4The sons of Javan were Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Rodanim. 5Those who lived in the lands around the Mediterranean Sea came from these sons of Japheth. All the families grew and became different nations, each nation with its own land and its own language.

Ham’s Sons

6The sons of Ham were Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan.

7The sons of Cush were Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca.

The sons of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan.

8Cush also had a descendant named Nimrod, who became a very powerful man on earth. 9He was a great hunter before the Lord, which is why people say someone is “like Nimrod, a great hunter before the Lord.” 10At first Nimrod’s kingdom covered Babylon, Erech, Akkad, and Calneh in the land of Babylonia. 11From there he went to Assyria, where he built the cities of Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, and Calah. 12He also built Resen, the great city between Nineveh and Calah.

13Mizraim was the father of the Ludites, Anamites, Lehabites, Naphtuhites, 14Pathrusites, Casluhites, and the people of Crete. (The Philistines came from the Casluhites.)

15Canaan was the father of Sidon, his first son, and of Heth. 16He was also the father of the Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites, 17Hivites, Arkites, Sinites, 18Arvadites, Zemarites, and Hamathites. The families of the Canaanites scattered. 19Their land reached from Sidon to Gerar as far as Gaza, and then to Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha.

20All these people were the sons of Ham, and all these families had their own languages, their own lands, and their own nations.

Shem’s Sons

21Shem, Japheth’s older brother, also had sons. One of his descendants was the father of all the sons of Eber.

22The sons of Shem were Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram.

23The sons of Aram were Uz, Hul, Gether, and Meshech.

24Arphaxad was the father of Shelah, who was the father of Eber. 25Eber was the father of two sons—one named Peleg, because the earth was divided during his life, and the other was named Joktan.

26Joktan was the father of Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, 27Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, 28Obal, Abimael, Sheba, 29Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab. All these people were the sons of Joktan. 30They lived in the area between Mesha and Sephar in the hill country in the East.

31These are the people from the family of Shem, arranged by families, languages, countries, and nations.

32This is the list of the families from the sons of Noah, arranged according to their nations. From these families came all the nations who spread across the earth after the flood.

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Genesis 10

The Table of Nations

(1 Chronicles 1:4–27)

1This is the account of Noah’s sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, who also had sons after the flood.

The Japhethites

2The sons of Japheth:

Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.

3The sons of Gomer:

Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah.

4And the sons of Javan:

Elishah, Tarshish, the Kittites, and the Rodanites.#10:4 SP and some MT manuscripts (see also LXX and 1 Chronicles 1:7); most MT manuscripts Dodanites 5From these, the maritime peoples separated into their territories, according to their languages, by clans within their nations.

The Hamites

6The sons of Ham:

Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan.

7The sons of Cush:

Seba, Havilah, Sabtah,#10:7 Sabtah is a variant of Sabta; see 1 Chronicles 1:9. Raamah, and Sabteca.

And the sons of Raamah:

Sheba and Dedan.

8Cush was the father of Nimrod, who began to be a mighty one #10:8 Or who established himself as a mighty warrior or who became the first fearless leader on the earth. 9He was a mighty hunter before #10:9 Or in defiance of; twice in this verse the Lord; so it is said, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord.” 10His kingdom began in Babylon, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.#10:10 That is, Babylonia 11From that land he went forth into Assyria, where he built Nineveh, Rehoboth-Ir, Calah, 12and Resen, which is between Nineveh and the great city of Calah.

13Mizraim was the father of the Ludites, the Anamites, the Lehabites, the Naphtuhites, 14the Pathrusites, the Casluhites (from whom the Philistines came), and the Caphtorites.#10:14 Some translators adjust the Hebrew word order to the Casluhites, and the Caphtorites (from whom the Philistines came); see also Jeremiah 47:4 and Amos 9:7.

15And Canaan was the father of Sidon his firstborn,#10:15 Or of the Sidonians, the foremost and of the Hittites, 16the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites, 17the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites, 18the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites.

Later the Canaanite clans were scattered, 19and the borders of Canaan extended from Sidon toward Gerar as far as Gaza, and then toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha.

20These are the sons of Ham according to their clans, languages, lands, and nations.

The Semites

21And sons were also born to Shem, the older brother of Japheth;#10:21 Or Shem, whose older brother was Japheth Shem was the forefather of all the sons of Eber.

22The sons of Shem:

Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram.

23The sons of Aram:

Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash.#10:23 Hebrew; LXX and 1 Chronicles 1:17 Meshech

24Arphaxad was the father of Shelah,#10:24 Hebrew; LXX (see also Luke 3:35–36) And Arphaxad was the father of Cainan, and Cainan was the father of Shelah, and Shelah was the father of Eber.

25Two sons were born to Eber: One was named Peleg,#10:25 Peleg means division. because in his days the earth was divided, and his brother was named Joktan.

26And Joktan was the father of Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, 27Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, 28Obal, Abimael, Sheba, 29Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab. All these were sons of Joktan. 30Their territory extended from Mesha to Sephar, in the eastern hill country.

31These are the sons of Shem, according to their clans, languages, lands, and nations.

32All these are the clans of Noah’s sons, according to their generations and nations. From these the nations of the earth spread out after the flood.

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Genesis 10

Genesis 10