14/04/19 Genesis 10:1-5 & 21-32 “The genealogies of
Japheth and Shem nations”
The descendants of Japheth
Genesis
10:1 – Now these [are]
the generations of the sons (ben) of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth: and unto them were sons
born after the flood.
generations – (gennao) or “the
ones begotten of” or “born of”
These are those (sons) who were born of the
children of Noah and his 3 sons. That is, these are (some of) the male descendants
of these men.
Although the order of birth of Noah’s sons
isn’t absolutely clear, it is likely to be Japheth, Shem and Ham, but this
order here is probably noting that the main player in these genealogies is
Shem, followed by Ham, with Japheth and his descendants not being mentioned
much until the NT (that is, with the Gentile church). See the connection with
Gentiles in Genesis 10:5, although Gentiles here refers to any non-Jewish
nation.
Genesis
10:2 – The sons of
Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and
Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.
We begin with the descendants of Japheth.
These are the male descendants, and probably not all, noting that while Japheth
has 7 sons here, only 2 of them (Gomer and Javan) have their sons
listed.
The following nations represented by these
sons is a guide only. There are many differing views on who these people were.
The following is a suggested guide.
Gomer – probably Crimea,
Denmark / Nth Germany, Britain, probably parts of France and Spain (probably largely
the Celts).
Magog – Scythians, probably
Nth Europe (Russia etc) and possibly across into Nth Asia and maybe including
Eskimos (Esquimaux).
Madai – Medes (Sth and SthWest of the Caspian)
Javan – (or Ionia)
Greeks
Tubal – the Tibareni, on the south-east of the Black Sea. Sometimes associated with Tubolsk (on the Tobol River)
Meshech – the Moschi, a people of Colchis and Armenia. Sometimes associated with Moscow.
Tiras – Josephus called
these the Thracians (+ Goths), but could include Scandinavian races (including
Vikings).
They are generally seen as Europeans,
Caucasian, and even across Northern Asia and possibly including India and
surrounds.
Genesis
10:3 – And the sons of
Gomer; Ashkenaz, and Riphath,
and Togarmah.
Ashkenaz – Germany (as per
Ashkenazi = German Late Hebrew Ashkĕnāzī,
from Ashkĕnāz, medieval rabbinical
name for Germany – Merriam-Webster)
Riphath – not clear,
perhaps Ural mountains. May have been Celts, according
to some sources.
Togarmah – Anatolian
people (Georgia, Armenia, Turkey – or probably Asia Minor) Could include the Khazars (and therefore the Ashkenazi Jews).
Genesis
10:4 – And the sons of
Javan; Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim,
and Dodanim.
Because Javan (Ionia) is clearly Greece and
related nations, then these sons will be literally sons of Greece.
Elishah – probably some of the Greek islands, noting Ezekiel 27:7 – the isles of Elishah. Probably the Peloponnese of Southern Greece.
Tarshish – probably in
Spain. Probably the ancient commercial town of Tartessus (a number of
Greeks lived here), at the mouth of the river Guadalquivir.
Kittim – assumed to be Cyprus (and some other islands and regional coastlands in the area)
Dodanim – probably the island of Rhodes. Many manuscripts have “Rodanim”. Could be another nation in the Northern Mediterranean region.
Genesis
10:5 – By these were
the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue,
after their families, in their nations.
isles – isles; islands;
coastlands; shores; regions (especially maritime regions). It is said that all
lands away from Israel were called isles or maritime regions, probably because
they were generally approached via the sea.
Gentiles – goy (nation; people) Later goy would refer to non-Israel,
non-Hebrew or non-Jew, but as Israel didn’t officially exist yet here, the word
must simply mean “nations”. Thus “the coastlands or regions of the nations”.
Regardless of their exact place in world
geography, the descendants of Japheth were largely found in Europe, Russia and
across into Asia, probably India and the Northern Mediterranean. While Shem’s
descendants are called Semitic, Japheth’s descendants are here apparently
called Gentiles.
The people of each country or nation of
Japheth were grouped according to their common language, and the families
(clans; tribes) they were born into, and the nation (goy) of which they were citizens, to which they belonged. That is,
they were grouped according to those things which they had in common with each
other.
The descendants of
Shem (the descendants of Ham Genesis 10:6-20 are next week)
Genesis
10:21 – Unto Shem also,
the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder, even
to him were [children] born.
Now we look at Shem’s descendants (we’ll
look at the descendants of Ham next week). This verse establishes the Hebrew
nation as having descended from Eber, with Israel coming from Peleg, the son of
Eber.
the brother of
Japheth the elder – Can mean either that Shem is the elder brother of Japheth, or that
Shem is the brother of Japheth who is the elder. If Shem is older than Japheth,
then Ham has to be the oldest of the 3 sons of Noah, and yet the wording of
Genesis 9:24 suggests that either Canaan or Ham is the younger brother. Shem
cannot be the oldest son because he was born less than 100 years before the
flood and yet the oldest was born 100 years before the flood (see Genesis
5:32).
Eber could also be translated as Hebrew, the
name commonly given now to the descendants of Abraham. Note the order of
descent as given in Luke 3:34-38:
Adam; Seth; Enos; Cainan;
Maleleel; Jared; Enoch; Mathusala;
Lamech; Noah; Shem; Arphaxad; Cainan
(left out of the Genesis 10 list); Sala; Heber (Eber); Phalec
(Peleg). Genesis 10 is establishing nations descended from Shem, not
necessarily the line of Christ. Note that once we reach Peleg (Genesis 10:25),
this nation is now established as the Hebrews, from whom Abraham and Israel
descended.
Luke 3:34-38 – 34Which
was [the son] of Jacob, which was [the son] of Isaac, which was [the
son] of Abraham, which was [the son] of Thara,
which was [the son] of Nachor, 35Which was [the son] of Saruch, which was [the son] of Ragau,
which was [the son] of Phalec, which was [the
son] of Heber, which was [the son] of Sala, 36Which was [the son] of Cainan, which was [the son] of Arphaxad,
which was [the son] of Sem, which was [the son] of Noe, which was
[the son] of Lamech, 37Which
was [the son] of Mathusala, which was [the
son] of Enoch, which was [the son] of Jared, which was [the son] of
Maleleel, which was [the son] of Cainan, 38Which
was [the son] of Enos, which was [the son] of Seth, which was [the
son] of Adam, which was [the son] of God.
Note that
while Cainan is listed in Luke, he is not listed in
Genesis 10 (yet the LXX does have Cainan in
it). It is possible that Cainan was the son of Arphaxad, yet Salah is listed as the son (Genesis 10:24)
but really is the grandson of Arphaxad. In the OT a
grandson may be declared a son of the grandparent.
Genesis
10:22 – The children of
Shem; Elam, and Asshur, and Arphaxad,
and Lud, and Aram.
Elam – the Elamites,
between Babylon and Persia. Its capital was Susa (or Shushan, and now Shush in
modern Iran). Barnes says Its
(Elam’s) capital was Shushan or Susa Daniel 8:2,
now Shuster.
Asshur – the ancient
name for Assyria. There is confusion over this name. Asshur
was clearly the son of Shem, yet Genesis 10:11 says that Out of that land went forth Asshur,
and builded Nineveh.
There are 2 possibilities: 1/. There was an
unnamed Asshur born to Ham, probably unlikely, as
this person built Nineveh, therefore not a nobody! 2/.
Asshur (Assyria) the son of Shem is the one named
here. Asshur started the kingdom of Assyria, and Nimrod who began his kingdom with the cities of Babylonia
(in the land of Shinar) then went forth out of that land of Shinar (Genesis 10:10)
into Asshur (or Assyria) and took it by force (Nimrod’s classic bully approach) from those who had already
established it (Asshur of the family of Shem). Thus
Assyria, while named after Asshur of Shem, was to
become a nation belonging to Ham’s descendants. (See notes on Genesis 10:11
next week)
Arphaxad – probably Ur of
the Chaldees, or the Chaldeans.
Lud – probably the
Lydians who occupied the west of Asia Minor (including Ephesus, Smyrna, Sardis,
Miletus, Troy, Thyatira, Philadelpia – Laodecea and Pergamos are not in this area)
Aram – the area of
which Damascus was the capital. cf Aramaic language
Genesis
10:23 – And the children
of Aram; Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Mash.
Uz – the country of
Job (Job 1:1) May be associated with Edom (Idumeans) which sometimes called Mt Seir (2 Chronicles 20:10, 22, 23).
Hul – uncertain,
perhaps Nth of Israel, maybe the headwaters of Jordan. Perhaps the Syrians?
Gether – uncertain,
perhaps Arabia, but otherwise unknown.
Mash – or Meshech (1 Chronicles 1:17), place unknown.
Because Aram was the area around Damascus,
it is logical to assume that his sons settled somewhere in the same
geographical area, that is, probably around what would later become Israel.
Genesis
10:24 – And Arphaxad begat Salah; and Salah begat Eber.
Eber – (or Heber;
Hebrew) means “the region beyond” or “on the other side”
Arphaxad’s son was Salah (or
Cainan then Salah?). There doesn’t appear to be any
nation that Salah started, so it may be assumed that he was a continuation of
the nation of Arphaxad (which was probably the
Chaldeans).
The emphasis here is probably the main point
of the genealogy of Shem: that Eber was born and that Eber represents the first
clear statement concerning the Hebrews from whom Abraham was born (the great-great-great-great-grandson
of Eber). This is really what a lot of these genealogies are all about:
establishing the lines of descent which would influence the ultimate outcome of
God’s will for mankind, that is, to finish the transgression, and to
make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in
everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to
anoint the most Holy. (Daniel 9:24)
The actual genealogy of Shem to Abraham is
given in more detail in Genesis 11:10-26.
Genesis
10:25 – And unto Eber
were born two sons: the name of one [was] Peleg; for in his days was the
earth divided; and his brother’s name [was] Joktan.
Eber had 2 sons, both of whom could be
considered Hebrew, although we usually associate Hebrew with the people Moses
led out of Egypt.
Peleg means “divided” because during his
life the earth (world?) was divided. This probably refers to the building of
the tower of Babel in the plain of Shinar (Genesis 10:10 & 11:1-9), where
the nations were separated into different language groups when God intervened. Some
say that the division was the breaking up of land masses by canals between the
Tigris and the Euphrates and that Peleg’s name in Hebrew means “watercourses”.
They say that there just weren’t enough people around by then to tie this into
the spreading out of nations from Babel. However, it is still more likely that
the nations were broken up into different language groups; the groups that
departed from Babel did not have to be large groups. A tribal group can be just
an extended family group. Peleg could also represent the severance of the
Hebrews from the rest of mankind.
Peleg is clearly the more important one in
this passage because Joktan is said to be the brother
of Peleg, a statement that makes Joktan less important
than Peleg. In fact, the name “Joktan” (or Yoktan) means “smallness”, “little” or “insignificant”. Joktan is said to have become the father of the Arabs (“Kachtan” or “Cachtan”).
At this point the genealogical line of
descent from Peleg is left, with the rest of this passage concentrating upon
those nations descended from Joktan.
Genesis
10:26 – And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah,
The 13 sons of Joktan
all appear to have settled in the Arabian Peninsula (or Arabia) which today
includes the countries of Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, United Arab Emirates,
Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain. Most of Joktan’s sons are
not easily identified today although Arabia would generally include most if not
all.
Almodad – may be
associated with Yemen.
Sheleph – probably
associated with a district of Yemen.
Hazarmaveth – uncertain
Jerah – uncertain
Genesis
10:27 – And Hadoram, and Uzal, and Diklah,
Hadoram – possibly on the
Sth coast of Arabia.
Uzal – possibly Azal,
now Sana the capital of Yemen.
Diklah – uncertain
Genesis
10:28 – And Obal, and Abimael, and Sheba,
Obal – uncertain,
could be Ebal in 1 Chronicles 1:22
Abimael – uncertain
Sheba – probably the
Sabeans, note the queen of Sheba who visited Solomon.
Genesis
10:29 – And Ophir, and
Havilah, and Jobab: all these [were] the sons
of Joktan.
Ophir – a place in
Arabia known for its gold, probably as mentioned in 1 Kings 9:28 – And
they came to Ophir, and fetched from thence gold, four hundred and twenty
talents, and brought [it] to king Solomon.
Havilah – may have been near
Mecca though otherwise uncertain.
Jobab – meaning is
“desert” but as most of Arabia can be classified desert, it is uncertain.
Genesis
10:30 – And their
dwelling was from Mesha, as thou goest
unto Sephar a mount of the
east.
Mesha was probably in
the vicinity of Mecca and Medina, both of which are on or near the central west
coast of Arabia. Some say that Sephar is Mirbat, a
town in Oman; others say a frankincense mountain in southern Arabia. The
meaning of this passage must be a defining of the extent of their boundaries,
which is probably irrelevant as long as we assume that it must have been
contained in Arabia somewhere. The idea, I think, seems to be that they were
more nomadic than settled in one place; thus they
could be found in a geographical area rather than a particular point on the
map.
Genesis
10:31 – These [are] the
sons of Shem, after their families, after their tongues, in their lands, after
their nations.
That is, these are the descendants of Shem
according to their family groups, their language groups and their ethnic
groups. All these three categories would have been reasonably synonymous with
each other in any case. Compare with Genesis 10:5.
Genesis
10:32 – These [are] the
families of the sons of Noah, after their generations, in their nations: and by
these were the nations divided in the earth after the flood.
This chapter (Genesis 10) lists the lines of
descent from Noah through his 3 sons after the flood. Of course, there would be
more spreading out later on, but this sets the scene for the period between the
flood and the covenant of God with Abraham (at which time the next chapter of
biblical history commences). Next week we’ll look at the descendants of Ham
(Genesis 10:6-20), and then after that we’ll look at the great division of the
nations at Babel which sets the scene for Abraham’s travels into the unknown.
I think that the biblical record is defining
all the major players in the world religious scene before God makes His
covenant with Abraham. Many of the names (and corresponding nations) listed in
Genesis 10 will recur a few times throughout the Bible. Japheth will be the
least-mentioned of these nations and consequently the nations from Japheth rate
only 4 verses, while Shem (as the line which Christ would come from) rates 11
verses and Ham (the major opposition to Shem in the Bible) rates 15 verses.
A major theme of the Bible is the spiritual
warfare which begins with the mention of the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil, and finishes when God re-establishes righteousness at the end of the age.
Ask yourselves: why was that tree of good and evil in the garden in the first
place? They weren’t allowed to eat from it, and apparently there was absolutely
no other use for it at all, other than to take up space in their garden
somewhere. According to Genesis 2:9, the tree of life was in the midst of the garden, along with the
forbidden tree. (the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the
tree of knowledge of good and evil.) It is reasonable
to assume that the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was no more hidden
than the tree of life; each must have been as accessible as the other.
Now, if you
have a dangerous product, you are supposed to hide it away, lock it away, or
otherwise make it difficult if not impossible for it to be accidentally
accessed. There was only one dangerous item (in fact, deadly) in this garden,
and it was not hidden away; it was not locked away; it was apparently designed
to be accessible. There is no evidence that a fence was placed around it, nor
guard rails, nor warning signs (other than Adam being told not to eat of it).
In fact, it looks more like the bait set for vermin, something like rat-bait.
It is
clear, therefore, that this forbidden tree was meant to be out in the open,
easily accessible to all. MacArthur does say that Ultimately,
we must concede that sin is something God meant
to happen. He planned for it, ordained it – or, in the words of the Westminster
Confession, He decreed it. (P 113, The Vanishing Conscience) However, to
teach that God decreed that sin should exist is a blasphemy against a holy God.
On the other hand, God never made it hard for Adam to sin, either. It’s as if
God has actually deliberately placed temptation in Adam’s way, requiring Adam
to make a decision to either accept or reject sin. God never ordained/created/decreed
sin; but He did make certain that Adam should choose to obey or disobey
regarding this tree. God didn’t decree that Adam should sin but he did decree
that Adam have to choose one way or the other. Adam would have to exercise his
free will here! As Tozer said (Knowledge of the Holy, P 76): When
he chooses to do evil, he does not thereby countervail the sovereign will of
God but fulfills it, inasmuch as the eternal decree
decided not which choice the man should make but that he should be free to make
it.
It is clear that only one temptation to
disobey was placed within Adam’s reach: the forbidden tree. This temptation
would determine Adam’s obedience or otherwise, for God had said, “Do not eat of
it!” and all Adam had to do was to either eat or not eat of it. One led to
death, the other to life. God did not create sin, but He did want His people to
serve Him willingly of their own free will. The only people in heaven will be
those who have freely chosen to be there. Such people will also worship God of
their own free will. God clearly desired that people worship Him, not just because
they were created to do so, but because they wanted to.
And this is the only logic behind the
forbidden fruit: that there had to be a means of determining man’s free will
obedience or otherwise. Without temptation there could have been no way for
Adam to demonstrate his free will obedience toward God. The tree was a test,
one that satan eagerly grabbed at as his means of enslaving mankind, not realising
that a plan of redemption had already been put into place for those whom God
knew (according to His foreknowledge) would fall (that is, all Adam’s race).
That plan of redemption would buy back mankind from bondage to satan, and those
who received by faith that gift of eternal life could never be enslaved again.
(This does assume that those who believe by faith also let go of the world, take
up their crosses daily, and follow Jesus as His true disciples.)
This is where the calvinists have missed
out. They teach a heaven where people must be made to go, where no free
will may exist in worshipping God, for all have been chosen to do so
unconditional upon any choice (or action) they are able to make. Not one may
claim to worship God of his own free will, for those who are unwilling will be made
to be willing by the calvinist God.
Listen to what MacArthur says about a
person’s willingness to be saved (“The Doctrine of God’s Effectual Call”) Talk
about going around in circles!!
No sinner is ever going to be
willing until the power of God comes upon that sinner. There’s nothing in
the sinner to make him willing. There’s nothing in the sinner, even under
the best of the preacher’s effort. It is only when the power of God
makes him willing that he becomes willing. ….
No
sinner has the capacity to be willing. ….
But it’s not that the sinner
comes kicking, and screaming, and protesting, and trying to resist, because
when the summons comes, the sinner is made willing. In fact, it is
the passion of his heart. When the gospel comes, the sinner is so
eager to respond.
That is, man is never willing to go to
heaven until the calvinist God cracks the whip and orders that person to go to
heaven! He is only so eager to respond because the calvinist God has given him
no free will to refuse! Truly calvinism is for fools!
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