bible; visited January 2025
- “Strong’s H721. 讗ַ专ְ讜ָ讚ִ讬”. Blue Letter Bible; visited January 2025
- “Strong’s H6786. 爪ְ诪ָ专ִ讬”. Blue Letter Bible; visited January 2025
- “Strong’s H2577. 讞ֲ诪ָ转ִ讬”. Blue Letter Bible; visited January 2025
- "Strong's H2574. 讞ֲ诪ָ转" Blue Letter Bible; visited January 2025
- "Israel-Hamas War". Wikipedia; visited January 2025
- "Strong's H5867. 注ֵ讬诇ָ诐" Blue Letter Bible; visited January 2025
- "Strong's H804. 讗ַ砖ּׁ讜ּ专" Blue Letter Bible; visited January 2025
- "Strong's H775. 讗ַ专ְ驻ַּ讻ְ砖ַׁ讚" Blue Letter Bible; visited January 2025
- "Strong's H3865. 诇讜ּ讚" Blue Letter Bible; visited January 2025
- "Strong's H758. 讗ֲ专ָ诐" Blue Letter Bible; visited January 2025
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